WoW Glossary

Term / AbbreviationExplanation
ABArathi Basin, a 15v15 battleground
AHAction House, where you can sell to and buy from other players
altalternative, could be in the context of an alternative talent specialization or a secondary, alternative player character
AoEArea of Effect, something that affects multiple allies/enemies at once
APAttack Power, increases the damage you do. For warriors 1 Str = 2 AP
AVAlterac Valley, a 40v40 battleground with lots of PvE elements (e.g. NPCs)
AvoidanceAny additional effect, that increases your change to dodge, parry or increases the enemies chance to miss. Block is usually not considered "Avoidance".
BGBattleground, a PvP instance, e.g. AV, WSG and AB
BoEBind on Equip, item that can be traded until equipped once. Then it becomes soulbound to that character
BoPBind on Pickup, item that becomes soulbound immediately as you receive it (e.g. when looting or crafting).
blessing-of-protection, a Paladin ability
BRDBlackrock Depths, a non-linear level 50+ dungeon in Blackrock Mountain
CCCrowd Control, means to prevent mobs or players from attacking, e.g. Mage's Polymorph.
EFCEnemy flag carrier (also often lower-case "efc"). Flag carrier of the enemy faction in Warsong Gulch (WSG) battleground
EHEffective health, how much damage you can take to go from 100% to 0% health. Determined by your HP and Armor.
GCDGlobal Cooldown. Time before you can do the next action. 1.5s for all classes except Rogues and Druids in Catform (1s)
HPHealth Points, if this goes to 0, you die, duh!
LoSLine of Sight, most abilities require players/mobs to be in Line of Sight to their target. Breaking LoS prevents those abilities
MCMolten Core, the first 40 player raid instance, located in Blackrock Mountain
MSmortal-strike
Mainspec, your primary PvE talent specialization
MTMaintank, usually the best geared tank
Onyonyxia, 40 player raid instance and dragon boss
OSOffspec, any spec that does not match your PvE role
OTOfftank, additional tank(s) besides the Maintank (MT)
PHpiercing-howl
PvEPlayer versus Environment, fighting against computer-controlled mobs in the world or instances
PvPPlayer versus Player, fighting against other players (might still feel like PvE at times)
RNG(Pseudo) Random Number Generator, computer-generated random numbers. Used to indicate that something is more subject to chance than to player ability
TMtactical-mastery
Tarren Mill, a Horde/Undead town in Hillsbrad Foothills
WSGWarsong Gulch, a 10v10 battleground
WWwhirlwind