PvP (should casters even bother?)

[frostmagemari]

Hi everyone,

As is the thing to do lately, i've been going through the patch notes for 2.1 and i have to wonder about something they set into the pvp-ruleset, namely the aspect in bold.

The following battle mechanics have been changed specifically for PvP:
Casting will always be interrupted upon receiving direct damage.
Damage dealt by bows will vary depending on distance from the target.

As a summoner, i have a few instant cast abilities (siphon, bio, miasma II, ruin II and technically fester) and my pet (Though it's damage is negligible, and can be killed easily if not titan). Though, a majority of the things i will want to cast and really, the things i will end up -needing- to cast have a cast time(As fester will be useless without Miasma and Bio II on the target); As do the other casters.

With the rule that casting will always be interrupted by direct damage, it will make it almost impossible to fight competitively against any class as direct damage would encompass all things aside from DoT effects; Which means a bard, while their damage will change at range can effectively lock any caster down by simply auto-attacking, or any melee class can use their ranged attack as an interrupt against a heal or snare.

The lead Dev may claim to have been an avid PvP'er, but even given my limited experience in pvp, i know that this change alone shows that he knows little to nothing of balancing pvp content; And i seriously doubt they will be taking this feature out. It's sad to see that pvp is by default going to be dominated by and favourited towards anything without a cast bar.

I'd love to know what other people think about this? Do you agree, disagree?