In Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, Parry is the fastest way to end a fight. Land it right, and you stun the enemy, which allows a takedown, or in other words, instant assassination. The catch: a lot of players are finding the timing harder than it should be. Here’s exactly how the mechanic works and what actually counts as a “perfect” parry. I’ve also talked about two easy parry trophies that you don’t want to miss.
What You’ll Read:
How to Parry in AC Black Flag Resynced
Watch your enemy during a fight. When they’re about to hit you, a blue flash appears for a split second. Press L1 on PlayStation or LB on Xbox when you see the flash to parry. This stuns them and lowers their defense.
If you time your parry exactly right, you get a “Perfect Parry”. A perfect parry freezes the enemy and allows you to do an instant takedown. On the contrary, a regular parry only stops the hit, but doesn’t allow you to kill. So timing is what separates a stalemate from a checkmate.
You can pull this off unarmed, too. So don’t panic if you get caught while your weapon is sheathed. Although the timing window is short, perhaps more than in earlier Assassin’s Creed games.
Perfect Parry Timing Explained
Here’s the part most players don’t get right: pressing the second the blue flash appears is too early. The flash is just a warning, not when you should press the button. Wait until right before the enemy’s weapon actually connects, then parry.
Locking onto your target (press the right stick) makes this easier to notice, since the camera keeps the attack centered rather than swinging around. If you want the mechanic to feel less like a QTE, you can turn off the blue spark entirely in the HUD settings (in Options > Interface) and just react to the animation instead.
Pro-Tip: There are lots of other juicy settings in Interface, like turning off enemy health bars for a dope, immersive experience. So do try them out.
What You Can’t Parry
Not every attack can be parried. If the enemy’s weapon glows red instead of blue, you have to dodge.
Brutes (large enemies) are the obvious example. Their attacks are always red, so they can never be parried, no matter your timing. Captains are trickier: they carry both a sword and a pistol, and they can block and parry your own attacks back at you. So don’t expect them to drop dead like a regular guard.
There’s one exception, though: Ezio’s swords. These legendary cutlasses let you parry red attacks too.
You Don’t Need to Face the Enemy
Parrying works in every direction, not just head-on. Edward will block an attack coming from the side or behind without having to turn to face it. Just hit the button when you see the flash.
This matters most when you’re boarding ships. Fighting on board crams multiple enemies into tight spaces, and they’ll surround you fast. You can just react to the flashes instead of always changing direction.
Chain Takedowns and Weapon Choice
Check your weapon’s stats in the inventory. Each weapon has a Max Takedowns number in its stats. A standard sword only lets you take down the enemy you parried, plus one more nearby. The Legendary Rapier allows up to three chained takedowns in a row.
A weapon doesn’t need to hit hard to be worth using, either. A weak-looking sword with a high Max Takedowns stat can clear a room faster than a heavy hitter that only chains once.
You also unlock a Hidden Blade takedown early in the main story. If tapping L1 feels inconsistent, try holding it down instead. I read that several players found that fixed their timing completely.
AC Black Flag Resynced Parry Trophies
Two trophies in the game are achieved through parrying. For the first one, you have to Takedown four enemies from a single parry, and for the second one, you have to double parry an Ocelot. Here’s how:
Let Me Explain Trophy
This trophy asks for four takedowns off a single perfect parry. The enemy you parry counts as the first takedown, so you only need three more to chain right after it. Check your weapon’s Max Takedowns stat first; most legendary swords’ Max Takedown is three. In that case, you need to use a sword such as Espada Ancha or the Officer’s Rapier with four maximum takedowns.
Group four regular enemies together and keep them from wandering off. Avoid Brutes and Captains here since their defense can survive the chain even off a perfect parry. Land the perfect parry on the first enemy, and the other three should come pretty easily after that.
Double Tap Trophy
For this trophy, you need to double parry an Ocelot.
Head to Abaco Island, coordinates 586, 805, as this island has many ocelots. You’ll pass through here naturally during the early crafting tutorial, too. Ocelots are usually solo or in pairs, but you only need one.
Lock onto it with the right stick, then parry the blue flash as usual. Ocelots often follow up with a second attack immediately after. Parry that one too, on the same ocelot, and the trophy unlocks.
Why Parry Feels Delayed for Some Players
Check the Black Flag Resynced subreddit, and you’ll find (me and) a split experience there. Some PC players call the parry borderline too easy, landing it almost every time. Plenty of others, especially on console and Steam Deck, swear the game is ignoring their inputs. Same mechanic, different results depending on setup. Something’s not right, right?
I found a few fixes for that: 1. turn on auto lock-on in the settings so the camera tracks your target automatically, 2. hold the parry button instead of tapping it, 3. switch to Performance mode over Balanced. Unfortunately, none of these work for many players!
So here’s my theory: the game may lock you into your own attack animation, so a parry input during your swing doesn’t count until it finishes. This is confirmed by Ubisoft, obviously, so treat it as community troubleshooting, not a guaranteed bug fix.
If you made it this far, you will return to the game as a parry master. Is there anything left to talk about AC Black Flag Resynced Parry? Write them in the comments below.
FAQ
Does difficulty setting affect the parry timing window?
No. Several players tested this directly and found that changing difficulty had zero effect on how forgiving or strict the parry window felt.
Does Parrying Work the Same Against Agile Enemies?
Not quite. Agiles would rather dodge, vault out of range, or counter-parry your own attack than just absorb a hit. You can still parry their attacks like normal, but expect them to duck out or reverse the exchange more often than a standard guard would.
Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced
