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I listen to several Destiny podcasts that use the term "adds" in reference to the little bad guys that try to get you while you are trying to get a boss.

But I don't know what that stands for. Any one know?

Note: I am not referring to "Aim Down Sights". This usage is definitely talking about the minor level bad guys that try to swarm you.

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  • I always thought it was short for "additional mobs" but have no idea if that is the official meaning
    – GodEmperorDune
    Commented Oct 13, 2015 at 22:59

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This is a common term in most MMOs.

"Adds" refers to Add itional units that join the fight mid-way through. Probably the best word its an abbreviation for would be "Additionals", though I don't expect you'd ever see it not used in its abbreviated state.

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    Before I ever heard it in boss fights, I heard in terms of pulling: if you're trying to pull just one monster from the edge of the group and you got three, you pulled two adds. Also applied mid-fight - if you were fighting and got knocked back and aggro'd more mobs, you'd "pulled adds" or "gotten adds" and the group now had more work to do before they could rest. It transitioned naturally into boss fights - if you were fighting just the boss and now had the boss and five minions, then either someone had pulled adds or the boss had spawned adds. (Pulling adds in a boss fight is a big nono.)
    – gatherer818
    Commented Oct 14, 2015 at 0:00
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    I'll add that I only ever heard the term in voice chat for years, it's still weird to me when I see it written.
    – gatherer818
    Commented Oct 14, 2015 at 0:00
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It's just a short slang word - not a shortening.

Back in the time before broadband internet, players in groups would communicate via text chat instead of voice chat. It was sometimes necessary to signal that unintended enemies were soon to be or currently engaged.

In Everquest for example, this signal needed to go to:

  • the puller, who could either halt pulling or kite/feign/suicide the current pull, sparing the group.
  • the tank so they could stop watching for the puller's return and instead engage the local enemy.
  • the casters, so they would know to stop meditating (they were blind while meditating).

"Add" was a great term to convey the danger of this situation. In addition to being a meaningful word, "Add" is positioned directly on keys where the player had their fingers. This makes it an easy signal during crunch time - better than the most common alternative: "Pop".

The use of the term "Add" has, over time, come to mean any enemy in a boss encounter which is not the boss. Usually the secondary tank ("off tank") will pick up the adds, or a ranged player will kite them.

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