You ever walk into a room and see two people arguing over whether a teleporting monk could beat a Viking with a giant sledgehammer? That’s basically the lobby of For Honor. It’s a game that, by all traditional logic in the industry, should have died about seven years ago. Most live-service titles have the shelf life of an open carton of milk. They launch, they peak, the servers get dusty, and then Ubisoft shuts them down to make room for a sequel that nobody asked for. But For Honor is different. It’s the stubborn mule of the fighting game world.
It’s weird. Honestly, there isn’t another word for it. It’s a "third-person hero-based melee fighter," which is a mouthful of a genre that Ubisoft basically invented because they didn't know how else to describe "Medieval Fantasy Purgatory." When it dropped back in 2017, everyone thought it was going to be a realistic simulator of historical combat. We were wrong. Very wrong.
The Art of Battle is basically a rhythm game with swords
If you've never played, the core mechanic is called "The Art of Battle." You have three stances: left, right, and top. If an opponent swings from your left, you move your mouse or thumbstick to the left. Block. Simple, right? Except it’s not. It’s a high-stakes game of rock-paper-scissors played at 60 frames per second where a single mistake results in your head being separated from your shoulders by a Lawbringer’s poleaxe.
The depth comes from the "feints." You start a heavy attack, see the opponent preparing to parry, and then you cancel it at the last millisecond to poke them in the ribs from the other side. It’s a psychological grind. You aren't just fighting a character model; you're fighting the person on the other end of the fiber-optic cable. You're trying to figure out if they’re the type of player who panics and dodges too early or the type who stays cool and waits for the deflect.
Why For Honor survived the "Dead Game" allegations
Most people look at the Steam charts and see a few thousand players and think, "Oh, it's over." They’re wrong. Ubisoft has a weird habit of keeping games alive through pure, unadulterated spite. They did it with Rainbow Six Siege, and they’ve done it here. The game moved from a peer-to-peer connection system—which was, frankly, a disaster at launch—to dedicated servers. They added a faction of Chinese warriors (the Wu Lin), then an Egyptian Medjay, and eventually even an Aztec warrior.
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The game is currently in its eighth year of content. Think about that. Most AAA games don't get supported for eight months anymore. The developers, led by people who clearly love the weird niche they've carved out, keep tweaking the "Core Combat Update" (CCU) to make the game read-based rather than reaction-based.
The shift from reacting to predicting
Back in the day, if you had a fast monitor and a lot of caffeine, you could parry everything. It made the game boring. High-level play was just two people staring at each other, waiting for the other person to blink. The CCU changed that. It hid the first 100ms of attack animations, forcing you to actually guess—or "read"—what your opponent was going to do next. It made the For Honor video game feel more like a traditional 2D fighter (think Street Fighter or Tekken) but in a 3D space.
The learning curve is a vertical wall covered in grease
If you buy the game today, you are going to get destroyed. Just being honest. You’ll load into a Dominion match, walk toward a capture point, and get "ganked" by four people who have been playing since the Obama administration. It’s brutal.
- First, you'll learn to block.
- Then, you'll learn to parry (and realize you're parrying too much).
- Then, you'll learn about "Option Selects" (which the devs mostly removed, thank god).
- Finally, you'll understand "Frame Advantage."
If you finish an attack chain and it's blocked, it’s usually your opponent's "turn" to attack. If you try to mash buttons, you’ll get hit. Understanding these invisible rules is what separates the people who play for two hours and uninstall from the people who have 3,000 hours and a high stress-level.
The Fashion is the real endgame
Ask any veteran player why they still play, and they won't tell you it's for the balanced gameplay. They’ll show you their Warden. They’ve spent forty bucks on steel (the in-game currency) just to get a specific shade of gold material and a plume for their helmet. The customization is elite. You can change every piece of armor, the material it’s made of, the engravings, and the "effects" that pop up when you execute someone.
There’s something deeply satisfying about winning a duel and then performing a complex, thirty-second execution where you turn into a literal werewolf while your opponent’s head rolls into the mud. It’s edgy. It’s over-the-top. It’s exactly what a video game should be.
It isn't a historical simulation anymore
Early on, the marketing for the For Honor video game leaned heavily into the "Who would win: Viking, Samurai, or Knight?" question. It felt grounded. Now? We have magical "Draconite" crystals, pirates with flintlock pistols that have infinite ammo, and teleports. Some fans hate it. They miss the "gritty realism" of Year 1.
But honestly? The fantasy elements saved the game. It allowed for more diverse move-sets. If we stayed strictly "realistic," every character would just be a guy with a sword and a shield poking at each other. Adding the Outlanders faction—the Afeera, the Pirate, the Ocelotl—injected a level of mechanical variety that the game desperately needed to stay fresh.
The community is... an experience
It’s toxic. But also kind of beautiful? You'll get "Wow! Wow! Wow!" spammed at you in the chat after someone knocks you off a ledge (the infamous "Ledge-ing"), but then that same person might spend twenty minutes in a private lobby teaching you how to counter their specific character. It’s a small, tight-knit group of masochists who all acknowledge that the game is frustrating, broken, and yet somehow the only thing they want to play.
Cross-play changed everything
The addition of cross-play between PC, PlayStation, and Xbox was the literal shot of adrenaline the game needed. It merged the player bases, meaning you can find a match in under sixty seconds at almost any time of day. It also settled the age-old debate of whether PC players have an unfair advantage (they do, because of the higher frame rates, but it’s not as bad as you’d think).
What you need to do if you're starting today
Don't just jump into multiplayer. You'll cry. Start with the Apprentice Trials and the Warrior Trials. They give you a decent amount of Steel just for finishing them, and they actually explain the mechanics like "Guard Break Countering" and "External Blocking."
Pick one "Hero" and stick with them. The Vanguard characters (Warden, Raider, Kensei) are designed to be easy to learn. Don't try to play the Shinobi or the Highlander immediately. You’ll be trying to do complex inputs while your opponent is just hitting you with a heavy attack.
- Check the r/ForHonorAcademy subreddit. It's way more helpful than the main sub, which is mostly just memes and people complaining about the Orochi.
- Watch creators like JBCENT or Havok. Seeing how high-level players movement-stall or manage their "Revenge" meter is better than any tutorial Ubisoft provides.
- Don't worry about your Win/Loss ratio. You're going to lose. A lot. Focus on whether or not you successfully parried that one unblockable attack you've been struggling with.
The For Honor video game is a miracle of persistence. In an era where games are abandoned the moment they hit a rough patch, this weird, clunky, beautiful sword-fighting simulator keeps swinging. It’s not for everyone. It might not even be for most people. But if you want a game where skill actually matters and the fashion is top-tier, there’s nothing else like it on the market. Just watch out for the guys standing near ledges. They aren't there to enjoy the view.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Download the "Starter Edition" only if you're on a budget. It makes unlocking new heroes much more expensive (in terms of in-game currency). If it's on sale, always go for the Marching Fire or Gold editions to save yourself a massive grind.
- Remap your "Guard Break" button. If you're on a controller, move it from 'X' or 'Square' to the right thumbstick click (R3) or a bumper. Being able to counter a guard break without taking your thumb off the aiming stick is the single biggest "pro tip" for new players.
- Focus on Dominion mode for XP. Duels are great for skill, but Dominion is where the community lives and where you'll level up your gear the fastest. Matchmaking is also much more forgiving in 4v4 modes where your teammates can carry you while you're still learning which end of the sword to hold.