Do you sometimes not understand a word in the chat channels of World of Warcraft? There are reasons for that – as there is a unique language.
If you haven’t been playing World of Warcraft or other MMORPGs for years, the language in the chat is often a closed book. Not because English is frequently spoken, but because there is a specific term for almost everything in the game that you first need to decode. This leads to quite long and strange sentence constructions that simply look like a secret language.
What is the problem with MMORPG language? For newcomers, communicating in an MMORPG like World of Warcraft is quite a barrier. Because if you look at the various channels in the game, you will often see combinations of letters that make you think: A cat just walked over the keyboard.
On TikTok, the account melissadrewirl exemplarily shows a message like that which one can read in the chat and which probably no one will understand who hasn’t been playing for years:
“LFM FL 11/25 NEED DPS, HEALS, MT. 1xSR>MS>OS /w me for inv”
Fantasy world with complex fantasy language – or?
What does all this mean? If you decipher the line, the sentence translates to: “Looking for more Firelands raid 11 out of 25 people in raid. Roles needed: Damage, Healers and a Main Tank. Everyone gets 1 item soft reserved over main spec over off spec. Whisper to me for an invite.”
Or translated into German: “Ich suche noch Mitglieder für den Feuerlande-Raid, bisher sind wir 11 von 25 Leuten. Wir brauchen noch diese Rollen: Schaden, Heiler und einen Haupt-Tank. Jeder kann sich ein Item reservieren mit Vorrang vor der Haupt-Spezialisierung und Vorrang vor der Neben-Spezialisierung. Schreib mich an, wenn du eingeladen werden willst.”
The community feels a bit ashamed: It’s not surprising that while watching these videos, some players realize what kind of “language” they have actually learned. However, even many long-time fans still don’t understand all the terms.
- “I am both proud and disappointed in myself that I can read this…” – eric00420
- “The sheer number of times I have asked ChatGPT to translate what WoW players actually want from me is getting embarrassing.” – KronosTheReal
That’s somehow what’s nice about the language in MMORPGs. Once you understand it, you can convey a lot of information in very short sequences of characters. However, it should also be obvious that this represents a huge barrier for newcomers.
How did you get into the MMORPG of your choice at the beginning? Did you have to cram some terms for a few hours first? Or did you have to ask in the chat every time what the hell they were all actually talking about?
A bit easier has been World of Warcraft now in another respect – because now you can play WoW with just one key.
