Ghost of Tsushima – How to Block and Parry

In Ghost of Tsushima there are different types of attacks that enemies can throw at you.  Some are blockable and some are not.  You’ll see red dots, blue dots, and no dots at all.  In this guide we’ll explain which attacks you can block, which you can’t, and how to block in Ghost of Tsushima.

How to Block

First things first, the Block button is tied to the L1 button.  Pressing it and you’ll see your character raise their sword to block Pressing and holding the L1 button will allow you to block.

However, you can’t block all attacks.  Some require that you have certain upgrades purchased and some can’t be blocked at all.

Attacks that you can’t Block or Parry

You can’t block the red attacks from enemies.  If you try to block an enemy attack that shows a red dot during it you will get hit and take damage.

Standard attacks can be blocked by pressing the L1 button.  These attacks will not have either a red dot or a blue dot.  Blue dot attacks can be blocked and/or parried.

How to Parry

Parry in Ghost of Tsushima is tied to the L1 Button as well.  A Parry is performed when you press the L1 Button at the last possible second.  You would then see a visual queue that the parry was successful at which point you can attack your opponent with the Square or Triangle buttons.  The attacks that you’ll want to look out for when trying to parry are the ones that are marked by the blue dot instead of red.

All you really need to know about Blocking and Parry is that you always want to get out of the way on Red attacks.  The others can either be blocked or parried by pressing the L1 Button.