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"Since launch we’ve added 10 new heroes, 2 new game modes, tons of events, and we’re just getting started. Welcome to the Year of the Harbinger. "

Year of the Harbinger is the third year of For Honor and refers to all changes and new heroes that will be brought about in 2019, during Seasons 9-12.

The Year of the Harbinger will introduce a new hero each season, starting with a Knight Hero in Season 9, together with new maps and extensive Hero reworks. Unlike previous Seasons, the new Heroes will be introduced based on the events that have happened during the Faction War. Other changes such as Hero balance, bug fixes and quality of life touch-ups are to be expected.

Overview[]

Many years have passed since the death of Apollyon and the fall of the Blackstone Legion, but the eruption of Mount Ignis has sent shockwaves across the land. There have been rumors of a new Cataclysm looming on the horizon. Now, four new warriors are rising amidst this chaos, eager to join the fight.

Breaking away from the pattern of the previous seasons that introduced at least two new Heroes or a handful of reworks, this year spells a set of Seasons where one Hero is introduced, together with some Hero changes or reworks. The Year of the Harbinger introduces a new Heavy Hero for each faction, with the exception of Zhanhu who is a Hybrid Hero.

Features[]

Each season will introduce one Hero, one map and a handful of Hero reworks/changes. There will also be a mid-season Event dedicated to the new Hero each Season.

New Heroes, Maps & Mid-Season Events[]

Hero Reworks and Changes[]

  • Season 9: Vortiger
    • Shugoki (rework): Dedicated rework that gave the Hero the ability to initiate combat better, more mix-up options and consistent trading power:
      • Reworked Uninterruptable Stance: Now applies Uninterruptable to the start-up of most moves
      • Demon's Embrace now cannot be performed from neutral; has to be performed as a soft-feint for Heavies or after throwing someone
        • Demon's Embrace now has lower damage and heal, but does not consume health if it fails; also fully replenishes Stamina if successful
        • Has more reliable tracking, but can now be interrupted mid-bind by both friendlies and enemies
      • Chain Heavies can now also be charged to perform a Charged Heavy
        • Charged Heavies can be feinted later into their charge
        • Heavy Openers are faster, with Heavy attacks overall having slightly better tracking
      • Stamina consumption has been improved to be streamlined akin to all other Heroes, as not to over-punish Shugoki
      • Headbutt is now not guaranteed or pushes enemies back, but can now be performed after any Opener in chains even, if previous move was blocked or missed
      • Zone Attack is now one swing, is faster and links to Headbutt or Heavy Finishers
      • Sprint Attack is now a top-stance attacks and links to Headbutt or Heavy Finishers
      • Other quality of life changes.
    • Warlord (changes): Remove 1v1 power from Out of Lock combat, while emphasizing Locked combat's power more:
      • Crashing Charge start-up increased; Lunge Strike is now a Light attack and follow-up moves are not guaranteed anymore
      • New Light-Light and Heavy-Heavy Chains; Light Finishers are slightly faster, and Heavy attacks have had their damage buffed
      • Crushing Counterstrike properties added to successful Light Attack superior blocks
      • Zone Attack is undodgable
      • Full Block Stance's Stamina model now streamlined (10 to enter, 5 per second of hold); no more stamina recharge delay upon leaving Stance
    • Peacekeeper (changes): Improve Peacekeeper's ability to deal enough damage in striking, get kills, and get executions:
      • Guardbreak now can chain into Zone; Heavy also connects
      • Damage for Chain Attacks and Dodge Attacks slightly increased
      • Stamina cost for Deep Gouge and Dagger Cancel reduced; Stamina cost for Zone Attack is now divided between the two strikes
  • Season 10: Sakura
    • Lawbringer (Partial Rework): Changes were made to the Lawbringer's kit in order to grant them better initiation tools, along with improvements to their ability to maintain the offense, along with changing Shove to be less oppressive in elongating fights in unnecessary ways.
      • "Shove after Block" removed. Other instances of Shove now cause a Light Attack reaction (guarantees a Light Attack). "Shove Mix-up after Heavy" can now be initiated even when the Heavy is blocked or missed.
      • Faster attack speed across the board, along with new combo chains
      • Side Lights now are enhanced, therefore not interrupted when blocked
      • All Heavy Finishers are now unblockable, while Finishers across the board have slightly increased damage
      • Long Arm can be interrupted
      • Other quality of life changes
    • Raider (Partial Rework): Changes were made to the Raider's kit in order to grant them better initiation tools, along with improvements to their ability to maintain the offense, along with a few touch-ups to add clarity to their kit.
      • Slightly faster Light Attacks; Second and Finisher Heavies now have Uninterruptibleproperties; new combo chains
      • Heavies and Zone Attack can now be soft-feinted into guardbreak
      • Damage buffed across the board
      • Stampede Charge can be interrupted
      • Other quality of life changes
  • Season 11: Hulda
    • Nobushi (Light Rework): We reduced her overall safeness when she is killing minions in the lane, and when she is in group fights. By making her Hidden Stance a bit more offensive, accelerating the Kick and making so that her Bleed’s stacks, we hope that she will find a bit more prowess in 1v1 scenarios. We also want to reduce Nobushi’s hard hitting moves and bring them down to more standard values.
      • Bleed now stacks, but has reduced damage; bleed duration not changed.
      • Dodge branches to Dodge Attack slightly later in the dodge. Sidewinder has better recovery, with all move branching from it standardized to 500ms.
      • Cannot Counter Guardbreak during Hidden Stance, and Kick from Hidden Stance is now not guaranteed. Stamina regeneration not stopped for 4s after exiting Hidden Stance.
      • Light Attacks have had their speed standardized to 500ms, while their damage has been overall reduced. Heavy Attacks overall have increased damage.
      • Swift Recoil (and effectively Swift Retreat) removed.
    • Shinobi (Light Rework): Shinobi is already hard to hit, so we want to make Shinobi more vulnerable when hits happen. Pin moves have also been standardized to be vulnerable to outside attacks, following recent changes to bind maneuvers to make them less frustrating to fight against. Other small changes implemented.
      • Reflex Guard standardized to be 1100ms like other Assassin Heroes (from 800ms).
      • Ranged Guardbreak and Slide Tackle now do not beat Revenge Activation.
      • Slide Tackle now has smaller Activation window, on top of now allowing victims to activate Revenge even when hit by Tackle.
      • Lots of moves, especially the Sickle Rain pinning move, have lost their Uninterruptible Stance property. These include Backflip, Front Roll, all Kick moves ( Double Dodge, Front Roll and Deflect), Slide Tackle and Sickle Rain.
    • Orochi (Changes): With these changes Orochi should be a bit more powerful in 1v1 with the faster Light Attacks and Zone Attack, and be less vulnerable when going on the offense.
      • Top Light Opener is slightly faster, but has less damage. Side Light Finisher and Lightning Strike (forward dodge Light) is also slightly faster.
      • Top Heavy Attacks now have faster recoveries.
      • Side Attacks possess better attack trajectory to hit external targets.
      • Zone Attack is slightly faster and has faster recovery.
    • Other Notable Changes:
      • Peacekeeper: Received some quality of life changes to keep pressure up, such as Stamina cost reduction and faster recovery on Deep Gouge, and faster branching for Deflect Attack. Slipping Lunge is now undodgeable.
      • Valkyrie: Damage and quality of life changes to make Valkyrie more battlefield viable, on top of making her less vulnerable after a Sweep.
      • Kensei: Light Attack speed standardized. Damage changes should now allow Kensei to use side Lights and Heavies in teamfights than relying on Zone Attack.
      • Tiandi: Tiandi was too vulnerable in group fights due to Finisher recoveries being semi-high, so recovery improvements were implemented to make them safer.
  • Season 12: Sun Da
    • Raider (Light Rework): Much of the frustration in facing a Raider was due to the visual distraction caused by Stunning Tap. So, the stun has been completely removed, with the rest of the move kept intact to allow Raider sufficient chain options to threaten his opponent. Also, while his attacks are slow, Raider's Heavies were overtuned in damage.
      • Stunning Tap renamed into Storming Tap, and now does not cause any stun or stamina damage, nor does it pause Stamina Regeneration.
      • Reduced damage on Heavy Openers and Top Heavy Finisher.
      • Reduced damage on Raider Fury (in-chain Zone Attack).
    • Hitokiri (Light Rework): The very fast appearance of Super Armor on the Hitokiri's Heavy Openers led to a lot of frustration as players were able to trade attacks easily with the Hero and enter “Mugen-Ryu” to press their advantage into even more damage. We want the Super Armor on “Mangetsu” to be harder to use for trading and come with a conscious decision on releasing to trade or continue holding to reach Unblockable and Super Armored state. Other adjustments have been made to let Hitokiri be less oppressive than desired.
      • Mangetsu (Heavy Openers) are slightly slower when uncharged. Mangetsu also attain Uninterruptible properties later in the attack, causing it to only have Uninterruptible properties during the strike phase, not the charge phase.
      • Slightly reduced the damage of Endless Myriad's Heavy Attacks.
      • Senbonzakura's cooldown has been increased.
      • Fix: The strike portion of the fully Charged ”Endless Myriad” Heavies and fully Charged Right Stance “Mangetsu” no longer are vulnerable to guardbreaks, as they should be intended.
    • Other Notable Changes:
      • Warlord: Heavy Finishers overall have less recovery time.
      • Orochi: Slight increased sprint speed. Crashing Wave is faster and has more forward momentum.
      • Shaman: Slightly increased forward momentum on Heavy Openers and Bleed Attacks. Increased range on Wild Cat's Swiftness. Zone Attack's 3rd and 4th hit are now considered as Heavy Attacks than Light Attacks.
      • Black Prior & Jormungandr: Mid-chain bashes (Tenebris Rising and Jotunn Farewell respectively) are slightly more delayed after a Light Opener.

Seasons[]

Year of the Harbinger: Season 1, named "Vortiger," is the ninth season of the ongoing Faction War. This season offered a single hero from the Knight faction, two Hero improvements, and a long awaited rework.

Mt. Ignis’ eruption sent shockwaves through the lands. From out of this chaos rises a dark sect long forgotten. The Black Priors were once dark warriors of Apollyon and the Blackstone Legion. After the collapse of the Blackstone, the Black Priors disappeared. Some say they were wiped out, others say they fled the lands. But now, as new chaos shakes the lands, the Black Priors re-emerge. Led by their grim leader, Vortiger, these warriors, unbound by chivalry, promise victory to the Knights... by any means necessary.

Features[]

Heroes[]

Heroes Reworks[]

Maps[]

Updates[]

Major Hero Updates[]

With the launch of Year 3 Season 1, the Peacekeeper and Warlord received touch-ups to their kit, while Shugoki received an entire rework. These changes not only refreshed the experience for each Hero but aimed to better the overall balance of the game.

New Cosmetics[]

With every season comes new cosmetics. Each faction received their own winter-themed mask set.

Skill Rating & New Matchmaking[]

The developers announced trying a new method when it comes to matchmaking in an attempt to get players matched in fairer fights.

To improve the matchmaking accuracy, the methodology in calculating Player Skill was updated. Now, only the win/loss will be taken into account, with all the layers linked to the player end match score (Kills, Renown, etc) removed. This change is in effect for all modes, both ranked and unranked.

New Rewards[]

New Arcade rewards have been added, one for regular Quests and one for the Weekly Quests. Trial Rewards have been updated to include the Wu Lin Heroes and Black Prior; players who already finished them will automatically received the Rewards for them.

Ladder Combat[]

Sliding down on another Hero now does not deal damage. It will only knock them off, still dealing fall damage where applicable. This was implemented as damage was applied inconsistently and ladder conflict was seen by the developers as an invalid form of combat.

Midseason Changes[]

During the midseason changes, a number of improvements were initiated.

  • Heroes received reworks.
    • Shinobi's Slide Tackle starts up later to allow opponents to dodge the move more easily. He can now feint the third strike of his Zone Attack.
    • Jiang Jun's Soothing Mist has been nerfed in cooldown and healing, together with the reduction of damage to his Finishers and Zone Attack.
    • Black Prior received a few adjustments to make him less frustrating to fight against, such as decreasing his Finisher's damage and increasing the recovery time of his Tenebris Rising and Full Block Stance exit.
  • In Arcade, Harbor is playable, and there are two new objectives on top of Elimination: Survive (stay alive for a duration) and Kill Target (you only need to kill the Leader).
  • Mask Outfits have been named "Illustrious" due to the upcoming Outfits during the Black Prior's Riposte event.
  • Revenge cannot be gained when fighting one opponent. As a result, Revenge gain has been increased.
  • Feats and Perks were touched upon for a better experience with them.
  • A number of bug fixes for Heroes, Maps and more.

Gallery[]

Images[]

Year of the Harbinger: Season 2, named "Sakura," is the tenth season of the ongoing Faction War. This season offered a single hero from the Samurai faction, along with two Hero improvements/reworks.

A series of chilling incidents has plagued the Myre, and many believe they all began with Sakura, an infamous Hitokiri. Years ago, the Samurai executioner was tasked to sentence a peasant fisherman who had committed an odious crime. As Sakura raised her axe to deliver justice, she fell into a trance and slaughtered every living soul in the village. Many years have passed, and yet Kaidan is still rumored to be haunted by Sakura's victims. Some unfortunate warriors recently fought in the abandoned village, but only a few lived to tell the tale. They have seen things most people would not believe…

Features[]

Heroes[]

Heroes Reworks[]

Maps[]

Updates[]

Major Hero Updates[]

With the launch of Year 3 Season 2, the Lawbringer and Raider receiveed moderate reworks to their kit, meant to grant them the means to initiate and sustain the offense they didn't have as much before. These changes not only refreshed the experience for each Hero but aimed to better the overall balance of the game.

New Cosmetics[]

With every season comes new cosmetics. Each faction received their own new set of weapon visuals, together with the "Proudly Seventy" emote that unlocks to all Heroes who have and will reach Rep 70, the maximum Rep possible.

Others[]

Changes have been made to progression in the game by activating dynamic rewards for all gamemodes aside from Ranked Duels. Dynamic rewards was only applied to Breach, awarding players for a longer game, and now doing the same in these other modes will provide proper due for time spent.

Changes to Arcade Quests were made in order to make the goals and buffs/debuffs more apparent, along with making the Weekly Quest more accessible to all players by reducing its Rarity Level down to 108 from 162.

HUD improvements were made to clear the HUD more, just like last season, from making messages and banners smaller on the screen, to removing entire features such as "X alive left" and kill messages.

Small changes were also made to the Temple Garden map to make it more balanced. These changes were to Zone A and the path leading from Attacker spawn to Zone A. For Zone A, the inside of the tomb was made clear of the tombstone while also lessening how deep the tomb area went. On the outside portion, a fencing was added, reducing the Zone's ledges from two to one. For the pathway from the Attacker's side, the ladder was shortened and the ground below raised in order to make the trek for Attacker much more equal with that of the Defender's.

Midseason Changes[]

During the midseason changes, a number of improvements were initiated.

  • Heroes received reworks.
    • Raider is now less oppressive, as he does not possess side or back dodge guardbreaks, with his Stunning Tap having less flickering.
    • Shaman and Warlord have had their throw distances reduced.
  • The Stamina system has been improved, with Stunning moves being standardized and Exhaustion (Out of Stamina) not being so punishing as it now cannot be further drained; performing actions during Exhaustion will now only pause the Stamina Regeneration, not deplete it further.
  • Emblems can now be placed on more parts of a Hero's body, while some Neutral Colour Swatches have been changed into either Attacker or Defender Swatches.
  • The special "all black" colour swatch was added as a reward for playing "Realistic" gamemodes (typically found as an Event Game Mode).
  • A number of bug fixes for Heroes, Maps and more.

Gallery[]

Images[]

Year of the Harbinger: Season 3, named "Hulda," is the eleventh season of the ongoing Faction War. This season offered a single hero from the Viking faction, along with three Hero improvements/reworks.

The darkest cults always creep back to the surface in times of despair and self-doubt. As the Knights marched on Valkenheim and conquered most of the North, the Vikings began to lose hope and turned to the Jormungandr for help. The Viking sectarians began to spread their ominous beliefs and crushed the weak in the name of their god, the Great Serpent. The legendary Hulda rose as a new leader among the Northerners and fought the bloodiest battles in Viking history to reclaim Valkenheim.

Features[]

Heroes[]

Heroes Changes[]

Maps[]

Updates[]

Major Hero Updates[]

With the launch of Year 3 Season 3, Heroes received some changes to their moveset, most especially three Heroes from the Samurai faction (Orochi, Nobushi, Shinobi). These changes not only refreshed the experience for each Hero but aimed to better the overall balance of the game.

New Cosmetics[]

With every season comes new cosmetics. Each faction received their own new set of weapon visuals, together with a faction-based battle emote, allowing you to compliment your opponent. "Macte Virtute" (lit. "Blessings to you") for the Knights; "Ageatavel" (Ágeatavel; lit. "Excellent") for the Vikings; "Subarashi" (素晴らしい; subarashii; lit. "Amazing") for the Samurai; "Zuode Hao" (做得好; Zuòdé hǎo; lit. "Well done") for the Wu Lin.

Escape Standardization[]

The Escape Standardization changes the following 3 major things:

  1. Opponents can no longer Roll away from many mix-ups without being vulnerable to Feint into Guard Break. This is done by making dodging more vulnerable, rolling harder to perform and guardbreak easier to perform after a feint. In trade, Counter Guardbreaking now has a 300ms window from 200ms.
  2. Unlocking to escape combat is a bit slower and more dangerous than before. Unlocking has a longer delay, whereas Locking no longer has defensive properties. Locking also reduces movement to 0, although momentum will still affect the Hero. This makes the act of rolling or unlocking a very dedicated action.
  3. Opponents can no longer back strafe away faster than you can strafe forward. Back strafing for all Heroes will no longer be faster than any Heroes forward strafe by having back strafing be no faster than 5 units (1.25m/s) and forward strafing be no slower than 6 units (1.5m/s); if a Hero had a slower back strafe and/or faster forward strafe, they were not affected. This also does not affect side strafing speed.

We believe that these changes will greatly open the door to more satisfying combat: it will reduce the ease of escape and avoiding combat, as well as make it much more difficult to stall out match-ups, especially when a match-up is between faster Heroes vs slower Heroes. It will still be possible to disengage in group fight modes, however it won’t be as safe of an option as it was before.

Others[]

"The Sanctuary - Competitive": A new high-octane map was created strictly for Ranked Duels, and is the only map available for that mode. The purpose of the map is to encourage fight interaction between players without relying on environmental hazards or disengage tactics. All duel maps are still available in Custom Matches and non-Ranked modes.

Feats deemed to be too strong have been nerfed. Inspire and Second Wind now have longer cooldowns, whereas Tough As Nails grants less total health and Body Count rewards less health and stamina.

Zones on Overwatch have seen changes. Zone C's trapdoors now do not open up, with exceptions being the outer most trapdoors, which will only open when Sudden Death is triggered in either Dominion or Skirmish. Ladders have also been added near Zone A to make it more accessible from Zone B, as players were forced to head away from Zone A and onto the bridges to access the Zone. Also, all Arena maps now have more diversified environments and weather with the help of 6 new added contexts.

Changes have been made for Customization and its menu. Items in the "View Progression" page are now displayed on the 3D Hero. The team overseeing Customization are revised rules and regulations for Colour swatches, allowing more Neutral swatches to apply to either Attacker or Defender. Player Expression for Berserker cosmetics, along with select Female Hitokiri cosemetics have been revised.

Midseason Changes[]

During the midseason changes, a number of improvements were initiated.

  • Heroes received minor reworks, two of them based on feedback from the Testing Grounds.
    • Peacekeeper now has Enhanced Lights on Bleeding Targets, together with better recoveries.
    • Gladiator has had his Reflex Guard duration and Light Attack speeds standardized, together with an improved Fuscina Ictus (Toe Stab), Skewer and movement speed all to improve his ability to catch enemies.
    • Warlord now has Enhanced Lights, together with his Heavy Finishers having standardized Hyper Armor (400ms before impact).
  • The map High Fort has had some ledges blocked on Capture Zones to reduce frustration of dueling with enemies at the entry points of the Zones. Spikes on Zone C were also removed.
  • Colour Swatches have been mixed around to give more Attacker/Defender Colours for use.
  • A number of bug fixes for Heroes, Maps and more.

Gallery[]

Year of the Harbinger: Season 4, named "Sun Da," is the twelth season of the ongoing Faction War. This season offers a single hero from the Wu Lin faction, along with a handful of Hero improvements.

After a massive sandstorm wrecked most of the Wu Lin territories, many fled west and sought refuge in Heathmoor, while others stayed behind with the Emperor to rebuild an army. Among them, Sun Da, leader of the Zhanhu, found new ways to use fire in his laboratory at Qiang Pass. As he tried to increase the Wu Lin arsenal, an unexpected enemy got wind of his discoveries and attacked the fortress...

Features[]

Heroes[]

Heroes Changes[]

  • Raider
  • Hitokiri
  • Minor Tweaks:
    • Warlord
    • Orochi
    • Shaman
    • Black Prior
    • Jormungandr

Maps[]

Updates[]

Hero Updates[]

With the launch of Year 3 Season 4, Heroes have received some changes to their moveset, most especially for two Heroes (Raider and Hitokiri) who have been a cause for much frustration. These changes will not only refresh the experience for each Hero but aims to better the overall balance of the game.

New Cosmetics[]

With every season comes new cosmetics. Each faction has received their own new set of weapon visuals, together with a new pure white material for all Heroes. Show off this new look to your opponents! In Arcade, there is a new visual, "Seer of Rays"!

Spectator Mode - Beta[]

Spectator Mode had been launched in the middle of Season 11, and has received some further changes/improvements in its beta phase.

  • Breach matches can now be spectated
  • Player selection has been improved, both for controllers and keyboard + mouse
  • Stance Indicator is now visible when in Player Camera
  • Matches now start in Tactical Camera
  • Spectators can watch the same player between rounds of Duel, instead of going back to the default one every round
  • Player outlines are hidden when User Interface is hidden
  • Player information panels have been increased in size (when in spectator mode only)

Others[]

Players will be able to unlock materials and embossing with steel, as is the case with feats. In addition, there will be a new white color material unlockable only by steel. Previous materials and embossings will remain unlockable through regular progression. The goal of this change is to enable players to accelerate their progression for more customization options for a new hero. The steel values for unlocking the items will reflect the time it takes to unlock through regular progression, while the white material will cost as much as the highest tier material at 10000 steel.

All Buffs and Debuffs in the game will now prioritize the highest or strongest value. This also means that buffs from different sources will not stack, properly choosing the higher value. Buffs and Debuffs bonuses (separate from general Buffs and Debuffs) will stack and the value chosen will be the resulting addition of the values.

Shard & Harbor have received adjustments to the map layout to make PvP modes fairer to fight on. This includes removing certain hazards (fire traps, pitfalls and spikes) from Capture Zones, while moving the Brawl location on Shard to be fully on the Main Lane than being separated.

Some feats have been nerfed as their effects proved to be very powerful. Heal on Block now does not heal by blocking minions, preventing Heroes (most notably Conqueror) from being hard to remove from the minion lane. Morale Booster and Battlecry, as feats that affect map-wide and are able to turn the tide of battle with a button-press, have had their values decreased. Scout and, consequently, Marked for Death have had their values decreased for similar reasons as Morale Booster and Battlecry. In trade, Scout rewards more Renown reward.

Midseason Changes[]

During the midseason change, couple of improvements were initiated.

  • The map River Fort received Dominion changes so that there are less hazards, together with making Point C a better point to fight on for either team.
  • War Banner in Breach now greys out when on cooldown, compared to before where it did not change shades even when on cooldown.
  • Matchmaking changes to allocate more accurately players to servers for the best experience.
  • A number of bug fixes for Heroes, Maps and more.

Trivia[]

  • For Honor's lead writer, Elise Trinh, confirms during the Season 12 Reveal Livestream that, while the new Heroes continue to have names applied to the Heroes, players still play as classes, not set-characters. When playing a Zhanhu, players are not playing as Sun Da and Fu Huo, but as Zhanhu warriors who can take up a similar look.
    • On the Season 12 Reveal Livestream, she explained: "the narrative in this game is meant to inspire people, we are not forcing any kind of specific identity... the players in the game will play as a Zhanhu; then they can decide [their backstory/identity]."
      • This method of world-building is called semi-fixed characterization, where classes have roles in the game's universe (hence them being classes), but their stories and identities are the player's to create. This is regarded as typically the most immersive form of world-building.

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