Parry Styles

[Team Kaos]

But I just can't figure out how. My current opinion is you can make a successful defensive/counter strike gladiator, but he probably would have been a better off as a WAR gladiator.

I think you need to rethink the Counter Stike strategy. If he was defensive it would be a Parry X strategy.

Counter STRIKE!

The gladiator does not try to parry off attacks and wait for an opening, it is an offensive hybrid strategy.
While his opponent is attacking the Counter Strike is already in the works. With his defensive ability and agility he should be trying to side step, or recieve a glancing blow opposed to trying to knock the attack away or block it.
But also position himself to make a successful strike on his opponent.

IMO Counter Strike is undoubtably the most difficult strategy to gear up and figure out. The gladiator needs to have agility and be defensive enough to not get the full brunt of the opponents attack if he is unable to move away from it, but also quick enough and offensivly adept to get in a powerful strike, only to repeat it over and over.

I don't know, but it would make sense that intelligence would also play a roll for a counter strike. He's not a rager with a one track mind on destruction nor is he a parry sitting back and waiting for an open shot that may never come if he is up against an offensive bull.
He is a offensive fighter trying to keep his opponent off balance while gaining the offensive advantage all the while he is giving up the initiative to his opponent.

If you can make sense of that perhaps it may be helpful. Maybe not...my mind works in odd ways.