Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty — How to Deflect and Parry

Getting anywhere in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty requires knowing how the game’s deflection system works. You won’t be a master right away, but you can come close with some practice. Let’s go over how to deflect in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty.

The game expects you to have a handle on how to deflect by the first boss, which is a massive hurdle for new players. The mechanic is worth getting down, since you can deflect almost every attack in the game.

How to Deflect in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty 

One of the first mechanics you’ll learn in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is how to deflect. When attack is about to hit you, press B / O in order to deflect this attack. Block is on the left bumper (L1), so you have one button dedicated to blocking and the other to parrying.

Things get tricky when you realize how Wo Long punishes missed timing. Not only are the timing windows pretty tight, but if you press the deflect button twice in a row (to correct for missed timing) you will instead perform a dodge. Early on, you will probably spend a lot of timing dodging into attacks you meant to deflect.

In general we’ve found that, if you’re used to the parry timing in Sekiro or even Elden Ring, the window in Wo Long is actually a bit more forgiving. However, that window begins on the early side. Therefore, we’ve found airing on the side of parrying slightly early to deflect blows has produced better results than trying to be right on time and falling behind. 

Like the posture meter in Sekiro, Wo Long‘s Spirit Gauge is as important as health bars. Deflecting enemy attacks are the quickest way to stagger them and leave them open for a Fatal Strike, which will kill many enemies in one hit.

How to Deflect Critical Blows

Screenshot by GameSkinny

Deflecting is especially important when it comes to Critical Blows, which are unblockable attacks that can only be parried. These are signaled by a red glow that will appear on an enemy when they are preparing one of these powerful attacks. When you deflect a Critical Blow you will stagger an enemy and do significant damage to their Spirit Gauge.

Successfully parrying a Critical Blow can change the tide of a strong enemy encounter. When it comes to boss fights, though, this is the core mechanic. Learning the timing and how to deflect a boss’s strong Critical Blows is the most consistent way to take down Wo Long’s toughest foes. If you found this guide helpful, take a look at some of our other Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty guides.

Featured Image via Koei Tecmo.