Hey Team!
So I was playing with a bit of a tank character build, an Iktotchi Soresu Defender with High Brawn (for Soak + Wounds), and Int for decent Strain. He ends up with 14 Wounds, 15 Strain, Br 4, Ag 2, Int 3, Cu 2, Wil 3, Pr 1.

For the strongest rolls he's going to stick with the default of Lightsaber (Brawn) however his talent tree has some skills such as Strategic Form and Defensive Circle which specifically state using Lightsaber (Int) for their checks.

Am I right in assuming that if I take these talents* I would have to use the weaker Lightsaber (Int) check instead of Lightsaber (Br) (and by extension, if I skipped the 'Soresu Technique' talent which gives the Lightsaber (Int) ability altogether, I wouldn't be able to use them at all)?

*not that I'm too fussed, my main plan is stacking TONNES of Reflect and Parry

EDIT:
Sorry, just realised I said 'Int for decent Strain'. I meant Willpower.

If the talent specifies Lightsaber (Int) then you must use that dice pool. The Soresu Technique is designed to allow you to use the Lightsaber + Int dice pool for all of your lightsaber combat checks, which works well if your build is optimized for that.

As an aside, if you want to give a little ranged offense to your tank, consider dipping into the Shien Specialist tree. Not only does it have lots of Reflect and Parry, but it also has the Improved (much cheaper) and Supreme versions of Reflect as well as Counterstrike and Saber Throw. Falling Avalanche will synergize nicely with your character's high Brawn.

If I recall correctly, the wording for those other characteristics is "MAY use" the other trait instead of Brawn. So you aren't permanently locked into using it for every lightsaber roll forever . However, if using a specific talent that says "Make a Lightsaber (INT) roll" to use the talent, then yes, you would have to use INT in that case. But to just do a regular hack n slash swing at someone? You can default back to Brawn all you want.

So only if the talent specifically requires the alternate characteristic, do you HAVE to use it in a lightsaber roll.

Hey Team!

So I was playing with a bit of a tank character build, an Iktotchi Soresu Defender with High Brawn (for Soak + Wounds), and Int for decent Strain . He ends up with 14 Wounds, 15 Strain, Br 4, Ag 2, Int 3, Cu 2, Wil 3, Pr 1.

For the strongest rolls he's going to stick with the default of Lightsaber (Brawn) however his talent tree has some skills such as Strategic Form and Defensive Circle which specifically state using Lightsaber (Int) for their checks.

Am I right in assuming that if I take these talents* I would have to use the weaker Lightsaber (Int) check instead of Lightsaber (Br) (and by extension, if I skipped the 'Soresu Technique' talent which gives the Lightsaber (Int) ability altogether, I wouldn't be able to use them at all)?

*not that I'm too fussed, my main plan is stacking TONNES of Reflect and Parry

Strain uses Willpower, not Intelligence. Also worth noting that if you're using Parry/Reflect then 3 Strain is worth 3+ Wounds. Once you've got more than one rank in each talent Strain becomes more valuable than Wounds. Plus in Lightsaber combat Soak is worthless unless you can get it stupidly high (>10).

Hey Team!

So I was playing with a bit of a tank character build, an Iktotchi Soresu Defender with High Brawn (for Soak + Wounds), and Int for decent Strain . He ends up with 14 Wounds, 15 Strain, Br 4, Ag 2, Int 3, Cu 2, Wil 3, Pr 1.

For the strongest rolls he's going to stick with the default of Lightsaber (Brawn) however his talent tree has some skills such as Strategic Form and Defensive Circle which specifically state using Lightsaber (Int) for their checks.

Am I right in assuming that if I take these talents* I would have to use the weaker Lightsaber (Int) check instead of Lightsaber (Br) (and by extension, if I skipped the 'Soresu Technique' talent which gives the Lightsaber (Int) ability altogether, I wouldn't be able to use them at all)?

*not that I'm too fussed, my main plan is stacking TONNES of Reflect and Parry

Strain uses Willpower, not Intelligence. Also worth noting that if you're using Parry/Reflect then 3 Strain is worth 3+ Wounds. Once you've got more than one rank in each talent Strain becomes more valuable than Wounds. Plus in Lightsaber combat Soak is worthless unless you can get it stupidly high (>10).

Yeah, soak is basically useless against lightsabers, excluding a few very specific methods to get huge amounts of soak. You're better going for forms of defense that apply negative dice to any incoming attack rolls to you. Things to directly reduce successes and advantages is the way to go in the "OMG don't hit me with that glowstick of death!!" combat protocols.

Yeah, soak is basically useless against lightsabers, excluding a few very specific methods to get huge amounts of soak. You're better going for forms of defense that apply negative dice to any incoming attack rolls to you. Things to directly reduce successes and advantages is the way to go in the "OMG don't hit me with that glowstick of death!!" combat protocols.

While soak ain't great against lightsabers, I'm pretty sure even the most dedicated Sith hunter will be facing mostly other weapons. Blasters, vibroweapons, claws of vicious creatures, and so forth. That high Soak will come in really handy, as you'll suffer a lot fewer wounds on your way to face that Sith Lord. The best part is that with high soak and a few ranks in Block/Parry, you can completely negate some of the hits you take. That will keep those nasty Crits off your back, so feel free to beef up that armor.

Yeah, soak is basically useless against lightsabers, excluding a few very specific methods to get huge amounts of soak. You're better going for forms of defense that apply negative dice to any incoming attack rolls to you. Things to directly reduce successes and advantages is the way to go in the "OMG don't hit me with that glowstick of death!!" combat protocols.

While soak ain't great against lightsabers, I'm pretty sure even the most dedicated Sith hunter will be facing mostly other weapons. Blasters, vibroweapons, claws of vicious creatures, and so forth. That high Soak will come in really handy, as you'll suffer a lot fewer wounds on your way to face that Sith Lord. The best part is that with high soak and a few ranks in Block/Parry, you can completely negate some of the hits you take. That will keep those nasty Crits off your back, so feel free to beef up that armor.

Well I wasn't talking about other forms of combat as evidenced by me specifying lightsabers.

Performer from EotE Colonist career and Shien seems a great combo for reducing opponents success and Advantage as mentioned below.

Yeah, soak is basically useless against lightsabers, excluding a few very specific methods to get huge amounts of soak. You're better going for forms of defense that apply negative dice to any incoming attack rolls to you. Things to directly reduce successes and advantages is the way to go in the "OMG don't hit me with that glowstick of death!!" combat protocols.

The combination provides:

Improved Distracting Behaviour Manoeuvre (adding 2 Threat to enemies within Long for 1 Strain per enemy up to Cunning)

Coordinated Dodge Incidental (Destiny Point adding Failure equal to ranks in Coordination, a Specialisation skill)

Dodge Incidental (upgrade an attack once for 1 Strain)

Defensive Stance Manoeuvre (upgrade all incoming attacks once)

Disruptive Strike Action (spend Force Pips to add equal failure to the opponents next check)

Then you get Counterstrike to use when they miss, and Falling Avalanche, all that Reflect including Supreme... it's a strain eating build but wow is it hard to hit, specially if you have a defensive Saber.

And a drunken master gungan is born …