Belonging to one of FromSoftware’s most beloved titles, Dark Souls III is filled with many builds, magic, and all the weapons you need to win. Most of these weapons are great at doing one thing while not being effective for several others. Even among these specialized weapons, some stand a cut above the rest in parry and riposte.
One would need to separate the good from the bad. Therefore it is a good idea to rank these weapons in different categories so you can choose the very best at a moment’s glance whenever needed. For example, this article will rank the best parry and riposte weapons available in Dark Souls III.
These weapons are judged in terms of their scalability and initial conditions. The best parry and riposte weapons in Dark Souls 3 are the Chaos Dagger, Fire Dagger, Black Knight Greataxe, and Sharp Dagger.
However, we do recommend taking a gander at all the weapons we’ve listed down below! Most of them require some special conditions such as infusions for them to turn into viable weapons in the current meta.
How to Parry and Riposte in Dark Souls 3
Parry and Riposte is an essential gameplay mechanic in Dark Souls 3. If executed at a proper time, a parry can deflect the enemy’s attack and put them in a staggered state. This state can last for a short span of time in which the enemy is vulnerable to a critical attack or Riposte.
There are a total of three various parry types in general:
| Parry Types | General Sources |
| Fast | Katanas |
| Normal | Medium Shields and Curved Swords |
| Special (Long) | Buckler or Target Shields |
It is worth noting that some enemies in the game cannot be parried. In that case, you need to aim for a poise break. Doing so will put them in a staggered state, which can then be riposted for a critical attack. You can riposte an enemy’s attack by approaching them in their staggered states and pressing the Right Weak Attack button.
While certain enemies can be staggered almost instantly, there are certain enemy types that cannot be parried no matter what. The ones that can be instantly parried include:
Enemies
- Pus of Man (if attacked with Fire)
- Great Crab
- Elder Ghru
- Sulyvahn’s Beast
- Ravenous Crystal Lizard
Bosses
- Iudex Gundyr
- Vordt of the Boreal Valley (can’t be parried)
- Curse-rotted Greatwood (can’t be riposted)
- Pontiff Sulyvahn
- Yhorm the Giant (can’t be parried)
- Dancer of the Boreal Valley (can’t be parried)
- Dragonslayer Armour (can’t be riposted)
- Oceiros, the Consumed King (can’t be parried)
- Lorian, Elder Prince (can’t be parried)
- Soul of Cinder (can’t be riposted)
- Champion Gundyr
- King of the Storm/Nameless King
- Gravetender’s Greatwolf
- Father Ariandel (can’t be parried)
- Demon in Pain/Demon from Below/Demon Prince (can’t be parried)
- Slave Knight Gael
- Darkeater Midir (can’t be parried)
Some of the above-mentioned enemies and bosses can still be parried using unconventional means. However, those can be considered as semi-parries or parrying a part of the boss. Experiment with them to see where your sweet spot lies.
Best Parry and Riposte Weapons in Dark Souls III
A parry and riposte can be a critical assets in times of need. Certain weapons parry better than others. Most of these include daggers because of their fast speed and high critical damage.
While parry and riposte can be applied by almost every weapon in the game, it is worth noting that some weapons are not as potent as others. Here are some of the strongest parry and riposte weapons to play in Dark Souls III.
1. Chaos Dagger
The Chaos Dagger has long been considered a subpar weapon. With its tiny stature and low stat requirement, many players were beginning to forget its existence. That all has changed due to an item. This overhaul is something to take notice of since it breathes new life to this weapon.
All it takes is a Hornet Ring, and Chaos Dagger’s power becomes borderline broken. Your enemies’ health bars will melt like butter if you have the parry timings noted down. The Chaos Dagger is such an effective weapon that players have begun to rage quit when seeing this weapon in PvP matches.
An example of this was found on the official Dark Souls 3 Subreddit:
“Ashen one, I get it. You’re the elite of the elite, the coolest around. Your skill level knows no bounds, and these pathetic opponents are so predictable. I don’t ask you to stop putting easy chumps in their place or to take off your beautiful prized ring. I just ask if you can find it in your heart to find some other weapon to riposte with and stop leaning so much on that dagger in your pocket.
Because others might start to think you’re compensating for something.”
Players aren’t very fond of playing against this weapon.
2. Fire Dagger
The Fire Dagger also ranks higher with its insane, pure physical build synergy. The fire dagger can virtually beat almost all daggers in a 40/40. The riposte and backstab damage make this weapon extremely strong in most cases.
What matters for infusion is how much AR a weapon has, and a Fire Dagger can top most heavy or refined daggers in this regard. Here are the stats for Fire Dagger at different levels:
 Fire Variation | Attack Values | Parameter Bonus | Damage Reduction | |||||||||
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Fire Dagger (Green Titanite Shard ×1) | 72 | – | 72 | – | – | – | – | – | 45 | 10 | 30.0 | 30 |
| Fire Dagger +1 (Green Titanite Shard ×1) | 78 | – | 78 | – | – | – | – | – | 45 | 10 | 30.3 | 30 |
| Fire Dagger +2 (Green Titanite Shard ×1) | 84 | – | 84 | – | – | – | – | – | 45 | 10 | 30.6 | 30 |
| Fire Dagger +3 (Green Titanite Shard ×2) | 89 | – | 89 | – | – | – | – | – | 45 | 10 | 30.9 | 30 |
| Fire Dagger +4 (Green Titanite Shard ×2) | 95 | – | 95 | – | – | – | – | – | 45 | 10 | 31.2 | 30 |
| Fire Dagger +5 (Green Titanite Shard ×3) | 100 | – | 100 | – | – | – | – | – | 45 | 10 | 31.5 | 30 |
| Fire Dagger +6 (Red Titanite Chunk ×1) | 107 | – | 107 | – | – | – | – | – | 45 | 10 | 31.8 | 30 |
| Fire Dagger +7 (Red Titanite Chunk ×1) | 114 | – | 114 | – | – | – | – | – | 45 | 10 | 32.1 | 30 |
| Fire Dagger +8 (Red Titanite Chunk ×2) | 120 | – | 120 | – | – | – | – | – | 45 | 10 | 32.4 | 30 |
| Fire Dagger +9 (Red Titanite Chunk ×3) | 127 | – | 127 | – | – | – | – | – | 45 | 10 | 32.7 | 30 |
| Fire Dagger +10 (Red Titanite Slab ×1) | 134 | – | 134 | – | – | – | – | – | 45 | 10 | 33.0 | 30 |
3. Black Knight Greataxe
The Black Knight Greataxe is the most unique of all great axes in Dark Souls III. This weapon cannot be buffed or infused, which might seem like a disadvantage, but the raw stats do a good job of eliminating that. It also possesses a skill called Warcry. This skill can boost attack in general, along with enabling a special consecutive strong attack.
The Black Knight Greataxe can provide a lot of parry and riposte damage if used with the Hornet Ring. If used with a 40 Dex + 40 Strength build, the Black Knight Greataxe can be valuable in vanquishing your foes.
The unique attacks of this Greataxe are great at reducing enemy poise and can deal 20% bonus damage against Demons. Here are the enemies that are affected by this passive:
- Demon
- Demon Cleric
- Old Demon King
- Demon In Pain & Demon From Below
- Demon Prince
This weapon is a drop from Black Knights wielding a Greataxe.
4. Sharp Dagger
The Sharp Dagger is another great infusion on the dagger class. Due to the daggers having the highest critical stat out of all weapons, they are generally great for a riposte. The Sharp Dagger works like bread and butter with DEX and refined builds. Even a plain, ordinary dagger can become an S Tier weapon when infused with the sharp gem.
Here is the complete stat list for the Sharp Dagger at all levels:
| Attack Values Bonus | Parameter Bonus | Auxiliary Effects | Damage Reduction (%) | |||||||||||||||
| Name |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Sharp | 61 | – | – | – | – | E | A | – | – | – | – | – | 35 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 15 |
| Sharp +1 | 67 | – | – | – | – | E | A | – | – | – | – | – | 35 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 15 |
| Sharp +2 | 73 | – | – | – | – | E | A | – | – | – | – | – | 35 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 15 |
| Sharp +3 | 79 | – | – | – | – | E | A | – | – | – | – | – | 35 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 15 |
| Sharp +4 | 85 | – | – | – | – | E | S | – | – | – | – | – | 35 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 15 |
| Sharp +5 | 91 | – | – | – | – | E | S | – | – | – | – | – | 35 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 15 |
| Sharp +6 | 96 | – | – | – | – | E | S | – | – | – | – | – | 35 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 15 |
| Sharp +7 | 102 | – | – | – | – | E | S | – | – | – | – | – | 35 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 16 |
| Sharp +8 | 108 | – | – | – | – | E | S | – | – | – | – | – | 35 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 16 |
| Sharp +9 | 114 | – | – | – | – | E | S | – | – | – | – | – | 35 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 16 |
| Sharp +10 | 120 | – | – | – | – | E | S | – | – | – | – | – | 35 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 16 |
That’s it for Dark Souls III’s best parry and riposte weapons. The weapons listed here are extremely strong on their correct builds but might not perform as well on substandard customization.
You need perfect timing to pull our parries and ripostes, so try to practice more if you find yourself lacking in this regard. With that said, try these weapons in your Dark Souls III runs, and let us know how they feel in the comments below.
Note: All tables are courtesy of the Dark Souls III Wiki