Dark Souls 3 is the third sequel of the souls game series of video games that delivers its expectations of excellent graphics and gameplay mechanics. Released by FromSoftware and Bandai Namco Entertainment, the game was launched on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC in 2016. Dark Souls 3 has many unique elements that other action RPG games do not have relative to what this genre offers. One such element is parrying the incoming attacks with unique punchy animations. We have curated Dark Souls 3 how to parry guide and have entailed everything players need to know about parrying features in the game across all platforms, PS4, XBOX, PC, or new consoles.
Key Takeaways
- Parrying in Dark Souls 3 is a skill every close combat lover should learn. Parrying works with a sword-shield combo.
- Start the Parry by stunning the opponent. When you see the enemy preparing to hit, an L2/LT press will stun the enemy.
- The second move is to counterattack. By pressing R1/RB, you can do a Riposte. The hit will land on the stunned opponent and the Parry is complete.
- You can use a lot of shields to use parry, excluding the Greatshields. Parrying can also be done using lightweight weapons and fist weapons.
- While using parry in PvE, keep in mind that parrying does not work on all the bosses.
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Dark Souls 3 How To Parry
Dark souls 3 combat is composite and complex at the same time. Players need a lot of time to understand the in-game mechanics and how things, such as counters and parries, work. Many players prefer fighting from a distance and use spells and arrows to defeat their enemies. Meanwhile, others like the intense close combat encounters, so they use a sword and shield to hunt down their enemies. Players can parry any attack with any shield, as long as it is not a Greatshield, which trades the parrying element for a strong shield bash. Moreover, not all attacks can be parried as some of the bosses in the game have unparriable and special attacks that can only be blocked.
How To Parry Using A Shield
Parrying an opponent with a shield equipped consists of 4 parts. The opponent’s initiating the attack is the first step. When you notice the flick regarding the enemy’s attack landing on your character, immediately press L2/LT (The keybind to parry). After which, you would notice that the opponent has entered a stun animation, indicating that you have successfully parried the incoming attack.
The next part is launching the counterattack by pressing the R1/RB for a successful Riposte. This is a special attack and is only used after you have successfully parried an opponent. Also worth noting during this part is that you are entirely immune while riposting. So do not be hesitate when you get the chance to strike back after successfully parrying the enemy.
You can do this parry with a medium shield easily, so not doing it with a light shield is out of the question. Keep in mind that you cannot parry an attack by equipping a great shield.
Dark Souls 3 Shields That Can Parry
- Buckler
- Red and White Shield
- Elkhorn Round Shield
- Target Shield
- Iron Round Shield
- Hawkwood’s Shield
- Caduceus Round Shield
- Crimson Parma
- Leather Shield
- Sacred Bloom Shield (can also Spell Parry)
- Small Leather Shield
- Llewellyn Shield
- Golden Falcon Shield
- Sunset Shield
- Kite Shield
- Crest Shield
- Grass Crest Shield
- Dragon Crest Shield
- East-West Shield
- Blue Wooden Shield
- Knight Shield
- Silver Knight Shield
- Spirit Tree Crest Shield
- Golden Wing Crest Shield
- Large Leather Shield
- Wooden Shield
- Lothric Knight Shield
- Sunlight Shield
- Carthus Shield
- Round Shield
How To Parry Without A Shield
Besides shields, there are weapons that you can use to parry. Primarily, these weapons come from light weapon categories such as the Parrying Dagger, the Dagger, Katanas, etc. Moreover, you can also use fist-based weapons such as the Caestus and even parry bare-handed.
Dark Souls 3 how to parry strategy is pretty much difficult if you are using fist-based weapons. They have the lowest parry frames out of all the weapons in Darks Soul 3, so make sure you time it accordingly. The smaller a parry frame, the faster reflexes you need to parry the incoming attack. It is why a separate practice is always required while using the fist and light weapons. Parrying with light weapons and fist weapons is generally harder than the standard shield method, so players would need a lot of practice to learn how to parry in dark souls 3. Here is how parry can be done without a shield.
Likewise, the method of parrying an opponent without a shield remains the same. While using fist weapons, make sure you do not parry too early, as it would result in you taking some damage. The same goes for parrying bare-handed. Not only do you take a lot of damage, but you also lose a significant proportion of stamina, so make sure to time it correctly.
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Weapons That Can Parry
| Name of Weapon | Method To Parry |
| Katanas | Can parry while using Hold |
| Caestus | Can parry from left hand |
| Demon’s Fist | Can parry from left hand |
| Claw | Can parry from left hand |
| Crow Talons | Can parry from left hand |
| Manikin Claws | Can parry from left hand |
| Rapier | Can parry from left hand |
| Scimitar | Can parry from left hand |
| Farron Greatsword | Can parry while two-handed or using a shield with Weapon Skill |
| Parrying Dagger | Can parry from either hand |
| Shotel | Can parry from either hand |
| Scimitar | Can parry from left hand |
| Sellsword Twinblades | Can parry from left hand |
| Pontiff Knight Curved Sword | Can parry from left hand |
| Painting Guardian’s Curved Sword | Can parry from left hand |
| Rotten Ghru Curved Sword | Can parry from left hand |
Dark Souls 3 How To Parry In PvE
Parrying in PvE is much easier than Parrying in PvP. However, underestimating the parrying mechanics while engaging in PvE combat can prove disastrous. Some NPCs and bosses such as Pontiff Sulyvahn or Champion Gundyr require micro-second level perfection to parry them. It is why parrying these bosses is immensely challenging, and arguably, they are even hard to parry compared to fights in PvP modes.
You can pretty much estimate when to press your L2/LT to parry the attack just by listening to the sound of it. When you hear the enemies’ attack’s swoosh, give it a 0.5-second break and then press L2/LT. The 0.5 second is just to be on the safe side and not parry too early.
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While playing against the AI in Dark Souls 3, PvE-based enemies do not learn your strategies to break the loop of parrying. Hence you can parry again and again and drain a boss or NPC’s health entirely. Parrying comes naturally after practicing it with different sorts of PvE and PvP opponents, and over time everyone gets over the Dark Souls 3 how to parry learning process.
Bosses That Can Be Parried
- Iudex GundyrAbyss Watchers
- Crystal Sage
- Deacons of the Deep
- Pontiff Sulyvahn
- Champion Gundyr
- Dragonslayer Armour (You can’t riposte)
- Lorian, Elder Prince (You can’t Riposte)
- Lothric, Younger Prince (Spell Parry)
- Champion’s Gravetender
- Sister Friede
- Halflight, Spear of the Church
Dark Souls 3 How To Parry In PvP
However, that is not the case while playing PvP. An online opponent uses a great variety of weapons, skills and other combinations in combat, which makes knowing an enemy’s next move an impossible task. So, it would take you a great deal of time to master every weapon. This is probably why parrying in PvE is relatively much easier than in PvP.
That is pretty much everything you need to know about Dark Souls 3 how to parry guide. If you think we missed out on something, please do mention it in the comments section below.
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