Enemies can be quite tough, but luckily you can block most of their attacks, provided you have the right gear to handle them.
Aside from blocking enemy attacks, you can also parry them, which will set them off balance and create an opening for you to take advantage of their temporary immobility.
Timing is important when it comes to the parry system and once you get the hang of it, your chances of surviving are greatly increased.
What is Parrying?
Parrying is quite similar to blocking, except you need to block at a specific time which is mainly when the enemy attacks and is about to land some damage on you.
By blocking at the exact moment, you were about to be damaged, you cause the enemy to be stunned and they become vulnerable for a short period of time.
Enemies that are disabled by the parry will take 2x more damage and will be easier to kill or to escape from.
Parry Timing
In order to time your parrying correctly, watch the enemy’s movements and predict when they land their hits on you.
You can try blocking normally a few times before figuring out when is the proper time to parry, so your timing will be perfect.
It may take some practice but once you start blocking the attacks of different enemies, you get the hang of it faster.
Damage Absorbed
When you block, the damage the enemy does to you is reduced based on the blocking power of your shield or weapon that you use to block.
If the enemy deals more damage than the amount of blocking power you have, the remaining damage will be dealt to you.
With higher blocking power, you can fully reduce the damage of enemies and remain unharmed by their attacks.
A higher level with the Blocking Skill will make it easier for you to resist damage from enemies and allow you to last longer in battle.
Parrying will reduce the stamina cost when you successfully deflect your enemy’s attack and will open them up to stronger attacks.
A successful parry that absorbs all damage done by an enemy will cause their attack to be deflected and will end up with them becoming stunned.
Parry Bonus
The Parry Bonus of your weapon will multiply the amount of damage you can absorb when a successful parry occurs.
This means that you can deflect enemy attacks easily with the added blocking power during a parry but if the attack is not completely absorbed, the enemy will not be stunned.
Parry Vs Block
There are two types of shields in Valheim which are tower shields and bucklers or round shields, whereas tower shields can only block damage and cannot parry.
Smaller shields or parry shields allow you to deflect enemy attacks and give you opportunities to deal more damage but require some precision when it comes to blocking.
Verdict
Parry Force is the amount of knockback that will push the enemy away while your Parry Bonus increases the amount of damage your parry can absorb.
Parry damage is successfully done to a stunned enemy and will deal double the amount of damage your attacks normally would for a short time.
Even the attacks of larger enemies can happen and you can parry Troll enemies when you time your blocking right.
You can parry some boss attacks but these will not stun the bosses but will provide you with higher damage absorption.
