Empowered ability
[Dream Breath].Empowered abilities are abilities that increase their potency over the duration of which they are charged up.
The cast bar of an empowered ability is broken into multiple colored sections, each of which designates a breakpoint that, if chosen to cast at that point, will cause a certain heightened effect. Once the spell is fully empowered, it can be held up to 1 second; After the indicator reaches the end of the bar, the ability is cast regardless of the player's input.
Empowered abilities can be activated in either "Hold-and-release" fashion, or "Press-and-tap", toggled in the settings. In the first, the ability will be cast once releasing the key. In the second, the ability needs to be pressed again in order to be activated.
Empowered abilities are not affected by pushback, but are often vulnerable to interrupt.
Empowered abilities that use resources (usually mana) will consume it when starting the cast, therefore the consumed resources will start to be generated immediately, unlike cast-time spells, but refund it if interrupted.
Similar to channeled abilities, if a charging empowered ability no longer valid to use (target out or range, or lose line of sight, etc.) at any moment, it aborts and fails immediately, unlike cast time abilities which only checks when the cast time is over.
Empowered abilities start a 0.5 second global cooldown after the ability is cast.
Notes
- Empowered abilities were introduced in Dragonflight as a unique casting mechanic for the Evoker class, with multiple synergistic abilities in their kit like
[Tip the Scales] and 
[Font of Magic]. 
[Azerite Surge] is the only racial trait that is an empowered ability.- In patch 10.2.6, the Plunderstorm mode brought unique abilities that could also be empowered, like
[Slicing Winds] and 
[Mana Sphere].