If you want to survive the dangerous, supervillain-filled world of Marvel’s Avengers then you’ll need to do more than mash that attack buttons. Similar to other action games, playable characters can parry or dodge attacks during combat. While you can certainly just spam light and heavy attacks in a lot of the earlier encounters, some enemies are much similar to deal with if you can parry. Keep in mind, how you parry will be slightly different for each of the six playable characters. Because of this, if you plan on using more than just one Avenger, you’ll want to practice parrying in the H.A.R.M. Room.
Here’s a breakdown of how to parry and dodge attacks.
How to Parry
You can parry attacks on all characters by hitting the right trigger before an enemy lands a blow. Any attack that can be parried will have either a blue or yellow aura around the enemy. This is sometimes shown offscreen by a circular icon to indicate that a foe is launching a strike behind you. Right before the enemy’s attack connects, you’ll want to hit the trigger to cause your hero to strike the enemy away. Doing so will briefly stun them, giving you a chance to land a few strikes in or start a combo. Remember if the indicator for the attack is red, you cannot parry that move so you’ll need to dodge.
Remember, what your parry move actually does entirely depends on which character you’re playing. For example, Kamala will just grow large, dodge the attack, and gain a small damage boost while Black Widow hurtles to the parried enemy with a grappling hook. Additionally, you can unlock follow-up attacks for when you parry enemy moves for each of these heroes. So if I am playing Captain America and unlock the Counterstrike skill, I can do a follow-up attack after a successful parry.
How to Dodge
Dodging is a little different than parrying as you won’t stun an enemy, but you can open up another avenue for attacks. To dodge, hit B (Xbox One)/Circle (PS4) right before an enemy’s attack hits you to trigger a brief period of slow-motion so you can hit back. Remember, you aren’t stunning the foe you dodge, so you’ll sometimes need to dodge multiple times before you can attack. You can also double-tap the dodge button to dash/roll away, which is extra helpful for not getting hit by big AoE (Area of Effect) moves.
Just like parrying, many of the heroes have moves tied to their dodge button. Iron Man can dodge and then perform a quick ranged attack to give himself more space from combatants. I recommend dodging when you are surrounded by enemies, as parrying can leave your back exposed to other foes. Remember, you can also dodge in the air if you are using Iron Man or Thor, so keep an eye out for when missiles are rocketing towards you.
Marvel’s Avengers is live for Deluxe Edition users and will be officially released on September 4 for everyone else on Xbox One, PC, and PS4.
