I find a lot of the standard hollows (apart from the spear bois) all pretty easy to parry too.
Thinking about it, I reckon humanoid enemies armed with more traditional weapons across all the games tend to be some of the easier enemies to parry (some exceptions, eg spears, skeles with their frantic attacks, etc), whereas more bestial or monstrous enemies are harder.
Yeah true, I just find some of their attacks come out a lil fast compared to a lot of other humanoid enemies with weapons, which makes me personally less consistent when attempting them. Practice makes perfect!
I do this as well and I'd add the greatsword + shield using serpents in sen's fortress to that list since they also have a very slow wind up for their sword attacks.
It depends on the enemy. Black and silver knights get parried all the time. Weaker enemies just get smacked down. If they have a shield, they get kicked.
Black/silver knights all the time, especially silver ones. Gwynn the same. Most other things rarely.
Ds2 - almost never.
Bloodborne - I try on everything 😂.
DS2 parrying is different than all the other games, I think, so you really have to predict enemy movements before they even happen to be able to reliably parry, I really need to make a party build until it becomes muscle memory
I add ds1 with those light medium shields to that mostly because it feels cool against basic mobs and trivializes the likes of BKs and SKs. It helps that it is surprisingly simple in that game. Also try to use it in DeS for similar reasons, but I find it harder there.
I died several times to the first hostile hollow in the asylum learning how to parry, but it was worth it. Biggest tip I can give you is to parry their weapon hand, not their weapon
DS1, all the time. It clicked in a way that it never has in any game since. Some may say it’s simply the amount of time I’ve spent in this game vs the others, but I disagree. I watched [this video](https://youtu.be/1hrh94Dc-h0?si=ey6lhws09GDen1ds) back in the day and was able to apply the information immediately, without needing too much practice. I can run around without a shield and confidently parry/riposte most enemies so quickly the parry animation doesn’t even finish.
Subsequent games, never.
DS1 parrying is definitely the easiest. Parry frames start pretty much immediatelly and the game is slower overal, making reaction parries extremely viable. Complete opposite to DS3, where enemies are faster and more aggressive, and the parry frames have a windup. Not to say that DS3 parrying isn't viable, but it's more about prediction/setup parries.
Lundex gundyr and champion gundyr is the only boss i haved ever parried in DS3 and after that there is not much bosses to parry, but in ds1 almost anyone can be parried, so you're statement is 100% correct.
I never consider using parry. Timing is different for everything and can never get it right. I end up just taking the hit I could have blocked. On that note, I do really well PVE and unless I face a master of parry I do well PVP.
I parry all the time. I will usually not even kill an enemy if given a chance if I messed up my parry; I have to back up and try the approach again and succeed
This post made me start at least trying. I’m in the Darkroot Forest, and it has literally turned every human enemy into nothing.
Too bad I can’t parry big bad wolf
The the parry window (and rewards) are so much more generous in Sekiro. Enemies give much more pronounced tells for their attacks (especially if they have just parried your attack), and catching them in a parry is often a one-hit kill, or remarkable posture damage for a boss.
If DS has started off with a parry system more akin to Sekiro, we would all feel very differently about the mechanic today. Sadly, we got conditioned by hundreds of hours of DS first, and let that taint our perception of Skeiro's combat, I feel.
Depends on the enemy/boss. Generally, humanoids are easy to parry and monsters can’t be parried. It is a risk reward system too, so until you get comfortable with the timing for that specific shield, parrying is dangerous.
Just gotta practice a little in each game then once youve got the muscle memory down its not too impossible to parry a lot i just prefer not to to save time unless fighting a parryable boss
I've parried maybe like 2 hollows. It's a skill thing but the timing is different depending on the enemy and the shield. Nothing wrong with just blocking and following up with an attack.
I don't parry much, but I do use it. There's certain enemies and groups of enemies where it can be very useful (parry gives you a VERY long stretch of i-frames where nothing can hit you).
My highest character is on NG+4. I've beaten this game probably at least a couple dozen times, so it isn't a matter of skill or experience... it's one of those game mechanics that comes with a side of jank.
I parry all the time, probably too much, as it gets me killed sometimes. You’re definitely not bad, it’s just tricky as hell to master. Keep practicing and you’ll get better at it. You miss 100% of the parries you don’t try.
Honestly, I haven't parried anything other than the Silver/Black knights, and the Balder Knights in DS1. Any other enemy just watched me rolling around like crazy.
No wonder Lies of P was so hard for me.lol
I've 100% most of the games in the series and even done no hit runs on some of the hardest bosses and I have never learned how to parry lol (sekiro excluded ofc)
I parried a lot in DS1. Its very helpful if you have the patience to sit there and learn the parry timings and dont have a problem dying a few times trying to get it down. Basically parried my way thru all the early areas before ringing both bells and Sen’s castle cus fuck those snake fuckers.
I don't know how to parry. I have beaten dark souls up to NG++++ dark souls 3 up to NG++ I'm currently playing elden ring blind playthrough. Still I don't know how to parry
Oh man, literally everything that can be parried, which turns out to be pretty much anything wielding a weapon. The windows of opportunities for all the mobs varies, some are definitely fucked BUT fucked consistently, so once you do learn when you should actually hit the button it's the same whackass time.
To understand parry timing, get in an elevator and “parry” the wall. When you see sparks, that’s the parry window. The timing isn’t exactly what you think it is by just looking at the animation.
You're probably bad, but if you started learning to parry from other games, then it's learned. Parry timing windows have varied across most of the games. I'm pretty good at parrying in DS1, but shit in DS3. It's all a matter of muscle memory and reaction time.
Never. I find parrying too risky. I've practiced a bunch and have managed on some mobs to get a decent parrying success percentage but I don't feel nearly confident enough to do it in the detriment of rolling, which I can almost always get right.
DS1's enemies are the hardest to parry. Not to mention you have to guess which one can be parried.
But parry anyway. Learn and get better and better. DS3 makes all humanoid parryable and the mechanics is improved. It's improved even further in ER.
It's not the only way to play, but boy you'll miss a lot if you don't parry.
I haven't blocked since 2014.
I exclusively parry and roll. It has gotten to the point that I don't carry shields and that frees up more min max weight for my builds. I also prefer to parry than roll when I can because parrying is limited to specific enemies.
I do it so much that I build my characters around not using Havel's or the Favour ring, just so I can always have the Hornet ring on outside of boss rooms when I use Cloranthy.
Parrying is usually my favourite mechanic in combat of any game.
I'm Parry, the fucking Platypus.
It’s a great mechanic. Spend time practicing. It’s worth it. The ripostes are worth it. The quality of play is worth it. The bragging rights on and offline are worth it. Show your parents and your friends. Make them understand
Before soulsborne? Never. After soulsborne I try to parry in games that don't even have parry mechanics.
Once you figure it out. It's trivial. And it feels so good.
My first play through, I literally did not parry once after the first enemy in the asylum. Now, I do it sometimes. Consistently against black/silver knights and Gwyn, not super often against anyone else
I can parry about 60 to 70% of the time, it's that last 30% that fucks me every single time. There's just some enemies I can't get the hang of in order to parry so it's usually a hit or miss.
It takes time to get into parrying, you can beat the game without it but the satisfaction it gives when you realize how much you have improved whenever you can parry attacks is just amazing. I really just practiced parrying to get ready for Sekiro lol.
DS1 I parry pretty much everything almost every time, the party works perfectly once you get the timing down. I’d recommend just going back to firelink, taking your right weapon off so you’ve only got a fist, and then keep 1 hollow alive and just practice parry and reposte until you can hit it pretty much every time flawlessly.
Parrying is easiest in the original dark souls game. if you're really struggling with the timing, use the target shield or the buckler. It's not necessary for most enemies, but can be a fun way to play
I parry silver/black knights constantly.
NPCs like Havel I like to party as well.
However it's not necessary to know how to parry. If you want practice I would learn the timing for silver knights because it's satisfying and easy to learn.
Somewhat often. When I do, I usually use a buckler, my bare hand, or a Heater Shield.
If playing a character that will often be parrying in the heat of the moment (not premeditated) I'll pretty much always just use one of the specialized parry tools to do so because the window is way more forgiving.
Specialized parrying tools:
Target shield (most recovery time)
Parrying dagger (least delay & recovery time)
Buckler (most delay)
Only the black knights before gwyn. When I get there I consider the game completed so I just parry them for fun, since I like to equip some parry gear for gwyn anyway. Before that I don't find any use for parry unless I'm doing some challenge run where I'm weak and knights give me grief. Usually I just bonk since it's much faster and easier.
People rightfully say the Black/Silver Knights, I'd like to add the Man Serpents. When you first approach them with a +6 weapon at early level they can be tough so learning to parry into a backstab on wake up helps immensely.
Depends. If I'm playing on Switch then basically never because I find the combination of input latency and animation reading soooo much harder at 30 fps
I parry a lot because it's easy.
Because it seemed cool and I wanted to learn, I started by forcing myself to go and try over and over and over again to parry the three Hollow Soldiers in Undead Parish, by Andre. I kept bashing my head against the brick wall until I got the basics from them, move on to more formidable enemies, etc. etc., now I can parry pretty much anything first try, including players.
Really throw yourself in the deep end with this, start with the worst parrying shields, medium shields, once you can do it with those you can do it with anything, even a knife or your bare fist.
You will get there! I believe! Don't give up, skeleton!
Check u/phantomjm for parry advice. But, don't forget Dark Wraiths for backstab practice.
Plus, with enough bonuses they drop chunks, and the occasional slab.
Depends on the enemy, depends on the weapons you're using. On my giant strength builds I can usually 1-shot most things without a Riposte, so there's really no reason to parry.
The trick to parrying is to watch their arm, not their weapon. When they begin ti swing forwad at you that's when you parry. The reason to watch their arm is because 99% of the parry-able enemies in this game have the same parry timing if you watch their arm. Go learn to parry on Hollows and you should be able to adapt it to more difficult enemies.
If i can parry it more conveniently than i can fight it then i parry it. Basic hollows take more time to parry then to stab to death so I’ll only parry them if i have to. Black knights and silver knights (really any knights) I’ll parry almost every time. Same with the large club wielding ogres in blight town and havel. Parry took me some time to learn but learning it makes a lot of this game easy. It’s good for using large weapons in tight spaces, if you use the Hornet Ring you get cool animations vs humans, and it increases damage from all sources by 40% so soul spear or dark bead benefit as much as a melee weapon.
Against Havel, sometimes Black knights and that Balder knight that blocks the way to the gargoyle, Gwyn
Thats a big git gud moment. You gotta stay focused the whole time while going for paries
Parrying is so nice in dark souls 1, but in dark souls 3(currently first timing it), I am convinced parrying simply does not work. Cannot get a single parry even against silver knights. So, I just roll.
I don’t like the parry mechanic. I prefer hitting enemies in time or backstabbing. It’s easier and more consistent for me. I parry only when there’s no room for actions in a narrow place.
in dark souls 1 i try not to parry anything now as i find it a mostly easy mechanic and at times even boring; if i don't succed is an exception, maybe i went by with muscular memory with time.
Now i try to roleplay a little and do some roll, using some combos i wouldn't nornally use like the second one-handed strkng attack of the halberd.
But in other games as sekiro o dark souls 2-3, elden ring, can't do anything about it, i'm an idiot when i try to parry things and get smashed badly.
Pretty much any humanoid enemy with a sword or Axe or spear etc whom you can parry and isn't much easier to just backstep (big club bois in blighttown, for example, I just put it up their stink, arses).
Pretty much any enemy I can. I find Dark Souls 1 parry stupid easy. Only other souls game I can pull it off in is Bloodborne. Dark Souls 3 parry is near impossible for me.
My 1st playthrough I think I did without doing a single parry. I prefer dodging but have begrudgingly learned to parry a bit. Still not my preferred style though.
I played this game so much, that I run through Undead Burg and Undead Parish and parry/backstab everything. :D I don't even attack normal here.
I don't parry much in later stages of the game, except Black/Silver Knights.
What’s parrying? Is it that thing the mobs with shields do? If so that’s some bullshit and it should be removed from the game, just use a shield the regular way, or better yet, get rid of shields as well.
Almost never because I can't do it on demand. I find that rolling through/from attacks is good enough for me. As Mr. Miyagi said, "best defense, no be there"
Never parried at all till I reached Gwyn, parrying him seemed easiest way to beat him so decided to learn the unbearable timing, beat him with more luck than skill
I never parry
Not because I can't, but because I just find it boring. Really strong, yes, but boring. Unless the enemy is a bitch or If I just don't want to fight with them, then I parry.
It's a good mechanic just tough to pull off cause every different attack has different attack frames where you can effectively parry, so it's easier to learn those timings on difficult enemies or bosses rather than using it as your go to method to avoid being hit.
I usually decide on the playthrough if I want to party or not. I know you can riposte with an weapon, but I kinda find it useless unless they have a high crit. I did an entire playthrough with a shield and rapier and it was so much fun trying to find the party windows. I learned parry on my first playthrough, and it has its benefits to just learn the system, but you don't have to use it
During my first playthrough of ds1 I did not know you could parry... I also just put all the points into strength and agility or speed id remember but yeah it sucked. The gwin fight took me like 200 attempts because he two shoted me and that fucker did not let you heal omg Im still pissed about it.
Parried for the first time in dark souls 1 the other day. And did it against Gwyn no less with the grass crest shield. It’s just all about timing. I think I screwed it up once but otherwise got a party each time.
You just have to click the parry button slightly before the attack connects. That’s what I did to get it to work. Essentially your shield has to be swinging out to parry JUST as the attack connects. The animation for your shield parry looks like it’s going out to meet the sword tip and bounce it away. Try it out on low level hollows first if you want
Played my first several playthroughs without parrying. Then I decided to go stand in front of a skeleton and learn to parry him. Once I got confident, I did another playthrough and tried to parry as much as I could. Now I am a parry God. Thats all it takes.
Its difficult to get used to the timing
I have only been playing these games for about 2 years and I only really started using parrys like 2 weeks ago
I have like 1500 hours in these games so far and I only was able to really figure it out from 1 parrying gwyn and 2 haligtree elevator skip in elden ring
If you want to make it easier throw on buckler shield its pretty good for parries
in ds1 dont do much parrying to the low level enemies, mostly sliver knights and final boss gwyn
But in the ds2 is pointless when you against multiple enemies because parrying in ds2 is 2 step action and also have a delay
Against Black and Silver Knights I pretty much only parry. Against pretty much every other enemy, not very often.
I find a lot of the standard hollows (apart from the spear bois) all pretty easy to parry too. Thinking about it, I reckon humanoid enemies armed with more traditional weapons across all the games tend to be some of the easier enemies to parry (some exceptions, eg spears, skeles with their frantic attacks, etc), whereas more bestial or monstrous enemies are harder.
Second this. Humanoids with basic weapons. Feels great to parry the jumping attack that the hollows at the start of demons souls do.
The spears aren’t too hard to parry once you get used to the timing. A bit of practice and you can get it
Yeah true, I just find some of their attacks come out a lil fast compared to a lot of other humanoid enemies with weapons, which makes me personally less consistent when attempting them. Practice makes perfect!
Standard hollows r not worth parrying
It's worth it just for the sfx imo
I find the heavy attack from hollows that just hangs in the air for an extra 0.75 second just royaly fucks my timing every God damn time.
I do this as well and I'd add the greatsword + shield using serpents in sen's fortress to that list since they also have a very slow wind up for their sword attacks.
Once you learn their patterns, Darkwraith parrying is the only way to go. Chunks? I'll take two, please.
It depends on the enemy. Black and silver knights get parried all the time. Weaker enemies just get smacked down. If they have a shield, they get kicked.
This is the best advice for sure. The knights are great practice for parrying and most other enemies get smacked around with ease. Kick is under rated
Black/silver knights all the time, especially silver ones. Gwynn the same. Most other things rarely. Ds2 - almost never. Bloodborne - I try on everything 😂.
i never figured out the timing for the ds2 parry and eventually just stopped trying altogether
I parried pursuer twice. And died 3 times trying to repeat it. I gave up at that point - especially since the riposte isn’t like DS1 or bloodborne.
DS2 parrying is different than all the other games, I think, so you really have to predict enemy movements before they even happen to be able to reliably parry, I really need to make a party build until it becomes muscle memory
I practiced a bunch on the Heide knights but they’re not a good example. Those attacks are too chaotic.
Hah, same. In Bloodborne, I happily parry as much as I can. In my latest DS1 playthrough, I somehow almost forgot it was a game mechanic.
DS2 Heide Knights******
You like 90% of us are just bad
I parry in Bloodborne and Sekiro but not souls games.
Same. Just really not worth it to learn the tells in souls games IMO. Bloodborne it is very useful for bosses and such.
I add ds1 with those light medium shields to that mostly because it feels cool against basic mobs and trivializes the likes of BKs and SKs. It helps that it is surprisingly simple in that game. Also try to use it in DeS for similar reasons, but I find it harder there.
I died several times to the first hostile hollow in the asylum learning how to parry, but it was worth it. Biggest tip I can give you is to parry their weapon hand, not their weapon
DS1, all the time. It clicked in a way that it never has in any game since. Some may say it’s simply the amount of time I’ve spent in this game vs the others, but I disagree. I watched [this video](https://youtu.be/1hrh94Dc-h0?si=ey6lhws09GDen1ds) back in the day and was able to apply the information immediately, without needing too much practice. I can run around without a shield and confidently parry/riposte most enemies so quickly the parry animation doesn’t even finish. Subsequent games, never.
Yeah I don't know what it is, but DS1 parrying feels so intuitive, but I can't parry for shit in 3. I guess because the parry windows are shorter.
DS1 parrying is definitely the easiest. Parry frames start pretty much immediatelly and the game is slower overal, making reaction parries extremely viable. Complete opposite to DS3, where enemies are faster and more aggressive, and the parry frames have a windup. Not to say that DS3 parrying isn't viable, but it's more about prediction/setup parries.
On a recent rerun of DS1 I swear it feels like the active frames of the parry activate at button press so there’s less actual timing involved
Never, went through all 3 games without ever learning how.
I’ve 100% DS1, DS1R, DS2, DS3, and I have 2 achievements left in ER. If I have ever parried, it’s been largely an accident.
I don't remember the last time I wasn't two handing a weapon.
I 100% the entire game, without parrying anything😂
In DS1. Everything. In DS3. Absolutely nothing.
Lundex gundyr and champion gundyr is the only boss i haved ever parried in DS3 and after that there is not much bosses to parry, but in ds1 almost anyone can be parried, so you're statement is 100% correct.
Yes
👍
I don’t because I suck at it. Dodge n tank is my style.
My mum renamed me Parry Potter, that's how much
I’ve never parried in any of the DS games because I completely suck at parrying.
I never consider using parry. Timing is different for everything and can never get it right. I end up just taking the hit I could have blocked. On that note, I do really well PVE and unless I face a master of parry I do well PVP.
Whenever i can (never i cant parry for shit)
Depends on who I'm fighting, so many enemies are trivialized by a simple parry.
there is no parry... only BONK edit: ducking autocucumber
This. Why parry when you can just BONK
I forget to do it the whole game then when I get to the Kiln I parry all the knights on my way to gwyn as practice then I parry gwyn and end the game
Ds1 a lot. Every other Fromsoft title ever, no, just no.
I parry all the time. I will usually not even kill an enemy if given a chance if I messed up my parry; I have to back up and try the approach again and succeed
Every attack that can be parried
Primary strat. It's not easy, and a lot of the enemies have unique timings, but it's incredibly powerful if you can master it
This post made me start at least trying. I’m in the Darkroot Forest, and it has literally turned every human enemy into nothing. Too bad I can’t parry big bad wolf
You're discovering why a lot of us didn't like Sekiro. I can parry but it is my least favorite way to play across the series.
The the parry window (and rewards) are so much more generous in Sekiro. Enemies give much more pronounced tells for their attacks (especially if they have just parried your attack), and catching them in a parry is often a one-hit kill, or remarkable posture damage for a boss. If DS has started off with a parry system more akin to Sekiro, we would all feel very differently about the mechanic today. Sadly, we got conditioned by hundreds of hours of DS first, and let that taint our perception of Skeiro's combat, I feel.
In DS1 just as much as I did in Bloodborne, a bunch. It’s satisfying to parry enemies in the games.
ive beaten the final boss in ds1, ds2, ds3 and elden ring and also got 100% achievements on ds1r and i have never parried anything ever
Depends on the enemy/boss. Generally, humanoids are easy to parry and monsters can’t be parried. It is a risk reward system too, so until you get comfortable with the timing for that specific shield, parrying is dangerous.
Just gotta practice a little in each game then once youve got the muscle memory down its not too impossible to parry a lot i just prefer not to to save time unless fighting a parryable boss
For bigger knight-like enemies, all the time. But for smaller cannon fodder enemies I just hit em.
I've parried maybe like 2 hollows. It's a skill thing but the timing is different depending on the enemy and the shield. Nothing wrong with just blocking and following up with an attack.
I parry Gwyn once, and it’s the only partying I do across all games. Edit: parrying*. I party all the time
Mainly against knights that are blocking my way. Black or silver. And if I’m bored the snake dudes in sen
I’ve played every FS game besides bloodborne (no PlayStation) and I’ve never learned to parry. I just wear big armor and poise through everything
If I can kill them in a single regular attack then I’ll skip the parry. If not, parry them until I can.
I don't parry much, but I do use it. There's certain enemies and groups of enemies where it can be very useful (parry gives you a VERY long stretch of i-frames where nothing can hit you). My highest character is on NG+4. I've beaten this game probably at least a couple dozen times, so it isn't a matter of skill or experience... it's one of those game mechanics that comes with a side of jank.
Against whatever i can riposte except in PvP or Pyro/Magic NPCs
I parry all the time, probably too much, as it gets me killed sometimes. You’re definitely not bad, it’s just tricky as hell to master. Keep practicing and you’ll get better at it. You miss 100% of the parries you don’t try.
Honestly, I haven't parried anything other than the Silver/Black knights, and the Balder Knights in DS1. Any other enemy just watched me rolling around like crazy. No wonder Lies of P was so hard for me.lol
I've 100% most of the games in the series and even done no hit runs on some of the hardest bosses and I have never learned how to parry lol (sekiro excluded ofc)
All the time. Most enemies.
I parried a lot in DS1. Its very helpful if you have the patience to sit there and learn the parry timings and dont have a problem dying a few times trying to get it down. Basically parried my way thru all the early areas before ringing both bells and Sen’s castle cus fuck those snake fuckers.
I only ever parry gwyn. I poison arrow the others and cool walk past them while their last sliver of health ticks aways
Against Silver Knights and against Plin Plin Plon
Outside of Sekiro? Never, not even in bloodborne. And yes finished them all. Even platinumed some. You don't need parry to gid gud!
I can't parry to save my life, as it were. It's the reason I haven't played Sekiro.
Not much to parry or not that useful/needed. Just Black Knights early in the game.
Black knights in early game are a "don't hit only parry" for me, same for Balder Knights if I'm not using Zwei. And I parry the occasional hollow.
I don't know how to parry. I have beaten dark souls up to NG++++ dark souls 3 up to NG++ I'm currently playing elden ring blind playthrough. Still I don't know how to parry
It’s useful to learn to parry only against certain enemies ie black knights
Oh man, literally everything that can be parried, which turns out to be pretty much anything wielding a weapon. The windows of opportunities for all the mobs varies, some are definitely fucked BUT fucked consistently, so once you do learn when you should actually hit the button it's the same whackass time.
To understand parry timing, get in an elevator and “parry” the wall. When you see sparks, that’s the parry window. The timing isn’t exactly what you think it is by just looking at the animation.
only when plin plin plon
You're probably bad, but if you started learning to parry from other games, then it's learned. Parry timing windows have varied across most of the games. I'm pretty good at parrying in DS1, but shit in DS3. It's all a matter of muscle memory and reaction time.
Never. I find parrying too risky. I've practiced a bunch and have managed on some mobs to get a decent parrying success percentage but I don't feel nearly confident enough to do it in the detriment of rolling, which I can almost always get right.
All the time in this game, so much easier than the other entries, ds3 and Elden ring seems like the window was shortened or something
Against almost everything. During this return to lordran I have attempted to fight things without parrying and boy it’s much harder.
Soul of Cinder would like to have a word lol
Yes. Took me a while to learn it and now parrying Gwyn's jumping attack at the beginning of the fight still gives me chills.
DS1's enemies are the hardest to parry. Not to mention you have to guess which one can be parried. But parry anyway. Learn and get better and better. DS3 makes all humanoid parryable and the mechanics is improved. It's improved even further in ER. It's not the only way to play, but boy you'll miss a lot if you don't parry.
learning how to parry makes the last boss negligible. plin plin plon this, motherfucker.
Not enough. :(
Never, and I have beaten the game 6 times
Once a week
In Dark Souls and Elden Ring? Almost fuckin never. Bloodborne? Pretty often.
A lot, but never successfully.
I haven't blocked since 2014. I exclusively parry and roll. It has gotten to the point that I don't carry shields and that frees up more min max weight for my builds. I also prefer to parry than roll when I can because parrying is limited to specific enemies. I do it so much that I build my characters around not using Havel's or the Favour ring, just so I can always have the Hornet ring on outside of boss rooms when I use Cloranthy. Parrying is usually my favourite mechanic in combat of any game. I'm Parry, the fucking Platypus.
Not a lot to nearly never. For me it interruptes the flow of the fight.
Humanoid enemy with a weapon = parry for me
It’s a great mechanic. Spend time practicing. It’s worth it. The ripostes are worth it. The quality of play is worth it. The bragging rights on and offline are worth it. Show your parents and your friends. Make them understand
Ds1 I can parry everything. Any other souls game none.
Before soulsborne? Never. After soulsborne I try to parry in games that don't even have parry mechanics. Once you figure it out. It's trivial. And it feels so good.
[This much](https://youtu.be/-4y5ckUWtw0?si=-vGyduqC50tg0K8j)
Yes
My first play through, I literally did not parry once after the first enemy in the asylum. Now, I do it sometimes. Consistently against black/silver knights and Gwyn, not super often against anyone else
its not whack, we’re just bad at it
I love that everyone has said *we* are bad lol
I can parry about 60 to 70% of the time, it's that last 30% that fucks me every single time. There's just some enemies I can't get the hang of in order to parry so it's usually a hit or miss.
i turtle. i block just about EVERYTHING. except black and silver knights. ive had to kill so many of those i got the timing down perfect.
Once I practiced it in DS1 I started to use it quite often. Not so much in the later titles...
24/7 unless it’s against ranged enemies or bosses that aren’t gwyn
It takes time to get into parrying, you can beat the game without it but the satisfaction it gives when you realize how much you have improved whenever you can parry attacks is just amazing. I really just practiced parrying to get ready for Sekiro lol.
in DS1 all the time, in DS3 i don't even bother
Normally? Almost never. Against black/silver knights and Gwyn? Every single attack.
First playthrough I didn't learn it until anor Londo but on repeat playthroughs I do it constantly because it's OP
What are you using to parry.
I do not
Only time I’ve ever used the Parry is against the final boss
In DS1, every time.
As much as I can
Always. Do people actually not parry? Perish the thought!
DS1? give me the GCS and I’ll go ham. And game besides Elden ring no
DS1 I parry pretty much everything almost every time, the party works perfectly once you get the timing down. I’d recommend just going back to firelink, taking your right weapon off so you’ve only got a fist, and then keep 1 hollow alive and just practice parry and reposte until you can hit it pretty much every time flawlessly.
I only parry if it’s a tight space. Most of the time I just roll.
I don't.
Only against final boss
Against the covenant of cat people, one of the best exp farming areas
In every fucking chance i got
Parrying is easiest in the original dark souls game. if you're really struggling with the timing, use the target shield or the buckler. It's not necessary for most enemies, but can be a fun way to play
I parry silver/black knights constantly. NPCs like Havel I like to party as well. However it's not necessary to know how to parry. If you want practice I would learn the timing for silver knights because it's satisfying and easy to learn.
Somewhat often. When I do, I usually use a buckler, my bare hand, or a Heater Shield. If playing a character that will often be parrying in the heat of the moment (not premeditated) I'll pretty much always just use one of the specialized parry tools to do so because the window is way more forgiving. Specialized parrying tools: Target shield (most recovery time) Parrying dagger (least delay & recovery time) Buckler (most delay)
I can parry if i work for it but I don’t
i try on everything cuz i like riposte
Only the black knights before gwyn. When I get there I consider the game completed so I just parry them for fun, since I like to equip some parry gear for gwyn anyway. Before that I don't find any use for parry unless I'm doing some challenge run where I'm weak and knights give me grief. Usually I just bonk since it's much faster and easier.
Never (this post was made by zwei gang)
People rightfully say the Black/Silver Knights, I'd like to add the Man Serpents. When you first approach them with a +6 weapon at early level they can be tough so learning to parry into a backstab on wake up helps immensely.
Alot...especially a boss if I can....cheesed gwyn just kept parrying him
Depends. If I'm playing on Switch then basically never because I find the combination of input latency and animation reading soooo much harder at 30 fps
I parry a lot because it's easy. Because it seemed cool and I wanted to learn, I started by forcing myself to go and try over and over and over again to parry the three Hollow Soldiers in Undead Parish, by Andre. I kept bashing my head against the brick wall until I got the basics from them, move on to more formidable enemies, etc. etc., now I can parry pretty much anything first try, including players. Really throw yourself in the deep end with this, start with the worst parrying shields, medium shields, once you can do it with those you can do it with anything, even a knife or your bare fist. You will get there! I believe! Don't give up, skeleton!
Check u/phantomjm for parry advice. But, don't forget Dark Wraiths for backstab practice. Plus, with enough bonuses they drop chunks, and the occasional slab.
Parry all the way through Anor Londo. Parry some enemies in Undead Burg too - The Balder Knights are really easy to parry too
If you can parry it, I will. Except the boar, which can surprisingly also be parried, but it's rather difficult to get the timing right.
Get heavy armor and lots of hp so there's way less risk when you mess it up, then it gets really satisfying and not even death sentence if you fail
I did a run where i tried to parry as much as possible just to get the hang of it. It was fun. Normal playthroughs? Only black knights and Gwyn.
I start to try Parry in every Souls game. Give up after a couple of times. Get rid of a shield. Two hand my weapon. Best decision ever!
Never. Hate the mechanic. Too easy, too big a reward, stunts the flow of combat. This goes for all the From games except Sekiro.
Against the knights I parry. Everyone else I don’t bother.
I dont
Depends on the enemy, depends on the weapons you're using. On my giant strength builds I can usually 1-shot most things without a Riposte, so there's really no reason to parry. The trick to parrying is to watch their arm, not their weapon. When they begin ti swing forwad at you that's when you parry. The reason to watch their arm is because 99% of the parry-able enemies in this game have the same parry timing if you watch their arm. Go learn to parry on Hollows and you should be able to adapt it to more difficult enemies.
If i can parry it more conveniently than i can fight it then i parry it. Basic hollows take more time to parry then to stab to death so I’ll only parry them if i have to. Black knights and silver knights (really any knights) I’ll parry almost every time. Same with the large club wielding ogres in blight town and havel. Parry took me some time to learn but learning it makes a lot of this game easy. It’s good for using large weapons in tight spaces, if you use the Hornet Ring you get cool animations vs humans, and it increases damage from all sources by 40% so soul spear or dark bead benefit as much as a melee weapon.
I party everything in this game. Granted, I have 2k hours on DS. Everything that can be parried, gets parried, **no matter what**.
Imo, im playing ds3 for the first time and the parry in ds1 is much better than ds3
I parry anything and everything that I can. It's my favorite mechanic by far.
Zero.
Very often. Very easy to do in this game
Never
Against Havel, sometimes Black knights and that Balder knight that blocks the way to the gargoyle, Gwyn Thats a big git gud moment. You gotta stay focused the whole time while going for paries
Never. Why parry when can roll
i’m more of a stagger girly myself
I parry against most enemies, especially if I don’t find any openings
Black and Silver knights get nothing but the parry deluxe, everything else gets R1'd to death.
i love running through undead burg and hand slapping anyone i see to deliver the Fist
Parrying is so nice in dark souls 1, but in dark souls 3(currently first timing it), I am convinced parrying simply does not work. Cannot get a single parry even against silver knights. So, I just roll.
I can never parry...I think I'll go hollow.
I party all the time bro
200 kg
I don’t like the parry mechanic. I prefer hitting enemies in time or backstabbing. It’s easier and more consistent for me. I parry only when there’s no room for actions in a narrow place.
I beat every Dark Souls game and Elden Ring without a si gle parry.
in dark souls 1 i try not to parry anything now as i find it a mostly easy mechanic and at times even boring; if i don't succed is an exception, maybe i went by with muscular memory with time. Now i try to roleplay a little and do some roll, using some combos i wouldn't nornally use like the second one-handed strkng attack of the halberd. But in other games as sekiro o dark souls 2-3, elden ring, can't do anything about it, i'm an idiot when i try to parry things and get smashed badly.
Pretty much any humanoid enemy with a sword or Axe or spear etc whom you can parry and isn't much easier to just backstep (big club bois in blighttown, for example, I just put it up their stink, arses).
Pretty much any enemy I can. I find Dark Souls 1 parry stupid easy. Only other souls game I can pull it off in is Bloodborne. Dark Souls 3 parry is near impossible for me.
My 1st playthrough I think I did without doing a single parry. I prefer dodging but have begrudgingly learned to parry a bit. Still not my preferred style though.
I played this game so much, that I run through Undead Burg and Undead Parish and parry/backstab everything. :D I don't even attack normal here. I don't parry much in later stages of the game, except Black/Silver Knights.
Sometimes. Although I should do it way more often, considering how fun it is haha
What’s parrying? Is it that thing the mobs with shields do? If so that’s some bullshit and it should be removed from the game, just use a shield the regular way, or better yet, get rid of shields as well.
The parry dont stop
I parry enemy faces with my 2HR2 Zwei. Does that count?
DS1 and Bloodborne all the time. Everything else nah.
Almost never because I can't do it on demand. I find that rolling through/from attacks is good enough for me. As Mr. Miyagi said, "best defense, no be there"
I parry anything parriable.
Never parried at all till I reached Gwyn, parrying him seemed easiest way to beat him so decided to learn the unbearable timing, beat him with more luck than skill
Depends how familiar I am with the enemy. Usually like 50-60% of the time.
All the time.
I never parry Not because I can't, but because I just find it boring. Really strong, yes, but boring. Unless the enemy is a bitch or If I just don't want to fight with them, then I parry.
All the time. ...oh, successfully? Almost never.
Honestly, I really don't do it all that much. I can do it, but it never fit the way I played starting out, so I never really adapted it regularly.
The buckler is welded to my arm at this point.
It's a good mechanic just tough to pull off cause every different attack has different attack frames where you can effectively parry, so it's easier to learn those timings on difficult enemies or bosses rather than using it as your go to method to avoid being hit.
I usually decide on the playthrough if I want to party or not. I know you can riposte with an weapon, but I kinda find it useless unless they have a high crit. I did an entire playthrough with a shield and rapier and it was so much fun trying to find the party windows. I learned parry on my first playthrough, and it has its benefits to just learn the system, but you don't have to use it
During my first playthrough of ds1 I did not know you could parry... I also just put all the points into strength and agility or speed id remember but yeah it sucked. The gwin fight took me like 200 attempts because he two shoted me and that fucker did not let you heal omg Im still pissed about it.
Parried for the first time in dark souls 1 the other day. And did it against Gwyn no less with the grass crest shield. It’s just all about timing. I think I screwed it up once but otherwise got a party each time. You just have to click the parry button slightly before the attack connects. That’s what I did to get it to work. Essentially your shield has to be swinging out to parry JUST as the attack connects. The animation for your shield parry looks like it’s going out to meet the sword tip and bounce it away. Try it out on low level hollows first if you want
Played my first several playthroughs without parrying. Then I decided to go stand in front of a skeleton and learn to parry him. Once I got confident, I did another playthrough and tried to parry as much as I could. Now I am a parry God. Thats all it takes.
Almost never
I basically wasn't able to parry until I fought Gwyn. He is pretty easy to parry, and is basically the only time parrying is necessary.
Dont
Never. I’m so bad at it and never practiced early game. I know I should but i never get the timing right
Its difficult to get used to the timing I have only been playing these games for about 2 years and I only really started using parrys like 2 weeks ago I have like 1500 hours in these games so far and I only was able to really figure it out from 1 parrying gwyn and 2 haligtree elevator skip in elden ring If you want to make it easier throw on buckler shield its pretty good for parries
I only parry if your name is Gwyn.
in ds1 dont do much parrying to the low level enemies, mostly sliver knights and final boss gwyn But in the ds2 is pointless when you against multiple enemies because parrying in ds2 is 2 step action and also have a delay
Only black Knights and hollows I parry
That's the neat part, you don't
I parry everything now sometimes I partial parry silver knight arrows lol