casting mechanics question

[EvianEverdeen]

I have a simple question about casting mechanics that might sound complicated, because I'm not sure the exact best way to ask it, but here it goes...

If there is a buff on me that gives me increased healing and I cast a heal spell... at what point is the heal with the buff calculated? As soon as I hit the button to begin casting the heal or after the heal is actually cast and lands?

This is for macro purposes. See I'm not sure I would gain the increased healing, if say, I cast Physick, but then my Eos casts and lands Fey Illumination mid-cast of Physick, then the Physick goes off. Would the Fey Illumination had to have been applied before I hit the button to start casting Physick? Thanks!

[subteraneanbird]

The buff is applied when the hit lands. Meaning, as an example, if you mistime Divine Seal slightly so it ends right before your Cure 2 goes off, then that Cure 2 won't be buffed. In your instance, you would get the Fey Illumination buff from that casted Physick.

[EvianEverdeen]

The buff is applied when the hit lands. Meaning, as an example, if you mistime Divine Seal slightly so it ends right before your Cure 2 goes off, then that Cure 2 won't be buffed. In your instance, you would get the Fey Illumination buff from that casted Physick.

Does the same mechanic work for the free cast of Cure II (upon a successful Cure I)? Meaning when the box is a dotted-line for Cure II telling me that I have a free cast, would I have to land the heal in order to get the free cast before the timer runs out, or simply hitting the cast button even when there's a half-second left of the timer will still yield a free cast of Cure II? Thanks again!

[subteraneanbird]

It works the same. Trust me, it is agonizing to lose the Freecure proc because you were slightly too slow.

[Vid]

It works the same. Trust me, it is agonizing to lose the Freecure proc because you were slightly too slow.

Can definitely attest to this. The cast itself has to actually go off within the time frame of the countdown for it to be free. If you start your Cure 2 cast at 2 seconds left, it will end up costing mana. However if you do it at exactly 3 seconds you'll be fine.

Same with Divine Seal, this is why we White Mages will wait until the last second of Divine Seal to get a new Regen up on the tank. The potency increase to Regen from Divine Seal will last the ENTIRE duration. This counts for other buffs as well that come from the tanks that improve their healing taken on them. As long as Regen was cast on them during that particular buff, it will continue to heal at that potency for the full duration of the spell, regardless if the buff falls off.

Test it with your tank sometime. Have the Warrior cast Defiance, you cast 1 Regen, have him take off Defiance and you'll notice the Regen ticks do not change. Or they can use the other Healing buff that Paladins get, I just forget the name at the moment.

[subteraneanbird]

To put it simply, casting is split into two actions:

Step 1): You hit the button. You go into casting stance, meaning movement or a proportional amount of damage will cancel your cast. Nothing else happens during step 1 Cast time for the spell is calculated at this time, based on your current Spell Speed.
Step 2): The cast finishes (usually at 80% full due to how the game handles pinging for spells). All actual effects of the spell are calculated at this time. For healing, this includes the amount healed (affected both on caster side (Divine Seal) and target side (Defiance, Convalescence). MP cost is calculated (usually value listed, but 0 if Freecure is active at this time, 1/2 if Overcure is active at this time). Secondary effects apply (the hot from Medica II, the shield from Adlo/Succor). For HOT/DOT effects, FFXIV uses a "snapshot" system where the potency of the effect is determined solely when the initial effect lands. Like the Divine Seal+Regen example from above, or like Aero+Cleric Stance.

[Assirra]

It works the same. Trust me, it is agonizing to lose the Freecure proc because you were slightly too slow.

Indeed, having it tick the last second before the spell hits away is painful to see.
While it is designed that way so you can interupt the spell and not be wasted, it hurts sometimes.

[UlricCraft]

Presence of Mind the Spell Speed buff is calculated at beginning of the cast.
If you cast Holy with PoM activated and the effect wears off, the cast still happens with reduced time.

[subteraneanbird]

Presence of Mind the Spell Speed buff is calculated at beginning of the cast.
If you cast Holy with PoM activated and the effect wears off, the cast still happens with reduced time.

Right, that's true. Thank you for the correct. I'll edit my previous post to reflect this.