How to parry in Elden Ring

In Elden Ring, knowing how to parry is one of those things that will save you in so many fights. You can totally get by and never perform this move once, but it’s what separates the wheat from the chaff.

How to parry in Elden Ring

To perform a parry, you have to have a shield that can perform this move on your left hand or have a weapon that can perform this skill. It’s also one of the few skills that do not require FP when used. 

Not every weapon can perform this, but the following can learn Parry:

• Claws
• Curved Swords
• Daggers
• Fists
• Medium Shields
• Small Shields
• Thrusting Swords

Note that this ability can also be applied if the weapons are non-unique, meaning that they are upgraded with normal Smithing Stones. The parry timing for each weapon class is different too, so you have to get used to different frames.

A proper parry has to clash with an enemy’s attack. If you perform it too early, you’re going to get hit. If you perform it too late, you’ll hear a sound like you blocked the attack, but you will take slightly less damage and a lot of stamina damage.

This skill can only be performed on physical attacks from humanoid enemies that aren’t massive. This means that you can perform this on enemies like Bloody Finger invaders, Crucible Knights, and others of the like.

There are special skills like the Golden Parry and Carian Retaliation that can parry projectiles, though they do cost FP on a successful counter. Keep that in mind if you do perform these often, you won’t get the full effect of the parry.

Where to get the Parry ability in Elden Ring

To get the Parry Ash of War ability, you have to buy it from Bernahl for 600 runes. Depending on where you are in the game, it’s best to not attack him before buying his wares. 

Best equipment for parrying

The best equipment to use for parrying is a Medium Shield. Specifically, you want to use the Brass Shield. The reason why this shield is so good is because it negates the most damage from all the various damage sources in Elden Ring, even if you failed a parry.