Firstly I know this is an unpopular opinion as I have seen overwhelming community response supporting the notion that the parry system needs to have a change because it is perceived as a useless tool. I do not agree with this and hope everyone who is concerned will hear out my reasons as to why. In implementing the parry into the game I think what the devs had in mind was not a cure all for any situational threat. Thats what dashes are for and why they are limited. I heard one of them say in a livestream once that it was mainly thought up to alleviate the immense pressure from being outnumbered, think For Honors revenge system but more balanced, and in my opinion this is just what it does. This is because you gain one bar of stamina for each parry that you pull off, allowing you to escape more easily when being chased. Because of this it also allows for more depth in 1v1 scenarios, and allows for basic attack timing mixups to get around an expected parry. Possibly the most common change I have seen asked is for the timing of the parry window to be easier to pull off. This would, without a doubt make this mixup game less satisfying for me and im sure others who have practiced parrying themselves. It only takes 15 minutes against each melee character to get their parry timing down. You can simply parry the second hit of 2 part attacks to get around the previously mentioned mixup. After only 15 minutes per multihit attack, I can go into a game and pull them off well over 50% of the time. If i had to guess, Id say these moves, someone can parry 3/4ths of the time on average after they have been practiced, which is variable depending on the pressure of the situation, you must be calm to do it so of course its easier in a 1v1. I suggest you all try it because you will get a great sense of accomplishment when an enemy who was once going at you with no regards will sometimes suddenly begin to fear you and maybe even avoid fighting you for a game once you've parried them a few times in a fight, which of course is handing you a tactical advantage. It is very effective on certain characters and the extra dash more often than not will completely shift the tide in your favor against characters like Daemon, which brings me to the second argument people make for changing the parries, that it needs to be more rewarding.
In my opinion the reward of a parry is very large, one bar of stamina can be the difference between life or death for either you or your opponent. I dislike the idea that when you parry the enemy should be stunned because if you are keeping track of how much stamina they should have it can be second nature to use that knowledge to burst them down. For instance, when you have no stamina and your escape ability is on cooldown against niddhogr there is nothing you can do when he throws his axe at you except jump over it on the way back. However, this is very easily thwarted as he will usually attack immediately after throwing it stuffing your attempt. Maybe you attack first but then the axe will hit you while youre comboing. Maybe you attack first but only one time, if nidhoggr mashes attack he will still hit you after that followed by the axe. My point is that one bar of stamina is very much reward enough, maybe even a little too much.
The current state of the parry mechanic in this game is one that you are not going to pull off every time no matter how good you are. It also is one that is highly favorable to a practiced player and is left completely unused on someone who hasn't taken it to the dojo. This is the source of the calls to change the system, Parrying is just not easy to do. It REQUIRES much practice and much thought, which is why it is makes part of the glorious border from good players to great players and it is why it feels SO great once you have it down pat. A system in this state is very good for the longevity of the game. Look at smash bros. melee for reference, systems such as this one has made it completely withstand the test of time. Please if you read all of this and you find yourself having a hard time parrying like so many of you, just give it a chance. Go to the dojo and get those 2 part attacks, its hard; believe me, I know. You might just find this very beneficial to you and your enjoyment of this wonderful game.Good luck and good games to all.
P.S. if any developer is reading this rn, please add ranked. It will make or break this game for me and I really love the gameplay you have crafted here
