Ubisoft have announced the details surrounding its latest For Honor update which will be dropping tomorrow, on August 6th.
This new For Honor title update can be split into three parts, including a new playable hero: The Warmonger. She’s styled on the singleplayer campaign’s antagonist, Apollyon, and although we have plenty of sword-wielding heroes among For Honor’s ranks, The Warmonger is proof that, yet again, the developers are able to breathe new life into their unique fighting game:
The Warmongers are determined to become the new leaders of Heathmoor. With renegades from all factions among their ranks, they wear grim masks as an homage to the fallen wolves who knew the true nature of war. The Warmongers prey upon enemies with their elegant flamberge and use a dark power named Corruption to weed out the weak.
In short, The Warmonger is an adaptable vanguard class fighter who is easy to learn with attacks such as a undodgeable charging top heavy, a parry impale that inflicts bleed, and a unique clawing attack that can be weaved into a variety of combos.
Rise of the Warmongers is a new For Honor in-game event and one that has a free battle pass loaded with unlockable cosmetic goodies. The third, and most significant part of this update is the long-awaited combat design refresh as explained in-depth below.
For a long time the For Honor team have been teasing changes to the game’s core combat system. These have gone through rigorous testing between the developers and player community, geared towards making the gameplay more fun and active.
At a glance it may appear as though not much has changed but beneath the hood Ubisoft Montreal have sculpted the combat system to favour a more offensive style of play. Attack speeds, damage, and stamina costs have all been adjusted, rewarding dynamic play and mix-ups while discouraging players from “turtling”, making defence more read-focused as opposed to being reactionary.
Other changes include quicker attack recovery with most attacks also having a lower damage output. On top of that, the first 100ms of each attack animation is hidden, which helps gear For Honor towards encouraging offensive strategies.
Attack consistency has also been improved, making inputs more accessible while adjusting animations and the timing of indicators.
There’s a lot of nitty gritty details that have been reworked, many of which go completely over our heads despite putting dozens of hours into the game. Ubisoft Montreal have published an in-depth guide on how attacks, inputs, and delays are changing as part of the core combat update.
Above is a slowed down GIF of the changes. We’ve summed up the major combat update changes here:
• Fight Moves speeds more consistent and faster over the network
• Stamina Penalties removed
• Stamina Cost of Lights Adjusted
• Damage values adjusted
• Recoveries normalized (Frame Advantage / Frame Disadvantage)
• Adjusted sub- 500ms opening attack speed
• Adjusted Dodge Attack Speed
• Hero-Specific Changes (ex: Orochi)
• Feats Changes
• Zone Attack Input comfortability improved
Source: Press Release
