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One of the coolest things inElden Ring, which has carried over toNightreign, is the ability to parry enemy attacks in different ways. You aren’t just restricted to playing asExecutorto deflect attacks; Wylder, or anyone with a proper shield, gets to join in on the fun.
But when you actually start trying it out, you will find that parrying is not all that easy. Not only do you need to pick the right shield that suits your preference, but the type of parry also changes things a lot.
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To further complicate things, not every attack can be parried; pair this with the fact that you are in a rush to level up, and it leaves little room for experimentation.
Worry not, though. That is exactly where this guide comes in to help you out. Here is how you can parry most attacks, which shield you should pick, and all parry types explained.
How To Parry Attacks In Elden Ring Nightreign
To parry an enemy attack, you first need a shield that has the Ash of War Parry on it. We will get to the different types in a bit, but to keep things simple for now,make sure the shield you pick up does not have No Skill listed as its Ash of War.
Next,with the correct shield on your off-hand (left hand, typically), stand in front of your enemy and use the skill of your shield (press L2 or LT) just before their attack is about to hit you. If your parry is successful, red sparks will fly, your enemy will stagger,and you will be able to riposte them.
To riposte or deal critical damage, simply attack the staggered enemy with a normal attack. This is important, because heavy or charged attacks won’t deal critical damage, and your stagger gets wasted.
Beginners can start by guarding and then parrying instead of directly parrying. This way, if you fail, you take a little less damage.
Getting the timing right needs some practice; the exact timing can change depending on the enemy’s attack and your shield. The important thing to remember when parrying is thatyou shouldn’t do it too early or too late, or else it will fail, and you end up taking damage from the attack.
Not all enemies stagger for riposte with a single parry. For example, you need to parry the Fell Omen three times before you can riposte him.
The best shields to use for parrying are small shields, especially if you can get your hands on a Buckler. This weapon has a special Ash of War Buckler Parry, which has more parry frames, meaning that there is a little more room for error. So, even if you parry a bit early, it still connects.
Wylder’s default shield already has Buckler Parry on it.
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The best way to parry an enemy attack is by looking at their hand. Typically, you should stand very close to your enemy and start parrying whenever your enemy’s hand starts moving towards you. For example, if an enemy raises their hand to charge up an attack, wait until they start to bring it down and then parry it.
If you want to parry using the weapon as a visual cue instead of their hand, then that is also possible. Try timing your parry so that your shield is towards you mid-animation when it is about to connect with the enemy’s weapon.
Lastly, you don’t strictly have to rely on shields for parrying. If you can get a Parrying Dagger, you can use that as well. Its parry animation is the same as that of a Buckler.
Which Attacks Cannot Be Parried?
Not every move in this game can be parried.The most common ones that you should look out for are jump attacks, grabs, and two-handedColossal weaponattacks.
Some other examples of attacks that cannot be parried are ones like a rat biting you or Lordsword Captain swinging its shield at you.
Then there are also situational attacks that can’t be parried normally, but you may parry them with specific ashes of war, like parrying the yellow hammer ofFell Omenusing Golden Parry. or turning sorceries into Glintblades using Carian Retaliation.
In the end, it comes down to trial and error, so the best way to find out which attacks can be parried is by just trying to parry them.
As this is a fast-paced game, if you have standard Elden Ring, it is better that you practice parrying there as the skill is very transferable. You also have more freedom with your choice of shield and ashes of war than having to rely on Nightreign’s RNG.
Elden Ring Nightreign Different Parry Types Explained
There are 6 different types of parries in this game.The best one among them has to be Buckler Parry. Golden Parry and Carian Retaliation are also good, but are more situational. As for the other three below, you should use them if you don’t have a shield.
This is your standard parry skill, where the player swings the shield to parry an attack. Since in Nightreign all shields give you 100 Physical damage negation, that means you won’t take any physical damage. It is always a better idea to pick a small shield over a medium shield.
Buckler Parry
You can find this skill on a Buckler or Wylder’s starting shield. Unlike a normal parry, its shield animation flicks in an upward motion.
Golden Parry
When using a shield with this Ash of War, you can parry enemy attacks from a slightly longer distance and don’t really need to stand up close to your enemies. You see a yellow animation while using it.
This skill is also capable of parrying multiple enemies and can parry special attacks like Fell Omen’s hammer. The main catch is that each time you use it, it costs a little bit of FP. So, if you parry a lot, you may need to carry Starlight shards or a weapon that has a passive that lets you restore FP.
Golden Retaliation is not the same as Golden Parry. The prior is an ash of war that absorbs spells and launches them back as golden projectiles.
Storm Wall
Similar to the Golden Parry, you spend FP when using Storm Wall. This skill is useful for deflecting arrows and physical projectiles. Parrying with such a shield creates a storm animation.
Thops’s Barrier
Unlike Golden Parry or Storm Wall, just using Thops’s Barrier doesn’t cost FP, so you’re able to use it as much as you want to parry regular enemy attacks.
This shield truly shines when your enemy attacks you with sorceries and incantations. It creates a cyan magical forcefield animation that deflects such spells.
Carian Retaliation
Finally, we have Carian Retaliation, which is a better skill for dealing with spells. It absorbs incoming sorceries/incantations and turns them into glintblades that home in on the enemies near you. Just like Thops’s Barrier, using it to parry normal attacks doesn’t cost FP, but it does for spells.
To conclude, it is highly recommended youplay as Wylderwhen you are beginning to learn parrying. The Buckler Parry is the easiest to get started with, which his shield has, so you don’t have to worry about RNG and finding the right shield.
With enough practice, and once you get the feel for when you should parry an attack, you will be able to pull it off with most shields.
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