how did you even get past the combat "tutorial"? it's utterly beyond comprehension and just trying random things hasn't provided any enlightenment.
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Basically, you don't control when actions happen, you can like... boost their effects only. The counter is for when it happens, and the break is for you to boost your team (so if you boost your attack option by 100% its 100% more effective, that resets after it attacks). This is the case for every other combat thingy in the game as of writing.