Elden Ring – How to parry like a pro, Parrying technical analysis tips and more

Parrying has always been one of the skills in Soulsboune games that require quite a lot of practice and understanding, it requires good accuracy and skill. Executing a perfect parry depends on the parry window which is influenced by the shield size and type. In this technical guide, we will show you everything you need to know in order to become a parry master in Elden Ring and land critical attacks time and time again.

What is the best skill you must master to make Elden Ring easier?

Parrying without a shadow of a doubt is one of the skills which upon mastering can make you the actual boss of the game. Getting a hang of the timing can be quite difficult initially but once you get used to it parrying can really turn you into the true Elden Lord and make the game much easier. After every successful parry, the opponent gets staggered leading to an easy riposte.

Also, read – How to farm runes in Elden Ring and level up faster

The Techninal Analysis – How parrying works in Elden Ring

Every attack the enemy launches at you has a ‘parry window.’ The parry window is influenced by the type of shield you are equipping. Smaller shields have a bigger parry window while medium shields and daggers are relatively small. When you press the parry button (‘L shift + Right mouse’ or L2/LT on the controller) a parry animation is played and the parry animation needs to be synced with the animation of the enemy.

In simpler words, the parry animation has three phases-

• The early phase.
• The parry window.
• The end lag.

If the enemy’s attack connects with the shield during the early or the end phase you will take damage while if the contact occurs during the parry window a successful parry will be carried out which can be confirmed by the unique sound effect.

The Parry window for each shield type

Thanks to u/Seboy666 parry frame data for different shields has been revealed. The green highlight represents the frames during which a successful parry can be carried out while the red areas highlight the early and end phase respectively. much like previous souls games Small shields and the ‘buckler’ have a relatively large parry window in comparison to larger and stronger shields.

The In-game practice and complete parrying tutorial

In order to start your parrying classes, you need 2 things, a good shield and an enemy. We recommend using the ‘buckler’ which is the best parrying shield in the game(read below to find out how to get it ).

The Shield

The buckler by far remains the best shield when it comes to parrying especially when you are learning.

The enemy

For the best place to put your skills to practice travel to the Church of elleh Site of grace from there head out north where you will find a few soldiers roaming about. The enemies there are scattered at a decent distance and allow you to practice without any hindrances.

Tips to follow when practicing Parrying

• Stay up close to the enemy.
• Watch out for the hand not the sword.
• Parry as soon as the enemy starts to swing his arm downwards
• Hold block to reduce risk when waiting to parry
• Absorb and learn dont panic and smash!

Mastering parrying will take time and patience. Instead of smashing keys try to learn and observe the timing of every successful parry you land. In the beginning, you will be inconsistent and it will take several attempts to land a perfect parry but don’t let that stop you, it’s all a part of the learning process. The best tip you can follow to master the timing for parrying every single attack is to watch the movement of the arm, not the armament. As soon as you see the arm starts moving towards you (Mostly downwards) that’s your moment to parry. The movement of the arm is much easier to follow and leads to better results. Another tip you can follow is to try to stay up close to the enemy to make it easier to see the movement and parry accordingly.

Holding the guard or block key while you wait for the enemy to attack can highly reduce the risk of getting hit as the guard will block the attack and negate the damage.

The best shield for parrying

Mastering parrying can be quite frustrating as it takes time to get used to the timing especially if you are using a medium-sized shield with extremely fewer parry frames. The buckler by far remains the best shield for parrying. The buckler has low equip-load, higher parrying frames making it the perfect option for learning purposes.

Also, read – How to use cheats in Elden ring if you are too lazy to grind

How to get the best parry shield ‘Buckler’

The Buckler shield is a starter item for the bandit class but it can be unlocked for anyone in the game.

Steps to unlock the buckler-

• Head to Gostoc in the stormveil castle.
• He can be found near the entrance of stormveil castle(If you haven’t killed godrick yet) or at the Godrick the grafted site of grace.
• Killing Gostoc provides you with the Gostoc’s Bell Bearing
• Give the ‘Gostoc’s’ bell bearing to the Twin husk maidens
• Buy the Buckler from the Twin husk maidens for 1500runes.

The buckler has the most number of parry frames making it the best shield for parrying. Although it comes with less guard negation but it still remains the best shield to practice parrying.