Thoughts about parry

[pyyoo]

I've been playing with the parry cannon in the Delicious Beta recently, and it's a really fun mechanic. The mobs' movements are well-designed to telegraph their attacks, making parrying feel intuitive and satisfying. I've been trying to use parry to match the performance of other popular playstyles, but after days of experimenting, I've come to the conclusion that it feels a bit underpowered. I've discussed this with other players and gathered some insights to share.

In short, the reward for a successful parry feels insufficient. First and foremost, I see parry as an offensive option rather than a defensive one. If my goal were simply to avoid damage, I'd just dodge. The key difference is that dodging allows for some timing flexibility—you can dodge a bit early and still avoid damage—but parrying requires precise timing and doesn't reposition you to a safer spot, meaning you also need to react to follow-up attacks. Choosing to parry means I'm aiming for the reward it offers, followed by a counterattack. However, the reward—a 100% critical rate—isn't as impactful as it seems. The buff duration is short, and you need to start your counterattack in a close distance. Moreover, the playstyle is further limited by gear and Powers. Many equipment and Power bonuses focus on increasing critical rate, which doesn't synergize well with a parry-focused build since parry already guarantees critical hits. On top of that, since parry often replaces dodge in many situations, equipment and Powers related to Perfect Dodge become less useful, further limiting build options. So far, I haven't found a good gear set that complements this playstyle nicely.

Parrying is a high-risk, high-focus mechanic, which is part of what makes it fun and engaging. However, to better reward such a skill-intensive move, I have a few suggestions for consideration. First, allow parries to trigger all or some of the "on taking damage" effects from Powers and equipment. For example, Meowl Cowl and Righteous Fury could become much more viable if they could be activated by parrying. Second, introduce a bonus for overflowing critical rate stats. This could apply not only to parry weapons but also to the game as a whole, adding more depth to critical-focused builds. And some of my friends think the buff duration should be extended, but I find the current duration acceptable. In fact, it's quite fun to strategize how to maximize damage within that limited window.