Parry, Dodge & Execution Guide

Silver Palace's combat revolves around a tight loop: you parry attacks, break enemy posture, land executions, and chain into Tactical Assaults on character swaps. Master this loop and you can clear content far above your level, because the system rewards reading enemy animations and pressing the right defensive button at the right moment far more than it rewards raw stats. This is action combat with a rhythm, not a stat check.

This guide breaks down every piece of that loop in order: the timing-based parry system, the dodge and Perfect Dodge mechanics, the Stun gauge and Executions that fall out of good defense, and the Reactor Energy and Tactical Assault chain that ties your whole team together, boosted along the way by Silverdrip. Wherever the wording matters, it comes straight from beta gameplay and official materials rather than guesswork, so treat the finer numbers as accurate to what testers saw rather than final live values.

If you are still assembling a roster, pair this with the Combat Styles & Identities guide to understand which characters bring which tools, and the Tier List for where they currently land. The combat loop here also feeds directly into the Resonance system, so the two are worth reading together.

Silvernia's combat received a full overhaul in the official "The Science of All Things: Combat Edition" reveal, which confirmed the parry, execution, and character-swap mechanics covered below and introduced a beginner-friendly Casual Mode. The clips throughout this guide are taken from that official reveal.

Quick Answer

Combat in Silver Palace is built on a single chain: Parry → Stun → Execution → Silverdrip → Reactor Energy → Tactical Assault → Repeat. You parry incoming attacks with a quick tap (not a hold), which deflects damage and fills the enemy's Stun gauge. When that gauge empties, the enemy is staggered and open to an Execution finisher that deals massive damage, buffs your whole party, and charges Silverdrip, which accelerates your Reactor Energy gain. Once Reactor Energy has at least one bar, swap to a fresh character to launch a Tactical Assault that triggers their Catalyst attribute, and the cycle begins again.

When an attack can't be parried (grabs, big area-of-effect moves, anything with a red-glow indicator) you Dodge instead, and a well-timed Perfect Dodge slows time for a free counterattack. The whole game is alternating between parry and dodge based on what the enemy is doing, then cashing out the Stun gauge into Executions and Tactical Assaults.

Parry System

Parrying is the foundation of Silver Palace combat, and the single most important thing to understand is that it is a timed button press, not a hold. You press the parry key (E on PC) and release quickly. Holding the button down will not extend the window or improve your odds. As gameplay analyst Steparu put it after testing, "The parrying is actually not a hold button. It's a few seconds... I don't think it's like other games where you can hold it." That distinction trips up players coming from games where you raise a shield and wait, because here you are timing a tap to the moment of impact instead.

The window is brief, so you parry slightly before the attack lands. Every enemy attack has a wind-up animation, and your job is to read that wind-up and press at the right beat. A successful parry deflects the attack, prevents all damage, and fills the enemy's Stun gauge significantly, which is what makes parry the aggressive, offense-building choice rather than a purely defensive one. A failed parry, on the other hand, results in knockback and damage, leaving you briefly staggered and vulnerable. The penalty for guessing wrong is real, which is exactly why learning enemy animations pays off.

Not every parry is the same. A Standard Parry is your bread-and-butter: it deflects the attack and builds Stun gauge. A Perfect Parry requires frame-perfect timing and rewards it: it deflects the attack, triggers additional effects depending on the enemy, and builds more Stun. And against some bosses you will face a Multi-Hit Parry, where the enemy chains several attacks and each hit must be parried individually, one after another, "parry, parry, parry, parry" in sequence until the combo ends.

Parrying a beast enemy's strike in the official Combat Edition footage. The official materials note that a yellow tell appears as the enemy winds up, marking the parry window.

Dodge & Perfect Dodge

Parry handles most of what enemies throw at you, but not everything can be parried, and that is where dodging comes in. A Standard Dodge avoids all damage during the dodge animation and repositions you, letting you slip through or away from attacks. It does have a cooldown, so you can't spam it indefinitely. Its best uses are the situations parry can't cover: unblockable attacks, area-of-effect attacks, and any time you simply need to move.

The Perfect Dodge is the payoff for precise timing. Dodge just as an attack is about to hit and time slows momentarily, creating a slow-motion window that opens up a counterattack while enemies are crawling. It is the defensive answer to high-stakes moments, boss attacks and high-damage moves you can't parry, and getting the timing right turns a defensive panic button into an offensive opening.

Knowing which to reach for is most of the skill. Parry is the aggressive choice because it builds Stun and leads to Executions, so it is your default against standard attacks. Dodge is the defensive option, reserved for attacks that can't be parried: grab attacks, massive AoE, and the red-glow indicators that telegraph unblockable moves. A good player alternates between the two based on what the enemy is doing rather than committing to one habit.

Your Attack Toolkit

Parry and dodge are the defensive half. These are the offensive actions every character kit is written in, and they show up by name on every character page.

Two of these are easy to confuse. A Pursuit Attack follows a normal dash; a Counter Attack follows a Perfect Dodge. They are different openers with different damage, and a kit that lists a named Pursuit Attack is describing the dash version.

The Charged Attack chaining detail is worth internalising, because it changes combo routing. A Basic Attack after Cinderella's Charged Attack performs the third hit of her chain, not the first, so opening with a Charged Attack skips you into the back half of the chain rather than costing you tempo.

Every term here is defined in the glossary.

Stamina Management

The Dichotomy build added a resource layer that the first beta did not have. Elementa now describes the combat loop as revolving around dodging, parrying, stamina management and stun buildup, and stamina is the pillar that changes how the other three feel.

The reason it matters is simple: defensive actions now cost something. In a system where dodging is free, the optimal play against anything frightening is to roll until the danger passes. Put a resource behind it and that stops working. You have to decide which attacks are worth spending on and which ones you should be parrying instead, which is exactly the decision the parry system was built to create and could not fully enforce on its own.

In practice this pushes you toward parry as the default and dodge as the exception. Parry costs timing rather than stamina, and it feeds the Stun gauge instead of draining a bar. Dodge is what you spend when an attack cannot be parried. A player who treats dodge as a panic button will run dry mid-fight and eat the hit they were trying to avoid.

Three habits help:

• Parry the parryable. Every yellow telegraph you dodge instead of parrying is stamina spent and Stun not built.
• Do not chain dodges. Rolling twice to create distance costs double and usually achieves what one well-timed Perfect Dodge would have.
• Read the phase, not the attack. Bosses with long aggressive sequences are where stamina runs out. Bank it going into them.

If you are finding the resource pressure unforgiving, Casual Mode's time dilation and hit prompts (covered further down) exist precisely for this, alongside the combat-assist options Elementa added for the Dichotomy test.

Stun Gauge & Execution

Everything you do on defense feeds the Stun gauge, and the Stun gauge is what unlocks your biggest damage. The loop runs in four beats. First, you attack and parry to build Stun, which drains the enemy's Stun gauge. Second, once that gauge is empty the enemy is staggered and vulnerable, and an Execution prompt appears. Third, you land the Execution for massive damage, a party buff, and a Silverdrip charge. Fourth, you repeat, and that Silverdrip charge goes on to speed up your Reactor Energy gain, fueling a Tactical Assault on your next character swap.

The Stun gauge itself sits underneath the enemy's HP bar so you can track it at a glance. It drains as you build Stun through damage, parries and skills, and when it is empty the enemy becomes staggered and vulnerable. The Stun Buildup Bonus stat multiplies how much Stun your attacks apply, so it is the stat that gets you to an Execution faster. Be aware that some enemies, particularly bosses, have stagger-resistant phases where the gauge is harder to move, so you can't always force a stagger on your schedule.

The Execution is the reward for emptying that gauge. It is triggered when the enemy's Stun gauge is fully depleted, and it deals massive bonus damage, the highest single-hit in your rotation. On top of that raw damage it grants a party-wide damage boost and charges Silverdrip, which accelerates your Reactor Energy gain and fuels your next Tactical Assault. Each character has unique execution animations, so the finisher also doubles as one of the more satisfying visual payoffs in the game.

In the official Combat Edition materials, the brief vulnerability an enemy suffers right after an Execution has an official name: a Weakened State. It is a short window where the enemy cannot fight back at full strength, so treat it as your cue to pile on unrelenting attacks before it recovers.

An Execution finisher connecting once the enemy's Stun gauge is emptied, from the official Combat Edition reveal.

Each character also carries their own ability gauge behind the E-key Skill. Skills in Silver Palace have no cooldown at all. They run on a resource unique to that character, accumulated by the attacks tied to their Basic Attack Talent, so uptime is a question of how much you attack rather than how long you wait. That gauge charges independently of the Stun bar and the shared Reactor Energy and Silverdrip system. Unlike that shared meter, this gauge is powered by a resource unique to each character rather than one shared name: Lorin's is Street Smarts, Rex's is Rage, and Firtho's is her own Silverdrip supply, distinct from the shared mechanic that boosts Reactor Energy. Think of it as the resource that funds the skill button while Reactor Energy funds the swap.

A character's E-key ability gauge shown fully charged, separate from the Stun bar and the shared Reactor Energy meter above it.

The Complete Combat Loop

Once the individual pieces click, they assemble into one continuous rotation: Parry → Stun → Execution → Silverdrip → Reactor Energy → Tactical Assault → Repeat. You parry attacks to fill the Stun gauge, land an Execution when it empties, charge Silverdrip from that Execution, let Silverdrip speed your Reactor Energy up, and then swap characters to spend a bar of Reactor Energy on a Tactical Assault. The whole thing is designed to keep you cycling through your team rather than parking on a single damage dealer.

The optimal rotation looks like this in practice. Start with your main DPS, dealing damage and parrying enemy attacks to build the enemy's Stun gauge. When the Stun triggers, land the Execution for massive damage plus a Silverdrip charge that pushes Reactor Energy up. Once Reactor Energy has at least one bar, immediately swap to your next character: the Tactical Assault triggers automatically on the incoming unit, and that Tactical Assault triggers their Catalyst attribute, which might be a buff, a heal, a shield, or Reactor Attribute damage. Then you repeat the cycle with the new character on the field.

A few advanced habits separate good players from great ones. Ability charge regens off-field, so you can swap a character out to let their charge refill, then swap them back in later to spend it. You also manage buffs and debuffs simultaneously, since the Catalyst effects from Tactical Assault stack with the buffs an Execution provides, so timing them together multiplies your damage. Spend your Reactor Energy bars at the right moment rather than dumping them on low-health enemies who are about to die anyway. And lean on character-specific finishers: on PC, F uses the finisher, right-click delivers a shield bash to build the gauge, and then you finisher again. For more on how swap-driven team play scales up, the Resonance guide goes deeper on team synergies.

Synchronised Combat

The Combat Edition reveal put an official name to the swap layer that powers the loop above: Synchronised Combat. When a character performs a Charged Attack or unleashes a Charged Skill, switching to another character leaves the outgoing character on the field until their current action finishes. Timed well, that lets multiple characters attack at the same time, so you can overlap a charged skill with a fresh character's opener and combine their effects for damage a single active unit cannot reach on its own.

In practice, this rewards you for swapping mid-animation rather than waiting for an action to end. Fire off a charged skill, swap while it is still resolving, and the new character can start their own attack over the top of it, stacking two characters' output in the same moment.

Two characters attacking at once during Synchronised Combat, from the official Combat Edition reveal.

Casual Mode

Not every Detective wants to drill parry windows and stun bars, and the Combat Edition update accounts for that with an official Casual Mode for a more relaxed experience. Repeatedly clicking the left mouse button triggers a variety of stylish combos with no precise timing required, so newcomers can take down formidable foes while they learn the flow.

Casual Mode also adds two safety nets: it enables a Time Dilation effect and shows a prompt whenever your character is about to be hit, giving first-time players room to react calmly instead of eating punishes. Think of it as training wheels you can leave on as long as you like, then switch off once the parry and execution rhythm clicks.

Casual Mode combat against the boss "The Devourer Glutton," with the click-combo prompts on screen, from the official Combat Edition reveal.

Quick Combat Tips

If you take nothing else away, anchor on a handful of rules that hold true across every fight. They are simple, but each one corrects a common mistake that costs new players runs.

Parry is a tap, not a hold: press the parry button briefly, because holding it won't work, and while the window is generous it is not infinite. Perfect Dodge slows time, so a well-timed dodge creates a slow-motion window you can use to reposition or counterattack. Execution equals free Silverdrip: landing one charges Silverdrip, speeds up your Reactor Energy gain, and hands your whole party a damage boost. And above all, read enemy animations: every attack has a wind-up, and learning those visual cues is what lets you time your parries and dodges instead of guessing.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the parry system work in Silver Palace?

Parry is a timed button press (press and release quickly, NOT hold). Press the parry button when an enemy attack is about to land. A successful parry deflects the attack, prevents damage, and fills the enemy's Stun gauge. The window is brief: parry slightly before the attack connects for best results.

What is the difference between Parry and Dodge?

Parry deflects attacks and builds Stun gauge, making it the aggressive choice. Dodge avoids damage entirely and can trigger a Perfect Dodge (slow-motion window) for counterattacks. Use Parry against standard attacks; save Dodge for unblockable or area-of-effect attacks that can't be parried.

How does stamina work in Silver Palace combat?

Stamina is the resource behind your defensive actions, and Elementa lists stamina management alongside dodging, parrying and stun buildup as a core pillar of the Dichotomy combat loop. Because dodging costs stamina and parrying does not, the system pushes you to parry anything parryable and save dodges for unblockable and area-of-effect attacks.

How do Executions work?

When an enemy's Stun gauge is fully depleted, they become vulnerable to an Execution, a powerful finisher move. Executions grant a significant damage boost to your entire party and charge up Silverdrip, which in turn accelerates your Reactor Energy gain. Each character has unique execution animations.

What is Reactor Energy, and what does Silverdrip do now?

Reactor Energy is the Roman-numeral counter (I, II, III) displayed around your Reactor (between HP and Skill bars). It fills from attacking enemies in general, and Silverdrip, built separately from Executions and parries, accelerates how fast it climbs. Each bar of Reactor Energy is one Tactical Assault charge: when you swap characters, the incoming character performs a powerful Tactical Assault and triggers their Catalyst attribute.

Which characters are best at parrying?

Characters with melee weapons like the Detective (sword) and Argos (cane gun) excel at parrying because their armament reaches fast. Characters like Alf (flamethrower maid) have slower parry timing and may struggle with the mechanic. There is no weapon-type system gating this; the gating axis in Silver Palace is Identity, which decides which Motives a character can equip.

What is Synchronised Combat in Silver Palace?

Synchronised Combat lets multiple characters act at once. When a character uses a Charged Attack or Charged Skill, swapping to another character keeps the outgoing character on the field until their action finishes, so you can overlap skills and combine their effects for extra damage.

What is Casual Mode in Silver Palace?

Casual Mode is a relaxed combat option from the official Combat Edition update. Repeatedly clicking the left mouse button triggers stylish combos with no precise timing, and it adds a Time Dilation effect plus an incoming-hit prompt so new players can react calmly while learning.

Combat in Silver Palace rewards players who stop treating parry and dodge as panic buttons and start treating them as the engine of their offense. Read the wind-up, parry to build Stun, dodge what you can't parry, cash the gauge into an Execution, charge Silverdrip, and ride your Reactor Energy into a Tactical Assault on your next swap. From here, the Reactor Energy & Tactical Assault deep-dive covers the swap layer in detail, and the Tier List helps you pick the characters who make the whole loop sing.