How To Dodge-Roll - In-Depth Beginner Guide - Elden Ring

In this video, I break down the key concepts you need to understand to dodge attacks consistently in Elden Ring, and explain how to avoid a couple of the traps I fell into when I started my Souls journey.
If you would like to support the channel, you can do so at: www.paypal.me/thingfishy
As always, thanks for watching!

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Hey peeps. Should have mentioned in the vid, but I don’t think there is any right or wrong way to press the buttons or hold the controller! Only giving you my experience on what worked for me, in the hope that it might work for you too. Thanks for watching!

[@lucalucb]

But what if you play with claw grip? Big fan tho

[@lasselen9448]

My technic (these rare times I feel like doing it AND think of dodging, as my instinct is to block or walk away rather than dodge) is to quickly slide my thumb across the button. This way it's impossible to keep the button pressed. However, certain attacks require you to run away rather than roll (Alecto, I'm glaring at you) and NOT keeping the button pressed long enough will kill you in such instances. It would be too simple otherwise.

[@dominiccasts]

@@pjbottoms73 I did a similar thing with Square and O. Tried X O swap at first but it made running really uncomfortable, while Square is the most comfortable, and also lets me easily move the right stick around right before dodging.

[@alanthe2]

I think there’s a lot to be said for panic rolling. Think about it: If you don’t know what you’re going to do next, how will your enemy? It’s the ultimate strategy.

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Dammit! I’m deleting the video. Real pro strats there! 😂 Thanks for watching, Alan!

[@okonkwojones]

Not gonna lie: many times I’ve gotten myself trapped under staircases, physically unable to move or even turn my camera as a really aggressive enemy face hugs me. And the only way I’ve ever been able to save myself is by panic rolling.

[@rytramprophet843]

LOL. this is funny. but in reallity, since the dawn of gaming, button reading has been closely tied to game difficulty. This means that bosses and such know that you are gonna do because they are reading the buttons you are pressing and react to those presses faster than you can.

[@jeremiahscott2032]

Lowkey panic rolling let me beat Godrick on my first try😂😂😂😂😂

[@perplexedon9834]

Another really important tip is experimenting with roll direction. A lot of the time rolling away from the enemy will leave you in the line of the enemy's next attack before you can roll again, whereas if you try rolling into the enemy, you'll dodge it. A lot of the best roll directions are unintuitive if this is your first souls game.

[@kokorochacarero8003]

A good rule of thumb is to always dodge into the attack, on the direction the swing is comming from. Except when it's a downward swing or multi-hit poke. Then your best bet is rolling to the side. But I feel like that rule is in heavy need of some asterisks when it comes to Elden Ring. I still need to properly figure out jumps as an tool.

[@PICTVS]

Wow, the bit about a dodge only registering when you release the button was a real eye opener for me. Suddenly it makes sense why dodging felt more delayed during some fights than during others, since it was mostly me just pressing the button at a different rate depending on the enemy . Looking forward to see how these tips impact my gameplay in the future. Great video as always!

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Thanks, Wiski. Glad you found it helpful. Let me know how you get on! Thanks for watching!

[@theFriendlyGhst]

I've got over 100 hours in each souls game and I'm just finding this out 😂

[@dero4378]

The dodging IS still delayed, compared to older souls games, no matter how quick you can release the button, so it will still demand a little estimation when the right timing is, but I'm sure knowing this, helps anyways.

[@kevinburk5224]

I’ve been noticing that recently myself I thought I was going crazy about only dodging when I release the button not on the initial press

[@okonkwojones]

@@dero4378 yeah, I feel like the input delay for the roll release is noticeably longer than in DS3, and I feel like it’s also inconsistent, as I’ve also noticed when using the quick pouch: it’s sometimes stumbles and even though the hud changes, I still end up putting away my shield or switching through spells instead of drinking my flask or calling my horse.

[@BeamSplashX]

i'd mention the other aspect of dodging that people forget all the time: it's best to dodge into attacks if you can manage it, instead of away from them, especially since dodging away from big enemies keeps you in their range while moving them out of your range

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Definitely! It’s hard to give blanket directional advice without having a particular enemy in mind, but into or sideways is usually safer than away. Thanks for watching!

[@cowboyjosh]

That's really good advice. I'm playing a melee character but something in me still wants to roll away with every dodge, especially when I take a hit and get into panic mode. Especially with humungous bosses, it seems like often the safest place is between their legs.

[@lxnny2357]

Agreed here. This made my dodge success better. I find that I don't get punished on the roll as much when I roll into the enemy. Though, it's scarier with unfamiliar enemies, because the roll catches are sometimes done by drawn out combos that I feel you just can't be in the enemy's airspace for. I'm looking at you margit... 👀

[@ckchatta369]

What if its a pack of demon dogs 🐩 you roll into the middle of them 3 as they eat you alive? Ill try side ways more

[@billmaru]

This is my first "Souls" type game and I have enjoyed all 130+ hours so far. I am proud to say that it has taught me patience and it is incredibly rewarding. Your videos are very well made and easy to understand. Thank you!

[@MrBenAttenborough]

"The dodge roll happens when you RELEASE the button" After completing Dark Souls and Bloodborne and having got 90 hours into Elden Ring, you've just blown my mind. Well played sir.

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Haha, glad it wasn’t just me who took a while to realise. Thanks for watching!

[@BigChiken44]

Same, but it makes perfect sense) because same button is used for sprint, so the game has no way of knowing if you want to dodge or sprint until you release it

[@thebulletkin8393]

@@ThingfishyGaming this has killed me so many times, I need to sort of mentally prepare early in order to dodge, I can’t just reflexively press space because of that second long delay

[@adenrius]

Soul veteran here with around 2000 hours in all From Software games. I watched this video out of curiosity and was like "meh I'm not going to learn anything", but your advices about the controller are brillant. I unsure if I'm going to use them since I'm way too used to play with my finger always on the roll button, but I'm sure it'd be great for beginners.

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Thanks, Aden. That’s awesome! Glad there’s a little something for everyone. Thanks for watching!

[@serbero9]

I'm what could be called a "souls veteran" and I agree these are some really good tips. Looking at the arm of the enemies instead of the weapon is really useful for dodging - and parrying, too.

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Thanks for watching!

[@E8144EOE]

Something you probably could also mention about i-frames is how rolling into a swing minimizes the amount of time you spend in contact with the hitbox, as opposed to rolling with a swing which may cause you to still be in contact with the hitbox when your i-frames run out. I don't know how prevalent this is in elden ring though.

[@domesticcat1725]

This is great advice that i rarely see. I guess more people need to play Bloodborne

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Most definitely. Gonna do some further videos on this subject in the future, and this is particularly important for quite a few attacks in Elden Ring. Thanks for watching!

[@garrick3727]

I'm not a massively experienced Soulsborne player, but in Elden Ring I decided to go all out light load claw/fist build. Starting as a wretch, I was shirtless until nearly level 70 because there is so little light armor (that doesn't look like ass) in the game early on. This means a complete reliance on dodging. My boss fights are either terrible or relatively easy simply based on how "on" I am with the dodging. Sometimes I'll really struggle with a boss, and as I get frustrated I get worse. Then, I'll get the right focus and take almost no damage. I am by no means an expert, but what I am training myself to do is not panic roll, and to roll towards the boss not away. It took me 50 hours of play to get my controller keys mapped in a way that works for me, and I ended up with dodge being the right trigger. I'm not convinced that is the best mapping, although requiring a trigger press helps prevent accidental panic rolling. Rolling into the enemy seems unintuitive, but I am constantly amazed about how little damage I take versus trying to get away and getting roll caught. Obviously, using short range weapons it's much more useful to stay close to the enemy anyway. To give an example, all the mounted enemies are hard to hit for short range weapon users, but if I roll into the horse, the enemy often stops dead and tries to hit me with a horse rear or weapon swing. If I roll into the horse again as they swing, I take no damage and they do not move away. As an added plus, some enemies you end up backstabbing if you roll and stay close. To roll catch the people that roll into the enemy, FromSoft has some bosses that do AOE strikes, usually magical in nature. For those you have to double/triple roll to get out of the area. Another thing that helped me is to map the lock-on to the left button, so I can quickly turn lock off and on. If you want to get away from a boss, turning off the lock often helps, and you can use turning on the lock as a way to do a quick 180 to make an attack. Since I started instinctively switching the lock on and off I have greatly improved. If you leave the lock on you will often do a kind of tangential dodge which leaves you open to a roll catch. However, rolling with the lock on is useful for rolling into attacks (while invincible) and getting behind enemies. Ultimately I find if I stick to one defensive option I do a lot better. If I try to parry, I am much better at parrying but worse at rolling. If I focus on rolling my parries suck. I ended up ditching the shield except for the big knights because I find them much easier to parry than to roll from. One final thing: The main way I get hit is that I try to strike the enemy one more time rather than rolling. With fast weapons it is very easy to over-commit to combo hits, and that gets me killed more than anything else. I'm teaching myself to hit twice and then roll, even if it seems like there is time for one more hit.

[@Braindouchedotnet]

I meant to comment this on your last tutorial, but these hands-up demos are unbelievably helpful for understanding the timing, thank you!

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Glad it helps, Meredith! Will try to include it as much as I can in future guides! Thanks for watching!

[@tonystaton4613]

I cannot express to you how much this has helped me. First souls game and it feels like I can actually start playing now 🙏

[@The-Bloke]

Excellent video, thank you. As others have said, I love the hand cam - that's really informative. Your tip about holding the controller differently could be transformative for a panic roller like myself. Continuing with this series, I'd love to hear your thoughts on locking on vs not locking on for various bosses and enemies (do you always lock on except against the huge enemies?), and tips on how to hit without getting hit - one of my biggest problems, as I usually find it very hard to hit without always getting one or two hits back in return, probably because I panic spam the attack almost as much as I panic roll. Also very much looking forward to part 5 of the parry guide, and a look at the frame data. Other videos have shown frame data for lots of parry combos, but only in a vacuum without considering how they actually work in practice against enemies and comparing hitboxes etc. Thanks again for the great content!

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Thanks Bloke. Glad you found it useful. How to hit without getting it is the next video I have in mind for this series. Will definitely make one on lock ons at some point too. Part 5 is in the works but I’m only going to make it when I feel it is completely conclusive. It’s not quite there yet. Thanks for watching!

[@bcal5962]

I am definitely at the "panic roll" stage. God this is a rough learning curve. I just got to this game after laying Sekiro for the last 6 months and its a rough learning curve.

[@ThingfishyGaming]

It’ll get better BCal. Just have to really concentrate on it. Try keep your thumb as far away from the dodge button as you can! Thanks for watching!

[@craigheartwell5142]

Your videos are SO helpful. I get to learn some "basic" mechanics all over again which I find really fun and challenging (in a good, self-improving way). Thanks so much - please keep it up where opportunity permits (changes in patches or DLC or other fun games). P.S. I found all of these great videos after I am 90% of the way done with first play through, so I can see exactly the errors I've been making and have slowly been doing better - now I will do so much better and I will use NG+ to perfect the timing, coordination and overall mechanics strategy.

[@jenoVaswIItness]

This was SO helpful. I recently picked this game back up having not played in like a year. I will definitely need to practice this but it all makes so much sense and explains why sometimes I felt like my dodges weren’t helping me out at ALL!

[@visigothsloth4819]

This is the simplest and best technique Elden video I have seen. I am not naturally good at "fighty-McFighty" stuff, so I need every trick in the book for this game. THANK YOU!

[@narcotezn.c6248]

even as someone who's familiar with souls games, I've always learned something new from watching your videos, you've just earned a sub good sir!

[@Terk_]

Another quality video, loving the content and tutorials. These have greatly helped my gameplay. I always wondered why my roll would sometimes not register and now i know why.

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Thanks, Terk. Glad you’re enjoying the channel and happy it’s helping! Thanks for watching!

[@Shurmash]

Thank you so much for making this video. I was studying I frames and all that data but this is actually really good information. You're basically talkin about retraining your muscle memory. We get conditioned to panic roll and usually it leads to your early demise. Really appreciate it.

[@__popped__]

This is actually a really great video. I kept doing all these mistakes but when I tried your methods, I could feel myself getting better at the game bit by bit. Thanks for the amazing advice and keep up the good work👍

[@l0n3w0lfx]

Best tutorial EVER that helped me get better at gaming on Elden Ring. And this is my first soulslike game, and I am loving the process of evolving! Thanks mate!

[@bernhardbadenhorst3325]

slappin’ da bass loving your videos man! keep it up!

[@zangy3748]

Definitely an extremely important thing to fresh up upon before the DLC drops, so thank you for this.

[@gregbrown3082]

Thanks for this. This game has been excruciating. It’s not having to read enemies. I loved Sekiro for that. Instead what’s crushing me is the unnaturally slow attacks (or unnaturally fast attacks). It’s like, yeah… if we design a boss to punish your every button press… we can absolutely troll every single player. …erm… good job, guys, I guess. You really got me! Roll catching, the game. God forbid we work to develop some actual interesting combat. 😔

[@CounterpartJack]

I'm a 52-yr old casual gamer with the reflexes of a sludge, in part due to cancer treatment frying out my CNS, but your "how not to get hit" video was a game-changer, and so is this one. I'm afraid my hardware is too old and worn down for even the basic eye-hand coordination needed to parry, but I'll keep trying. I'm sure God-tier gamers appreciate you, but at least one of the rest of us do to :D

[@pcerritos]

Play on fellow Geezer!!

[@CounterpartJack]

@@pcerritos 🤣

[@yaboye1967]

THIS!!!! After taking a break and coming back after watching this video Ive improved dramatically thank you dude I might actually beat my first souls game (fingers crossed) lol

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Glad to hear it helped, Yaboy! Let me know how you get on. Thanks for watching!

[@tactical_slime4608]

Very helpful coming from sekiro (At the final boss rn) but getting into elden ring I was completely destroyed by the first real boss.

[@JDoggPokepixels]

After 300 hours i finally learned how to dodge

[@VinnyB77]

Would be cool to see a dodge guides in some different enemy types at least. Such as when going against fast v slow enemies and or human v giant/monster sized enemies

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Yeah I’m definitely going to do some in the future, Vinny. Certainly all the main bosses! Thanks for watching!

[@kokorochacarero8003]

Specially the gigantic bloodborne abominations that have 15 simultaneously moving parts, all of them twitching and twisting in different directions all the time. I never seem to really know what limb those type of creatures are going to hit me with. It's like fighting a rattlesnake that has multiple rattles and they're all RGB lit

[@rustyblt92]

Everything here really helps me although I can't play until the weekend, but my biggest problem was the panic rolling thing, every time I knew something was about to attack, I started rolling constantly every time, and also my grip was off place with my thumb so I can tell that although I didn't try it yet, the grip you showed me will help

[@TheFlipFlopFatality]

While this video is obviously about your personal experience. I can't help but feel personally called out when you went through the button inputs section. That... Is exactly what I do, and why do it. Damn it man. You got me! I never really thought about the dodge happening when you release the button. It's really obvious when you think about it, I just never did. That one piece of info, combined with the description of slapping the dodge button is a huge game changer!

[@ThingfishyGaming]

So glad you found it helpful! It’s nice to know I’m not the only one! Thanks for watching!

[@michaelphines1]

This changed everything for me! Thank you.

[@dero4378]

"Don't panic" is actually a great tipp for this and also every other souls game.

[@mohmmed1665]

Well there is something that I'd like to add although it's late in the game and the video cycle ... But i think the advice for roll cathing can be talked about more what i mean is ... There are in my opinion two types of attacks in the game ... Lighting fast attacks with almost no windup and normal attack with normal windup for the actuall attack .. i think personally the reason why i roll preemptively is because if the lighting fast attacks .. i always imagine then and the only way to roll out of thim is to guess and expect them coming therefore pressing early ... But your advice works like a charm for the second type of attacks that has a windup that you can notice ... Also i think your advice is way more consistent as being able to dodge 100% of the normal attacks is better than 50% of the fast ones

[@juliofoolio2982]

So simple, so incisive and helpful. Everyone should watch this.

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Thanks Julio. Glad you liked the vid! Thanks for watching!

[@thecoloradokid5418]

Hey, I've been watching all of your content as it posted since I got the game, and these are amazing tutorials. Your parrying ones have helped me more than anything else I've seen, and I already know this is going to help me with the dodging aspect with the different grip and hand tip(I never thought to apply that to normal dodging, so thank you). I've been through BB and ds3 but I never really "got good", I had someone with me the whole way through those games and it hindered my learning I think. These guides have already helped so much and I hope you keep going, there's stuff in each of them for everyone, even people with prior from soft experience. So thank you, keep up the amazing work, I'm glad I could come across your content when you started and subscribe early, this channel should go places

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Thank you so much! Im really glad you’re finding the channel helpful. Certainly much more to come! Thanks for watching!

[@thecoloradokid5418]

@@ThingfishyGaming this channel has been amazing for the more base gameplay for the "git gud" aspect of these games, I could never find anything like this for the other two I've played, so this is really refreshing and I look forward to seeing what you put out in the future :)

[@UltraGinormous]

This was super helpful, thank you for making this video!!!

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Glad you found it useful, Ultra. Thanks for watching!

[@colonelvector]

Thank you for this. I was having problems with delayed rolls to the degree that i was looking into if my equipment weight was too high. had no idea it was based on when the button was released

[@paullemay6596]

Very insightful, thank you

[@flaude5067]

Im just here to say thank you so very much because the information in the video changed my play style and i beat Godrick because of it and i think i can finally move forward dying a bit less than before

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Thanks, Flaude! So happy that you found the video useful! Congrats on your Goddrick defeat! Thanks for the message and thanks for watching!

[@lebigmac74]

Excellent video, very helpful!

[@lordjay8261]

This Is a lovely video. Thanks to your advice I will become an Invincible warrior.

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Thanks for watching Ap-Jay!

[@battlebossfalacy]

Thanks bro! My homies linked me to your video. As a guy with 800hrs in elden ring and 800 years experience in all souls games. Your tips really helped thanks a lot

[@morganlynn6581]

Thank you! This helped so much

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Glad you found it helpful, Morgan. Thanks for watching!

[@ryankoopacanada]

I know it’s a year late but tyvm for the vid bud. Just started my journey in ER (I’m going to a cleric type build) and this really helped :D

[@alangardiner6924]

Definitely going to try the tap method. Having awful trouble, getting battered when rolling. New to the old Souls. Just finished Lies of P, loved it.. played it again straight away loved it. This is a totally different animal though from my fresh eyes on these types of games.

[@MaclaneBlock]

First time playing any of these kind of games im starting elden ring and man o man ya’ll are different. Thanks boss this helped me out actually. I think i just need reps and practice

[@paulanderson3772]

Nice work. Thank you.

[@chefroxstarr9467]

Great video. I have rune farmed and gotten to level 170 in this game. I have beaten a lot of bosses but the fact is I depend on summons, tonics, ashes of war, and Torrent for most of them. I have been stuck in the Alteus Plateau and Caelid because I'm afraid to make my way to the Erdtree and the Mountaintop of Giants because I get killed all the time by enemies that should be a lot easier at this point. The reason being is I suck at dodging. This video really helped me look at dodging differently. As with most of the comments, that bit about releasing the dodge button and then tapping it rather than resting my finger on it is going to help. I will still die a lot I'm sure but now I'm going to approach fights as an opportunity to train and improve. I'll finish them game soon enough now.

[@walruss106]

holy crap. The "roll actually happens on release" explains so much - namely why I sometimes press the roll button and am frustrated when nothing happens.

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Haha, yep! Your dodging should be a lot more consistent now. Thanks for watching!

[@chromaticfrog7407]

this makes me want to play the game on my fightstick now. great guide.

[@ayla-40]

Oh my god, right after watching this I tried it out and already I was dodging leagues better than I have been the whole time I’ve been playing!! Thank you!

[@ThingfishyGaming]

So glad it helped, Ayala. Thanks for watching!

[@ratchetandclankACIT]

I noticed not having my thumb on the right stick felt unnatural only because all the games I play prior were fps and third person shooters like remnant, I enjoyed playing them on hard difficulties as it gave me challenges but seeing the target lock mechanism and not matter where I moved I stayed facing the boss. But when I decided to go souls born games I noticed that I was a child. The hardest thing to date was the dodging mechanics but after watching this video I now feel confident I should be right I’ve only beaten margit so far in the process of getting bloodhound fang my mates highly recommended it for my early game.

[@mistressminerva3382]

LOL ... im a Veteran to these games ... but i generally suck at them ... and now i know why ... thanks man , thanks to this video i learned something and have improved. Keep up the good work! ^^

[@walkingchopsticks6731]

I just got into Elden aRing recently as my first Souls Like and this video helped so much! I was wondering why my dodges were so delayed, I’ll practice not spamming/holding it down

[@spoderman5466]

Tysm I’m a new player to Darksouls and the tree sentinel has been getting on my nerves but you allowed me to kill it Thanks!

[@nitotech]

You just described my play experience. Im gonna go back and download the game again.

[@JasonkmLi]

This is the video I needed. Fighting some bosses, my parries actually have a higher succes rate than my dodges, especially vs the bell bearing hunter.

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Thanks for watching Jlin! Let me know how you get on!

[@rodeocowboy6046]

I have always been so bad at Panic rolling like I'm normally not a person to panic but for some reason in Elden ring and only Elden ring do I panic roll this is going to help big time I'm going to go home tonight and practice

[@chrisgrui1993]

Great one! I got another tip: check your tv settings. I had bad input lagg. But the tv on gaming mode and turn off ALL things that inprove image quality. One more. Use a cable with your controller. After I done these things I could finnaly parry.

[@btdubsss2766]

There’s no way that I can like and thank this video so that it’s enough!

[@brettkoran5532]

Thank you for the info and for phrasing it in a way that actually makes sense! Asking for tips about souls games is 95% of the time going to net you a 'get gud' rather than an actually intelligent and/or helpful response. I played DS3 and Bloodborne and didn't have nearly as much trouble as I seem to be having with Elden Ring. Hopefully taking these tips into account will mitigate my saltiness..

[@Calithilhel]

Holding the thumb away from the button is intriguing advice, I knew to tap the button quickly but I'm gonna try that to see if it helps me roll more deliberately.

[@bruucunha]

ngl, when I first saw the video title I thought it was some meme vid [just press circle, duh]. I’m humbled by how much effort you put into explain the most basic souls mechanic. Dodging complexity is very often overlooked (speaking for myself here)

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Thanks for this message, Bruno. I remember actually having second thoughts on posting this one, thinking the comments section would be filled with “Yeah… Obviously…” comments. But seeing people find it useful even though they’re experienced with the games has been really cool! Thanks for watching!

[@yaner763]

Great video, I will try it out tomorrow :D it already helped me only seeing this, subed aswell ;p

[@CitAllHearItAll]

Sweet Vid. Essential for newcomers and OP users who want to get to the next level. I'm finally to the point where trying to 'git gud' is more fun than being OP. It took me a playthrough and a half. But now I'm bored grinding for gear, hunting down talismans, and cheesing for runes. I want to dominate this game. I want to become comfortable with dying and trying again.

[@davidtsmith33]

Thank you. Wish I'd seen this months ago. Will still put to use though.

[@Gwyndoll]

When I recommend Elden Ring youtubers to friends, three immediately come to mind. Vaatividya, Scott Jund, and Thingfishy. I mean that as the highest compliment, keep doing what you're doing ✊

[@ThingfishyGaming]

This is astonishingly high praise that I am thoroughly undeserving of! Really glad you’re enjoying the channel! Thanks for watching!

[@furb246]

I REALLY think the game would be improved by moving sprint away from the roll button. I think if they made sprint the same button as jump it would just be much better. You need to jump so much less in fights, and holding the jump button to run still wouldn't stop you from sprint jumping if they just made the sprint animation last a split second after you let go, so you could let go and quickly tap again to jump. I can't tell you how many rolls I've missed because my reaction time is just slightly too slow to be accurate on button up timing, but WOULD have dodged if it were inputted at button down. As an aside, if you're on a DualSense 5 controller, I HIGHLY recommend getting the eXtremeRate RISE4 back button attachment kit. Opening up a controller yourself can be a little intimidating, but It's honestly fairly easy to install due to how clear and concise their KZbin installation guide is, and really just feels like a part of the controller after a few hours of use. You no longer have to claw grip in order to use the camera and roll. I can't imagine playing a Souls game (or really any game) without it anymore.

[@Tiegen.Reibin]

brother this was a great video thank you

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Thanks, Tiegen. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@daysgone2997]

just started playing elden ring and i suck at soils games, i will try this strategy, thanks for the tips

[@Sonisoon]

Hated this game because of how bad I was this video changed everything! Thank you great video

[@dragonchr15]

I improved instantly by following this advice. Takes a bit getting used to. Cheers.

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Really glad you found it helpful, SD. Thanks for watching!

[@dragonchr15]

@@ThingfishyGaming only issue i see now is that it is tough to break the habit since the same button sprints and we spend just as much time wandering on Torrent and thus hold the sprint button.

[@ThingfishyGaming]

@@dragonchr15 If your finding that to be a problem, try just hitting sprint every so often when you’re on Torrent. You don’t gain speed by holding it, so giving it a slap every 10 seconds is easier on the hands and means you don’t have claw grip or hold it constantly. Hope that helps!

[@joshsblee]

These are honestly pretty good tips

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Glad it helped, Josh! Thanks for watching!

[@jeremy6604]

Thanks for the video, I want to enjoy Elden Rin and I think this video will help

[@sanjayw9878]

that arm tip was good, gonna try again

[@kokorochacarero8003]

I didn't expect to find this video so interesting I've never even thought about how I physically hold the controller. I had to hop into the game and make a conscious effort to gain awarenes of how my fingers are possitioned and where they default to after actions. Turns out my thumb flicks back to the right stick after button presses, and when I'm "mentally queuing actions" it hovers over the right side, just slightly above the buttons. I also realized my trigger posture is weird. My indexes rest on the bumpers (R1, R2) while my middle fingers hide behind the triggers (R2, L2), slightly touching their under side almost like holding them up. They hop onto the triggers in anticipation to incoming parries/heavies but after the action/chain of actions they return to the "under the trigger" possition. I tried resting my fingers on top of the triggers, but it just feels too "tense" and inprecise. It's so weird actually paying attention to the stuff your body nornally does on its own. We should do some studies on controller posture.

[@ThingfishyGaming]

It’s super interesting, isn’t it? I’m fascinated by this sort of stuff. I have a day job where my hand dexterity is super important. So whenever I game, I’m always thinking about ways of being more efficient and reducing strain. That’s how I figured out this stuff. Thanks for watching as always, Kokoro!

[@sshian328]

omg new to soul game, this is very useful. love it!!

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Really glad you found it useful. You’ll probably also enjoy another video I did called How Not To Get Hit. Aimed at new souls players too. Hope you’re enjoying Elden Ring! Thanks for watching!

[@noodle9572]

Good video I am 200 hours in and nearly done with the game but I have always sucked at the rolls.

[@ddampac]

Wonderful, thanks a lot

[@checkvelvetcheck]

This is so helpful

[@hoteckkan]

This is fascinating. I've been playing Souls games with paddle controllers for a long time - I've the right paddle (middle/ring finger) set to dodge in every game. The paddles have minimal travel and reset, so that entirely sidestepped the problem.

[@ThingfishyGaming]

So in the last few months before the PS5 came out, I was doing exactly the same thing with the DualShock back button attachment. Worked really well and also made sense have the parry reflexes on the same hand as dodge. Always wondered if the O button dodges were a little more accurate because of years of reflexes though. Then the PS5 & DualSense came out with no button and solved that dilemma for me! Thanks for watching!

[@taidashar7]

Great video, I’ve played pretty much all the souls games and somehow have totally overlooked that dodge is on release and I feel dumb. Makes sense why I hit the button and didn’t dodge, I was still depressing circle. So dumb.

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Haha, glad I’m not alone on that one! Thanks for watching!

[@keatonpedersen]

U rebuilt me, thank you very much.😊

[@that1guy200x]

you sir are appreciated

[@Dramatello]

Thanks! Would you say a mechanical keyboard makes it all the more harder to dodge roll? I mean, now that I know it's about releasing the button rather than pressing it - can only assume a mechanical keypress is longer due to longer travel till its pressed. I'm thinking of going back to use my Controller. Although it was only with my K&M that I managed to kill the Fell Omen.

[@matthewlee2424]

Thanks man. Just found you and you have another sub. Im a Brit sitting in the warm spring sun of East Sussex - your accent doesnt sound too far off this neck of the woods. But Ive been wrong about that stuff many times! I am really impressed how quickly you have built this channel. Gives me some hope. What would you say was your secret to starting it up to fast?

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Thanks for subbing Matthew. Glad you’re enjoying the channel. Not too far at all. I’m just outside London. I’m down in East Sussex a lot, because I have family there. Beautiful part of the world! Haha, I wish I knew the secret myself so I could keep doing it! All I try to do is make content that a younger and less experienced version of me would have found helpful. I struggled so much with these games (and still do), so now I make the videos I really could have used then. Good luck with your channel!

[@EdH447]

Great vid! Wish I'd come across this earlier.......

[@DevinJuularValentine]

Honestly your parry video helped me dodge better once I was like wow... Yes... The arm!

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Makes a big difference, doesn’t it! So glad it helped. Thanks for watching!

[@anticontraband]

i find watching the feet of a boss helps me time roll catch moves

[@Musaddique_MMALI]

Damn this video is so good

[@vadimlutskov500]

You are right. I have fast reflex and make roll up very early. I have understanding my error and do it once again. With bad result :) (Sorry for English. 40 years without practice)

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Yeah, it’s really easy to do, Vadim. Especially with enemies specifically designed to make you! Your English is fine! Thanks for watching!

[@alancarlosmadamba8081]

Damn that is why I get roll catches. And I thought that the dodge input was in the press not in the release. Probably got used to fighting games. But I did not have a hard time with Nameless King with DS3 and had hard time dodging with Elden Ring.

[@WaylonFlinn]

Very helpful

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Thanks for watching!

[@Fascisticide]

Knowing that ennemy attacks are meant to trick you into rolling at the wrong moment will certainly help me with a better understanding of what they are doing

[@olanallen9627]

great video

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Thanks for watching!

[@glb1993]

I play holding my controllers using the claw style of play in other words for those who don't know what that means it's essentially using my right pointer finger for all my button presses and my middle finger for the right bumper and trigger presses, which leaves my thumb on my control stick at all times allowing my to control my camera freely at all times :).

[@cowboy4187]

Does that hurt your hand? I feel like I will quickly go into this grip while playing elden ring so I can swing the camera while sprinting and be ready to attack if I need to, but it seems painful to always have your hand like that

[@glb1993]

@@cowboy4187 no it actually doesn't, however I started doing the claw controller play style many years ago when I was about 14 *I'm 29 now* and at first my hand would cramp and hurt a bit. But I did get quickly use to it since I kept practicing with it and it feels completely natural to me now :). My brother is the one who taught me the claw style and I tried learning it myself and I'm very glad I did it's very useful ^_^.

[@TheUnum]

As someone who suck at melee this video was just as brilliant as the parrying one.

[@ThingfishyGaming]

Glad you found it useful, Unum! Thanks for watching!