For Honor’s closed beta is done and dusted. The next time you’ll be able to play is the open beta from February 10-13. The full title will be released February 14 and in order to prepare you, we’ve put together all the information we could gather.
For Honor is very close to release, but even so, some of the information we have from the closed beta may have changed by the time the open beta starts and the full game is released.
For Honor includes a variety of different classes, but which class is best to use?
| CLASSES | FACTIONS | MODES | PREVIEW | STRATEGIES | EQUIPMENT |
| WHAT IS FOR HONOR? |
Vanguard Class
The Vanguard Class is your basic, all-round brawler. The Knights’ Warden, Vikings’ Raider and Samurais’ Kensei are Vanguard Class Heroes. These are the characters you want to start out with when first playing.
Each of the three factions’ Vanguard Class Heroes play differently due to different fighting styles, but they’re all really easy to just pick up and play.
Warden
The Warden is the Knights’ Vanguard Hero and a great place to start if you enjoy straightforward, rhythmic combat.
The Warden makes use of his or her broadsword to make wide arcing slashes at the enemy. Being caught in the Warden’s combos will strip you of your health and leave you hobbling away to the safety of one of your bases.
The Warden’s armour gives it an edge over the other Vanguard Class Heroes, as it takes less damage, but it comes at a cost; speed. The Warden is the slowest of the Vanguards, but also the strongest.
If the Vanguard is an all-rounder, the Warden is smack bang in the middle of the pack.
Raider
The Raider is less refined than the Warden and has a focus on strength and brutality over style.
The Raider’s combos are all related to beating the opponent down and breaking their guard. Rushing the opponent is the Raider’s greatest asset and is able to grab hold of an enemy and drive them into a wall or throw them over a cliff. The latter being the most cheeseworthy way to win.
The Raider uses a battleaxe and uses savage blows the take chunks off the enemy’s health. The Raider is second in strength to the Warden, but is quicker and has faster and more brutal combos.
The Raider is an excellent jumping off point for For Honor newbies. It’s fast, strong and easy to use.
Kensei
The Kensei is the fastest of the Vanguard Class Heroes, but also the weakest. That’s not to say it’s weak, it’s just not quite as damaging as the other two.
The Kensei is also the Vanguard Class Hero with the most refined combos and the best ability to get opponent’s off-balance and cut them to ribbons.
Using a katana, the Kensei have the most skilled attacks and make use of space to take advantage of their enemy. Dodging and flanking are all in a day’s work for the Kensei and they are most effective when coming at the enemy from behind or side-on.
The Kensei are slightly more difficult to use than the Warden or Raider, but are excellent offensive and front line soldiers in the right hands.
Heavy Class
Heavy Class Heroes are just as they sound; heavy hitters. They move more slowly than any other class in For Honor, but when they build up a head of steam you definitely don’t want to get caught up.
Heavy Class Heroes are your tanks and are more useful when playing a harassment role, rather than as frontline offence.
Conqueror
The Knights’ Heavy is the Conqueror. A massive shield and flail wielding behemoth, the Conqueror bashes their way through the battlefield like a hot knife through butter.
Their combos are of the same deliberate, rhythmic style as the other Knights but they’re slower again. Using the Conqueror means learning to block and counter. The lack of speed with which the Conqueror moves and attacks means that other Heroes will see your attacks coming and block them easily.
Counter attacking and harassing enemies on the fringe of battle is where the Conqueror excels. But in a one-on-one battle, the Conqueror can hold their own and even hold points if given support.
Warlord
The Warlord is the Viking Faction’s heavy hitter and comes with a sword and shield. Similar to the Conqueror, but without the massive spiked ball on a chain.
Functionally quite similar to the Conqueror, the Warlord doesn’t hit quite as hard, nor can it take as much punishment. The Warlord is faster than the Conqueror though which makes them an even more effective harasser and counter-attacker.
The Warlord is a support class and should be played as such. It’s no good trying to go head on with enemy Vanguards or Assassin’s unless you’ve become incredibly proficient with the Warlord’s counter-attack skills.
Using the Warlord effectively means less glory, but a higher chance of winning.
Assassin Class
Peacekeeper
The Peacekeeper is a nimble and agile hero. One of the fastest in For Honor, the Peacekeeper can get to a point before your slower classes have even made it out of their bases.
Wielding dual knives, the Peacekeeper is all about flashy combos, whirling attacks and dizzying speed. Each blow from the Peacekeeper only deals a small amount of damage, but the speed of attack and frequency of hits will chew through your health in no time.
The Peacekeeper only has a small health pool and limited armour, but its speed helps it to stay out of harms way. It’s best to use the Peacekeper as a counter-attacker or when flanking the enemy.
Attacking head on with any of the bigger, stronger classes is difficult for the Peacekeper, but learning to counter effectively will make you a worthy addition to your team.
Berserker
The Vikings’ Berserker isn’t quite as fast at the Peacekeeper and its dual-wield axes have less reach, but they do a lot more damage.
The Berserker attacks unpredictably and is difficult to counter thanks to the speed and eccentricity of its attacks. Playing as the Berserker, you’ll want to skirt the battlefield, looking for weakened enemy heroes and picking them off.
The Berserker is a hyena and works best when used to harass the enemy and scavenge easy kills. They’re also incredibly useful at getting quickly to a point on the other side of the map to reclaim it for your team.
When you see a teammate in a one-on-one battle, use the Berserker to attack from the opposite side. This pincer type maneuver will force the enemy into your teammate or force them to turn their back on them. Either way, your harassment skills have led to their death.
Orochi
Orochi are the fastest of the Assassin Class Heroes and like the other Samurai, the hardest to use.
Unlike the other Assassin’s, the Orochi only wields one weapon, there’s no dual wielding here and unlike some other Heroes, doesn’t carry a shield. Its light armour doesn’t provide much protection against stronger enemies, but its ability to counter-attacks is unparalleled.
The Orochi easily confounds and aggravates enemy Heroes with guard-breaks, parries and counter combos. Because it only wields one weapon, the Orochi is easily the strongest of the Assassin Class Heroes too. An outlier in the Assassin class, the Orochi is equally effective on the frontline as it is at flanking or capturing points.
Hybrid Class
The closed beta only featured one Hybrid Class Hero. Hybrids in For Honor are a mix of other Heroes of their Faction.
Nobushi
Nobushi is the Samurais’ Hybrid Class Hero and is a mixture of Orochi and Kensei. Nobushi wields a long stave so has the best reach thus far, but also attacks with style and flair.
The Nobushi’s range makes up for a lack of strength and although it fights with a lot of style, its speed is lower than the Assassin Class. Nobushi Class Heroes can only be females due to their small size and nimble abilities.
The Nobushi are excellent at escaping from dangerous situations especially as they keep their enemies at a distance when fighting one-on-one.
You’ll never want to have an enemy get up close to the Nobushi as at close range, their effectiveness is significantly reduced. Keep enemies away, escape when necessary and the Nobushi is deadly.
There are set to be more classes and characters in For Honor when it releases and we’ll be sure to update our list when we have new information.
For Honor will be available for PC, PS4 and Xbox One on February 14, 2017.
