[sadbot]

Guard break applies after the attack that applies it, with the only exceptions to this rule being lance de lion and libegrande (with kraken). In practice, this leaves guard break doing a poor job of actually punishing guarding. The person guarding is almost always left better off for having guarded, just slightly less better off than they otherwise would have been, even if they're immediately guard broken and then hit again while guard broken. Outside of 1-2m guards, the damage still mitigated on the guard breaking attack almost always outweighs the damage gained through guard break on the follow up, assuming that you're even in a position to follow up with another attack in the same turn. Obviously it becomes more relevant in team fights simply due to more opportunities for allies to potentially hit the guard broken enemy before the guard break ends, but I think that the status needs some support to actually do its intended job one on one.

Simply put, I think that all guard breaks should apply before the damage of the guard breaking attack, as lance de lion and libegrande already do. This would actually make guard break likely the best option when you're given a good opportunity to use it, rather than you probably being better off just taking your foot off the gas and using some non attack actions while waiting out the guard instead, even if you have the perfect opportunity to use what should be the perfect punish to it.