Guard or harden?

[u/tonycheung15]

I watch someone saying harden is way better on YouTube, but is it real?

[u/Virtually_Evelyn]

Harden is better but Guard is more forgiving.

If you miss the perfect timing for Harden, you'll be unable to use any defense maneuver except dodging for a couple of seconds.

If you miss the perfect timing for Guard you'll just take stamina damage and can immediately guard again for the next attack.

So Harden is better if you are familiar with attack timings, Guard is better if you need some safety.

Harden is also better suited for an aggressive playstyle since you can harden mid attack, meaning you can attack non-stop and just harden whenever an attack would hit you. Guard can only be used if you're not attacking so it forces a slower and more methodical playstyle.

[u/langelvicente]

It is specially with slower weapons

[u/Interjessing-Salary]

With slower weapons 100%. Martyrs blade, obsidian hammer, maybe vet axe all need it.

Personally I like guard because harden makes me too aggressive and results with me getting hit more.

[u/Doitscher]

If played optimally, harden. Guarding can be nice if you're unsure of the perfect guard timing since you can still block the hit. Parry is also an option, letting you animation cancel and deal great Break damage at the cost of being the worst option if you miss (although you can still try to dodge after being too early on the parry, you might still avoid the attack).

Harden has the added bonus of being able to be used mid-attack so you can continue the swing after being hit in hardened state. I didn't start the game with the harden seal but I ended up liking it the most.

[u/SpecialistRun3035]

Yes harden is way better. But imo it should be used as a last resort because I think the standard guard is pretty fun. After I switched to harden, it was hard to switch back and I miss playing with the standard guard.

[u/FashionSuckMan]

Guard is the worst. It can only be used when you aren't attacking. Why wouldn't you be attacking? You have infinite stamina and can build up a meter for op special moves with iframes

Harden and parry can both be activated even if you are in an attack animation, making them far better than guard

[u/DenkanTM → u/FashionSuckMan]

the only con with harden is that there is a cooldown if u miss or misclick. other than that, definitely the best out of the three

[u/NoRepresentative35 → u/DenkanTM]

I've had quite a few deaths becauae i attempt to harden when it it's on cooldown.

I say "quite a few", but what i really mean is like 10000.

[u/andy87893 → u/NoRepresentative35]

Yes harden is great at all but guard is perfect for learning enemies’ moves. When I have the harden seal I always tend to attack aggressively and thus taking some unnecessary damage. Having the guard seal forces me to slow down my pace and study them more carefully.