Q: Please explain how interrupts work in your game. In another game I used to play, if a magic user started casting a spell, he could finish it so long as he wasn�t hit during the cast time. In DAOC it seems more random. A: It�s not random at all, but it is a very different system than you may be familiar with. It�s a lot more fair to large weapon users, as their potential to interrupt a caster is exactly the same as a small fast weapon user. Hold on to your backpacks, this is going to be fun. First, we need to understand how melee attacks work in DAOC. Let�s say you�re swinging a weapon with a five second delay between swings. You press attack. It goes SWING (tick tick tick tick tick) SWING (etc). Obviously, this means a two second delay weapon goes SWING (tick tick) SWING (etc). Now, according to the game, you�re attacking for that whole swing/tick cycle. The damage you do is registered at the same time as the swing, but a full cycle consists of the swing AND the ticks. If you attack a caster, you have a chance of interrupting his regular (non-quickcast) spells during the whole cycle. The chance to interrupt is purely level based � if the caster is higher level than you, your chance to interrupt is lower. A quickcast spell does not have any chance of being interrupted � doesn�t check for that at all. However, a quickcast spell does not wipe the interrupt check of a cycle. For example, let�s say I am swinging an enormous hammer at Mahrin Skel. There�s a ten second delay. On the third second, he quickcasts something at me. It hits me. Let�s say I�m stunned. But when he casts a regular spell at me during the same ten second cycle that began when I first swung my hammer, I may still interrupt him even though I am stunned by the quickcast, because my cycle is still running. Still with me? Let�s see what happens when multiple people are attacking our caster friend. (It�s hard to explain in text, please forgive the sophomoric illustration at the bottom of all this.) I have a weapon with a five second delay. Chris has a weapon with a three second delay. And Jason also has a five second delay weapon. Mahrin will yet again serve as our caster, and he is casting a spell with a three second timer. First, I swing. One tick later, Chris swings. One tick later than that, Jason swings. One tick after Jason, Mahrin starts to cast. Who will have a chance to interrupt him? It�s all in the timing. In this BEAUTIFUL diagram, s = swing, c = cast, and t = tick. Mahrin:__________cT__T__T Sanya:_sT__T__T__T__T Chris:_____sT__T__T Jason:________sT__T__T__T__T At about the halfway point during Mahrin�s cast, the interrupt check happens. So, go to halfway (the middle T in Mahrin�s row). Chris�s cycle is finished, and will not interrupt Mahrin. My cycle is ending at about the same time Mahrin�s interrupt check begins on that spell, so I�ve got a 50/50 chance of interrupting him, depending on the exact timing. Jason is in the middle of his cycle, and therefore definitely has a chance of interrupting Mahrin. Whether or not Jason DOES interrupt him depends on level and luck. The chance of interruption isn�t very high. The above applies whether the SWING part did damage or not. As you can see, this system is more fair to all weapon users, and is more realistic (a big honking axe is actually just as distracting as a dagger when it�s swung at your head). But, in the interests of fun, we�ve kept the actual chance low, and the higher level the caster, the less likely the caster will lose concentration. Whew. I need a frosty beverage after all that. I wish you all a safe and happy weekend, and we�ll see you Monday. Or maybe on the frontiers before then =)