Something I've noticed while playing is that there's a certain lag between the finishing of your cast, and the actual damage caused by a war chant, or the healing from an aria.

When you cast, pay attention to when the name fades and when the spell actually hits. The trick is that once the name fades, or even sometimes just before it does, you can cast another spell, and damage a spirit twice or three times before it casts back at you, or even get a leg up on some enemy mages. It's definitely helped me take down bigger spirits.

If someone wants to invalidate this by telling me this time difference is just lag on my part, or validate it by doing the opposite, please feel free to chime in.

Extending this, as soon as you release your first spell, pull down the rune screen and draw your next one, but don't lift your finger up. When the screen goes purple from your spell attack, lift your finger up and you'll begin casting your next spell and can draw a third.

ETA: Whoops, it doesn't purple anymore. Verdo's right, when the spell name starts to go away, you can lift your finger for the next spell.

Edited by Gabriel (June 15, 2011 16:39:25)

Thanks for the input both of you! My first draft of this post said about the purpling thing, but I remembered just in time.

you can indeed wait until the name dissapears!
you could also just wait until you see the effect

Spell Queuing will save your life. I have been able to get off 3 spells before a spirit can hit me, and usually 2 before an enemy player can realize where I'm attacking from.

Getting the timing down is essential to your survival. Leave limited time for reaction.

Having the sound on is even better. It lags less than the graphics.