Question about how Sure Parry Works.

[John Robinson]

Kincaid has made it to S-Parry(4) +2 Doge, +2 Parry, Auto Block 2 hits. 3+Lore turns.

The answer is probably pretty obvious, but I would like to be sure.

1. During combat he will sometimes flash. Does that mean I need to count how many hits have occurred or does it mean the auto block has ended because he took 2 hits?

2. S-Parry lasts 3+Lore turns does this means he is still getting the +2 Dodge, +2 Parry benefits even if auto block has ended?

[CdrPlatypus]

I know the answer to 2 is no. When sure parry auto block is used up he no longer gets the bonuses from it

[fallen]

Jan 11, 2016 2:21:11 GMT -5 CdrPlatypus said:

I know the answer to 2 is no. When sure parry auto block is used up he no longer gets the bonuses from it

This is correct.

1. Yes, the flash of the Sure Parry icon indicates him using Sure Parry to execute a block.
2. As he blocks hits, his bonuses from Sure Parry go away. In fact, if you have 2 Blocks and he blocks the first one, his bonus goes down to the Dodge / Parry for 1 Block. I know that is confusing, but it is the way it works.

[Cory Trese]

You can examine the current effect in the effects list, right?

[fallen]

Yep! ... but all the changes to Sure Parry happen during the enemy's turn, when its hard to watch or look.

[John Robinson]

S-Parry(4) +2 Doge, +2 Parry, Auto Block 2 hits. 3+Lore turns.  
If I see 2 flashes S-Parry has ended.  It's likely I'll put allot of points in Lore to keep Cunning Footwork running at higher SP costs.  That's why I hoped the dodge/parry effects would last in S-Parry.

Ok have I got my mind right?
Flash 1 For the next combat round he loses his Dodge/Parry bonus after that it's back on.
Flash 2 S-Parry has ended regardless of how many lore rounds remain.

CdrPlatypus, fallen, Cory Trese  Thanks for the help, Kincaid is currently my main area of research, so there are some more strange questions coming. 

[fallen]

@johnrobison - as we are talking about Sure Parry 4, let me see if I can explain another way.

Sure Parry lasts as long as you have not taken the full number of hits. In the case of 4, 2 hits will cancel the Buff and all effects.

If you cast Sure Parry 4, it will last (3 + Lore) Turns OR until you get hit twice. If you are not getting hit (as you will often find with Kincaid ... he's hard to tag!) then Sure Parry 4 can last a long time.

If you see a "flash" in combat, that means you took a hit and Sure Parry soaked it up for you. This means that Sure Parry's bonuses (which are +2 Dodge & Parry at Level 4) drop down to the next breakpoint level, which in this case is 1. Each "breakpoint" level is the one below where your Block count increases So, Level 1 allows 1 block. Level 4 allows 2 blocks. If you have Level 4 cast, when you take a hit, Sure Parry buff reverts to the Level 3 buff (+2 Dodge & Parry). The level 3 buff will stay as long as the duration of Sure Parry. In this case, it is highly to your advantage to spend 1 AP and put Sure Parry up again on your turn to return to your 2 Block status. Another way to say that, is that Sure Parry does not refresh automatically. If you can block 2 hits, and you take 1 hit, then you can only block 1 more hit. Next turn, you can only block one more hit. If you recast Sure Parry, then you're back up to 2 hits.

I always prefer specifics, sorry if its confusing.

[matrim]

Sure Parry doesn't quite work like that. Each flash means you are losing one charge of the buff. However as long as you have charges left then the bonus Dodge and Parry remain, to the maximum effect of the charges left. Confusing and so I will use examples. If you have Sure Parry levelled to 4 then you have 2 charges of it and +2 Dodge and Parry. During the monster's turn they take down one of those charges. You still have access to the 2 Dodge and 2 Parry for the rest of the monster's turn because you still have a charge left and that is the maximum bonus you can have with 1 charge. If you had Sure Parry levelled to 5, it offers the same 2 charges but gives 3 Parry and 3 Dodge. The downside is though that if you lose one charge of that Sure Parry then you go down to 2 Parry and Dodge because that is the maximum bonus you can have with 1 charge. For this reason there are definitely sweet spots for the talent. Sure Parry 1 (for the guaranteed block and cheap recast, both SP and APwise), Sure Parry 4 (for the second charge and the +2 dodge and parry whenever the buff is up), and Sure Parry 7 (for the 3rd and final charge, the +4 dodge and parry as long as you have at least 2 charges, at 1 charge it drops to 2 dodge and parry as that is the maximum you can have with 1 charge). I personally find Sure Parry 4 to be the best as if I am getting hit more than 2 times in a single round then I opt to equip more defensive gear. This frees up talent points for other awesomeness Kincaid provides. All 3 of these spots are amazing though for their point investment. Consider Sure Parry 7 for an ironman, it is a very safe build.

[wascalwywabbit]

I was wondering about this for a while too, but had not thought how to ask, thanks fallen, matrim. Super useful info I had missed before!

[matrim]

fallen Your post made me think that I had gotten the talent wrong. I made a boost in group to confirm. On the buffs screen it says that I have the dodge and parry bonus of the max level for the charges I have left. So when I lose a charge at Sure Parry 7 I go down to Sure Parry 6. When I lose another charge I go down to Sure Parry 3. If this is not the case then it is being displayed incorrectly on the buff screen and is a bug. It also counts it in the character summary screen but I am not sure if the possible bug would also affect that.

[fallen]

Jan 11, 2016 17:29:37 GMT -5 matrim said:

fallen Your post made me think that I had gotten the talent wrong. I made a boost in group to confirm. On the buffs screen it says that I have the dodge and parry bonus of the max level for the charges I have left. So when I lose a charge at Sure Parry 7 I go down to Sure Parry 6. When I lose another charge I go down to Sure Parry 3. If this is not the case then it is being displayed incorrectly on the buff screen and is a bug. It also counts it in the character summary screen but I am not sure if the possible bug would also affect that.

Thanks for pointing out my mistake on the breakpoint levels.

1 goes to 0
4 goes to 3 (then to 0)
7 goes to 6 (then to 3, then to 0)

[wascalwywabbit]

Jan 11, 2016 17:29:37 GMT -5 matrim said:

fallen Your post made me think that I had gotten the talent wrong. I made a boost in group to confirm. On the buffs screen it says that I have the dodge and parry bonus of the max level for the charges I have left. So when I lose a charge at Sure Parry 7 I go down to Sure Parry 6. When I lose another charge I go down to Sure Parry 3. If this is not the case then it is being displayed incorrectly on the buff screen and is a bug. It also counts it in the character summary screen but I am not sure if the possible bug would also affect that.

Man with one clock knows the time, man with 2 is not sure... ugh my head hurts again.

[John Robinson]

fallen   Thank you for the very detailed information in your 3rd post of this thread.  I'll be certain to add it to my notes.  That is a Big Help!  

[johndramey]

Fallen explained this perfectly, so I'll just pop in to say that I absolutely love Sure Parry. Due to the recent changes in strength and minimum damage, I've been considering going back to build a new team centered around a tanky Vraes. Giving up Kindcaid is proving to be too much though, and I find myself reloading my Kincaid group more and more often.

I keep Sure Parry up at level 4 until after Episode 1 finishes, then boost it up to the next auto-block point (7?) in order to get three free hits. Kincaid has become my go-to guy for getting melee enemies to congregate, as they can whack at him all day and never, ever land a hit.

[algesan]

He still has to run from missile fire, that is Selen's big bonus