Home / Guides / combat / Parrying Mastery Guide

Parrying Mastery Guide

combat medium Featured

Master the art of parrying in Where Winds Meet with this comprehensive guide covering timing, attack types, and advanced techniques.

combatparryingdefensetiming

Parrying is the most powerful defensive mechanic in Where Winds Meet. This guide will teach you everything from basic timing to perfect parry mastery.

Understanding Parry Mechanics

What is Parrying?

Parrying involves pressing the parry button (default: Right Mouse Button) just before an enemy attack connects. Successful parries:

  • Negate all damage
  • Restore stamina instantly
  • Build enemy stagger gauge
  • Create counterattack windows

Perfect Parry vs. Standard Parry

Standard Parry: Successfully timing your parry against White attacks. Blocks damage and provides minor stagger.

Perfect Parry: Parrying Red (unblockable) attacks. Triggers automatic devastating counterattack and massive stagger damage.

Attack Type Recognition

White Attacks

  • Normal attacks with no special glow
  • Can be blocked, parried, or dodged
  • Most common enemy attacks
  • Best for learning parry timing
  • Forgiving timing windows

Red Attacks

  • Glowing red indicators
  • Cannot be blocked
  • MUST be parried or dodged
  • Perfect Parry opportunity
  • Triggers automatic counter
  • Massive stagger damage on success

Golden Attacks

  • Golden/yellow glow
  • Cannot be parried under ANY circumstances
  • Must be dodged
  • Attempting to parry = guaranteed hit
  • Usually telegraphed with long wind-up

Parry Timing Fundamentals

The Timing Window

Parry windows vary by enemy and attack:

  • Fast attacks: 0.2-0.3 second window
  • Medium attacks: 0.3-0.5 second window
  • Slow attacks: 0.5-0.8 second window

General Rule: Parry when the weapon is about to make contact, not when you see the attack begin.

Visual Cues

Watch for these indicators:

  • Enemy weapon position (glowing blade reaching you)
  • Attack animation (weapon pull-back complete)
  • Sound cues (distinctive whoosh before impact)
  • Distance (enemy within striking range)

Training Progression

Phase 1: Basic Parrying (Days 1-2)

Practice Location: Verdant Wilds basic enemies

Exercises:

  1. Face a single enemy
  2. Only use parry (no blocking or dodging)
  3. Attempt 20 successful parries
  4. Focus on consistency over speed

Success Criteria: 15+ successful parries out of 20 attempts

Phase 2: Red Attack Mastery (Days 3-4)

Practice Location: General’s Shrine training dummy or Puppeteer Sheng Wu

Exercises:

  1. Identify Red attacks visually
  2. Practice Perfect Parry timing
  3. Execute automatic counters
  4. Repeat until comfortable

Success Criteria: 10+ Perfect Parries in a single boss fight

Phase 3: Mixed Combat (Days 5-7)

Practice Location: Any mid-level boss

Exercises:

  1. Differentiate between White and Red attacks
  2. Switch between standard and perfect parries
  3. Dodge Golden attacks appropriately
  4. Maintain parry consistency under pressure

Success Criteria: Complete boss fight using primarily parries

Boss-Specific Parry Guides

Heartseeker (Level 35)

Parryable Attacks:

  • Triple Slash Combo (White) - Parry the third hit
  • Heart Pierce (Red) - Perfect Parry opportunity

Non-Parryable:

  • Spinning Blade Dance (Golden) - Dodge only
  • Shadow Dash (Movement) - Cannot be parried

Strategy: Bait Triple Slash, parry final hit, punish. Wait for Heart Pierce Red attack for Perfect Parry and massive damage.

Void King (Level 42)

Parryable Attacks:

  • Void Slash (White) - Standard parry
  • Abyssal Chains (Red) - Perfect Parry = huge stagger

Non-Parryable:

  • Darkness Incarnate (Ultimate) - Avoid completely

Strategy: Focus on Perfect Parrying Abyssal Chains. Each Perfect Parry builds 30% of his stagger gauge. Four Perfect Parries = full stagger.

Qianye (Level 28)

Phase 1 Parryable:

  • Basic scythe slashes (White)
  • Witch’s Wrath (Red) - Main Perfect Parry window

Phase 2-3 Changes:

  • Adds unparryable hovering slashes (Golden)
  • More Red attacks (more Perfect Parry opportunities)

Strategy: Learn Phase 1 parry timing. Phase 3 requires perfect parrying to survive and heal via Perfect Parry stamina regen.

Advanced Techniques

Parry Chaining

Execute parries in rapid succession:

  1. Parry first attack in combo
  2. Immediately prepare for second
  3. Parry timing changes mid-combo
  4. Practice against combo-heavy enemies

Example: Heartseeker Triple Slash

  • Hit 1: 0.3s timing
  • Hit 2: 0.2s timing (faster)
  • Hit 3: 0.4s timing (slower finisher)

Delayed Parrying

Waiting until the last possible moment:

  • Maximizes i-frame efficiency
  • Provides longer counterattack window
  • Higher risk, higher reward
  • Essential for Legends difficulty

Practice Method: Parry 0.1 seconds later each attempt until you find the latest successful timing.

Predictive Parrying

Anticipating attacks before they begin:

  • Watch boss positioning
  • Recognize combo starters
  • Parry based on pattern knowledge
  • Doesn’t rely on visual cues

When to Use: Against bosses you’ve fought many times. Speed runners use this exclusively.

Common Mistakes

Panic Parrying

Problem: Spamming parry button when overwhelmed
Solution: Take breath, block instead, wait for clear opening
Why: Failed parries leave you more vulnerable than blocking

Early Parrying

Problem: Parrying during wind-up instead of at impact
Solution: Wait 0.2 seconds longer than instinct suggests
Why: Most beginners parry too early due to panic

Ignoring Attack Types

Problem: Trying to parry Golden attacks
Solution: Learn color-coding, always dodge gold
Why: Attempting impossible parries wastes stamina and takes damage

Over-Reliance on Parrying

Problem: Never using dodge or block
Solution: Use all three defensive tools situationally
Why: Some situations require dodging (Golden attacks, AoE)

Practice Drills

Daily Parry Routine (15 minutes)

  1. Warm-up (5 min): Parry 50 basic enemy attacks
  2. Precision (5 min): Perfect Parry 10 Red attacks
  3. Speed (5 min): Parry combo sequences without breaks

Boss Practice Schedule

Monday: Puppeteer (easy parry practice)
Wednesday: Heartseeker (medium difficulty)
Friday: Void King (hard difficulty)
Sunday: New boss attempt

Conclusion

Parrying mastery transforms Where Winds Meet combat from difficult survival to elegant domination. Invest time in deliberate practice, progress through training phases methodically, and soon Perfect Parries will become muscle memory.

The difference between a good player and a great player is parrying consistency. Master this skill, and no boss will stand in your way.

Practice daily. Track progress. Never give up. The parry is the path to mastery.