Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance launched earlier this week and introduced many gamers to the far northern Icewind Dale region of Faerun. As players explore the frigid north and get to know Drizzt and his party of allies, they'll need to master some basic skills in the game to ensure they can survive the onslaught of goblins and other more challenging enemies that are on the way.
The game's recommended tutorial level walks players through all of the basic attacks and defensive maneuvers, but the section on how to parry leaves a bit to be desired. Timing parries is actually not very intuitive and the visual tells and indicators aren't as obvious in Dark Alliance as they are in some other similar action RPGs. Not to worry though, mastering this defensive skill isn't that hard once players know what to look for.
Like in most games, the key to nailing a parry in Dark Alliance is all about timing. This can become a little tricky in Dark Alliance though, since players are often swarmed by multiple enemies once they allow themselves to be engaged in melee combat. The fact that the Parry button is also the Block button can also lead to a lot of accidental blocks instead of parries, which players who completed the tutorial level are likely very familiar with.
As players are engaged with enemies, they should see a series of white arrows surrounding the player and pointing in the direction of any incoming enemies. Spotting those pointers is going to be incredibly important to a strong defense. The arrows will switch from white to yellow once the enemy in that direction starts an attack and then it will switch to red once the attack is about to land. The key to a perfectly timed parry is to tab the parry button (RB on Xbox One) just as the arrow turns red and the attack is incoming.
Players who get the timing right will be rewarded by a graceful parry that knocks enemies off of their guard and leaves an opening for some strong counter attacks if they target the enemy and act quickly. There are some trophies/achievements associated with nailing a certain number of perfectly timed parries, so completionists who want to 100% the title will want to master this technique early and use it often as the game progresses.
Dark Alliance is already receiving some pretty positive reviews, so it will be exciting to watch the title continue to grow and see what sort of audience it is able to build. Be sure to check back throughout the summer for more Dark Alliance news, updates, and strategy guides.
Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.