Video Games News, Reviews & Guides

God of War Guide: How To Parry, When To Use Spartan Rage and How To Save Manually

Already in our maximum difficulty guide of God of War, we mentioned how the combat system can prove challenging (and not just the difficulty of Give Me God of War mode).

In this guide, we will investigate other aspects of the game system that can help you navigate the Midgard hazards. Specifically, we will see how to make a parry, how to best use the iconic Spartan Rage and how to save manually.

The strength and usefulness of Parry:
By pressing L1, Kratos will pull out the shield to shield enemy attacks; so far, nothing complex. A slightly more advanced mechanic regarding the shield is instead the so-called perfect parade, or parry: pressing L1 at the right time, in fact, Kratos will perform a very rapid movement with the shield that will deflect the enemy’s blow, leaving the latter in a temporary state of stun. Predictably, this will be the most opportune moment to counter-attack. Learning to master the parry can be extremely challenging; the reward, however, will be really juicy. Being able to constantly execute perfect parades can, in fact, prove to be vital against certain types of enemies, especially those who, normally, are resistant to normal attacks.

Just remember to try a parry only when the light that shines during the enemy attacks is yellow. If the light is red, in fact, it means that the attack cannot be saved and must, instead, be avoided. Naturally, attacks that do not show any kind of light can be normally sealed, even without the need for a perfect parade.

Understanding the right timing is clearly the hardest part. Attack animations vary greatly from enemy to enemy, both in speed and type. In general, always try to press L1 the instant before the attack is about to hit.

When to use Spartan Rage:
The iconic Spartan Rage returns to action stronger than ever. Once enough rage has been accumulated, in fact, it will be possible to enter a state of almost total invincibility that will allow the Spartan to attack with speed and extreme fury. The advice in this area is to use Spartan Rage when you are close to death. In doing so, the invincibility guaranteed by the state will allow us to go on for a while, hoping to be able to take out all the enemies left before the end of power.

In addition, if the combat lends itself, you would do well to target smaller and weaker enemies, in the hope that they will drop objects of care. In this way, if Spartan Rage were to end before the end of the fight, you would have significantly higher chances of coming out victorious.

How to save manually:
Although the game adopts a self-rescue system based on periodic checkpoints, it may happen that there is a need to save manually. In God of War, manual saving is present, but not so easily reachable. To reach manual save, press the options key or the touchpad on your DualShock 4. At this point, press triangle: from this second menu you can scroll to the save item.