The critical characteristic of every Souls game is that they are incredibly complicated. So, anyone who's trying to play through the game needs to understand the basics of not only the combat but things like inventory and upgrade planning and management. Similar to the lore of Dark Soulsalmost everything in the game is interconnected. Be it weaponry, attacks, or the parry system.h other.

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While in other games, a press of a button means an instant attack or block. In Dark Souls 3, it means a whole lot more, especially if we talk about the parry system and everything that goes into parrying effectively.

10 Know Partial Parry

The first thing that anyone who is playing Dark Souls 3 needs to understand is that there are two main ways of defending. One is a full parry, and the other is a partial parry.

This essentially means something in-between a complete and no parry. Every perfect parry is done within a few animation frames, every attempt before that timeframe makes it a partial parry. Doing this results in taking less damage compared to no parry. This is decently useful to lure in enemies during intense boss battles.

9 Carry Less Weight

It has been established that all aspects of Dark Souls 3 relate to each other. This means that parrying isn't just directly connected to pressing a button, but it also depends on the kind of shield a player is holding, their stamina, and the overall equipment load.

The total weight impacts the way a character moves, and, while it does not directly change parrying, lightweight equipment will always provide more room for parrying because the weight affects the stamina.

8 Bare Hands & Caestus

Tere is a way one can improve the chances of parrying, and it involves using an item such as Caestus or going in barehanded. In both cases, opportunities for parrying an attack will grow. So, for people who dare to forgo using a shield, this is a great way to experience the game.

On top of that, if the player is fast enough, numerous techniques can be mixed with this for a fantastic outcome. This, however, isn't recommended for beginners or those without a fairly extensive amount of experience.

7 Maintain Stamina

Another big tip to keep the parrying game on the top is understanding how stamina works. Everything is connected in the world of Dark Souls, so using techniques and parrying will require the right amount of stamina. This means a failed attempt to parry can result in the loss of an insane amount of stamina.

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To mitigate the inherent risk of parrying, go into combat with a ring that boosts stamina or an item that slows down the stamina consumption. Just remember that parrying can take lots of practice and shouldn't be relied on all the time.

6 Do Not Spam Buttons

The biggest tip for parrying, and something that will almost always guarantee a higher scope of succeeding in Dark Souls 3, is playing with patience. There are plenty of games on the market that will allow players to press buttons and achieve an outcome mindlessly, but Dark Souls is not one of those games. It is as hardcore as it gets, and this means spamming a button in hopes that parrying will automatically happen will almost always result in imminent death. So, calm down and take it slow. Use lock-on and slowly defeat one enemy at a time.

5 Judge Latency During PVP

As if the regular game isn't hard enough, the PVP in Dark Souls 3 takes it to another level. One can not expect to win each game without understanding things like what kind of character they're facing and what abilities he or she possesses.

But, that is not it, while in a regular game it may be a lot easier to understand the timing, in PVP, it means that there will be latency timing, as well. The best way to check latency and understand the delay is to throw a knife at the opponent and listen for the sound of impact. The more the delay, the higher the latency.

4 Timings For Different Weapon Types

Almost every weapon in Dark Souls can be viable, but they all come with their own unique learning curves. This means learning how to use a sword is different from learning how to use a spear.

Similarly, defending each weapon also has a learning curve. Most unique weapons in the game have separate parry timings. So, it is imperative to understand what and when one must parry to defend themselves successfully.

3 Swap Items During Riposte Animation

Every time a character successfully parry and riposte, there will be an animation that plays that knocks the enemies out. As cool as this animation maybe, the best way to use this time is to switch gear or change items. The usefulness of this tip is for the players who've mastered the basic parry system to the point that they can now exploit every bit of it.

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Speed will be a factor here, as the players will have to access inventory and swap items before the animation ends. But it is possible and beneficial, especially versus players.

2 Use Items After Parry Animation

At times, it may be necessary to swap weapons to better engage an enemy or invading player. However, doing this is often time-consuming and dangerous.

Fortunately, parrying can help out in these situations. Players desperate to swap weapons out without leaving themselves defenseless may want to parry first. This will stun their opponent briefly, offering a small window in which the player may change their weapon.

1 Attacks That Can Not Be Parried

This is the final tip for survival and understanding the parry system. Dark Souls is a game that does not provide a tutorial at every stage. When a player boots up the game, the very first level has some important control messages, but the rest just depends on the exploration and self-learning. This is why it is essential to understand that if the game says press L2 to parry, it doesn't mean that every attack can be repelled. There are plenty of attacks in the game that can not be parried, and learning what can and can't be parried is vital to success.

NEXT: Dark Souls 3 Walkthrough - Boss Guides, Tips, & Help