FOR HONOR News

Excitement filled the latest Warrior's Den as we delved into the details of the upcoming Hero and the extensive content of Year 7, Season 4's Title Update 2. Scheduled for launch on February 1st, TU2 promises a plethora of features, including a new Hero, new Armor Variations, Hero Fests and Patch Notes. Additionally, we'll provide you with a high-level overview of what to expect in Year 8. For more in-depth discussions, don't forget to explore the [Warrior's Den Y7S TU2 VOD].

Year 8 Sneak Peek

Year 8 is set to kick off on March 14th, featuring a structured format with four seasons. Excitingly, players can anticipate the introduction of two new heroes and new hero skins. Notably, heroes will be introduced in Seasons 2 and 4, body type locked.

Something new in Year 8 is the addition of converted maps. The plan is to transform non-Dominion maps into Dominion maps. Throughout the year, two maps are scheduled for conversion. The goal is to make the pool of Dominion maps bigger.

An addition to our offer in Year 8 is the Legacy Pass, which brings back previous battle passes in chronological order. For example, in Year 8, Season 1, players can purchase or continue the Year 4 Season 1 battle pass and progress through it. This pattern continues with subsequent seasons, allowing players to maintain their old progressions and progress through multiple passes simultaneously. The Legacy Pass includes a tier 101 that consolidates all retrofitted content for heroes not initially part of the Battle Pass. The Legacy Pass will be $9.99 US or included in the Battle Bundle, which retains its cost at $24.99 US. The battle bundle will now consist of the 2 passes, unlocks 25 tiers in both passes, and offers a 20% Battle Pass Boost.



For a quick recap of what was covered in TU1, check out our November 30th article here.

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"The oath bought and sold is worth no coin at all."

The Varangian Guards' journey is encapsulated by the phrase, This mantra reflects their steadfast dedication, emphasizing that their loyalty cannot be compromised by monetary gains.

Originating from distant lands beyond Heathmoor, the Varangian Guards, a group of mercenary Vikings, have flourished. United by an unwavering commitment, these warriors are renowned for their absolute loyalty. Once they pledge an oath, there is no wavering; they remain steadfastly true to both their client and themselves.

As they ventured into uncharted territories, these formidable fighters transcended their Viking roots, embracing the role of mercenaries. Despite this transformation, their Viking essence persists, evolving into something more - elite bodyguards possessing unparalleled combat skills.

In battle, the Varangian Guards epitomize protectors with unrivaled defensive prowess, making them invaluable assets in any conflict. Armed with axes and shields, they employ their distinctive defensive stance, Oathkeeper, to disable adversaries. Their combat finesse, finely honed over time, strikes a harmonious balance between refined skill and unbridled Viking ferocity.

The Hero will come with two sets and will be exclusively available for purchase starting February 1st for 7.99$ as a bundle that includes the Hero, one Ornament, one Elite Outfit, seven days of Champion Status and three scavenger crates. Players will also be able to unlock the hero starting February 14th for 15 000 Steel in-game.

In addition to the Varangian Guard and TU2 release, a free Event Pass: Varangian Guard's Pledge, will be available from February 1st to February 22nd. Exclusive, limited-time rewards will be available during this time such as an ornament, effect, and more.

PATCH NOTES

In this Warrior's Den, we presented to you some of the changes that are going live at the launch of Y7S4 TU2. We suggest you watch this segment of the show in the VOD. Come back to read the full Patch Notes when released on February 1st.

That's it for this recap! Have fun with the release of the Varangian Guard and Y7S4 TU2 on February 1st and we'll see you next time for another recap!

[h2]IMPROVEMENT[/h2] [h3]FIGHTERS[/h3] Front Dodge Bash changes

In the previous patch, we've sped up our 500ms front dodge bashes to be 433ms. This introduced an unfortunate interaction where these attacks could reliably be dodged on a single timing. We've made the following changes to ensure there is no singular dodge timing to beat these attacks:

1. All 433ms Front Dodge Bashes now lose tracking 100ms later during the attack against dodging opponents
   
2. The following heroes have their Front Dodge recovery lowered by 100ms:
   

• Conqueror
  
• Jormungandr
  
• Zhanhu
  

Additional changes

• Medjay's Throne Room Tackle can now be performed starting at 300ms during their Front Dodge, up from 100ms
  
• Tiandi's Palm Strike can now be performed starting at 366ms during their Front Dodge, up from 300ms
  

Dev comments: The changes to the way Front Dodge Bashes track opponents makes it to that delayed Front Dodge Bashes will now properly connect against early dodges. This should return to the type of play we had before the changes, where the intent was that opponents had to read between dodging early or late; due to how the changes were implemented, there was an issue where a single dodge timing could beat buffered bashes, delayed bashes and dodge to guardbreak; with these new timings, this type of situation should no longer happen.

To ensure this is also fixed on Conqueror, Jormungandr and Zhanhu, we've also lowered their recovery from Front Dodge so they can Guardbreak earlier and catch the outlier dodges that can effectively dodge both the buffered and delayed bashes.

Finally, we've also applied a change to Medjay and Tiandi; Medjay's Throne Room Tackle was too oppressive at their new timings, while Tiandi's new timings meant that players had one less option to beat Tiandi when the hero performed a dodge cancel from Light attacks into Palm Strike. With this new change, players should be able to trade with Palm Strike by using a Light Attack.

Hitokiri

• Meikai Rift (Light Finishers) no longer have Uninterruptible Stance.
  
• Hitokiri now gains Uninterruptible Stance at 100ms when performing Endless Myriad, down from starting at 300ms
  

*Dev comment: Hitokiri used to have Uninterruptible Stance on Meikai Rift to be used as an early trading tool, but this proved to be awkward as the hero needed to end their chain and pressure to trade with opponents. As the hero's identity is to be a relentless attacker and have strong mixups, we've adjusted the position of the Uninterruptible Stance so Hitokiri is able to use their chained Heavies more effectively in outnumbered situations and be more difficult to peel.*

• Chain Link Timing changes from Opener Light attack to Rei Kick / Rei Sweep
  
• On Hit and On Block, chain link timing now starts at 333ms, up from 200ms
  
• On Miss, chain link timing now starts at 233ms, up from 100ms
  

*Dev comment: With Hitokiri's chained Heavy attacks getting better Uninterruptible Stance timings, we changed this chain link timing to give opponents more options after the hero's Light Openers; they can now interrupt Rei Kick with a Light attack on a successful read.*

• Adjusted the Weapon Trajectories for all Heavy Attacks to have better range
  

*Dev comment: One of our goals for Hitokiri is to ensure players can effectively use the hero's Side Heavy attacks in outnumbered situations, in combination with Uninterruptible Stance. Their current values were underwhelming and made it too difficult to hit external opponents; with these adjustments, they should hit more reliably and give Hitokiri more offense-based defense in group fights.*

WHITE BONUS SPIRIT ARMOR

• Improved the White Bonus Spirit Armor, adapted the model to better fit Body Type 1 and fixed a few clipping issues
  

LOCAL TONE MAPPING

• Added new Local Tone Mapping Display Option
  

*Dev comments: Instead of using one average exposure value for the frame, we adjust it independently for different parts of the image. It means that we can get back details in very bright or very dark areas, without losing the overall quality.*

It's an option you can enable on other platforms in Quality Mode, and on PC. It's off by default, so you can choose to try it or not.

[h2]BUG FIXES[/h2] [h3]FIGHTERS[/h3] Shugoki

• [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Shugoki to have backward dodge animation on right stance and side dodges (FH-6073)
  

Nuxia

• [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Nuxia left dodge animation to trigger when on the left guard and performing a back dodge (FH-6160)
  

Ocelotl

• [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Ocelotl to instant kill an opponent using the ballista with Hunter's Snare (FH-5926)
  

Orochi

• [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Orochi's side heavy finisher animations to not be in sync with his sword (FH-3118)
  

UI

• [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Event and Hidden Gears to appear as not obtained and locked when equipped (FH-5759)
  

SOUND

• [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Jiang Jun to play Sifu's Swirl voice line on Sifu's Poise stance (FH-5921)
  

CUSTOMIZATION

• [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Zhanhu "Songshen" Arms to have "Wei Ling" visual on right arm on Alternate Body Type (FH-6104)
  
• [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Medjay's ornaments are misplaced on left arm (FH-6072/FH-6118)
  
• [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Conqueror "Dark Pellinor" shield to not apply Paint Patterns properly (FH-6027)
  
• [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the "Zealous Zhu Que" effect to be delayed on idle emote (FH-5900)
  
• [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Peacekeeper shoulder pauldrons to be missing from Arms sets" Sapiencia" and "Horkos" during preview
  
• [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Kyoshin scabbard to be offset during neutral dodges (FH-4709)
  

Welcome back to the holiday season of For Honor! This article will highlight all the good content coming your way in Year 7 Season 4 and recap everything that took place in the Warrior's Den.

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For more details we suggest checking out the VOD for Y7S4 TU1 Warrior's Den Livestream.



Y7S4 Roadmap

Here is everything you can expect this upcoming season. We've got a new Battle Pass and Battle Bundle landing on December 7th, which is the start of our new season: Treason. We also have an event going on titled Frost Wind Betrayal, which will run from December 7th - December 28th, featuring the return of the Limited-Time Event Gamemode, Ice Brawlers! A free event pass will also be included where you will be able to earn the following items:

• Battle Outfit: Snowy Betrayal
  
• Ornament: Tusks of Betrayal
  
• Mood Effect: Betrayal Aftermath
  

Of course, we have our new, incredible Highlander Hero Skin, Oathbreaker Maddox, available starting on December 7th for 25,000 Steel. Testing Grounds will re-open on December 14th, focusing on three hero changes, and will run until December 24th.

The Hero Fests for Y7S4 TU1 will be as follows:

• Highlander (Jan 4th - 11th)
  
• Warlord (Jan 11th-18th)
  
• Warmonger (Jan 25th - Feb 1st)
  

To wrap things up, we've got some Throwback Events coming up as well:

• Realistic Elimination (Dec 28th - Jan 4th)
  
• Justice of Pharaohs (Jan 18th - 25th)
  
• Oathbreaker Maddox Highlander Hero Skin
  

The Highlander, Maddox, wears the skin of a sabertoothed tiger to identify himself as what he is: a survivor. Once a warrior without a home, he was welcomed into the village of Moldar by the people as one of their own. There, he found a new family and a place to belong. But when the Order of Horkos attacked, Maddox found himself torn. To prevent the slaughter of his people, he had to do the unthinkable. To survive, he had to break his oath to the Chimera Alliance - and to his family.

Oathbreaker Maddox Hero Skin will cost 25,000 Steel and will be available starting December 7th, along with his short stories that will be available on our website starting December 8th.

Patch Notes & Quality of Life Changes

Along with a few changes to some heroes, we've implemented something known as local tone mapping. The main goal of this is to enhance visibility and provide a better experience overall. During the Warrior's Den, we showcased some before and after footage and the results look great. The tone mapping option is available to pc and next gen consoles.

As far as hero improvements, there's been some changes to dodge bashes and Hitokiri received some changes as well. To hear the Dev Team comments on all the changes coming, we recommend you check out the VOD of the Y7S4 TU1 Warrior's Den.

Testing Grounds

During the Warrior's Den, we had a Testing Grounds segment where we showcased some theoretical changes to Medjay, Peacekeeper and Highlander.

We implemented new moves for Medjay and Peacekeeper:

For the Medjay, we implemented a new move called, "Mid Chain Zone Attack"

For Peacekeeper we implemented a new move called, "Iron Mountain"

For Highlander, our goal was to increase his Offensive Form Side Dodge attacks, as well as adding extra safety to entering Offensive Form.

Testing Grounds will be open from December 14th to the 21st , so please be sure to participate and let us know your thoughts.

If you would like a more detailed breakdown of the Testing Grounds, you can watch a VOD of the segment at Twitch.tv/ForHonorGame or read the Testing Grounds article here.

Tournament Recap

During this segment, we went over the winners of the finals of Into The Fray which took place back in October! Nemesis went undefeated, never dropping a game, and claimed first place. We had well over 300 participating teams and the games were casted by none other than Verbalosity and Norgoz. For full bracket results, visit our Battlefy page. The VOD of the Invitational Finals is also available on our twitch page, here.

We also had Pro-Ams wrap up recently on Nov 19th, which had over 200 individuals participating. Each member of the winning teams were given a Kensei statue while second and third place were given steel codes.

The winning teams for Pro-Ams were:

EU:

1st - RED MOON
2nd - Pasta Vodka
3rd - GibtKeinNamE

NA:

1st - Pro am team :)
2nd - TEAM SHAFT
3rd - i_have_memes is bad

A bragging rights match also took place between "RED MOON" and "Pro am team :)", which was also streamed on our Twitch Page here.

Although the first-place team in NA, "Pro am team :)", was captained by Blitss who won the previous NA Pro-Am Tournament, RED MOON ended up walking away with the victory! Interesting to see some familiar faces winning these tournaments as they continue to solidify themselves as competitive For Honor Legends.

This was a brief recap of what was presented on the Warrior's Den Livestream on Nov 30th! As a reminder, we invite you to check out the more in-depth VOD on our Twitch Page of all content mentioned above. Otherwise, see you on the battlefield on December 7th for our Y7S4: Treason TU1 Launch!

IMPROVEMENT

[h2]FIGHTERS[/h2] Front Dodge Melee Attacks

We are now integrating the results from a previous Testing Grounds, in which we tested slightly faster speeds on Front Dodge Melee Attack, into the Live game.

The intention of this change is to improve the viability of Front Dodge Melee Attack as an Opener, for all players. Certain Front Dodge Melee Attacks were significantly more reactable for certain parts of the population, so with this change we believe these moves should function successfully as Openers for all heroes who have them.

After analysis of the data received from the Testing Grounds, we have determined that 433ms is the most appropriate speed for Front Dodge Melee Attacks. There was a significant reduction in reaction times from 500ms to 466ms, and another significant reduction from 466ms to 433ms, but 433ms to 400ms saw no change in reaction times. We have therefore adjusted these attacks to all be 433ms.

We are keeping the timing at which you can perform them at 300ms into the Dodge. This should not have any impact on frame advantage and offers a significant input comfort over being able to perform the attacks later in the Dodge.

One exception to the rule is Medjay's Throne Room Tackle, which takes the 433ms attack speed buff, but also keeps its ability to be performed at 100ms after a Front Dodge, as the hero is currently underperforming while in Axe Mode. This buff should give the hero a better chance to open up opponents.

Finally, after investigating further, we have to slow down the Dodge Recovery Cancel timing on hit from Front Dodge Melee Attacks for Orochi and Tiandi so that they can be dodged by the opponent if repeatedly used. This only applies to the attacks on Hit, and has no impact on timings on Miss.

List of changes:

We have normalized the speed and the chain link timings for all non-charged Melee Attacks initiated from a Front Dodge. The following changes were made:

• All non-charged Front Dodge Melee Attacks are now 433ms
  
• Most non-charged Front Dodge Attacks are now performed from 300ms to 500ms
  

This applies to the following attacks:

• Ocelotl's Jaguar's Grudge
  
• Shaolin's Flying Monkey Variant
  
• Jiang Jun's Mighty Kick
  
• Tiandi's Palm Strike
  
• Shugoki's Headbutt
  
• Zhanhu's Subduing Blow
  
• Shinobi's Reaper's Dance
  
• Kyoshin's Sajin-Arashi
  
• Orochi's Dust Devil
  
• Warlord's Headbutt
  
• Jormungandr's Jotunn Surge
  
• Gryphon's Shove
  
• Black Prior's Jawbreaker (from Front Dodge only)
  
• Gladiator's Sucker Punch
  
• Centurion's Legion Kick
  
• Lawbringer's Shove
  
• Conqueror's Shield Bash
  

Medjay's Throne Room Tackle received the following changes:

• Is now 433ms (down from 500ms)
  
• Can be performed at 100ms during Front Dodge
  

Additional changes:
Tiandi

• Palm Strike Dodge Recovery on Hit: Can now recovery cancel from 333ms (up from 300ms)
  

Orochi

• Dust Devil Dodge Recovery on Hit: Can now recovery cancel from 233ms (up from 200ms)
  

[h2]UI[/h2] Sorting & Filtering

• Added Sorting and Filtering options in the Barracks that allows players to filter the customization
  

Inventory can be generally sorted by Alphabetical order or Release Date. Some content such as Gear can be sorted by Recently Looted, and Executions by Durations.

For Filtering, we allow players to select more one than option, and the items will show as long as they are part of one of the filters. Players will be able to filter Battle Pass or Event Pass content, Event Loot, Cross Brand, Sales, etc. Some specific content has their own filters, for example Emotes can be filtered by Paired, Unique or Shared.

[h2]BUG FIXES[/h2]
[h3]FIGHTERS[/h3]
Ocelotl

• [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Ocelotl to start a forward walking animation when exiting lock (FH-5899)
  
• [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Ocelotl Huntsman's Spirit to sometimes not work properly when entering Breaking (FH-5978)
  

Kyoshin
[Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Kyoshin scabbard to be offset during neutral dodges (FH-4709)

MAP
[Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the players to fall through the map when respawning in the Forest Map in Skirmish (FH-5440)

SOUND
[Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Afeera and Ocelotl sound effect to randomly mute during 4v4 matches (FH-5906)

CUSTOMIZATION
[Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Kyoshin "Stellar Blaze" outfit to be locked even if the players bought it in the past (FH-6075)

[Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Shinobi "Sagasu Helm" to have paint patterns, symbols and embossings misaligned (FH-5951)

[Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Domain of the Wyvern effect (unlocked with Shield of Wyverndale illustrious outfit) to have lower bright eyes (FH-5908)

[Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Gladiator "Floriferum Chest" to have stretched textures on left legging for Body Type 2 (FH-5845)

[Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Warden and Warmonger sheathing animations to be glitching with any shared execution (FH-5188)

It's Halloween in Heathmoor! In our Halloween Edition of the Y7S3 TU2 Warrior's Den livestream, we went over the spooky new content coming to For Honor in the upcoming title update on October 26th. In case you missed it, or want to refresh your memory, this recap article has you covered.

For more details we suggest checking out the VOD of our Halloween Edition Y7S3 TU2 Warrior's Den Livestream.



Theater of Bones - A Limited Time For Honor Halloween Event

The rules of the Ghost Festival were broken by poor warriors. Now the malevolent White Bone Spirit has risen from the lower realm to snare their souls. In twisted celebration, the ghastly creature is hosting a theatrical performance where the trapped warriors are forced to take part in the story. Warriors will have to face the White Bone Spirit's illusions, as she prepares to feed on their very souls. But the arrival of a surprise guest may change the fate of all...

From October 26th to November 16th, warriors can take part in a limited time unique Halloween PVE game mode event "Theater of Bones". Players will fight alongside Monkey King Wukong to defeat the menacing White Bone Spirit and save her captives. Also available during this period will be a free event pass filled with treats to be unlocked.

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Monkey King Wukong Shaolin Hero Skin



For Honor Y7S3’s hero skin drastically transforms Shaolin’s silhouette and design to embody a hero of legend, the Sun Wukong, made famous by the epic “A Journey to the West”.

Sun Wukong was a hero of legend known as the Monkey King. Eons ago, he stole the peaches of immortality from the gods and crashed down from heaven. Intending to share the fruits’ power with his fellow monkeys, Wukong was punished for his crimes. After spending centuries imprisoned in a mountain, he has now been freed. Devoted to protecting the people who can’t fend for themselves, the Monkey King has followed the trail of a terrible evil to Heathmoor.

Y7S3 TU2 Armor Variations



This season players can expect new armor variations for the Knights and Samurai factions. Also releasing this season are Sets 5 A&B for Highlander.



Patch Notes

For those of you dreaming of a "Barracks Sorting Filter", our latest title update on October 26th will be a treat for you. For more information on changes coming to For Honor, please check back on October 26th for the patch notes. For Dev Team comments on all the changes coming, we recommend you check out the VOD of the Y7S3 TU2 Warrior's Dev Livestream.

This was a brief overview of everything presented in our latest Warrior's Dev. If you are excited about For Honor's limited time Halloween event and want all the details, we encourage you to check out the VOD on our Twitch channel. Our Halloween event will begin next week on October 26th and last until November 16th. Looking forward to seeing you all on the battlefield!