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Combat guide

How to Parry in Ashen Duel

Updated 10 November 2026 · Ashen Duel 1.0

Press parry just before your opponent's blade reaches you. If the hit lands in the first moment of your parry, it's a perfect parry: your opponent staggers for a full second, it costs your shield nothing, and you can hit back with a counter-cut.

The controls

On PC, parry is the right mouse button (you can change it in Settings). On a phone or tablet, it's the Parry button on the right side of the screen. Gamepads use X.

Perfect parry vs normal parry

Your parry stays up for about 0.3 seconds. What happens depends on when the blow lands inside that window:

So a parry that's slightly early is better than one that's late: you want the blade to arrive just as your parry starts.

How to time it

1. Watch the arm, not the health bar. Every light attack has a short wind-up. Parry when the blade starts moving toward you, not when you see the hit.
2. Mind the distance. An opponent standing far away has to lunge, so the blow arrives a little later. Close up, parry a little sooner.
3. Don't parry the air. A parry costs 20 stamina and has a short recovery. Parrying when nothing is coming leaves you open.
4. After a perfect parry, attack right away. Press attack while your opponent reels and you get a lunging counter-cut. You're also untouchable for a moment after a clean parry.

You can't parry heavy attacks

Heavy attacks (the big two-handed swing) go straight through a parry. Against a heavy:

• Dodge it (Space on PC, Dodge button on mobile). The heavy has a long wind-up, so you have time to react. Your dodge makes you untouchable for most of its length.
• If your shield is still healthy, you can also take it on the shield. It drains a lot of shield health, but you take only a little damage.
• If your shield is broken, a heavy hits for full damage and knocks you down. Always dodge it then.

Parrying special abilities

• Gladiator's Arena Execution: a three-blow combo. Perfect-parry the first blow and the whole combo falls apart.
• Samurai's Shadow Dash: the dash cuts through a parry. Only a dodge escapes it.
• Knight's Iron Fortress: don't attack into it at all. Any blow that lands is turned aside and answered with a heavy counter. Wait the 3 seconds out.
• Viking's Berserker Rage: lasts 5 seconds and hits much harder. Parry carefully or keep your distance until it ends.

Common mistakes

• Parrying too late. If you see the hit land, you're late. Press earlier.
• Spamming parry. You'll run out of stamina, and an empty stamina bar means a pause where you can't act.
• Trying to parry heavies. Dodge them instead.
• Forgetting to counter. A perfect parry is only half the work; attack straight away to cash it in.

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