To be the best warrior on the battlefield, gamers need to learn the basics of For Honor’s intricate combat. Learning how to parry is crucial to survive.

Now that For Honor has officially released, gamers everywhere are quickly becoming acquainted with each faction in their bid to become some of the strongest warriors in the land. Every faction has multiple classes to choose from, and even those classes have various skills, armor, and aesthetic decisions to pick once gamers have found their favorites - it can be overwhelming at first, but the customization outlets in For Honor are an easy way for fans to distinguish themselves from other gamers playing the same class.

After settling on a faction and customizing their character, however, gamers will still have to acclimatize themselves to the For Honor multiplayer environment, and there’s a lot to catch up on. Even those who participated in For Honor’s beta will need to brush up on its gameplay thanks to For Honor’s Day One patch, which included a few hero changes, but one thing has remained the same - if warriors don’t learn how to parry, they won’t be alive on the battlefield for very long.

While it may seem simple to those who have played the game for a while already, For Honor’s incredibly complex combat system can often mean some of the key elements get lost in the shuffle during the tutorial. That’s to be expected for a game that demands its players commit to becoming adept at its nuanced battles, but it can lead to some early frustration for players who jump directly into multiplayer and can’t seem to avoid getting beaten up on by more experienced warriors. For that reason, we’ve put together an incredibly simple guide on how to parry and why gamers should - don’t get left behind as For Honor’s community gets better and better in the coming days!

How to Parry

First thing’s first - gamers need to know how to parry, and we know how easy it can be to skip a long tutorial and be left wondering how to perform a key combat maneuver. To initiate a parry, warriors must first be locked onto their target and in the same stance as the foe they are fighting. To make sure that the stances are the same, gamers need only look at the direction their opponent’s weapon is facing and ensure their’s is pointing the same way.

Once the enemy attacks, warriors need to hit either RT or R2, depending on their controller. If timed correctly and the trigger is hit just before the enemy’s attack hits, players will also be granted with a boon that drains their opponent’s stamina and makes it easier to counter attack.

Why Parrying Is So Necessary

While dodge rolling is another option during much of For Honor’s combat, parrying is crucial because it allows players adept at its execution to find easy openings during one-on-one combat. For Honor’s battle system rewards defense much more than it does offense, and as such one-on-one combat often requires patience. Parrying attacks makes it easier to follow up with a sequence of counterattacks, and chaining together a few hits while stifling an opponent’s offense is the easiest way to win early level For Honor skirmishes.

Understand the Flow of Combat

Essentially, parrying is about comprehending the very unique flow of combat in For Honor. Those coming from games that are fast-paced will find themselves thrown off by the measured, calculated approach Ubisoft has taken to multiplayer combat, but the reward for diving in and learning the new system is huge. Parrying might not seem like the most complicated skill, but nothing in For Honor comes easy, and getting down the basics is the fastest way to get ahead of the competition in the early days of the game’s faction warfare.

Need more tips for besting your opponents on the battlefield? Check out our other For Honor guides below!

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Have any other basic tips or tricks that will get players on track quicker? Let us know in the comments below.

For Honor is available now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Make sure to check out Game Rant’s For Honor Game Deals guide, which breaks down the difference between the Gold, Deluxe, and Standard editions of the game.