IMPROVEMENTS
New Side Dodge Attacks
The following heroes now have Side Dodge Attacks:
- Warlord
- Centurion
- Highlander
- Black Prior
- Jormungandr
For each hero except Highlander, these new Dodge Attacks are performed by pressing the Light Attack button (Highlander uses the Heavy Attack button). In addition, they are all 600ms, performed at 300ms in the Side Dodge, and have appropriate iframes. They also all act as chain openers, and chain into what their neutral Light attacks chain into.
Developer’s Comment: With this pass, every hero in the game now has a Side Dodge attack, giving them tools to punish bashes. With the exception of Highlander, we’ve purposefully given these heroes Side Dodge attacks that are not optimal; they are intended to punish bashes, but should be risky in other situations, and are not meant to be used as good tools during group fights.
Highlander is a special case where the hero’s Defensive Stance was underperforming in these situations, and we wanted to make sure the hero was able to defend himself in outnumbered situations; the other heroes already have strong tools to defend themselves, and as such Highlander needed a better Side Dodge attack to compensate.
(Quick extra note: 26/31 heroes already had a Dodge Attack. It’s become clear that Dodge Attack is a mandatory tool in a For Honor fighter’s toolkit, so the lack of Dodge Attacks on these 5 fighters wasn’t built to help their ‘uniqueness’, but it’s clear it was leaving them unable to function at all in certain situations.)
Fighter Improvements
Developer’s Comment: We’re doing a pass on multiple heroes to give them Quality of Life as well as Balancing changes – many of these heroes have small tweaks, but others have bigger changes that should help bring them to a better state. We’ll keep an eye on how these changes affect the meta.
Fighters
Warden
- Zone Attack Stamina cost is now 30, down from 60
- Second Light Attacks in chain are now 500ms, down from 600ms
Developer’s Comment: These changes should help both reduce Warden’s stamina costs as standardize Warden’s chained Light attacks to a more standard speed.
Peacekeeper
- Dagger Cancel can now cancel its recovery to a dodge from 200ms to 300ms (from static at 333ms)
- Dashing Thrust can now be performed from 200ms to 500ms during a Front Dodge (was static at 300ms)
- Bleed Stabs (Guardbreak Followups) now do a total of 28 damage (down from 38)
- All Guardbreak Throws now have 200ms less recovery
- Side and Back Guardbreak Throws can now be cancelled by a Dodge in their last 100ms
- Front Guardbreak Throw can now be cancelled by a Dodge in the last 300ms
- Increased forward movement on the following attacks:
- Light Openers and Chained Lights
- Heavy Openers and Finishers
- Updated Trajectory for Zone Attack’s first strike
- Crossbow feat now deals 15 damage + 10 Bleed damage over 10 seconds, from 25 flat damage.
Developer’s Comment: We’re tweaking some part of Peacekeeper’s kit – Dagger Cancel should now be able to be used in a safer manner and should give the hero better options when it lands. The changes to Dashing Thrust as well as Guard break Throws should enable Peacekeeper to land Dashing Thrust consistently when wall splatting. Her Zone Attack’s first strike trajectory has also been updated to be more consistent with its animation. Finally, all her neutral and chained attacks now have better forward movement, giving the hero more mobility in group fights as well as in 1v1 scenarios.
We have also lowered the damage Peacekeeper deals on Guard breaks to a more standard level, especially considering the new changes to wall splats, giving her more interesting options.
Finally, her Crossbow feat now has extra utility by applying Bleed, opening up more of her kit.
Lawbringer
- Increased forward movement of all Light attacks by 0.25m
- Increased forward movement of all side Heavy attacks by 0.25m
- Updated the trajectories of all Side Heavy attacks to better match the weapon strikes
- Increased input window for Parry followups by 66ms
- Impaling Riposte from Parry is now 800ms, down from 900ms
Developer’s Comment: We’ve focused our changes on Lawbringer to address issues related to the hero’s movement and weapon trajectories; with these changes, Lawbringer should have a bit more mobility during team fights, but more importantly the new weapon trajectories should greatly help with the weapon not hitting external targets. We’ve also done a pass to ensure Lawbringer’s Parry followups are easier to perform with a larger input window.
Warlord
- Updated Board and Blade’s trajectory to better match the weapon strike
- Increased forward movement of Board and Blade by 1m
- Zone Attack now costs 30 Stamina, down from 60
Developer’s Comment: Warlord’s Board and Blade was lacking in that while the move is Undodgeable, its trajectory wasn’t matching the weapon correctly and the move was lacking forward movement to be able to properly catch opponents who were dodging or rolling away. In addition, we’ve adjusted the stamina cost of his Zone Attack to help with Warlord’s stamina economy.
Berserker
- Front Zone Attack and Back Zone Attack now each cost 30 Stamina, down from 65
- Berserker now has 130 HP, up from 120
Developer’s Comment: Berserker’s Zone Attacks’ stamina costs were prohibitive, making the move too costly to use. We’ve also updated Berserker’s health values so that it fits the hero’s identity as a hero who wants to trade hits with their opponents.
Kensei
- Zone Attack now costs 30 stamina, down from 60
- Chained Lights can now chain to Top Heavy Finisher at 100ms on hit
- Top Heavy Finisher is now 1100ms, down from 1200ms
- Top Heavy Finisher now soft feints to Fast Guardbreak instead of regular Guardbreak
- Increased forward movement on Top Heavy Finisher slightly
Developer’s Comment: Most of these changes were made so that Kensei can soft feint to Guard break and catch opponents trying to roll away instead of after a chained Light attack. We’ve also standardized the stamina cost of Kensei’s Zone Attack to be less restrictive.
Orochi
- Side Heavy Finishers are now 700ms, down from 800ms
Developer’s Comment: We’re speeding up Orochi’s side Heavy Finishers to give them more utility in outnumbered situations; they already have good trajectories, and this change should help Orochi land them more often.
Nobushi
- Updated trajectories for Side Heavy Openers and Side Heavy Finishers to better match the weapon strikes
- Side Cobra Strikes are now 533ms, down from 600ms
- Side Cobra Strikes now have proper iframes
- Front Cobra Strike is now 500ms, down from 600ms
- Front Cobra Strike can now be accessed from 200ms to 500ms during Forward Dodge (from 0m to 500ms)
- Slithering Thrust and Coiling Slash’s miss recoveries are now 600ms, down from 700ms and 800ms, respectively.
- Side Light Opener and Chained Side Light miss recoveries are now 800ms, down from 900ms
- Heavy Opener recoveries on Hit, Block, Superior Block and Miss are now standardized at 800ms, down from various values ranging from 900ms to 1100ms
- Heavy Finisher miss recoveries are now 800ms, down from 1000ms for top and 1100ms for side
- Out of Lock Heavy Finisher is now a Left attack, from a Top Attack
Developer’s Comment: We’ve adjusted multiple aspects of Nobushi – her side Heavy attacks should perform much better, side Cobra Strikes should now perform like standard dodge attacks with iframes, and we’ve also made a pass at many of her recoveries to make her attacks less risky and less prone to be guardbroken.
Finally, we’ve also changed her Out of Lock Heavy Finisher attack direction to a side attack to help the hero perform better in the minion lane
Shugoki
- Zone Attack now costs 30 Stamina, down from 60 Stamina
Developer’s Comment: Shugoki’s Zone Attack still cost too much stamina, so we decided to standardize it.
Centurion
- Zone Attack now costs 12+12+12 Stamina, for a total of 36, down from 20+20+20, for a total of 60
- Charged Heavy Openers now move forward 0.75m more
- Charged Punch now has better tracking to catch early Dodge Attacks better
- Charged Punch is now 1300ms total, down from 1400ms
- Charged Punch now gains Uninterruptible Stance at 1000ms, down from 1033ms
Developer’s Comment: Centurion should now perform better with these changes – Charged Heavy Openers now have extra forward movement to help perform them from slightly further away, and Charged Punch should now perform similarly to Warden’s Shoulder Bash mixup and catch dodge attacks in a similar manner.
We’ve also adjusted Centurion’s Zone Attack costs to be more in-line with the rest of the cast.
Gladiator
- Zone Attack now costs 30+20 Stamina, for a total of 50, down from 40+40, for a total of 80
- Front and Side Sucker Punches now cost 12 stamina, down from 24
- Increased input window for Counter Jab by 400ms when Parrying
Developer’s Comment: We’ve adjusted Gladiator’s stamina economy to let the hero be more on the offensive. Gladiator already has a high stamina pool, but this should help him perform even better.
We’ve also adjusted the input comfort for Counter Jab – the initial window to perform Counter Jab after a Parry was quite short, and with an extra 400ms it should now be more comfortable to perform.
Highlander
- Zone Attack now costs 12+12+12 stamina for a total of 36, down form 40+10+10 for a total of 60
Developer’s Comment: In addition to gaining a Side Dodge Attack, Highlander’s Zone Attack, which is his primary Guardbreak punish, now costs a more standardized amount of stamina.
Shaman
- Zone Attack now costs 12+6+6+6 stamina for a total of 30, down from 40+10+5+5, for a total of 60
- Increased Heavy Finishers forward movement by 0.75m
- Left Heavy Finisher is now 900ms, down from 1100ms
- Predator’s Hunger now costs 12 stamina, down from 20
- Removed the stamina penalty incurred when switching from Wild Cat’s Rage to Predator’s Mercy and Predator’s Hunger and vice versa
Developer’s Comment: We’ve adjusted two major aspects of Shaman; her stamina economy as well as her Heavy Finishers.
We’ve reduced the costs on her Zone Attack to be more in-line with the rest of the cast, but we’ve also removed the stamina penalty she had when performing Wild Cat’s Rage and switching to Predator’s Mercy/Hunger (and vice versa). This should help Shaman’s stamina economy and let her be more aggressive.
We’ve also given her Heavy Finishers extra forward movement to help her perform better in a variety of situations, and we’ve sped up her Left Heavy Finisher to a speed where if your opponent is mashing Light attack, Shaman’s attack will trade (but quite favorably, both in terms of damage and frame advantage) whereas she used to lose. We’re hoping this change helps Shaman perform better in 1v1 situations.
Aramusha
- Zone Attack now costs 20+20 stamina for a total of 40, down from 60
Developer’s Comment: This should help Aramusha use their Zone Attack more often.
Nuxia
- Zone Attack now costs 20 stamina, down from 30+12 stamina, for a total of 42
Developer’s Comment: Nuxia’s Zone Attack is an interesting mixup, but used to be too costly. With this new cost, we expect Nuxia to use her Zone Attack more often.
Black Prior
- Increased Tenebris Thrust’s forward movement by 1m
- Fixed an issue that could make Tenebris Thrust unparriable when used at very specific distances
- Sprint Attack is now 700ms, down from 1000ms
- Sprint Attack now deals 20 damage, down from 26
- Bulwark Slash’s Guardbreak Vulnerability is now 100ms, down from 400ms
Developer’s Comment: Tenebris Thrust’s range was not sufficient to catch opponents who were further away; the extra range should now help Black Prior perform better in these situations. Similarly, the hero’s Sprint Attack was lacking – it was too slow to be used effectively, so we’ve sped it up so that it should be more in-line with other Sprint Attacks.
We’ve also lowered the Guardbreak Vulnerability on Bulwark Slash to make it less vulnerable when outnumbered; players could sync up and force a Guardbreak on Black Prior, nullifying Bulwark Counter and Slash. This should no longer happen.
Zhanhu
- Zone Attack now costs 30 stamina, down from 50
Developer’s Comment: With this change, Zhanhu should be able to use their strong Zone Attack more often – being Undodgeable, it is a strong counter to Dodge Recovery Cancel heroes, and at 30 stamina it should no longer drain too much of Zhanhu’s stamina.
Hitokiri
- Fully Charged Heavies now cost 12 Stamina, down from was 25
Developer’s Comment: Hitokiri’s Fully Charged Heavies initially did not have a Stamina Penalty when parried, but cost more to offset this strength. Since this has been removed, the extra stamina cost is no longer necessary.
Warmonger
- Zone Attack now costs 20 Stamina, down from 40
- Heavy Finishers now have Uninterruptible Stance at 100ms, down from 500ms on Top and 400ms on Side
- Preying Claw now deals 8 Bleed Damage
- Preying Claw Stab now deals 7 Damage, down from 8
- Preying Claw Slash now deals 20 damage, down from 28
Developer’s Comment: Warmonger’s Uninterruptible Stance starting earlier in her Finishers should help give her more safety and usability in both outnumbered situations as well as against opponents who are dodge attacking too often.
The changes to Preying Claw should help Warmonger land damage more often, as well as pushing for more synergy with Nobushi, Shaman and Peacekeeper, who all benefit from sources of Bleed.
Gryphon
- Forceful Swirl now costs 20 Stamina, down from 50
- Veteran’s Lesson now gains Unterruptible Stance at 100ms, down from 500ms
- Mind Cleaver Miss recovery is now 800ms, down from 1000ms, and regains block defense at 500ms in the recovery
- Mind Cleaver’s Hit and Block recoveries are now 700ms, down from 800ms, and regains block defense at 500ms in their recoveries
Developer’s Comment: Gryphon’s changes are based around making the hero safer – Veteran’s Lesson gaining armor much earlier should help deal with dodge attack-happy opponents as well as making the move much safer to use when outnumbered, and Mind Cleaver should also be safer to use; it should now be harder to land dodge attacks on it.
Forceful Swirl costing 20 stamina should also help Gryphon access his chains more safely.
Kyoshin
- Zone Attack now costs 20 stamina, down from 40
Developer’s Comment: We’re standardizing Kyoshin’s Zone Attack cost to be more in-line with the rest of the cast.
Out Of Lock Contextual Hint
- The Out of Lock contextual hint that exists in-game was hardly visible to the player, so we reworked the visual contrast, size and animation, to make it more visible to the player.
- It is possible for the player to toggle it ON or OFF through Options -> User Interface -> Use Detailed Lock Indicator.
Out Of Stamina Contextual Hint
- The Out of Stamina (OOS) that exists in-game has been visually edited it make it more visible to the player.
- It is possible for the player to toggle it ON or OFF through Options -> User Interface -> Use Detailed Stamina Bar.
Developer’s Comment: In both of these Contextual Hint improvements, we’re trying to help newer players especially understand these states, and what they’re expected to do as players in these states.
Player Block List
- Add new in-game blocklist system to help players easily block people for better toxicity management (auto mute voice chat and text chat, hide their emblem, disable group invites from them)
Voice Chat
- Voice Chat has been re-enabled for cross-platform matches
Removal of all remaining P2P connections
- Custom Match will now be on Dedicated Servers.
- Note that we will deactivate Nvidia Ansel to do so in custom matches
- All remaining P2P game modes like Story, Arcade and Training are moved on Servers.
- Group system has also been moved into Servers
- We removed the necessity of having NAT configuration. NAT status have been removed in game. All communications are now transmitted via Servers.
Developer’s Comment: This is a necessary step to bring us closer to Crossplay Phase 2 in an upcoming patch.
