If you’ve been getting demolished by bosses in Hollow Knight Silksong, there’s one combat technique that can completely change your game: parrying. While it’s not technically required to beat Silksong, learning to parry is like unlocking a cheat code that makes even the toughest encounters manageable.
I’ll be honest – when I first started playing, I thought parrying was just for show-offs. Boy, was I wrong. Once you get the hang of it, parrying becomes this incredibly satisfying way to turn enemy aggression against them while taking zero damage in the process.
What Exactly is Parrying in Silksong?
Think of parrying as the ultimate “no u” move in combat. Instead of dodging or tanking damage, you’re essentially catching the enemy’s attack with your needle and deflecting it completely. When you nail it, you’ll hear this satisfying “ping” sound, see a white flash, and feel a brief hitstop that lets you know you just pulled off something awesome.
The basic concept is simple: time your needle swing so it meets the enemy’s weapon mid-attack. Sounds easy, right? Well, that’s where things get interesting.
The Timing That Makes or Breaks Your Parry
Here’s the tricky part – you can’t just mash the attack button and hope for the best. There’s a specific window where Hornet’s needle needs to connect with the incoming attack, and it requires actual timing and prediction.
The key is to attack just before the enemy’s weapon reaches you. You want both weapons to meet in the middle and bounce off each other. It’s like a perfectly timed high-five, except instead of celebration, you’re preventing yourself from getting skewered.
What really helped me understand the timing was thinking of it less like blocking and more like counter-attacking. You’re not passively defending – you’re actively intercepting their strike with your own.
Reading Your Enemies: The Real Secret
This is where parrying goes from button-mashing to actual skill. Every enemy in Silksong has different attack patterns, wind-ups, and timings. Learning to parry consistently means learning to read these tells.
Some enemies telegraph their attacks with obvious wind-ups, while others are more subtle. The Bell Beast, for example, tries to body-slam you – and no amount of needle work is going to stop a giant creature from crushing you. But enemies like Lace who actually use weapons? That’s where parrying shines.
The best advice I can give is to start with easier enemies and work your way up. Don’t jump straight into boss fights expecting to parry everything – you’ll just frustrate yourself.
What Can and Can’t Be Parried
Not every attack in Silksong can be parried, which honestly makes sense when you think about it. You can deflect weapon-based attacks like swords, axes, spears, and even some thrown projectiles. But you can’t parry a massive creature trying to crush you with its entire body.
Parryable attacks include:
- Sword swings and slashes
- Spear thrusts
- Axe chops
- Certain projectiles and thrown weapons
Non-parryable attacks include:
- Body slams and crushing attacks
- Explosion damage
- Environmental hazards
- Some magic-based attacks
Learning which attacks can be parried comes with experience, but generally, if an enemy is swinging a weapon at you, there’s a good chance you can deflect it.
Choosing the Right Crest for Your Playstyle
Here’s where things get really interesting. Different Wanderer Crests completely change how parrying feels and works. Each crest has its own attack rhythm, reach, and timing.
Hunter Crest (your default) gives you a balanced approach – not too fast, not too slow, decent reach. It’s great for learning the basics.
Wanderer Crest is faster with shorter reach. The quick attack animation gives you more opportunities to parry, but you need to be closer to enemies.
Reaper Crest is slower but has much longer reach. This makes deliberate, planned parries easier since you have more space to work with.
Personally, I found the Wanderer and Reaper crests easier to master than others. Wanderer’s speed gives you more room for timing errors, while Reaper’s range lets you be more methodical about your parries.
You can also use the Longclaw tool to increase your reach with any crest, making parrying a bit more forgiving.
Advanced Parrying: The Downward Slash Technique
Here’s a technique that took me way too long to figure out: you can actually parry upward attacks by using downward slashes. It’s like aerial parrying, and it opens up whole new defensive possibilities.
This works especially well with Wanderer and Reaper crests since they let you attack directly downward instead of at an angle. It’s particularly useful against enemies that try to attack you from below when you’re on platforms.
Common Parrying Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)
Mistake #1: Button Mashing I see a lot of players try to parry by rapidly pressing attack. This doesn’t work because of the downtime between Hornet’s swings. You need deliberate, timed presses.
Mistake #2: Wrong Crest for Your Style If you’re struggling with parrying, try switching crests. What works for one player might not work for another.
Mistake #3: Trying to Parry Everything Remember, not every attack can be parried. Learn to recognize which attacks to dodge and which to deflect.
Mistake #4: Poor Enemy Knowledge You can’t parry effectively if you don’t know enemy attack patterns. Spend time learning how different enemies move and attack.
Parrying in Boss Fights: Where It Really Matters
While parrying is useful against regular enemies, it really shines in boss encounters. Bosses often have relentless attack patterns that can overwhelm you if you’re only dodging. Being able to parry some of those attacks gives you breathing room and often opens up counter-attack opportunities.
For specific boss strategies that incorporate parrying, check out our detailed boss guides for encounter-specific tips.
Building Your Parrying Skills
The best way to get good at parrying is practice, but here’s how to make that practice effective:
- Start with basic enemies in early areas
- Focus on one enemy type at a time until you can consistently parry their attacks
- Experiment with different crests to find what feels right
- Don’t neglect your other combat skills – parrying complements dodging and attacking, it doesn’t replace them
Make sure you’ve got your fundamental combat abilities down first. Our essential beginner tips cover all the basics you need before diving deep into advanced techniques like parrying.
Why Parrying Changes Everything
Once you get comfortable with parrying, it completely changes how you approach combat in Silksong. Instead of constantly backing away from aggressive enemies, you can stand your ground and turn their attacks into opportunities. It’s incredibly satisfying and makes you feel like a true combat master.
Plus, there’s something deeply satisfying about the audio and visual feedback when you nail a perfect parry. That little “ping” sound never gets old.
Ready to start your journey through Pharloom? You can get Hollow Knight: Silksong on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, or Xbox.
Remember, mastering parrying takes time and patience, but once you get it down, you’ll wonder how you ever played without it. The difference between a player who can parry and one who can’t is night and day – so take the time to learn this essential skill.
