DotA Mechanics Common Terminology

[Protomanx1]

When browsing through this section of the forum you may find terms that you don't understand, here's a few of them with their meaning.

• Attack Type / Damage Type (AT/DT)

  http://www.playdota.com/mechanics/damagearmor

• Backswing

  Amount of time the unit's backswing animation will play after it finishes an attack or spell. Can be canceled by issuing another order.

• Base Attack Time (BAT)

  The amount of time between each of a unit's attacks when it has no additional IAS.

• Base Skill

  The preexisting WarCraft III skill in which a new ability was modified upon

• Buff

  A buff is a state of a unit, it can be positive when it makes the unit stronger in some aspect or negative if it cripples the performance of a unit, buffs are most of the time shown below the stats and attributes, but there are some exceptions.

• Buff Placer

  Can place one of several different buffs on attack, such as Corruption or Fury Swipes. Certain items and abilities grant a buff placer on attacks. Only one buff placer will function for each attack.

• Channel (Base Ability)

  Channel is a skill that does nothing by itself, which is why is so flexible when using it together with script code, Channel is the base of many skills since it allows the mapmaker to select different styles of targetting and other settings.

• Channel (Part of spell casting)

  Channel refers to the period of time that some skills have in which the caster can't perform more actions or be interrupted without breaking the effect, losing the mana spent and starting the cooldown of the skill.

• Direct HP removal

  An effect that just removes the hitpoints of the target unit without dealing any damage, this is sometimes called "pure" in the sense that it can't be reduced by anything.

• Dummy

  When refering to units, a dummy unit can be an invisible caster that appears on the map, performs certain actions and is destroyed or a unit that only appears to provide certain animation or cosmetic effect, on the other hand a dummy ability or skill is an ability that does nothing to contribute to the skill's effect, it can be there for graphics or targeting purposes, an example of this is Channel

• EHP (Effective Hit Points)

  The amount of damage a unit can take without dying before all reductions.

• Frontswing/Damage Point/Attack Point

  Amount of time a unit takes from when it starts an attack till when it damages or launches the projectile. Scales with IAS.

• Hardcoded

  This refers to an effect or ability that was modified from a pre-existing WarCraft III ability into DotA, it's opposite is triggered.

• Hidden

  Effect of a skill that makes a unit not visible in the normal map or the minimap, it should be noted that unless specified otherwise the unit will remain in the point in which it was hidden, it will never leave the map area.

• Increased Attack Speed (IAS)

  Measure of the net amount of attack speed modifiers on a unit.

• Invulnerability

  A unit state which grants the unit immunity to all sorts of damage.

• Locust

  A skill that makes the unit invulnerable, untargetable and ungroupable via triggers, this is a skill used in mostly dumy units, it comes from the skill granted to units summoned by the "Locust Swarm" spell.

• Marker

  An ability that the mapmaker uses to differentiate regular units with dummy units, this skill by itself does nothing, but using triggered checks you can detect if a unit has that skill or not, removing it from the group of units that will be affected by a triggered spell.

• Magic Immunity

  A unit state which grants the unit immunity against all damage with Damage Type: Magic. The unit also becomes untargetable by many spells.

• Ministun

  Type of stun that lasts for a very short amount of time such as 0.1 seconds. Usually used to break channeling abilities.

• Orb Effect

  One of numerous special effects that an attack can have, such as Feedback or Corruption. Certain items and abilities grant an orb effect on attacks. Only one orb effect will function for each attack.

• Pathing

  Pathing concerns the way in which a unit is allowed to displace in the map, it also refers to the way in which a moving entity finds a path around an obstacle.

• PRD (Pseudorandom Distribution)

  The distribution that the "random" number generator that WC3 uses to calculate more "balanced" percentages assuring that the effects of a chance skill (Critical Strike, Bash, Orb of Slow, Hardened Skin, Pulverize) will tend to be less luck based.

• Proc/Procced

  Verb used to describe the activation of a chance skill, for example: "Each time that Maelstrom procs (Meaning that its passive effect activates) you won't slow with Eye of Skadi (Ranged) in that attack"

• Pseudo-Evasion/Triggered Heals

  Effect whereby a unit is instantly healed as soon as it takes damage, making it seem as if it avoided the damage completely.

• Sight

  Visibility, To be able to see a unit

• Stacking

  Interaction between two abilities and the result from that interaction, it often refers to what would happen when two similar skills are acquired, and how would each one of them react to the other.

• Targetability (Target Type)

  It refers to the capability of a unit to directly target or affect another unit with a skill, each unit has a "label" which affects it's targetability, those labels are the target types.

• Triggered

  This refers to an effect that's not implemented using only hardcoded methods, instead it's created with help from the scripting language of WarCraft III.

  Triggered Movement
  The effect of a skill that displaces a unit without it actually moving, the engine doesn't recognize this as real movement so projectiles will follow you normally.

Additions or comments are welcomed.

[Hero]

Well I am not sure how many use this term because mostly players who play wow and dota use it but we use the word proc.

Proc : Is a verb we use to describe something that can be or has activated based on the programmed chance of it.

Let me explain further , if lets say you are potm and u have skadi and maelstrom , u may ask the question can maelstrom proc when u have skadi.

Or lets say u were the victim of potm and u would of gotten away but on the last hit chain lightning proced and killed u. Lol well then you explain to ur team mates that hes lucky his chain lightning proced. U get the point so we can use this term for all effects that have chances, backtrack , bash , counter helix etc.

[Protomanx1]

Added, thanks (completely forgot about it o.o )

[Francis]

Originally Posted by Protomanx1

Triggered:
This refers to a effect designed via JASS code (The scripting language of WarCraft III), it's the opposite of hardcoded.

Not necessarily. In WC3 developer tongue, triggered refers to in-game events made possible through the World Editor's Trigger Editor system. These events don't happen on standard melee maps. Some examples are the quest system (used in campaign games), unit remove, game messages, and so on. Triggered technically doesn't mean JASS coded. On the other hand (still speaking in dev-tongue), JASS-coded refers to events in the map achieved through the WarCraft Custom Scripting system (the JASS2 system; commonly known as JASS, the native WarCraft language). Most dynamic effects, such as vertex color run, knockback, etc are achieved through JASS. JASS scripts can essentially be triggers converted to custom text.]

Bottomline = Triggered is not equal to JASS code. Your definition needs revision.

[ImmolatusBurn]

Perhaps the definition wouldn't be the greatest if it was a definition for all Warcraft III maps, but for DotA it works great. All the DotA code is JASS (actually, all GUI code is technically JASS too).

Proto's definition of "triggered" is fine.

@Proto: I'd format the guide a little more, maybe bold the word list and/or make it use a list tag?

[NightAven]

Pseudo-Evasion or Triggered Heals :
Pseudo-Evasion is a type of damage evasion achieved through the use of triggered heals , basically instead of dodging the spell / attack , you evade the damage by healing the damage you take through triggered effects. It is used in many skills that evade almost all types of damage , reduce damage taken or reduce damage done.

[nix]

Ministun, BAT, Backswing

[china_white]

Maybe an overall definition of "Orb Effects"

[nix]

Orb effects
Buff placers
Aura effects
Bash
Critical Strike

[ImmolatusBurn]

Updated with some new definitions. Not all the definitions mentioned really belong in a Mechanics glossary.

[Foede]

Channel (base ability) =/= Channel (animation needed to cast a spell)

Attack type (pure, mixed, normal, magical)

Direct HP removal

PRD

Invulnerability

Magic Immune

Hidden

[Trysaeder]

Marker and Locust.
Triggered movement and blink.
That's all off the top of my head.

[1ntruder]

ehp would be nice since u have ias

[Sevryn]

origin of "proc": special PROCedure. meaning something that gets checked when you do something, like a % effect when you attack.

[SoletLuna]

Marker
Locust
Attack Type
Damage Type
Line of Sight/Vision/Fog of War (especially regarding certain effects)
Invisibility
Base Skills

If people would read this thread, it would be win.

I fail at reading x.x. Spirit-o-N post.

@Foede

Isn't what you pointed out the Damage Type and not the Attack type?

Attack type would be lie Hero, Chaos, Normal, etc.?

Nonetheless, both should be added.

[Foede]

Originally Posted by SoletLuna

@Foede

Isn't what you pointed out the Damage Type and not the Attack type?

Attack type would be lie Hero, Chaos, Normal, etc.?

Nonetheless, both should be added.

I always get confused bout those 2, so I bet you're right :P

[Protomanx1]

Added more definitions. Thanks for the input.

[ERazER]

EHP description is confusing, "it doesn't take armor amount into account" could be understood as damage needed to kill the unit if it had 0 armor. Also, EHP doesn't refer only to armor.

HP - amount of damage needed to kill a unit after it is reduced by damage reductions
EHP - amount of damage needed to kill a unit before it is reduced by damage reductions
Reductions can be armor amount, armor type, evasion, triggered healing, magic resistance and damage block.
If some of the reductions have a random chance of occuring, such as evasion for example, EHP usually refers to the average damage needed.

[A.R]

Which also means the amount of 'additional' hp the unit has from armor, in a way.

JASS & GUI/MUI are the only ways of triggering in warcraft. And bladestorm, is mostly un-triggerable. If I'm not wrong, anyway.

[ICallBotSolo]

Dummy
When refering to units, a dummy unit is an invisible caster that appears on the map, performs certain actions and is destroyed, on the other hand a dummy ability or skill is an ability that does nothing to contribute to the skill's effect, it can be there for graphics or targeting purposes, an example of this is Channel

This is mildly inaccurate. Dummy units are not always invisible: Eclipse, Merc's Dagger, etc.

EHP (Effective Hit Points)
The amount of physical damage a unit can take without taking into account armor ammount reduction before it dies.

You misspelled, "amount."

Frontswing/Damage Point
Amount of time a unit takes from when it starts an attack till when it damages or launches the projectile. Scales with IAS.

Another synonym for this is, "Attack Point," (AP).

Locust
A skill that makes the unit invulnerable,untargeteable and ungroupable via triggers, this is a skill used in mostly dumy units, it comes from the skill granted to units summoned by the "Locust Swarm" spell.

"Untargetable," is misspelled and also needs a space.

Magic Immunity
A unit state which grants the unit immunity against all damage with Damage Type:Magic, the unit also becomes untargeteable by many spells.

"Untargetable," is misspelled. Also needs a space between the colon and, "Magic."

PRD (Pseudo Random Distribution)

"Pseudo-random," should be hyphenated, or made into one word, "pseudorandom."

Triggered
This refers to an effect not possible using only hardcoded methods that is implemented with help from the scripting language of WarCraft III

This is slightly inaccurate. It's possible to write a triggered spell that mimics a hardcoded spell. It would be more accurate to say that it wasn't written using hardcoded methods, not that it can't be done.



There's also various punctuation errors throughout.
It would also be nice to see "AT/DT" added to the ATDT entry.