I have a jedi with the improved parry skill, but everytime i go into combat the npc just move out of engaged range then blast me down in the open. Thereby unable to use the skill.
Is there something mechanically in the rules to prevent this otherwise these skills from the tree are useless.
Range combat seems more superior as able to gain cover.
Improved Parry is to be used against melee attacks, which must by definition be made from within Engaged range (with a couple exceptions).
Improved Reflect is useful against ranged attacks.
my opinion was that Improved parry was a waste of a skill as enemy would just pull to short range and attack. There seems to be no counter to this
That’s called kiting and it’s a pretty common thing many games deal with. Some games have an attack of opportunity or reactionary strike mechanic for this, but Star Wars doesn’t.
There are ways to deal with it, though; immobilize the opponent with an Ensnare weapon, the Grapple talent, as well as some Critical Injuries IIRC.
The thing is, Parry is a defensive talent, not an offensive one. It’s evident that there aren’t many melee-wielding enemies in your game, which of course isn’t going to make Parry that useful. F&D is where most of the melee enemies will be, as it somewhat assumes that many F&D characters are going to be using lightsabers or swords.
What you’re missing, and Swordbreaker alluded to, is that Improved Parry may only be triggered when the character suffers a hit from a Brawl, Melee, or Lightsaber check. After using Parry—which may only be used on said attacks—the character may spend Despair or 3 Threat to inflict an automatic hit.
There are one or two melee weapons with a range of Short.
Note: You spend Despair/Threat as the last step of the Action. The character may not spend a Maneuver between making the attack and spending Despair/Threat.