Peace Keeper, why should I Deflect when the reward vs. risk is so low? | Forums

[roundpitt]

So I spent about an hour against the level 3 dueling practice AI, practicing deflects.
It was really hard at first because the AI stops it's attack mid-swing denying you a Deflect randomly, so it's more based on luck, because you can't know when the AI is going to stop it's attack. This is part of the point I'm going to make. Dodging into an attack for a deflect, is a risk.

I noticed after awhile that the damage of the free attack that you get when you deflect and when you normal dodge + guaranteed strong attack actually do very similar amounts of damage. So I tested it.

A deflect against the NPC + the free stab did a bar and a half of damage. I tested this by getting the NPC to full health and watching how many bars the first deflect + attack did.

A dodge + strong attack did the same amount. A bar and a half. I tested this three times, using the same method.

So I have to ask, why even bother trying to do deflects when I can just go for a normal dodge for the same reward. After all, dodging into an attack for a deflect is a huge risk. I'm risking taking the attack for the same reward if I had just dodged in the opposite direction (Which posses much less risk).

The only thing that makes deflect worth trying is that it looks cool, but I don't want to look cool. I want to win. Deflect is too much of a risk compared to my other options.

[Charmzzz]

1. Parry is better atm. Nobody will deny that. But when they address the Turtle-Meta with changes to parry - who knows how good Deflect will be?

2. Deflect into unblockable and guaranteed Light is 30 bleed damage. Side-Dodge into Heavy into Light followup is 15 damage + 15 bleed damage. Same amount, true, but Side-Dodge attack is slow and parried alot.

3. Take Orochi and Warden as enemies for example: What I do is I put my Guard 90% of the time to the side where their zone attack comes from because they are fast and have alot of Flicker-Bugs. Both of them have fast Top-Light attacks (as fast as PK), and guess what, if I guard their zone attack direction they will go for Top Light. But I am prepared for this, I know they mostly do it so I dodge forward into a Deflect. Look at Deflect this way: you have another Guard on top of your normal Guard.

4. Deflect surprises most enemies, they start their combo, you Deflect the first hit and take initiative.

[roundpitt]

1. Parry is better atm. Nobody will deny that. But when they address the Turtle-Meta with changes to parry - who knows how good Deflect will be?

2. Deflect into unblockable and guaranteed Light is 30 bleed damage. Side-Dodge into Heavy into Light followup is 15 damage + 15 bleed damage. Same amount, true, but Side-Dodge attack is slow and parried alot.

3. Take Orochi and Warden as enemies for example: What I do is I put my Guard 90% of the time to the side where their zone attack comes from because they are fast and have alot of Flicker-Bugs. Both of them have fast Top-Light attacks (as fast as PK), and guess what, if I guard their zone attack direction they will go for Top Light. But I am prepared for this, I know they mostly do it so I dodge forward into a Deflect. Look at Deflect this way: you have another Guard on top of your normal Guard.

4. Deflect surprises most enemies, they start their combo, you Deflect the first hit and take initiative.

To your second point. That I'm aware of, you can't parry while attacking. So 99% of the time dodge + strong is a gaurenteed hit, unless I take too long to initiate my attack after I've dodged. It's also nearly impossible at that point because I'm usually behind the enemy at this point, where they cannot see which direction my attack is coming from.
I have seen my side step blocked after a dodge... maybe 5 times since the game has been out. No one has ever parried after I've successfully dodged an attack and started my power attack.

To your third point. I never ever ever ever try to deflect a forward attack. From my experience, forward attacks are faster or have less time to initiate a successful deflect. It's not worth the trouble. On the other hand, forward attacks are much easier to dodge. When I see a forward attack I know I'm going to get a free dodge + hit in, unless they cancel the attack and switch to a guard break immediately. If I see my opponent doing this consistently, I stop side dodging and switch to aggressive fast hits.

[Charmzzz]

I guess you are not playing much versus people who feint alot. They feint, you dodge, they decide if they want to GB or parry you. This is what happens to most PK's who use the side-dodge-attack too often. If you don't believe me we can do a Duel (PC-Europe).

Seems like you did not understand my 3. at all. The point is that you can guard one side and have "another" guard with a counterattack at the same time, if you are fast enough. If not, well, then Deflect is not for you. I really don't know what you want to hear in this thread. I gave you examples when Deflect is good (and I have 10 times your experience in the game...), but you still say that the Dodge-Attack is better. It is not. It is used in different situations, e.g. when a Centurion goes for a Kick or a Conq / Valk goes for a Bash (not feintable melee moves) .

[Klingentaenz3r]

That concept of yours Charmzzz (Point 3) is pretty brilliant I must say. Although with a controller it might not be so easy to pull off since you need to refresh your guard as an assassin and unfortunately for most controllers except the elite ones with back paddles this means you need to lift your right thumb which should be ready to use your dodge button. But well anyhow I think I would try this out some time on my orochi. n1 pal. Thx for sharing

[Charmzzz]

That concept of yours Charmzzz (Point 3) is pretty brilliant I must say. Although with a controller it might not be so easy to pull off since you need to refresh your guard as an assassin and unfortunately for most controllers except the elite ones with back paddles this means you need to lift your right thumb which should be ready to use your dodge button. But well anyhow I think I would try this out some time on my orochi. n1 pal. Thx for sharing

Thanks and yeah, I am playing on PC with Mouse so fast guardswitching and dodging without loss of any other control is not a problem for me. How is that double-tap to dodge option? Could be a solution for your problem.

[Klingentaenz3r]

Thanks and yeah, I am playing on PC with Mouse so fast guardswitching and dodging without loss of any other control is not a problem for me. How is that double-tap to dodge option? Could be a solution for your problem.

Sadly, this is a mouse-keyboard only option

[Kliftheone]

That concept of yours Charmzzz (Point 3) is pretty brilliant I must say. Although with a controller it might not be so easy to pull off since you need to refresh your guard as an assassin and unfortunately for most controllers except the elite ones with back paddles this means you need to lift your right thumb which should be ready to use your dodge button. But well anyhow I think I would try this out some time on my Orochi. n1 pal. Thx for sharing

I solved this by remapping my controller, I play on PS4 and use a standard controller. I use L3 for dodge (x) and R3 for Guard Break (square). I main PK and this works like a charm for me, although I'm no pro player I feel I do quite good with this setup as it allows me to react much better and faster to most attacks and even boosts my ability to perform offensively.

You can do it with "accessibility" in the settings, and when I play other games I just disable custom controller settings.

Hope this helps! ☺️