In gaming, a tier list serves as a record of the ranks assigned to all characters in a game based on the strength of their fighting abilities, as well as their potential to win matches under tournament conditions, assuming players are of equal skill. Tier lists are most commonly made for fighting games that are played at a high competitive level, though games with large character pools, such as the Pokémon series, can also have their own tier lists.
A character's standing on a typical tier list is based on a variety of factors:
- The current metagame of the game itself
- The current metagame of the character in question
- The character's matchup spread
- The character's tournament results
- And more.
However, for For Honor, the community has pooled together a "viability vs playstyle" graph instead to more accurately judge a Hero's strength and weaknesses with better nuance of each Hero's traits. This means that while some of the factors above are relevant, the For Honor graph aims not to put Heroes above or below another on a single line, but to process their position on the graph with awareness of what role they play.
Tier Descriptions
In For Honor, there are currently three graphs (Dominion, Brawl, Duel). Each graph is divided into two parts: the playstyle the Hero fights closest to, together with their viability in their designated playstyle. Each gamemode has different gameplay goals, thus different playstyle categories, causing different Heroes to be suited better or worse between gamemodes. However, the consensus of viability is the same across gamemodes, between the three grades of Strong, OK, and Weak.
- Strong: The Hero performs well in their intended playstyle.
- OK: The Hero is able to function in their intended playstyle, but struggles in certain areas.
- Weak: The Hero under-performs or is ill-equipped for their intended playstyle.
Note
Take note that these graphs do not place Heroes in order of strongest-to-weakest within their respective category of Strong, OK and Weak.
These graphs were made right at the start of Season 12, thus only review Heroes prior to the release of Zhanhu and any Hero updates/reworks done at the start of Season 12. Balance may have changed drastically, particularly with the introduction of the Core Combat Update that made major changes to damage numbers, recovery times and more. To be updated.
Across all gamemodes, Revenge is not taken into consideration either due to inconsistency or to encourage aggression when considering competitive play.
Dominion
The following factors are in general features that would make a Hero good in Dominion:
- Team Fight: Dominion is a team-based mode, and most combat encounters will take place with multiple players from each team fighting for control of an objective. For this reason, a character's ability to fight as part of a group is more important than their strength as an individual duelist.
- Mid: The Middle Lane in Dominion is vital, so having a Hero be able to secure it is vital. However, because the Midlane is not like the Side Lanes, having a dedicated Hero who is specialized in dealing with Mid is crucial.
- Gank: The ability to gank an opponent by being able to confirm ally damage and high burst damage is helpful in capturing objectives.
- 1vX: As a team-based mode, there will be times a Hero gets ganked by multiple enemies, so being able to fend against multiple enemies is valuable.
- 1v1: While not as important in Dominion, being able to fight one-on-one is still important.
- Rotations: On top of aiding allies as soon as possible, the ability to rotate is important for capturing and recapturing the Zones of Dominion.
Playstyle→ vs ↓Viability |
Mid | Sidelane | Ganker | Roamer |
---|---|---|---|---|
Strong | Lawbringer, Kensei, Conqueror | Black Prior | Shaman, Gladiator | Raider, Hitokiri, Berserker, Jiang Jun |
OK | Shugoki, Aramusha, Nobushi | Warlord, Warden | Shaolin, Shinobi | Peacekeeper, Nuxia |
Weak | Highlander | Jormungandr, Orochi | Centurion | Tiandi, Valkyrie |
- Disclaimer:
- While Gankers and Roamers may sound similar, Gankers are solely focused on singling out lone enemies, either on their own or with an ally's help (Assassins tend to fill this role for the reason). Roamers are more well-rounded and supportive, as they try to aide allies who need help, back-capping points and joining teamfights.
- Warmonger and Gryphon have not been placed on the tier list. However, Warmonger is seen as a possibly strong Sidelane or Roaming Hero.
Brawl
The following factors are in general features that would make a Hero good in Brawls:
- Safety: Safety is the most important aspect for a character in a brawl, and encompasses their ability to attack in a 2v2 without being punished, and also their ability to defend.
- Pressure: Pressure is a character's ability to keep their opponents on the defensive, either through a powerful offense, interrupts or punishes.
- Mobility: Also known as "peel", a character's ability to move around safely in a team fight is vital, allowing them to cover for their ally, capitalize on openings, and give control over positioning.
- Hitboxes: As well as range of attacks, having wide hitboxes on sweeping attacks is valuable in team fights, and contribute both to safety and pressure.
- Anti-gank: If your ally gets killed, being able to win a 1v2 scenario becomes vital to success.
- 1v1: A less common, but important scenario is if you have killed one opponent, but also lost your ally. Being a strong duelist is valuable for this scenario.
Playstyle→ vs ↓Viability |
Pressure | Damage Output | Peel/Mobility | Defense |
---|---|---|---|---|
Strong | Black Prior, Berserker, Jiang Jun, Conqueror | Kensei, Raider | Lawbringer, Hitokiri | |
OK | Warlord, Warden | Highlander | Shaolin, Peacekeeper, Nobushi | |
Weak | Shugoki, Nuxia | Aramusha, Jormungandr | Tiandi, Shaman, Gladiator, Valkyrie, Orochi, Shinobi | Centurion |
- Clarification: "Damage Output" refers to a class of Heroes who may not have the pressure to force enemies on the defense, but have the ability to confirm damage for allies or output raw damage if their ally opens the opponent up.
- Disclaimer: Warmonger and Gryphon have not been placed on the tier list. However, Warmonger is seen as a possibly strong Hero who has good externals (likely a Defense/Peel Hero).
Duel
The following factors are in general features that would make a Hero good in Duels:
- Offense: How effectively and reliably a character can do damage to their opponent.
- Safety: How safe a character's offense is compared to being risky or punishable.
- Defense: Still arguably more important than offense, defense is the ability of a character to avoid an opponent's offense.
- Punishes: Whilst defense is the ability to avoid damage taken, good punishes are the Heroes' tools for a counter attack, as they capitalize on the window of opportunity to gain a health lead after correctly defending against an opponent.
- Health: Having a larger health-pool gives an obvious advantage, as it allows you to make more mistakes before dying, and improves a character's chances of winning by time out.
Playstyle→ vs ↓Viability |
Offense | Mixed | Defense |
---|---|---|---|
Strong | Berserker, Shaman, Raider | Warden, Hitokiri, Black Prior | Conqueror, Lawbringer |
OK | Nuxia | Peacekeeper, Warlord, Tiandi | Jiang Jun, Highlander, Shugoki, Gladiator, Shinobi, Aramusha |
Weak | Shaolin | Kensei, Centurion | Orochi, Valkyrie, Nobushi, Jormungandr |
Disclaimer: Warmonger and Gryphon have not been placed on the tier list. However, Warmonger is seen as a possibly strong Offense Hero.
Breach
The Breach gamemode takes teamwork to a level beyond Dominion's as there is more at stake than a few capture points. While, like Dominion, the ability to safely deal damage in group fights and efficiently tank are still critical, the longer respawn times and the decisive objectives require for Heroes to have the speed to cross the battlefield along with the ability to deal with multiple enemies if cornered. Healing is much more scarce too, so Heroes who can stand on their own or have access to healing/defensive Feats are paramount.
!! Due to the Breach tier not having been updated due to no competitive data, a tier list or graph is not available, nor would it be accurate in reflecting the current update. !!
Reference
- Information Hub: in here you can find the same tier list, but with more information about what makes a character strong or weak in every game mode and how strong are characters in every category (offense, safety, team fighting, mid lane presence, etc.). Plus, there are various pages which contain a lot of useful information about every hero.