Interrupt

An interrupt is 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.

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.

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 UI: 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 any action; a great interrupter stops all the critical ones.
 * Avoid predicting: Avoid the temptation to predict the next skill all the time &mdash; 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 an Aura of Restoration, 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.
 * 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.
 * 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.

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).