Blocking vs. Interrupting

redsteven

I'm playing a sorceress so I'm using a staff. When blocking, is there any benefit to "interrupting" a melee attack? Obviously it helps if I'm trying to interrupt an enemies spell-cast, but if it's just a plain melee swing, should I be interrupting or just holding up the plain block?

Thanks

Ethoir

White/gold spark effects for their charge animation = Block. Red = interrupt.

I found there are some "red" charge animations I can't interrupt though. The throwing knife skill I cannot interrupt using Venom Arrow (which is supposed to interrupt casting of skills and spells). Instead it expects me to get in their face and interrupt with a bash which 7 times out of 10 I cannot (or will not) do.

hilelorangutan

Some of the white sparks can be interrupted, but especially with the more powerful melee enemies they cannot so you definitely want to block them. However blocking these will leave the enemy prone to exploit them.

Red sparks you always want to try to interrupt, the most important of these being the healers. Especially against a group of multiple healers sometimes you won't be able to kill a single enemy without interrupts.

Lazarus_Long

Also, interrupting give a better chance at stunning a foe, especially for red sparkles.

Sestar

Slightly off-topic; when I go spellcaster /w staff on a character, I use interrupt to burn stamina to finish an enemy. Interrupt does do damage. Often it is faster than going thru the staff attack animation, too (at least for restoration staffs).

I found it helpful to put interrupt on an easy to press key.

LilBudyWizerub17_ESO

I believe interrupt is actually bash. I use bash with sword and board just to keep damaging them while blocking. Once they're off balance I charge up and whack them in the head with my trusty little mace. That's does incredible damage. Since I'm nearly all mitigation I do much damage. I'll be whacking, whacking and whacking mob until they finally give me a chance to put them off balance and in one hit take their bar down more than 4-5 normal hits did. At low levels you can charge without them being off balance, but at higher levels they're block and interrupt to knock you off balance.

Ethoir

And be careful. some special attacks cannot be blocked. Like the NPCs with Greatswords using the uppercut power attack (windup animation, red sparks, and treating the greatsword like it's a golf club). When I try blocking it I still get sent flying and I get stunned for as long as I stunned the the guy who hit me. The only good grace in this is that the block negated most of the damage of the attack.

Its kind of funny in a way, but so very annoying when that attack still knocks me back and keeps me from capitalizing on throwing the guy off balance (because I'm still "stunned" from blocking the bloody thing).

Hawke

Yeah, the interrupt does do some damage.

And yes you should be blocking powered attacked and interrupting charging abilities with any weapon you hold. Especially if you are in a group. It is everyone's responsibility to stop that healer from healing their allies. Or saving your teammate from getting a fireball up his crotch.

Vikova

Interrupts do more damage and often stun.

Anthony45122

Ethoir wrote: »

White/gold spark effects for their charge animation = Block. Red = interrupt.

I found there are some "red" charge animations I can't interrupt though. The throwing knife skill I cannot interrupt using Venom Arrow (which is supposed to interrupt casting of skills and spells). Instead it expects me to get in their face and interrupt with a bash which 7 times out of 10 I cannot (or will not) do.

The throwing knife skill has to be dodged by rolling to the side.