Can you counter without the counter-attack skill.

[Oliopro]

So how does countering actually work in this game? I'm asking this because the Mangosh gives +50% counter attack as does wearing all the equipment in the Guardian set. The Shield protect skill increases your chances of countering on a successful defense with the shield yet none of the shield users have the counter-attack skill.

Does this mean that you have to raise the counter-attack skill using Jefferson/Counter-Ring/Feathered Band to take advantage of these boosts or can characters still counter-attack at a low rate that this then increases?

[Jocky]

I'm pretty sure that ALL characters can counter-attack, although it seems like a fair few never do, but this is probably because of the aforementioned low counter-attack %age. But yes, items like the Mangosh or the Counter-Ring are meant to increase the %age. But with some characters, the original value is SO low that a 50% increase is insignificant and thus better used on someone else. Anyone care to back this up Pyriel, Wataru, Gilded?

[gildedtalon]

Mangosh boosts the counter attack rate a lot, it turns Fred into a monster for the strategy battles

[eldrasidar]

it is worth remembering that the shield defense and parry skills actually both provide a bonus to counter attacking, which will stack with counter runes and equipment that raises the counter percentage. So shield defenders actually are some of the best counter attackers. Cecile in particular always struck me as being incredibly good on the counter attack, much better than say Watari, who had the best counter attack skill. It's actually immensely entertaining to plop Cecile by herself in an army unit, and have her just counter and kill everyone

[KFCrispy]

I'm pretty sure that ALL characters can counter-attack

it's a general rule in this series that long-range characters do not counter-attack--- archers are in this category. Since Nash and the ninjas can counter, they would probably be classified as M-range in the other games, while almost everyone else is S.