How to master the parry system in Metal Gear Rising (guide)

One of the most vital skills to master in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is the parry. When playing on higher difficulties, you will [u]need[/u] to get this mastered if you want to survive, as most enemies can 1-hit KO you and drain your energy cells like crazy. Here's a simple walkthrough on how to master it. I'll try and make it as easy to understand as possible. Before I go into detail, I'd advise you purchase the following skills, they make combat much more manageable, especially on Hard or above. [b][u]Reccommended Skills[/u][/b] [quote]-Aerial Parry -Defensive Offense -Sky High -Aerial parry is essential. More often than not, you will find yourself in the air. Be it your own attack, or maybe you have been launched by an enemy. With the aerial parry skill you have a chance to block while in the air, and prevent taking any more damage. -Defensive offense is useful for when a parry won't work. If you see an enemy flash gold, it means they are about to do an unblockable attack. Using the defensive offense will allow you to evade the attack and quickly follow up with your own. Very useful against the final boss. -Sky High isn't as necessary as the other two, but I found it extremely effective against bosses. With this attack, you launch the enemy into the air where they are suspended for a few seconds, allowing you to get some hits in.[/quote] [u]Parrying[/u] With the parry you can block an incoming attack and if you do it at exactly the right time, you briefly stun the enemy for a few seconds, and sometimes have the oppurtunity to trigger an execution move. Timing is everything. If you aren't too sure about your timing skills and just want to do a normal block, that's fine. Simply push forward and light attack at the same time, and Raiden will take a defensive stance. This will wear off after about 2 seconds so just immediately press it repeatedly and Raiden will remain in the stance indefinately. If you want to really master it however, it's a case of timing and watching your enemy's movements. You know when someone is about to attack when their blade glows orange. Wait about one second then parry right as they as are about to strike. It takes some getting used to, but it's a refining process and eventually you will be able to get the timing right. Remember to always keep the camera focused on you so you don't get caught off guard by enemies who are off screen. I learned this the hard way during the Monsoon fight. Just click down the right stick and the camera will focus behind you. Try to alternate between using the parry and defensive offensive to see what sort of results you get.