What are they even saying?
There’s a lot of ling around Fortnite. Some is specific to the game, and other is just online gaming lingo. You need to undertand it so you know when they’re making fun of you, or complimenting you, as the case may be. I’m going to focus on the lingo that isn’t immediately obvious.
Let’s Go!
This is a cheer you say when you’re excited. A lot of gamer say this, but the phrase predates electronic games. Ever been to a Red Sox game and cheered “Let’s go Red Sox!”? Ok probably not, but you get the idea.
Rotating
Moving towards the circle is called “rotating”. It’s common for people to not move in a straight line, but to approach the circle in an arc, as if they’re rotating around it.
Tagging
Tagging an enemy is when you score damage on them early in the fight. A good tag is one that breaks their shields, meaning you’ve destroyed their shields and are now decreasing their health. You’ll see white damage values when this happens. Usually, you want to tag your opponent solidly before pushing them.
Pushing
When you’ve weakened an opponent and move in to finish him off, you are “pushing”. Knowing when and how to push is an important part of your strategy.
Buffing and Nerfing
Epic periodically adjusts the strengths of weapons to improve the quality of gameplay. When a weapon is made stronger, it’s buffed. When it’s made weaker, it’s nerfed. Pretty simple!
Shotty, Deagle
Shotty – shotgun;
Deagle – in the game, this term refers to the Hand Cannon. In real life, this gun is called the Desert Eagle, shortened to DEagle because we’re hanging with the cool kids now. If you’re asking what a Desert Eagle is, well, you’ve seen Shaft, I’m sure you remember that scene.
The Lobby
This is the collection of people in your game. The game starts when the Lobby has 100 people (or 99 sometimes).
Bot
If someone calls you a Bot, it’s not good. Epic puts (ro)botic players in games so that you don’t have to wait for 99 other real people to play. The bots usually aren’t very good and are easy to kill.
50/50
A fifty-fifty is when two people just face each other and start blasting. without using cover, or special tactics. The winner of this fight is almost random between the two. You generally want to avoid 50/50s.
Playing Claw
When you hold a controller like a normal person, it’s hard to use the 4 buttons without taking your thumb off the stick. This means that when you jump, you can’t aim. To compensate, some people “play claw” by putting their right middle finger on the trigger and their index finger over the 4 buttons. This lets them jump and press buttons while still keeping the aim and stick covered. Their hand is contorted into a “claw” position, hence the name. You, too, can play claw, or you can use some of that hard earned money to buy a controller with paddles.
The Meta, OP
The word “meta” is used to mean theme, usually related to a weapon or capability, for the current season of Fortnite. For example, light sabers were popular during the Star Wars collaborations, so light sabers were the meta. In other seasons, the automatic shotgun was especially powerful, making the auto shotgun the meta.
OP means Over Powered. Quite often, the meta is the meta because it’s OP. Now we’re sounding cool…
ADS
Aiming Down Sights. When you press the left trigger button, it activates ADS. Using ADS will improve your accuracy but slows down your movement speed, making you a lot easier to hit. A secret to succeeding in close-range battles is firing at your opponent, and moving, without using ADS.
Tilt
When you’re on tilt, you’re so pissed off that you lose your cool and let your rage take over, bringing down your gameplay. It’s the gamer’s way of saying you lost your cool. It usually results in you losing. Don’t go on tilt.
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