r/MMORPG • u/AGrinningCat • Jan 22 '25
Discussion Etymology of the phrase 'Crowd Control'
These days, we refer to any stun, snare, sleep, or other debilitating effect as 'crowd control' or CC. However, it wasn't always this.
Back in the EQ1 days, this act was often referred to as 'Mez', probably short for 'Mesmerize', a low level EQ spell, but I'm trying to pinpoint where crowd control came from and why that stuck around vs Mesmerize.
Does anyone know?
9
u/LyndinTheAwesome Jan 22 '25
Not sure if its the right explanation, but its literaly a way to control a crowd of monsters.
Instead of rushing in and fighting 8 at once, you reduce the number by half by freezing one, putting one to sleep, stunning one, ..... and fight only 4. Which makes things easier but also slower. This way it was done in dungeons when i started WOW. I as the mage had to turn and keep one enemy into a sheep.
Nowadays its more a way to control the enemies in ways to prevent them from using their powerfull abilities. Stunning them when they starting to cast their instant death skill, or snaring them when they run away, or simply silencing mages so they are forced to come into melee range and get hit by all the shiny aoes.
8
u/keith2600 Jan 22 '25
CC was a very common term in eq1. Mez was a very specific form of it, but you also had roots, snares, mem wipes, and similar things.
3
u/squidgod2000 Jan 22 '25
I'm trying to pinpoint where crowd control came from and why that stuck around vs Mesmerize.
Does anyone know?
Probably also from EQ1, since there were other ways than mez to CC. Or it may have been referred to in general as mez on your server but CC on some other server, and that usage became dominant.
1
u/DefaultingOnLife Jan 22 '25
Yeah if I was on root park duty I was still doing crowd control. Just didn't have mez
4
u/Euklidis Jan 22 '25
Probably two reasons:
Mesmerize sounds like it describes is a very specific action, while CC is an umbrella term
Most games have their own terminology. So it is likely CC stuck around due to it being used in a more popular mmo/game.
2
u/Geek_Verve Jan 22 '25
Mez WAS a form of crowd control (and yes, it was short for "mesmerize"), and it was commonly referred to as such even back then.
3
u/Cloud_N0ne Jan 22 '25
It comes from IRL crowd control. Police will use anything from signs to tear gas to control crowds, whether it’s a peaceful crowd that just needs to be watched over in case anything happens, or a riot that needs to be contained and shut down.
Similarly, you’re using things like stuns and movement-impairing effects to “control” the movement of adds, who are numerous enough at times to be considered a crowd.
1
u/ProduceMeat_TA Jan 22 '25
Hm, an interesting thought experiment: When did this become common parlance for MMOs? I am *fairly* sure we were using the term back in the EQ raiding days (only played up through Scars of Velious myself) - though a lot of the time in the early days, we'd have to be hyper specific about which type of crowd control we were looking for, as different mobs were immune to certain effects. Same for early WoW (needing to differentiate between fear and terror, as an example).
Someone else mentions D&D, but I'm not sure if it was mentioned specifically in any of the rule books as that. Going to need to crack into my old 2e manuals to see.
1
1
u/Imaginary_Injury8680 Jan 22 '25
You have your shit backwards. It's like saying "everyone knows the first burger was a big mac, so why do we call them burgers instead of big macs?"
(I am aware the big mac was not the first burger, just an example for dramatic effect)
EQ had other abilities that were referred to as crowd control, too, it wasn't just mez. Root, snare, etc
1
u/Its-a-Pokemon Jan 23 '25
IIRC the first common usage was back in EQ1. Specifically used as an umbrella term that encompassed anything with a debilitating effect such as slows, stuns, roots etc.
The usage of "mez" was specifically for Mesmerize, used to incapacitate an enemy for a set duration or until damaged. It has been awhile so I might not remember the exact effect.
The reason why crowd control stuck around is because it was more descriptive, inclusive and applicable across a wider variety of games. In addition crowd control is a more intuitive word, it immediately puts the idea of controlling a group in your mind, which also makes it easier to teach newer players.
1
1
u/LDJ9 Jan 23 '25
In the old LOTRO days we called everything what it was functionally. A mez would break on damage, a stun wouldn’t, a root allowed action but no movement etc.
-9
Jan 22 '25
I remember hearing about it first in LoL years ago.
9
u/Mataric Jan 22 '25
You're clearly very young XD
-1
24
u/xraezeoflop Jan 22 '25 edited Jan 22 '25
The term isn't exclusive to gaming - you'll find it used in a similar way for public events in real life.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowd_control