Every Souls-Borne game has this spectacular mechanic where you can parry attacks from merciless enemies, creating an opportunity for you to deal massive damage in one blow. Here in this guide, we will be ranking the Best Parry Weapons in Elden Ring in 2024, so that you can prepare for the upcoming Elden Ring DLC - Shadow of the Erdtree.
Parrying in the Elden Ring requires utmost skill, reaction timing, and understanding of enemy attacks. Every game from “From Software” has it, and Elden Ring is no different.
While it does create an opportunity, senselessly trying to parry an enemy attack can also be punishing, as you get attacked again and again. To make yourself better at parrying, some weapons are objectively better than others. That is why we compiled this guide on Best Elden Ring Parry Weapons, so you can use them to make things easier.
Criteria of Weapons for Parrying in Elden Ring
Every game has a backend mechanic that symbolizes how it works inside the game. Parrying also is based on that. The criteria for parrying based on weapons in Elden Ring are as follows:
Startup Frames and Recovery Frames
Startup frames are the frames (timing) on which an enemy attack connects with the parry weapon and you successfully parry that attack.
The recovery frames are the ones that are after the parry, meaning you take the time to get back to the neutral position or default one.
Weapons for Parrying
7 total weapons in Elden Ring are used to parry enemy attacks. These are:
Claws
Fists
Curved Swords
Thrusting Swords
Daggers
Small Shields
Medium Shields
Special Parrying Tools in Elden Ring
Moreover, some special parrying tools in the Elden Ring are specially designed to help you in parrying enemy attacks. These are:
Ash of War for Medium/Small Shield
Carian Retaliation
Golden Parry
Storm Wall
Thops’s Barrier
Ash of War for Buckler Shield
Furthermore, that is one exclusive Ash of War that is made just for the Buckler Shield.
With that being said, let’s get started with the Ranking of our Elden Ring Best Parry Weapons in 2024. Keep in mind that the list we are providing is new, updated, and can also be used for the Elden Ring DLC - Shadow of the Erdtree.
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Elden Ring Parry Weapons Ranked - Worst to Best
D-Tier Elden Ring Parry Weapons
Medium Shield - 6 Starting Frames and 17 Recovery Frames, make it one of the worst weapons to be used for parrying in Elden Ring in 2024.
C-Tier Elden Ring Parry Weapons
Fists - They also come with the same 6 Starting Frames, and 17 Recovery Frames. But, there is more to these weapons than just parrying, that is why they are ranked as C-Tier. You can use the fists for primary damage dealers, weapons that are also used to attack the enemies. As a plus, when the opportunity arrives, you can also use these to parry the enemy attacks, creating that opportunity for a critical strike. The Ash of War Storm Stomp and Ash of War Endure are great for using with fists when you are prioritizing parrying more. The best pick for parry fists is the Starfists in Elden Ring.
Claws - They are quite better than fists because you have good options here like the Bloodhound Claws and the Raptor Talons. You can also create spectacular compos from Running R2 to R1, that take down enemies, especially in PvP. These are used to attack enemies, and they can throw people off. You can also use them to parry the enemy attacks if you wish. Same as before, they come with 6 Starting Frames and 17 Recovery Frames. So, they are on the same spec sheet as the previous two when talking about parrying specifically.
Thrusting Swords - The best pick is the Cleanrot Knights Sword, but this weapon still exists in the D-Tier of Best Elden Ring Parry Weapons 2024. You can further infuse them with the Ash of War Parry to enhance their parrying capabilities. You can do amazing damage to enemies, and on the side, also parry their attacks. Same as before, 6 Starting Frames, and 17 Recovery Frames.
Curved Swords - Curved Swords lie on the same spot as the Thrusting Swords. The best pick is the Shamshir, coming in with 6 Starting Frames, and 17 Recovery Frames. You can attack enemies with the curved swords in a combo, and on the side, parry their attacks as well.
B-Tier Elden Ring Parry Weapons
Small Shield - Now, we are going with improvement here, as the small shield comes packed with 5 Starting Frames and 15 Recovery Frames. This can enable you to have consistent parrying than the C or D tier. Unless you are holding one with an effect, the small shields are small, can’t protect you against heavy attacks, and can’t attack in return. So, they are only limited to parrying.
Thops’s Barrier - This Ash of War can be applied to both the small and medium parry shield. It comes with a massive 6 Starting Frames and 15 Recovery Frames, alongside 4 Duration. It also has an incredible ability to deflect the enemy's magic spells without costing you FP.
A-Tier Best Elden Ring Parry Weapons
Now that the others are done, we are talking about the potentially Best Elden Ring Parry Weapons, ranging from the A-Tier to the S-Tier.
Buckler Parry - It comes with a 4 Starting Frame, and 16 Recovery Frames, alongside 5 Duration. But, the thing that sets it apart is its swift activation, meaning when you press the parry button, the shield simply comes out without any extensive delay. This results in consistent and reliable parries. Same as before, it is a small shield after all, meaning it won’t block heavy attacks from enemies, and doesn’t come with any attacking mechanism. It is just made for parrying.
Dagger - It comes with 6 Starting Frames, 4 Duration, and 15 Recovery Frames, which aren’t that great to look at. But why is it in the A-tier? Daggers are consistent in parrying and can be used in combination with other weapons.
Storm Wall - The best A-Tier Elden Ring Parry Weapon, coming in with 4 Starting Frames, 5 Duration, and 15 Recovery Frames. It mirrors the small shield stats but also provides you with the ability to deflect enemy projectiles. It does cost you 3 FP to do so, which isn’t that bad considering you can parry with this, and also have projectile deflection.
S-Tier Best Elden Ring Parry Weapons
Finally, we are in the S-Tier, which are the Best Parry Weapons in Elden Ring, usable for the Elden Ring DLC - Shadow of the Erdtree as well.
Golden Parry - One of the two best Elden Ring Parry Weapons/Items, coming in with 4 Starting Frames, 6 Duration, and 16 Recovery Frames. These numbers are themselves unparalleled. It is consistent, effortless, and agile, which is something parrying relies mostly on. Furthermore, the Golden Parry will enable you to parry the enemy attacks over a distance, meaning you don’t have to be in the face of enemies to parry their attacks. You can take some distance and parry their attack, giving you a secure chance of dealing massive damage. The negative aspect is that it takes 4 FP per use.
Carian Retaliation - The second-best Elden Ring Parry Tool, coming in with 4 Starting Frames, 6 Duration, and 15 Recovery Frames. It won’t cost you any FP to use, allowing you to spam it without worrying about anything. Furthermore, it not only deflects the enemy magic spells but also turns them into three swords that attack the enemies over a distance. The spell parry does take some FP when used, but besides that, the Carian Retaliation doesn’t take any resources when used.
Conclusion
Now that the Elden Ring Best Parry Weapons Ranking Guide is complete, you can start preparing for the Elden Ring DLC - Shadow of the Erdtree, or dominate the PvP of the game. Everything in parrying depends on the weapon's Starting Frames, Recovery Frames, and Duration. While some are a bit low on these parrying scales, the extra abilities make up for them like projectile protection and magic protection. Hope it helps!
