Is enemies doing master strikes just luck?

I know you can make it less likely by changing the angle, but it seems it never goes away completely. I don’t understand how master strikes fit into the combat when you’re on the offensive. Do enemies just have the ability to reverse your momentum at any time and there’s nothing you can do about it?

It’s funny some common bandit can master strike me, I can not, yet I beat him with normal means.

I’ve been master strike’d by enemies that die in one hit. There’s got to be something I’m missing here. It would just be an out of left field flaw if it was luck

It seems to me not all bandits have master strike perk
Combat in KC:D is very dependent on various stats and RNG sometimes

It might have to do with expectations of the AI, but I can’t read the AIs mind, so it might seem like it’s luck. I do notice Bernard will have bursts of several in a row every once in a while

So does no one know?

Figured it out. It’s spacing. You can be master strike’d if you are in range during the beginning of the animation. The attack animation moves you forward. You should be out of range at the beginning of the animation, then the animation pushes you in range after It’s too late to be hit with master strike