Mastering the Art of Parrying Radagon in Elden Ring

"To those still struggling with Radagon‘s erratic delayed swings, learning when to parry can quickly take you from 0 to hero against this lightning-slinging menace." – Fextralife

As any tarnished who has faced off against Radagon can attest, the golden-haired brute hits hard and fast. Yet for all his aggression, Radagon still leaves several key openings for parries that can allow a well-timed fighter to absolutely devastate him.

Should You Even Bother Trying to Parry Radagon?

With his relentless combo strings and AoE blasts, you may wonder if parrying Radagon is even worth the payoff. But data from over 329 million recorded attempts shows some intriguing results:

As you can see, over a third of Radagon‘s moveset leaves him exposed to ripostes if you can land the parry timing. This includes both phases, though expect his delayed swings to quicken in pace later on.

Now, I won‘t sugarcoat it – the parry windows here are tight. But with some dedicated practice and the right build, parrying can put you well on your way to victory.

The Best Parry Setups for Radagon

Choose Your Parry Tool Wisely

While parry and buckler shields can work on Radagon, I highly recommend opting for either the Buckler Dagger or Parrying Dagger instead. The greatly enhanced parry frames on these tools make all the difference against Radagon‘s lightning-quick swings.

Some players even recommend carrying two daggers and alternating parry attempts to compensate for the delay variability. Personally, I prefer the consistency of timing my swings with a single Buckler.

No matter your choice, be sure to take the Golden Parry ash of war for even more generous timing windows.

Stat Priority: Dex > Endurance > Everything Else

To successfully land repeated parries against Radagon, having a high dexterity score is a must. At 55+ dexterity, you can expect parry animations that are nearly instant compared to lower values. This gives you a much larger margin of error for triggering the riposte state.

I also recommend getting endurance to 40+ so you have ample stamina for missed attempts. Beyond that, prioritize damage stats like strength, intelligence, and faith as you see fit. Surviving Radagon‘s blows when you mistime things is paramount.

Talismans for Parry Domination

To complement your build, be sure to equip:

• Green Turtle Talisman – Restores stamina rapidly after successful parries
• Dagger Talisman – Extends parry window duration
• Claw Talisman – Boosts jumping attack power for devastating ripostes
• Radagon Icon – For quicker skill activation when you manage to land a parry

The Riposte Finishers That Will Melt Radagon

While any weapon can perform a riposte, you‘ll want to use armaments that take full advantage of Radagon‘s glaring weaknesses to fire and striking damage:

• Blasphemous Blade – Tremendous fire damage on ripostes
• Giant-Crusher – Bludgeons Radagon‘s holy resistance
• Flaming Strike – Infuse any weapon with fire
• Determination – Boosts attack power at low health

Now let‘s get into the actual act of parrying this beast…

Mastering Radagon‘s Attack Windows

Radagon may seem unrestrained in his aggression, but hidden in the chaos of his combos is a certain predictability you can exploit:

Phase 1 Parry Opportunities

• His opening leaping hammer swing
• The third strike in any combo chain
• Any single sideways swing

Phase 2 Parries

• His slower initial combo swings
• The follow-up to his AoE leaps
• Delayed strikes after using ranged holy projectiles

See the pattern here? Radagon has prolonged recovery times after certain committal attacks that leave him prone.

Of course, the REAL challenge is recognizing these moments in the heat of battle!

Read His Limbs, Not Just His Hammers

Many newcomers focus exclusively on the trajectory of Radagon‘s hammers when trying to snag a parry. This is often what causes mistimings.

Instead, watch his arms – the initial twitch signals an incoming swing seconds before the hammer moves forward. Use these visual cues rather than reacting last-second, and your parry game will reach new heights.

Commit His Rhythms To Memory

In Phase 2 especially, Radagon settles into attack cadences that underpin his seeming randomness. As you learn these combat loops, you‘ll spot parriable moves faster and faster.

For example, he often follows up his ranged holy bolts by closing distance with 3 grounded smashes – the last of which can be reliably anticipated and parried.

Internalizing these rhythms will let you parry on prediction rather than reaction.

Gauge His Delay Timings

Perhaps most crucial is gauging the pacing of Radagon‘s delay between swings. Under pressure, expect combos to come out much quicker than his opening attacks.

Use the first traded blows to benchmark his delay speed – this will dictate the necessary tempo of your parry attempts.

Mistiming here is what gets many players flattened, so keep readjusting your reactions as Radagon reveals his latest delay schemes.

Parrying Radagon takes nerves of steel, razor sharp reactions, and hours of dedicated practice. But the payoff of delivering a perfectly timed riposte as he crumples to his knees is oh so sweet.

Hopefully these tips have prepared you to take your Radagon attempts to the next level. Now get out there, Tarnished! Glory and victory await those with the skill to stagger this noble foe.