Defense

Often times during the game, your character will come under attack from enemies (or other players) wielding a variety of harmful or debilitating effects. Thankfully, you don't have to sit there and take it. Here are a few ways to fend off attacks against your character.

Avoidance

The surest way to defend against an effect is never to get hit by it in the first place. For actions delivered through packets or weapon strikes, if the packet or weapon fails to hit you, the action has no effect. Keep in mind, however, that certain actions are delivered through areas (e.g., Burst, Viscinity, etc.) rather than packets or weapon strikes. The only way to avoid these area effects is to be outside the area when the effect is called.

Blocking / Parrying

You can typically defend against an action delivered through a weapon strike by blocking with a shield or parrying with a weapon. Some exceptions do exist. For example, blocking or parrying an action that uses the Ruin effect causes it to affect the prop used to block or parry, and attacks with the Pierce tagline are unblockable.

Note the blocking and parrying only defends against actions delivered through weapon strikes. Actions delivered through packets take full effect if they contact a held or worn prop. Likewise, area effects cannot be blocked or parried.

Countering

In addition to their normal uses, many special actions can be used to counter other actions. A counter is a special action that prevents a harmful or troublesome effect from happening to the character who performs it. There are three ways to counter.

1. For most harmful effects, the character may expend an action that uses the same effect as the effect to be prevented. For example, the character could use an action that produces a Slay effect to counter another Slay effect.
2. For most harmful effects, the character may also expend an action that uses the opposite effect as the effect to be prevented. For example, the character could use an action that produces a Repair effect to counter a Ruin effect.
3. The character may expend an action specifically designed to counter the effect to be prevented. For example, the character could counter a Freeze effect with an action that produces a Release effect, which is designed to counter any Bind effect.

Of course, performing a counter isn't the same as performing a normal action. Counters must obey the following restrictions.

• Counters can only be used to protect oneself from an effect. Thus, a character could counter a battlefield-wide Frenzy effect, but doing so would only prevent him or herself from being frenzied.
• The action used to perform a counter is expended just as if the character had used it normally.
• When an action is expended to perform a counter, the normal performance requirements are waived. Thus, a wizard who expends a Shatter spell to counter a Ruin effect does not need to recite the verbal. Likewise, a rogue who expends an Assassinate to counter a Slay effect does not need to be behind the opponent. The countering character need only declare, "Counter."
• A single action can only produce a single counter, regardless of its method. Thus, an action that allows the user to throw five packets of Maim can only be used to counter a single Maim effect per use.
• Rituals can never be used to counter.

Countering with Action Items

Daily or adventure actions within items that are currently being used by your character may be used to counter as described above. For example, you can use a sword with a daily Fumble action to counter a Fumble while you're holding it. However, you cannot use the sword's action to counter if it is sheathed or sitting nearby.

Most single-use and charged items, however, cannot be used to counter. For example, a character may not use an Emblem of Renewal or a Death Gas to counter a Slay. The only exceptions are charms, which are specifically designed for this purpose.