UO Parrying Skill Guide
Parrying increases your chance to block attacks when using a shield or (with Bushido) a two-handed weapon. It is vital for defensive builds and works best when combined with high Dexterity and defensive skills.
Parrying is a defense skill in Ultima Online, rated as Easy difficulty to train. This guide walks you through everything you need to raise Parrying from 0 to grandmaster, including the most efficient training methods, the targets and items to use at each skill range, and the gains you can expect along the way. Whether you are building your first character or optimizing a finished template, the breakdown below will help you train Parrying as quickly and cheaply as possible.
Below you will find an overview of what Parrying does, a step-by-step training guide, recommended skill ranges, any bonuses Parrying provides, and the templates that pair well with it. If you would rather skip the grind, UO King can deliver a ready-made character or the gear you need to support a Parrying build on your shard.
Parrying is the defensive skill that lets a character fully block incoming attacks. It is evaluated in combat alongside Bushido to decide whether a strike is stopped outright. You can parry melee and archery attacks while holding a shield or a melee weapon, and a successful parry causes the attacker to miss entirely. Blocking a special move also spares the attacker's Mana, since the move fails to land. One important caveat: when you defend with a shield, the Bushido skill actually reduces your chance to block.
Parrying gains occur when you are attacked while holding a shield or two-handed weapon (with Bushido).
| Skill Range | Training Method |
|---|---|
| 0.0 – 30.0 | Train from Fighter NPC |
| 30.0 – 70.0 | Spar with a low-damage monster (skeletons, mongbats) |
| 70.0 – 100.0 | Spar against higher-damage monsters (trolls, ettins) |
| 100.0 – 120.0 | Farm endgame mobs while actively parrying attacks |
0.0 – 30.0
30.0 – 70.0
70.0 – 100.0
100.0 – 120.0
Your block chance depends on what you are holding, your Parrying and Bushido levels, and your Dexterity:
- Shields give the highest raw block chance; one- and two-handed weapons block less but let Bushido work in your favor.
- Reaching 100 in Parrying or Bushido adds a flat 5% to the block chance.
- Low Dexterity penalizes blocking: below 80 Dex, a modifier of (80 − Dexterity) / 100 is subtracted from your chance.
Block chance is derived from a set of formulas. For a shield, the chance is (Parrying − Bushido) / 4, floored at 0. For weapon blocking without a shield, the game takes the higher of a "new" formula that factors in Bushido and a "legacy" formula based on Parrying alone. The final chance is then scaled down by the Dexterity modifier when Dex is under 80. The table below shows representative shield and melee-weapon block chances at several Parrying levels.
| Parrying | Block Chance with Shield | Block Chance with Melee Weapon |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 1% | 0% |
| 25 | 6% | 3% |
| 50 | 12% | 6% |
| 75 | 18% | 9% |
| 100 | 30% | 17% |
| 120 | 35% | 20% |
Formulas: Shield = (Parrying − Bushido) / 4. One-handed weapon (no shield): higher of (Parrying × 10) × (Bushido × 10) / 48000 or (Parrying × 10) / 80. Two-handed weapon: higher of (Parrying × 10) × (Bushido × 10) / 41140 or (Parrying × 10) / 80. Add 5% if Parrying or Bushido is 100+. Final chance = base × (1 − Dexterity modifier).