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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsSpell pushback mechanics changed on Beta
by Daniel Whitcomb 
Aug 11th 2008 at 2:00PM
Pushback has always been the bane of spellcasters and Hunters everywhere, be it in PvP or PvE. The slightest bit of damage, even the environmental kind, can make a quick 1 second cast somehow stretch into eternity. However, as of the latest Beta build, the eternal cast time may be a thing of the past thanks to some new spell pushback rules.
When you're casting a spell, the first two hits will add .5 seconds each to the cast time. Every other cast will have no effect. For channeled spells, the first 2 hits will take 25% each off the total duration, while all subsequent hits will have no effect.
This sounds like it should be a pretty awesome change overall, especially for solo or small group PVE, where one who has drawn aggro or otherwise lost control of their target can rest assured that it will take them only a single second longer to get off a heal or cast a crowd control spell. Here's hoping this is one change that makes it to the live servers.
Of course, it's probably still worth taking that pushback protection talent if you can. There's no use tempting fate, and that 1 extra second can be a surprisingly long time when you're under pressure.
Thanks to everyone who pointed this out!
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, News items, Expansions, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 3)
borings Aug 11th 2008 6:53PM
i support this
Killu Aug 11th 2008 2:24PM
hmm this will make Mind Control a much more reliable CC...
Saelorn Aug 11th 2008 2:26PM
I wonder if this will lead to situations where it is preferable to cast a longer heal on yourself rather than a short one.
Previously, while my shaman was being beaten upon by four enemies, I had to cast Lesser Healing Wave with hopes that it would eventually get through with enough effect to keep me alive, because regular Healing Wave would have no chance to get through.
Now, Lesser Healing Wave will essentially just have a 2.5 second casting time while under pressure, while regular Healing Wave will heal twice as much for only 1 extra second of casting time (after talents). That should ease my grind significantly!
vlad Aug 11th 2008 2:29PM
drain lock. hmm i may switch mains for LK
ninjasuperspy Aug 11th 2008 2:36PM
From a ret paladin who solos a lot: Thanks blizz, I love you guys.
Arlendor Aug 11th 2008 2:40PM
Does this affect the pushback on wanding? It's not shown as existing but there's a noticeable delay when using a wand while you're being beaten on by something with a very fast attack speed (i.e. tigers).
deCaff Aug 11th 2008 2:48PM
Oh nice change for casters but bad for almost everyone else.
Most melee were already dominating all casters exept healers and Fmages so meh.
But I feel bad for those that actually relied on spellpushback as on of their anti caster mechanics.
Feral druids are the first I think of.
Hunters with their pets.
Ret pallys with no interrupts.
Fury warriors
I guess even warlocks had some benefit of it with their pets.
So how is blizz gonna manage these?
I really fear that in favor of making arena more organized other types of PVP are being compromised.
The random pvp,1vs1 and BG were big on fight control and quick burst but now...all stuns are being reduced,everyones getting anti silences and now these too.
It seems like it will become noobmode where everyone just stands there and fights like if it was PVE.
Well not like PVE but less pvpish than current PVP.
Graevus Aug 11th 2008 2:49PM
Easy button for hunter taming as well.
MisterMoose Aug 11th 2008 3:54PM
Taming doesn't suffer pushback. You have to sit there the full duration anyhow. This won't change it.
MisterMoose Aug 11th 2008 3:55PM
No, it's not. Taming doesn't suffer pushback, so this won't affect it.
MisterMoose Aug 11th 2008 3:56PM
Err, oops. Ignore the second (or first) post. Silly page not updating posting my comment in a timely manner!
pudds Aug 11th 2008 3:13PM
IMO, they should just do away with pushback altogether. It's already enough of a balance that casters must stop moving to deal damage, while melee can dps fully while on the move. The fact that melee can dps fully while simultaneously inhibiting caster dps is completely nonsensical.
hoviboy Aug 11th 2008 7:32PM
the most frustrating is the fact that hunters cannot auto-shoot while running, you have to stop moving in order to fire the bullet/arrow (correct me if I'm wrong but it has not been changed in wrath)
STereo Aug 11th 2008 3:56PM
This is yet another huge nerf for the weakest pvp class the game has evern seen - TBC hunters.
MisterMoose Aug 11th 2008 3:57PM
You are clearly talking about arena. In BGs my hunter kicks ass.
tripp Aug 11th 2008 6:46PM
Now that Pummels and Kicks are off the global cooldown it only seems fair. I play a Warrior and Rogue btw.
Smurk Aug 11th 2008 5:25PM
People seem to take for granted that is going to go live. I dunno how it plays but it certainly sounds like a huge boost.
But hey, I did get my mage alt to 32 already.
Adam Aug 11th 2008 7:08PM
I agree with it making casters all that much harder for pvp. I play a warrior and a mage so I can argue for both sides. in PVE, pushback makes it far harder for a caster than a melee for soloing sometimes, especially with multiple mobs. Pretty much have to spec frost just to keep ice barrior up 24/7 since it stops the pushback otherwise you can't get spells off and you die.
However in battlegrounds, the person noted charge as 15 seconds. Try intercept, which is 30 seconds (unless you are specced pvp then it's 25 seconds, or 20 seconds specced pvp and 4 piece gladiator).
Still, hardly a stun for a caster, especially a mage who will simply blink away then you'll never catch him again because you'll be dead before your intercept is ready again. It really helped to catch them just that once and beat them senseless with pushback because it was the ONLY time you were going to, cause once they did get a spell off the battle was over and you were gonna be a dead warrior. (this is of course considering any mage with sense enough to know not to throw a 4 k crit at you when you have spell reflect up, although most good mages know what it looks like when you do this, those that don't, well those are the ones that typically don't take advantage of the imbalanced mechanics between warriors and mages anyways in BGs)
Matt Aug 11th 2008 7:46PM
Wait, did they nerf improved intercept in the beta, or did you just get the numbers wrong? As it currently stands, intercept has a native 30s cooldown, which you can push down to 20s with 2 points in improved intercept (http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=29889). So, if you have 4/5 of the gladiator gear, it goes down to 15 seconds, not 20.
Teleshot Aug 11th 2008 8:27PM
This is by far the best change I have seen in the beta so far. My main is a mage and I've wanted something done to spell pushback for a while. Hopefully Blizzard will keep up these good tweaks