Elite Dangerous Glossary
Elite Dangerous and the community has almost its own language. Here you can find most of the terminology and brief explanations of what each means.
General Context
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| O7, o7, <O, <o, <0, ZO, zo | variations of saluting (the 0 is the head) |
| CMDR | Commander |
| FDev | Frontier Developments |
| Hyperspace | means of travelling between star systems |
| Meta | term used to current “optimal” approach for something |
| NPC | Non-Player Character |
| PMF | Player Minor Faction |
| Wanted | the pilot has committed crimes and has a bounty |
| Wing | a group of up to four ships flying together |
Ship Nicknames
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| AspX | Asp Explorer |
| AspS | Asp Scout |
| Chally | Alliance Challenger |
| Chief | Alliance Chieftain |
| Conda | Anaconda |
| DBX | Diamondback Explorer |
| DBS | Diamondback Scout |
| FAS | Federal Assault Ship |
| FC | Fleet Carrier (see the Fleet Carrier guide and calculator) |
| FDL | Fer-De-Lance |
| FDS | Federal Dropship |
| FGS | Federal Gunship |
| PC2 | Panther Clipper Mk II |
| Py2 | Python Mk II |
| Rhino | Vodel Rhino, a 3-seat mining SRV (2026) |
| Sidey | Sidewinder |
| Suicide-winder | use of a Sidewinder to Self Destruct back into the BUBBLE |
| SLF | Ship Launched Fighter |
| SQC | Squadron Carrier, a carrier owned by a whole squadron |
| SRV | Surface Recon Vehicle |
| T6 | Type 6 Transporter |
| T7 | Type 7 Transporter |
| T8 | Type-8 Transporter |
| T9 | Type 9 Heavy |
| T10 | Type 10 Defender |
| T11 | Type-11 Prospector |
| Vette | Federal Corvette |
Engineering & Modules
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| AFMU | Automatic Field Maintenance Unit |
| APA | Advanced Plasma Accelerator |
| Commodities | goods that can be traded for credits |
| Engineering | a process for modification of ship modules to change their stats |
| Engineer | NPC who can perform modifications to modules |
| Fuel Scoop | a module used to collect hydrogen from a star to use as fuel |
| FSD | Frame Shift Drive |
| FSD Booster | Guardian Frame Shift Drive Booster |
| G1/G2/…/G5 | engineering modification grades, or grades of engineering materials |
| Gauss | Guardian Gauss Cannons - a type of weapon |
| GMRP | Guardian Module Reinforcement Package |
| Grom Bomb | Containment Missiles (a powerplay weapon from Yuri Grom) |
| Hammer | Imperial Hammer (a powerplay weapon from Arissa Lavigny-Duval) |
| KWS | Kill Warrant Scanner - a utility module that is used to scan ships for any active bounties acquired in other jurisdictions. |
| LR | Long Range - an engineering modification for certain weapons |
| Materials | used for engineering and synthesis crafting |
| Mat Trader | Material Trader - an NPC that trades materials |
| MRP | Module Reinforcement Package |
| PA | Plasma Accelerator - a type of weapon |
| Paci | Pacifier Fragment Cannon (a powerplay module, Jerome Archer’s signature module, formerly Zachary Hudson’s) |
| Prismo | Prismatic Shield Generator (a powerplay module from Aisling Duval) |
| PP | Power Plant or Powerplay |
| Distro | Power Distributor - a core module used to manage power flow |
| Rails | Rail Guns - a type of weapon |
| Regen | an engineering modification that regenerates shields of wingmates |
| Reverb Cascade | an engineering modification that damages the shield generator |
| SCA | Supercruise Assist - a module that helps manage supercruise flight |
| SCB | Shield Cell Bank - a module used to restore shields |
| SCO | Supercruise Overcharge - a Frame Shift Drive that can boost in supercruise for much faster travel |
| SFN | Shutdown Field Neutraliser - a module used to protect against Thargoids |
| SRB | Short Range Blaster - an engineering modification which reduces range and increases damage |
| Tech Broker | an NPC that unlocks human and guardian modules. |
| TC | Thermal Conduit - an engineering modification that increases damage with heat |
| TV | Thermal Vent - an engineering modification that reduces ship heat |
Point Of Interests / Events
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Ancient Ruins | a Guardian ruin that has only obelisks. |
| Beagle Point | a star system on the opposite side of the galaxy to sol |
| Bubble | the human inhabited area of space |
| CNB | Compromised Navigation Beacon, a nav beacon which has been hacked by Pirates |
| CG | Community Goal |
| Colonia | a star system 22,000 Lys from Sol, where Jaques Station was found |
| CZ | Conflict Zone, sites of ongoing battles |
| ELW | Earth-Like World |
| HazRES | Hazardous Resource Extraction Site, for bounty hunting without system security |
| HGE | High Grade Emissions, a temporary POI in space that spawn high grade materials |
| HighRES | high intensity resource extraction site for bounty hunting with system security |
| HMC | High Metal Content world |
| Hotspot | a POI that has high concentration of a particular commodity to mine |
| Guardian Beacon | a Guardian Monolith in space from which you can collect an ancient key |
| Guardian Site | a Guardian site that houses the ancient terminal |
| Mission Target | a POI where you would expect to find the target of your mission |
| Noobula | a nickname for the restricted area accessible only to new players (new commanders no longer start there) |
| Pirate Activity | a POI where you would find NPC pirates |
| POI | Point Of Interest |
| Nav Beacon | a POI that allows you to download system data. Only appears in populated systems |
| NHSS | Non-Human Signal Source, a signal source emitted by extraterrestrial species |
| Outpost | an orbital station that allows docking of up to MEDIUM SHIPS |
| Planetary Base | a port on surfaces of a planet which allows docking of any ships |
| RES | Resource Extraction Site, useful for combat and mining |
| Sag A*, SGR A* | Sagittarius A* the black hole in the centre of the galaxy |
| Sol | name of a the solar system containing Earth |
| Starport | an orbital station that allows docking of any ship |
| Stronghold Carrier | a Power’s carrier where pledged commanders buy Powerplay modules |
| Titan wreck | the remains of a Thargoid Titan destroyed in the war |
| The Black | a generic nickname for uninhabited areas of space |
| Tourist Beacon | a POI that allows you to scan information about a historical event |
| USS | Unidentified Signal Source, an signal that has yet to be scanned to determine its type |
Galactic Measurments
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| c | the speed of light (1c = 300,000km/s or 300Mm/s) |
| Clicks | nickname given to kilometer (5 clicks = 5km) |
| Km | 1000 meters |
| Ly | lightyear - the distance light would travel in a year |
| Ls | light second - the distance light would travel in a second (300,000km or 300Mm) |
| m/s | speed measured in number of meters per second (1m/s = 1 meter every second) |
| Mm | Mega-meter - a distance of 1,000,000m or 1000km |
| Mm/s | speed measured in Mega-meters per second |
Flight & Gameplay Terminology
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Auto Dock | a module that allows the ship to dock or take-off automatically |
| Beacon | wing beacon - used to help wingmates find each other |
| Broken | term used to describe when a ship loses shields |
| BGS | Background Simulation - the system that controls the economy and politics of the galaxy |
| CC | Command Capital - the old Powerplay 1.0 currency, removed in Powerplay 2.0 |
| CQC | Close Quarters Combat, a PvP arena game mode |
| DSS | Detailed Surface Scanner |
| Drop | a term used to describe when a ship goes from supercruise to normal space |
| FA | Flight Assistance |
| FA on | flying with the Flight Assistance turned on |
| FA off | flying with the Flight Assistance turned off |
| FD | First Discovery - refers to when you are the first player to discover a body |
| Feds | nickname used for players or NPCs aligned to the Federation |
| FSS | Full Spectrum Scanner - a method of scanning a star system |
| Honk | the sound made by the discovery scanner performing an initial scan of a system |
| Gank | a vague term which typically refers to a player being attacked and killed while not seeking PvP |
| Ganker | a vague term used to refer to players who attack other players |
| Gold Rush | method of rapidly acquiring credits |
| High Wake | the marker left when a ship jumps to a different star system |
| Imps | nickname used for players or NPCs aligned to the Empire |
| Live / Legacy | the two versions of the game since November 2022. Live gets all new content; Legacy (including consoles) is frozen |
| Loop of Shame | the long process of turning around in supercruise after overshooting a destination |
| Low Wake | the marker left when a ship goes into supercruise |
| Mailslot | the entranceway to a starport |
| Mass Jump | when many ships jump to a different system together |
| Merit | awards given to players for actions taken in powerplay |
| Merc Coin | the currency earned in Operations |
| Operations | co-op scenarios for squads of up to 4 commanders (2026) |
| Pip | the indicators showing the powerflow through the distributor |
| PvE | Player vs Environment - a player interacting with the game, ie fighting NPCs |
| PvP | Player vs Player - a player interacting with another player, ie shooting each other |
| Reboot/Repair | shuts down the ship temporarily to fix modules and restore shields to 50% |
| Rebuy | the cost to buy back your ship having been destroyed (5% of the ship value) |
| SC | SuperCruise (mode used for travelling around a star system) |
| Toastrack | the metal structure outside the mailslot of a starport |
| WMM | Wing Mining Mission - A method of making money that involves taking “Mining” missions, however rather than mining you are able to buy the materials at another station. |
Combat Gameplay Terminology
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Banking | using a shield cell bank to recharge your shield |
| 4-2-0 | a pip setting written SYS-ENG-WEP: 4 pips in SYS, 2 in ENG, 0 in WEP, for soaking damage or running away (2-4-0 is the speed version) |
| ATR | Advanced Tactical Response - A type of elite security unit that is deployed to take down criminals with a high notoriety level |
| Boost | use of a significant amount of distributor energy to temporarily increase thruster output |
| Boost Bleeding | countering the forward thruster component during a during a boost to orbit the target |
| Boost Choking | deploying cargo hatch after boosting to limit speed but still improve handling |
| Cancel | use of a rail gun special effect to reduce the effectiveness of a targets shield cell bank |
| Chaff | a utility that makes gimballed and turreted weapons lose their lock on you for a few seconds; fixed weapons ignore it |
| Double Banking | firing a second SCB as the first one finishes its heat spike, so one heat sink covers both |
| Face tanking | sitting in front of a target and soaking its fire instead of moving out of its guns |
| Fixed / Gimballed / Turreted | weapon mounts: fixed shoots where you point the ship, gimballed follows your target inside a small cone, turreted aims on its own |
| Heat Sink | a utility that dumps most of your ship’s heat at once, used with SCBs, silent running or when overheating |
| Hitscan | a weapon whose shot lands the moment it fires (lasers, railguns), so you aim at the target, not ahead of it |
| Hotbanking | firing an SCB without a heat sink and accepting the heat, sometimes with a little module damage |
| Hybrid tank | a ship that uses both hull and shields to tank damage |
| Interdict | attempt to pull a ship out of supercruise and into normal space |
| Jousting | flying straight at a target while both ships trade fire head-on, then passing and turning back |
| Lead | aiming ahead of a moving target so slower shots (cannons, plasma, multi-cannons) meet it; the HUD’s lead indicator shows where |
| PD / PDT | Point Defence Turret, a utility that shoots down incoming missiles, torpedoes, mines and hatch breaker limpets by itself |
| Pip check | taking fire with less than 4 pips in system to mitigate the damage |
| Pip management | moving pips between SYS, ENG and WEP during a fight to match what you are doing (tanking, chasing, shooting) |
| Plasma Ram | hitting a target with plasma accelerators, then ramming them, a very high damage combination |
| Peel | drawing an attacker off a wingmate |
| Subtarget / Subsystem targeting | selecting one module of the target (power plant, drives, FSD…) so gimballed and turreted weapons aim at it and your HUD shows where it is |
| Tanking | absorbing damage, ie shield tanking = absorbing damage in shields |
| ToT | Time On Target - how much of the fight your guns are actually on the target; lasers and multi-cannons need a high ToT |
AX Gameplay Terminology
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Agitate | the state of the thargoid swarm when it passes around the player |
| AX | Anti Xeno - generic term for fighting against Thargoids |
| AXI | Anti-Xeno Initiative - a player group dedicated to fighting Thargoids |
| Banked Swarm | when a Thargoid interceptor has a swarm ready to deploy after a heart is destroyed |
| Basi | nickname given to the Basilisk variant, the fastest type of interceptor |
| Caustic | an effect of some Thargoid weapons that directly eats away at the hull over time |
| Clops | nickname for the Cyclops variant, the most common Thargoid interceptor |
| Cold Orbit | a combat technique used to avoid damage while fighting Thargoid interceptors |
| CSN | the Coalsack Nebula |
| Dusa | a nickname given to the Medusa variant, the second hardest type of interceptor |
| EMP | Electro-Magnetic Pulse, an Thargoid interceptor weapon that can shut down human ships |
| Enraged | the state where an interceptor swarms become much more deadly |
| Exert | when a heart becomes vulnerable after the interceptor suffers sufficient hull damage |
| Gib / Insta Gib | the process of quickly killing an interceptor by massive damage output |
| Goid | a nickname for Thargoids |
| Heart | an internal module of Thargoid interceptors which allow rapid hull repair |
| Interceptor | a term given to describe the variants of Thargoid ships |
| Lettuce | a nickname for the Hydra, the largest and toughest Thargoid variant |
| Lightning | a Thargoid interceptor attack which slows your ship and inflicts damage |
| Pass | flying past the interceptor, forcing it to turn around to pursue |
| Pleiades | the Pleiades nebula |
| Scout | the smaller, more agressive Thargoid ships |
| Sleep Phase | the period following the destruction of a heart, when the interceptor searches for a target |
| WHN | Witchhead Nebula |