How is something INSTANT when it is blocked by GCD !

What I, and many others here are trying to point out is that the advantages of an "instant" ability in this game are mobility and freedom from interupts more than time for activation.

99% of posters in this thread have entirely missed the point of what the OP is talking about. you have focused more on the GCD mention in the OP, rather than the delayed nature of so called "instants".

let me give you an example.

the sith warrior ability Smash is an instant ability. it can be used whilst moving.

if you hit the smash button, the GCD starts, the animation starts, but the damage is NOT applied.
when the animation ends - coinciding with the end of the GCD - the damage is applied.

if between the start of the animation and the end, the warrior suffers some kind of interupt, such as from being knocked back, or other CC, the ability is effectively canceled and no damage is applied.

this is why the OP is saying that these so called "instant" abilities are instant only in name. in practice, many of them instead are 1 second or 1.5 second cast time abilities.

against a player with twitch reflexes who knows what he's doing (and more importantly, knows what your doing) this makes these abilities a serious handicap in pvp.

animations are nice candy, but give me the damage first pls.

If he was talking about animation delay, then why is continually specifically referencing the GCD?

Useless in PvE, but in PvP, sometimes you need the damage to land faster.

If he was talking about animation delay, then why is continually specifically referencing the GCD?

If he was talking about animation delay, then why is continually specifically referencing the GCD?

think harder.

GCD have nothing to do with it
if its instant its instant its about the cast time not the cooldown