# Mortal Shell II Parry & Resolve Guide — Complete Frame Data, Parryable Attacks & Timing Windows > 来源: https://shell2hub.com/articles/parry-resolve-guide.html ### Quick Navigation - Understanding the Parry & Resolve System - Parry Frame Data — Complete Timing Breakdown - Parryable vs Unparryable Attacks — Full Reference - Shell Synergy — Which Shell Best Supports Parry Playstyle - Advanced Parry Techniques — Resolve Banking, Riposte Chains & More - Boss-Specific Parry Strategies - Common Parry Mistakes to Avoid - Frequently Asked Questions ## 1. Understanding the Parry & Resolve System The Parry and Resolve system is the single highest-risk, highest-reward mechanic in Mortal Shell II. Unlike Harden—which is forgiving and universally applicable—parrying demands precise timing but rewards you with Resolve segments that unlock devastating empowered ripostes. Understanding this system is the difference between scraping through boss fights with attrition and dominating them with surgical efficiency. ### How Parry Works When you press the parry button (default: L1 on controller, Tab on keyboard) while wielding a parry-capable weapon, your character enters an active parry window. If an enemy's attack connects with you during this window, you deflect the attack, stagger the enemy, and generate one Resolve segment (the glowing pip in your HUD). You can store up to two Resolve segments at a time. ### How Resolve Works Resolve segments are consumed to perform Empowered Ripostes —massive counter-attacks that deal bonus damage, can stagger even large bosses, and often have unique animation properties. One Resolve segment enables a standard Empowered Riposte; two segments unlock a Devastating Riposte that deals roughly 2.5x the damage of a standard riposte. ### Weapons That Support Parrying Not every weapon in Mortal Shell II can parry. Here is the complete list: See the Weapons Catalog for full weapon stats, upgrade paths, and acquisition locations. ## 2. Parry Frame Data — Complete Timing Breakdown Parry frames in Mortal Shell II are measured from the moment you press the parry input. Understanding these numbers is critical because every weapon has different startup, active, and recovery frames. The data below was tested at 60 FPS in the Fallgrim training area against Brigand swordsmen. ### Parry Frame Data by Weapon ### Reading the Frame Table - Startup frames: The delay between pressing parry and the active window beginning. You must press parry this many frames before the attack would hit you. - Active window: The frames during which contact with an attack triggers a successful parry. Longer is always better. - Recovery frames: The frames after the active window where you cannot act. A whiffed parry leaves you vulnerable for this entire duration. ### Enemy Attack Speed Categories & Recommended Parry Weapons ## 3. Parryable vs Unparryable Attacks — Full Reference The most common cause of parry deaths is attempting to parry an unparryable attack. Mortal Shell II has a clear rule: any melee attack from a weapon-wielding enemy is parryable; grab attacks, Area-of-Effect bursts, projectiles, and environmental hazards are not. Below is the complete reference. ### Common Enemies — Parryable Attack Reference ## 4. Shell Synergy — Which Shell Best Supports Parry Playstyle While any Shell can parry, some Shells multiply the effectiveness of a parry-focused playstyle far more than others. The table below ranks every Shell for parry builds. ### The Solomon Parry Build — Optimal Setup For players who want to center their entire playstyle around parrying, the Solomon Shell with the Martyr's Blade is the gold standard. Here is the complete setup: - Shell: Solomon (3 Resolve segments; parry-focused passives) - Weapon: Martyr's Blade (16-frame active parry window; highest forgiveness) - Off-hand: Hallowed Sword (for quick-swap against fast enemies that Martyr's Blade struggles to parry) - Strategy: Open with Martyr's Blade parries to build 3 Resolve segments → weapon-switch to Smoldering Mace → unleash triple-Devastating Riposte. The Mace's higher riposte multiplier stacked with Solomon's third Resolve segment deletes ~40% of most boss HP bars in a single burst cycle. For more Shell optimization tips, see the Shell Compendium and Best Builds guide. ## 5. Advanced Parry Techniques ### 5.1 Resolve Banking — The Two-Cycle Boss Kill Instead of ripositing after every parry, bank both Resolve segments. During the boss's long recovery (after a heavy combo or phase transition), unleash a Devastating Riposte. The damage from two segments stacked is significantly higher than two individual Empowered Ripostes—about 40% more total damage. This "bank and burst" pattern is the foundation of speed-kill strategies. ### 5.2 The Parry-Swap Combo Parry an attack with a weapon that has a long active window (Martyr's Blade), but swap to a weapon with a high riposte damage multiplier (Smoldering Mace) during the stagger animation. The riposte damage scales off the currently equipped weapon , not the weapon that executed the parry. This weapon-swap exploit adds roughly 30% damage to every riposte you land. Execution: Parry with Martyr's Blade → stagger animation begins → press weapon-swap during stagger → immediately press riposte. The window between stagger and riposte is approximately 0.8 seconds, which is tight but consistent with practice. Drill this against Hadern in the tutorial arena until it becomes muscle memory. ### 5.3 Multi-Hit Parry Chains Some boss combos allow parrying multiple consecutive hits . The parry recovery animation is cancelable into another parry if you input during the first parry's last 3 recovery frames. This enables parry chaining against bosses with rapid combo strings like: - Hadern's 3-hit combo: Parry hit 1, cancel into parry for hit 2, cancel into parry for hit 3. Generates 3 Resolve segments (with Solomon) in under 3 seconds. - The Dark Father Phase 1 4-hit string: Parry hits 1, 2, and 4 (hit 3 is an unparryable pommel strike—Harden it instead). - Crucix human form 2-hit cross slash: Both hits are parryable with perfect timing; generates 2 Resolve instantly. ### 5.4 Harden-Cancel Missed Parry Recovery If you mistime a parry and are stuck in the weapon's long recovery frames (especially dangerous with Martyr's Blade's 24-frame recovery), you can Harden during recovery to cancel the remaining recovery frames and become invulnerable. This turns a guaranteed punish into a neutral reset. Master this technique and you can attempt parries with near-impunity—the worst outcome becomes trading a Harden cooldown for safety, rather than losing half your HP. ### 5.5 The Riposte Dodge Cancel After a successful riposte, your character has a brief celebration animation (~12 frames). You can dodge-cancel the last 4 frames of this animation, shaving off about 67ms of vulnerability and repositioning behind the boss for an immediate follow-up combo. This micro-optimization matters most against Imrod (who punishes riposte recovery) and The Dark Father (who chains attacks faster than standard riposte recovery allows). ## 6. Boss-Specific Parry Strategies Every boss has a distinct set of attacks, and knowing exactly which ones to parry—and when—transforms each fight. Below are the optimal parry strategies for every boss in Mortal Shell II. ### Hadern — The Tutorial Master Best parry weapon: Hallowed Sword (learn timing fundamentals here) Parryable: All sword attacks (3-hit combo, running thrust, single horizontal slash) Unparryable: Kick (dodge sideways), Harden-counter (wait out) Strategy: Hadern is the training dummy for parry mechanics. Stand at medium range, wait for his 3-hit combo, and attempt to parry-hit chain all three. With Solomon Shell, this single combo fills your entire Resolve meter. Practice parry-swap here until the timing is subconscious—every subsequent boss builds on this foundation. See the full Hadern guide for complete breakdown. ### Crucix the Twiceborn Best parry weapon: Smoldering Mace (human form) / Martyr's Blade (spider form) Human form — Parryable: Cross slash (both hits), lunging thrust Human form — Unparryable: Venom Pool (AoE), Spider Summon Spider form — Parryable: Single claw swipe, fang thrust Spider form — Unparryable: Leaping Crush, Venom Spray, Spider Rush Strategy: Focus parries on human form—Crucix is far more predictable before transforming. Parry the cross slash twice (generates 2 Resolve), bank both, then unleash a Devastating Riposte immediately when he begins the transformation animation (uninterruptible, free damage). In spider form, switch to Harden-based defense; the spider's unparryable attacks outnumber parryable ones roughly 3:1. See the full Crucix guide . ### Tarsus the First Martyr Best parry weapon: Martyr's Blade (16f window for his delayed swings) Parryable: Frost Greatsword horizontal cleave, vertical slam, running thrust Unparryable: Ice Burst (AoE), Frozen Ground (persistent AoE), Frost Breath Strategy: Tarsus's attacks are deliberately delayed —he raises his sword, pauses, then swings. New players parry on the raise and whiff. Wait until the sword begins descending, then parry. Martyr's Blade's 16-frame active window covers the delay variance. Parry his vertical slam (easiest to read), riposte once, then retreat before the inevitable Ice Burst follow-up. Parry, riposte, retreat. Repeat. See the full Tarsus guide . ### Imrod the Unrepentant Best parry weapon: Hallowed Sword (balanced for his tempo) Parryable: Flame Hammer single swing, Flame Hammer double-swing combo (both hits), sweeping low strike Unparryable: Spinning Inferno, Lava Call, Lava Pool, Flame Pillar Strategy: Imrod's parryable attacks deal fire chip damage even on successful parry—make sure you have fire-resistant armor or the Ash-Walker Tar before attempting parries. Target the double-swing combo: parry both hits, riposte, then immediately sprint behind him for back-attack bonus damage (+30%). Do not attempt to parry during his enrage phase (below 40% HP)—the fire chip damage doubles and may kill you through a successful parry. See the full Imrod guide . ### Corvid the Watcher Best parry weapon: Hammer & Chisel (fast recovery for her multi-hit flurries) Parryable: Ground claw swipe, wing slap, talon dive (ground phase only) Unparryable: Shroud of Darkness aerial dives, Feather Storm (projectile), Screech (AoE stun) Strategy: Parry aggressively during ground phase—Corvid's ground claw swipes are some of the most telegraphed attacks in the game. During Shroud of Darkness, abandon parrying entirely; rely on Harden and audio cues (as detailed in the Combat Tips guide ). The phase transition is the best time to dump banked Resolve for a Devastating Riposte. See the full Corvid guide . ### The Unchained Best parry weapon: Martyr's Blade (forgives the chaos timing) Parryable: Single arm slam, chain whip horizontal sweep Unparryable: Chaos Flurry (multi-hit combo), Dark Detonation (AoE), Chain Grab, Void Pull Strategy: The Unchained has the fewest parryable attacks of any boss. Focus parries exclusively on the single arm slam—it is slow, clearly telegraphed (raises right arm, pauses, slams), and appears consistently throughout the fight. Everything else should be Hardened or dodged. Bank Resolve from arm-slam parries and unleash during the post-Chaos Flurry exhaust window (~4.0s, the longest punish window in the game). See the full Unchained guide . ### The Dark Father (Final Boss) Best parry weapon: Hallowed Sword Phase 1 / Martyr's Blade Phase 2 Parryable: Phase 1 — all sword strikes in the 4-hit combo (except hit 3, which is a pommel strike), single thrust; Phase 2 — charged overhead slam, horizontal cleave Unparryable: Phase 1 — pommel strike (hit 3 of 4-hit), Dark Wave (AoE); Phase 2 — Abyssal Gaze (grab), Shadow Clone strikes, Void Collapse (arena-wide AoE) Strategy: Phase 1 is the parry playground—his 4-hit string is the longest parryable combo in the game, and chaining hits 1, 2, and 4 fills your Resolve gauge in one sequence. In Phase 2, switch to Martyr's Blade for the extended parry window; parry only the charged overhead slam (massive telegraph). Unleash all banked Resolve at the start of Phase 3—the Dark Father is immobile during his transformation animation. See the full Dark Father guide . ## 7. Common Parry Mistakes to Avoid ### Parry-Spamming Repeatedly mashing the parry button does not extend the active window. Each press resets the animation to frame 1 of startup, meaning you are perpetually stuck in startup frames with zero active frames. If you miss a parry, accept the recovery and Harden through the hit instead of mashing. One deliberate parry is worth infinitely more than a dozen panic parries. ### Parrying While Moving Moving during the parry animation delays the active window by 2-3 frames. Stand still when you parry. The game does not communicate this anywhere, but testing confirms: a stationary parry activates ~33ms faster than a moving parry. Against fast bosses, this difference is decisive. ### Trying to Parry the First Encounter Do not attempt to parry a boss the first time you see an attack. Spend attempt #1 doing nothing but dodging and observing . Learn the attack animations, identify which attacks have the white weapon flash (parryable), and note the tempo. Start parrying on attempt #2. Blind parries are gambling, not strategy. ### Ignoring the Riposte Angle Ripostes deal bonus damage from behind the enemy. After a successful parry stagger, take the half-second to step behind the boss before executing the riposte. The positioning bonus is roughly +15% damage—equivalent to an entire weapon upgrade level. This is especially potent with Eredrim's extended stagger duration. ### Using Non-Parry Weapons Against Parryable Fights Tiel's Daggers and the Ballistazooka cannot parry. If you run a Tiel's Daggers build, you are locked out of the entire Resolve system. Against bosses with generous parry windows (Hadern, Crucix human, Tarsus), equip a parry-capable off-hand weapon just for the parry-riposte cycle, then swap back to daggers for general combat. Master Your Parry, Master the Game Combine these parry techniques with the right weapon, Shell, and build to dominate every encounter. ## 8. Frequently Asked Questions ### Can every weapon in Mortal Shell II parry? No. Only four weapons support parrying: Hallowed Sword, Martyr's Blade, Smoldering Mace, and Hammer & Chisel. Tiel's Daggers and the Ballistazooka cannot parry at all. If you want access to the parry and Resolve system, you must equip at least one of the four parry-capable weapons. ### How many Resolve segments can I store at once? All Shells can store up to 2 Resolve segments by default. The Solomon Shell has a unique passive that raises the cap to 3 segments, making it the definitive parry-focused Shell. A Devastating Riposte with 3 Solomon Resolve segments is the single highest-damage attack in Mortal Shell II. ### What is the easiest boss to practice parrying on? Hadern (the tutorial boss) is explicitly designed as a parry training encounter. His 3-hit sword combo has consistent, telegraphed timing, and his arena has no environmental hazards. Spend 20-30 minutes practicing parry chains against Hadern—the muscle memory transfers directly to every subsequent boss. You can refight Hadern at any time from the main hub by interacting with his effigy. ### Do parry timing windows change in New Game Plus? Yes. Starting at NG+1, enemy attack speeds increase by approximately 10-15%, which compresses the effective parry window. NG+3 and beyond introduces randomized attack delays on some enemies, making consistent parrying significantly harder. For NG+ parry builds, Martyr's Blade becomes nearly mandatory due to its 16-frame active window. See the NG+ Guide for full scaling data. ### Can I parry boss grab attacks? No. Grab attacks are universally unparryable across all enemies and bosses in Mortal Shell II. Grab attacks are identified by a brief "wind-up" animation where the boss's hand or appendage glows red. The only defense against grabs is dodging (i-frames work) or sprinting out of range. Do not attempt to Harden through grabs either—some boss grabs pierce Harden, most notably The Unchained's Chain Grab and The Dark Father's Abyssal Gaze. ### Does the parry timing feel different between 30 FPS and 60 FPS? Yes, and significantly so. At 30 FPS, the active parry window effectively halves in terms of visual frames, making timing substantially harder. If you play on console in Quality mode (30 FPS), switch to Performance mode (60 FPS) for any parry-focused playstyle. On PC, lock your framerate to 60 FPS and disable V-Sync to minimize input latency. The difference between 30 FPS and 60 FPS parry windows is approximately 50ms of additional reaction time—often the difference between a successful parry and death. ### What happens if I use a Devastating Riposte but the boss transitions phases mid-animation? The riposte damage registers before the phase transition cutscene triggers. Mortal Shell II queues phase transitions to occur after the current animation completes, so a Devastating Riposte that triggers a phase change will always connect fully. This makes the "bank Resolve → unleash at phase threshold" strategy completely safe—in fact, it is the optimal way to skip dangerous late-phase mechanics by pushing the boss directly into the next transition.