How to Guard Counter in Elden Ring Nightreign

Elden Ring Nightreign carries across many of the mechanics that made Elden Ring great. This includes its multiple forms of dealing with incoming attacks, and the guard counter system that made many heavy weapons builds especially dangerous.

Knowing how to use Guard Counter effectively in Elden Ring Nightreign will make your experience much smoother, especially when using shields and playing as characters like the Guardian or Executor, whose playstyles rely heavily on guarding against attacks rather than evasion.

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By Ayyoun Ali

How to Guard Counter in Elden Ring Nightreign

The Guard Counter is a simple yet effective method of striking back at foes after blocking a hit with your shield or a suitably sturdy weapon. To perform a guard counter, you just need to press the attack button right after blocking an attack. The timing for this is pretty generous, and you'll hear an audio cue when you perform it correctly as your character hits back at their opponent.

Guard Counter attacks typically deal more stance damage than light attacks, and at least as much stance damage as a weapon's heavy attacks would, but are easier to land and come out a little faster. This makes it a fantastic way of stance-breaking enemies, leaving them vulnerable to a critical attack for massive damage (and triggering any passive effects that are activated by critical hits). While all characters can perform Guard Counter attacks, the Guardian and Executor are especially well suited to using them.

The Guardian is a defensively-focused character with high stamina, who begins each expedition with a greatshield, which is ideal for performing Guard Counters since you lose less stamina when blocking attacks with greatshields compared to all other shield types. Paired with their high strength, they can dish out a lot of damage and stance damage with a Guard Counter, and building around doing so can prove very effective.

The Executor uses a special "deflection" mechanic with their Cursed Katana, with successful deflections gradually revealing the sealed blade and unlocking a powerful lunging attack. You can perform a Guard Counter after a successful deflection as long as your timing is good, allowing the Executor to apply extra damage and stance damage while fighting defensively with their unique weapon, so it's definitely worth considering any equipment or relic effect that empowers guard counters when playing the Executor.

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