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Glossary of Terms

Last updated on Jun 28, 2022 at 12:00 by Elitesparkle 17 comments

Table of Contents

1.

Foreword

On this page, we are maintaining a list of all the Heroes of the Storm terminology that we use in our guides which we believe requires additional explanation. In some cases, the terms may be totally unknown to some of our readers, while in other cases they may have a different meaning than their wording may imply.

2.

Glossary

Terms Explanations
Ability Chain
A combination of various Abilities in quick succession, often in a synergistic manner.
Ability Uptime
An expression used to describe how often a player can use a given Ability during the game.
Absorb
A buff effect that makes the affected unit prevent all damage taken and immediately convert a percentage of it into healing.
Advantage
A team has an advantage when any of the following scenarios is true: the enemy Tank is too low Health to contribute to the fight, an enemy Hero is dead or far away, your team has access to a Talent Tier that the enemy team does not have yet, your team has fewer Heroic Abilities on cooldown than the enemy team, or your team has better Heroes at that stage of the game.
Aggro
A term used to describe who has an enemy's attention while in combat against them.
Anchor
A ranged or hard-to-kill Hero whose task is to safely cover a single lane while the Offlaner is already covering another one and the rest of the team is temporarily busy elsewhere. They don't need self-sustain because the Healer will often join them.
Area of Effect
An expression used to describe effects that do not require a target unit but a target area and that will hit all the valid units in the target area.
Armor
A status effect that modifies both Attack-based and Ability-based damage taken by 1% for each 1 Armor. It can be negative too, but only the highest positive or negative value will be applied.
Assassin
A type of Hero that heavily focuses on dealing damage. It can be a Melee Assassin or a Ranged Assassin.
Attack Uptime
An expression used to describe how efficiently a player can attack their target during an encounter.
Backdoor
The action of dealing damage to enemy Structures without the help of allied Minions.
Backline
The portion of a team that is more fragile to enemy engages and that prefers to have a safer position.
Bait
Lure another player into taking a risky choice.
Blind
A debuff effect that makes the affected unit deal no damage and apply no effects with Basic Attacks (doing either Physical Damage or Spell Damage) and Abilities dealing Physical Damage for the duration.
Body Block
A technique used to impair the movement of an enemy by positioning on their path. This technique is based on the fact that multiple entities cannot occupy the same space at the same time.
Boss Camp
A type of Mercenary Camp that requires the coordinated effort of multiple team members to capture or defend.
Bribe
The action of using a Bribe effect to instantly kill neutral Mercenaries in order to quickly capture a Mercenary Camp.
Bruiser
A robust Hero that can also dish out a good amout of damage.
Buff
Any positive status effect.
Bully
Force an enemy Hero to retreat by constantly harassing them during the laning phase.
Burst
A high amount of damage or healing that happens almost instantly.
Burst Composition
A type of team composition that aims to quickly kill a chosen target to generate a crushing advantage during team fighting scenarios.
Burst
A high amount of damage that happens almost instantly.
Bush
A part of the environment of a Battleground that blocks vision, hiding what is inside from who is outside. On some Battlegrounds, they are replaced by Vents, with the same functionality.
Capture Point
A yellow circle on the ground that appears for Objectives or when defeating neutral Mercenaries. In order to get its reward, Heroes must stand on it for a few seconds.
Carry
A term used to describe a Hero who has a huge impact on the outcome of the game or to describe a player who is playing the primary source of ranged damage in a team composition.
Cast Time
An expression used to describe an Ability that requires the caster to focus for a brief moment before its use. When the caster is focused, he cannot do anything else. Some effects can be used to interrupt the cast, based on its type.
Channel
A term used to describe an action that requires a period of focus from the caster. Mobile Channeled Abilities can be interrupted by Stun and Silence effects only. Stationary Channeled Abilities can be interrupted by Knockback and Daze effects, too. Channeled Actions can be interrupted by damage, too.
Channeled Ability
A term used to describe an ability that requires a period of focus from the caster and therefore can be interrupted by an enemy using Stun or Silence effects in case of Stationary Channel or using Stun, Silence, or Knockback in case of Mobile Channel.
Charge
A term used to describe an Ability or Talent that can be used or triggered multiple times in a row within the same cooldown.
Chase
Follow an enemy unit that is running away.
Choke Point
A narrow passage that drastically reduces the movement freedom of the players within. They generally force teams to adopt a sub-optimal formation.
Clamp
A feature that forces an Ability to be cast at its maximum range when the target area is beyond its maximum range.
Cleanse
The action of using a Cleanse effect to either provide Unstoppable and thus remove all crowd control effects from an allied Hero (called Hard Cleanse) or just remove some crowd control effects from them without giving Unstoppable (called Soft Cleanse).
Clear
The action of killing enemy Minions in a lane.
Collision Radius
The physical space occupied by a given unit, used to check collision with most other units and projectiles.
Commit
Make a move without being scared of negative outcomes.
Counter
A term used when talking about Heroes, Talents, or strategies to describe the act of choosing something that is strong against something else.
Counter Pick
Choose a Hero in response to the Heroes that have been already chosen by the enemy team during the drafting phase.
Counter-Engage
Continue a team fight from close range after the enemy team started it from the distance.
Crowd Control
Any debuff effect that impair the movements and/or the actions of the affected unit.
Daze
A crowd control effect that makes the affected unit unable to act for the duration. This effect is included in most Displacement effects and in all Knockback effects.
Debuff
Any negative status effect.
Depush
Kill enemy Minions in allied territory to keep them away from allied Structures. Remember that Minions are the main tool used to take down Structures, with some exceptions.
Disengage
End a team fight by going away from the enemy team.
Displacement
A crowd control effect that forcibly changes the position of a given unit. Most of them Daze, making the targets unable to act for the duration.
Dive
Go deep in the enemy formation, sometimes even within range of enemy Structures, in order to kill a vulnerable target.
Dive Composition
A type of team composition that enters inside the enemy formation to focus high-priority targets.
Double Soak
To collect Experience from the death of nearby enemy Minions across two different lanes by quickly killing Minions in a lane and immediately moving to the other one in a loop.
Draft
Choose which Heroes to pick and ban based on the Map you are playing on, the allied Heroes that have been already picked and that your team intends to pick, and the enemy Heroes that have been picked and that you expect the enemy team to pick.
Duel
A one-on-one fight.
Early Game
The first part of the game, which ends at Level 10. During this phase, Minions have a higher value.
Effect Uptime
An expression used to describe how much a given effect is active over time.
Engage
Start a team fight from moderate distance when both teams are idle and studying each other.
Evade
A buff effect that makes the target take no damage and receive no effects from Basic Attacks (doing either Physical Damage or Spell Damage) and Abilities dealing Physical Damage for the duration.
Facecheck
Enter a bush without having vision, rather than using a ranged Ability to safely check from the distance if there is an enemy Hero waiting for you.
Fear
A crowd control effect classified as type of Silence that forces the target to move away from the source of the effect and makes them unable to act for the duration.
Feed
Give the enemy team free Experience by letting them easily kill your Hero and/or free Quest progress by providing them whatever they require for it.
Flank
Attack from the side of the enemy formation by abusing the fact that the enemy team does not have vision in that zone of the battlefield due to unpassable terrain and/or bushes.
Focus
Concentrate the damage output on a single target in order to either eliminate it or force it to retreat, usually in a coordinated effort with your team.
Follow-Up
Immediately use an Ability after an allied unit used an Ability on an enemy Hero, taking advantage of whatever their Ability first accomplished.
Formation
A team distributes Heroes in lanes based on a formation. The notation used for these lane assignments is: top-middle-bottom for 3-lane Maps (eg. 1-3-1 on Dragon Shire) or top-bottom for 2-lane Maps (eg. 1-4 on Braxis Holdout). Each number indicates how many Heroes should cover that lane. If a lane does not have a corresponding number (eg. 1-4 on Towers of Doom, it means someone from an adjacent lane (either top or bottom) has to rotate there.
Frames
A term mostly used in conjunction with Unstoppable and Invulnerable to indicate a really short time window during which a given unit is affected by a specific status effect.
Freeze
A laning strategy that consists of damaging enemy Minions as little as possible in order to make allied and enemy Minions clash on your side of the Map, something that allows you to get their Experience from a safe position and forces the enemy to expose before getting it.
Frontline
The portion of a team that is more resistant to enemy engages and requires to have a more aggressive position.
Game Phase
A stage of the game. They are: early game, mid game, and late game. The strategic approach to the game is different for each of them.
Gank
Move from a lane to another with the intention to take down an enemy Hero.
Gap-Closer
A type of Ability that allows a Hero to quickly reach the target Hero.
Global
A term used to describe a Hero that can quickly travel across the battlefield or an Ability with extremely high or unlimited range.
Global Ability
A type of Ability that can be used to quickly travel across the Map or to make something happen anywhere on the Map.
Global Hero
A given Hero that has an Ability to quickly travel across the Map.
Hard Engage
Force a team fight that will be hard to avoid for the enemy team.
Healer
A strategic Hero that focuses primarly on healing and assisting their team.
Heroic
Anything that comes from an Hero, Clone, or Vehicle.
Hypercarry
A term used to describe the only source of ranged damage in a team composition.
Impassable Terrain
The part of the Battlefield where it is not possible to walk, including space covered by Structures and temporary blocks created by Abilities.
Interrupt
Stop a non-instant cast or break an animation. Mobile Channeled Abilities can be interrupted by Stun and Silence effects only. Stationary Channeled Abilities can be interrupted by Knockback and Daze effects, too. Channeled Actions can be interrupted by damage, too. Animations can be interrupted by Stun and Knockback effects only.
Invisible
After remaining stationary for 1.5 seconds during Stealth, the affected unit becomes Invisibile and does not display any outline or visual effect for the duration, unless being on a Capture Point or Revealed.
Invulnerable
A buff effect that makes the affected unit untargetable by enemies and immune to damage and all debuffs (except Time Stop effects).
Juke
Dodge a projectile of an Ability that is directed towards you.
Kite
Move backward while attacking the enemy and avoid being attacked by them at the same time.
Knockback
A crowd control effect that pushes the affected unit in a direction. All of them Daze, making the targets unable to act for the duration.
Lane
Take care of a specific lane by collecting Experience from the death of nearby enemy Minions and occasionally defending Structures from Heroes and Mercenaries.
Late Game
The third part of the game, starting from Level 16. During this phase, Minions have low priority and it is really important to stay alive.
Learning Curve
The amount of time it takes for an average player to be able to get proficient with a given Hero.
Line of Sight
An expression used to describe what is visible or not to a given player.
Macro
Abbreviation of macromanagement that refers to the player's ability to strategically play the Map.
Mage
A type of Hero that mainly deals damage with Abilities. It usually is a Ranged Assassin.
Map Awareness
The ability to analyze the current state of the game, predict the next state of the game, and make a move based on that. Remember to watch the Minimap as often as possible!
Map Presence
A term used to describe the whole package of tools which help you get value on the battlefield: self-sustain, no Mana issues, traveling speed, waveclear, and similar.
Map Pressure
The amount of pressure that a team is generating on the battlefield with the help of Minions and Mercenaries.
Marksman
A type of Hero that mainly deals damage with Basic Attacks, allowing it to deal damage consistently. It always is a Ranged Assassin.
Meaningful Damage
Damage that can easily end up giving numerical advantage to your team by forcing an enemy Hero out of the team fight due to being low Health or even by killing an Hero.
Melee Assassin
A Hero that needs to get close to his enemies for dealing damage.
Micro
Abbreviation of micromanagement that refers to the player's ability to mechanically control Heroes.
Mid Game
The second part of the game, which goes from Level 10 to 16. During this phase, Minions have medium priority.
Mind Control
A crowd control effect classified as a type of Silence that forces the affected unit to move toward the source of the effect and makes it unable to act for the duration.
Mobile Channel
A type of channel that does not require the caster to stand still for the duration. As a consequence, it cannot be interrupted by Daze effects.
Mobility
A term used to describe anything that allows an unit to move faster than usual, to charge a given target, to dash in a given direction, or to teleport.
Non-Heroic
Anything that does not come from a Hero, Clone, or Vehicle.
Objective
A term used to describe unique events and mechanics which can only be found on a given Battleground.
Offlane
The lane that requires the least amount of attention by the rest of the team and that is usually handled by a single Hero as a consequence. Also called Solo Lane.
Offlaner
A self-sufficient Hero with good waveclear whose task is to get value in one or two adjacent lanes, dealing with anything near there which the rest of the team is unable to do. They need self-sustain because the Healer will rarely join them. Also called Solo Laner.
Out of Combat
Anyone that is not directly interacting with an enemy unit at a given time.
Overextend
Get too close to an enemy or too deep in a dangerous zone.
Overheal
Heal more than necessary to refill the target's Health.
Overkill
Use way more resources than necessary to take down a given target.
Peel
Protect allies from enemies by using crowd control, body block, or simply dealing significant damage.
Percent Based
A term used to describe special damaging or healing effects based on their target's maximum Health. When flagged as such, percent-based damage cannot be modified whereas percent-based healing can be modified.
Percent Damage
Any damage based on enemy's Health percentage. It is a sub-category of Spell Damage that ignores all modifiers. The floating text for Percent Damage is purple, the same color as Spell Damage.
Physical Armor
A type of Armor that modifies Physical Damage taken by 1% for each 1 Armor. It can be negative too, but only the highest positive or negative value will be applied.
Physical Damage
Any damage coming from Basic Attacks. The floating text for Physical Damage is orange.
Pick
To choose a Hero during the draft, or a Talent during the game.
Point Control
The ability to control a specific area for a long period of time.
Pull
A crowd control effect that pulls the affected unit in a direction. All of them Daze, making the targets unable to act for the duration.
Player vs Environment
Any combat situation that does not involve enemy players.
Player vs Player
Any combat situation that involves enemy players.
Poke
To damage an enemy from a distance without actually getting into a fight.
Poke Composition
A type of team composition that excels at dealing damage from a distance without having to take much meaningful damage in response or put themselves in danger.
Polymorph
A crowd control effect classified as type of Silence that, other than making the affected unit unable to use Abilities, also makes it unable to attack and interact with anything for the duration.
Position
The location of a given Hero on the battlefield, especially in a team fight situation.
Power Spike
An expression used to describe when a Hero suddenly becomes stronger after unlocking a given Talent Tier or a completing a Quest.
Pre-tap
Using the Healing Fountain immediately before a team fight even if you are almost full Health and/or Mana to have them regenerate as they get consumed while fighting. Considering that the Healing Fountain cannot be used if you are full Health and Mana, you can take a bit of damage from Minions or consume Mana using the least important Ability.
Pressure
A group of actions which aim to force a specific response from opponents that will result in them spending resources and/or splitting their formation for a while.
Proc
A term used to describe an effect that automatically activates or triggers with a certain probability.
Protected
A buff effect that prevents the affected unit from taking any damage for the duration.
Push
The action of killing enemy Minions and then dealing damage to enemy Structures with the help of allied Minions.
Ranged Assassin
A fragile Hero that is able to attack his enemies from a distance.
Revealed
A debuff that makes the affected unit visible to the enemy team even if out of sight, inside or behind a bush, Stealthed or Invisible. In addition, it makes easier to distinguish Heroes and Clones.
Roam
Move from a lane to another to catch Heroes that are easy to take down and gather Experience when needed.
Root
A crowd control effect that makes the affected unit unable to move and to use any movement Abilities for the duration.
Rotate
Move from a lane to another to gather Experience from two adjacent lanes and fight enemy Heroes when needed.
Scout
Go in a dangerous zone to gain vision for your team that is nearby.
Self-Cast
A term used to describe when a player uses an Ability on their own Hero.
Self-Sustain
The ability of a given Hero to heal on his own.
Setup
Use crowd control to create an opportunity to easily kill an enemy Hero or deal significant damage to him.
Shove
Aggressively push the Minions in a given lane in order to let them quickly reach the enemy Structures and die as fast as possible.
Siege
Attack enemy Structures.
Silence
A crowd control effect that makes the affected unit unable to use Abilities for the duration. Fear, Mind Control, Polymorph, and Taunt are considered Silence effects too.
Single Target
An expression used to describe something that affects a single target.
Skillshot
Abilities that fire a projectile from the source in the chosen direction or at the chosen point.
Skirmish
Small encounter involving a few Heroes from both teams.
Sleep
A crowd control effect classified as a type of Stun that makes the affected unit unable to use Abilities for the duration, however, any damage applied after 0.5 seconds will break it preemptively.
Slow
A debuff effect that reduces the target's Movement Speed for its duration.
Snowball
A term used to describe when a team is rapidly accumulating an advantage over the enemy team.
Soak
Get the Experience from the death of nearby enemy Minions.
Solo Lane
The lane that requires the least amount of attention by the rest of the team and that is usually handled by a single Hero as a consequence. Also called Offlane.
Solo Laner
A self-sufficient Hero with good waveclear whose task is to get value in one or two adjacent lanes, dealing with anything near there which the rest of the team is unable to do. They need self-sustain because the Healer will rarely join them. Also called Offlaner.
Spell Armor
A type of Armor that modifies Spell Damage taken by 1% for each 1 Armor. It can be negative too, but only the effect with the highest positive or lowest negative value will be applied.
Spell Damage
Any damage coming from Abilities and Summons. The floating text for Spell Damage is purple.
Split-Push
A high-risk high-reward strategy that consist of sending a Hero on the opposite side of the Map relative to where the main action is happening to deal damage to enemy Structures until an enemy Hero starts missing from the main action and then retreat.
Squishy
A Hero that cannot take much damage before being killed or forced out of the fight.
Stasis
A status effect that removes any existing debuff from a given unit and makes it immune to damage and untargetable, but also makes it unable to use any Ability for the duration. Note that this is not Time Stop.
Stationary Channel
A type of channel that requires the caster to stand still for the duration. As a consequence, it can be interrupted by Daze effects.
Status Effect
A condition that affects a unit for a certain amount of time.
Stealth
A buff that makes the affected unit untargetable, nearly transparent in appearance, and invisible on the Minimap. Unless the Unrevealable effect is active as well, Stealth is usually lost upon taking damage or performing most actions.
Stun
A crowd control effect that makes the affected unit unable to act for the duration. Sleep is considered a Stun effect too.
Stutter-Step
A technique that consists of maximizing the movement of your Hero when the Basic Attack is on cooldown in order to reduce the time you are standing still and to increase the chances to dodge enemy Abilities.
Support
A specialized Hero that provides boosts and other benefits to their team.
Sustain
A relatively stable amount of damage or healing, with no particular highs or lows.
Tank
A formidable Hero that can engage on enemies and/or protect allies using crowd control, body block, and strong presence.
Tap
Using the Healing Fountain to regenerate a good amount of missing Health and/or Mana.
Taunt
A crowd control effect classified as type of Silence that forces the target to attack the source of the effect and makes them unable to act for the duration.
Time Stop
A crowd control effect that makes the affected unit untargetable and pauses its flow of time for the duration. Note that this is not Stasis.
Trade
A generic term used to describe an intentional or accidental loss of something in exchange for something else.
Trigger
A term used to describe an effect that activates under certain conditions.
Unrevealable
A buff effect that makes the affected unit impossible to be forced out of Stealth in any way for the duration, however, the shimmer is still visible to the enemy team.
Unstoppable
A buff that prevents and removes most crowd control effects. Root, Silence, Slow, Stun, Blind can be prevented and removed. Stasis from enemy sources, Knockback, and Displacement can be prevented but not removed.
Uptime
A term used to describe the percentage of time something is available or active.
Vent
A part of the environment of a Battleground that block vision, hiding what is inside from who is outside. On some Battlegrounds, they are replaced by Bushes with the same functionality.
Wall
A small and vulnerable Structure located between Towers and impassable terrain. Heroes can easily destroy them to bypass Gates, be it to enter or to help someone who is stuck on the other side.
Waveclear
The ability to efficiently kill enemy Minions in a lane.
Win Condition
Any tool or strategy that is necessary to win a specific game.
Win-More
A term used to describe anything that is a good choice when your team is winning and a bad choice when both teams are even or your team is losing.
Wombo Combo
A combination of various area of effect Abilities by different players in quick succession, often in a synergistic manner.
Zone
Prevent an enemy Hero from moving through a specific area by the use of highly aggressive behaviour or impactful area of effect Abilities.
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