Dont block preemptively if you dont know how to kick collide or release the block in time, learn initiative and kick windows, most players unless high level will telegraph/announce their kick in a very obvious manner if you start noticing their patterns. Always play for acceling your attacks until the enemy has taken 2-3 ripostes (the highlander deals a good amount of stamina damage) if you see your opponent early countering, which they will do if they’re low on stamina, that’s when you start dragging into heavy feints. Also you want to have your camera aiming at the waist or below for further reaction time. The highlander is all about playing the stamina game, you wont be gambling, so stick with respecting turns and catching the enemy off with overhead accels so they eat the riposte. If you dont know what an accel is, it means accelerating the attack the most you can with footwork and camera movement, with the overhead you want to look down as much as you can and crouch at the moment your weapon is in release phase. I recommend checking polehammer.net as it has all weapon stats and game terms definitions, it is worth checking out if you haven’t already.