Sir, We Have an Orc Problem Glossary: A

Last reviewed: 11 September 2026 · Newest game update reflected: 2026.08.18.12.05 (18 August 2026). This site uses a lot of shorthand — turret names, achievement titles, level numbers, community slang like "the lips" — without stopping to define it on every page. This glossary collects all of it in one A–Z list, each entry pointing back to the page where it is explained in full.

A–D

Ability — one of the four click-triggered attacks (missile launcher, strafing run, nuke, orbital cryo beam) alongside the seven turrets. Two are capped at three uses per map. Numbers on the abilities page.

Against All Odds — the achievement for clearing level 6, sitting around 27–30% unlock depending on the read date. See the all achievements page for the current figure.

Cannon — the highest-penetration turret (31), 34.5 DPS at 2 shots/sec, with a larger fifth shot. A power turret in the turret roles framework. Full stats on all turrets.

Chokepoint — a map location narrow enough that only a handful of orcs pass through at once. The orc flow mechanic page explains why killing orcs before one does almost nothing, while killing them in or past one is where turrets matter.

Cleanup (role) — one of three turret roles, alongside power and support. Cleanup turrets — gunner and tesla coil — catch whatever leaked past the damage line. Defined on turret roles.

Constraint achievement — an achievement forbidding something (abilities, turret variety) rather than just asking you to progress. Eight of the eleven achievements are constraint achievements; see all achievements.

DPS — damage per second. The stat table on all turrets lists it per turret, but the page warns that penetration matters more than DPS against a dense wave, since a shot that stops at the third orc never reaches the fourth.

E–G

Elemental Carnage — the achievement for clearing a level using only the flamethrower, tesla coil and orbital cryo beam. Sits at 18.5% unlock. Covered on the tesla coil page and all achievements.

Fine, I'll Do It Myself — the official name of the no-turret, abilities-only achievement, at roughly 20–22% unlock. Full breakdown on the no-turret run page.

Flamethrower — a support turret dealing almost no direct damage (0.6 per tick) but applying a damage amp and a chance to not consume pierce to whatever it burns, which quietly strengthens gunners and lasers firing through the same zone. Stats on all turrets.

Four-tified — the official name of the four-turret-type, no-ability achievement, the rarest in the game at around 10.8–12.2% depending on read date. Explained on level 6.1.

Fully Loaded — the achievement for buying every upgrade, 19.5% unlock. It cannot be shortened by skill, only playtime — see all achievements.

Gotta Start Somewhere — the achievement for clearing the first level, unlocked by roughly 97% of players. The easiest achievement in the game.

Grenade Launcher — a support turret applying a 60% slow for 3 seconds in a 13 m radius; slowed orcs take 30% more damage. Shows up in nearly every hard-level build documented on this site, from 3.2 to 5.2 to 6.1.

Gunner — the fastest-firing turret (24 shots/sec) but with only 3 penetration, so its volume is spent on orcs already dead or already blocked in a dense column. Debated between cleanup and power in the turret roles framework.

H–M

Laser — the longest-range turret (550 m) with 15 bounces, ricocheting down a corridor to hit the same column repeatedly. A power turret; numbers on all turrets.

Level editor — the only roadmap item Mumpitz Games has stated publicly, announced in the 18 August 2026 patch notes with no date attached. Covered on update history.

"The lips" — the community name for level 5.2's two narrow entry points, where the level is won or lost. Full explanation on the 5.2 page.

Meta-progression tree — the upgrade tree that unlocks and levels up turrets and abilities, funded by resources earned from every run, won or lost. Details on the upgrade grind page.

Missile launcher — the only unlimited-use ability, firing automatically after one click for 79.5 damage in a 20 m radius plus shrapnel. Numbers on the abilities page.

Mortar — a support turret with modest damage (32 DPS) whose real value is knockback across a 28 m blast, which can physically hold a chokepoint shut. Stats on all turrets.

N–P

No-turret run — a level cleared with zero turrets, abilities only. The achievement for it (Fine, I'll Do It Myself) sits around 20–22% unlock, lower than several no-ability turret constraints. See the dedicated page.

Nuke — a limited ability (three per map), 260 damage across a 250 m radius. Also the basis of the Overkill achievement (666,000 damage with one nuke). Covered on abilities.

One Is Enough — the single-turret, no-ability achievement, roughly 25% unlock, typically attempted on level 1.1.

Orc flow / orc overflow — the community term for how orcs move: like fluid seeking any gap it can pass through, not a queue. First named by a player in a feedback thread; full explanation on the orc flow mechanic page.

Orbital cryo beam — the fourth ability, a 6-second effect held for 4.4 seconds that deals 50 damage on defrost. Its value is time bought, not damage — especially in a no-turret run, where it is the only thing slowing a wave.

Overkill — the achievement for dealing 666,000 damage with a single nuke, around 36–40% unlock, the most-cleared constraint achievement in the game.

Penetration — how many orcs a single shot passes through before stopping. The all turrets page calls it "the number that decides everything," since a turret's fire rate is close to meaningless against a column deeper than its penetration.

R–S

Resource economy — the game's meta-currency system, earned from every run regardless of outcome. Because losing still pays, the upgrade grind page treats "stuck" as an upgrade problem, not a skill one.

Slow (grenade launcher effect) — a 60% movement reduction for 3 seconds that also makes affected orcs take 30% more damage. The most-cited mechanic across this site's hard-level pages: 3.2, 4.2, 5.2, 6.1.

Specialist — the one-turret-type, no-ability achievement, roughly 22.5% unlock, typically attempted on level 3.1.

Steam Deck: Playable — Valve's middle compatibility rating for this game, below Verified. It passes both performance checks and fails on controller-glyph mismatch and small interface text. Full detail on PC and Steam Deck.

Strafing run — a limited ability (three per map) covering a 110 m by 398 m corridor for 142 damage across 105 bullets. Shaped for lanes, not open ground. Numbers on abilities.

Supporter Pack — the game's only DLC, $2.99, three cosmetic items (Blue Flames, Space Orcs, Space Background) with no gameplay effect. Described by the developers as a tip, not content. Full page: Supporter Pack.

Support (role) — the turret role that changes how a wave moves rather than killing it outright: grenade launcher, mortar and flamethrower. Defined on turret roles.

T–V

Tesla coil — the only turret with a full 360° aim arc, chaining across 12 targets per shock. A cleanup turret best placed behind the main damage line, not on it. Full breakdown on the tesla coil page.

The Real War Begins Now — the achievement for clearing the third level, around 87–88% unlock.

Triple Threat — the three-turret-type, no-ability achievement, roughly 15.6–17.2% unlock, typically attempted on level 5.1.

Upgrade branch — a specific line within the meta-progression tree (the laser's bounce, the grenade launcher's slow). Multiple pages, starting with 3.2, find which branches are upgraded matters more than total upgrade level.

Vulkan 1.3 — the graphics API version this game requires and the only real barrier to running it, according to the PC and Steam Deck page. Everything else in the minimum spec (4 GB RAM, any 64-bit CPU, 200 MB storage) is trivial.

What we have not documented

Percentages above shift by a point or two between entries because Steam's achievement API was re-read on different dates across this site's build history — the all achievements page and the achievement tracker carry the most current figures. Where a term has no settled official name, we use the community's term and say so rather than inventing an official-sounding one.