Parry | Dark Souls 3 Wiki

What does it mean katana w/o stance?

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I always make sure to have an off-hand caestus on any build because parrying is so ecstatic and rewarding in this game, even more than in Sekiro. The only enemies I can't parry consistently at this point are Carthus warriors, that one Pontiff knight with a scythe and trash mobs like thralls who can be just r1 spammed to death.

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What does "Small Shield (Mainhand)" mean?

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I was a parry god in ds1 but I suck at ds3 parrying. I could only parry gundyr and lothric knights (and friede ONLY ONCE). What's wrong?

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Mastered it no problem in DS1. It's just not viable in 3, the only enemy it should be used on is sulahvyn because you're f*cked if you don't

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Which basic enemies can be parried tho?

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"Katanas have the fewest parry frames"
Maybe but it feels like they have a faster windup so it feels better to use, at least for me.
Yeah it costs FP but you can still use it even when FP is drained. Once I learned that I just stopped using ashen estus for more heals.

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i'm new to dark souls and in elden ring parrying in pvp is very rare. how the hell are you supposed to pvp with something like freida's scythe if it's so slow and can be parried?
parrying in general has been such an issue for me, im always so damn paranoid since ive been parried at least two times by.... nothing? no buckler not even a knife? just an instant parry via his hand(?)
makes me hold back my attacks in a game where light attacks combo into themselves...

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lmao imagine being gwyn

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Straightswordspammersayswhat?

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"The Pickaxe can still be parried, even when two-handed"

Is this still here? Why?

This hasn't been true for years.

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Always keep a dung pie ready for any time you kill a parry spammer.

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Medium shield parries are still viable. The parry window is smaller and it took some time to adjust, but it feels so much more satisfying to land. Compared to a caestus or small shield, and personally, my average connection/latency, I just needed to start the parry roughly 1/3rd of a second earlier.

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Parrying has always been a weird one for me. I love it’s place in the game, and I think it adds a lot to it in form of gameplay. But every time I get parried and one-shot by a dagger, I lay down my controller and just sit and breath for a moment. It’s just so crazy to me that one slight mess up can end ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK to kill an invading phantom. It is cool tho to parry a group of gankers to even out the fight a bit.
Anyways; yeah yeah I know I need to “”””””””””””git gud””””””””

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Only had this happen with Champion Gundyr so idk if it happens with other enemies/bosses as well, but it's possible to parry and be hit at the same time. You will take full damage (so not a partial parry), and the enemy looks like they're open for a riposte, but the game prevents you from attacking altogether while they're down. Had this happen twice against Champion Gundyr

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Parrying isn't too hard, but there's no point doing it with every single thing than can parry. Pick one, start and get used to it. You still gotta learn the timing to parry each attack for each weapon type, some will be easier than others. You also gotta 'guess' your latency and how well your connection is with the other guy, but it's not hard. Casuls only try a dozen times then complain they can't get it. Parry kings die more times than the number of total game hours they have, and then at some point, stopped dying so much because they got the hang of it. You just gotta start.

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My Cathedral Knight Greatsword got parried by Kriemhild in Grand Archives. Also, I parried Tsorig in the Smouldering Lake area. Neither times was it a running or rolling attack. Am I tripping or can the normal attacks of vertical ultras be parried?

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You can riposte Lorain the elder prince

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You have to wear me down with my seven estus, 10 siegs and divine blessing and I only have to parry you once.

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Damn, even pkcs can parry

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If you ask me ultra greatswords, greataxes and great hammers shouldnt be parried in any case...

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The only thing keeps parring balanced in PvP is the uncontrollable lag in these games

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This is false "When two-handed, R1 and R2 attacks from Ultra Greatswords, Greataxes, and Great Hammers cannot be parried.".
Vordts hammer can be parried when used as two-handed.

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I find the easiest thing to parry is the roll attack--well, apart from the Charge WA. Since rolls have big ass tells and people tend to be more careless at full HP, it's good place to start practicing the parry. From there you can graduate to parrying normal attacks & running attacks. It's all about getting a feel for what your opponent is going to do next. Two good things to keep in mind when parrying; offense as defense, & weapon reach.

You've heard the phrase, "the best defense is a good offense." Since most people don't use shields all too well in DS3 PVP any more, people use weapon attacks as a deterrent. If you attack as a defensive move, you can bait people into a position where they want to attack you, i.e. after your attack ends. Their timing becomes predictable because you set the rhythm by setting them up to expect an opening. Roll attacks are easy pickings for this, because they are knee-jerk reactions that are easy to spot. They get wise to this, they might wait a bit to do a normal attack instead of doing a roll attack after the roll. In that case, it can be a bit iffy, but you can adjust your timing a bit and catch them for a parry. Same goes for parrying running attacks. If they are running around you & kiting you while your attacks whiff the air, they will likely attack as soon as your attack ends, setting them up for the parry.

In short, they will want to attack you when your own attack ends. It's at the end of your own attacks that you want to practice the timing of your parry.

As for the reach of their weapon, it has to do with the weapon hit boxes. Actual hit boxes are longer than the actual weapon, and you have to keep that in mind. If you parry too near, odds are, you will take damage anyway, because the hit box touches the damage hitbox even when your parry connects. You need to be alert for this because the damage can still trigger the urge to roll away, and you could potentially waste a parry you landed & miss the riposte. You just need to commit to the parry, take the hit if it misses, & roll away at the 1st chance.

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I find the easiest thing to parry is the roll attack. In duels or 1v1 invasions, you just keep a caestus away in the off-hand behind another offhand item, like a crossbow or weapon skill small shield. Let them roll into you to catch them unaware & set them up with the rhythm, and then switch to the caestus & go for the parry when you see the roll attack coming. Keep in mind you also have to adjust the timing according to both latency & the timing of the weapon they are using. People tend to risk more and be careless at full HP, so finding ways to bait people can be fun.

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ah yes, the parry

once you fail a parry, you shouldn't do a second one
otherwise you will become predictable
and they will backstab you
over
and over
and over
and over
and over
and over
and over
and over
and over
and over
and over
and over
and over
and over
and over
again
thats the pro tip

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you can parry slave knight gael :U

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How? Just... how? I don't get it. I cannot parry ANYONE online even though the connection is fine. I get r1 spammed by irithyll casul sword idiots yet the parry does not come through even if the timing is correct. What the ****? I do not understand

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Missing weapon that can parry from the offhand: Warden Twinblades

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is it weird that im better at parrying with katanas than small shields

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Mum just came up to me and started giving crap for jacking off dad but *swoosh* one parry and she's outta here

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Does Lewellyn Shield and Buckler have same exact amount of parry frames? I've read that only Buckler, Small Leather and Target shields are the only REAL parry shields. But in the menu, they all say Small Shield with Parry as the skill, even though the three I mentioned have slightly different animations.

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I have found that the best place to practice parrying is on the drakeblood knight NPC in Archdragon Peak. He uses lots of attacks that you will see in pvp and respawns so you can fight him as many times as you want.

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The is a partial protection when parrying with katana as well. It's not only shields.

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So basically the timing of parries depends on the number of parry frames each weapon/shield and when they are active in the parry animation. Parry shields and the Parrying Dagger have the same number of parry frames, but the timing when those frames go active is different. Parry shields begin early, so there is leeway to react on reflex. The Parrying Dagger requires you to bait or more accurately predict enemy attacks because its parry frames are active towards the end of its animation, meaning you need to start the parry earlier. That all said, you have to catch an attack during these active frames with correct timing. Medium shields, Curved Swords, and FGS have the most basic parries with 6 parry framesthat starts a little after halfway thru their parry animation. Other parry classes are generally better with more active parry frames, though their timings are slightly different. The worst one ever is the Katana parry, which not only requires FP to perform, but even more precise timing, since it only has FOUR active parry frames. Props to anyone who can pull it off. Also it's stupid how the Parry Frames table is absent from the dedicated info page meant for Parrying.

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Pro tip: the moment your stamina drains is the exact frame your parry frames start

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Do parry shields have better parry’s if you upgrade them, I am new to dark souls

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can spear/polearm be parried? I keep trying to parry the spear's weapon art and die

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I got parried by a caestus while doing the air spin 3rd l1 attack... so I guess that move isn’t considered a plunge attack or is it the dagger that got caught by the parried?

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Como ago el otro tipo de parry el que tira al suelo el objetivo

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Parrying is too easy to be this powerful. Very satisfying in PVE

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Shotel can parry

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Seriously THAT MUCH people complain about a skill that counter their r1 spamming? If you feel humiliated about been killed over and over thanks to parry learn how to counter it, cause say that is a mechanic that deserve to be removed from the game just Make look frustrated and even weaker Ahahahaha
With love, a guy who dont use it cause dont know how to properly use it but dont complain <3

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without being made fun of, can someone tell me where a good place to practice parrying would be? I've been trying to use more humanoid enemies like the Silver Knights and Lothric Knights, but the timings to their attacks are deliberately varied to ***** with the exact thing I'm trying to practice (like how Nameless King's attacks are uncomfortably slow and weird to dodge until you get used to it). Dark Wraiths are also annoying with their constant grabbing and kicking. I'm just trying to get better at this mechanic since I've never touched it in any series, and with how poise works in 3, I basically have to learn this mechanic to outwit people spamming R1 with the Zweihander or various hammers/clubs. I'm a squishy mage with a MLGS and I can't trade for***** and I'm honestly tired of losing because of the way poise works in this game.

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Imo parrying in the first dark souls is way better

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Stop. Spamming. The. Attack. Button. You. Idiot. Srsly, ppl say parry makes the game too easy, as if spamming ss r1s didn't do it first. Parry requires skill and timing, spamming requires a fking finger movement.

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Huh the guy who invaded me who keeps spamming emotes just pulled out an iron round shield and dagger, I wonder what he's up to

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Nope.

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Facking gey ass dislikers. K.Y.S.

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Seriously is everyone so afraid to make counter arguments? All you guys do is press the dislike button. Pathetic.

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I killed one parrier today (irl)

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Wow everyone is so afraid to object my previous comment

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This mechanism - that clearly is meant only for weaklings - needs to be removed from the game. Fight me casuals.

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don't laugh but is scared flame work with hornet ring?

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Onikiri and Ubadachi can not parry, along with the other mentioned katanas, correct?

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I have destoyed so many parryers

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2 hand ult greatsword attacks arent parryable, but weapon arts are ok that makes sense

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I think they should have at least made parrying take a significant chunk of stamina, and perhaps for you to take greater (not less) damage when the parry is unsuccessful. That would make it a more risky and satisfying trick to pull off, and also stop people spamming it.

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In case you find yourself in an invasion while on an icy floor, be sure to parry your opponent, in order to generate enough salt to make sure you don't slip and fall

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I went from novice to expert for parrying in Dark Souls 3, I started with the buckler on glass canon mage. He saved my life several times. And now I can parry even weapon arts or bosses, with standard Shields, katanas, etc. Despite being a huge user of parrying, I agree with the post. When you know this move, and notably if you have high health, big defense, the risk to try a parry becomes low and the reward is really high, even without hornet ring. It's almost an automatic win, it breaks the game honestly. And to be fair, this is the only easy-to-win skill in the game. Builds with big weapons or high magic spells required a particular allocations in stats to deal huge damages. Glass canons build are really risky. Conversely, parry requires no particular stat, a caestus in left hand for example and you can parry anything and anyone : this is game Breaking. I try myself to reduce my use of parry, to be fair with the opponents, and the fights are way funnier since i do this. The same goes with rolling, when you know the rolls, youre almost invincible specially in PVE (in PVP not, "thanks" to lag). I think that parry frames and i-frames of rolling (why not also the amplitude of the angle allowing backstab) should have been Under he influence of your luck points or dex maybe. It would have been more balanced. Hope Fromsoft will think about that for Elden ring.

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put on a thrall hood and play the bomb remix for extra parry skillz

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Anything can be parried if you hack.

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I just had some guy hate mailing me as a cheater because I kept parrying his attacks with the spiked great mace over and over again. He was two handing it, but my target shield parried him straight up 4 out of 5 times that he swung it at me. I'm on the PC but I don't even know how to cheat if that's even a thing. I've never used the spiked mace before and I think he might be the first PvP player I have faced that was using it. He said it is considered a great hammer and therefore cannot be parried with 2 handed attacks. But I got pretty good at parrying over the last 4-5 months and I have my timing down for most common weapons. I definitely am not cheating, but this man is insanely angry with me because he's like 0-20. I told him to just stop invading me, but apparently he does not see that as an option. Oh well

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U can riposte Prince Lorian

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Apparently this has changed because I just got parried doing an R1/R2 combo with the Astora Greatsword

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A few weeks ago, got a poise break in Lorain w/ a spiked mace and performed a reposte. Guide says U can’t reposte. It’s probably new,but,I can never seem to find current patch notes for console.

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My great 2h club just got parried so that’s inaccurate.

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I'm pretty sure you CAN riposte Elder Prince Lorian, but only in the 1st phase. Not positive tho.

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Sunset shield (hodrick’s shield) is not listed

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Parrying is a bad mechanic, probably one of the biggest design flaws in Soulsborne. Why? Because it utterly trivializes some fights to the point that they resemble quicktime events. Watch a video of the Champ Gundyr or Suly fights without parrying, then watch them with parrying. It's also utterly cancerous for PVP; a SINGLE well-timed input should not automatically hand you the win, ESPECIALLY in a multiplayer environment as laggy as DS. We would be better off if parrying was reworked for a more balanced risk/reward ratio, because***** is wack. I'm sure some half-literate dolt will be butthurt that I'm daring to insult such an integral mechanic which they rely on as a crutch and tell me to 'git gud'.....when my entire point is that parrying makes the game way too cheesy/easy.

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I think they mean that if Lorian is parried then you can't follow with a riposte. You can riposte Lorian only if he's poise broken

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I call bull*****I used an ultra great sword an my ass got parried

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All you do is R1, all I need is L2.

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Is there any gear with increased Parry Frames like in Dark Souls?

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I riposted Lorian. Surprised the hell outta me.

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Okay 1st of all I like to meet good players. But this is deferentially something broken. I don't mind good parrying but you basically can parry everything even when you use ultra great swords you just get stubbed in the back...... So ya either way you f....d. Just a tip if you see player with parrying shield they typically do nothing and wait for you to attack them..... So much fun Okay. I mean parrying is OKAY but stabbing in the back during skill move or swinging ultra sword is pure bs. And also what kind of PvP players load their stats before battle lmao. You load it in fight NOT before of course it be easy kill when you boost like 3 thing lmao PvP my a.. I rather invade.

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Why do so many people send hate mail after they get back stabbed for parry spamming? In short try git gud.

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can someone explain to me if the dark sword's r2 are parryable? it doesn't seem so

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Somebody add the Llewellyn Shield to weapons that have the Parry skill

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Just parry with your hand
problem sloved

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How to master parrying in 3 steps:
starting with the assassin,
1. Parry/Riposte the grave warden without getting hurt, there is one by the first bonfire
2. Parry/Riposte the tutorial gundry without getting hurt until it starts its 2nd phase. 2nd phase is optional.
3. Parry/Riposte the sword master without getting hurt
Once you master that, you should be able to parry anything and begin your journey to parry perfection.

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"Some parry related experiments can be found"
What does this mean?

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Some parry related experiments can be found?

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what, im 100% sure you can riposte lorian

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To clarify, Parrying frames form weapons in offhand works different from right hand weapons. Both timing and collision windows are different. It is confirmed.

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Best parry shield?? why the Sunlight Shield of course. because i smack your whole face when i parry you! Praise the Sun!!

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You can definitely parry jumping R2 attacks

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Uhh.. I don't think you can parry with the Parrying Dagger in the right hand.

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'The weapon with the highest parry frame window is the Painting Guardian's Curved Sword but has a longer wind up.'

Removed this trash.

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If you're playing, and you're in an R1 spam, typically pressing L2 after getting hit twice will net you a parry (assuming they continue spamming and depending on your parry tool), but sometimes you press L2 and the parry doesn't come out, and you just stand there and get hit more.

When you're trying to parry, to ensure that the parry comes out, press L2 for a little longer and harder.
Sometimes you hold L2 for too short of a time and don't actually meet the time to activate it while being staggered.

If you don't understand what I mean, try getting hit, and then rolling or parrying just before you get out of the staggered animation. You tried rolling despite not being in the unstaggered state, but you still rolled as soon as you got out of it.

Sometimes you just don't press hard enough, and it doesn't activate the parry.

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I strongly suggest anyone who is thinking about parrying to actually do it.

It helps not only in PvE but also in PvP as most lower levels (Below 150 i'd say) just rush you and spam r1 with their sword, which is a godly target for people that love parrying.

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It should probably be noted somewhere that kicks cannot be parried (obviously), but attempting to parry a kick will result in a partial parry.

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Parrying online players should just be removed, dark souls is about positioning and planing ahead, not spamming parry until you get lucky and one shot someone

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Good places to practice parrying at are the two summoned NPC places (Drakeblood Knight, Ricard, the naked dude with a rapier, and occasionally Havel). It might be an idea to kill the real Havel so you don't have to do deal with summoned Havels, but then you cannot practice parry with Havel.
Drakeblood is best for practicing against straight swords and greatswords.
Ricard is best for practicing against Rapiers and other fast swords.
Havel is best for practicing against great hammers (word of warning, if allowed to use his buff, he will two-hand and become unparryable as a result).

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Can you parry those damn dogs???

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There are 3 outcomes when parrying:
1. Full Parry: the enemy is successfully parried, and you take no damage or extra stamina drain.
2. aPartial Parry: you take damage, but the enemy is still parried.
3. bPartial Parry: you take a % of the damage you would normally recieve, extra stamina is drained, and the enemy has not been parried.

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Lothric Knight Shield also parries

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After a lot of parry practicing, I have determined that it is better to smother your forearm with a turd than to equip a medium shield. Use a small shield.

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worst idea ever

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Question: It's mentioned that two-handed R1 and R2 attacks from Ultra Greatswords cannot be parried. Then what about the Farron Greatsword? Because, when using two-handed mode, you don't wield the sword two-handed but have the parry dagger in the left hand. So wondering, if you can parry this "two-handed" R1 and R2 attacks.

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