2b5. Other common game terms

This section lists definition for more basic concepts. To see more actual abbreviations used by the playerbase, see this list offered by the DN subreddit (slightly outdated).

– PVE stands for Player versus Enemy. This is the main game mode of DN (and most games) where player-controlled characters fight against computer-controlled enemies.

– PVP stands for Player versus Player, a game mode where players fight against one another. In DN, rather than dedicated zones or servers, PVP is confined into lobbies with specific maps. You also cannot loot other players’ corpses in DN.

– AOE stands for Area of Effect, referring to a skill or attack that can damage multiple enemies in a certain range. Sorceress for example is a classic AOE class. When it comes to monsters, AOE attacks usually have cues on the ground for players to evade.

– Aggro refers to the monster(s)’s attention on one player in the party, whom they will move towards and attack.

– DPS stands for Damage per Second. As the name implies, it’s a unit that measures how many points of damage you can deal per second. In a larger gaming context, it also refers to classes whose main job is to deal damage, and the act/performance of dealing damage in general.

– Healer refers to classes who can recover allies’ HP. In DN there are a lot of classes that can heal themselves, but they are not considered Healers, as the term depends heavily on party play context. Currently there are only 3 Healers in DN: Saint, Physician, and Light Fury.

– Tank can refer to the act of taking heavy damage and surviving, but in party play context it refers to classes who can direct aggro to themselves and take damage in place of their allies. Tank classes are also geared with skills and buffs that help them survive constant damage that would easily squish any other class.

– Support in a party play context refers to classes or skills that uniquely help put the party in a position to safely and effectively deal damage. Support comes in many forms: healing, tanking, buffing, crowd control, etc. Perhaps most unique to DN is the role of ice users/icestackers, who offer significant support despite being DPS in theory, due to the various debuffs and crowd control techniques ice can offer in the game.

– AFK stands for Away From Keyboard, when a player still has the game open but is doing something in another program or outside the computer.

– Comp-on (compensation on) refers to when content disregards stats and skill enhancements offered by equipment, bringing everyone to the same fixed stats for their class. Comp-on applies prominently to PVP (except Ladder), but also applies to some PVE content such as Cerberus Nest, Rift in Red Lotus Palace, Storm of Time and Space and Everyone’s Banquet. Curiously, Runes are not affected by comp-on.