Parrying in Elden Ring is harder than Dark Souls 3 - and here's the proof

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Parrying is different and more difficult in The Lands Between

Elden Ring
(Image credit: Bandai Namco)

Elden Ring is more approachable than Dark Souls in many ways, but not when it comes to parrying. 

Parrying in any Souls game is not an easy thing to do. Precise timing is needed to ward off attacks making it a high-risk, high reward manoeuvre. Still, it's the tactic of choice for many brave Souls fans. But if you're having problems with parrying enemies in The Lands Between, you're certainly not alone. Since the launch of Elden Ring, players, new and old, have been having difficulty pulling off the move. Comparing the parry system in Elden Ring to the one in Dark Souls 3, one fan has proven that it's much less forgiving in From Software's latest. 

In a video on Elden Ring's subreddit, user YoruTsubasa explains that the move is more challenging to do in Elden Ring than it is in Dark Souls 3 for two reasons. Firstly, the timing for a parry in Dark Souls 3 is later, meaning you'll have to be much more speedy if you want to pull it off successfully in Elden Ring. As the footage demonstrates, what would be a perfectly timed parry in Dark Souls 3 is too late in Elden Ring, so all that previous experience of From Software games isn't necessarily an advantage here.

The second reason has to do with range. In Elden Ring, you have to be close enough to, as YoruTsubasa puts it, "to smell their stinky breath", whereas parrying in Dark Souls 3 can be done from much further away. 

parrying_in_elden_ring_is_harder_than_in_dark from r/Eldenring

Parrying in Elden Ring is undoubtedly tricky to master, but manage to do so, and you can make your quest to become Elden Lord a whole lot easier. 

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Anne-Marie Ostler
Anne-Marie Ostler
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.