WHERE WINDS MEET PARRY GUIDE: STOP DYING AND START DEFLECTING
Parrying in Where Winds Meet feels impossible until it suddenly clicks, and then you're untouchable.
I get it. You're new to this whole wuxia combat thing, maybe you've never played Sekiro or any Soulslike game, and suddenly Where Winds Meet is throwing a million attacks at you while expecting perfect timing on your deflects. Story bosses are murdering you, world bosses feel like brick walls, and you're just mashing mystic skills hoping something sticks. I've been there. The game doesn't exactly hold your hand when it comes to explaining the parry system, and the difference between blocking, parrying, and deflecting can feel like trying to solve a math problem while someone punches you in the face.
But here's the good news: parrying in Where Winds Meet is actually more forgiving than it looks once you understand how it works. The timing windows are generous compared to games like Sekiro, and the game gives you multiple tools to practice and improve. I'm going to break down everything you need to know, from the basic mechanics to advanced techniques that'll have you dismantling bosses with surgical precision.
Understanding the Parry System Basics
First things first, let's clear up the terminology because the game uses "parry" and "deflect" somewhat interchangeably, which confuses the hell out of everyone.
Press E on keyboard or R1 on controller (default settings) right before an enemy attack lands. That's your parry button. It's separate from your block button, which is critical to understand because a lot of games map them to the same input. In Where Winds Meet, blocking is holding a button to reduce damage, while parrying is a timed press that negates damage entirely and depletes the enemy's Qi bar.
When you successfully parry, you take zero damage and the enemy loses a chunk of their Qi meter. Drain their Qi completely and they enter an Exhausted state where you can Execute them for massive damage. This is how you're supposed to fight tough enemies. Trading blows and chugging healing items is the slow, painful way. Parrying is how you actually win.
The timing window is more generous than you think. You don't need frame-perfect inputs like some hardcore action games demand. The window starts slightly before the attack connects and lasts through the initial frames of impact. If you're consistently getting hit, you're probably pressing way too early or way too late.
The Attack Color System You Need to Know
Where Winds Meet telegraphs different attack types with visual cues, and understanding these is half the battle.
Normal attacks have no special indicator. These can be parried, blocked, or dodged. Standard stuff.
Red glint attacks are your counter opportunities. When you see that red flash during the enemy's wind-up, wait for the glint to reach maximum brightness, then parry. Nail the timing and you'll deal counter damage back to the enemy while negating their attack. These are your damage windows against bosses.
Yellow glint attacks cannot be parried or blocked. Dodge these. Period. If you try to parry a yellow glint move, you're eating the full damage and probably getting combo'd into oblivion. The game is telling you to get out of the way, so listen.
Ranged attacks can actually be parried, which surprises a lot of people. Yes, you can deflect arrows and projectiles. The timing is similar to melee attacks, though the visual cue is less obvious. Practice on basic archers before you try this against boss projectiles.
How to Actually Practice Parrying Without Losing Your Mind
The biggest mistake new players make is trying to learn parry timing during high-stakes boss fights. You're stressed, you're taking damage, you panic and fall back on dodging or mystic skills. Stop doing that.
Find low-level enemies in the open world and use them as training dummies. Seriously. Go back to early game zones, find some basic bandits or wildlife, and just practice parrying their attacks. No pressure, no consequences if you mess up. Focus entirely on watching their animations and hitting E right before impact.
Turn on Assist Deflection if you're on Story or Recommended difficulty. This is not cheating, it's a learning tool. When activated, time slows down when enemies attack and you get a prompt showing when to parry. You have limited uses per fight (check the small bars under your Qi meter), but it's incredibly helpful for learning attack patterns. Once you start getting consistent parries with the assist, gradually wean yourself off it.
The key insight that finally made parrying click for me: watch the enemy's weapon, not their body. Beginners focus on the enemy's torso or head, trying to read their overall movement. That's too vague. Lock your eyes on their sword, spear, or fist. The moment that weapon starts moving toward you, press E. That's your timing reference.
Advanced Parry Techniques for Tougher Content
Once you're comfortable with basic parrying, these techniques will elevate your game significantly.
Hold block before parrying when you're unsure of the timing. This is a safety net that'll save your ass constantly. Hold your block button, then tap E when you think the attack is coming. If you miss the parry window, you'll block instead of eating full damage. Against bosses with weird timing or attacks you haven't fully learned yet, this technique is invaluable.
You can parry attacks from behind. The game doesn't require you to be facing the enemy to parry their attacks. If you're fighting multiple enemies or a boss that teleports behind you, just press E when you hear the attack sound cue. Your character will automatically turn and parry. This feels weird at first but becomes essential in multi-enemy scenarios.
Spam parry on rapid attack chains. Some enemies have insanely fast combo strings where the timing feels impossible to read. For these specific attacks, just mash E repeatedly. The parry window is forgiving enough that button mashing will often catch multiple hits in the sequence. It's not elegant, but it works, and staying alive beats looking cool.
Mix parrying with dodging against certain weapon types. Some enemy combos can't be fully parried because the follow-up attacks come faster than your parry animation recovery. For these, parry the first hit or two, then dodge the rest. You'll still get decent Qi damage on the enemy while avoiding getting clipped by the combo finisher.
Boss-Specific Parry Strategies
Story bosses and world bosses require pattern recognition more than raw reaction time. Every boss has attack strings they love to repeat. Your job is to identify these patterns and know which attacks to parry versus which to dodge.
Bosses with delayed attacks are designed to bait early parries. They'll wind up, pause dramatically, then suddenly strike. For these, I focus on the weapon movement rather than the wind-up animation. The moment the weapon actually moves toward me, I press E. Ignore the theatrics before that.
Multi-hit boss combos should be parried on the first strike, then you need to decide in real-time whether to continue parrying or dodge out. If the boss is using a three-hit string, try to parry all three to maximize Qi damage. If it's a five-hit chain that ends with an unblockable finisher, parry the opening hits and dodge before the finisher.
Some bosses have attack windows where they're vulnerable after you parry. Watch for these. If you successfully parry and the boss staggers or has a long recovery animation, that's your cue to go aggressive with your own combo before returning to defensive play.
PvP Parrying Is a Completely Different Game
If you're jumping into PvP, everything changes. Human players don't have predictable patterns like AI enemies, so parrying becomes more about reading your opponent's habits than memorizing attack animations.
Parry to punish unsafe combos in PvP. When your opponent commits to a long attack string, parry the opening hit. This forces them to either stop attacking (giving you breathing room) or continue their combo (which you can keep parrying to drain their Qi). Once their Qi is gone, Execute them and watch them panic.
Use parry as a feint tool. Tap your parry button without an incoming attack to cancel animations and bait reactions. Good players will recognize this and either attack into your bait or wait. This mind game is how high-level PvP actually works, not just random button mashing.
Don't rely solely on parrying in PvP. Mix it with blocking and dodging. If you become predictable and parry-happy, decent players will bait your parries with feints and punish you with delayed attacks or grabs. Vary your defensive options to stay unpredictable.
Common Parry Mistakes and How to Fix Them
I see the same mistakes over and over from struggling players, and they're all fixable.
Pressing too early is the most common error. You see the enemy wind up and panic-press E before the attack actually comes. Force yourself to wait. Count in your head if you need to: "wind-up... NOW." That slight delay makes all the difference.
Relying too much on mystic skills is a crutch that holds you back. Mystic skills are great for burst damage or emergency escapes, but if you're using them as your primary combat tool, you're never going to learn proper parry timing. Force yourself to fight a few encounters without using any mystic skills. You'll learn faster.
Fighting the camera instead of the enemy. If you're locked onto a boss and the camera is spazzing out, you can't see attack tells properly. Sometimes it's better to unlock and manually adjust your camera between attacks rather than staying locked the entire fight.
Why You're Still Taking Damage After "Successful" Deflects
This is a common complaint and it usually means one of two things.
You're partially parrying but not perfecting the timing. The game has degrees of success on parries. A perfect parry (right as the attack connects) negates all damage. A slightly early or late parry might still register as a deflect but you'll take chip damage. If you're consistently taking small amounts of damage on deflects, your timing is close but not quite there.
You're parrying the first hit but getting clipped by follow-up attacks. Some enemy combos have minimal gaps between hits. You successfully parry hit one, but hit two lands before your parry animation fully recovers. For these situations, either dodge after the first parry or block the follow-ups instead of trying to parry the entire string.
The Reality Check: Parrying Takes Practice
I'm not going to lie to you and say this becomes effortless overnight. Parrying in Where Winds Meet requires genuine practice and pattern recognition. You're going to eat some attacks while learning. You're going to miss parries on bosses and die stupid deaths. That's part of the learning process.
But here's what I can promise: once it clicks, the entire game transforms. Bosses that seemed impossible become manageable. Combat stops feeling like desperate flailing and starts feeling like a martial arts dance where you're in complete control. That moment when you perfectly parry a boss's entire combo string and Execute them for half their health bar? That's when Where Winds Meet becomes one of the most satisfying combat systems you'll ever play.
Start with the basics. Practice on weak enemies with Assist Deflection enabled. Focus on one attack type at a time. Gradually increase difficulty as your muscle memory develops. Before you know it, you'll be styling on world bosses and wondering why you ever struggled in the first place.
The game gives you the tools. Now go use them and stop getting bodied by every enemy with a sword.