Crowd Control
CC, or Crowd Control, is a term used to refer to skills that debuff or otherwise disable or distract enemies. While most CC skills do not deal direct damage, not all non-damage skills are CC; buffs such as some warcries and auras are not generally considered CC skills unless they have a debuff effect on enemies.
Most CC skills work differently against bosses and other players (in the Arena), with (at least) a reduced duration of effect compared to their function against regular monsters.
These types of abilities are not as common in Diablo III as in many RPGs, since all of the classes in D3 are designed to deal direct damage, rather than acting as support or healers. There are many more buffs than debuffs in Diablo III, as most classes have more ways to improve their own performance than to limit that of enemies. Most of Diablo III's CC skills are part of an attack that also deals damage.
Diablo III CC Skills
For the purposes of this list, a skill has CC if it directly affects a target in any way except damage. This list only notes the CC portions of skills; see the respective skill pages for a complete description of their full effects.
There will also be numerous runestone effects that change some of these skills from being CC to beign direct damage, and that change other skills to a CC-style effect.
All skills that deal cold damage can be considered CC, since chilled enemies move and attack at a slower rate. It's likely that numerous runestone effects will add cold damage, and it might be widely-accessible from equipment bonuses as well. It can also be argued that all minion skills are CC, since the minion or pet serves as a target for enemy attackers.
- Ancient Spear pulls its target to the Barbarian, slowing it by 60% for ?? seconds ("briefly").
- Bash has a 20% chance to Knockback its target.
- Furious Charge knocks back enemies in the Barbarian's path.
- Ground Stomp stuns enemies within 12 yards for 4 seconds.
- Leap slows enemies within 8 yards of the destination by 60% for 4 seconds.
- Seismic Slam knocks back enemies in a 45-yard arc.
- Threatening Shout reduces the damage of enemies within 25 yards by 20% for 15 seconds.
- Weapon Throw slows its target by 60% for 2 seconds.
- Caltrops, when sprung, slows enemies within 12 yards by 60% for 6 seconds.
- Entangling Shot slows up to 2 enemies by 60% for 2 seconds.
- Fan of Knives slows enemies within 10 yards by 60% for 2 seconds.
- Blinding Flash blinds enemies within 20 yards for 3 seconds.
- Crippling Wave, on its third hit, dazes all enemies within melee range, slowing them by 30% and reducing their attack speed by 20% for 3 seconds.
- Cyclone Strike pulls up to 8 enemies within 24 yards toward the Monk.
- Dashing Strike roots its target for 1 second.
- Fists of Thunder, on its third hit, knocks back enemies a short distance.
- Lashing Tail Kick knocks back enemies.
- Tempest Rush knocks back enemies in the Monk's path.
- Grasp of the Dead slows enemies by 60% while they are inside its area of effect (the area lasts 8 seconds).
- Hex summons a Fetish Shaman that turns enemies into chickens, making them unable to attack for ?? seconds (duration unknown).
- Horrify causes enemies within 12 yards to run in Fear for 4 seconds.
- Mass Confusion causes some enemies within ?? yards to fight for you for 12 seconds (range unknown).
- Frost Nova freezes enemies within ?? yards for 3 seconds (range unknown).
- Ice Armor, upon being hit, either Chills or Freezes the enemy for 2 seconds.
- Ray of Frost slows its target by 60% for 4 seconds.
- Slow Time slows enemies by 60% and reduces their attack speed by 20% while they are inside its area of effect (the area lasts 8 seconds).
- Wave of Force knocks back enemies within ?? yards and slows them by 60% for ?? seconds (range and duration unknown).
CC resistance
Each individual monster has a "CC resistance" which starts at 0%, is increased by 10% for each second of CC it gains, and decreases by 10% per second while the monster is not CC'd. This percentage reduces the duration of successive CC (e.g. a 2-second stun with 50% CC resistance would only last 1 second, and would then increase the CC resistance to 60%). Most Elite monsters have a cap on their CC resistance: 35% in Normal, 50% in Nightmare, and 65% in Hell and Inferno (note that this cap only applies to the value used in the CC duration calculation; for example, if 7 seconds of CC were applied to an Elite monster on Nightmare, it still keeps track at 70%, but CC will only be reduced by the 50%).
Reference
- Crowd control (MMORPG) on Wikipedia
- Crowd Control in WoW