[MasterNuke]

Initially, there was no cast animation, nor was there a way to cast spells except with /invoke. Problem with /invoke was it targeted yourself and you would very often blow off your own face. Eventually, spells were given wands to cast and a casting animation. The problem was, casting animations were abysmally slow. I'm talking 5 to 6 seconds slow. Eventually, it was brought up and cast times got changed to how they are right now.

Anyway... what spells need is another full overhaul emphasizing cost and effectiveness ratios. A lot of spells are just far too useless for their spell point costs. This COULD involve speed tweaks. A lot of defensive spells are very cost effective, but are just too slow.

Edit: The issue with rods is that it casts before the rod delay animation and there is a way to cancel out of most of the delay animation. But, if rods were changed to have the same delays as normal spell casting, rods would become completely pointless and worthless.

Edit2: Though I feel that casting could be faster overall, it would cause a lot of imbalance. Instead, the ability to cancel spells mid-cast and chances to avoid interruption based on magic level against the attacker's physical level should be considered.