Defense in Dueling Grounds is three different buttons-worth of timing on one key, plus a dodge.
Parry, block, and dodge
On the default PC layout, tap F during the attacker's windup, before the hit connects. A successful parry breaks part of the guard and opens a punish. Holding F blocks. A September 10, 2026 first-duel guide says a block cuts the damage of that hit to zero and still drains posture. A broken posture bar leaves you open, and blocking gets weaker as hits land. Dodge, on Q or Shift, has a wider timing window than parry and can chain into a dash attack. Guides call dodge the safer option while you are still learning.
Spamming parry shrinks the active window and lengthens recovery. Light attacks are the way to start pressure. Heavies are slower, useful to finish a string or to hit a held guard, and easy to parry if you repeat them.
Community frame counts
These counts are community timing at 60 frames per second from September 2026 write-ups. They are not an official patch note.
An ordered timing note pairs the three parry windows like this:
- First parry: 14 frames active (0.233 seconds), then 6 frames recovery (0.1 seconds).
- Second parry: 10 frames active (0.167 seconds), then 12 frames recovery (0.2 seconds).
- Third parry: 8 frames active (0.133 seconds), then 18 frames recovery (0.3 seconds).
The September 10, 2026 first-duel table lists the same active windows, 8, 10, and 14, and the same recovery windows, 6, 12, and 18, without pairing them in that order. A July 3, 2026 season page says the parry system remained at 14/10/8 frames. Dodge in the timing note is 20 frames active (0.333 seconds) and 4 frames recovery (0.067 seconds).
Ultimates and strings
The ultimate is R. A red ability bar is visible on you and on the opponent. It fills during the fight, faster when you deal damage and when you parry. The September 10 guide says an ultimate can strip up to 80 percent of a health bar, is easy to block or dodge, and is more reliable after a Finisher while the opponent is stunned. Use the 80 percent figure as that guide's number. Do not treat the ultimate as a one-hit kill.
The same guide gives two example strings. Katana and Naginata: light, light, light, heavy, into a Finisher. Dual Daggers: light, heavy, heavy, heavy, into a Finisher. If the last hit breaks the guard, a Finisher can fire on its own. Other strings exist. Jump-attack value is disputed: one guide lists extra damage from the air, and a November 3, 2025 creator called jump hits overpowered. That creator line is not a rule.
Ground-slam ultimate details and heavy dodge-cancel feints still appear on single July 2026 pages and stay out of this guide.
An August 25, 2026 comparison of six weapons and an October 4, 2026 weapons page both describe super armor on the Naginata heavy, a double-hit pattern on Dual Daggers, and a Kusarigama heavy that reaches farther than the startup suggests. The August page also gives the Warhammer a movement penalty. October 4 pages say a dash resets the parry cooldown. The September timing note above describes shrinking windows and does not mention a dash reset. No patch note confirms either account. Tap F on the windup until you can see the behavior in a match.
Weapon prices and the Early Access conflict are in weapon prices. Default keys are in controls.