Dodge/Parry tips and tricks

[KombatKaine]

There's clearly 2 camps for the dodge/parry mechanic. Those who really enjoy figuring out the timings, and those who can't perfect parry right off rip with any new enemy so get mad at the system. So here's a few tips and tricks from my personal experience after finishing the game, and starting to play through NG+:

1. DODGE. too many people look at dodge and parry and black and white. one is better than the other. thats not untrue, but they are meant to work together. You use one to learn how to use the other. The dodge window is larger than the parry window, so dodging when you are fighting a new enemy is pretty much always the best option because it's easier to hit, and helps you learn the parry timing. When you hit a PERFECT DODGE, that means you hit the parry window. Once you can hit a PERFECT DODGE reliably, you can start to parry. once you have the hang of this learning pattern, the system makes a lot more sense.

2. Use ALL the queues, they're there for a reason. I had this issue for a while at first too, only watching the attack, or only listening to the attack. but there's also a 3rd aspect, that maybe im just dumb for not realizing sooner, but READ the attack. The game tells you what attack they are about to use, meaning after a few times, you know what dodge/parry pattern you have to do before the attack animation even happens.

3. Gradient Counters are weird, but really easy once you understand them. They are intended to bait you into mis-parrying or mis-dodging. imo, these have the largest range of "trolling" by the devs, in that some of them will take what feels like a work week to complete the attack, while others happen almost instantly. realistically theyre just like any other parry, but honestly more forgiving. you're going to get hit by some, especially the ones that troll you. just learn from it, theyre not that bad.

4. HOLD DOWN THE BUTTON. i dont mean just permanently hold it down, but just dont quick tap it. im not 100% positive on this, but it definitely seems like the dodge/parry system is functionally different. in other games, tapping the parry button at any point within the window will instantly parry the attack. here, you have to physically be parrying when the attack hits. so essentially, even if you tap the button within the window, if youve released it b4 the attack actually hits, you wont parry. its still a tight window, BUT once i started doing this, it felt way more consistent.

5. You're going to mess up. It's part of how the learning curve works. its frustrating, but just learn from it. It makes it feel far more rewarding when you finally crack the code.

6. not really related to parrying, but dont be afraid to build defensively. sure, you're not going to one shot stuff, but a TON of the weapons scale on vitality and defense, and stacking those makes learning the timings way more digestible because youre not just insta dead everytime you miss (mostly). you also get access to plenty of respec points later if you want to change your stats once youre more comfortable.

im sure theres more to it, but this is just some things i've learned so far, and would definitely have helped me to know early on. hope this helps someone.

[ZI5C0]

Parry as the attacks hitting you. Dodge is for wimps. Parry supremacy counter attack big dam 💪💪💪💪 in all seriousness best way to learn is to just go into fight and do it. One boss in particular in old lumeria has a fun parry/dodge attack it does. Also chromatic Orphelin. However I will agree some bosses seem near impossible to parry for lack of tells and feints but feels satisfying. Add dodge lumina and just swap between dodge and parry till you figure it out. Thats my advice to people. I’m only halfway through act 2 and I only parry and yes HOLDING the button feels like it works better for sure. Also I didn’t read through but some do have slight sounds. The mime in particular and few others have a swoosh. But tldr parry when you get hit or split second before by HOLDING it down not tapping and chromatic orphelin is in yellow harvest, fun trainer boss imo for it, apparently you gotta be level 40 some say but I did it level 20 without any issue.

Another trainer boss gross tete. Parry parry parry.

Parry counter stagger into break stun big wombo combo for the win, bosses melt.

[KombatKaine]

Originally posted by ZI5C0:

Parry as the attacks hitting you. Dodge is for wimps. Parry supremacy counter attack big dam 💪💪💪💪 in all seriousness best way to learn is to just go into fight and do it. One boss in particular in old lumeria has a fun parry/dodge attack it does. Also chromatic Orphelin. However I will agree some bosses seem near impossible to parry for lack of tells and feints but feels satisfying. Add dodge lumina and just swap between dodge and parry till you figure it out. Thats my advice to people. I’m only halfway through act 2 and I only parry and yes HOLDING the button feels like it works better for sure. Also I didn’t read through but some do have slight sounds. The mime in particular and few others have a swoosh. But tldr parry when you get hit or split second before by HOLDING it down not tapping

oh 100% agree, parry if obviously the better option. im mostly just trying to explain how ppl can work up to parrying without dying over and over, since i see a ton of ppl complaining about how "bad" the parry system is, when imo, its one of the best.

wait til you get to the end of act 3 XD some of those mobs and bosses are insane to try and parry lol. i almost exclusively dodged the last 3 fights because for the life of me i couldnt figure out the parry timing. still cant. dope fights tho.

[ZI5C0]

Originally posted by KombatKaine:

Originally posted by ZI5C0:

Parry as the attacks hitting you. Dodge is for wimps. Parry supremacy counter attack big dam 💪💪💪💪 in all seriousness best way to learn is to just go into fight and do it. One boss in particular in old lumeria has a fun parry/dodge attack it does. Also chromatic Orphelin. However I will agree some bosses seem near impossible to parry for lack of tells and feints but feels satisfying. Add dodge lumina and just swap between dodge and parry till you figure it out. Thats my advice to people. I’m only halfway through act 2 and I only parry and yes HOLDING the button feels like it works better for sure. Also I didn’t read through but some do have slight sounds. The mime in particular and few others have a swoosh. But tldr parry when you get hit or split second before by HOLDING it down not tapping

oh 100% agree, parry if obviously the better option. im mostly just trying to explain how ppl can work up to parrying without dying over and over, since i see a ton of ppl complaining about how "bad" the parry system is, when imo, its one of the best.

wait til you get to the end of act 3 XD some of those mobs and bosses are insane to try and parry lol. i almost exclusively dodged the last 3 fights because for the life of me i couldnt figure out the parry timing. still cant. dope fights tho.

Only the fast attacks I have to actually dodge but I’m consistent with not taking damage. Most fun I’ve had since Elden ring

[phiz]

Good advice here will just add
- Yes, dodge til perfect then parry (perfect dodge = parry window).
- Gradient counter timing seems to be when the "text cue" enemy intent message disappears.
- Make a save and skip your party turns to face more attacks and learn the patterns quicker.
- Edit any party members weapon (incl selecting another then back) to trigger a save at any point.

[Shirakani]

I personally don't have a problem with the parry system but I have a number of friends who absolutely despise it... and they are the crowd that play Persona, Disgaea, etc ie PURE turn based games.

IMO, the system needs to be reworked into something like how say Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth handles blocking/parrying. You should still be able to pick a flat GUARD option, as per standard turn based staple. If you nail a 'perfect' guard, then ok, nullify all damage... but if you simply Guard, you should be able to at least cut 50-60% damage coz you GAVE UP A TURN for it.

Not sure what the devs were thinking with the system the way it is as it only is going to be okay with people who can play action games. The core turn based crowd do NOT handle this sorta ♥♥♥♥ well, and ultimately that's the crowd that play turn based games to begin with.

If their aim is to get the action/Souls crowd into playing turn based games, congrats, they succeeded... Whether or not that crowd will stick around is another question. But if their aim is to piss off the core turn based crowd, congrats, they succeeded there too.

[KombatKaine]

Originally posted by phiz:

Good advice here will just add
- Yes, dodge til perfect then parry (perfect dodge = parry window).
- Gradient counter timing seems to be when the "text cue" enemy intent message disappears.
- Make a save and skip your party turns to face more attacks and learn the patterns quicker.
- Edit any party members weapon (incl selecting another then back) to trigger a save at any point.

good tip on the force saving. didnt know you could do that by wep swapping.
for the text cues, i more just meant as a general thing. like in the very first area, the lance dudes have 3, and that tells me exactly how theyre about to attack. "... is attacking slowly" means its the 1 hit with a wind up, "... is attacking quickly" is the really quick 1 hit jab, and "... is attacking" is the 1 wind up hit followed by the 1 quick jab.