So, I don't want to be overly negative here, but the game is kinda falling apart since the last update. I don't know if it is just a problem on my side, but the audio is all over the place. There are no shouting, voice lines, heavy breathing when OoS, groaning etc. Or sometimes the voice line begins, but suddenly cuts off, like AD MORT....

Plus, standards of the new Lawbringer chest armor is missing cloth animations, they are completely still on my end. The new Kensei chest armor makes female Kenesei look fat.

I don't know... it's getting weird.

So, with the recent nerf of Crushing Charge and the rework of Raider and Orochi (and other heroes as well) Warlord definitely become weaker, despite that he was a must pick in comp for an eternity. Now, I don't say that the changes to Crushing Charge are bad or not needed, actually I'm quite relieved by those changes. The fact that he can only charge approx. 1 meter now is a bit weird however. I don't see many Warlords in-game.

Anyway, Warlord is a really simple hero that's why people like him. So, if we are to give him an update we should preserve this simplicity in my opinion. This means that he only needs a couple of QoL changes to be more recognized again.

Any opinions about him, or about what should the devs do to him? Do you think he needs changes at all?

My suggestions would be:

New chain starters: the following moves should be chain starters leading to light and heavy finishers

• Zone attack
• The special stab follow-up after a headbutt, blocking an attack in full-block, Shield Counter (parry follow-up)
• Board and Blade (full-block heavy attack)

Top unblockable: his top heavy finisher should be unblockable, but it should also lose HA

Damage tweaks: lower his damage a bit as compensation

• Heavy finisher damage (from all sides) is reduced to 28 (from 29)
• special stab follow-up (doesn't matter how you access it) damage is reduced to 13 from 15

Stamina tweaks:

• The stamina cost of his zone attack should be reduced to 40 (from 60).

Thanks for reading, have a nice day!

I'm specifically talking about the side dodge attacks. The hit-box on those attacks are unnecessary big and wide and that is the root of multiple problems.

1. It can collide with the environment really often, even when you don't expect it to happen. This is a problem for the Pirate player, as it can ruin punish attempts and make things a bit confusing.
2. Another issue from the standpoint of the team mates of the Pirate (this is what I'm more concerned about) is that the Pirate can ruin others punishes or gank setups with her dodge attack. I played a game as LB recently and I tried to help a Pirate to set up a proper gank against and enemy Zhanhu. But the player of the Pirate decided to go into I don't care mode and started dodge attacking non-stop. Those attacks hit me almost every single time, put me into hit stun, ruined my attempts to help and allowed another enemy players to join the fight without us defeating the Zhanhu quickly. I say this is not OK.

If the devs could take a look at those hit-boxes and make them smaller and adjust the angles so that it's not a 360 around the Pirate, I would appreciate that.

Thanks for reading, have a nice day!

Lawbringer doesn't have a functional offense from neutral, opener, chain pressure, chase and good enough feat variety. The least one is not that important than the rest, but please, address his problems ASAP.

Other than that, I'm excited about testing the Conq rework and the balancing changes. Good job on those!

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

Hi there!

Warden is my second favourite hero and and I do agree that he needs some kind of improvements. Mostly a stamina cost reduction on his zone attack (should go down to 30 from 60), plus his non-guaranteed chain side lights should be sped up form 600ms to 500ms. Having 600ms lights is just an extremely archaic thing in today's For Honor, a feature of the past. On top of this he should have a heavy + light chain in my opinion as well, which can link into Shoulder Bash of course. Finally it would be good if the devs would make his top light chain starter Enhanced so he would have an easier time getting into his offense.

However, he is not the weakest Hero in the game. Not by a long shot. That goes to Jorm, Shaolin (not for long because his getting reworked), Nuxia, Highlander and Lawbringer (unless you're a parry god).
I can understand that he sometimes feels weak, but probably because he is meant to be the "tutorial hero", so he is quite simple compared to a lot of other heroes. But if you dedicated enough you can master his simplicity and then you can have an easier time in the game.

@knight_raime

The roadmap, announcing Conq's and Shao's rework look(ed) like this:



Otherwise, not really, this is the only one I looked up. Of course, the devs didn't say anything about upcoming reworks (as far as I know), so nothing is certain, that's why I said Kensei MIGHT end up receiving one.

@energyant

I'm a bit conflicted in this matter, since a main Lawbringer, and most of the community agrees that he is in need for a rework because he is quite weak. I also want him to be improved, however I'm a bit worried that when the devs get their hand on him, they will turn him into another generic bash & undodgeable 50/50 hero, while removing the aspects which makes him unique. Stun and strong parry punishes.

That's why I think that LB should receive a couple of buffs and balancing changes only, not an entire rework. I'm talking about things like a faster bash, a L + L + H chain, some HA here and there etc. Of course, I have concrete suggestions about him, but I wont write them down, it would take ages.

But yeah, this problem is a complicated one. It's either be up to date and viable, or be unique and disadvantaged. It seems that the devs right now can't do both when they rework a hero. I don't know what might be the reason of this, neither I want to accuse the devs with things like laziness and incompetence etc., because they proved that they can make some amazing things. Plus, I'm not a developer, I don't know what's the situation like in the studio.

Hello there!

Throughout the following post, I'd like to share a new Viking hero concept with you. I hope that the next hero will be Viking because they didn't get that many attention recently, except the Raider rework.

Here it is:

Name: Huscarl or Oathsworn
Class: Hybrid (Vanguard/Heavy)
Health: 135
Stamina: 140
Weapon: A selection of one-handed axes, and one-handed Shepard's axes (with either a hammer and/or hook end), plus an oval or angular iron-age/ early medieval shield
Sprint speed: 7m/s (average), like Warden, Raider, Lawbringer etc.













Basic Attack chains:
This Hero has 3-hit chains of every combination, but finishers must be heavy attacks
• L + L + H
• L + H + H
• H + L + H
• H + H + H

Light Attacks:
1. Light chain starters are Enhanced, dealing 12 DMG, 500ms
2. Light chain starters have Superior Block properties during startup, Superior Block lights are dealing 17 DMG
3. Chain light attacks (follow-ups) are dealing 13 DMG, 500ms

Heavy attacks:
1. Heavy chain starters from the top are dealing 20 DMG, 700ms; from the sides they are dealing 24 DMG, 800ms
2. Chain heavies from the top are dealing 27 DMG, 800ms, have Hyper Armor (HA) 200ms into the move; from the sides they are causing 28 DMG, 800ms, have HA 200ms into the move
3. Heavy finishers from the top are dealing 28 DMG, 800ms, have HA 200ms into the move; from the sides they are causing 32 DMG, 900ms, Unblockable
4. Every heavy attack can be soft-feinted into a 600ms charge-like shield bash
5. Side heavy finishers can also be soft-feinted into full-block

Melee moves:
1. Dodge forward Guardbreak [forward dodge (and only forward dodge) has Superior Block properties, if used effectively it guarantees the forward dodge GB]
2. Charge-like shield bash which can be accessed via a soft-feint from every heavy + by pressing GB in full-block
3. The shield bash is 600ms fast, on hit it guarantees a chain light attack but it can also be followed-up with a chain heavy as well
4. On miss it can be countered with a dodge GB (unless you do a follow-up), dodge bashes, dodge attacks
5. The shield bash has Superior Block properties during the start-up of the bash (first 200 or 100ms, whichever is more balanced) to counter interrupt attempts. Hitting into the bash during the star-up will bounce the enemy off and guarantee the bash
6. Can’t wallsplat
7. Can ledge
8. Causes 15 stamina damage
9. Only stops stamina regeneration for 1 second if an attack was countered before with the Superior Block start-up

Full-block:
1. Similar to BP’s: uses up 20 stamina on activation, stops stamina regeneration while you in it, you can slowly move around while you in it
2. Hitting the full-block will guarantee your bash from full-block (the full-block is a Superior Block unlike BP's, his is regular block)
3. Can be accessed from neutral or via a soft-feint from side heavy finishers
4. You can cancel out from full-block simply by releasing the full-block button, or with your forward dodge attack

Special parry punishes:
1. Input a side heavy attack immediately after a parry to access your heavy finisher right away. Only guaranteed after a light parry
2. Input a GB immediately after a parry to preform a bear hug, which is only guaranteed after a light parry
3. Deals 15 or 20 DMG and 25 or 30 (whichever is more balanced) stamina DMG, same speed as Demon's Embrace
4. Stops stamina regeneration for 2 seconds
5. Pins down the opponent for additional DMG from teammates in team based modes
6. Long recovery (around 1000ms) on miss
7. Costs 15 or 20 stamina

Forward dodge attack:
1. Forward dodge + heavy attack input: a leaping attack
2. Roll catcher
3. Good tracking but not Undodgeable
4. Has HA immediately after the input
5. 600 or 700ms fast (whichever is more balanced)
6. Deals 20 or 22 DMG
7. Leads into your chain attacks (chain light, chain heavy)
8. Can’t be feinted

Zone attack:
1. Single hit Undodgeable attack
2. Deals 15 or 18 DMG, 600ms
3. Leads immediately to heavy finishers
4. Costs 30 or 40 stamina
5. Can’t be feinted
6. Fast recovery

Sprint attack:
1. Access your forward dodge attack from sprint by inputting a heavy attack from sprint

Sprint bash:
1. Input GB during sprint
2. 600 or 700ms (whichever is more balanced), has HA immediately after the input
3. A leaping attack, smashing down onto the opponent with the shield
4. Deals no direct damage
5. Blinds the opponents
6. Deals 20 or 25 stamina damage
7. Stops stamina regeneration for 1 second
8. Can wallsplat
9. Can ledge
10. Unbalances if the opponent is already OOS
11. Leads into your chain attacks (guarantees a chain light normally, a chain heavy after a wallsplat or after it unbalanced the opponent)
12. Moderate recovery on miss (unless followed-up with an attack)

Special Melee Move:
1. The bear hug can be accessed via a back step + GB input from neutral, similarly to Shugoki's Demon's Embrace

That's it! I think that this move-set fits for his looks and weapon. Of course I'm not saying that this is perfect or unique enough, but overall a good move-set. I didn't mention the feats because I'm not really sure about those, especially the unique ones. However I think that Sharpened Blades, Though as Nails, Second Wind, Self Revive, Speed Revive, Fury, Fire Flask would be good options.

If anyone has some additional suggestions about the feats feel free to write them down.

Thanks for reading, have a nice day!

Hi everyone!

Oh boi, this will be a long one...

So, anybody remembers that there was a big uprising in the community during the Marching Fire dlc. People came together and they asked for a Middle-Eastern faction and a ton of concepts and fan-made ideas started to pop up everywhere (on places which are related to For Honor) on the internet. I didn't play the game back then, but I was interested in it so kept up-to-date with the news. That's how I heard all of this (I hope my memory serves me right).

I always thought that a Middle-Eastern faction is a remarkable idea, probably because I fight for the knights in-game, so I would have an enemy to "lead a true crusade against" lol. But jokes aside, a Middle-Eastern faction could open up so many amazing doors for Ubisoft to experiment with. Arabic culture is rich, their warriors were top-of-the line in their time, the same goes to their technologies and knowledge.

Probably it's not going to happen, but out from pure interest and fun I still created a Middle-Eastern faction. It's not complete however, I only made four hero concepts with a move-set, so there are no lore behind the faction neither behind the heroes.
Throughout the following post I would like to share my ideas about how a Middle-Easter faction could look like in For Honor. You can find pictures at the end, so you can visualize my ideas. IMPORTANT NOTE: I do not claim that I created this pictures, neither do I own them. They serve as a representation of my ideas, however they don't necessarily represent the heroes I'm going to talk about 100% accurately . I will write comments about the pictures as guide-lines for you.

Let us begin:

Vanguard (easy):

Ghazi
"Ghazi is a general Islamic term for „warrior”.

Adaptable, mix-up intensive, long range
HP: 130
Stamina: 130
Sprint speed: 7m/s
Guard type: static (guard direction follows dodge directions)
Weapon: two-handed (or great) scimitar

Move-set:
Basic chains and principles:
Ghazi has three-hit chains of every combination, but finishers must be heavy attacks. He/she doesn’t use any bashes as openers, instead fast uninterruptible soft-feints and aggressive mix-ups fill that role in, combined with really great hit-boxes. He/she is best used as a team fighter and/or mid-laner.

He/she has the following basic attack chains L + L + H; L + H + H; H + L + H and H + H + H. The heavy chain starters and heavy chain attacks (so, the finishers can’t) can be soft-feinted into a light or a heavy attack coming from the two other directions he/she is not attacking. These soft-feint attacks don’t count as a part of the chain so they can be followed up with a chain attack or finisher (depending on the previous attacks). Furthermore, all heavy attacks (including soft-feint heavies) can be soft-feinted with a GB and into a dodge.

Light chain starters are 500ms from every direction, enhanced, dealing 12 damage. Light chain attacks are 500ms from every direction, dealing 13 damage.
Heavy chain starters are 900ms from the sides, dealing 27 damage while from the top it is 800ms, dealing 24 damage. Heavy chain attacks are 800ms from every direction, dealing 25 damage. Heavy finishers are 800ms from the sides, causing 30 damage while it is 700ms and unblockable from the top, dealing 28 damage. All chain heavies and side heavy finishers have the uninterruptible property 200ms into the move. Every side heavy has wide and big hit-boxes.
Soft-feint light attacks are 400ms, dealing 9 damage. Soft-feint heavy attacks are 800ms, have the uninterruptible property 100ms into the move, dealing 24 damage.

Dodge attacks:
Ghazi has access to a forward light and forward heavy dodge attacks, in addition to side heavy dodge attacks.

The forward dodge light attack is 500ms, enhanced, dealing 14 damage. It has a short range (similarly to Kensei’s Helm Splitter).
The forward dodge heavy attacks is 800ms, undodgeable, soft-feintable with a GB (but otherwise not feintable), has the uninterruptible property 400ms into the move, dealing 18 damage. It also has a good range, can be used as a roll catcher. Both attacks are chain starters.
Side dodge heavy attacks are 900ms and have extended I-frames on them (similarly to Jiang Jun). Furthermore, these attacks are unblockable and feintable, plus they can be soft-feinted into a light attack or a heavy attack which are always coming from the opposite side direction. The initial unblockable strike is a chain starter, dealing 22 damage. The soft-feint light is 400ms, dealing 9 damage while the soft-feint heavy is 800ms, has the uninterruptible property 100ms into the move, can be soft-feinted with a GB, dealing 18 damage. The soft-feint attacks from the side dodge attack will finish your chain.

Zone attack:
His/her zone attack is a single-hit, 500ms attack with a wide hit-box, causing 13 damage and consuming 30 stamina. This attack always comes from the left and counts as the second attack in your chain, immediately leading to the finishers.

Special parry punishes:
Ghazi can access a bash (pommel strike) after any parry (GB input immediately after a parry). This bash causes 4 damage and 20 stamina damage and stuns the opponent, stamina regeneration is not paused. It also leads into the finishers.

Sprint attack:
His/her sprint attack is a heavy attack, always coming from the right. It is 600ms, dealing 18 damage. This attack is not a chain starter.

Superior Block dodges:
Ghazi can preform forward dodge GBs, plus his/her forward and side dodges have the Superior Block property between 100ms and 300ms into the dodge. Using them successfully will allow him/her to preform a GB even after a side dodge (only the forward dodge GB is possible normally). After a successful Superior Block dodge the GB is guaranteed as well as the forward dodge light attack from a Superior Block forward dodge, becoming unblockable and dealing 18 damage

Feats:
Tier 1: Tireless, Body Count, Never Resting [active, gain a 20% sprint speed boost plus twice as fast stamina regeneration for 10 seconds, cooldown is 45 seconds]

Tier 2: Inspire, Thrilling Comeback, Pressure Mine [active, set an explosive trap with a 5 meter AoE, dealing 35 damage, can only have one active in a given time, cooldown is 2 minutes]

Tier 3: Punch Through, Battlecry, Naft Bomb [active, a bomb which explodes in fire, dealing 25 damage in a 4 meter AoE and then 4 fire damage per second for 6 seconds, cooldown is 2 minutes]

Tier 4: Moreale Booster, Stalwart Banner, Disciplined [active, heal 50 health instantly and gain a 10% defense buff for 10 seconds, cooldown is 3 minutes]


Heavy (medium):

Immortal

Counter-attacker, support, long range
HP: 140
Stamina: 120
Sprint speed: 6m/s
Guard type: static (guard direction follows dodge directions)
Weapon: spear and a large Persian Mughal shield

Move set:
Basic chains and principles:
Immortal has two-hit chains of every combination. He (can only be male) is focusing on a wide range of special parry punishes, the pinning capability and far-reaching attacks to deal with his enemies. He is best used as a support hero and/or ganker.

There are 4 basic attack chains available. These are L + L; L + H; H + L and H + H. Heavy finishers can be charged to become unblockable and pin the enemy for additional damage from other players. He also has other pinning attacks, accessed from a forward dodge or from a full-block punish.

Light chain starters are 500ms from every direction, dealing 12 damage. Light finishers are 500ms from the sides, dealing 14 damage while from the top it is 400ms, dealing 10 damage.
Heavy chain starters are 800ms from the sides, dealing 24 damage while from the top it is 900ms, dealing 27 damage. Heavy finishers are 700ms from every direction, dealing 28 damage.
Every basic heavy and light attack is a stab/thrust except for the top heavy chain starter which is a vertical strike. All stabbing attacks have longer than average range (by 10-15%).
Heavy finishers can be charged partially or fully. Charged attacks hit 400ms after input release, making the fully charged attack 1200ms (charge time which is maximum 800ms + attack time which is 400ms, but enemies can see the indicator throughout the charging). This can result in variable timed heavy finishers each sharing the same aspects with the raw heavy finisher, but with different speeds and parry windows. The attack will become fully charged after charging for 700ms. The fully charged heavy finisher becomes unblockable, deals 4 additional bleed damage (2 ticks of 2) and pins the enemy for further attacks from other players. Pin duration is 800ms. After charging the heavy finisher for 400ms or more it will instantly gain the uninterruptible property on input release, plus the charge animation itself will gain the same property after charging for 700ms. Charging can’t be feinted, but charged heavies can be 400ms before impact, furthermore they can be also soft-feinted into full-block on the same timing.

Finisher miss recoveries (and only miss recoveries), including charged heavy finishers can be canceled into full-block, 233ms into the recoveries.

Dodge attacks:
Immortal only has a forward dodge heavy attack. This attack is 700ms, feintable with good tracking and range but it is not undodgeable. It does 14 direct and 4 bleed damage (2 ticks of 2) and on hit it pins the enemy for 800ms. This attacks is a chain starter, leading to the finishers and can be used as a roll catcher (literally).

Zone attack:
His zone attack is a single hit 600ms sweeping attack which always comes from the left and has a wide-hit-box. It deals 15 damage while consumes 30 stamina. This attack is a chain starter, leading to the finishers.

Bashes:
Immortal has a universal shield bash which can be preformed after any light chain starter or pinning attack (fully charged heavy finisher, forward dodge heavy attack, pinning full-block punish – bash is accessible after the pin effect ended and it’s not guaranteed). Furthermore, this bash is also available from a forward or side dodge 300-500ms into the dodge. It is 533ms from side dodges, in all the remaining other cases it’s 500ms and leads to the finishers, the light finisher is guaranteed on hit. The bash deals 20 stamina damage, but doesn’t pause it’s regeneration. Chaining is not possible on miss, but the miss recoveries (and miss recoveries only) can be canceled into full-block 233ms into the recoveries. Miss recoveries are 700ms across the board (block, dodge, counter GB).

Special parry punishes:
The forward dodge bash is guaranteed after any parry.
A light input immediately after a parry will result in Immortal punching his enemy with the edge of his shield. This attack is guaranteed after any parry (similarly to LB's light riposte), deals 10 damage, stuns (no stamina damage and stamina regeneration pause) and leads to the finishers. Since it’s a light chain starter it can be followed up with the shield bash.
A GB input immediately after a parry will result in a Spartan kick. This kick is guaranteed after any parry. It deals 30 stamina damage (not pauses stamina regeneration), no direct damage, but it pushes back the opponent and can wallsplat (which pauses stamina regeneration for 1 second) or ledge. This counter in not a chain starter, on wallsplat the maximum punish is a top heavy chain starter, otherwise it guarantees no damage.

Full-block:
Immortal’s full-block is superior block. On activation it consumes 20 stamina and pauses stamina regeneration as long as he maintains it. He can freely (but slowly) move around while he is in it. From the full-block he can preform his zone attack.
If the enemy hits his full-block a heavy input will result in a 500ms, guaranteed, unblockable thrust which deals 14 direct and 4 bleed (2 ticks of 2) damage, furthermore it pins the enemy for 800ms.
Inputting a zone after the enemy hit the full-block is also an option. In these case, the zone attack becomes unblockable and deals 22 damage, however it’s not guaranteed, the enemy has a really strict window (100ms before impact) to parry this attack.

He can quickly cancel out from this stance with a dodge.

Sprint attack:
His sprint attack is a heavy attack, always coming from the right. It is 600ms, dealing 18 damage. This attack is not a chain starter.

Feats:
Tier 1: Conqueror, Speed Revive, Sting of Death [passive, every pinning move in Immortal’s move-set will cause twice as much bleed damage]

Tier 2: Inspire, Wasp Jar [active, a single-target projectile which shatters on impact and releases a cloud of wasps, these wasps will attack the targeted enemy dealing 2 damage in each second for 10 seconds. Additionally the targeted enemy will show up on the radar and will be visible through wall for 10 seconds, can be dodged, cooldown is 1 minute], Ancient War cry [active, Immortal instantly heals 20 HP and releases a wave within a 12 meter AoE (centered on you) which gives all allies (not including you) a 10% defense buff for 10 seconds. The effect can stack upon each other, cooldown is 90 seconds.

Tier 3: Tough as Nails, Long Bow (because Immortals were great archers), Equilibrium [passive, preforming and execution will release a wave within a 10 meter AoE (centered on you) which will instantly revive fallen teammates with 50% HP (those who are not executed). Immortal gets renown for each revive separately, cooldown is 2 minutes]

Tier 4: Regenerate, Auto Revive, Presence of Doubt [active, Immortal creates a 10 meter debuff AoE around himself (it moves with him) for 30 seconds, enemies within this area will regenerate their stamina 10% slower, plus all of their stamina costs will increase by 33%. The effect will remain active for 5 seconds after leaving the zone, multiple of these feats can’t stack the effect upon each other, but can extend the duration and the covered down area if activated strategically, cooldown is 165 seconds]


Assassin (hard):

Hassassin

Melee-specialist, mix-up intensive, short range
HP: 120
Stamina: 140
Sprint speed: 8m/s
Guard type: reflex
Weapon: two Jambiya knives (dual wield)

Move-set:
Basic chains and principles:
This hero has two-hit chains and he/she is focusing on fast guaranteed double attacks, soft-feints and bleed damage to defeat the opponent. He/she is best used as a duelist.

He/she has four basic attack chains, these are L + L, L + H, H + L and H + H. Landing any chain starter will guarantee a quick light attack from the same direction. This quick attack doesn’t count as the part of the chain, so after it he/she can still do a finisher.

Light chain starters are 500ms from every direction, dealing 12 damage. Light finishers are 400ms from every direction, dealing 10 damage.
Heavy chain starters are 800ms from every direction, dealing 20 damage. Heavy finishers are 700ms from every direction, dealing 28 damage and they have the uninterruptible property after the feint window.
The quick combo lights after a successful chain starter are dealing 4 damage.

Every heavy attack can be soft-feinted into a GB, plus into your light chain starters. For the light chain starter soft-feints you can choose those two directions from which you’re not attacking. If you soft-feint into a light chain starter that light attack will become 400ms fast, will have the uninterruptible property 100ms into the move, deal 9 damage and it will cause 2 additional bleed damage. In this case the combo light will also cause additional 2 bleed damage.
If the enemy blocks your heavy chain starter (your chain is not interrupted) the follow up light input from the same direction (which would be the guaranteed combo light on hit) will be your light finisher instead, which can be blocked or parried.

Finisher recoveries can be canceled with a dodge 200ms into the recovery.

Dodge attacks:
He/she has a forward dodge light attack. This attack is 500ms fast, causing 14 damage, undodgeable, enhanced and has a good range. It is also a chain starter, the chain option is the heavy finisher only (but that can be soft-feinted further). It can be used as a roll catcher.
He/she also has side dodge attacks as well. These are regular heavy dodge attacks (similarly to Kenesei’s) dealing 16 damage. They are also chain starters, the chain options are the light/heavy finishers (but the heavies can be soft-feinted further).

Zone attack:
His/her zone attack consists of 3 strikes, all coming from the left. The first strike is 500ms, deals 14 damage and consumes 30 stamina. After this strike the zone attack can be feinted or soft-feinted into a GB or a heavy finisher from the top or from the right (but that heavy can be soft-feinted further). The second and third strikes are both causing 9 damage and consuming 10 stamina separately.
The second strike can be parried after the first (500ms), but the third can’t be after the second (200ms). If the second strike hits the opponent the third will become guaranteed. This attack is not a chain starter.

Bashes:
This hero has a 600ms bash (spin kick) from neutral which consumes 12 stamina. On hit it guarantees his/her light chain starters. It also causes 20 stamina damage, but doesn’t pause it’s regeneration. He/she can ledge with it, however this kick can’t wallsplat. This move is a chain starter, so chaining is possible even on a miss, the chain options are light chain starter and heavy chain starter (both from any direction on hit). It’s important to note however, that on a miss your chain option will always come out from the top.
Miss recoveries are 700ms for blocking and 600ms for counter GB-ing, unless followed up with an attack, but these recoveries can be canceled with a dodge 200ms into the recovery.

He/she also has a forward dodge GB.

Sprint attacks:
He/she has a light and a heavy sprint attack as well, both are coming from the left.
The light sprint attack is 600ms fast, dealing 10 direct and 4 bleed damage (2 ticks of 2).
The heavy sprint attack is 700ms fast, dealing 18 direct damage. The heavy sprint attack is also a chain starter, the chain options are the light finisher and the heavy finisher (but that heavy can be soft-feinted further).

Deflects:
Hassassin has access to heavy deflects. They are dealing 16 direct damage and 8 bleed damage (4 ticks of 2).

Feats:
Tier 1: Bounty Hunter, Stealth, Marked for the Netherworld [active, applies a 10% defense debuff on the selected target, plus instantly drains 20 stamina if the target is not OOS (can put the target OOS) and pauses stamina regeneration for 1 second, defense debuff duration is 10 seconds, cooldown is 1 minute. Can’t be applied on the enemy if that enemy is already under this feat’s effect ]

Tier 2: Doom Banner, Executioner’s Respite, Staggering Precision [active, makes the spin kick able to unbalance OOS opponents, duration is 15 seconds, cooldown is 75 seconds]

Tier 3: Throwing Knife [active, 20 direct damage plus 4 (2 ticks of 2) bleed damage projectile on a 1 minute cooldown], Pungo Mortis (because Arabians used gunpowder extensively), Skills of Death [passive, preforming an execution will apply a 20% defense debuff for 15 seconds on all enemies within a 12 meter AoE (centered on you), cooldown is 30 seconds. Preforming this feat again (when more Hassassin’s are around) within the duration of the previous one won’t stack the effect, but it will refresh the duration of the debuff]

Tier 4: Fear Itself, Regenerate, Endurance of the Desert [passive, if your health is 50 or less you gain a 25% defense buff plus your stamina will regenerate twice as fast, if you heal beyond 50 HP the effect ends and the feat goes into a 10 seconds cooldown]


Hybrid (medium, vanguard/heavy):

Tajir
„Tajir” is an Arabic term for „merchant”. This hero is based on the Sogdians/Sughdians, who were mostly traders in their time (hence the name), but they also „produced” fierce warriors for the Sassanid Empire.

Adaptable, Disabler, Hard-hitter
HP: 130
Stamina: 120
Sprint speed: 7m/s
Guard type: static (guard always remains in the active direction)
Weapon: a blunt mace and an Adarga shield

Move-set:
Basic chains and principles:
This hero has a three-hit chain of every combination. He/she is focusing on unblockable attacks and 50/50 bash mix-ups to deal with the opponent. He/she is best used as a duelist.

I don’t want to list all of his/her chains, that would be a lot, but as I said he/she has three-hit chains of every combination. Heavy chain starters can be soft-feinted into a charge-like shield bash or into chain light/heavy attacks, coming from the other two directions he/she is not attacking (so, this soft-feint advances the chain).

Light chain starters and chain attacks are 500ms from every direction, dealing 12 (chain starters) and 13 (chain attacks) damage. Light chain starters are enhanced. Light finishers are unblockable and 600ms from every direction, dealing 15 damage.
Heavy chain starters and chain attacks are 800ms from every direction, dealing 24 (chain starters) and 27 (chain attacks) damage. Heavy finishers are unblockable and 900ms from every direction, dealing 32 damage.
Soft-feint chain attacks have the same properties as their raw versions, but they are undodgeable and uninterruptible after 200ms.

Dodge attacks:
He/she has a forward dodge heavy attack and side dodge heavy attacks as well.
The forward dodge heavy attacks is 900ms, leaping attack which deals 24 damage. It is uninterruptible after 400ms, counts as a chain starter (soft-feint options are not accessible) and can’t be feinted. It can be used as a roll catcher.
Side heavy dodge attacks are regular heavy dodge attacks (similarly to Kenesei’s) dealing 16 damage. They are also chain starters.

Zone attack:
His/her zone attacks consists of two strikes, both consuming 20 stamina separately and both are coming from the left. The first strike (with the mace) is 600ms, dealing 13 damage while the second (with the shield) is 700ms, dealing 15 damage and stuns (no stamina damage and stamina regeneration pause). After the first hit the attack is feintable, or soft-feintable with the charge-like shield bash or with the light/heavy chain attacks. The second strike counts as the second hit in your chain, thus it leads to the finishers. The second hit after the first can be blocked, dodged or parried.

Bashes:
This hero has a 600ms bash from neutral which consumes 12 stamina. He/she shoves the top of his mace against the belly of the enemy. On hit it guarantees his/her light chain attacks. It also causes 20 stamina damage, but doesn’t pause it’s regeneration. He/she can ledge with it, however this bash can’t wallsplat. This move is a chain starter, so chaining is possible even on a miss, the chain options are light/heavy chain attacks from any direction both on hit and on miss. Miss recoveries are 700ms for blocking/dodging and 600ms for counter GB-ing, unless followed up with an attack.

He/she also has the soft-feint shield bash as well. It’s 600ms, deals 20 stamina damage with no stamina regeneration pause, lead into the chain attacks, guaranteed the light chain attack on hit. Furthermore, chaining is possible even on a miss, the chain options are light/heavy chain attacks from any direction both on hit and on miss. Miss recoveries are 700ms for dodging and 600ms for blocking/counter GB-ing, unless followed up with an attack.

GBs and GB throws advance the chain, GBs lead to chain attacks while GB throws lead to the finishers.

Sprint attacks:
His/her sprint attack is a heavy attack, always coming from the right. It is 600ms, dealing 20 damage, and counts as a chain starter.

Superior Block dodges:
Tajir can preform forward dodge GBs, plus his/her forward and side dodges have the Superior Block property between 100ms and 300ms into the dodge. Using them successfully will allow him/her to preform a GB even after a side dodge (only the forward dodge GB is possible normally). After a successful Superior Block dodge the GB is guaranteed.

Feats:
Tier 1: Body Count, Deadly, Insatiable [active, gain 10% extra renown from every source for 20 seconds, cooldown is 75 seconds]

Tier 2: Thick Skin, Wasp Jar, Deep Reserves [active, sacrifice 20 stamina for 20 HP and a 10% defense buff for 10 seconds, cooldown is 90 seconds]

Tier 3: Punch Through, Throwing Knife, Blood frenzy [passive, gain a 25% attack buff plus twice as fast stamina regeneration if HP is 30 or lower. If you heal beyond 30 HP the effect ends and the feat goes into a 20 second cooldown]

Tier 4: Morale Booster, Fear Itself, Arm of Might [passive, after a kill (assists don’t count) your heavy finishers gain the ability to unbalance any opponent on hit. Duration is 12 seconds, cooldown is 30 seconds after the effect ended. Further kills can’t refresh the duration]


Pictures:

1st: female Ghazi in low-end gear (Note: the scimitar should be two-handed)
2nd: male Ghazi in high-end gear (Note: should be a bit less fantastical)
3rd: Immortal in low-end gear (Note: this is a historical representation and I quite like it. The bow is not needed, it's a feat in-game, replace his shield with the Mughal shield)
4th: Immortal in high-end gear (Note: should be less fantastical, with more armor and the assigned weaponry)
5th: male Hassassin in low-end gear (Note: quite good, but he is dual-wielding his weapons)
6th: female Hassassin in high-end gear (Note: she should wear more clothing and armor for more protection)
7th: male Tajir (right side) in mid-level gear, based on the Sogdian warrior (couldn't find more pictures about him/her ) (Note: change his shield with the Adarga shield)















That's it! If you went this far, then congrats!
Probably I didn't even scratched the surface, when it comes to what is possible with a Middle-Eastern faction. I made this concept according to best of my game-knowledge and chose a semi-historical, semi-fantastical representation for the heroes to go with the methods used by the devs to create heroes. I genuinely enjoyed working on this, someday maybe we get a faction like this.

I hope you liked this "idea-barrage", if you have any opinions or thought feel free to write them down.
Which of the heroes do you like the most and why?

Thanks fore reading, have a nice day!

@deathtocakl

According to the Information Hub all of Warlord's heavy finishers are 700ms, which are on the faster side of heavies indeed. That's why I thought that if the top one would be unblockable it should lose the HA. A 700ms unblockable attacks would be too good with HA, IMO. The side ones could keep it however, still being 700ms.

As for dodge attacks: maybe make him able to access a 533ms version of his headbutt from a side dodge 300-500ms into a dodge.

As I see it, LB doesn't needs huge changes or complete redesigns like Conq or Shinobi. Just address his issues using common sense, and use a bit of creativity as the cherry on top.

What he definitely needs are:

• 500ms bash from dodge
• Chain link timing reduced between heavies and in-chain bash to 300 or 333ms (from 400)
• Allow him to chain on missed bash (with lights and heavies)
• His bash no longer pauses stamina regen
• Zone should be a chain starter leading to chain lights, heavies and shove, plus keep the awesome recoveries on it
• Zone should be Undodgeable from neutral (he has a hard time against dodge specialists and dodge cancels)
• Zone riposte (Make Way) should be the same speed as the neutral zone (that's 700ms from 900)
• Zone stamina cost is reduced to 30 from 60
• Remove stun, stamina damage and regen pause from top heavies, only the top heavy finisher should do 15 or 20 stamina damage without pausing the regen (this would make up for the fact that it's clearly inferior compared to the sides ones having smaller hit-boxes and being slower).
• Top heavy chain starter damage is increased to 27 from 24 (because it no longer stuns and drains stamina and it's a 900ms attack)
• Top chain heavy is sped up to 800ms from 900, dmg is reduced to 27 from 28
• Top Heavy finisher is sped up to 1000 or 966ms from 1100 and has HA 100ms into the attack
• Top light finisher is sped up to 400ms from 500, damage is reduced to 10 from 14
• Side heavy attacks and both versions of the zone attack have improved hit-boxes for team fights and minion clearing
• Give him a new chain: light, light, heavy
• Give him a roll catcher: 800ms, 22dmg, feintable, has HA after the feint-window, chain starter (options are chain light and heavy, plus shove), has good range and tracking but not Undodgeable, always comes from the top
• Blind Justice (top heavy parry riposte) has immediate HA so it's similar to Gryphon in a sense that it's an Uninterruptable parry punish (can be interrupted by bashes only)
• Long Arm is sped up to 900ms from 1000, guarantees a safe side heavy (maybe feintable, but that would need testing)
• Light Riposte stun duration is reduced to 1000ms from 1500 and it no longer pauses stamina regen

Then the cherry on top:

• The start-up of heavy finishers and Blind Justice can be cancelled into a dodge (allows for better defence and mobility in team fights)
• Every heavy finisher (plus Blind Justice) guarantees the Swift Justice Finisher which is renamed to Swift Justice Strike and chains into Shove or a heavy chain attack, however the damage of it is reduced from 5 to 4. Furthermore, heavy finisher damage is also reduced to 28 from the sides (from 30) and 30 from the top (from 32).
• Shove riposte: do a shove by immediately inputing GB after any parry, guaranteed after any parry
• Conqueror feat is replaced with Tireless

I heard people complaining about his Impaling Riposte, which is silly imo, considering that Warmonger also has it. And her impale is actually better (provided that there is no healing involved) because she can get more damage out of it and can impale enemies on the ground as well. LB can't do that.

I have other ideas as well, but those might be too much.

@knight_raime

Thank you for all the explanations and insights you've shared with me, and for all the enlightening discussions we've had throughout the years (even back on the old forum).

Wish you the best!

@xanfars

As a Rep 70 LB main it hurts to say this, but be prepared for him becoming even worse when the next TG rolls around. It will turn Shove (from dodge) into the definition of uselessness (unless the devs speed it up in the TG, who knows).

Rage quitting become more frequent since cross-play according to my experience (toxicity as well but that is not the point now). I play on PC, so I assume that it was normal on console through all these years. The people leaving games and ruining the experience for the others are probably on old gen consoles most of the time, so they can't do a lot against reworks and Pirates (and I can understand if they become frustrated because of that, but still if you are loosing you should still take that loss with dignity imo).

And I'm not saying that rage quitters are always (old gen) console players. There are some really talented and good players on console and a lot of them has a chance of beating me. But I think this can be one reason of increased rage quitting.

Also, the matchmaking system is also guilty in this. Very much so. Placing beginners or average players against demi-gods is not a rare occurrence, so most of the time one team ends up steamrolling over the other. And when players start to leave it gets even worse because empty player slots won't get filled up, even if cross-play is active.
I had the most fun since a long time when MMR got disabled for two or so weeks. Matchmaking then felt amazing and casual, great for having fun if that's what you want with the game.

@illuminatieyes

I hear you.
Tbh I also would like to see the infinite UBs changed in one way or another, but I don't think the devs will move away from that idea no matter how loud the community is about it.

But my ideas would be:

• Chain heavy attacks are only UB is preformed after a chain light attack

OR

• Chain heavy attack are only UB if the previous chain heavy attack either hit the target or got blocked by the target (this would be kinda unique but also really inconsistent in team fights, since even if you hit somebody externally that counts as a miss so the next attack won't be UB)

OR

• Chain heavy attacks are no longer UB, however if Conq preforms a top heavy attack after any chain move (light or heavy, not including Flail Uppercut and Scuttage Collection) that heavy will become UB and will function as a finisher ending the offense but the recoveries can be cancelled into Full-block (basically how Zerker does his UBs).

@illuminatieyes

I guess the bash follow-up (flail uppercut that is) can be made less frustrating with some simple changes. The fact that it can exe someone is not the problem, that's the damage. Shield basher should be removed and the damage of the uppercut should be maximum 15 (or 14, with Scuttage Collection doing 13 but rather 12). Plus the devs could turn the neutral shield bash into a legion kick variant, so the input window is 300-500ms into the dodge, instead it starting at 100ms.

I really miss the soft-feint bash on Conq (also the ability to soft-feint the the charge animation into a bash, it was unique) but in his current state he probably doesn't need it.

Anyway, like multiple people said it before it's probably going to be damage nerfs and the hit stun adjustment. With that they can also play around with the chain link timings to make it feel more consistent.

Plus, I'm fairly certain that the right side light attack after a flail uppercut is the slow version and it shouldn't be. I don't know that it was the case with old Conq, but now he really should be able to do a 500ms light from every direction after the uppercut imo. The same goes for his Superior Block light as well.

@deathtocakl

Well, I don't really. Got him to Rep 10 (or so) and since then I rarely play him. Which is quite interesting, considering I main LB. Another patient hero in game for impatient people.

I guess to me BP feels boring because he has 2 hit chains. I prefer heroes with 3 hit chains. LB at least has that.

@illuminatieyes

Yes, and we already talked about it quite extensively.
Since his bash will be butchered in the upcoming TG I guess the devs will be kinda forced to take a look at him (not like it mattered before). But then again, if that happens, nothing will stop them from over buffing him.

However, this thread is about Shugoki, not LB.

@grimdeath795

First off that was a struggle to read visibly as it was pure white..

Oh, sorry for that.