third-partying

Swooping weakened combatants

Third-partying is a gaming term for attacking players who are already engaged in combat with each other, swooping in while they're distracted or weakened: We got third-partied right after that firefight.

The tactic is opportunistic—you let others do the damage, then clean up.

Common in battle royale games where multiple teams compete simultaneously.

business

outsourcing

Third-party task delegation

contractingReducing in volume
intermediaryAgent linking two parties
vendorOne who sells goods

subcontracting · delegation · external · procurement · supplier · middleman · agency · consultant · freelancer · partnership

conflict

intervention

Purposeful involvement to change course

meddlingIntrusive interference in others' concerns
interferenceUnwelcome involvement in affairs
opportunismExploiting circumstances for gain

exploitation · swooping · ambush · chaos · distraction · vulturing · timing · advantage · weakness · capitalizing

gaming

squad

Small working group

eliminationAct of removing entirely
FortniteMultiplayer elimination competition
battle royaleMulti-combatant elimination contest

cleanup · rushing · vulturing · sweaty · rotation · engagement · knocked · thirsting · pinch · gatekeeping

Opposites

combat honor/fairness

third-partying1v1

Single combat matchup

one-on-one · dueling · boxing match

engagement timing/initiation

third-partyinginitiating

Causing to start

hot drop · challenging

combat engagement style

third-partyingone-on-one

Direct, between two

first contact · initiating

Family

third, party, third-party, thirds, parties, partied, partying, partisan, partisanship

Familiarity: Top 1,000,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Abstract · Rated G