Cast time

Cast time (or casting time) is the time needed to cast a spell before it takes effect. A time bar will appear and fill up (with yellow ) during the casting time and the spell effect will not happen until the bar fills completely (at which point it turns green ). Instant cast is good in PvP situations, while long cast times generally deal more damage and can be good to pull with solo or use in groups.

Note: Some spells are channeled and do not use casting time as described in this article.

Additional notes:
 * No time bar will appear for spells with a "casting time" of Instant.
 * Usually attacks that hit the caster will briefly stop the casting time bar from filling up.
 * Some attacks will interrupt the spell-casting completely and the time bar will fill completely with red and say "Interrupted".
 * Some abilities, powers, other spells, or talents can reduce the casting time or prevent interruption.
 * Mana is not consumed until the casting time is completed.
 * Ordinary mana regeneration stops for 5 seconds after the casting time of a mana consuming spell is completed (see the Five second rule).
 * The player can interrupt their own spell at any time during the casting by either moving, jumping, or pressing the Escape key.