A waiting period after using an ability before it can be used again. Cooldowns replaced or supplemented Mana as the main limit on powers in MMORPGs and action games, turning combat into a rhythm of rotations.
A waiting period after using an ability before it can be used again. Cooldowns replaced or supplemented Mana as the main limit on powers in MMORPGs and action games, turning combat into a rhythm of rotations.
A pool of magical energy spent to cast spells and replenished by rest or potions, usually shown as a blue bar. It is the chief alternative to Vancian magic and made famous in card games by Magic: The Gathering's lands.
The three-role party structure of group content: a tank to absorb enemy attention, a healer to keep everyone alive and damage dealers (DPS, damage per second) to kill things. It formalized the fighter-cleric-wizard balance of the tabletop The party for real-time online play.
Blizzard took the grind out of EverQuest, poured in quests, cartoon color and Warcraft lore, and built the online world that twelve million people paid to live in and that is still expanding two decades later.
A buff is a temporary effect that strengthens a character; a debuff weakens one. As a verb, buff (and its opposite, Nerf) also describes developers strengthening or weakening something in a balance patch.