PnS Terminology
So you have started playing and someone sends you a message in-game that reads: “Hey, untagged why don’t you come join our alliance [WTF], we are in NAP with two other alliances. We don’t do tile hits , but we love to share rss with newcomers. We take anyone with HQ13+”
So you might be wondering what the heck does that mean?
So I’m going to try and give you a quick primer on the terminology we use in the game and hopefully it will help you try to understand what people are saying.
tags/tagged/untagged What people are referring to is that three digit code that goes right before a player's name. If a player has a tag it will be contained within two brackets like so [WTF]. The three digits are shorthand for whatever the name of the alliance is. In this example [WTF] means What The Frack. When you someone joins an alliance their name gets assigned one of these tags, and they are now a tagged player. If someone mentions the word untagged, it simply means that the player has no tag, they have no alliance. If someone says, "Drop your tags" They are saying, leave the alliance.
NAP NAP simply means Non-Aggression Pact. When alliances come to an agreement to not attack each other it is referred to as a NAP. A Governor may decree a Statewide NAP, or a Top 10 NAP. That means that the Governor is decreeing that no alliance may attack another alliance, and alliances that rank in the Top 10 of the State are not allowed to attack each other, respectively. NAPs are a tool that a State or alliance can use to protect groups of players. An alliance member is not allowed to attack another member of his or her own alliance, a NAP will simply extend that protection to other alliances by creating a rule that says "You and I should not attack each other, instead working together to better the whole."
Tiles Tiles are squares on the State map that represent a resource. There are four types: Food, Lumber, Steel, and Gas. The closer you get to the center of the map, the closer to the Zenith Tech Hub, the higher the Tiles you will find. Tiles go from levels 1 to 7, and level 7 tiles can only be found in the Wasteland surrounding the Hub. If you see the phrase "tile hit" or "dirty tile" that player is referring to an attack against a tile, usually occupied by another player, and a dirty tile refers to a tile left with resources remaining on it. When someone says "clean the tile" what they are saying is, "take the rest of those resources off of that tile." Hitting a tile, and leaving a dirty tile are considered a major faux pas, and States usually frown upon these things. Attacking occupied tiles is considered an act of aggression, and leaving a dirty tile makes it so that until the tile has been cleaned, the tile will not respawn again with full resources.
RSS RSS is shorthand for resources. When someone mentions "rss" they are referring to food, lumber, steel, gas, or all of the above.
HQ If someone asks about HQ, they are referring to the level of that player's Headquarters. On the map a sanctuary will denote the level of the player's HQ. A player's Commander may have a different level than his HQ, and when people are typically inquiring about the level of a player, they mean the player's HQ, not the player's Commander level.
mud/grey The area surrounding the Zenith Tech Hub located in the center of the State map is called The Wasteland. You may see players refer it to as the mud, or the grey indicated by its dull, murky, grey texture. The area surrounding that in contrast is a nice vivid green grass, and most players will keep their sanctuaries clear of the mud, instead surrounding it squarely on the grass. Marching in the mud takes much longer than marching in the grass, which is of vital importance during The Wasteland King event.
WLK/VC/SVS WLK refers to The Wasteland King event, and VC refers to the Valiant Conquest event. They each take place a week apart making WLK and VC take place every two weeks one after the other. These events are State versus State events. If you see someone use the shorthand svs, it means State versus State, in the same way if you see someone say PvP, what they mean is Player versus Player.
FFA FFA means Free-For-All. When a player— typically untagged—is considered FFA, it means that you can attack the player in a manner however you like. There are no rules on an FFA target unless otherwise explicitly stated.
Bubble If you see a player mention a bubble, what they mean is activate your shield. Bubble is just another name for the shield that can be used to protect a player's sanctuary from being attacked. If a player is shielded, troops attacking the player will simply bounce off of the shield and do no harm. However, if you have your shield activated and use an aggression, i.e. Scout or Attack, the player will enter a state of War Fury. War Fury removes the shield, and you are no longer protected by it until War Fury wears off, and you can activate it again. Be very careful, you do not want to spend diamonds or money on a 24-hour or 3-day shield and then accidentally scout someone's sanctuary.
