What Does CC Mean in League of Legends?

If you’ve been playing League of Legends for a while, terms like “CC” and “crowd control score” might be very familiar to you. But if you’re a newer player and you just got flamed because you kept missing your CC all game without even knowing what it means – don’t worry! Here we will explain everything you need to know about CC and CC score in League of Legends!

What does CC mean in LoL?

Easy. As you guessed it, it’s short for “crowd control.” And crowd control is a category of abilities that either slow down or completely stop enemies. If we think about it a little, we can see that many different types of abilities in League of Legends are technically considered CC.

The first example is, of course, slow effect. Malphite’s Q – Seismic Shard or Kog’Maw’s E – Void Ooze both diminish the enemy’s ability to move. Yes, they don’t completely “stop” that enemy, but their slowing effect can be useful enough for either Malphite or Kog’Maw to win the duel. And that’s why the slowing effect is considered a CC in League of Legends. It reduces the enemy’s ability to move, aka, it controls the crowd.

So anything that can in any way impair a champion’s ability to either move or casts spells is considered CC. The next famous example would obviously be the stun effect. Ashe’s R – Enchanted Crystal Arrow literally stops the enemy from whatever he is doing. And the same goes for the rest of the stun abilities.

But, in League of Legends, there are multiple different types of CC, and it’s sometimes impossible to distinguish them unless you know the spells by heart. One famous example here is Malzahar’s R – Nether Grasp. His ultimate is actually a suppression and not a stun. So you can pick up a Cleanse and try to get out of it, but you won’t be able to because Cleanse removes stun and slow effects, but not suppressions. This is crucial to understand if you want to become a better player in League of Legends.

There is a similar case with airborne abilities. Yasuo’s Q – Steel Tempest can take you in the air, and you won’t be able to do anything against it. And buying a Quicksilver Sash is also pointless since it doesn’t override the effect. What that means is that Quicksilver Sash will not disable airborne abilities.

Ahri’s E – Charm or Seraphine’s R – Encore can enchant the target to be both slowed and incapable of casting abilities and moving at the same time. This is called a charming effect and can easily be removed by using either Cleanse or QSS.

And the same goes for the sleep effect, which can only be found on two champions, really (not counting Sylas). Zoe’s E – Sleepy Trouble Bubble and Lilia’s R – Lilting Lullaby are the only two abilities of this kind in LoL. First, they put the target in a slow, called drowsy, then after a few seconds in a stun, they sleep. They can be removed relatively easily, though, in both of those phases.

What is Crowd Control Score in LoL?

Applying the CC abilities in League of Legends generates the crowd control score. The CCS is simply a calculated number of how much time you’ve kept your enemies in stun, slow, root, etc. But crowd control score is different for every champion and every type of CC ability, so some champions can rack it faster and some slower.

Generally, a champion that can easily put another champion in CC generates lower CSS numbers than a skill shot-based one. For example, whenever Nocturne activates his ultimate, the five opponents get blinded by default. And because the person playing as Nocturne didn’t do anything special, that ability will add smaller numbers to the score. But on the opposite side, if Morgana keeps hitting her Qs all game long, she will have an insane CSS at the end.

So, every additional second of charm, suppression, sleep, or any other CC enters the final score. To get a better idea of what you should be aiming for here is broad examples of good, bad, and excellent crowd control score: 

• Anything from 500 to 700 is considered okay or good.
• Anything from 700 to 800 is very good, even excellent.
• And anything over 800 is a pro standard.

Conclusion

Crowd control is an essential element to the whole of gaming, not just League of Legends. But because LoL is such a fast-paced game, even a second of CC might be too much for most champions and players. Many matches are decided by hitting one such ability on the right target at the right moment, then everything else crumbles. 

Many say that CC is the key to win more games in League of Legends. And the idea is simple – if you hold your enemies in place for a long time, you disable them from playing. And while they can’t do anything, you can overpower them and take the victory. We agree 100% with this notion, and we advise you to use your crowd control abilities as much as possible!