For Honor is one 2017's most anticipated titles, and it's available now. This third-person brawler from Ubisoft lets you choose one of three factions -- Knights, Vikings, or Samurai -- and join online battles to win territory for your team.
Though it offers a brief tutorial, you won't learn For Honor's mechanics instantaneously. Grab your blade! Here are some tips to make your early time on the game's battlefields a success.
Play the Advanced Tutorial and Practice Against AI
No matter which faction you choose, For Honor starts you off with a brief tutorial. You'll learn the basics of stance, blocking, and attacking here, but there's an additional tutorial in the menu you should try, too. Head to How To Play > Advanced Practice to access it. Here, you'll learn a few extra mechanics that will give you the upper hand. Plus, you'll receive a nice bundle of Steel, the in-game currency.
Once you've gotten the hang of these tactics, you should try the Free Practice mode. This lets you battle against a never-ending flow of enemies. The artificial intelligence (AI) in this game isn't stupid, so battling against it is a great way to learn the fundamentals. You can also play any Multiplayer mode against AI instead of real people.
The Campaign Holds Lots of Loot
While many multiplayer-focused games lack a single-player mode, For Honor includes a campaign that takes you across missions for the three factions. It's not super deep or lengthy, and experience you earn here doesn't carry over to Multiplayer, but it provides some great benefits.
You'll earn Steel, the in-game currency, for completing missions, breaking certain jars, and spotting environmental items that relate to the story. Aside from this, the story mode lets you try a couple of Heroes in a relatively safe environment, and is a great place to hone your skills. It's not the meat of the game, but it's certainly worth the time spent.
Pick a Hero and Learn Them Well
There are 12 Heroes in For Honor, each with different play styles, strengths, and weaknesses. In Multiplayer, you might think that you have to pay Steel to unlock a hero. However, that's not the case -- you can use any Hero you like from the start. To unlock gear and new abilities for the Heroes, though, you must recruit them for 500 Steel.
You should start learning with one of the Vanguard Heroes. There's one for each of the three factions, and they're balanced without any major flaws. While other heroes are agile but frail or beefy but slow, you can focus on the basics with an easy-to-use Hero. Don't let that stop you from experimenting with others who might suit your playstyle better. Some characters earn more Renown (points) for their team when they kill targets, while others get more for capturing points.
Once you settle on a Hero, watch their in-game training videos to get an idea of their play style. You'll learn more by playing them and getting a feel for yourself, but it's still valuable to have a baseline. Once you decide you like a character, use them for a while. Playing as a Hero earns new gear and abilities just for them, plus when you master a character you'll become proficient. Don't spread yourself too thin.
Don't Spend Steel on Cosmetics
Nearly everything in Multiplayer requires Steel to unlock. You can earn it from playing the single-player, completing matches, and finishing challenges that update regularly. You might be tempted to spend some Steel on a cool set of armor for your favorite character, but you shouldn't spend that way early on.
Instead, spend Steel to recruit the Heroes you want to regularly play as. You can also spend Steel on loot boxes that contain gear items for that particular character. Since gear actually affects your combat stats, it's a far more worthwhile purchase than an outfit.
Gear only affects your stats in the four-on-four modes, so you can duel safely without worrying about your opponent having better gear.
Button Mashing Doesn't Work
Winning in For Honor requires precision and timing. Whether you're playing against AI or humans, you'll need some wit to determine what attacks to use, as well as some reflexes to block your enemy's attacks. Don't try to mash buttons or spam attacks. Unless your opponent is awful, that's only going to result in you getting your head cut off -- Super Smash Bros. this is not.
Part of this is knowing your Hero, but there are a few essentials for anyone. Don't get greedy. Stand back and block when your enemy is charging at you. There are move combos for each fighter (nowhere near as complex as a game like Street Fighter) you should master so you're more effective. Know when to run away from a fight, and when you can rush in for a quick kill.
No matter which mode you play, emerging victorious in For Honor comes down to beating your opponent in duels. Improving at this will really pay off.
Bits and Pieces
As you'll find out, For Honor is a complex game. There are lots of other little bits of advice you should keep in mind when you start, so keep these in mind:
- The environment is dangerous! You can kick enemies off a cliff to instantly kill them or into a fire for massive damage. Sometimes, you don't have to eliminate your opponent the hard way. The game refers to these as dishonorable kills, but there's no shame in them.
- Keep an eye on your stamina. Every action you take drains it to varying degrees -- dodging and heavy attacks are the most costly. If your stamina drops to zero, your movements become sluggish and you're an easy target.
- Choose your Feats wisely. These bonuses become available as you perform well in a match, and are either passive traits or short-use perks. Picking the right balance for your play style could be the key to victory.
- When you kill an enemy with a heavy attack, you can quickly press one of two buttons to finish them off with an execution. This gives you a bit of health back, prevents the enemy from reviving that player, gives you more renown, and looks pretty awesome.
- Friendly fire is enabled! You can hurt your teammates, and though the damage inflicted on them is a fraction of what you'll do to enemies, it still hurts. Watch your sweeping attacks when allies are near.
- If you've got friends playing the game, group up with them so you can build a better strategy. You can also play the campaign together.
- Don't ignore the computer-controlled soldiers on the battlefield. While they're easily dispatched, they give a bit of renown when killed. A pack of soldiers can also make a push tougher for the enemy.
Sharpen Your Blade and Fight!
It takes a while to get good at, but For Honor is a great action fighting game. With these tips, you'll have the advantage over your opponents. Remember that nothing substitutes for practice, so dig into a Hero and you'll be executing enemies by the hundreds in no time.
2017 is off to a great start! For more, check out our review of Resident Evil 7.
Let's hear your best For Honor tips in the comments! If you've played the game, tell us what you think!