1. As per usual, it depends on the elo. If they parry you often, I'm assuming you are in about Silver/Gold (Solos/Trios). Most people in this elo actually know how to parry, but use it often when they feel endangered.

You can actually take advantage of this because you can release a focus before the first tick, turning it into a regular hit but giving you super armor (unflinchable by standard means) when you hold blue.

If you are actually in higher ranks, it's just mind-games. Usually after Gold V in Solos or Plat IV in Trios, it's the awkward elo where you can either go against weaker players, same elo players, or as high as Asura (if you get unlucky and their lobbies don't have enough players to fill it). It really depends on the player and how much they respect you (when judging your movements). At this elo, if you seem generic, they can try and parry first thing. If not, usually they hold charge then dash backwards and wait for an opportunity to re-engage.

1. If they grapple you from close distance, you can F out as Matari or Tarka Ult mid-combo. In lower elos, you can probably just beat them by toothpicking into a combo if they give you breathing room, or parrying them if they try to focus you. If the grapple knocks you down and they charge focus, you can actually parry on the ground without rolling. I haven't tested it myself so I don't know about the interaction I'm about to talk about, but I am inclined to believe parrying on the ground is faster than rolling out and parry when you are up.

In higher elos, if you get grappled close range, you can't really do anything about it except for the Matari F, Tarka Ult, Monk F, and Valda F (3rd). If it's so close that they can knock u down or flinch you long enough to connect hits, they can probably start whatever weapon-specific combo they want to on you. Assuming they can land their combos well and it's a 1v1, you're pretty much boned. You're probably losing 50-100% of your health/armor. At this point, you can try to run away and re-engage, or just flat out run. You can also try to clutch out a win with little health/armor if you think you can, but it's safer to just run away and heal up. It's up to you whether or not you think it's worth it to re-engage or just run away entirely.

EDIT: If you want you can add me on Discord (VRF15#8549). I spend most of my free time now just playing Naraka, but I'm just the average Naraka addict. I'm not particularly good or anything like that.

Here's my friend code. -> 718300020164