While hitting enemies with devastating weapons or one-shotting them with spells is good, you can also parry incoming attacks in Ring of Fire and deliver a stylish killing blow.
Elden Ring allows for several playstyles, from those based on direct combat and dodging sequences of deadly attacks to less aggressive approaches that use spirits to attract the attention of enemies and wait for the right moment to attack. Part of the gaming experience is finding the style that suits you best.
If you want to deflect attacks in Elden Ring, we’ve got you covered. This guide explains how to parry in Elden Ring and what is the best shield to parry.
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How to parry in Elden Ring
In Elden Ring, Parry is the mechanism for deflecting an enemy’s attack using a specific skill that certain shields possess. You cannot deflect attacks without a shield. HAS parry an attack, you must use the parry skill at a specific time while the enemy is performing the attack animation. When playing with controllers, this means pressing the L2/LT buttons.
Parrying attacks is a great way to defeat enemies in Elden Ring. When you deflect their attack, they are staggered and you can use a riposte attack, which is a guaranteed critical hit. Depending on the enemy, a counter attack may one-shot them.
You should keep in mind that you can’t block every attack in the game. Some enemies have moves that, although they seem like simple physical attacks, cannot be parried. Although you can parry the attacks of the most common enemies, when facing stronger enemies, such as bosses, you must try to parry their attacks because there is no other way to know.
Exactly when you should use the parry depends on the type of shield you are using. There are three sizes of shields in the game, small, medium and large shields. Each size has a different parry window, meaning that depending on the shield you use, it’s possible to deflect an attack even if you act too early. While the small shields have the largest parry window Among the sizes, large shields require the most precision.
Best shield for parrying in Elden Ring
Although you can use any shield with Ash of War: Parry to deflect attacks, the the best shield for parrying is the Buckler shield and the The best War Ashes to parry are Carian Retaliation and Golden Parry..
If you just want a first shield to start deflecting attacks and dealing critical hits, the Buckler Shield is your best option. This small shield has a unique War Ash called Shield Parade and it’s one of the best at deflecting attacks because it has a large parry window. You can obtain this shield by choosing the Bandit as a starting class or by purchasing it from the Goalkeeper Gostoc at Stormveil Castle after completing their quest.
Now, Carian Retaliation and Golden Parry are the best because they have the largest parry window in the game. Unlike Buckler Parry, no shields already have these abilities. However, they work great on small or medium shields.
You get the Golden Parry by killing a Teardrop Beetle on the main stairs on the Capital Outskirts in Leyndell. You can take the grace site called Ghost tree from the exterior wall and go northeast until you find the stairs. On the other hand, you can Buy Carian Retaliation from Pidia, Carian Servant, which you can find at Manoir Caria. However, if you just want Ash of War: Parry, you need to visit Knight Bernahl at the Warmaster’s Cabin, east of the entrance to Stormveil Castle.
