Dead Cells - (Mostly) Parrying the Castle
I originally wanted to make this a commentary kind of video but that wasn't working out and I do not have the kind of time that would allow me to make a proper video that showcases everything in a digestible manner.
Anyway, I wanted to somewhat demonstrate the parry in an endgame scenario and find out some more details about it. Here are my observations:
When "!" pops above a melee enemy is when to parry that enemy
The exception to the above are the lancers who do not have a "!"
Having a shield equipped confers a short force-field that prevents chain hits when the plater is hit (3:09, 5:22)
You will be locked out of parrying for a bit when failing to execute a parry
You will be able to parry immediately if successful in a previous parry (5:28)
You can parry the ball and chain traps (4:53)
HotK can proc the heal on parry mutation more than once, but not consistently. I am uncertain what the limitations are (10:27, 11:48, 12:58)
My final thoughts on parrying and shields in general is that while they are useful they are still ultimately underwhelming in the grand scheme of things due to their nature. To get the most benefit out of them, you must be in danger. Compared to something like a dagger or a bow, you must wait for an attempt on your life before you can make an attempt on the enemies'. On top of that, the reward for that risk is much lower compared to alternatives as most shields don't do enough damage or offer a useful effect. The only real contenders in my opinion are the force, spiked, and assault shields.