Activation time

Activation time, noted by the icon in game, is the length of time (in seconds) it takes from starting to use a skill until that skill takes effect. Activation time is also called casting time, particularly when referring to the activation time of spells.

Activation time has concrete effects on gameplay:
 * The shorter the activation time of your skills, the more skills you can activate. This seems obvious, but it's important. Remember, some skills have an aftercast delay which cannot be reduced.
 * You can't move while activating skills with activation times or attacks with no explicit activation time listed.
 * Shorter skills allow you to react more quickly. For instance, if someone casts Conjure Phantasm on you when you start to activate Resurrect, your health will be drained most of the five seconds before you can cast Remove Hex (unless you abort the Resurrect, wasting some time and all of the energy spent on it).
 * The longer the activation time of a skill, the easier it is for opponents to use interrupt skills against you. It is difficult to consistently interrupt skills with activation times of less than one second, and relatively easy to interrupt skills that take two seconds or longer to activate.

Queuing actions
While activating a skill, players can queue one other action. This action could be another skill or picking up an item. These actions can be queued even if the character must walk in order to perform the action. However, while activating a skill with an activation time longer than one second, issuing a direct movement order (pressing a movement hotkey or clicking on the ground) cancels the activation of that skill. Any energy or adrenaline spent on the skill is lost, as if the skill were interrupted, but the skill can be used again immediately (there is no recharge time). Players can switch targets any number of times while activating a skill. If the target is a foe then the player will begin attacking the foe once the skill is activated.

Changing activation times

 * There are some items that reduce activation times, usually as a percentage chance each time you activate a skill.
 * The Mesmer primary attribute Fast Casting reduces the activation time of spells and signets.
 * Glyph of Sacrifice and Glyph of Essence allows one spell to be cast instantly.
 * Quick Shot shoots an arrow in half the activation time.
 * Dazed causes spell casting to take twice as long.
 * Some hexes cause spell casting or attacking to take longer, such as Arcane Conundrum, Migraine, Faintheartedness, Soul Bind, and Shadow of Fear.