Street Fighter 6 introduced the Drive System, a new way for players to manage their resources letting them spend it however they wanted. One of the most useful ways to utilize it is by learning how to parry in Street Fighter 6.
Parry in Street Fighter 6, also known as Drive Parry, is a strong defensive mechanic that will allow you to replenish your Drive Gauge while leaving you in a more advantageous position than if you were simply to block incoming attacks.
Let's quickly explain what are the benefits of the parry mechanic in Street Fighter 6 and why you should be looking to implement it into your gameplan as much as you can.
How to parry in Street Fighter 6
To parry incoming attacks, you need to hold down both your Medium Kick and Medium Punch buttons at the same time if you're playing on Classic controls. For Modern users, simply press the button you've assigned as your Drive Parry.
You can keep holding your parry until your Drive Gauge depletes. However, if you block incoming attacks the gauge will replenish considerably.
When should you use parry in SF6?
Parrying is a great way to deal with projectiles at a safe distance. Many zoner characters, like Guile, or shotos like Ryu or Ken will likely try to control space using their fireballs, blocking them will slowly chip away at your Drive Gauge so parrying is the best option here.
Holding down the parry will also let you gain access to Drive Rush from neutral. We have a dedicated guide for you to perform this technique so check it out!
How to perfect parry in Street Fighter 6
There's a bit more nuance than simply avoiding your Drive Gauge to be chipped away by constant blocking. There is also a perfect parry that you can perform, albeit it is slightly harder.
Rather than holding down the button, you have to parry at the exact time you're about to get hit by an incoming attack. This will slow down time and a flashy blue paint splash effect will indicate you've successfully executed a perfect parry.
You can try and go for damage here. Just don't spend too many resources since whatever punish you try to perform will come with serious damage scaling, making a simple confirm the best option to continue applying pressure after a knockdown.
What are the disadvantages of parry in Street Fighter 6?
Parry is not a perfect escape tool naturally. Abusing parry might make you predictable and susceptible to all sorts of throw attacks, including normal and command grabs.
Furthermore, if an opponent gets the read on you as you input parry near them, you'll be stuck in a lengthy 29-frame recovery period with no option but to wait for them to mess up their combo.
We hope this guide helped you understand how Drive Parry works in Street Fighter 6. You can also check out some essential SF6 beginner tips right here.