Parry -X

[Arkham]

Has any one had any real success with the parry-x styles? It looks to me like once you hit around level 35, you have no hope of using a parry style to any efficacy. I've used it to wind down when the slave is close to exhaustion, but never has it worked in any other purpose. Even at the lower levels if I used parry-x the win came from exhaustion, not well placed hits.

[Dainoji]

Sports are not won with defense regardless of what your high school coach told you. The best you can do is tie, to win you must go offensive at some point. With PoW your only win condition using defense is to make the other guy pass out. In combat sports defense has a few important functions and "winning" with it is not one of them (unless you get a lucky hit and knock the guy out with a counter which can also be done in PoW). Defense will help you get hit less improving your chances of winning once you do go on the offensive, and it will tire the opponent out making it easier for you to "win" once you go offensive. If you only run defensively, your only win condition is to make the opponent lose via exhaustion. You might get some wins using Parry-X on occasion, but really you should view defense as a means to an end and that end is only accomplished by going offensive. You could go offensive early on and then turtle which could result in a bleed out, a pass out, or if you got him low enough your parry-x strikes could take him out, or you could defend early on and then go offensive (tank n' spank) which is likely more of what you see on the sands.

Parry-X has messed me up on numerous occasions, especially against a war gladiator in heavy armor. If my attacks aren't getting absorbed by their armor it is getting blocked by their parries.

[oedi]

i use the parry x frequently on my middle ranked theatrics. Going for a few hits and do some bleed, then going defensive to either win on bleed out or endurance. In the end game i think its next to impossible to win on endurance, so you need to do as dainoji says. You need to go offensive if you want to win.

[crow]

I have used it very successfully with many of my theatrics and war glads. Like any style you have to set your activity level and bloodlust level just right to get the max out of it. Most of my glads have it somewhere in there strategies and has given me many wins in the arena, and not just exhaustion win but offensive wins as well. In fact Alpha II used it to beat the champ the other day.

[Arkham]

I'm glad someone is having success with the style. I've abandoned defense and seem to be the better for it.

[Team Kaos]

It all depends on the build of your gladiator. If your Gladiator is short on Stamina or Strength Parry is not going to work very good for him. Crow's Alpha and Lil Ludis teams are heavily built with stamina with most near or over 100 combined with very strong armor so Parry works well by tiring an opponent out and being able to take advantage of big hits as the opponent gets tired. This has been his molded style for a while now and it works well.

A Parry that ends up becoming tired early is in a world of hurt if facing an offensive opponent.