WvW Glossary

A

• Aegis (Boon)

  A boon that blocks the next incoming attack. Critical in zergs to absorb burst damage. Applied by Guardians, Firebrands, and Heralds. Commanders call "Aegis up!" before a push to signal the buff is active.

• Alacrity (Boon)

  A boon that reduces skill recharge rate by 33%. Alongside Quickness, one of the two primary speed-modifying boons. Essential for high-uptime DPS in organised squads.

• AoE (Area of Effect)

  Skills or attacks that affect a circular or cone-shaped area. WvW is dominated by AoE combat — a coordinated zerg layers dozens of AoEs on a single position to obliterate enemies. AoE cap is 5 targets per skill.

• Alpine Borderlands (Alpine BL)

  The snow-themed Borderlands map used for two of the three Borderland slots in every WvW match. Considered more beginner-friendly than Desert BL due to simpler terrain.

B

• Badges of Honor (BoH)

  A core WvW currency dropped from killing players, capturing objectives, and opening chests. Used to purchase siege blueprints, WvW gear, and various upgrades from WvW vendors.

• Bay

  Short for Bay Keep — the south-west corner Keep on Eternal Battlegrounds, traditionally belonging to the Blue team. "Bay is going down" = Blue team's EBG Keep is under attack.

• Blob

  A large, disorganised mass of players — typically 40+ — that moves as one unit with no apparent tactical coordination. Often used pejoratively. Contrast with zerg (which implies some organisation). A blob fight is usually a chaotic AoE exchange where positioning and skill matter less than raw numbers.

• Bloodlust (Buff)

  A world-wide stat buff granted by controlling 3+ Ruins on Eternal Battlegrounds, or by completing the Citadel event on Borderlands. Provides +50 Power, Toughness, and Condition Damage to all world members.

• Boonball

  A highly coordinated group that maintains near-permanent uptime of Stability, Quickness, Alacrity, Protection, and Aegis simultaneously. Modern meta zergs are effectively boonballs — they are extremely hard to CC or burst without dedicated boon-strip.

• Boon Strip / Boon Rip

  The act of removing (stripping) boons from enemies. Essential counter to boonballs. Skills that strip boons are among the highest-value abilities in WvW — without them, a fully boon-supported zerg is nearly unkillable.

• Breakbar (CC bar)

  A blue bar under some NPCs' health bars. Depleting it with CC skills applies a stun and temporarily disables the target. Relevant for WvW NPC objectives like Lords and Dolyaks.

• Burst

  A high-damage sequence of skills executed in a short window, designed to kill a target before they can react or receive heals. Commanders call "burst!" to signal the squad to execute all cooldowns on a focused target.

C

• Call Target (CT)

  The action of marking an enemy player as the group's priority kill target. Holding Shift and clicking an enemy broadcasts the target to your squad. Coordinated squads all press T to select the called target instantly.

• Camp (Supply Camp)

  Supply Camps generate supply and dispatch Dolyak caravans to nearby objectives. Flipping enemy camps is high-value, especially for small groups. "Camp flipping" refers to roaming to rapidly neutralise and recapture camps.

• Cleave

  AoE damage that hits multiple targets near a focused enemy. Used both as a noun ("that skill cleaves") and a verb ("cleave the zerg"). Downstate enemies can be cleaved before being rezzed.

• Condition (Condi)

  A debuff that deals damage or impairs movement over time. In WvW, Burning, Bleeding, Confusion, Torment, and Poison are the main offensive conditions. Condi builds focus on stacking multiple conditions rather than direct damage.

• Commander Tag

  The coloured diamond icon visible above a player's head in WvW, indicating a publicly-leading group organiser. Purchased for 300 Gold. The cornerstone of all organised WvW play.

• Contested Waypoint

  When enemies are within range of an objective's waypoint, it becomes "contested" and cannot be used. This prevents defenders from instantly teleporting into a keep being attacked. Clearing enemies un-contests the waypoint.

D

• Deathball

  A tightly clustered, extremely well-organised 20–50 player group that moves as a cohesive unit. Synonymous with the highest tier of organised WvW play. Deathballs maintain full boon uptime and rely on simultaneous skill activation. Very difficult to fight without equal organisation.

• Decap

  Short for "decapture" — neutralising an objective without necessarily flipping it to your team's control. Decapping removes the objective from the enemy's PPT total while you decide whether to push for a full cap.

• Desert Borderlands (DBL / Desert BL)

  The arid, three-zone Borderland map with unique mechanics: Fire, Air, and Earth shrines that provide zone-specific buffs, and the Temple of Bloodlust Citadel event. More complex than Alpine BL.

• Downed State (Downstate)

  When a player's health reaches zero, they enter the Downed state — they can still use limited skills and crawl, but die (proper death) if they take further damage or aren't revived. Stomping a downed enemy finishes them immediately. A major tactical element in WvW.

• Dolyak

  Supply-carrying animals that travel from Supply Camps to nearby objectives on a timed route. Killing enemy dolyaks denies supply to their objectives. Escorting allied dolyaks earns WvW XP.

• Drop Siege

  Placing a siege weapon blueprint on the ground to build it. Requires supply and a blueprint. "Drop a cat" = place a catapult.

E

• EBG (Eternal Battlegrounds)

  The central WvW map; the only truly three-sided map with Stonemist Castle at its centre. The highest-population, most contested map in every match. Home of the Ruins of Power (Bloodlust).

• EotM (Edge of the Mists)

  A WvW overflow/training map that does not count toward the main match score. Used for WvW XP farming and as an overflow when main maps are queued.

• Emergency Waypoint (EWP)

  A temporary waypoint that activates inside an objective when enemies are attacking it. Allows defenders to teleport in, but only while it's active (it disappears once the attack subsides or the structure is taken).

F

• Firebrand (FB)

  The Guardian specialisation that is the dominant WvW support class. Firebrands provide massive Stability, Aegis, Quickness, and cleansing through Tome skills. Every organised zerg typically runs 3–6 Firebrands.

• Flip

  Capturing an objective from another team. "Tower flipped to Red" = Red team captured a tower. Flip frequency affects Skirmish rewards and signals active play.

• Fortified (T3)

  The maximum upgrade tier for objectives. A Fortified Keep or Tower has maximum PPT, the strongest NPC guards, the thickest walls, and all auto-upgrades unlocked.

• Full Wipe

  When an entire enemy squad is defeated, forcing them to respawn at a distant waypoint. A clean full wipe typically results in a rapid objective capture while the enemy is respawning.

G

• Gift of Battle (GoB)

  A WvW-exclusive crafting material required for most legendary weapons. Obtained by completing the Gift of Battle WvW Reward Track. This is the primary reason non-WvW players engage with the mode.

• GvG (Guild vs Guild)

  Organised 20v20 (or other equal-number) fights between two guilds, conducted in WvW maps by mutual agreement. GvG has no official game support but is a recognised competitive scene with its own ruleset, rankings, and community.

H

• Havoc

  A small, coordinated strike team of 5–15 players that operates independently from the main zerg. Havoc groups capture camps, flip towers, kill dolyaks, and harass the enemy backline. The term comes from causing havoc behind enemy lines.

• Hardened Gates

  A guild upgrade for claimed objectives that significantly increases gate health, making it much harder for attackers to breach quickly. One of the most valuable guild upgrades to apply to a Home Keep.

• Home Keep (HK)

  Each team's starting Keep on their own Borderland. Begins Tier 3 at match start with full fortifications. Typically the highest-priority defensive objective on any Borderland map.

I

• Immobilise (Immob)

  A condition that prevents movement but not skill activation. Often used to lock down targets for burst combos. "Immob + burst" is a common kill setup in roaming and small-group play.

• Intel

  Information about enemy positions, sizes, and movements. Scouting and calling intel in squad chat is one of the highest-value contributions a player can make. "Intel on EBG: 30-man blob heading to Overlook."

K

• Keep

  The second-highest objective tier (below Castle). Keeps have inner and outer structures, a Lord room, upgradeable waypoints, and supply depots. Key strategic anchors for every team on every map.

• Kitten ()

  Profanity auto-censor in GW2 chat. Commonly used as a censored expletive in community screenshots and memes.

L

• Lord

  The elite NPC at the core of every objective's inner structure. Killing the Lord captures the objective for your team. Lords gain strength with higher objective tier, and some have breakbars that must be depleted with CC.

M

• Matchup

  The specific pairing of three worlds for a 7-day WvW match. Matchups are determined weekly based on the previous week's VP standings within each tier.

• Meta

  "Most Effective Tactics Available" — the currently dominant builds, compositions, and strategies. WvW meta shifts with each balance patch and is closely watched by the community. In 2025, the meta revolves around Boonball compositions centred on Firebrand supports.

N

• Nightcap

  The practice of capturing objectives during off-peak hours (typically late night or early morning in a server's main timezone) when the enemy team has few online players. Nightcapping can swing match scores dramatically and is a controversial but legitimate strategy.

O

• Overlook

  The northern corner Keep on Eternal Battlegrounds, traditionally belonging to the Red team. One of the three home Keeps in EBG.

• Outnumbered Buff

  A passive buff granted to all players on a map where their team has significantly fewer players than the leading team. Provides minor stat bonuses and increased WvW XP to help smaller populations compete.

P

• Pirate Ship

  A WvW tactic (and meta playstyle) where two zergs fight at maximum range, both staying back and using long-range skills without engaging in melee. Named because it resembles two ships trading broadsides. Can lead to stalemates and is often considered low-skill by experienced players.

• Port

  Teleporting the entire squad simultaneously using a Mesmer's portal. "Port incoming" = a Mesmer is placing an exit point; on command, the whole group jumps through. Portals can bypass walls, cliffs, and distances, enabling surprise attacks.

• PPT (Points Per Tick)

  The rate at which your world earns points per ~5-minute tick based on the objectives you hold. The primary scoring mechanic in WvW.

• Pull

  A CC skill that yanks enemies to your location or past walls. Used offensively (pull enemies into your AoE) or defensively (pull enemies off walls during attacks). Scourge Spectral Grasp and Engineer skills are common pull sources.

• Push

  An aggressive advance into the enemy position. "Pushing now!" from a commander signals the group to move forward and engage. Requires Stability from supports to avoid being chain-CC'd during the advance.

Q

• Queue

  WvW maps have player caps. When a map is full, additional players enter a queue and wait for a spot. Prime-time EBG queues can be 30+ minutes on competitive servers.

• Quickness (Boon)

  A boon that increases skill activation speed by 50%. Combined with Alacrity, creates extremely fast skill cycling. Essential boon for coordinated zergs.

R

• Rally

  When a player in Downed state is revived back to full health, typically by a heal skill or by killing an enemy while downed. "Rally!" in comms means downed players are about to stand back up — adjust pressure accordingly.

• Reset (Weekly Reset)

  The moment at Friday 18:00 UTC when the WvW match ends, new matchups begin, all objectives reset to neutral, and the new week of WvW starts. Reset night is the most active time in WvW.

• Roaming

  Solo or very small group (2–3) play focused on independent objectives: flipping camps, killing scouts, disrupting dolyaks, and hunting single enemy roamers. Requires strong self-sufficiency and 1v1/1v2 build optimisation.

S

• Scout / Scouting

  The role of monitoring objectives and enemy movements, then reporting intel to commanders via squad chat or voice. A dedicated scout can prevent entire Keeps from being lost by giving the commander 60-second advance warning of an incoming attack.

• Siege

  Player-built combat devices: Arrow Carts, Ballistas, Catapults, Trebuchets, Cannons, Mortars, Shield Generators, Flame Rams, Siege Golems. Require blueprints and supply to build. Central to both attacking and defending structures.

• Skirmish

  A ~2-hour scoring window within the 7-day WvW match. Each skirmish has its own sub-score (based on PPT and kill score) that determines Victory Point allocation.

• Stability (Stab)

  The most important boon in WvW. Each stack of Stability negates one incoming CC effect. Without Stability, a zerg can be chain-CC'd and wiped in seconds. Maintaining Stability uptime is the #1 job of WvW supports.

• Stack

  (1) As a noun: being tightly grouped with your squad (within ~240 game units). (2) As a command: "Stack!" means move immediately to the same location as your commander, typically for a portal or burst setup.

• Stonemist (SM)

  Stonemist Castle — the only Castle-tier objective in WvW, located at the centre of Eternal Battlegrounds. The highest-value single objective in the game. "SM is down" = the enemy flipped Stonemist.

• Supply

  The logistics currency of WvW. Sourced from Supply Camps via Dolyak caravans. Used to build siege, repair walls and gates, and fuel automatic upgrades. Managing supply flow is a core strategic responsibility.

T

• Tag

  Short for Commander Tag. "Follow the tag" = run to the commander. "Drop the tag" = turn off your commander visibility. "On tag" = near the commander. "Off tag" = away from the commander (usually bad).

• T3 / Tier 3

  The maximum upgrade tier for objectives, also called Fortified. Provides maximum PPT, strongest guards, and most resilient fortifications.

• Tick

  The ~5-minute interval at which PPT is calculated and awarded. "We gain X on the tick" = our world will receive X points in the next tick. Also used informally for any periodic reward cycle.

U

• Upgrade

  The automatic progression of objectives through tiers (T1→T2→T3) fuelled by supply from camps. Also refers to Guild Upgrades (Hardened Gates, Superior Trebuchet etc.) applied by guilds that claim objectives.

V

• Valley

  The south-east corner Keep on Eternal Battlegrounds, traditionally belonging to the Green team. One of the three home Keeps in EBG.

• Victory Points (VP)

  Match-level points awarded based on skirmish results (1st = 5VP, 2nd = 4VP, 3rd = 3VP per skirmish). Accumulated VP determines weekly match winner and tier placement.

• Voice Comms

  Discord, Teamspeak, or in-game voice communication with your squad. Essential for coordinated play. Most WvW guilds maintain a Discord server. Without voice, advanced tactics like portal plays and coordinated pushes are nearly impossible.

W

• Waypoint (WP)

  A teleportation destination inside WvW objectives. Upgraded and contested dynamically. A Keep or Tower with an uncontested WP allows instant reinforcement — losing the WP during an attack is a major defensive setback.

• Wipe

  When an entire group is defeated. "Full wipe!" means all enemies are downed/dead. After a wipe, the winning side typically rushes to capture a nearby objective before the enemies respawn.

• World

  A GW2 server community that participates in WvW together. Worlds are matched weekly by tier. The Alliance update is gradually transitioning WvW from fixed server worlds to flexible alliance-based teams.

• WvW Rank

  Your personal WvW progression level, earned by gaining WvW Experience. Each rank-up earns an ability point to spend on WvW Abilities. Rank prestige titles unlock at milestone ranks (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Legendary).

Y

• Yak (Dolyak)

  Informal name for Dolyak caravans. "Kill the yak" = intercept and kill the supply caravan. "Yak escort" = guarding your own supply caravans.

Z

• Zerg

  A medium-to-large organised group of players (typically 20–50) that moves and fights together under a commander's direction. Unlike a blob, a zerg implies coordination — stacking, simultaneous skill activation, and role-based composition. The backbone of WvW's large-scale combat.

• Zerg Surf

  Following a zerg without actively contributing — riding along for XP and loot without engaging in combat or following commands. Discouraged by most commanders as it inflates map numbers without tactical value.

• Zergling

  A player who exclusively follows zergs and cannot operate independently. Mild pejorative for players who refuse to roam, scout, or split into havoc groups. Zerglings die immediately if separated from the group.