Dylan the first time I played it I hated it too. You honestly need to get a solid 12 hours into it to gain an appreciation for it (115 hours in and it's now my favorite game of all time). Where are you now? Combat is lovely, just challenging and your shield might be the problem. Certain shields don't parry well, at least that's my understanding unless I just sucked at parrying that badly in the beginning. Also certain enemies can just whip through your parry like nothing.
Wait till another player invades haha, you'll see parries in action and you'll force yourself to learn how to do them properly.
Wait till another player invades haha, you'll see parries in action and you'll force yourself to learn how to do them properly.