Fixing Latency issues

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Pro tip: Interrupt Macros

Hi everyone.

In BoT and BWD there are many boss abilities with a 1.5sec cast that should be interrupted. And we're failing pretty hard at that. Every class can interrupt, some with shorter cooldowns than others; yet some players never interrupt, and some regularly miss their interrupt by being slow.

(Interrupts cannot 'Miss', the only reason an interrupt fails is if you don't actually get your interrupt off until the cast was already completed -- allowing for latency).

There may be a couple of reasons for our troubles:

1) Slow to trigger your interrupt
2) Slow to notice the enemy is casting.

Fast triggering: You'll want to make sure your interrupt is bound to a key that you can press without moving your hand. For example if your left hand is resting on your movement keys A-S-D-W then perhaps bind F to your interrupt. It won't take long to program yourself to automatically mash your F button when a cast bar appears.

If you're a class that has non-instant spells (i.e. things you cast or channel), then you will need to cancel the cast you're on in order to interrupt. Fortunately that can be done automatically with the following macro:

/stopcasting
/cast Counterspell

That's the mage version; obviously you would replace 'Counterspell' with the name of your class's interrupt (see the end of this post for a list if you're unsure).

If you know in advance who you're going to be interrupting you can make this even better:

/stopcasting
/cast [target=Arcanotron] Counterspell

This will interrupt Arcanotron even if you weren't targeting, and doesn't require any clicks or anything other than just hitting the one button. Super fast!!

If you've never made a macro before, google it or ask me in-game. It's not that scary!

Finally, you can speed up all of your actions by going into Interface > Combat and ticking down the bottom "Cast action keybinds on key down". This means the action will go off when you press the key down (the alternative is that it doesn't go off until you press the key and then let go of it again).

Making the castbar more obvious: Firstly, make sure you actually have target cast bars turned on: go to Interface > Combat, and tick both boxes under Cast Bars, i.e. On Targets and On Nameplates.

Of course you should also have nameplates turned on: go to Interface > Names, and at the bottom right, tick Enemy Units and the three suboptions below that. It's also possible to display friendly unit plates, but I find this more a hindrance than a help when I'm tanking or DPSing.

If you haven't used nameplates before this may seem weird/annoying, but trust me, once you get used to it you won't be able to live without it. For example, with nameplates on on Cho'Gall you can immediately see which people are mind-controlled - they have a nameplate appear on their head! And then you can target them by clicking their nameplate and hitting your interrupt button (or preferably - using a mouse-over interrupt and just hovering the mouse over their nameplate).

To help with nameplates you could install a nameplates mod. I use TidyPlates for this. Not only are the nameplates easier to read and have a more obvious castbar than the Blizzard ones, they change colour to show aggro . For example, on Omnotron Defence System, you'll instantly know if the adds are chasing you or not -- their nameplate is green if not and red if they are. So you know right away if you have to run away, and also if it's safe to go in and melee them.

Finally, if you have the highly-recommended addon Quartz which I mentioned in my previous post on this blog, it will provide you with movable castbars for your target, which you can put somewhere that would be obvious.



Next one shows the cast bar for the mob I'm not targeting


Other Pro Tips:
Paladin and Shaman healers can interrupt as well (Rebuke, Wind Shear).

It ought to be possible to configure an audible warning when someone starts casting a spell you have to interrupt; I'm still researching this.

Interrupt List:

Warrior - Pummel (10), Heroic Throw (Protection, Gag Order, 30), Spell Reflect
(Reflects Spells, 25).
Death Knight - Mind Freeze (10), Strangulate (120).
Rogue - Kick (10).
Paladin - Rebuke (10), Avenger's Shield (15, Protection).
Shaman - Wind Shear (6), Grounding Totem (25).
Druid - Skull Bash (60, 10 Feral), Solar Beam (60, Balance, AOE).
Hunter - Silencing Shot (20, Marksmanship).
Mage - Counterspell (24).
Priest - Silence (45, Shadow).
Warlock - Spell Lock (24, Felhunter).