Recovering Strain from Surges

By Stompburger, in Imperial Assault Rules Questions

Any official ruling on when heroes recover strain from surges? The RRG says recovering damage with a surge occurs after the attack resolves; I'd assume it's the same for strain but I know people were asking FFG about it.

In the campaign, all heroes have the ability to spend up to one surge to recover one strain per attack. This recovery can only be used for damage if the recovering hero has suffered no strain, and occurs after the attack has fully resolved.

"Special Situations Regarding Attacks", RRG, Page 6:

During a campaign, a hero performing an attack may spend 1 (surge) to recover 1 (strain). Limit once per attack.

"Recover", RRG, Page 22:

Some cards use Recover as a keyword. For example “(surge): Recover 1(damage)” allows the figure to spend a (surge) during an attack to recover 1(damage) after resolving the attack. He can recover this (damage) even if the target of his attack does not suffer any (damage).

If a hero recovers more (strain) than he has suffered, he recovers one (damage) for each (strain) he cannot recover.

Same goes for "Recover X(damage)", this effect occurs after the attack has fully resolved.

Recovery outside of an attack happens as soon as the effect granting Recovery resolves, such as a Rest Action

Edited by Fizz

Note that Recover is a keyword while recover is not.

The timing for "Recover 1damage" (such as Luke's deployment card) is clear from the rules, while the special ability of heroes "spend a surge to recover 1 strain" is not quite so.

So far the timing matters only for Fenn's Havoc Shot.

(I have asked, but not received a reply yet, and there was quite an extensive -- a well-natured for-against -- discussion about it on BGG. The LtP uses the term "while attacking" in conjunction with the spend surge to recover strain ability of heroes, which may have caused me to interpret it to be happening at the moment of spending the surge. Afterwards I have become more fluent about all of the IA rules and I can see the merits of the other interpretation.)

Edited by a1bert