Crowd Control (MMORPG) - EverQuest

Crowd control is generally considered critical in EverQuest, because most monsters in the modern version of the game are a match for an entire group of player characters.

In EverQuest, crowd control is usually handled by the Enchanter and Bard classes, who can mesmerize ("mez") opponents through spells or songs. These stop a monster from being able to attack players; however, if the monster is affected in such a way that its hit points are reduced, the mesmerization is broken and the monster will immediately begin to attack. The duration of these effects varies by class and level. Bards can generally only mesmerize for 18 seconds at a time, but higher level Enchanters can mesmerize monsters for upwards of 72 seconds. Several types of monsters are entirely immune to this effect, and all mesmerization spells will only mesmerize monsters up to a certain level.

Stuns can be used for crowd control in EQ as well. Enchanters are the primary class for this method, with a full range of point-blank AOE (PBAOE) stuns. With three or more loaded PBAOE stuns, they can "stun lock" opponents by casting the next stun before their previous stun expires. Some other classes, such as the Cleric and Necromancer, also have a limited ability to perform crowd control in this fashion, generally by using short-duration targeted stuns.

Another method of Everquest crowd control is to keep the monster occupied, such as by assigning a player to "tank" it. This is made much more effective by the use of abilities that Taunt targets, forcing them to attack the user. Only certain classes can Taunt. Monsters can also be charmed and sent against other mobs. Only creatures up to a certain level can be charmed, and charms are usually of random duration. With additional skills, charms can be made fixed duration or even permanent. Charms generate a lot of hate, so the character doing the charming runs the risk of becoming the target of attacks from the mob.