Parrying

[Mister.Kim1]

How many of you can successfully parry (perfect shield) an attack when you want it to?

 

[ccllr]

I still don't understand how parrying in this game works and how it differs from the power shield mechanic in the past entries. I've read mixed comments about it and it only confuses me even more. Albeit I know that if I really wanted to know for sure how it works and how to perform it I could do it. I'm just lazy. I've done it a couple of times both intentionally and unintentionally.

 

[CaP_Omega]

I mean. . . I know how it works. . . and I can do it sometimes. . .

 

[Grunky Peep]

I have never intentionally parried, nor have I intentionally tried to. Everytime it happens I'm caught off guard and I don't follow up with an attack because I'm not ready. "Oh, cool. Guess I get to keep more shield."
There's actually a study that showed that most parries executed in fighting games are accidental inputs.

 

[Sean²]

Intentional if it's a stupidly obvious option that I know I can capitalize on. I'm not gonna try to parry a fully charged smash, it's better to jump away. But if I know they're going for a certain move a lot, I might try it out if I know it won't kill me. Other than that it's been fairly accidental, but I try to improve my reaction time to react accordingly when I hear the parry sound.

Can't vote in the poll because it lacks any middle ground

 

[Oneiros5321]

I still don't understand how parrying in this game works and how it differs from the power shield mechanic in the past entries. I've read mixed comments about it and it only confuses me even more. Albeit I know that if I really wanted to know for sure how it works and how to perform it I could do it. I'm just lazy. I've done it a couple of times both intentionally and unintentionally.

Difference with the past entry is that now you get a parry when releasing the shield.
I think you have a window of 5 frames right before the opponent hit your shield to release it and get a parry.
It reduces your shield stun and, at the same time, put the enemy in a few frames lag, giving you the opportunity of a punish.

I only play online and getting the parry online is really tough unless the opponent move has a lot of starting lag. Or if you get a read (but then, it's honestly pure luck since you would need to both get the read right and also the timing down to 5 frames...)

Anyway, for me it's most of the time pure luck when it works. And since I don't know it's gonna work, I'm usually not ready to punish with the right move. So I tend to just not try to go for it and be sure of my options instead.

 

[ccllr]

Difference with the past entry is that now you get a parry when releasing the shield.
I think you have a window of 5 frames right before the opponent hit your shield to release it and get a parry.
(...)

I've done parrying in this game just like I used to do it on Sm4sh, with a quick button press JUST when the attack hits. Does that mean you actually have two ways to perform it?
>Quick tap when the attack hits just like in past games
>Release the shield when the enemy attack already hit you but a couple of frames before it ends

I'm still confused lmao

 

[Oneiros5321]

I don't think there are 2 ways to parry.
If by "quick button press" you mean pressing and releasing the button right away, then chances are that you got the parry when releasing the button.
You wouldn't have gotten anything but a normal shield if you didn't release it.

EDIT = Just gonna drop that here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JjgKNTOq90

 

[Omnos]

You can't quick tap shield to parry. You to have shield up for a certain number of frames and I think you have a 3-4 frame window to release shield to get a parry.

 

[Omnos]

..............

 

[Sean²]

I have never intentionally parried, nor have I intentionally tried to. Everytime it happens I'm caught off guard and I don't follow up with an attack because I'm not ready. "Oh, cool. Guess I get to keep more shield."
There's actually a study that showed that most parries executed in fighting games are accidental inputs.

You mean this "study" that was posted on a well known satirical website?

 

[ALiBi212]

Why would anyone intentionally parry, when short hop fair is a safer option?

Not a very useful mechanic from what I’ve seen so far. It’s just too risky with too little reward.

 

[MG_3989]

Why would anyone intentionally parry, when short hop fair is a safer option?

Not a very useful mechanic from what I’ve seen so far. It’s just too risky with too little reward.

Parrying gives you a frame advantage and there are plenty of situations when you can’t space a short hop fair or nair safely while you can parry. Especially against disjoints and for characters with shorter ranges

 

[Perfect patricia]

How many of you can successfully parry (perfect shield) an attack when you want it to?

I parry attacks by accident and I don’t even punish, I just keep shielding and when I try to parry on purpose I get hit by every attack

 

[MG_3989]

I parry attacks by accident and I don’t even punish, I just keep shielding and when I try to parry on purpose I get hit by every attack

It’s a three frame window I think (maybe six), but still you don’t have a ton of time to parry and it takes practice. It is really hard to follow up if you parry by accident but once you start landing them on purpose more you can punish with a tilt or jab or dash attack or even a smash sometimes and take back neutral. It’s worked for me a couple times but I’m still not amazing at it but it’s definitely something I’m trying to implement into my game. I usually just go into training and practice parrying against different side smashes and specials to practice timing

 

[Oneiros5321]

Why would anyone intentionally parry, when short hop fair is a safer option?

Not a very useful mechanic from what I’ve seen so far. It’s just too risky with too little reward.

I think there are occasion where you can definitely go for a parry.
I'm thinking of multi hit and slow moves. If you know your timing, it's definitely possible to get the parry. And you get much more option than jumping out of shield.

 

[Ryu Myuutsu]

Parry is more useful than it initially seems, its just that its potential isn't immediately obvious. True, if you see a Smash Attack coming, you are better off rolling or jumping behind them.
However, there are four scenarios where parry is a very useful option: to punish a normal getup from the ledge, to punish landing aerial attacks that are safe on shield, potentially punishing your opponent's sharking attempts when you are above a platform, and negating projectile pressure.

It's difficult to master though. One method people use to practice is to go to training, spawn two Falcos, stand between them and set their actions to neutral special. Two Dr. Marios or Ryus help as well.

 

[Mischiiii]

I think it is to risky for the average player. At least for me (3,3gsp). Also if i do get it unintentionally I’m rarely able to use it because I’m way to surprised.

But pro players might get the hang of it sooner or later.

 

[GHNeko]

I intentionally parry a decent amount of the time now. I'm actively seeking out parries and I almost always capitalize off of it.

It's a skill that's easy to develop as long as you do focused/targeted practice. It's increasingly growing more natural to me as the time goes on.

That being said, my success rate isnt amazing. But it's getting to the point where it's shifting games heavily in my favor and my opponents have started incorporating counter play to bait out my parries and punish me for it.

I think the reward is pretty good and I think people underestimate it's value. There are tons of moves that are safe on shield that are easily punished with grounded moves via parry.

 

[Gotmilk0112]

I can't parry at all. It's always unintentional.

Releasing shield at the perfect time is so unintuitive.

 

[JiggyNinja]

From Don't Park on the Grass '18, Konga vs. Magister, DK vs. Villager. Just watch Konga parry a slingshot and Giant Punch through the Llyod Rocket for the win and try saying that you don't get how good parrying is. That is a money shot, in every meaning of the phrase.

I can't parry at all. It's always unintentional.

Releasing shield at the perfect time is so unintuitive.

It's supposed to be unintuitive. Sakurai explictly stated in the very first NIntendo Direct that parrying was deliberately made to be more high-risk than perfect shielding.

 

[Gotmilk0112]

It's supposed to be unintuitive.

That's dumb.

 

[Oneiros5321]

It's supposed to be unintuitive. Sakurai explictly stated in the very first NIntendo Direct that parrying was deliberately made to be more high-risk than perfect shielding.

I don't think unintuitive is the word though. I mean, sure it's not something that's going to come out as easily as a perfect shield. You need to get your timing right and know the opponent's moves timing as well.
As you said, it's suppose to be high risk, high reward. Both of them being definitely higher than a perfect shield.

Let's just say that in order to get a punish out of it, you need to get it right and on purpose. If luck is the only reason you get a parry, there's no way one can react fast enough.

 

[Ryu Myuutsu]

I also don't think unintuitive is the right way to describe it. It just feels that way because are not used to it.

Regularity is what helps someone hone a skill. If you practice the blocking mechanic 5-10 minutes a day with a focused mindset and then an unfocused one, the move becomes more natural and you will be able to get parries more consistently without thinking much about it in an actual fight.

 

[ZephyrZ]

As it is right now, I only ever use it against reactable projectile. Otherwise I lack the confidence to even try to go for it. 5 frames is an incredibly tight window and if you screw it up your opponent basically gets a free hit.

I probably ought to start practicing it though. It seems really useful for dealing with characters with predictable, linear play styles.