How can I cancel a channel or cast that's already in progress?

Question

One of the things I love about TSW's combat is how mobile it is - you can cast basically anything with a cast time on the move.

One of the things I don't love is that sometimes, I'll be halfway through a cast that slows my movement speed, like Safety Off, and then there will be fire, and I will need to not be in the fire, and getting out while that cast is running can be challenging. Worse still is what happens sometimes when I'm tanking, when I'll be a quarter second in to a long channel like Brandish, when suddenly a mob will do something that I need to respond to with an Impair or a Taunt in order to ensure the survival of myself and my group.

In past MMO's, the easy solution to this would be to jump, but jumping doesn't cancel Brandish (for example), and many other abilities. Using an active dodge (double tap direction) works for the former example, but the cooldown is prohibitive to it being a truly adequate solution.

Is there any other way I can cancel a cast currently in progress in order to cast something else, or simply move faster? Is it something I can keybind?

Answer 1

Methods to cancel an ability with a cast (or channelling) time include:

• Active dodge (when available)
• Stop facing the target (does not work when casting on defensive targets, i.e. healing)
• Use another ability (this seems to only interrupt channelled abilities such as Brandish, not ones with a cast time)
• Jump (this should interrupt abilities with a cast time, such as Safety Off)
• Break line of sight to target (requires an obstacle, so not very convenient)

I'd recommend using them in this order of preference when trying to get out of a mob ability. Facing the target often works particularly well if you're in melee range - just run past the side of the mob to their back and as soon as you pass them your ability will stop, enabling you to run at full speed without even having to take any other action.

For boss fights it's advisable to choose your abilities to match the fight you're about to enter, so if you know it's a fight that requires a lot of movement, you may want to assemble a deck that has few or no abilities with a cast time or channelling.