FOR HONOR (Playing the Beta)

[trek]

Got an invite to this new Ubisoft hack 'n slash combat game and played the beta a few hours last night. Graphically the game and battlefields are beautiful as well as being tactically fun to play. Keyboard and mouse controls are available but I'm playing on my PC with a wired Xbox 360 Controller. The combat is quite challenging and I'm good at attacking but I've got a ways to go to get proficient at blocking the enemy attacks and counters with my own counters. Blocking is done by holding down the left trigger and moving the right stick in the direction of your opponents attack. Since your block is done with the directional stick movement it requires a bit of finesse to counter the direction of attack like an overhead one especially in the heat of the fight. Also the dodge button seems a little slow to react but probably they will tweak that in the finished product.

There is a thorough tutorial and includes bot practice 1vs1 duels as well as multiple bot opponents to hone your skills before trying out the multiplayer. You can also increase the skill level of the bots you practice with which is a nice touch. Skills start at 0 level and progress from there. I'm playing Level 1 Bots right now and they put up a pretty good fight for a beginner. In practice you can also try out various mock MP modes too.

I've tried all three of the warriors: Viking, Knight and Samurai. As of now the Samurai seems to suit my play style with the Knight a close second. You can customize your warrior with color and design options for clothing, shields and helmets. Weapons and upgrades are available with earned in-game currency. The menu screens with all the options and upgrades could be a little more user friendly but are not deal breakers by any means. Combat UI and on-screen in-game prompts work well. Oh, one thing I need to mention is the finishing moves (executions) when fighting an opponent. If you pull off a good strike the visual lethal execution result on your enemy is very satisfying.

I've played Chivalry and WOTR and IMHO so far I think this game tops both of them. Of course you may find my opinion suspect as I also thought Crytek's RYSE had a great combat system and was more enjoyable than any game of this type I've ever played even with the quick-time events. Anyway, I'll be putting a lot more hours into this game over the weekend so we'll see if any of my opinions change.

For Honor releases on Feb. 14 and includes a SP Campaign, none of which was included in the beta.

[Gusington]

Thanks for posting - I am very curious about the SP campaign.

[Tpek]

Can you play the game entirely with bots and yet progress in rank and such (unlocking stuff and what not)?

[Grim.Reaper]

Can you play the game entirely with bots and yet progress in rank and such (unlocking stuff and what not)?

Not sure about the progression and ranks, but this video does confirm the use of bots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOOK3gIrUpc

This game is certainly on my radar, just want to see more about the single player campaign since that is the only mode for me.

[besilarius]

Ah well, from the name thought it might be an Honor Harrington universe game.

[Nefaro]

Thanks for posting - I am very curious about the SP campaign.

Campaign!?

I thought this type game was created for multi-player.  Just like WotR/V and Chivalry.  ?

[Gusington]

^It's primary focus is MP but there will be a SP campaign too.

[Destraex]

Is this the anime looking game?

[trek]

No, this is not anime inspired. So, the beta is over and due to my real life I didn't get to play as much as I wanted to. Advance word is that the SP Campaign will be engrossing and will cover all the warrior classes and a good primer for those that want to play MP. In the beta as I stated in my OP there is a very thorough practice area with several modes going from 1vs1 duels up to 4vs4 all against bots whose skill levels can be increased. In addition there is a Free Mode that features the same mode that you see in the MP videos on Youtube. Currently there are 6 different battlefields to play this mode on. It's just like playing in MP except that you are playing against bots and taking A-B-C capture points on the battlefield. Enemies consist of Ordinary Soldiers who are easier to kill and Hero Warriors that are more Elite Fighters. You can take down a group of soldiers with out too much trouble, but the Elites are mixed into the fray so you have to multi-task a little and watch your positioning during the battle. All of these Free Modes are made up of Bots. Some capture points are in towers that you assault by ladders and you will face an Elite that you will have to kill. Several more may appear and fight you too. The beauty of this mode is that if you don't want to play in MP you can experience all of what it offers by playing against Bots in Free Mode which will extend the longevity of the game. A couple of times in this mode I leveled up and gained points.

In the Beta they gave you 2,000 coins which I used to upgrade my Samurai Warrior to an Orochi Elite. I had enough coins left over to upgrade my sword hilt and blade , my helmet and armor. Didn't spend too much time investigating all this much further as I ran out of money and in the beta you couldn't seem to add to you stash of money like you will in the finished game. This part of the game I can see as a big plus to the tactical thinking and planning you will have to do to progress. I'm not sure about the in-game currency as there seems to be regular coins and gold coins as well as XP points in the game. I'm wondering if as in World of Warships there will be a real money premium content too.

There are many skills you can learn and master to make your Warrior more competitive and I can see a long and progressive learning process which should keep the game interesting for a long time. In my OP I mentioned that my blocking skills are not up to par and this is still true but I found the Samurai (especially the Orochi) levels the playing field for me as his blade swings are so swift that as long as I get in the first strike I can usually kill my opponent and this goes for the Viking and Knight foes. One-strike kills do happen in some fights though which add some element of surprise to the combat which I like. Of course I haven't been one on one with another Samurai yet so who knows how that match will turn out?

I think this game will have the same staying power and addiction I have with World of Warships as the entire package will make you want to keep coming back for more by trying to increase your skills and just get better whether you are playing Bots in Free Mode or decide eventually that you may want to try MP. You can play on teams so that may open up possibilities for us on this Forum.

I pre-ordered this on Steam over a month ago so I don't think I'll have any regrets on my purchase especially since For Honor will include a SP Campaign which is a must for me. Hope this helps any of you who are on the fence about whether you want to buy or not.

[CptHowdy]

is it a third person moba? watched a little bit of someone playing on twitch and there were generic troops spawning every so often and clashing while the heroes(you the player) could farm em for exp and coins to upgrade yourself.

[Destraex]

I looked at a few videos and if not anime inspired it does look very world of warcraft fantasy. That armour and weaponry is certainly not historical.
I am guessing what they call "skills" are actually just buttons to press to miraculously power up your character temporarily for a few seconds?

I am also betting their is no physics system and the protection system is not "what you see is what you get" like it was in roses. Originally in roses if you did not have a blunt weapon and the other guy was in full plate you would have to aim for the weak spots between the armour or just forget about attacking him. That is why the roses team had to dumb the system down. Too many poor punters just did not like that their sword armed character would not beat a knight without a lot of skill. It was easy enough to carry a secondary weapon like a horseman's hammer to do blunt damage but too many people are too used to movies and warcraft.

From what I am seeing this game has oversized everything like anime and almost no real combat system to speak of other than use the skill button and wander around slashing to kill anything without thinking about it. Correct me if I am wrong? This looks very very similar to tiger knight. There is some directional blocking though. I am guessing it's all or nothing and that the armour you hit won't make much difference.

EDIT: Just noticed this is on playstation as well. To me unfortunately that says a lot about a games direction.

[Destraex]

double post

[jomni]

For Honor is never going to be historical and never claimed to be.

At least Tiger Knight had some armour differentiation and you can mix and match the parts.  Cloth (best vs blunt, worst vs pierce), leather (best vs pierce, worst vs slash), steel (best vs slash, worst vs blunt). http://tk-en.oasgames.com/guide/beginner/advance-tips.shtml

[Destraex]

Yes but Trek said it was not anime inspired. I kinda liken it to street fighter 3D. That is why I wanted to differentiate it.

[Nefaro]

Aren't those the exact same playable factions from the Chivalry expansion?


As if they just wanted to mix Chivalry with the current genre fad, "Survival" (aka worker ant) gaming.