How to parry in Final Fantasy XVI

Andrew Highton
clive parrying boss in final fantasy XVI

A perfect Final Fantasy XVI gives players the opportunity to master combat. The tried and tested defensive mechanic is a mainstay of combat-focused action games, and we’ll show you how to pull it off in FF16.

Clive Rosfield is a seasoned fighter in Final Fantasy XVI. If you’ve had a chance to experience the demo, you’ll know this to be true. As well as utilizing the magical arts, Clive is very capable with a sword in his hands.

You can use combos and other attacks to maximize your damage output, but you also need to be mindful of your defensive prowess in the land of Valisthea. If you come up against a formidable foe and need to stagger your opponent, then a good parry will go a long way in the game.

clive rosfield in final fantasy16 cut scene

How to parry in Final Fantasy 16

To parry in Final Fantasy XVI, players will need to press the square button at the right time to block an enemy attack at the perfect moment.

Parrying won’t directly do any additional damage, but it will leave your opponent open to a flurry of undefendable attacks.

The in-game description for the Final Fantasy XVI parry is as follows: “Use Square just as an opponent attacks to parry the strike, temporarily slowing time and leaving the opponent open to a counter.”

Just a word of caution though, the timing window to get this nailed down will be quite small. So, there’s a good chance that you’ll either end up attacking and taking damage yourself in the process, or being too late and just taking damage without any rebuttal.

Now that you know how to execute a parry in Final Fantasy XVI, check out who Benedikta Harman is in FF16, as well as how accessories make the title easier.