Roll vs guard

[Kurosu]

Which do you prefer?
Personally, I noticed that I almost never use roll, the ratio between roll and guard use is probably 1 to 15 or less for me.
I only roll to avoid certain attacks like the Nanodragon sweeping/straight beams, or when I'm about to get hit by a 1 hit kill attack while I'm recovering from a swing.
Oh, and to get past area traps.

Other than that, I almost always prefer to guard or just use movement to dodge things.

How about you?

[Seth Astra]

I roll. Probably a habit from PSZ.

[Seasqwaa]

I use roll about every other hit.
I seem to avoid mostly all of the damage they can dish out.
Ah, another one to write down in the "already mastered" book.
I tried block, but I find my character is always in the way, giving me no chance to get a perfect.

Figures.

Roll all the way!

[Fandon]

Well what class are you? I'm trying out a vanguard and I roll all the time and its still early in the game so I've been using handgun/saber so I havnt even had the ability to block most of the time. If I were playing a hunter I would block more than dodge probably.

[BIG OLAF]

I do both. It really depends on whether or not the attack is dodge-able by rolling or not. If I don't have enough time to roll (or if rolling won't get me out of the attack range), I block. I'm pretty good at getting Perfect Blocks, anyway, so either is good with me.

[Ethateral]

I do both as well.

[TheAstarion]

Take it on the (over-inflated) chest like a (wo)man!

Beast Vanguard FTW!

I do guard when I can't attack, but usually I just keep on unloading numbers into enemies rather than let them live long enough to cause a problem.

[DarkPhoton]

I block a lot, being a ranger it helps me keep my aim and focus instead of dodge rolling and needing to re target or get my grounding again. This also helps by not wasting my precious PP

[NAM]

Where's the both option? Both cosign for your aid, you don't have to choose between the two...

Btw a tank, is just some skilless douchebag who knows nothing beyond spamming the triangle button. :|

[Izuna]

Guard before attacks, roll afterwards. Really depends on the situation.

[Tyreek]

Just so we don't have any confusion about a character's role:

"A tank (also known as a meat shield) is a style of character in gaming, often associated with a character class. A common convention in real-time strategy games, role-playing games, MMORPGs and MUDs, tanks redirect enemy attacks toward themselves in order to protect other characters or units. Since this role often requires them to suffer large amounts of damage, they rely on large amounts of health or armor, or alternatively evasiveness and misdirection."

Back to the topic at hand, I prefer both guarding and rolling. Why just rely on one skill, when all are at your disposal? I'll side with both.

[LK1721]

Roll if I have enough PP, guard if not.

[Lolitron]

I tend to do both.

I usually roll or guard is if the thing that I roll or guard against has a chance to do damage to me.

I guard if I want to quickly use a PA after the guard. After perfect guarding (also called Just Guard), any PA you do will be Just Attacked. The actual term for this is called a "Just Counter".

I roll if the guard timing is a bit off or to dodge certain projectiles to avoid the multiple incoming projectiles. I also roll against hearing attacks that I don't see (foies, barta, etc, that come from multiple directions).

If I'm low on PP and need to cross a laser fence, I Just Guard through the lasers to save PP. If I have plenty of PP, I roll through the lasers to save time.

I roll to cancel Resta and save a split second. I guard to cancel the normal attack of twin sabers to save time. I roll to cancel the recovery animation of Cyclone Dance. I guard to increase the safety of Dus Skadd.

I could keep going but I do hope you get the point. Guarding and Rolling are two completely different mechanisms and should be treated as such.

[Tyreek]

I Just Guard through the lasers to save PP. If I have plenty of PP, I roll through the lasers to save time.

I didn't even think that was remotely possible.

[Lolitron]

I didn't even think that was remotely possible.

Try it. Saves a lot of PP and makes you a bit better at the game :p.

[Tyreek]

I think I got better enough figuring out Olga Fail's pattern. XD

[Zarode]

Pshing, eat damage, suckah. Whoocha, full timed combo, baby~

[Izuna]

If I have plenty of PP, I roll through the lasers to save time.

I get hit, saves time.

[NAM]

Just so we don't have any confusion about a character's role:

"A tank (also known as a meat shield) is a style of character in gaming, often associated with a character class. A common convention in real-time strategy games, role-playing games, MMORPGs and MUDs, tanks redirect enemy attacks toward themselves in order to protect other characters or units. Since this role often requires them to suffer large amounts of damage, they rely on large amounts of health or armor, or alternatively evasiveness and misdirection."

Back to the topic at hand, I prefer both guarding and rolling. Why just rely on one skill, when all are at your disposal? I'll side with both.

That definition doesn't apply to this type of game. It's not necessary, and it's certainly a comical attempt at calling one's self a hero. Everyone can block or dodge roll, and there's a charm status effect with long ranged weapons defeating the purpose of doing such a thing.

Hey if one calls themself distracting enemies, I don't mind, but they better not expect any help from me when their azz gets knocked the eff out. From past expiriences, I've never seen a player use this tactic with proper gameplay. They go in, and don't come back out. Like, this isn't Mission Impossible. Unless they're my only team member, I would help them, but then again I wouldn't dare team up with such a player unless I was desperate.

I think one should play wisely, and by wisely I mean independently.

[Shakuri]

As a Force, I rely on my Evasion when I'm using Rods, and I roll when I know an attack is coming from behind, or a Tech is coming. If I have my melee weapons out, I always Just Guard, even if I know it wont hit me. Since I mainly use Twin Sabers for Melee anyway, I see having to guard as a blessing to restart my combo quicker really.

On my Hunter, Just Guard Just Guard Just Guard. I like to save as much PP as possible, even if I don't really need to. But rolling seems like a waste of time to me since I can very easily block any attack I want to. Only attacks I have trouble guarding against are Ra-Techs, which I will roll from without fail.

[kongajinken]

Evasion all the way. Screw 1337 skills, I'm lazy.

[NAM]

Evasion all the way. Screw 1337 skills, I'm lazy.

Enjoy waiting outside of the boss warp. ^^

[Nidramag]

I roll, definitely from PSZ, great reflex. I also have a pretty good perfect gaurd timing, right off the get-go. I can a lot of bosses without taking damage. Except that damn de ragan tail.

[Tyreek]

That definition doesn't apply to this type of game. It's not necessary, and it's certainly a comical attempt at calling one's self a hero. Everyone can block or dodge roll, and there's a charm status effect with long ranged weapons defeating the purpose of doing such a thing.

Hey if one calls themself distracting enemies, I don't mind, but they better not expect any help from me when their azz gets knocked the eff out. From past expiriences, I've never seen a player use this tactic with proper gameplay. They go in, and don't come back out. Like, this isn't Mission Impossible. Unless they're my only team member, I would help them, but then again I wouldn't dare team up with such a player unless I was desperate.

I think one should play wisely, and by wisely I mean independently.

Funny enough, a friend of mine a year ago wanted to try this on PSU, since he was a big FFXI nerd. Suffice to say, this tactic would apply itself well IF the enemies didn't have a habit to draw their attention off him(I'm looking at you Rappy). Minimally, this role can apply if one is willing to take a hit for players. I tend to do that from time to time. Shielding making it more a pleasure. Charm status I found awkward, since I never seen this status effect cause enemies to draw to you instead of attacking their own, but then that would just be a Confuse V2.

Its possible. But not getting your behind rendered apart just to spam as hard as possible takes skill to be good at it.

[Kurosu]

Some interesting posts since I went to sleep.
I mostly made this thread to see how people play and how it differs from my own gameplay, there are a lot more votes for 'roll' than I expected.



Where's the both option? Both cosign for your aid, you don't have to choose between the two...

Not saying you can only use one or the other, but which one do you find more useful, even if only by a little bit.



If I have my melee weapons out, I always Just Guard, even if I know it wont hit me. Since I mainly use Twin Sabers for Melee anyway, I see having to guard as a blessing to restart my combo quicker really.

On my Hunter, Just Guard Just Guard Just Guard. I like to save as much PP as possible, even if I don't really need to. But rolling seems like a waste of time to me since I can very easily block any attack I want to. Only attacks I have trouble guarding against are Ra-Techs, which I will roll from without fail.

Yep, that's pretty much how I feel about it too. I don't use the PP save ability for roll, so it takes a chunk of PP to use, and I also dislike the time you lose from the recovery of roll. Often it's much faster to just use movement to dodge an attack, or to perfect guard it which is cost free.
I just use roll when the above options aren't possible and I'm facing an attack that could do a lot of damage to me.
Many times I choose to just to take an attack as well, if it means it allows me to finish a PA and using Resta after, since this is usually faster than dodging and starting a new one.



I tend to do both.
--


Nice post, pretty detailed.

But in general, as a defensive measure, don't you people feel that guard is superior to roll? Apparently not according to the poll. :)
But a quick summary on how I see them.

Roll:
-Costs a significant amount of PP
-Takes more time to complete, which means less damage
+Can be used to cancel or interrupt many skills

Guard:
+Doesn't cost any PP if you use it properly
+Gives you bonus damage afterward from counter hits
+You barely lose any time
-Not as many options to cancel animations compared to roll

Of course, roll is better to avoid certain attacks, but looking at it like this,
isn't it more time efficient to use guard whenever it is possible?
Feel free to add any points I've missed to give a more well rounded picture.

Of course your class is also related to it, for example if you use a Force with a Rod most of the time.

[Tyreek]

When rods are in play, dodge roll is crucial since you cannot block PERIOD. Canceling techs in the slightest can make or break you in terms of the conditions of the enemy, for example, up against a Carruiguine charging at you. They're not ones to stumble easily and can cause you some unpleasant damage getting caught in their charge. And if I'm not mistaken, there's an ability to increase your time of invisibility when dodge rolling. I think that will be a benefit to players who rely on dodge rolls.

[prowler_]

I block.

I tend to not roll because I rage when trying to pick a drop up and roll instead of picking it up.

That's my reason for not rolling.

[Izuna]

Rolling out of PAs is pretty much an advanced ability. Some abilities, like Absolute Dance, really require dodging to be useful.

PP Escape Save makes dodging worth while most of the time.

[Cron-Z]

I use both, depending on the situation.

[Koiwai_Keiji]

I use both as well, although I Just Guard more often than roll for the fact it completely negates damage and uses no PP. The ranger class has an extended dodge roll invincibility ability which I've never equipped, I wonder if anyone can shed light on how good it is...

[Kenesu]

I roll. never really blocked in the game before so i'm not sure how effective it is....

[Blizz3112]

Blocking can help to reduce damage if you can't dodge on time. Still, dodging is more effective against bosses and strong enemies, period (on those monsters you WANT to avoid their attacks in total, due to their massive damage).

Guard is mostly useful against enemies charging towards you too obviously (flying chargers or Sand Rappy's for example). Sometimes these enemies get stunned (perhaps by your timing, but not sure) after they ran full force on your Guard, which is nice.

[NER0]

PSZ got me used to rolling, and I love that it carried over to PSP2.

[Ravenbryt]

I pretty much do both depending on the situation...like every sane person lol