Automatically counter when hit.
Description
Counter is a Monk support ability in Final Fantasy V. It provides a 50% chance to counter a physical attack against the character with an immediate attack of their own, without consuming a turn. It is innate to Monks, and can be used by other jobs after leveling up Monk sufficiently. Counter can be used very effectively in combination with other abilities and jobs, and is a great way to improve a character's physical damage output by allowing them to deal damage outside of their turn.
Counter is also the name of an enemy ability used by Iron Fist and Dueling Knight. This enemy ability functions differently.
Obtained[]
Counter is innate to Monks, and will be granted to any character equipping the job. After the character masters Monk, it becomes innate to their Freelancer and Mime jobs. Upon reaching job level 4 as a Monk, for 150 AP, the Counter ability can be equipped by any job.
Mechanics[]
Counter has a 50% chance to activate when attacked physically. This applies to normal attacks and most physical enemy abilities, but will never activate with Thief Knife or Chicken Knife as the character's equipped weapon, and the Twin Lance will only count as one hit once rather than two. For weapons that may inflict status ailments on the targets they strike, the status-invocation only triggers from harps when using Counter.
The Mimic ability will repeat counterattacks.
Use[]
Because Counter does not consume a turn when activated, it is a great way to increase a character's damage output, and scales with the physical damage of the character using them. Counter functions while in the Berserk state in the defunct mobile and Steam versions, but not in other versions.
When activated, Counter performs the same attack a character normally would if they used the Attack command, taking into account the same stats and currently equipped weapons. In its most basic form, with the Monk used, this will be a simple Barehanded attack in retaliation. Though this can be strong early in the game, later support abilities and equipment allow it to be used to greater potential. For instance, the Knight's Two-Handed support ability allows one to wield a sword and deal greater damage to an enemy, while later, the Ninja provides Dual-Wield to allow one to retaliate with a two-hit attacks by two powerful weapons.
A great combination for Counter is when paired with the Cover ability provided by the Knight job. A character with both equipped can use Cover to take damage for a weaker character, and then have a chance to immediately Counter and retaliate with damage of their own. This combo can be further improved by using Guard, allowing the covering character to take no damage.