Is attack/block cancelling into a move in the same frame intended?

[Folv]

I recently came back after quite a few months to see the progress of the game. Last I heard, there was suppose to be some PvE dungeon type content released but that doesn't seem to be the case so I took to the 1v1's per usual to enter into some duels.

I went fairly uncontested for a good 15-20 matches. I have a fairly versatile skillset that seems to work pretty well and managed to win me most of my matches back when I use to play as well. After about the 20th round, I started facing people with very solid and tricky sword decks. Unfortunately, I don't have nearly all the moves needed to make an adequate blade deck so I can't really contend with those sword rounds too well at all. Most matches, I find myself winning in hand-to-hand, but when we get to a point where the other person can sustain having a weapon out for the entire round by just saving crystals they build up for the weapon I just get crushed. It doesn't matter how far of a lead I pull in with hand-to-hand, as soon as the swords get pulled out I am just getting slashed to pieces and having my block/stamina getting shredded.

Now to my main point, the reason I can't seem to contend with these sword builds is because everyone is using the same tactic. They attack backwards, attack again towards their opponent but follow with an attack cancel, and then IMMEDIATELY land a hit in the same frame forward back towards me. This both dodges 100% of the moves I can throw at them (I've tried the furthest reaching move I could slot), and allows them to hit me back with hit mid-dodge/absorb frame with no delay inbetween (they are glowing blue while attacking using absorb). I see this in unarmed combat a bit as well, but it's not nearly as fullproof as it is with sword combat because if you do manage to get a few punishing hits in, they only need to land one to break even with the high damage capability of blades.

So I took to watching some streams to view some decent players and how they handle this. Turns out they don't. They use the exact same attack-backwards cancel into attack-cancel into absorb/counter attack in the same frame as their cancel. I am 100% fine with cancelled animations chaining into new attacks. That's fair. But it feels like (and looks like, and some streamers agreed with me on this when I asked) that attacks are coming through on the same animation as the attack cancel if done properly.

If this is intended, "boo hoo" for me is all I expect. But I just can't imagine that the intention of the game is to allow attack cancels to synergize with absorb to allow you to attack with non-unstaggerable attacks without getting staggered. How do veteran players deal with this? I'm all ears and happy to learn.

[GreenGuy8]

it sounds like you are talking about a parry, or that one move where the feint is followed by a swingign back strike(not the real name of the move but just describes how its done)

Yeah I had my fair share of those fights, mainly with people and swords. I'm a Boxer, my combat deck is all punching. So when I encounter that same move, that most high lvl players use, I learned to use the absorb or my dodge attack combo to force an opening. I can pull this off a good few times, but then I get my bricks flipped.

I guess this was intended, but from my expierence, every attack has a 1-2 second opening, you just have to strike at it at the right time, with the right move.