Game Terminology & Jargon Buster [Empires and Puzzles]

Not sure what a Tank is? What about FFA? Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything in this Empires and Puzzles Terminology & Jargon Buster!
I’ve gathered all the in-game slang chat I could find and populated it into this A-Z-listed reference guide.
Gaming Dictionary of Terms (A to Z)
3/70 – Level 3/70 is often used to describe the maximum level a Hero is levelled to. It’s a key stage because, beyond it, Final Ascension Materials (Mats) are required. As Ascension Materials are rare, only the best Heroes are considered worthy of them, leaving many others abandoned at level 3/70.
Aethers – Ascension Materials used to Limit Break a Hero.
Alpha Aethers – The Aethers used to upgrade a Hero for the second Limit Break (second pink chevron). You can find my full guide, here.
Alt – Alternative account.
AoE – Attack on everyone.
Auto (Auto’ing) – Pressing the AUTO button and letting the CPU complete a map or Quest stage.
BBS – Be Back Soon.
Bn3 – A reference used to identify the upper limit for players when hitting Titans. This is designed to afford all members of the alliance the opportunity to obtain decent (B-grade) loot.
Buff – A Buff is an in-game improvement, normally granted by a Hero through the use of their Special skill. The term ‘Buff’, can also relate to when the Game developers increase the skills, or stats, of a Hero.
BRB – Be Right Back.
C2P – Cheap To Play. Players who occasionally spend money on the game.
Caster – The Caster is the Hero who is activating their Special Skills. When Mana is charged and you press on the Hero Card in-game; that is the Caster.
Cleanups/Cleans – This normally refers to finishing off a War opponent that has survived a prior attack.
CYOM – Clean your own mess. This normally refers to finishing off a War opponent you failed to kill in the first attempt. This is opposed to the philosophy of Double Tapping.
Cups (or Trophies) – Cups and Trophies refer to your in-game Raiding rank. You can find your Cup number by hitting your avatar and checking the number under the tab, Trophies.
Discord – Discord is an external social media application used by Alliances to communicate with each other.
DOT – Damage Over Time.
Double Tap (Double Tapping) – Hitting the same team twice in a row during a War: If you attack a team and lose, you might be tempted to jump back in and seek revenge. However, this is frowned upon in larger Alliances. It’s called Double Tapping, and you are encouraged not to do it. Why? Firstly, to leave scraps for weaker players to clean up. This means your Alliance can be more efficient. Secondly, good judgment can evade you when under the red mist of War. It’s best to step back, calmly re-evaluate the situation, and choose a different target where possible.
Dropping Cups – The act of reducing your Trophies Raiding score. This can be achieved by fielding a weak Defense team. A person will drop cups for numerous and varied reasons including (but not limited to), 1. Making Raids easier so they can complete the PoV faster, 2. In order to complete a Hero Chest as quickly as possible, or 3. Because they’ve abstained from the conflict of competition on moral grounds.
E&P – Empires and Puzzles.
F2P – Free To Play. Players who don’t spend any real money on the game.
Farming – The act of replaying past levels to collect resources.
Feed – The act of using low-level Heroes (1 and 2-Star) to level up higher-grade Heroes.
Feeders (or Feeder Heroes) – 1 and 2-Star Heroes are routinely used to level up higher-grade Heroes (3, 4, and 5-Star).
FFA – Free For All. Normally referring to War, when players are invited to play however they want.
Flags – Flags are tokens that allow you to play different parts of the game. To complete World Map stages or Quests, you use World Energy Flags. For War, you use War Flags. For Raids, you use Raid Flags. For Titans, you use Titan Flags, etc. You can refill your Flags by consuming a Flask (all besides War Flags, which are not refillable).
Flank – An in-game reference for the Heroes positioned directly beside the centre Hero. The centre Hero is called the ‘Tank’.
Flask – A disposable unit used to refill your Flags back to maximum. There are World Flasks, Raid Flasks, and Titan Flasks.
Flask’ing a Titan – The act of using a Titan flask to get more hits on, and to kill off, a Titan.
Friendly – Friendly battles are available to members of the same Alliance. You can battle an alliance member by selecting them from the Alliance Members board and clicking on Battle in the Alliance box on the Player Info pop-up.
Ghosting Tiles – Matching tiles, which do not make contact with any enemy Heroes, is called Ghosting tiles. It results in double the speed of the tile’s mana generation.
Hero Class – There are 10 Hero Classes: Cleric, Barbarian, Fighter, Wizard, Druid, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Sorcerer, and Rogue. ‘Hero Class’, refers to the Class of your Hero.
Hit – A word to describe using a flag in War, or on a Titan.
HotM – Hero Of The Month. Each month a new Hero is released as a Bonus Draw. You can find info for the current HotM in the banner at the top of the Summons screen. Devana was a recent HotM.
HP – Health Points.
IGC – In-Game Chat.
LB – Limit Broken. Usually seen before the name of a Hero, like this: LB Quenell. See here for details on Limit Breaking a Hero.
Line – Line is an external social media application used by Alliances to communicate with each other.
Nerf – When developers reduce the stats, or skills, of a Hero. Also known as ‘Nerfing’.
Mana – Mana is a substance required to make magical things occur. This is what Heroes use to fuel their Special skills.
Mana Speed – This is a reference for how long it takes a Hero to charge their Special skill. There are 5 speeds: Very Fast, Fast, Average, Slow, and Very Slow. Here is my reference guide.
Mats – A shorthand expression for Ascension Materials (which are required to level up a Hero).
Merc (Mercing) – If you have Titan Flags left, but your Alliance’s Titan is already dead, you could go ‘Mercing’. This is the action of travelling to different Alliances and helping them to take out their Titans.
Meta or Game Meta – This refers to the balance and current makeup of in-game dynamics. For example, when you have lots of popular and dominant Ailment Casters, one might say, “To beat the Meta you need at least one Cleanser on your team”.
Mono Team – When you play a team containing only 1 color (5 Heroes of the same element). Learn more about Color Stacking here.
Mystic Vision – The name given to external advertisements that you can watch for a reward.
OP – Over Powered. Referring to a Hero who is seen as too strong and in need of a Nerfing.
Opt-Out – If you don’t want to, or aren’t able to, participate in the Alliance War, you can ‘Opt Out’ via the War screen.
P2P – Pay To Play. Players who choose to spend real money in the game.
Player Level – In your Player Profile, you’ll see your in-game name, icon, and Player Level. Your Player Level increases as you play the game more.
PB – Personal Best score.
POV – Path Of Valor. A ladder reward system that gives you resources for completing tasks, like waving at someone in your village or killing a number of Titans.
POG – Path Of Giants. A more expensive ladder reward system that gives you resources for completing tasks, like waving at someone in your village or killing a number of Titans.
PvE – Player Vs. Environment.
PvP – Player Vs. Player.
Rainbow Team – When you play a team containing all 5 colors (elements). Learn more about Color Stacking here.
RNG – ‘Random Number Generator’ is the formal meaning, however, the term is generally used in reference to all areas of Empires and Puzzles which involve Chance: Tiles, Summoning Portal, and Troop Pulls. And when things do not occur as hoped for the ‘RNG Squirrels’ are sometimes blamed for their capricious nature.
S1, S2, S3, S4, S5 – Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4, Season 5.
SG – Small Giant (the makers of Empires and Puzzles).
Sniper – A Hero who targets one enemy.
Stacked Team – A team of either 4-1, 3-2, or 2-2-1. Learn more about Color Stacking here.
Tank – An in-game reference for the Hero positioned at the centre of the 5 in a team.
Taunt – Taunt is a Special Skill which forces the opposition to only target one Hero; the Taunt Caster. Heroes like Ludwig, Krampus, and Kara, can Cast Taunt.
Tile gods – Used to describe the random nature of the tiles at the beginning of a battle.
VF / VS – Very Fast, Very Slow. Normally used to describe Mana speed.
Whale (or Wallet) – A player who spends large amounts of money to obtain the best Heroes.
Wing – An in-game reference for the Heroes positioned on each outer edge of the team.
Empires & Puzzles Jargon Explained
It took me a while to work out what a lot of this terminology meant, so I figured it might be useful for somebody else. Nothing earth-shattering, but now you don’t need to pretend to be hip and with it.
[Please always check in-game Hero Cards to confirm details and never chase Heroes]
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Copyright: oldcynic.com
Good list! However:
“Wallet – A player who has lots of money to spend on the game.”
Shouldn’t that be “whale”?
Hey there, thanks for the comment. I’ve also had some input from Reddit concerning the definition of a Whale. As a result, I’ve re-written that section and made ‘Whale’ the primary. Thank you!
My family uses these terms for “feeder” heroes:
1*=mice
2*=lemmings
3*=nutrias
4*=capybaras
5*=ROUS’s
We personally have not fed any 5* heroes, yet, but I image that one day we may feel the need to!
I had to Google a few of those, and the Capybara looked pet worthy. That’s a lot of words for Rodent, how did you discover them all? Thanks for the insight.
Hi,
What about rng? As in random number generator (s)? I usually curse the rng squirrels in E&P.
I have recently found and subscribed.
Thanks for all the insight.
Hi MJ! I’ve updated the post. Tbh, I hadn’t heard that one before. Can you check that I’ve explained it correctly? That it is a reference to the tiles at the beginning of a battle?
Thank you!
Hi,
I think RNG refers to all of the “random” -ness in the game. From tiles to pulling heroes or troops.
But, as I am sure you know, many believe the rng is not rng at all in some cases. Hence the cursing the rng squirrels and their capricious nature
🙂
That’s good. I shall blame the squirrels hence forth.
Hi Old Cynic. Thnx for U’r Gr8 work. How ’bout for the newbies like me an explanation for the ‘claim all’ TC lvl 20 perk.
(I just found out it actually doesn’t mean – once you reach level 20…. you can claim this perk & upgrade ALL TC to lvl 20 at the same time)
It’s simply to claim u’r feeder heroes…
Not an Abbreviation I no but still an enigma to me until a few days ago.
Hi LYNNO, thank you.
It’s been awhile since I upgraded the Training Camps, but I do remember a day when I could press one button to Claim All heroes (in that Camp). I guess I thought they did away with the old way of things already!
Well, that it what it is. A button to save you time.
I hope I’ve understood you correctly. Thanks for visiting!
What about the “game meta” or meta
Good idea, thanks!
You described “flasking” but not what a flask is, as in “anybody got any flasks for this Titan?”
This is a great resource!
Thanks, I’ll add it!
Who is the caster exactly?
The Caster is the hero who is activating their Special Skills. When the mana is charged and you press their Card; that’s the Caster.
Hi. What about “taunt”…? I’m see that word used a lot. I have a general idea about what it means in reference to this game, but a more detailed definition would be very helpful
Your blog is very helpful to “new” players such as myself. Thank you for all that you do
Hey Lance, good idea! I’ll update it when in next on. Thanks!
Hi OC, a couple that our alliance and a few other crews I’ve seen use in wars are “sweep” as both a noun and a verb, referring to defeating all five heroes on an opposing team with one flag, as in “Nice sweep on that 5.1K line, James!” or “They swept my D team in the first wave of attacks but it’s been holding up since then.” Another is “flip” as noun and verb meaning defeating all opponents on the battlefield so that they all regenerate, as in “Easy cleanup available for a flip” or “They’re about to flip us.” Finally, there’s “646” (or variations on the first digit), which refers to how many sweeps a player manages in an alliance war with their six flags, as in “Their leader is a beast! I wouldn’t be surprised if she went 646 on us” or “Bad war for me – can’t remember the last time I only got 246 (i.e. two sweeps out of six flags used)”
I had to search for ‘FFA’ because I was reading alliance ads. I’ve never seen it spelled out anywhere until Old Cynic kept an old post alive for me to find. Trust me, I could find words to fit the acronym but none seemed to be ‘polite conversation.’
In this age of video channels, and I watch a lot of them, I am still glad to turn to a white background post for explanations and opinions. But that’s only because of the quality found herein. You are a fun and informative read. Now I can tick the box to get email notifications, I just hope I see yours amongst the mess that is my inbox.
Thank you Bartz, I appreciate the kind words and am only too happy to have helped. Thanks for the sub, too!