ADC

ADC mode describes the headspace or playstyle a player locks into when committing fully to carrying a game through consistent damage output, safe farming, and disciplined positioning. In ADC mode, you're not taking risks — you're executing the carry gameplan: farm, scale, and deal damage in teamfights from the backline. The phrase also appears outside gaming when someone decides to stop supporting others' goals and start prioritizing their own output and results.

ADC coded describes a person whose personality, behavior, or playstyle aligns with the stereotypical Attack Damage Carry archetype from League of Legends: high damage output, fragile under pressure, dependent on others to set up their success, and prone to flaming when things go wrong. Gaming communities use it affectionately or roastingly to call out the carry ego — the person who needs to be protected, does the most damage, and will absolutely point it out in all-chat. Also applied to real-life 'main character' types.

ADC energy describes the particular personality type associated with the carry role in League of Legends — fragile, high-maintenance, incredibly impactful when things go right, and vocally unhappy when they don't. Someone with ADC energy needs support, produces results, and is not shy about claiming credit for wins or redistributing blame for losses. The phrase has crossed over into general internet usage to describe anyone with main-character syndrome who also somehow consistently delivers when the pressure is on.

An ADC fail is when the carry player in a team-based game catastrophically underperforms — dying repeatedly, missing last hits, mispositioned in teamfights, or pouring endless gold into a zero-impact performance. It's a specific flavor of gaming frustration because the ADC is supposed to be the win condition; when they fail, the entire team's strategy collapses. The term is also a genre of gaming content — compilations of attack damage carries walking directly into five enemies and dying immediately.

ADC maxxing is the hyper-optimized approach to playing the carry role in League of Legends and similar MOBAs — farming every possible minion, perfecting kiting mechanics, optimizing item builds down to the last gold piece, and treating every game as a spreadsheet to be solved. The ADC maxxer watches hours of pro VODs, practices last-hitting in training mode, and will absolutely give you a dissertation on why one item order beats another. Extreme dedication to mechanically perfecting a role most people find frustrating.