What does camping mean in gaming? Camping Explained

In gaming, camping doesn’t mean starting a fire and making smores, despite how delicious they are. No, camping is used as a term within the first-person shooter genre, specifically with franchises like Call of Duty and Battlefield or battle royale games such as Fortnite and Apex Legends to a lesser extent. This is what camping means in gaming rather than the real-life term.

Camping in gaming

Camping in gaming is usually a derogatory term that describes players that stick to one spot. In Call of Duty: Vanguard, for example, there may be someone crouching by a corner in a busy alleyway, waiting for incoming forces. By sitting in this spot, campers are able to get the upperhand on anyone sprinting into the area as they have a more ready hand.

However, camping can be arguably helpful within team-based modes of FPS titles. They can keep objectives like a team flag safe and out of the hands of the other team. They can also occupy space within a Domination game type, making sure no one captures an area of a map. In most Call of Duty and Battlefield games, players are usually rewarded with extra experience by defending the point.

In battle royale titles like Fortnite, camping can be a quick defensive move whenever you hear a lot of players surrounding the area. If you expect another player coming into the room you’re in, you’ll be ready to hit them hard with your assault rifle, pistol, etc. There may be a resource drop in Fortnite that is shown on the map as a wooden crate. Players can use these wooden crates as bait as well, once they’ve dropped. They can camp behind a tree or bush nearby and snipe anyone who tries to take the rewards inside.

The most successful way to counter a camper is to use a radar or GPS quirk of some kind. In Call of Duty, you can get a killstreak that places nearby opponents on the map. This can help you spot campers that don’t have the Ghost quirk on. Another way is to have a shotgun at the ready, so you can take them out in an instance. If there is an ability to have extra shields or armor on, use that as well.

Camping in gaming is going to be a curse in first-person shooters and battle royale titles forever, but at least you now know what it means. Increasing your DPS in your gun may help relieve the issue somewhat, however.