Stances

Sword Fight allows the player's Disciple to select between one of five stances, which can be changed at any stage during a dual.

The Stances are:

* Attack - A balanced offensive stance. 2x Feint chance. It also lowers an enemy's Parry Chance against non-Feint attacks by 50%.
* Assault - A defensive stance focused on partial defence over perfect defence. Raises HP and Deflect at the cost of Defense, but also gives 50% Damage Resistance, 2x Reversal chance, and also a 50% chance to not falter from enemy Feints. You'll also gain Rush effect after taking damage, which boosts Atk and Hit for 3 seconds. (Rush does not stack, so getting hit multiple times does **not** affect the buff's potency.)
* Defend - A full defensive stance. Defense goes up and damage taken is reduced, but at the cost of halving Attack. Attacks will also reduce Stamina by 5% per attack. However, you'll also get 2x Parry chance & an additional 10% Def against Reversals.
* Barrage - Raises Attack power at the cost of Defense. +20% Damage. 2x Power Strike chance. 50% chance to ignore Combo Attacks.
* Blitz - Raises Attack and Hit but reduces Damage. +15% Attack Speed, 2x Combo Attack chance. Lowers enemy's Counter chance by 50%.
* Guard - Raises Defense and Damage Resistance, but lowers Attack. 2x Counter Attack chance. Gets two chances to defend against Power Strikes.

The stances operate in a combat triangle where Barrage > Blitz > Guard > Barrage. This can be used with the Technique skill to obtain bonus stats during fights.

Upon unlocking the "Advanced Technique" Award from A2 awards, the Technique Skill also apply to the Assault, Defend, & Attack triangle. In A2, stances operates in a combat triangle where Attack > Defend > Assault > Attack.

Blitz, Barrage and Guard Stances are not available from the start but unlocks with their respective A1 awards. Similarly the Assault stance is unlocked later with its A2 award

Overall, Stances heavily influence where the player would like to put their fighting skill point. In A1, where the player only have the Barrage/Blitz/Guard stances available, In the case of the Blitz stance, the Damage% reduction make the player invest in Critical% Hit & Atk. As opposed to the Barrage stance, which focus Damage, Atk & Hit.

Attack and Defend stance have no impact in the triangle in area 1, but do trigger the Technique bonus if used against each other.

themadvirus613 here, i will go over what the stances are and how to properly use them.

* attack: this is the balance stance, making sure that you are proficient in all main attributes. other then this it also has a big upside: cunning action. the ability to make a false swipe (referred to as a feint) easier since your not focusing on keeping your guard up.
* defend: total defense is all you need for this. contrary to belief it is NOT the opposite of attack, its the opposite of barge. it takes reflex but its a easy stance to learn.
* barge: total offence is all you need for this. commonly considered the berserk stance, it relays on common and heavy hits that break defenses. high strength and power is crucial.
* assault: sacrifice your guard to gain an advantage on your foe. heavy protection is critical as your relaying on them hitting you so you can hit back.
* blitz: fast and accurate, this stance manly bombards defenses.
* guard: similar to defend, except with equal amount of offence. this relays on you countering the opponents swings.