Elden Ring allows players to parry attacks and has a new feature known as Guard Counter. If you have played Sekiro before you know how important parrying is. While this is not exactly Sekiro, this game mechanic is also handy in other Dark Souls games. And to make things better From Software has introduced a completely new mechanic known as the Guard Counter. So in this guide let us learn how to parry attacks in Elden Ring, and how to Guard Counter.
How to Parry in Elden Ring
You can Parry in Elden Ring by pressing the LT/L2 button when your enemy attack is just about to hit. Here are some tips for it.
- Notice when the enemy strike is about to hit you. The moment when it will connect is important. For your first few attempts just guard it. This will help you learn when the hit connects.
- Wait for the attack to hit but at the last second press the LT button. The trick is to let the strike almost connect you but pressing the L2 button just before it.
- Practice on different enemies. Perfectly parrying takes a quite lot of time and effort. So the more enemies you try it on the faster you will learn it.
- Pay attention to the sound. When you perform a perfect parry, you can recognize it by its sound.
When you do it correctly you will stagger your opponent and get the chance to hit them a few times. Don’t press the parry button too early or too late as you will take damage when wrongly timed. And while you are at it you should also practice it with lower-level enemies. What this will do is prepare you for the boss fights. The best way to learn parrying against an opponent is to learn against them. So if you are stuck at a fight then try practice parrying against the boss whose attacks you want to parry.
Should you Parry?
This answer to this is both yes and no, as it depends on the situation. I’ll give you the reason why for both. You should parry to the opponents whose attacks are slow or easily readable. This will not only stagger them but also allow you a hit that deals decent damage. Now the reasons why you should not parry. The first and the most important is failing to parry is very harmful to your character. You can lose a lot of health if not instantly die (again this depends on your opponent). But the biggest reason to not parry is it will be far easier to just guard the attack.
How to Guard Counter in Elden Ring
You can perform a Guard Counter by first guarding and then using a heavy attack.
- While fighting an enemy press LB/L1 to guard or block the enemy’s attack.
- Once their strike lands, press the RT/R2 button on your controller. This will do a heavy attack and work as a counter.
Do remember that using the heavy attack quickly after guarding is the key here. You don’t have to worry about timing your guard but the faster you use your heavy attack the better.
That covers everything you should know about how to parry in Elden Ring, and how to guard counter. If you are about to start the game then check our guide on the best starting class. We have many other useful guides on how to craft items, how to upgrade flask, and the workaround for pause for Elden Ring.