Parrying is the act of deflecting an enemy’s attack, often leading to opening them up to a riposte counterattack.
It’s a key technique in the Dark Souls series – and can be the focus of a specific build in the first installment.
There are a fair few pieces of equipment, rings, shields, and weapons, all of which boost the ability to parry. So let’s take a look at the best choices to get you & your friends onto the parrying leaderboards.
Have fun reading ‘parry’ so much that it stops being a word!
5. Caestus
Parrying attacks in general is sneaky, catching your enemy off-guard to exploit them.
So why not go a little further with the sneakiness?
The Caestus is a fist weapon typically used to punch enemies rapidly for low damage per strike – and it can also be used to conceal your parries.
Wearing the Caestus in the off-hand makes it appear as though you have nothing there at all.
So when you swing it out to parry an attack, it completely catches your enemy by surprise.
This has the strongest advantage in PVP, of course. But it’s also a ton of fun to use in normal PVE as well, making you feel really cool.
How to Obtain: Sold by Andre of Astoria in the Undead Parish.
4. Heater Shield
Perhaps the most aesthetically bland shield in the game, this two-tone piece of metal has powers that completely belie its appearance.
We’re here to discuss parrying, of course. And the Heater Shield can do that just as well (if not a little better) than most other handheld defenders.
But what really helps put it onto this list is that, unlike all the other girls, it also has a 100% physical damage reduction rate.
This means its use extends past trying to knock your enemy’s weapons away.
How to Obtain: Starting gear for Warriors, and can be bought from the Undead Merchant in the Undead Burg.
3. Buckler
As a classic choice when it comes to defense, the Buckler is a small shield that can take blows with the best of them – and more importantly, it can parry just as well.
Even better than most, in fact!
The Buckler is among a small group of shields that’s intended for parrying and it has more frames of parry animation because of it.
This means you can be a little freer when you hit that button, and it makes it overall easier to knock the enemy away.
Plus it’s an easy item to obtain!
How to Obtain: Drops from Balder Knights, and can be purchased from the Undead Merchant.
2. Parrying Dagger
A Parrying Dagger is a short blade that has extended cross guard, making it much easier to parry and deflect enemy attacks with.
It was used in Europe during the Middle Ages, and now has found immortality as a great off-hand weapon in Dark Souls Remastered.
The Parrying Dagger is a weapon meant strictly for parrying.
When used in the left hand, it’s super-fast, and has a wide window to deflect enemy attacks – much bigger than most (if not all) other parrying implements.
The only downside is that you can’t defend with it.
And for a lot of people that’s a dealbreaker.
How to Obtain: Found near the entrance to the New Londo Ruins.
1. Target Shield
When you bring up parrying in Dark Souls Remastered, the Target Shield is usually one of the first items brought into the conversation.
It is probably the best parrying tool there is.
One reason is because it has a large parry window, making it a snap to knock away enemies – and you can defend with it (it is a shield, after all). It actually defends against various status ailments, can be upgraded, and overall is the perfect choice for folks who want to exploit enemy’s attacks.
It’s also easy to obtain and has low stat requirements.
This is truly the king of all parry-centric items – and you’d be a fool to not have this on your arm.
How to Obtain: Starting shield for Thieves, and one can be found in the Undead Burg, right before the Capra Demon.
Brian knows more about RPGs than he does world history. Combine with his love of writing and you get somebody who can, and will, go on forever about every nuance of every game he's played.
