How to perfect guard in Tears of the Kingdom

How to Parry in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

The best defense is... more defense.

Nintendo’s twentieth main installment in its iconic Zelda franchise is finally upon us. A direct sequel to 2017’s Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom retains the epic open-world freedom of its predecessor while adding in a few new bells and whistles to keep fans on their toes. That said, combat is still a big emphasis this time around, and as a result, you may be wondering how to parry in Tears of the Kingdom. Worry not as we’ve got your back. Let’s get into it!

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How to Do a Perfect Guard in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom?

First things first, parrying in Tears of the Kingdom is called a Perfect Guard. To parry an attack and get a Perfect Guard, players will need to have a Shield equipped. In light of this, you won’t be able to parry any attacks if you’re wielding a two-handed weapon.

Once you have a shield equipped, hold the ZL button to block and wait for the enemy to attack. When the enemy attacks, press A to parry, and if you time it right, you’ll knock back your opponent and slow down time for a few seconds. The window to parry is quite short, so it may take a littler bit of patience and practice to get the timing right.

Link parrying in Tears of the Kingdom
Image Source: Nintendo via Twinfinite

When you manage to get a Perfect Guard, you’ll have a short window where the enemy is vulnerable. This is the perfect time to wail on your adversary and put them six feet under.

If you’re having any trouble with parrying, we’d suggest finding a small Bokoblin camp or a similarly weaker enemy and practicing the Perfect Guard ability on them. Really, parrying is a pretty important element to combat in Tears of the Kingdom, so having a solid understanding of it will put you in good stead for the remainder of your adventure.

And, what do you know: That’s everything you need to know about how to parry in Tears of the Kingdom. For more, here’s how to repair your weapons. Or alternatively, feel free to explore our further coverage down below.


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Author
Image of Dylan Chaundy
Dylan Chaundy
Dylan is a Senior Writer at Twinfinite and has been with the site for over two years, and in the games media industry for over a decade. He typically covers horror, RPGs, shooters, Roblox, indie titles and movies, and loves reading, pizza and skateboarding; ideally, at the same time. He has a degree in English Literature from Aberystwyth University, Wales. He thinks FTL may be the most perfect game ever created.