Dodging AOE

[FunkYeahDragons]

The server will register slightly before the cast bar finishes, at around 75-80%. The upside to this is that with many (not all) boss mechanics, you can move back immediately after and be safe even if the animation hasn't finished.

[Rongway]

The server will register slightly before the cast bar finishes, at around 75-80%.

Hits are counted at the moment the cast bar finishes.

Any time that it appears otherwise, it's a matter of latency. Whenever your position changes, it takes the data some amount of time to travel from your computer to the servers in California, Japan, or (sorry, I forget where the EU servers are) Germany? If the data doesn't make it to the server before the cast bar finishes, the server will consider you still inside the AoE.

If you have a golden connection of the gods, you can be out of an AoE just as the cast bar finishes; however, most people will need to be out one to two seconds earlier.


However,

The upside to this is that with many (not all) boss mechanics, you can move back immediately after and be safe even if the animation hasn't finished.

this is quite true. In fact, in some fights, you need to run back into an AoE animation in order to dodge another AoE coming up in the complementary space. In such a case, if you wait for the animation to finish, then run back into it, you might be too late to get to safety.