fast travel abuse
/fæst ˈtrævəl əˈbjuːs/
CommonOver-relying on a game's fast travel mechanic to skip traversal instead of exploring the world.
Can be self-critical (admitting you play this way) or used to describe a playstyle that misses the point of open world design. Not always negative. Sometimes the criticism is really about bad open world design making walking feel like a chore.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | I'm 80 hours into Elden Ring and I genuinely don't know what most of the map looks like. total fast travel abuse. | The player has been teleporting so often they have not actually seen most of the game's world. | reddit, 2022 |
| 02 | fast travel abuse hits different when the game's world is empty anyway | The open world design is so lacking in content that skipping traversal feels justified. | x, 2024 |
| 03 | trying to do a no fast travel run and I realize I never knew this area even existed | Avoiding fast travel revealed parts of the game world the player had never seen. | youtube, 2023 |
| 04 | if your open world requires fast travel abuse to be bearable the map is too big | A game that players must fast travel constantly through has failed at world design. | reddit, 2023 |
Use it when
- Someone constantly teleports instead of traversing the open world.
- Admitting you skip exploration in favor of efficiency.
- Criticizing a game's world design for making walking feel pointless.
Do not use it when
- You mean normal fast travel use, like using it once after a long quest.
Variations and related forms
Origin and context
The term grew out of open world gaming discourse as games like Skyrim, GTA, and later Witcher 3 made fast travel standard. As open worlds got larger in the 2010s, the tension between efficient travel and exploration became a regular discussion topic.
- First seen
- mid-2010s
- Confidence
- low
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/fast-travel-abuseUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0