Backfire Question

The text for Backfire reads:

For 10 seconds, whenever target foe casts a spell, that foe takes 22 damage.

Does this mean upon successful completion of the spell? Or at the start of casting. Backfire would be entirely negated if you decided to interupt your opponents castings, unless the damage was done when they started casting.

Can someone clear this up for me? Damage at start of cast or when spell is actually cast?

Its the start of the spell. If a Monk is at 10 health and casts Orison of Healing, and your Backfire does 22 damage, that Monk will die even though the heal is for more than the damage Backfire does.

Yes! Score, thanks a million. My build can proceed.

*bows graciously*

Except he answered the question wrong.

Backfire triggers on the completion of the spell - it doesn't even have to be active when they start casting. If they are interrupted, Backfire does not trigger.

Peace,
-CxE

Bah. So if your Backfire doesn't do as much damage as the heal your target will live? Or was it just the interruption part that I got wrong.

Upon completion of spell casting Backfire will hit the target. That's what Ensign is saying. If he's right, oh well.

What I think Walder was answering is if the spell effect or the Backfire effect hits first.

Thanks to you both this is a lot clearer.

Ensign is correct,

If you have a 100 damage backfire on you and cast a heal for 70 ... They both take effect and you take 30 damage.

I used backfire a lot in the last BWE. Most of the time I was targeting healer first anyway as I tend to lean towards an anti-caster type. Most of the time for PvE it worked quite well, it only worked in GvG when the monk's wern't paying attention to waht was inflicted on them. So basically I found in PvE it worked great , GvG so-so . Not a bad spell overall if you have a decent amount of points allocated to it

Monk has 50 health.
Casts Orison of Healing for 50 health
Backfire is poised to do 70 damage.

Does the monk die, or is he healed for 50, then hit for 70 and still survive with 30 life?

In what order do the effects go off? Or is it simultaneous?

As Ensign stated.... backfire is triggered upon spell completion..so no..you won't die.

50hp....+50hp - 70hp = 30hp (you live off the end result)