How to parry, dodge and Flurry Rush in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Learning how to parry, dodge and Flurry Rush remain some of the most useful skills to learn in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

As with Breath of the Wild, you’ll want to evolve combat from becoming not only a master in not getting stuck with the pointy end, but becoming legendary with a counterattack.

However, you could easily get most of the way through the game without perfecting it, making things much harder than they need to be. Frustratingly for some, this vital skill isn’t taught until a few hours into the game, after you leave the Great Sky Island and you’re back on Hyrule and accidentally stumble upon the Kyononis Shrine.

Still, whether you’re up against a Bokoblin, Moblin or the fearsome Phantom Ganon, these vital tips will help you get through Tears of the Kingdom with all of your heart containers intact.

How to dodge in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Dodging is the first step on the road to the perfect Flurry Rush, and it all centres around the ZL button.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

Once in an encounter, simply hold the ZL button to focus and wait for your enemy to attack. Just before they make contact, tap the X button to jump and move the left stick in the direction you want to move — make sure you don’t let go of ZL.

If Link loses focus, he’s gonna get slapped. Nobody wants that.

Which direction do you dodge in? Simply put:

• If they’re jumping at you or swinging down with an overhead attack, you want to dodge to the side (left or right, up to you).
• If they come singing side-to-side, you want to dodge backwards.

How to parry in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Like dodging, parrying is an essential skill in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Again, the ZL button is your best friend, but instead of the X button to jump, we’re hitting A for action.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

Again, get into a battle, equip a shield and wait for the enemy to attack. While holding ZL, tap the A button just before impact. A perfectly timed parry will see the enemy attack not only rebound, but briefly stun them into dropping their weapon.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

If you’re quick enough, you can steal their weapon, too. That’s Link’s sword now, Moblin...

How to Flurry Rush in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Once you have perfected the dodge and the parry, you are ready to unleash righteous fury in the form of a Flurry Rush — a counter attack consisting of a rapid set of strikes. If you parried the enemy’s attack and stole their weapon, hitting them with the Flurry Rush will add insult to injury; you don’t get anything extra for doing so, but you feel like a badass, and that’s always nice.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

The Flurry Rush is an extension of the dodge. To Flurry Rush, hold ZL to focus and then X to jump, just before the enemy makes contact. If you time it correctly, time will slow briefly as the prompt Flurry Rush (Y) pops up on your screen.

Simply hit Y while dodging to start a Flurry Rush — hit it as many times as you can before time speeds up. Sometimes, this is all you need to do to take an enemy from full health to death’s door.