In game chat channel help request

Being a new player, I do not understand some common abreviations used on the open chat channels (I refer to the game specfic ones). Is there a place I can look these up? If not, can folks please post a few common ones here?

For team invites: It would be helpful to know recommended minimum lvl range (for powers), Hero (b)/Villian(r?)/Praetorian(g), and apx. time to finish assuming a full team.

A suggestion may be to add this info as standard shorthand in-game so folks (like me) can make logical choices on PUGs. If this already exists, I haven't seen it.

Well, you are welcome to ask about specific abbreviations you do not understand either here on the forums or in the Help chat channel in-game, but a few commonly used ones are:

AT = archetype, such as Defender, Stalker, Blaster, Brute, Warshade
PST = please send tell
LFT = looking for team
TF = Task Force, a group of linked missions with a fixed team requiring everyone to be at a minimum level and a team of a minimum size. New players cannot be added to a TF team once begun, so it is generally considered rude to quit a TF or to join one when you know you do not have time to do more than a mission or two (as the team cannot replace you once you quit and may have to start over from scratch if too many people bail).
SF= Strike Force, same as TF but villainous.
ITF= Imperious Task Force, a popular co-op task force level 35+ that takes place in Cimerora and requires access to the Midnighter Club to reach (you have to unlock access to this area by doing a story arc and getting a badge at the end).

For teams, with the sidekicking feature it really doesn't matter and teams are often formed across wide level ranges. The only general rule is that you generally do not want to be more than ten levels below the average on the team since you will have far less in terms of powers to contribute, but even this is relateive as some team leaders wil not much mind how much you contribute so long as you are active and fun to have around.

As for time to assume teams, that is entirely dependent on the team leader doing the inviting. Many teams will form up on the fly and begin playing and add as they go, while others try to recruit up to a full team of eight before starting, and that's a personal preference issue.

The only hard and fast exception to this is Task/Strike Forces which do have a specified minimum level which everyone must meet in order for the team to start and a minimum team size, and therefore do have some down time while they are recruiting up to form.

Quick question. How many team members is required for strike/task forces or does it vary?

Also a common one recently with a few permutations is WST - the weekly strike target; a taskforce/strikeforce that will grant extra rewards at the end the first time it is run on a character that week.

Much of the community rejects the 'official' nomenclature, and calls it the "Weekly Task Force" for the amusing acronym...

"ITF; room for 2 more!"
"WTF is ITF?"
"yes, it is."
"...?"

Paragonwiki has some abbreviations you might encounter. http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Abbreviations

Ah. I didn't even see his post.

Thank you again. I was wondering what wst was, I do see that all the time. I will look at the abbreviation links.

Fantastic Foe- Thank you for your reply. I guess I'm in "la-la" land. Looking at it honestly, I can say most pugs work out well. If the team energy is lacking, they usually disband quickly after the first mission objective. If they are successful, even marginal, they continue to the next mission.

Due to the power sets, this game (unlike other mmo's I've played) has a broader team survivability factor. This has it's good points and bad with me. Specifically: Good- People don't "freak out" as much when they "die". Generally, more than 1 person is a "healer". It is much much easier to get rezzed. Bad- Team members are much more likely to attack next mob without regard for other teamates conditions (power, health, pets, etc...). This is taking a little for me to get used to. I fully understand that brute types need to kill quickly to maximize efficiency.

Back to the point. My inexperience will fade and be replaced by a deep understanding of the game "lingo". My illusion is that other "newbs" will as well. Medic057 /removes cape.