Onimusha: Way of the Sword - How to parry and deflect
Overview & Key Takeaways
Parrying and deflecting in Onimusha: Way of the Sword might seem like your standard action game moves, but they're among the most essential skills you can use in any fight. Deflecting initially seems good for dealing with the pesky Genma archers that seem to infest every corner of Kyoto, and it is. However, it's also the fastest way to whittle down an enemy's stamina bar, which opens them up to critical hits.
Parrying, meanwhile, does more than just block an incoming hit without Musashi taking stamina damage and losing his stance. Depending on where you're fighting, you can throw enemies into each other, which instantly depletes their stamina, or chuck them into a wall and disrupt their battle flow for a bit. Parrying is also how you activate the Blaze state, which increases your damage. You should get in the habit of regularly using both skills.
In this guide, we'll walk you through how to parry and deflect in Onimusha: Way of the Sword, and when it's best to pull off each move.
Parrying and deflecting in Onimusha: Way of the Sword might seem like your standard action game moves, but they're among the most essential skills you can use in any fight. Deflecting initially seems good for dealing with the pesky Genma archers that seem to infest every corner of Kyoto, and it is. However, it's also the fastest way to whittle down an enemy's stamina bar, which opens them up to critical hits.
Parrying, meanwhile, does more than just block an incoming hit without Musashi taking stamina damage and losing his stance. Depending on where you're fighting, you can throw enemies into each other, which instantly depletes their stamina, or chuck them into a wall and disrupt their battle flow for a bit. Parrying is also how you activate the Blaze state, which increases your damage. You should get in the habit of regularly using both skills.
In this guide, we'll walk you through how to parry and deflect in Onimusha: Way of the Sword, and when it's best to pull off each move.
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How to parry in Onimusha: Way of the Sword
Parrying is more timing-orientated than deflecting, and can be done from the start of the game. | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom
Musashi can parry from the beginning of Onimusha: Way of the Sword. Press the block button (L1 on a DualSense or LB on an Xbox controller) right before an enemy attack lands, and he'll parry it. Parrying has different animations depending on the attack you're countering and the enemy delivering it. Sometimes, Mushashi will just knock the enemy's blade back.
Other instances are more dramatic, as he'll drag his sword along his foe's, pull them close, and then shove them behind himself or into a wall or a prop if one is nearby. This includes braziers, and when you do shove an enemy into one, the bowl breaks and sets them and nearby foes on fire. Just make sure you're not standing in the flames when it happens.
Whatever the case, a successful parry always means Musashi takes no health or stamina damage, and parries work for ranged attacks, too. Once you unlock the Blaze state, parrying also fills up the Blaze gauge.
The downside to parrying is that it requires precise timing, which is tough to learn when you're up against some of Onimusha's more aggressive enemies. For the standard Genma, it's a good idea to learn by doing Takamura's training exercises. You can repeat these as often as you need until you're comfortable with your parry timing. That luxury isn't available for bosses, as they only show up in training exercises after you defeat them the first time. Still, you don't have to parry them. You can always deflect, and sometimes, deflecting is more useful.
How to deflect in Onimusha: Way of the Sword
Deflecting is the way to go if you want to deliver massive stamina damage, though Musashi's stamina will suffer if you mess up. | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom
Deflecting is locked behind a skill upgrade that requires Power Stones, but you'll unlock it automatically after a bit of progress, when the game teaches you about the skill tree. To deflect, hold the block button (once again, that's L1 or LB) and, right before an attack lands, press the interact button. Using the standard layout, that's X on a DualSense or A on an Xbox controller.
Deflecting is a bit more forgiving than parrying, though it comes with dangers of its own. If you miss the timing, you can still block. However, blocking heavy attacks and most boss attacks costs a good deal of Musashi's stamin,a and often leaves him unable to move for a few seconds — not a great spot to be in if your opponent moves quickly.
Still, deflecting has a particular benefit: It deals very heavy stamina damage, making it perfect for breaking boss stances (or any Genma you can't defeat with a few hits) and leaving them open for critical strikes.
That's it for this guide on how to parry and deflect in Onimusha: Way of the Sword. Make sure to alternate between both skills depending on the situation, deflecting to deplete stamina and parrying to build the Blaze gauge. For more tips on combat in this intense samurai action experience, check out our guides on how to Issen, as well as our list of all bosses in Way of the Sword.
