Yesterday, Ubisoft unwittingly dropped a huge bomb on the For Honor community, in the midst of announcing a big summer sale. For two weeks, all kinds of items will be up to 50% off, which sounds great. But the problem came from why the sale was on. Ubisoft originally planned to remove a huge chunk of said content from the store after the sale ended, with the intent to clean up the store. The community revolted, and today, Ubisoft announced it is walking back the For Honor content removal plans.
In a Reddit post, Ubisoft’s Eric Pope announced that while the summer sale is still on, Ubisoft would no longer be removing content from the store as planned. Despite chalking the whole thing up to botched messaging, Pope offered further explanation for what the goal here was. As more and more content has been added to For Honor, the store has grown over cluttered, which has been deemed messy and intimidating to new players.
Only content at least nine months old would be removed, and it would all be put into a weekly rotation. The weekly available older content would also be offered at a permanent discount, in an attempt to alleviate the restricted access. One of the biggest problems fans had with the rotation was executions, which of course have an impact to some degree on gameplay.
For now, it’s back to the drawing board for the For Honor team.
[Source: Reddit]
For Honor info dump
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For Honor - Everything You Need to Know
Cancel those Valentine’s plans; For Honor is looming large on the horizon, and to ensure you’re fully prepped and ready to step foot on Ubisoft’s battlefield, here’s everything you could possibly need to know about the publisher’s new IP.
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What is For Honor?
It’s Ubisoft’s budding new IP and one rooted in a medieval setting. For Honor also marks the publisher's first foray into the competitive realm of action-strategy, with players forced to swear allegiance to one of three factions: The Legion, The Warborn, and The Chosen
The battlefield awaits, soldier.
"Witness the bloody brutality of the battlefield as history’s most iconic warriors come face to face. Choose between the agile Chosen, the brutal Warborn or the brave knights of The Legions and fight for land and glory."
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What’s the Story?
Set hundreds of years after a cataclysm brought the world to its knees, the enigmatic Warlord known as Apollyon has pitted the Knights, Vikings, and Samurai against one another. The fragile equilibrium that once existed between the three factions has been shattered, and in its wake spawns a full-blown war.
"The world of For Honor is harsh, yet filled with beautiful wildlands, grandiose landmarks, and majestic ruins. Its hardy inhabitants eke a living as they can in spite of living in a state of near perpetual war. A cataclysm struck a millenium ago, nearly destroying all civilizations. Homelands were sundered, empires burned, and whole nations exiled themselves. From the ashes of this catastrophe, the Knights, Vikings, and Samurai rose again. They struggled to rebuild their nations, trying to recapture the glory of their ancestors."
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Always Online
Despite boasting a single-player campaign, For Honor is an always online experience, much like The Crew and The Division before it.
"We can confirm that For Honor is an always online experience. Some elements of progression, which is hosted online, are shared across story and multiplayer modes. Players will need to be connected to the internet at all times to play For Honor."
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How Does it Play?
Tapping into an innovative battle system known as The Art of Battle, For Honor is a third-person action game at its core. The official description reads as so:
“Master a unique combat system designed to put you in full control of every, swing, block, jab and parry. For Honor's 'Art of Battle' system not only allows you to deal damage and dodge incoming blows, it also weights each individual action based on your footing, determining your ability to counter incoming attacks, exploit openings or sidestep an incoming blow.
"Every face-off will be a test not just of raw strength, but of skill, attention and timing, making every move decisive.”
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A Showstopper
Part of the reason why For Honor initially captured the imagination at E3 2015 comes down to just how refreshingly new Ubisoft's IP is shaping up to be -- and we’re not just talking about the frankly awesome Jason VandenBerghe and his equally awesome cane.
Two years ago, we selected For Honor among our Best of E3 2015 Awards.
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Reining in the Focus
Despite labelling it to be a "super-required feature" at the outset, Ubisoft has opted to cut split-screen support from For Honor, stating:
"It was a feature that we loved, but when we looked at what needs to be done to support online co-op, for us it was critical to make the decision now so we can polish all the features at the Triple-A level and make sure that we have the most amazing experience."
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Story Mode
Much like the multiplayer experience, For Honor's single-player component will allow players to choose between the three factions. Depending on your choice, you'll either be fighting as The Orochi (Samurai), The Raider (Viking), or The Warden (Knight).
"Playable as single-player and two-player co-op, the For Honor story mode is an immersive tale of larger-than-life warriors plunged into one of the bloodiest wars between Knights, Vikings, and Samurai in recent history."
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Five Primary Game Modes
The five primary game modes of For Honor are described as so:
- Dominion: "In this 4v4 battle you must break the opposing team’s morale and then eliminate them. You do so by scoring points through killing enemies, capturing specific areas, and controlling them over time. Once a team reaches 1000 points, the opposite teams breaks and can no longer spawn unless they kill opponents or recapture areas. A team wins by killing the last hero of a breaking team."
- Duel: "Battle it out against a single opponent in a best of five-round fight in an arena! Use your mastery of your hero’s moveset to slay your opponent. You must do so without feats or radar to pinpoint your opponent’s position."
- Brawl: "This is a 2v2, best-of-five rounds battle to the death. Each hero spawns at a different point of the map. A team wins a battle when they’ve eliminated the last hero of the opposing team. There are no respawns."
- Skirmish: "Combat skills are key in Skirmish as you score points for your team by killing enemy Heroes. Each match ends with a climatic with a breaking phase when one team needs to wipe out all of the players on the other team to win the game!"
- Elimination: "Elimination is a best of five rounds 4v4 mode. There is no respawn and the player who is the last to survive on the battlefield wins the round for their team. It’s a mode full of tension where every fight matters – will you confront your direct opponent or coordinate with your team to storm together one enemy after the other?"
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In-Game Arenas
So far, Ubisoft has detailed three of the war-torn arenas to feature in For Honor. They include Citadel Gate, Overwatch, and River Fort for the Knights, Samusai, and Vikings, respectively.
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Four Classes per Faction
If the The Legion, The Warborn, and The Chosen represent For Honor's three principal factions, each of those groups boast four distinct classes: Vanguards, Assassins, Heavies, and Hybrids.
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Open Beta
For Honor's Open Beta is, at the time of writing, still live. It'll continue through until February 12, which goes some ways to explaining why Ubisoft decided to hold fire on review copies.
“This Open Beta comprises a limited portion of the game and is a work in progress – it’s not the full nor the final game. For Honor will include more Heroes, more modes – including a full-fledged story mode, more maps and more features when the game launches on February 14th, 2017.”
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War of the Factions
A limited-time event, War of the Factions, will also take place during the Open Beta.
Per Ubisoft:
"The battlefield will be reset from Closed Beta. Now, everyone has a chance to fight for ultimate victory and Reign Supreme. Only those who fight for the winning faction in the Open Beta will reap the ultimate reward. Prepare for the Open Beta, which will run from February 9th to 12th."
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Clueless Gamer, the Super Bowl Edition
Airing just before Super Bowl LI, Conan O' Brien, Tom Brady, and Dwight Freeney took For Honor out for a test drive in a recent edition of Clueless Gamer. Hilarity ensues.
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Season Pass
Expected to be priced around the $40 ballpark, the For Honor Season Pass bundles together:
- Six all-new Heroes available seven days before released to all players.
- Six elite outfits to customize the new Heroes.
- Day One War Pack.
- One exclusive sunbeam effect on emotes for all Heroes.
- Three exclusive emblem outlines.
- Three scavenger crates to unlock additional gear.
- 30-day Champion Status that gives XP boosts to friends, more XP from crafting and additional end-match loot.
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Free Post-Launch Maps and Modes
In outlining For Honor's post-launch support, Game Director Damien Kieken stressed that new modes and maps will be added free of charge.
“So everything that’s matchmade [including] new modes and new maps, will be given for free to the players. We’ll also have other free content. We are a big team supporting the game after launch.”
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Introducing Steel, For Honor’s In-Game Currency
Despite offering free DLC after launch, For Honor will feature microtransactions. The in-game currency is known as Steel and, much like Rainbow Six Siege before it, players will be able to unlock new characters via currency earned in-game, or by purchasing additional Steel via real money.
When quizzed about this approach to monetization, Game Director Damien Kieken said:
“It’s just a shortcut. Everything is unlockable just by playing the game. And all shortcuts are tied to progression, so you can’t unlock an end-game item right away.”
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Digital Version
According to the EU PlayStation Store, the digital version of For Honor requires at least 35GB of free space on PS4.
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Gold and Deluxe Editions
In addition to the Apollyon bundle, there's also the Gold and Deluxe editions of For Honor to consider.
Full details below:
Deluxe Edition ($69.99): “Get your greasy gauntlets on the Legacy Battlepack, featuring three exclusive hero outfits - one for each warring faction - along with exclusive, day-1 content included in the Deluxe Pack. All these extras will be unlocked from the minute you load-up along with a full standard copy of the game.”
Gold Edition ($99.99): “Get the ultimate taste of all-out medieval combat with the For Honor Gold Edition. Not only does this edition include the Legacy Battlepack - with three exclusive outfits - and the day-1 Deluxe pack, you'll also the For Honor season pass. The season pass will give access to new content and add-ons due to be released throughout the coming year.”
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GameStop’s Collector’s Edition
Curious to learn more about For Honor's premium package? Priced at $219.99 USD, the GameStop-exclusive Collector's Edition bundles together enough goodies to make even Apollyon recoil with jealousy.
- For Honor Apollyon Collector’s Edition
- For Honor Gold Edition
- 14″ Apollyon Statue – Standing at over a foot tall, this highly-detailed statue features an accurate reproduction of Apollyon, For Honor’s main Warlord.
- Exclusive Apollyon Lithograph – The Warlord of the Blackstone Legion seeks to bring war to her enemies in this exclusive Limited Edition Lithograph.
- Origins Note – Go deeper into the battlefields of For Honor as you uncover Apollyon’s previously untold origins. What secrets lie in the past of the Blackstone Legion’s mysterious leader?
- Premium Collector’s Edition Packaging
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Extended Gameplay
Want to get a glimpse of For Honor in action? We've got you covered.
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For Honor Trophy List
Comprised of 55 accolades in total, For Honor's Trophy list includes two Gold, six Silver, 46 Bronze and of course, that all important Platinum.
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Beta Preview
Tyler Treese flew the flag for PSLS during For Honor’s recent closed beta test and, once the dust settled, left largely impressed. Said he:
“I’ve only spent a few hours with For Honor, but I’m pretty impressed with what I’ve seen so far. I do find it a bit strange that multiplayer teams can pick warriors from any of the three factions, as it killed the idea of seeing a whole army of knights fight a group of samurai. Still, it’s probably for the best that players aren’t restricted in what character they can pick, as each has different types of attacks and abilities that can be equipped.”
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Our Final Verdict
Due to the game's online nature, coupled with the last-minute Open Beta test, For Honor review copies won't be distributed until the game's launch on February 14.
Tyler Treese will be handling the review for PSLS.
