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I suppose along the lines of the cooldown, does the second or so of animation count against the duration of transformation? I've never been too consistent with seconds.

Cooldown starts as soon as you use (click/press) the skill hotkey.

For the record, you don't have to transform to drop the aggro, it drops the second you start to spin. And you can cancel it before ever transforming and still reap the aggro drop benefit.

For the burden of proof I submit this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC-bNdtCvIk

of course, you also the risk canceling at just the right time to get stuck.

Plus, I've gotten hit after starting the spin and not lost aggro.

I've undergone both cases. It really seems to vary by the monster...?