Parry
To parry (in the context of the Evade/Block/Parry system) is to outright prevent a physical attack by intercepting it or knocking it aside with one's weapon, stopping the attack before the attack equation has even come into play. The check to determine whether an attack is parried occurs after the checks to determine whether the attack is evaded or blocked.
With the exception of runestaves, it is not possible to parry ranged (bolt spells, arrows, thrown weapons) attacks. This includes the chance to outright parry an attack as well as the loss of all parry DS.
Parry Defensive Strength (DS)
Parry DS is activated when holding a weapon in the primary hand with a minimum of 1 skill rank for the held weapon type. The exception to this is runestaves which will activate parry DS without any magic or weapon skill. This is due to their intrinsic 10 weapon rank equivalent bonus. There is also another caveat as you get the Stance Bonus DS even with 0 ranks in the weapon skill. It is only the Base Value DS that gets negated with 0 ranks.
Parry 'Stance' Bonus
While there are several variations, depending on weapon category (one hand, two-handed, polearm etc.) for calculating parry DS, they each receive the same stance bonuses shown in the table below.
| Stance | DS Bonus |
|---|---|
| Offensive | 0 |
| Advance | 10 |
| Forward | 20 |
| Neutral | 30 |
| Guarded | 40 |
| Defensive | 50 |
Calculating One Hand Parry (OHE/OHB/Brawling/Thrown Weapons) DS
Skill in one hand weapons (specifically: edged weapons, blunt weapons, brawling and thrown weapons) provides a bonus to one's overall defensive strength. There are two steps to calculate this value.
Step 1: Calculate the Base Value
Step 2: Calculate Parry DS
One Hand Parry Stance Modifiers
| Stance | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Offensive | 0.20 |
| Advance | 0.30 |
| Forward | 0.40 |
| Neutral | 0.50 |
| Guarded | 0.60 |
| Defensive | 0.70 |
One Hand Parry DS Example
- Weapon ranks: 60
- STR bonus: 25
- DEX bonus: 25
- Weapon enchant bonus: 20
- Neutral Stance Modifier: 0.50
- Neutral Stance bonus: 30
Base Value:
Parry DS:
Calculating Two-Handed Weapons (THW) Parry DS
Training in two-handed weapons provides a bonus to one's overall defensive strength. There are two steps to calculate this value.
Step 1: Calculate the Base Value
Step 2: Calculate Parry DS
Two-Handed Parry Stance Modifiers
| Stance | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Offensive | 0.30 |
| Advance | 0.45 |
| Forward | 0.60 |
| Neutral | 0.75 |
| Guarded | 0.90 |
| Defensive | 1.05 |
Two-Handed Parry DS Example
- Weapon ranks: 60
- STR bonus: 25
- DEX bonus: 25
- Weapon enchant bonus: 20
- Neutral Stance Modifier: 0.75
- Neutral Stance bonus: 30
Base Value:
Parry DS:
Polearm Parry DS
For polearm parry DS formula and calculations see the Polearms article.
Two Weapon Combat (TWC) Parry DS
For Two Weapon Combat parry DS formula and calculations see the Two Weapon Combat article.
Ranged Weapons (Bow/Crossbow) Parry DS
For Ranged Weapons parry DS formula and calculations see The Art of the Bow (guide) article.
Runestaff Parry DS
For Runestaff parry DS formula and calculations see the Runestaff article.
Chance to Parry
The odds for an outright parry are determined by comparing the defender's weapon skill to the attacker's level. Against a like-level foe, 2x training in the appropriate weapon skill will yield approximately a 5% chance to parry an incoming attack in stance offensive. Other factors that affect the chance to parry include:
- The passive combat maneuver Parry Mastery will increase the chance to parry by 5% per rank known (15% max).
- certain stats (most likely strength and dexterity)
- stance
- certain spells
- positioning: kneeling reduces the chance to parry by 25%, being prone by 50%
A ranged attack can only be parried by bare-handed brawlers who have girded their arms with Brace (1214).
A bolt attack can only be parried with the proper weapon and knowledge of Spell Parry, with Brace, or if you are using a runestaff.
See Also
- Evade
- Block
- Parry Mastery
- Combat Guide: Factors, on Play.net