How to parry in Final Fantasy 16

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To parry attacks in FFXVI requires players to time their attacks just right, and in the perfect way.

Clive parries an imperial captain in Final Fantasy 16
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Want to know how to parry in Final Fantasy 16? It's one of the fiddliest and least explained mechanics in FF16, but can be devastating on opponents when done properly, leaving them vulnerable to an extreme counterattack. However, it's not clear how to do it without at least a little experimentation and explanation - which we can go through for you below. If you're confused about the Final Fantasy 16 parry mechanic, our guide to counterattacking 101 will help you riposte with the best of them.

How to parry in Final Fantasy 16 explained

The parry tutorial in Final Fantasy 16

(Image credit: Square Enix)

To parry in Final Fantasy 16, players need to face their opponent directly and do a standard attack (Square) that connects right as the opponent lands their own attack. There's a few things to keep in mind about this:

  • You must be directly facing the opponent.
  • Parries only work on melee attacks, not ranged ones.
  • Practically any enemy melee attack can be parried, even special techniques.
  • The timing for parries is very small - you want to land the hit in the microsecond before their attack hits you.
  • Clive's attacks are faster than you think - you need to try and Parry at the very last second, and it's easy to trigger it too early.
  • You can parry attacks while in the air.
  • Any melee attack you use with Square can be used to parry, even charged attacks and combos, but they're harder to predict.
  • You cannot parry using Eikon skills.
  • Parries tend to be easier to pull off on big enemies with slow, obvious attack patterns.

It's a difficult skill to master, and one you might find yourself doing accidentally more than you do intentionally. When you do want to parry, it might be worth taking a step back and just watching the opponent, waiting for the opportunity to strike. Parries, when landed correctly, briefly stun the enemy and slow down time, allowing for the chance to counterattack.

This effect sounds similar to a Precision Dodge and Counter - however, the Parry is better because attacks done in that short window of slowed time do more damage than normal, which makes sense, considering the Parry is a lot harder to pull off.

While you get given the parry for free, there's plenty of skills you have to earn - but which ones should you go for? Our list of the Final Fantasy 16 best abilities will help you narrow down your choices nicely.

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Joel Franey
Joel Franey
Guides Editor, GamesRadar+

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.