Interrupt

To interrupt an action in the game is to prevent it from being completed. Most skills have an activation time during which the character is preparing the skill. If a character is interrupted during skill activation, the skill is interrupted. This has three results:
 * 1) The interrupted skill has no effect.
 * 2) The skill's cost (energy or adrenaline) is forfeited.
 * 3) The skill cannot be used again until the normal recharge time for that skill passes.

There are a technical differences between the various ways to interrupt a target:
 * "true" interrupts (skills with "interrupt" in their description, or being attacked while dazed) will immediately interrupt the target, unless it is being protected by Mantra of Concentration, Mantra of Resolve or Glyph of Concentration.
 * Some skills (including all that "disable" skills) cause the target's skill to fail after the activation time has passed (e.g. Guilt, Blackout, mid-casting Spell Breaker). Mantra of Concentration and similar do not help against them.
 * Knocking down enemies interrupts them immediately, and skills that prevent interruption don't work against knockdown.

Tips on Interrupting

 * To effectively interrupt, keep an eye on the Skill Monitor under the enemy's bar in the center of the top of the screen. When the enemy starts using a skill, the skill's activation bar appears under the bar. If it's a skill you want to interrupt (and can interrupt), do so immediately!
 * Sometimes, if an opponent is casting a spell or using a skill that takes a very long time to prepare (like Resurrect or the like), it may be in your interest to wait until the last second to interrupt the player. In this case, he/she will have lost not just energy, but also the entire casting time of the spell.  Keep in mind that some skills have no recharge, so interrupting them immediately only allows the player to begin recasting the spell right away!
 * It is best to study (and perhaps play as) other professions to truly understand what is the best way to interrupt each class.
 * Interruption is not just for spells. Other actions (including attacks and attack skills and signets) can be interrupted. Attacks have an activation time (see the specific weapon's page) and take time to execute. Any such action or skill can be interrupted, though there are far more skills that interrupt spells than attacks.
 * Some skills (such as stances and shouts) don't have an activation time. These skills can't be interrupted.

"Easily Interrupted"
Some skills in the game, including all traps, are easily interrupted. These skills are interrupted if any attack hits the character, even without the use of interruption skills (read the article on attack to see what constitutes an attack). Being dazed causes all of your spells to be easily interrupted.

Related Articles

 * Skill disruption quick reference
 * Interrupt skills quick reference
 * Fail skills quick reference
 * See also: dazed and knockdown

These skills are easily interrupted:
 * Crude Swing
 * Barbed Trap
 * Dust Trap
 * Flame Trap
 * Healing Spring
 * Precision Shot
 * Spike Trap
 * Viper's Nest
 * Snare
 * Ethereal Light

These skills prevent interruption (but knockdown, disabling and causing to fail will interrupt despite any of these!):
 * Mantra of Concentration prevents an interruption.
 * Mantra of Resolve prevents interruptions at the cost of energy each time.
 * Glyph of Concentration prevents interruption of the next spell cast and ignores the effects of Dazed.
 * Trapper's Focus makes traps not easily interruptible for its duration.