Interrupt

File:Interruption (visuals).jpg

An NPC in Fort Aspenwood that was interrupted.

Interruption is a core game mechanic. It is also a tactic and an action that prevents a foe from completing their current action. An interrupt can be triggered by a skill or an effect. Some interrupts affect only spells or attack skills, while others will not interrupt unless certain prerequisites are met.

Actions that can be interrupted include any skill with an activation time and all attacks. Interrupts will only trigger if they successfully interrupt a skill or action. You cannot interrupt a character who is running, using an emote, or activating a skill without an activation time. Knock downs, death, skill failure, and skill disabling (e.g. Blackout) can stop an action from completing, but they are not considered interrupts; skills that prevent interrupts (such as Mantra of Resolve) are ineffective against these actions.

The dazed condition interrupts the target's spells on application, and a dazed target's spells are interrupted by any successful attacks.

If you are interrupted:

• Your character staggers back for a split second, your activation bar halts and flashes purple, and your casting symbol "pops".
• Your current skill ends and it cannot be activated again until it has recharged.
• Any skills waiting to be activated will be un-queued.

Techniques for successful interrupting

Distracting Shot - one of the most commonly used interrupt skills.

General tips

• Practice: It is critical to practice your timing. The Grawls and Grawl Ulodytes outside of Sardelac Sanitarium make excellent targets; they are relatively weak and cast plenty of spells.
• Adjust your user interface: Increase the size of your Skill Monitor so it will be easier to see when the enemy is using a skill.
• Choose the right time and the right skill: A good interrupter can stop many actions; a great interrupter stops many of the critical ones.
  • Avoid predicting: Avoid the temptation to predict the next skill all the time — it is often better to allow the skill to activate than to waste the interrupt, the energy, and the aftercast delay.
  • Avoid interrupting low-impact actions: It is usually more important to interrupt a Meteor Shower than a Lava Font, so try not to interrupt just because you can. Note that there are several skills that interrupt and disable, which are useful for stopping low recharge, often used skills.
  • Attack skills can be interrupted: Keep in mind that their effects are triggered halfway into the casting time. For this reason it can be difficult to successfully interrupt them.
• Close distance for projectiles: Projectile interrupts (e.g. Savage Shot) need time to travel to your target; you can increase the chance of successfully interrupting by being close to the target.
• Use audio cues: Learn the sounds that can help you determine what skills are being used. For example, Resurrection Chant gives off a loud, distinct jingly/windy noise that gives it away.
• Use visual cues: Skill animations for certain longer casting skills are also distinct and can help in switching to the proper target for an interrupt. For example, the animation for Resurrection Signet is unique.
• Rangers can be less cautious using interrupts because many of their interrupting skills have lower recharges than those of other professions and do damage regardless of whether they successfully interrupt.

PvP-specific tips

• Time your interrupts to coincide with the ending of knock downs and punishment effects (e.g. Diversion or Blackout) dished out by yourself, or your allies.
• Know your enemy: Some actions can be predicted. Knowing your enemy helps you determine when and how they are likely to act.
  • Learn the skill chains used by your opponents. For example, if the opposing infuser is in the habit of always using Word of Healing on themselves, immediately after infusing, you can get in the habit of interrupting it after your team spikes. Another example is against caster spikes where they will often follow their first spell with a second.
• Learn opponent counter measures: If you know an opponent will try to counter a particular skill, you can cancel your first skill midway and interrupt their counter. An example would be an elementalist using Gale to interrupt your Diversion or Apply Poison. Canceling your own skill and using an interrupt will stop Gale.

PvE-specific tips

• PvE players use interrupts as a means of shutting down targets permanently or almost permanently using two basic techniques:
  • Use AoE interrupts: Focus on shutting down larger groups of enemies in order to mitigate their collective damage and/or healing capabilities. Commonly used skills include Panic, Psychic Instability, and Cry of Frustration.
  • Use strong single target interrupt effects: Shutting down a single powerful foe can often turn the tide of battle, especially if that foe has particularly harmful abilities (e.g. Kanaxai), large amount of health (e.g. Rotscale), or helps the enemy group survive (e.g. Fozzy Yeoryios). Long-lasting interrupts include Broad Head Arrow, Power Block (shuts down casters), and Shivers of Dread (to allow team members with cold-damage weapons to shut down a target foe).

Interruption Effects

Interrupt effect is the term for game mechanics triggered by an interrupt.

Game mechanics

Certain skills which interrupt also have an effect that occurs along with the interruption. All interruption skills which feature an additional effect fall into the category of spells, signets or attack skills. The behavior of these skills is noted below:

Spells and Signets that cause direct interruption

• Any spell or signet that causes direct interruption and has an effect in addition to its interruption will trigger that additional effect so long as the condition for interruption is met and so long as that additional effect is not a knockdown.
  • This means that, if Power Spike is used on a target who is casting a spell or chant, and that spell or chant is not interrupted, that target will still take damage.
    • However, skills such as Psychic Instability and Signet of Clumsiness will not knockdown a target who is not interrupted.

Attack Skills that cause direct interruption

• Any attack skill which causes direct interruption will also cause its additional effects so long as the condition for interruption is met and so long as that additional effect is not an increased disable time.
  • In the case of Exhausting Assault, a target who is casting a spell yet is not interrupted will still suffer overcast .
  • In the case of Distracting Shot, a target who is using a skill yet is not interrupted will not have that skill become disabled.
  • In the case of Savage Slash, a target who is casting a spell yet is not interrupted will still receive additional damage.

Hexes that cause interruption upon a condition being met

• There are five hex skills which conditionally cause an interruption.
  • Clumsiness and Wandering Eye are immune to all forms of interruption prevention. A target who is hexed with either of these spells will always be interrupted and suffer the respective damage.
  • Shivers of Dread and its duplicate cause energy loss regardless of interruption so long as the condition for interruption is met.
    • Rust is technically a hex spell, yet unlike the above hex spells, causes a direct interruption, and so behaves in line with the aforementioned category of spells and signets.

Anomalies

• In the case of Frustration, damage will trigger even if the target is under an effect that prevents interruption.
• In the case of Simple Thievery, if a skill is prevented from being interrupted (i.e under the effects of Mantra of Concentration), that skill will not be disabled and Simple Thievery will not become a copy of that skill.

Interrupts with a secondary effect

These interrupt skills cause a secondary effect.

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This list or table is known or strongly suspected to be incomplete or missing data.

Icon	Name	Description						Prof.	Attribute	Campaign
File:Complicate.jpg	Complicate	Spell. Interrupt a skill. Interruption effect: disables interrupted skill (+5...11...12 seconds) for target foe and all foes in the area.	0	1010	00.250.25¼	02020		mesmera	Domination MagicZ	Factions
File:Concussion Shot.jpg	Concussion Shot	Bow Attack. Interrupts a spell. Interruption effect: inflicts Dazed condition (5...17...20 seconds). Hits for only 1...13...16 damage.	0	2525	00.500.5½	0055		rangera	MarksmanshipZ	Core
File:Cry of Frustration.jpg	Cry of Frustration	Spell. If target foe is using a skill, that foe and all foes in the area are interrupted. Foe suffers 15...63...75 damage and foes in the area take 75% of that damage.	0	1010	00.250.25¼	02020		mesmera	Domination MagicZ	Core
File:Disarm.jpg	Disarm	Sword Attack. Interrupts target foe. Interruption effect: disables this foe's attack skills (0...2...3 second[s]) if that action was an attack.	0	055	00.500.5½	02020		warriora	StrengthZ	Eye of the North
File:Disrupting Chop.jpg	Disrupting Chop	Axe Attack. Interrupts an action. Interruption effect: interrupted skill is disabled for +20 seconds.	5	0	0	0000		warriora	Axe MasteryZ	Core
File:Disrupting Lunge.jpg	Disrupting Lunge	Pet Attack. Deals +1...10...12 damage. Interrupts a skill. Interruption effect: interrupted skill is disabled for +20 seconds.	0	055	0	01010		rangera	Beast MasteryZ	Core
File:Disrupting Shot.jpg	Disrupting Shot	Bow Attack. Interrupts an action. Interruption effect: +10...34...40 damage if you interrupt a skill.	0	1010	00.500.5½	01515		rangera	MarksmanshipZ	Eye of the North
File:Disrupting Stab.jpg	Disrupting Stab	Lead Attack. Interrupts an action. If the interrupted action was a spell, it is disabled (3...9...10 seconds).	0	055	0	01010		assassina	Dagger MasteryZ	Factions
File:Distracting Shot.jpg	Distracting Shot	Bow Attack. Interrupts an action. Interruption effect: interrupted skill is disabled for +20 seconds. Hits for only 1...13...16 damage.	0	055	00.500.5½	01010		rangera	ExpertiseZ	Core
File:Distracting Strike.jpg	Distracting Strike	Melee Attack. Interrupts an action. Interruption effect: Disables interrupted skill (30 seconds) if target foe has Cracked Armor. Deals no damage.	0	055	00.500.5½	01515		warriora	Z	Eye of the North
File:Exhausting Assault.jpg	Exhausting Assault	Dual Attack. Interrupts an action. Inflicts 10 Overcast if the interrupted action was a spell. Must follow a lead attack.	0	055	00.500.5½	0088		assassina	Dagger MasteryZ	Factions
File:Leech Signet.jpg	Leech Signet	Signet. Interrupts an action. Interruption effect: you gain 3...13...15 Energy if the action was a spell.	0	0	00.250.25¼	03030		mesmera	Inspiration MagicZ	Core