Points to take note of
- All skills have an animation
- All skills have a 1 second animation lock with the exceptions of Melee Attack, Ranged Attack, Lethal Concoction
The 3 main differences are:
- When does a skill take effect
- When does cooldown start
- Whether a skill can be interrupted or not
Instant cast skills
- Take effect at the start of the animation
- Begin cooldown at the start of the animation
- Cannot be interrupted
Skills with a cast time
- Take effect at the end of the animation
- Begin cooldown when they take effect, at the end of the animation
- Can be interrupted before the casting ends; if interrupted (by movement or stun) the animation continues but the skill does not take effect and cooldown does not begin
Channeled skills
- Take effect throughout the animation
- Begin cooldown at the start of the animation
- Can be interrupted before the channeling ends; if interrupted, the skill stops taking effect but the cooldown is not reset
Instant cast skills that are incorrectly labeled as skills with cast time
- None that I’m aware of
Instant cast skills that are incorrectly labeled as channeled skills
- None that I’m aware of
Skills with cast time that are incorrectly labeled as instant cast skills
- Melee Attack - labeled as "Cooldown: Weapon Speed"; should be "Cast time: Weapon Speed" since it only damages the enemy after casting
- Ranged Attack - see Melee Attack
- Vindicate*
- Ruin*
- Lacerate*
- Impale*
- Bane*
- Rupture*
- Sear*
- Righteous Defense
- Frozen Spires**
- Sever*
- Reap*
- Black Fang**
- Haemorrhage**
- Crystal Blast**
- Blazing Arrow**
- Envenom**
- Jolt*
- Frostbite**
- Fulmination*
- Tremor*
- Meteorite*
- Genocide*
- Lobotomize*
- Detonate**
- Blood Fang**
- Creeping Vines**
- Monsoon**
*Should be 1 sec cast
**Skills with very small cast time, but still can be interrupted on rare occasions when moving
Skills with cast time that are incorrectly labeled as channeled skills
- Call of the Wild - labeled as 8 sec channel time; should be 8 sec cast time since cooldown only starts after pet is summoned
- Void Portal - see Call of the Wild
- Crimson Chain - labeled as 1.5 sec channel time; should be 1.5 sec cast time
Channeled skills that are incorrectly labeled as instant cast skills
- Bloodbath
- Flame Rush
- Adrenaline Rush
Channeled skills that are incorrectly labeled as skills with cast time
- None that I’m aware of
Skills that I haven’t tested personally so I can’t confirm
- Avalanche***
- Midnight’s Grasp
- Assassinate***
***Likely to be 1 sec cast time instead of instant cast
Skills that deserve special mention
Lethal Concoction
- Animation lock lasts for at least 1 second but can be longer if the target is far away
- Cannot be interrupted by movement but can be interrupted if stunned before it lands
- Instant cast in the sense that it won’t be interrupted by movement,
- Should be more correctly classified as a skill with cast time since cooldown doesn’t start until Lethal Concoction lands
Maelstrom
- The only channeled skill that cannot be interrupted by movement
- Can still be interrupted by stun
Tornado
- Correctly labeled as a 1 second channel time skill because cooldown begins at the start of the animation and only takes effect if the skill is not interrupted
- Deserves special mention is because it is the only skill with a 1 second channel time
- Should make it a skill with a 1 second cast time instead and let the cooldown begin after the cast
