Okay, granted I never play this kind of game but hey, it's a Metal Gear game so why not..

Problem is I just don't understand the combat enough... I've tried fighting this boss like 20 times on normal and just can't do it, I can barely keep the camera on him let alone parry his moves. Do I really not have any block? Should I just shelve the game now if I'm having so much trouble so early?

(I know the correct answer is play it on easy but I just don't play games on easy...I want some sort of challenge between boss encounters)

I am having the same problem as you, but I just saw a video on IGN breaking down how to take this boss on.

http://www.ign.com/videos/2013/02/20/metal-gear-rising-revengeance-lq-84i-wolf-boss-battle-s-ranking-on-revengeance

There is a block stance you have to use to fend him off which opens him up for an attack. I didn't even know the block existed because the VR training sessions are a joke and exit out before you really have a chance to practice each lesson enough. The VR sessions should only advance forward once I press a button to say I am finished.

@sniperxan: Use R2/RT to lock on. Towards and Wide Attack (Square or X) to parry enemy attacks.

I had the same issue in the demo. The parry system was really poorly explained and at a point when it wasn't needed.

I can't get that block stance to activate when I need it too...almost seems random or the timing is just stupid. I saw the IGN video and he's blocking everything and then slashing away and it looks fucking easy but I just can't make it work... I'm done with this game I guess...wasted $60 FML.

@sniperxan said:

@sniperxan: If you're struggling to parry, either do it much earlier than feels natural (to ensure block comes out) at the expense of not being able to stun him; or, alternatively, try dodging (direction + A + X ). The latter is far easier, plus you can use it to cancel out of an attack string if the animation hasn't finished and you're about to get hit.

You can rush him down and start mashing wide and strong attack strings, then as he gears up to hit you, quickly dodge and carry on.

The front dodge has the added benefit of being blade mode cancellable (sic?). What this means is that you don't even need to wait for the dodge animation to finish; you can cancel it right away (by tapping LT/2) and continue your attack string, meaning you're keeping up constant pressure and maintaining your defenses through a really strong offense.

It would look like this: attack string>>press forward+A+X>>tapLT>>attack string

Hope all of that makes sense and it's at least a little help.

Maybe this video will help:

Seriously though, the window for blocking is huge and the parry is comfortable , at least on easy to hard mode. Just practice some more and you too can become Daigo Umehara.

Could LQ-84i be spared? The codec conversations afterward made it seem like maybe I could have spared him. Everyone, except for Raiden, seemed a little remorseful about putting him down.

Slight spoiler

They repair him and change his programming so he kinda becomes your dog.

Thanks for all your help folks :) I ended up just playing it on easy and now am having a tonne of fun (DON'T JUDGE MEE!) :P

It seems that this generation(for the most part) has dulled people's gaming skills. I've seen LPs on youtube where people didn't even know they could parry, even when the game specifically told them how to do it.

I'm playing this on 'Hard'(1st playthrough) right now and I'm having a blast.

My problem with the parrying isn't so much the mechanic itself as much as it is the camera. So many times I've pressed the left stick in the direction of an attacking enemy only for the camera to randomly swing around for no reason and mess me up. I personally prefer the dodge move, because at least the camera can't mess that up.

The amount of people who can't beat this boss is kind of freaking me out. I beat him on hard mode and got hit all of one time, because parrying him is crazily easy to do. They give you repeatable tutorials about that sort of thing.

I just picked up this game today, and I played this boss on normal. I hadn't really been able to get the parrying down until this point. The trick for me was to make sure I locked onto him w/ RB.

@sniperxan: Almost every attack that can be parried will cause enemy's eyes flash red before the attack, you can block after that flash. Learning to look for that red flash helps with blocking quite a lot. In same way yellow flash means "don't try to block, just get out of the way".