Is there a limit to counter attacks, despite successful parries?

If not, how to deal with it as an melee oriented opponent?

Y ou can have as much CA as successful parries . I.E. max 2 with Wall of Steel.

So you need both Wall of Steel (or Step Aside , or both of them ) and Lightning Attack to be sure.

Why do you need lightning attack?

Counter Attack and Tactical Spacing defensiv stance was enougth to shred an elite melee opponent easily and lead to this questions.

A character with the Counter Attack Talent will proc a Free Standard Attack off of any successful Parry, regardless of the number of times you Parry a turn.

Note this is a Standard Attack, not a Multiple Attack Action, All-Out Attack, or similar special attack.

Also note, as the Standard Attack proc-ed off of a Counter Attack is an Attack, Talents which proc off of Attacks can proc off of a Counter Attack (for instance, Assassin Strike). To pull off this combo though, requires several thousands of XP not to mention the rank or other requirements.

Why do you need lightning attack?

"To deal with it as an melee oriented opponent".

"It", as I understand, is an enemy with CA.

Jep, the problem is when the opponent has multiple parries .. you'll just destroy yourself as you have no reactions in your turn while you attack the CA user.

Jep, the problem is when the opponent has multiple parries .. you'll just destroy yourself as you have no reactions in your turn while you attack the CA user.

This is why you shoot the meleeing bastard. Repeatedly. Continue until it stops moving. And then shoot it again to make sure.

General rule of thumb for such things is: If someone comes at you with a sword, shoot them, if they shoot at you, shoot them back (from cover) and maybe carefully advance into melee (if they're better at shooting you than you are at shooting them).

Jep, the problem is when the opponent has multiple parries .. you'll just destroy yourself as you have no reactions in your turn while you attack the CA user.

Oh, yeah . I forgot about this RAW. Houseruled this long ago, m y swordsman experience does not allow me to accept such nonsense . I apologize for the fact that I misled you .

Isn't free attack from counterattack proc suffer -20 penalty to WS test?

Isn't free attack from counterattack proc suffer -20 penalty to WS test?

Yes it is, and it also calls out specifically that it must be done with the weapon that was used to parry, so if someone has an unwieldy weapon and a shield, and parries with the shield, that must be the weapon used for the counterattack, and similarly a Librarian using Iron Arm who uses that arm and bonus reaction *cannot* make a counterattack, as the power calls out not being able to do *anything* but parry with it.

However, the maximum number of counterattacks is not 2. For a space marine in a squad, using tactical spacing, it's 3 + (number of squadmates x 3). A squad of space marines could in theory have one guy in a choke point parrying and counterattacking the endless number of melee opponents coming their way, counter attacking 15 or more times to absolutely obliterate the enemy on their own turn. Yet, if such an opponent was classified as a horde, they still wouldn't be able to parry at all.