"Monster. Demon. Soul collector! So some call me. But I take only the worthy, to honor the fallen. Their souls fight with me, rest within my every weapon. And they answer!"
"I am master of the seven! Through me, pure might awakens! I will teach others the ways of the Sohei, and we will be unstoppable."
Sohei are a playable hero class in For Honor.
Overview[]
Sohei are warrior monks, wielding an armament of weapons. But just because they wield in numbers does not mean they lack mastery in any of them. Under the tutelage of Onikawa and Master Katashi, the Sohei attain spiritual and martial mastery deep in a Myre monastery. To earn the name of Sohei, warriors must train with a weapon for years, mastering each weapon before being allowed to move on to the next.
Often arrogant, the Sohei deeply respect the rare worthy opponent. In their eyes, having your weapon be chosen by a Sohei is the highest honor. They believe the weapon contains the soul of the warrior, living on through battle. As such, upon adding a weapon to their collection, the Sohei pays their respect by making the most of that very soul and becoming a master of every new weapon. With their mighty arsenal, the Sohei are quite literally armies of one.
Armor[]
As their name speaks, the Sohei are warrior monks, cladding themselves in both physical and spiritual armor. Over their monastic robe, the Sohei wears metal plates over their arms and chest, together with metal cuisses and tassets that protect their legs. Prayer beads don't only hand around their neck, but also around other parts of their body such as their arms. Most memorably, their head is wrapped in a traditional monk's cowl, together with a demonic mask meant to terrify their enemies.
Weapon[]
Kama-yari and Auxiliary Soul Weapons - The Sohei use the Kama-yari, a unique spear that can stab, slash and cleave in all form of matters. On top of this, these warrior monks have picked up an arsenal of other weapons, mastering each of them so that they can wield them in tandem with the Kama-yari. As a result, the Sohei fight ferociously but methodically, delivering devastating blows to those who don't pay attention to their mastery.
Known Sohei[]
- Oniwaka
Trivia[]
- The Sohei (僧兵; souhei; lit. "monk soldier") were Buddhist warrior monks of pre-modern Japan, rising to power during the 10th century and lasting until around the 17th century. Unlike the Yamabushi who are also monks known for some level of martial prowess, the Sohei were highly militant, viewing their militaristic service as a mean of fulfilling enlightenment. As a result, the Sohei would function as mercenaries or even proactively act on their beliefs, resulting in them being the aggressor in conflicts.
- The Sohei and the Yamabushi were both heavily inspired by the Shugendo school of Buddhism.
- The Sohei very much takes inspiration from Benkei (弁慶), the most well-known warrior monk in Japanese pop culture. Benkei was known for his gigantic stature, mastery of a multitude of weapons and his eventual service to Minamoto no Yoshitsune after losing a duel to the young warrior.
- It is fabled that Benkei's birth name was "Oniwaka" (鬼若; lit. "demon child"), for when he was born, he was already the size of a young child, having long hair and fangs. His parents thought him as a "demon child" thus gave him the above name.
- Benkei is known for his large stature and fortitude, together with his prowess as a warrior. His most well known tale is his personal quest to collect a thousand blades from Samurai warriors, as he believed them to be arrogant and unworthy. After roaming Kyoto and collecting 999 blades, Benkei encountered a young boy with a gilded blade, who he'd challenge to a duel. Benkei would lose to the young boy (who revealed himself to be Minamoto no Yoshitsune) due to the latter's wit and elusiveness, thereafter pledging his undying loyalty.
- Benkei's other well known tale is his last stand together with Yoshitsune. After being surrounded at the Battle of Koromo River by the army under Yoshitsune's brother, Minamoto no Yoritomo, Benkei guarded a bridge as his master headed into the castle's hold to commit ritual suicide. Due to his large stature and martial prowess, it is said that warriors either were too afraid to face Benkei and those who did were killed swiftly. Eventually, seeing how fruitless close combat was, Yoritomo's army decided to send volleys of arrows to kill the warrior. Long after the battle was over, Benkei still stood standing, as he had died standing up, laiden in carpets of arrows. This last stand by Benkei would be known as the "Standing Death of Benkei" (弁慶の立往生; benkei no tachi-oujou).
- This tale is referenced with the Sohei's Tsuki Yari execution, where the victim calls in volley of arrows, and while one volley hits Sohei in the chest, he remains mostly unfazed as he proceeds to execute the victim who helplessly tries to call in more volleys.
- Benkei was famous for wielding a vast number of weapons aside from the naginata that all warrior monks used. Known as "the seven tools of Benkei" (弁慶の七つ道具; benkei no nanatsu dougu), what weapons and how many he wielded is actually lost to history, leading to different accounts of what weapons he had used. Most commonly, he has been fabled to have used the following weapons: the kizuchi (木槌; lit. "wood hammer"), the nokogiri (鋸; lit. "saw"), the tetsubou (鉄棒; lit. "iron club"), the kumade (熊手; "war rake"; lit. "bear claw"), the kama (鎌; lit. "sickle"), the sasumata (刺股; lit. "spear fork") and the yue (鉞; lit. "axe").
- While Benkei did use katana blades, his Seven Tools does not usually include a "Kodachi" (小太刀) as the Sohei does in his kit. Benkei also didn't use a Yari spear (as will be noted below), although the Sohei may be using this weapon to distinguish them from the Nobushi who already uses the naginata.
- The kama-yari (鎌槍; lit. "sickle spear") is a variant of the Japanese-style spear where a sickle blade extends from the base of the spear head. It is most famously known for being the favoured weapon of Katou Kiyomasa (加藤清正). However, being of the 12th century, Benkei would not have wielded the kama-yari as it is said that the variant was created during the 16th century by the Buddhist priest Houzouin Kakuzenbou In'ei (宝蔵院覚禅房胤栄).
- The kama-yari used by the Sohei, including the default weapon visual, seems to base their design off the katakama-yari (片鎌槍; lit. "one-sided sickle spear") variant, where aside from having a sickle blade protruding from one side of the spear head base, another shorter blade is present opposite of the sickle blade.
Translation[]
Quotes[]
Combat[]
- Japanese: 一 (ichi)- English: "One."
- First Soul Charge
- Japanese: 二 (ni)- English: "Two."
- Second Soul Charge
- Japanese: 三 (san)- English: "Three."
- Third Soul Charge
- Japanese: 四 (shi)- English: "Four."
- Fourth Soul Charge
- Japanese: 五 (go)- English: "Five."
- Fifth Soul Charge
- Japanese: 全開！ (zenkai)- English: "Full release!" or "Fully awakened!" or "Full power!"
- Six/Full Soul Charge, Soul Waker feat (unique T4)
- Japanese: 命卸しだ (mei oroshi da) - English: "Unloading the souls!" or "Take (the brunt of) these souls!"
- Seven-Force Strike
Feats & Others[]
- Eye of the Demon feat:
- Japanese: 恐れろ (osorero) - English: "Fear me!" or "Be afraid!"
- Soul Soother feat:
- Japanese: 回復 (kaifuku) - English: "Recovery." or "I'm healed."
- Smoke Bomb Feat:
- Japanese: 食らえ (kurae) - English: "Eat this!" or "Take this!"
- Japanese: 容赦なし (yousha nashi) - English: "No forgiveness." or "No holding back."
- Japanese: 終わりだ (owari da) - English: "This is the end!"
- Arrow Strike Feat:
- Japanese: 食らえ (kurae) - English: "Eat this!" or "Take this!"
- Japanese: 狙え放て (nerae, hanate) - English: "Aim, release!"
- Japanese: 弓隊 (yumi-tai) - English: "Archers!"
- Japanese: 矢を放て (ya wo hanate) - English: "Release arrows!"
- Arrow Storm Feat
- Japanese: 撃て (ute) - English: "Fire!"
- Japanese: 撃て、撃て (ute, ute) - English: "Fire, fire!"
- Japanese: 蹴散らせ (kechirase) - English: "Make them scatter!"
- Japanese: 矢を (ya wo) - English: "(Release) arrows!"
- When Revived:
- Japanese: 感謝する (kanshu suru) - English: "I thank you."
- Japanese: 共に戦おう (tomo ni tatakaou) - English: "Let's fight together."
- Japanese: 心の友よ (kokoro no tomo yo) - English: "My soul mate!"
- Japanese: 戦士の誉れだ (senshi no homare da) - English: "You honour this warrior."
- Japanese: 今日は勝つぞ (kyou wa katsu zo) - English: "We will win today." or "Today, we will be victorious."
- Japanese: 恩に着る (on ni kiru) - English: "I am most grateful."
- Japanese: 戦いは続く (tatakai wa tsudzuku) - English: "The fight goes on." or "The battle continues."
- Fight Controller emote:
- Japanese: こっちこっち。あっちだ。ダメだ！クソ．．． (kocchi kocchi. acchi da. dame da! kuso...) - English: "Over here, here. That way. No good! Dammit..."
- Japanese: こっちだ。あっちあっち。ダメだ！クソ．．． (kocchi da. acchi acchi. dame da! kuso...) - English: "Over here. That way, that way. No good! Dammit..."
Fighting Style[]
The Sohei are mighty warriors, taught in the ways of not just their Kama-yari, but also in the use of their auxiliary weapons.
Versatile and methodical, the Sohei’s main weapon is the Kama Yari, but they can draw between six secondary weapons to support it. Each secondary hit activates the weapon's Soul with a fiery glow. When all six Soul Weapons are glowing, the Sohei can trigger their signature move, Seven-Force Strike, a monstrous assault of overwhelming strength.
- Difficulty: Hard
- Souls Resource, Weapons master
- Charge Based Souls Mechanic into Executing Blow
Special Capabilities[]
- Versatile kit that allows Light or Heavy from any dodge attack, sprint attack or bash follow-up
- Soul Attack Finishers that have special properties based on direction and input, along with granting Sohei Soul Charges
- Full Soul Charges grants Sohei access to the high damage Seven-Force Strike move, while interacting uniquely with Feats
Perks[]
Available Perks for the Sohei can be viewed on the Perks page.
Feats[]
- T1: Eye of the Demon - Target one opponent and decrease their defense by 25% for a duration. Short cooldown.
- Iron Lungs
- Speed Revive
- T2: Soul Soother - Only available when at full Soul Charge. Consume all Charges to fully heal health.
- Arrow Strike
- Smoke Bomb
- T3: Ancillary Might - While having full Soul Charge, gain a passive attack bonus of 25% that persists for a bit when Soul Charges are consumed (allows to buff the damage of Seven-Force Strike).
- Punch Through
- Tough as Nails
- T4: Soul Waker - Attain full Soul Charge after a short animation. Long cooldown.
- Regenerate
- Arrow Storm
Moveset[]
General[]
- Renown: Heavy - Earn more Renown by assisting or saving Heroes, and holding objectives to unlock your feats in a match. (non-Dominion/Breach gamemodes only)
- Revenge Mode - Boosts Damage and Health. All Attacks are Uninterruptible. Parry and Throws knock enemies down. Attacks are Auto-Parried on activation.
- Dodge: No Guard - When performing a Dodge, your Hero's Guard disappears until the end of the Dodge.
Hero Specific[]
- Enhanced Lights - Light Attacks aside from Light Soul Finishers are not interrupted if blocked. Does not apply when blocked by a Superior Block.
- God Hand Follow-ups - After a landed God Hand, press the Light or Heavy input to perform a guaranteed follow-up in the form of God Hand Style or God Hand Spirit respectively. Cannot chain on-miss.
- Versatile Combat - Sohei has access to Light and Heavy inputs for many of his moves, including Dodge Attacks and Sprint Attacks. Both inputs will initiate attacks from the same guard direction.
- Yamabushi Sprint - Sprint Attack Light and Sprint Attack Heavy will perform an attack from the Top Guard.
- Yamabushi Attack - Yamabushi Style and Yamabushi Spirit will perform an attack in the direction of the dodge.
- Chain Openers - Zone Attacks, Dodge Attacks, Sprint Attacks and God Hand Follow-ups all count as chain openers for their respective input. For the purpose of Soul Stance, Zone Attacks counts as both a Light and Heavy input, so can chain into a Light Soul Finisher or Heavy Soul Finisher.
- Soul Stance - After any Opener, Sohei gains access to Soul Stance Finishers. Depending on which Opener was used, Sohei can access either Light Soul Finishers or Heavy Soul Finishers depending on what Opener was used.
- Light Soul Finishers - After a Light Opener, Zone Attack or a Parry, Sohei can perform a Light Soul Finisher: Soul Kodachi from Left Guard, Soul Tsukubo from Top Guard and Soul Sickle from Right Guard. They are faster than normal Lights, with Soul Tsukubo being Undodgeable.
- Heavy Soul Finishers - After a Heavy Opener, Zone Attack or a Parry, Sohei can perform a Heavy Soul Finisher: Soul Saw from Left Guard, Soul Mallet from Top Guard and Soul Sasumata from Right Guard. All Heavy Soul Finishers are Unblockable, with each direction having different properties: Soul Saw briefly pins before applying bleed on the target, Soul Mallet deals greater damage, and Soul Sasumata pins the target for a medium duration.
- Executable Monk - Unlike most other Zone Attacks, Sohei is able to initiate an Execution if Mad Monk Opener or Mad Monk Extender deals the finishing blow.
- Mad Monk Extender - Performing a zone after an Opener or any Soul Finisher, including Soul Riposte and Mountain Sunderer, Sohei can perform a special Zone Attack that has hyper armor and comes from the Left Guard. Cannot perform Mad Monk Extender after God Hand, Mad Monk Opener and Seven-Force Strike.
- Mad Monk Cancels - Mad Monk Opener and Mad Monk Extender can be hard feinted, or soft feinted into a Guardbreak.
- Soul Charges - Successfully landing a Soul Finisher on a Hero will grant a charge for that specific attack direction and input, tied to one of Sohei's six auxiliary weapons, also known as Soul Weapons. Soul Charges interact with Seven-Force Strike, together with Sohei's unique feats.
- Soul Charge Indicator -Sohei's auxiliary weapons are visually coded to be easy to read for both the Sohei and his opponent. Weapons are located near their guard direction, with Left Guard being at Sohei's left hip, Top Guard being on Sohei's left shoulder and Right Guard being on Sohei's right shoulder. The handles are also colour-coded, with Light Soul Weapons having white handles while Heavy Soul Weapons have dark brown handles. When gaining a Soul Charge, the pommel of the weapons will glow with a white flame, granting visibility to Sohei and the opponent which Charges he has accumulated so far; upon gaining all six Soul Charges, the flames will turn red to indicate that Sohei has access to Seven-Force Strike.
- Soul Charge Limits - Soul Charges will continue to be held until they are consumed or when Sohei dies.
- Seven-Force Strike - While having all six Soul Charges, perform a Zone input after God Hand to initiate an impaling move in the form of Seven-Force Strike, which is guaranteed. Seven-Force Strike is a pinning move that consumes all Soul Charges to deal a drastic 95 damage. If the move lands a killing blow, Sohei will perform a special animation as he stabs his opponent into the ground.
- Seven-Force Strike Consumption - Charges will be consumed after Sohei successfully grabs the opponent, and are not refunded if Sohei is interrupted before landing the stab after the grab.
- Soul Counterbalance - Due to the high damage that Sohei can deal through Seven-Force Strike, the general damage of the rest of Sohei's kit is lower than most Heroes.
- Mountain Sunderer - Upon guardbreaking a target, perform up to three Light Attacks or Heavy Attacks to initiate a triple strike with Sohei's auxiliary weapons in the form of Mountain Thunder and Mountain Crusher respectively. Each hit of Mountain Sunderer deals minor damage, but will grant Soul charges for the respective weapons. While not requiring strict timing, if performed too slowly though, Mountain Sunderer may be cancelled as the opponent performs a Counter Guardbreak.
- Mountain Thunder Order - The order in which Sohei performs Soul Finishers for Mountain Thunder is Left Guard (Kodachi), Right Guard (Sickle) and then Top Guard (Tsukubo).
- Mountain Crusher Order - The order in which Sohei performs Soul Finishers for Mountain Crusher is Right Guard (Sasumata), Left Guard (Saw) and then Top Guard (Mallet).
Moves[]
(From Guard Mode)
| Type | Name | PC | XB1 | PS4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Soul Lights | LMB, LMB | RB, RN | R1, R1 |
|
|
Soul Heavies | RMB, RMB | RT, RT | R2, R2 |
| Sprint Attack Light (Not in Guard Stance) | ↑ + LMB | LS↓(press to sprint) + RB | L3↓(press to sprint) + R1 | |
| Sprint Attack Heavy (Not in Guard Stance) | ↑ + RMB | LS↓(press to sprint) + RT | L3↓(press to sprint) + R2 | |
| Yamabushi Style | A or W or D + Space, LMB | LS← or LS↑ or LS→ + A, RB | LS← or LS↑ or LS→ + X, R1 | |
| Yamabushi Spirit | A or W or D + Space, RMB | LS← or LS↑ or LS→ + A, RT | LS← or LS↑ or LS→ + X, R2 | |
| Soul Kodachi | ← + LMB (after Opener) | RS← + RB (after Opener) | RS← + R1 (after Opener) | |
| Soul Tsukubo | ↑ + LMB (after Opener) | RS↑ + RB (after Opener) | RS↑ + R1 (after Opener) | |
| Soul Sickle | → + LMB (after Opener) | RS→ + RB (after Opener) | RS→ + R1 (after Opener) | |
 
|
Soul Saw | ← + RMB (after Opener) | RS← + RT (after Opener) | RS← + R2 (after Opener) |
|
|
Soul Mallet | ↑ + RMB (after Opener) | RS↑ + RT (after Opener) | RS↑ + R2 (after Opener) |
|
|
Soul Sasumata | → + RMB (after Opener) | RS→ + RT (after Opener) | RS→ + R2 (after Opener) |
| Mad Monk Opener | LMB + RMB | RB + RT | R1 + R2 | |
|
Mad Monk Extender (after any move except bashes and zones) | LMB + RMB | RB + RT | R1 + R2 |
|
God Hand | W + Space, MMB | LS↑ + A, X | LS↑ + X, ⬜ |
|
|
God Hand Style | W + Space, MMB*, LMB | LS↑ + A, X*, RB | LS↑ + X, ⬜*, R1 |
|
|
God Hand Spirit | W + Space, MMB ♦, RMB | LS↑ + A, X ♦, RT | LS↑ + X, ⬜ ♦, R2 |
|
|
Seven-Force Strike (at full Soul Charge) | W + Space, MMB ♦, LMB + RMB | LS↑ + A, X ♦, RB + RT | LS↑ + X, ⬜ ♦, R1 + R2 |
|
Mountain Thunder | MMB ♦, LMB, LMB, LMB | X ♦, RB, RB, RB | ⬜ ♦, R1, R1, R1 |
|
|
Mountain Crusher | MMB ♦, LMB, LMB, LMB | X ♦, RB, RB, RB | ⬜ ♦, R1, R1, R1 |
Sohei/Gear
Executions[]
 Requiescat In Pace |
 Rampage Of Ragnarok |
 Cheaty Flute |
 Blow Your Own Horn |
 Harpy Hey Joe |
 Lute Not |
 Sylvan Vaporization |
 Horkos Pharmakos |
 Sylvan Metamorphasis |
 Revenant Slayer |
 Ulfhednar Killer |
 Shiryo Avenger |
 Jiangshi Banisher |
 Minified And Put Aside |
 Minified And Magnified |
 Minified And Stomped |
 Minified And Kicked Away |
 Wolf Among Sheep |
 Ilma's Scythe |
 Cane You Feel It |
 Brought You A Gift |
 Chimera Salvation |
 Blades of the Vanguards |
 Resounding Defeat |
 Deadly Hare |
 Sylvan Detachment |
 To The Great Beyond |
 Feast Upon The Weak |
 The Masquerade Is Over |
 Unquenchable Wolf |
 Farewell, Chimera Music Box |
 Farewell, Chimera Zither |
 Farewell, Horkos Bagpipe |
 Farewell, Horkos Violin |
 Wrathful Concision |
 Willful Concision |
 Sorrowful Concision |
 Artful Concision |
 Aegir's Reach |
 Anchors Down |
 Chill Out |
 Death Metal Triangle |
 Fish In A Barrel |
 Get Whale Soon |
 Off The Hook |
 The Huntress' Prey |
 Ran's Bestowment |
 What Goes Around |
 Just Add Oil |
 A Plague Unto You |
 Blow Dart Barrage |
 Jorogumo's Hunter |
 The Spider's Thrall |
 Gruesome Punishment |
Emotes[]
Passive Stance[]
 The Bard's Instrument |
 Sword In The Stone |
 Ready To Rumble |
 Volcanic Destruction Blast |
 Jack O Lantern |
 Leap Of Faith |
 Penguin Walk |
 Vortiger's Ascent |
 Shadows of the Hitokiri |
 Zhanhu's Fire |
 Dubious Assessment |
 One Of Your Shrugs |
 Howl At The Moon |
 Confused Warrior |
 Skeptically Swaying |
 Horkos Grimoire |
 Sylvan Book |
 Sylvan Meditation |
 In ChaRAHcter |
 Muscular Archer |
 Muscular Biceps |
 Message Board |
 Sylvan Panacea |
 Selfish Drinker |
 Chimera Bagpipe |
 Chimera Music Box |
 Chimera Violin |
 Chimera Zither |
 Horkos Bagpipe |
 Horkos Music Box |
 Horkos Violin |
 Horkos Zither |
 Odaiko |
 Raising Glasses |
 Suspended Gong |
 The Bodhran |
 The Field Drum |
 Suspicious Tumbleweed |
 Elegant Dance |
 The Bard's Triangle |
 Gryphon's Fireside |
 Boxing Drill |
 Mad Alchemist |
 Stars of Destiny |
Boxing Drill |
 Think About It |
 My Juggle Act |
 Most Wanted |
| Think About It |
My Juggle Act |
Most Wanted |
 A Light In The Dark |
 Sun's Out Chair's Out |
 Dev Handshake |
 Handle With Care |
 Popcorn Kick |
 Follow My Lead |
 Snake Crossing |
 Rocking Horse |
 Rhythms of Shibu |
Fighting Stance[]
 Snowball Fight! |
Executions[]
 Futsunomitama |
 Ware Shinaba |
 Death By Arrows |
Emotes[]
Passive Stance[]
 Down The Hatch! (Samurai) |
 Rub Salt In The Wound (Samurai) |
 Banner Of Arms (Samurai) |
Sohei/Media
| Heroes | |
|---|---|
| Knights | Warden - Conqueror - Peacekeeper - Lawbringer -Centurion Gladiator - Black Prior - Warmonger - Gryphon |
| Samurai | Kensei - Shugoki - Orochi - Nobushi - Shinobi Aramusha - Hitokiri - Kyoshin - Sohei |
| Vikings | Raider - Warlord - Berserker - Valkyrie - Highlander Shaman - Jormungandr - Varangian Guard |
| Wu Lin | Tiandi - Jiang Jun - Nuxia - Shaolin - Zhanhu |
| Outlanders | Pirate - Medjay - Afeera - Ocelotl |