Parry mechanic is bad, feels awful - always dodge

[Asperger Berzerker]

I was excited when I saw the preview vids of the melee combat, but the parry mechanic is awful. I recommend never using it unless it's to squash a gaunt to get some armor back, you are better off always dodging.

Unless/until the parry mechanic is fixed in a future patch, there is no reason not to use the "block" melee weapons that have high stats but cannot parry.