I returned to No Rest after quite a hiatus to discover the addition of a parry button. As a mage staff bow ranged user, i feel an entire button for mainly sword users is a bit too much. Instead, the act of parry should be available to all weapon users as a form of attack. tapping weapon 2, double tapping attack, holding attack, all of these could be remapped to be the parry button.
The reason i suggest this is the control scheme for controller users is already pretty full. allowing for the parry button makes my controls feel clunky as a ranged user who is off handing all the time. as well, no rest combat is kinetic and fast. the act of parry is really only reserved for bosses. true? so if parry is not made to be a general rune on parry like weapons, then it should be mapped into being an action within the existing control scheme.
for controller users the parry button is usually on the toggles and shoulders in most games, but we use those to switch weapons and also offhand fire weapons. too much clutter to have block and parry be separate buttons. shields are offhand and they block. make swords and other parry like weapons parry. and in the same sense add special defense movement features for the various weapon types that equal a parry: spears and halberds roll and stab, clubs and maces stagger block, two handed weapons block and slash, dual wield weapons dash behind and back stab.