counter / riposte -- answer when you turn their swing No separate command. When you turn a melee blow (block, parry, or Martial Arts dodge), your loadout may answer on the same beat: How you play 1. Equip for the answer you want (shield, one-hand steel, dual wield, or bare fists + Martial Arts). 2. Fight mutual -- they swing, you turn it (parry / block / dodge per loadout). 3. Watch for [RIPOSTE] or [COUNTER] after your defense line. 4. Called shots and located marks still apply on your answer swing (help aim). [RIPOSTE] steel parry or shield bash -- a second beat, guaranteed connect, reduced damage. [COUNTER] unarmed Martial Arts dodge redirect -- same idea, different tag. Loadout table (help equip for steel vs fists vs shield): * Shield + weapon -- [RIPOSTE] bash beat on BLOCK (your extra attack). * One-hand or two-hand, no offhand -- [RIPOSTE] beat on PARRY. * Dual wield -- small chip on PARRY only (you already throw [OFFHAND] on your swing). * Unarmed Martial Arts -- [COUNTER] beat on DODGE; chip on BLOCK or PARRY. Far shots, cross-room fire, and ultimates skip this path. Perfect Guard already has its own riposte swing (help perfectguard). A successful bonus beat banks normal exchange Momentum plus a small opening bonus (help momentum). Same-line chips (dual-wield parry, MA block) use the smaller chip rules in help reactions. See also: help reactions | help equip | help tactics | help momentum