Can you parry bosses in Elden Ring?

If the boss is tiny and looks like a human, sure. Otherwise…

Table of Contents Table of Contents

We’ve seen it asked a lot online if parrying is possible in Elden Ring, which is a good question. Sometimes parrying in the FromSoftware games can seem impossible, leaving people asking if they’re either awful at parrying or whether some particular bosses or opponents can’t be parried. 

A quick answer: yes. Parrying is possible in Elden Ring for many opponents – so you can’t use the excuse of it not existing to explain away your poor parrying skills!

What is Parrying in Elden Ring?

Parrying has been a fundamental combat ability that FromSoftware incorporated into its Soulsborne games for a long time. When you parry an opponent’s strike, you can block and stun them for a powerful oncoming hit. This would allow you to launch a forceful counterattack with tremendous damage.

Do You Need to Learn to Parry in Elden Ring?

In Elden Ring, mastering parrying is highly advised, especially if you favor melee fighting. We recommend learning to parry as soon as you start the game since it will help you effortlessly beat a number of mini-bosses and foes by inflicting massive damage to your adversaries with a forceful counterattack. 

Plus, practicing from the beginning of the game might help you develop your abilities and defeat numerous challenging foes later on in Elden Ring.

You can use your shield to parry, albeit not all shields can. When Parrying, timing is critical; therefore, make sure you time your attacks correctly based on your opponent’s movement. 

Everyone seems to have various attack patterns and speeds, making it difficult to time. But perhaps they can’t be parried at all!

The Short and Sweet Answer to Elden Ring Boss Parrying

Yes, you can parry some monsters, although often just the smaller and more human-shaped bosses. Some bosses and minibosses are parryable, especially those with humanoid shapes (but not all of them, though).

For example, I attempted to parry a particular phantom boss that wields an axe but was fatally unsuccessful. Whilst we wait for a comprehensive catalog of enemies that can and can’t be parried, it’s a matter of trying and failing. Sounds… scary.

If they resemble a sizeable old monster, they are unlikely to be parried. 

Remember: to stagger monsters, you may have to parry them twice.

What is a Partial Parry in Elden Ring?

When your timing is slightly wrong, you get a “partial” parry in which you take less damage, aren’t thrown off, but you also don’t stagger the enemy. 

When I try to parry a boss, I get this pseudo-parry, the boss deals far less damage, and I don’t get staggered, but the boss doesn’t either.

If you’re receiving damage, it’s because you either didn’t time it well or the move is unparryable. You can parry some bosses and not have the chance to riposte (Margit), but if you’re receiving damage, you’re almost probably not parrying correctly.

Oddly, some strikes can’t be parried but can be partially parried. Honestly, you’re best just rolling into these moves instead.

Common Bosses People Ask If You Can Parry

Can the Tree Sentinel Be Parried?

Yup, it definitely can. It’s extremely difficult to do – but it’s super effective. Some say it’s high risk, low reward, but we’ll let you figure that out yourself!

Can Margit the Fell Omen Be Parried?

Margit can also perform a swing combination with his staff, light weapon, and tail. He can be challenging to overcome, not just because of his unrelenting attacks but also because the region in which you are battling him has steep cliffs on all sides from which you can fall to your death.

Margit is a fan of winding up his staff and swinging it to the other side from over his left or right shoulder.

If you are confident in your parrying abilities, you can attempt to use your weapon to parry these swings. These strikes are ideal for parrying and are the perfect opportunity to gain a critical riposte that causes significant damage.

Margit will typically swing his staff two or three times, and you will need to make two successful parries in a row to stun him.

Can the Black Knife Assassin Be Parried?

This one is tricky but can be done. Word of warning: remember to keep your shield up!

Because the dagger of the Black Knife Assassin isn’t extremely powerful, its stabs and slashes may be mainly repelled with a well-timed block. 

When it attacks with its dagger, you can still parry, although Black Knife Assassin prefers to dart away after a few swipes, giving you time to regain stamina.

More Elden Ring content

We’ve been waiting to get our hands on FromSoftware’s Elden Ring for so long, we almost can’t believe it’s finally arrived and we have a massive amount of content just for you. Other than our Tier List, We’ll be here to walk you through every step of your journey through the Lands Between. Join us for all our Elden Ring content and guides over the coming days and weeks!