Can You Guard Counter Godrick in Elden Ring? A Comprehensive Guide
Yes, you absolutely can guard counter Godrick in Elden Ring. This powerful mechanic, essential for success against many challenging foes, is particularly effective against the Grafted King. Understanding how to properly execute a guard counter is crucial to making the fight more manageable, offering a solid method to break his posture and deal significant damage. Let’s delve into the specifics of how to use this technique against Godrick and answer some frequently asked questions about this crucial aspect of combat in Elden Ring.
How to Guard Counter Godrick
The guard counter is a direct response to an enemy’s attack after blocking it with your shield. Here’s the breakdown for execution against Godrick:
- Shield Up: As you anticipate one of Godrick’s attacks, raise your shield using the left shoulder button (L1 or LB).
- Block the Hit: Allow the attack to make contact with your shield. Your stamina bar will take damage from the blocked hit, but avoid panic.
- Immediate Counter: The moment the attack is blocked, and without waiting too long, press the right trigger (R2 or RT). This initiates the guard counter attack.
It’s vital to perform the counter attack immediately after a successful block; otherwise, the window closes. Guard countering is not a parry, so precise timing for the block itself isn’t required. Focus on blocking, and then quickly countering.
Against Godrick, guard counters are most effective during his melee attacks, which often leave him vulnerable after he strikes your shield. This allows you to interrupt his combos and consistently chip away at his health and posture.
Why Guard Counters are Effective Against Godrick
Godrick is a formidable foe with large, sweeping attacks. Guard countering is a critical strategy because:
- Posture Breaking: Consistent guard counters contribute to rapidly breaking Godrick’s posture, opening him up for a critical hit. This is one of the most effective melee strategies against him.
- Damage Output: While the damage from a guard counter itself may not be massive, it is additional damage on top of your regular attacks, providing a consistent output and chipping away at his health.
- Momentum Control: Guard countering allows you to seize the initiative in the fight. By disrupting his attacks, you can often prevent him from stringing together his longer, more dangerous combos.
- Stamina Management: While you will lose stamina when blocking, proper timing of guard counters will minimize the downtime from blocking, keeping your attacks flowing.
Guard Counter vs. Other Combat Strategies Against Godrick
Guard countering is best used in conjunction with other strategies. Here’s a brief comparison:
- Dodging: Dodging is essential, particularly for avoiding Godrick’s more erratic AoE attacks, such as his rolling tornado maneuver. However, relying solely on dodging can be difficult for newer players and doesn’t capitalize on posture breaking like guard countering.
- Jumping Attacks: Jumping attacks are effective for dealing posture damage and interrupting Godrick but can be risky due to their predictability and slower animation.
- Bleed: While Bleed damage is very strong against Godrick, it requires specific weapons and builds. Guard counter is a viable strategy for most builds.
- Spirit Summons/NPCs: Calling on Nepheli Loux or a spirit summon provides valuable distractions. However, these allies do not eliminate the need for good combat techniques.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What weapons are best for guard countering against Godrick?
Straight Swords are generally considered the best weapon class for guard counters due to their speed and versatility. However, many weapon types can effectively guard counter, so choosing a weapon you’re comfortable with is crucial.
2. How does guard boost affect guard countering?
Guard boost, found on shields, reduces the amount of stamina depleted when blocking an attack. A higher guard boost means your shield can absorb more hits with less stamina loss, allowing for more frequent and safer guard counters. The Fingerprint Stone Shield offers the highest guard boost in the game, but many other good shields can be useful for guard countering.
3. Does parrying help with guard countering?
No, parrying is separate from guard countering. While both involve blocking, parrying requires precise timing with your shield and leaves the enemy vulnerable for a critical riposte. Guard countering involves blocking and then quickly following with an attack, but the timing of the block is less crucial.
4. Can I guard counter all of Godrick’s attacks?
While you can attempt to guard counter any of his melee attacks, some are easier to react to than others. Focus on guard countering his slower, more deliberate swings, and dodge the faster ones, the AoE, and the wind gusts.
5. What is Godrick’s weakness?
Godrick is weak to Bleed and Poison damage. He also appears to be resistant to Fire damage in phase two.
6. What should I do before fighting Godrick?
Level up to between level 30-40, explore Stormveil Castle to collect items, and maybe find and talk to Nepheli Loux.
7. Can I summon help for the Godrick fight?
Yes, you can summon Nepheli Loux from outside the boss arena and use spirit summons for additional support.
8. Is it possible to skip Godrick?
Yes, Godrick can be skipped by taking the shortcut to Liurnia.
9. How do I dodge Godrick’s wind attacks?
Godrick will often dig his axe into the ground before sending out two gusts of wind. Dodge to the side as he attacks to avoid getting knocked down and damaged.
10. How do I dodge the rolling attack of Godrick?
Godrick rolls around the arena and ends in a slam, roll through the slam at the end for a good opening to attack him, before backing off.
11. Is Godrick the easiest main boss?
Godrick is one of the easier story bosses, although he is significantly more difficult than any other foe in Stormveil Castle, so the experience can be variable to the player.
12. What rewards do I get for defeating Godrick?
You’ll get a large amount of Runes, the Remembrance of the Grafted, and Godrick’s Great Rune.
13. What can I do with Godrick’s Remembrance?
You can convert the Remembrance into either the Axe of Godrick or the Grafted Dragon, or consume it for 20,000 runes.
14. Can you only guard counter with a shield?
Yes, Guard countering requires the use of a shield. You cannot guard counter with bare hands or when using a weapon without a shield.
15. Is Margit harder than Godrick?
Yes, Margit is generally considered to be harder than Godrick due to his faster attacks and unpredictable patterns.
Conclusion
Guard countering is a fantastic strategy against Godrick, but it isn’t a magic bullet. It requires understanding the timing, knowing your shield’s properties, and having a solid weapon for the counter. Incorporating guard counters with dodging, jumping attacks, and the assistance of summons, is key to taking down the Grafted King and progressing in Elden Ring. This mechanic is worth mastering not only for the Godrick battle but for many other challenges in the game.