Deflecting in Thymesia is important when duelling your enemies; it provides Corvus an opportunity to thwart incoming attacks – which can become overbearing when you’re on the receiving end of a flurry of strikes.
Press your left bumper [LB/L1] just before the enemy’s attack hits Corvus to Deflect it. Deflecting an enemy attack negates any damage to Corvus and deals damage back.
It sounds great, but you must time it perfectly – you have milliseconds to get it right. Time it poorly, and you’ll incur the damage. You won’t have ample opportunities because Thymesia can be … unforgiving.
The Talent Tree gives you some flexibility in your approach to Deflecting.
You can increase the time you have to deflect, but this reduces the amount of damage Corvus inflicts when successfully deflecting. Conversely, you can opt to reduce deflect time – which increases the damage Corvus deals when deflecting. Most risk for the best reward in this case.**
If you wish, you can opt for a defensive stance and omit Corvus’ ability to deflect altogether – ~~where Corvus hold’s his stance and parry’s incoming attacks~~. This is more of a damage control method for when timing accurately isn't your strong suit; your foes will still inflict damage as Corvus parries. Less risk for less reward.
When an enemy has a green indicator over their head, they’re about to charge in with a critical attack – these cannot be deflected. You’ll need to get the hell out of there or interrupt them somehow, as we explain in our upcoming video.