How to parry in Hollow Knight Silksong

Hollow Knight Silksong‘s combat has undergone slight changes from the first game, but knowing when and how to parry is going to be key for your survival.

While your offense will help you to defeat enemies, your attacks take time. You can’t instantly land one blow after the next, and this opens a window for the enemies to eat away at your health. Every situation won’t offer you the chance to dodge an enemy attack, which makes it crucial for you to parry them instead.

This guide will help you learn and master the art of parrying inside the game. The knowledge will be invaluable if you’re a beginner and have never played the original Hollow Knight title.

How to parry enemy attacks in Hollow Knight Silksong?

Hollow Knight Silksong doesn’t have a dedicated button that you can press to either block or parry the enemy’s attacks. Instead, the trick is to use your attacks at the correct moment to nullify the incoming attack.

To parry an attack, you’ll need to land your own hit right when the enemy is about to hit you back. This also takes the direction of the incoming attack into account. If the enemy attack is coming from the side, you’ll have to attack in the same direction. If it’s coming from the top, you’ll have to perform an upward slash.

It’s not just the direction, as mastering the timing will also be key. Slightly early, and you’ll have landed an attack instead of a parry. That could work in certain situations, but not always. A bit late, and you’ll have let the enemy hit and jeopardize your plans.

The essence is to understand enemy attack patterns and how they work in the first place. This will allow you to anticipate its moves better and get your timing on point. Practice is essential; don’t fret if you’re poor at parrying attacks initially. You’ll get better slowly and eventually master the art of parrying attacks in Hollow Knight Silksong.

Can you parry every attack in Hollow Knight Silksong?

Parrying only works for certain attack types, and mostly against weaker enemies. When it comes to bosses, you won’t be able to parry their every move. For example, you can’t parry when the Bell Beast charges towards you. The only option is to jump and dodge its moves, and then try to land a hit when in the air.

The same mantra also applies to most of the other bosses that you’ll encounter inside the game. In comparison, weaker enemies typically have only one type of attack, and you can parry it successfully with some success.

Like our content? Set Destructoid as a Preferred Source on Google in just one step to ensure you see us more frequently in your Google searches!