'WoW' Players Are Writing “OCE” to Let Others Know Where They’re Gaming From — Here’s Why It Matters

Shorthand phrases have existed since the dawn of human communication. Take the Hieratic scripts of Ancient Egyptians, or the concise messaging protocols employed in telegrams and Morse code. These more antediluvian forms of long-range messaging required brevity due to the data-transfer limitations of the time period.

And while these restrictions no longer exist in the present day, folks still employ abbreviated terms when communicating with others. Take any gaming platform, for instance, and it'll have its own bespoke dictionary of terms peculiar to that specific title.

World of Warcraft is no different. But there are some terms even the most seasoned online adventurers are left scratching their heads by, like OCE. What does it mean?

The three-letter abbreviation is a shortened way for players on World of Warcraft servers to indicate that they're based out of Oceania. This is a territory that encompasses a segment of the Pacific Ocean and the four primary land masses found there. These are: Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Australasia.

Oceanic countries include New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. But why would folks playing out of this part of the world want to let everyone know where they're based out of? Is it just a point of geographical pride?

Not exactly. As Dotnet puts it, gamers will often indicate that they're operating out of Oceania to assist with "matchmaking."

This is due to the fact that connected gamers playing out of the same region are more likely to enjoy stable gaming connections with lower latency qualms. Conversely, the outlet highlights that WoW players based out of Oceania indicate that they're playing out of the region to give other players online a heads up.

This way, a gamer from another part of the world with better internet speeds or lower latency issues will know what they're in for if they decide to play with an Oceania-based player.

But why would a player have to write OCE on WoW in the first place? As one person explained in this Reddit post, this is due to the fact that WoW groups North American and Oceanic players on the same server.

"OCE means Oceania. OCE and U.S. servers are lumped together into one group. When I list a group, I'll put OCE in the title so players are aware of the latency they'll get. (There's an addon called Premade Groups Regions which tells you the region the group leader is on, but not everyone has it)," they said to another player who had questions about some of the terms they encountered whilst playing the game.

Some players have expressed their frustrations with Blizzard for deciding to lump Oceania and North American players on the same server, like this Blizzard Forums user who remarked that they're constantly being paired with other WoW gamers with Oceania connections and how their gameplay suffers as a result.

"Why has Blizz decided that linking OCE realms to NA realms for M+ is a great idea? Many times more than 50 percent of the dungs listed are OCE, and I know my fps will suffer if I apply to those runs. Even when I list my own key, many who apply are OCE. What’s up with this Blizz?"

Another user on the same forum post highlighted the obstacles in dealing with these latency issues, noting that it's ultimately an issue of physical logistics. "I’m not sure how Blizzard can solve this problem without going full Google and investing in infrastructure. If you wanna add $1 a month to our sub fee on the promise that you’ll lay a dedicated WoW traffic-only network cable across the ocean floor. … I’m down."

But they also said that they aren't upset with seeing "more players" in a server, and welcomed them to the title. However, they also mentioned that latency issues can sour the experience a bit.