This page lists abbreviations and terms commonly used in EVE Online, aimed at new players and those unfamiliar with the terminology. Most of the terms listed here are universal across all of EVE players, but some may be relatively specialized to EVE University and may mean something slightly different to other corporations. If any of the terminology is unclear be sure to ask in-game or on the forums for more clarification.
Use the selector below or simply use Ctrl + F to search for a specific word.
#
7o
"Salute" (as performed by the Brave Newbies)
A
Active Module
A module that must be manually activated by the player (see
Module)
Align
To move in the direction of an object in space at 75% or more of max speed and within 5 degrees
ASB
Ancillary Shield Booster (see
Tanking)
AU
Astronomical Unit, a unit of distance. 1 AU is the distance from the Sun to the Earth: 149,597,871 km.
Awox
To attack and destroy the ship of a pilot in the same player-run corporation without warning. (Derived from the name of the first widely known EVE pilot to do so)
B
Bait
To expose a seemingly easy target in order to lure an enemy into committing to an engagement (see
Baiting Guide)
BCS
Ballistic Control System (previously known as
Ballistic Control Unit; see
Missile damage)
Blob
A large fleet (or in some cases, any fleet larger than the speaker's). Generally used as a pejorative term, suggesting that members of that fleet are relying on numbers to win. May also be referred to as a "zerg". May also be used as a verb, for the act of winning a fight through numbers.
Bloodlines
A character's familial ancestry. There are three different bloodlines to choose from during
character creation for each race.
Bounce
To warp to a nearby celestial, player, or bookmark and back at a closer range to avoid having to
slow-boat to a target or destination.
BR
Blockade Runner, a class of fast industrial ships designed to carry moderate quantities of carry cargo through dangerous space.
Buff
To increase the stats or effectiveness of something. Opposite of
Nerf.
Buffer
1. A method of tanking relying on having a large amount of hit points
2. A pilot with a ship designed to provide
buffs to their fleet
Bump
The act of colliding with another vessel in space, causing it to bounce away.
BYOC
Bring Your Own Can, a mining fleet operation where you only receive boosts to mining, and you get to choose what you do with the ore. (see
AMC)
C
Carebear
A contextually derogatory or affectionate term for players or pursuits which are not
PvP-centric.
Camp
To hold location at a specific point waiting for targets, usually at a stargate or station.
Cap Stable
When a ship recharges capacitor faster than its modules consume it, allowing all modules to remain active indefinitely.
Capsule
An egg-shaped apparatus used by pilots to interface with a ship.
Capsuleer
Human who pilots ships through the use of a
capsule and has been rendered effectively immortal through cloning technology. In-game term for player characters.
Capital
1.
Capital ship
2. Money and infrastructure necessary for beginning and maintaining a business venture.
CCC
Capacitor Control Circuit (see
Rigs)
Concordokken
The destruction of a ship by
CONCORD
CSPA
CONCORD Spam Prevention Act. A 'CSPA charge' is a small amount of ISK which is levied on communications such as conversations and mail, which acts as a deterrent to spam.
CTA
"Call to arms". An announcement of an alliance-wide combat operation, often involving simultaneous calls for support from an alliance's friends, usually made in response to a reinforcement timer for a valuable structure.
Curse of BWF
A widely held belief that any corporation or alliance which holds the BWF-ZZ system in the Geminate region will shortly
failscade.
D
Damage dealer
A ship whose primary role in a fleet is to deal damage.
DC
1. Damage Control (previously known as
Damage Control Unit; see
Tanking)
2.
Disconnect
Deadspace
A region of space typically accessed via acceleration gate which cannot be entered via normal warp. Commonly used for missions and complexes.
Disco
A ship fitting which uses a large number of smartbombs, typically at least one of each damage type. Named for the graphical effects seen when they are fired.
Dread bomb
The act of jumping a large number of insured dreadnoughts into a fight in order to escalate against enemy capital ships.
DScan
Directional Scanner: A device inherently built into all ships which can detect objects in space within a limited and modifiable direction and range. Can also be used as a verb to describe the act of using the directional scanner. See also:
Directional Scanner Guide.
E
EANM
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane (see
Tanking)
ET
Energy Transfer (now called
Remote Capacitor Transmitter; see
Logistics)
ETA
Estimated time of arrival.
F
Failcascade
Failure Cascade. The collapse of a corporation or alliance in EVE, either though leadership problems or other issues.
Faildec
A
wardec where the corporation or alliance that issued the wardec refuses to undock or fight for the full duration of the war.
Failfit
A ship that is fit in a less than optimal way.
Flag
An engagement status caused by one or more illegal or semi-illegal activities. (see
Timers)
Flashy
Being flagged as a legitimate target, or used as noun to describe a pilot that has been flagged, either by having a security status of -5.0 or below ("permaflashy"), from committing Suspect or Criminal actions, being a war target, or being flagged in a Limited Engagement. See also:
Legality Timers.
Flytrap
An offensive setup POS which deliberately has no force field while it is online.
Freeport
1. A nullsec station owned by a player alliance where everybody is allowed to dock and use the services.
2. Freeport Mode, a feature of
Citadels
G
Gank
Destroyed suddenly or quickly, usually by a much more powerful opponent
Gate
1. Stargate
2. Acceleration Gate
GCC
(Outdated term) Global Criminal Countdown (a term that is no longer used, closest resemblance is the
criminal timer)
GF
"Good fight". Usually said in local after a battle.
Gimp
To make a certain setup or attribute ineffective. Extreme version of
Nerf.
Grid
A discrete section of space generated by the presence of objects in space. (see
Grid manipulation)
GSC
Giant Secure Container
H
Hardpoint
A ship attribute that determines the number of missile launchers or turrets that can be fitted
I
Insta-undock
A method of safely undocking from a station by immediately warping to a
bookmark directly off of the undock point. (see
Bookmarks)
IPH
ISK per hour (also ISK/hr)
ISK
Inter Stellar Kredits, the in-game currency of EVE Online. (Also the currency code of the Icelandic króna.)
J
Jetcan
A temporary container created when jettisoning something from a cargo hold
Jump
The act of moving between one star system and another
K
Kitchen Sink
A fleet with a random or very mixed composition.
Kite/Kiting
Actively maintaining movement and distance from an engaged enemy so as to mitigate their applied damage.
L
LFAF
"Looking for armor fleet."
LFSF
"Looking for shield fleet."
Lockdown
An order from the leadership of a
corporation prohibiting its pilots from undocking in non-PvP ships.
Loot
The contents of a destroyed ship, which are left behind in a container when the ship is destroyed.
Locust
A group of pilots running missions in one large fleet (see
Locust Fleet)
LSE
Large Shield Extender (see
Tanking)
M
Macro mining
The illegal use of 3rd party scripts to automate the mining process
MAR
Medium Armor Repairer (see
Tanking)
MSE
Medium Shield Extender (see
Tanking)
Merc/Mercenary
A player or corporation that takes contracts to kill, wardec and perform other hostile actions for ISK.
MLU
Mining Laser Upgrade (see
Mining)
Multiboxing
Playing with two (or more) characters simultaneously
MW
Megawatt, a unit of measurement used to describe a ship's powergrid output (see
Fitting Guidelines)
N
Nerf
To reduce the stats or effectiveness of something. Opposite of
Buff. See also:
Gimp.
Newbro
A term of endearment for a new or inexperienced player.
Noob
Somewhat derogatory term used to refer to new, younger, or inexperienced players. See also:
Newbro
O
Omni Tank
A tank effective against all 4 damage types (see
Tanking)
OOC
1. Out of Corporation
2. Out of character
P
Passive Module
A ship
module which does not need to be manually activated. (see
Modules)
Pew Pew
Common term for casual
PvE or
PvP, based on the noises made by the weapons.
Picket
A ship placed outside of tactical locations such as gates and stations to watch for enemy activity.
Piracy
The act of engaging in PvP for profit, usually against non-combat ships (see also
Scams in EVE Online)
PL
1. Productivity Level (see
Blueprints)
2. Pandemic Legion, a well-known nullsec alliance
PLEX Tanking
Transporting
PLEX through space, usually with a ship not usually used for hauling
Pod
The egg-shaped escape pod or capsule which players pilot. This interfaces with a ship and is ejected on ship destruction. To be 'podded' is to have your escape pod destroyed. See also:
Capsule.
Podding
The act of destroying a player's
pod.
Pod Express
A quick method of travelling, performed by installing a
medical clone at a distant station, and then self-destructing the character's
pod.
Point
1. A Warp Disruptor or Warp Scrambler (see
Warp disruption)
2. The act of using targeted warp disruption on a ship (see
Tackling)
Pop
The act of destroying a ship
Pubbie
A derogatory term used for the purpose of invalidating or excluding players who are not a part of a certain group. Supposedly originating in the Something Awful forums, this term was popularized by members of The Goonswarm Federation. See also:
Carebear.
PvE
Player versus Environment
Q
R
Ratting
The act of hunting hostile
NPCs pirates
Red Box
The state of being both targeted and subjected to hostile action by a player or NPC
Reinforce
A temporary invulnerable state entered by many structures after taking a certain amount of damage
RLML
Rapid Light Missile Launcher (see
Missiles)
Roles
Specific access and
corporation management rights authorized to individual pilots (usually as part of a
title or management position).
Rolling Safespot
A fleet maneuver consisting of one ship leading the rest of the fleet from location to location in space.
Room
An area of
deadspace which can only be accessed via an acceleration gate.
S
Safety
Ship setting that helps prevent accidental acts of aggression that would cause the pilot to otherwise gain the Criminal or Suspect flags. (see
Timers)
Scan down
To find something using scan probes. (see
Scanning)
Sensor Overlay
The automatically scanned overlay that activates upon entering a new solar system or undocking. The Sensor Overlay shows the location of landmarks,
bookmarks, and
Cosmic Signatures /
Anomalies in space. See also:
Odyssey.
Six
In any lists, barring the super-serious stuff, "There is no six!" appears between items five and seven. This is a tradition which goes back many years, and was started by
Silentbrick. Watch the
Monty Python's Australian University of Woolloomooloo sketch and skip to 2:18 for the origin of this joke.
SKIN
Super Kerr-Induced Nanocoatings, items which apply cosmetic changes (e.g. different colours) to ships.
Slow-boat
(also "slowboat") Moving in space at sub-warp velocities
Soft skills
Skills learned by players through experience or study, as opposed to
hard skills.
SOP
Standard Operating Procedures
Spiraling
The act of manually approaching a target via a continuously diagonal vector. See
Manual Piloting.
SSE
Small Shield Extender (see
Tanking)
Stargate
Large structure in space which most ships must use to
jump to another star system in
Known Space.
Suicide Gank
Piracy where an attacking pilot will attempt to kill a target before the
CONCORD response eliminates them
T
Tack
A hyphen ('-') (used for clarity when speaking)
TF
Teraflops, a unit used to measure a ship's CPU
Tiericide
An ongoing rebalancing of ships in EVE according to roles rather than performance
TS
TeamSpeak, a third-party VOIP software utility
U
UT
(also 'UTC') Universal Time
V
W
Warp bubble
A spherical area of space the prevents ships within it from warping, and forcibly pulls in inbound warping ships.
WSOP
Wartime Standard Operating Procedures
X
X up
'X'ing up' is the act of indicating your availability for a fleet by placing the letter "x" in the chat window. (See
Joining a Fleet)
Y
Yellow Box
Being targeted by someone, or to target someone, without also being the subject of hostile action.
Yulai Convention
The Yulai Convention is an
RP term for a number of game mechanics and systems within EVE.
Z