TESTING GROUNDS: FIGHT SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS DEBRIEF
Hello Warriors!
We hoped to get back to you sooner on our Fight System Improvements Testing Grounds. May was a bumpy ride for us all as we transitioned into our new work from home setup. Now that we’ve settled into this new normal, it is time to give you an update on our latest Testing Grounds.
First off, we want to thank you all for your participation. The Fight System Improvements Testing Grounds was our most successful edition in terms of attendance with 25% of the active players participating!
We also want to give a special thank you to The Arena for organizing a tournament in the Testing Grounds context. We did not expect this. This was very interesting and fun to watch, and it also reinforces our belief in the validity of these changes for the future of the game.
WHAT DID WE LEARN?
This Testing Grounds changed many things in order to make combat more offensive:
New system makes fight moves look consistently faster over the network:
We removed the visual variability of opponents’ fight moves speeds caused by timing of the inputs
As a result, for all fight moves, the first 100ms of animation / UI are consistently skipped over the network (whether delayed or buffered)
As a result, feints are more believable
Stamina penalties were removed
Damage was adjusted (with a second pass during week 2)
Recoveries were normalized for light attacks and heavy finishers
Zone Attacks were more comfortable to perform
For more details on all these changes, you can go back to the articles we already published:
As expected, data shows the game was more offensive during the Testing Grounds. Attacks hit more across platforms on average, especially chained lights, which saw the highest increase. Chained heavies and Special attacks remained stable:
Neutral lights:
Console hit% went up from 53% to 55%
PC hit% went up from 50% to 55%
Chained lights:
Console hit% went up from 61% to 66%
PC hit% went up from 57% to 63%
Neutral heavies:
Console hit% went up from 33% to 35%
PC hit% went up from 32% to 33%
Dodge attacks:
Console hit% went up from 38% to 40%
PC hit% went up from 38% to 41%
By making attacks faster, most of them became harder to block on reaction. For the fastest ones, they could only be blocked on “read” (the act of anticipating your opponent’s next move). A positive side effect of this was a shift in attack usage with neutral light being less used on average and an increase in chained heavies. Chained lights, neutral heavies, dodge attacks and Specials remained quite stable with some exceptions for very specific attacks.
Neutral light:
Console and PC use% went up from 21% to 23 %
Chained heavy:
Console use% went up from 12% to 14 %
PC use% went up from 11% to 14%
The switch to a more offensive meta came out quite clearly in our survey where a majority of respondents confirmed the game felt more offensive than Live.
Respondents also felt overwhelmingly positive about the removal of stamina penalties, despite more mixed feedback on the parry penalty specifically.
Now regarding damage changes, results were mixed, even though we saw a slight improvement with the release of our week 2 patch.
More generally, when asked to judge whether the Testing Grounds experience was better or worse than Live, we saw results that were overwhelmingly positive on PC but mixed on Console.
In the surveys, the main source of player-reported frustration was on the topic of “light spam”. This was similarly visible for both Console and PC players.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
After going through the statistical data and the qualitative survey feedback, even though a majority of respondents loved the changes, the amount of people who didn’t cannot be ignored. This is why we did not deploy the Testing Grounds changes into the game earlier.
We know that complaints about “light spam” at certain skill levels are not a new issue that only popped up with our Testing Grounds changes - we have heard complaints from segments of the player base on this topic since launch - and have heard the same complaints whether the attack speeds are as slow as 600/700ms, or as fast as 400ms. We are aware that there will always be a certain amount of frustration from players who expect to be able to react to all incoming attacks - we still need their own attacks to be effective - yet we also want to reduce the sense of how overwhelming it can feel for some parts of the player base. We want players to use Light Attacks and encourage pressing buttons as one part of a fully functioning offense. This will allow players to experiment with the combat system, new heroes, and it makes combat more dynamic. We know "light spam" is certainly not a winning strategy for high level competitive players, but we also don't want it to be too effective for regular players, so part of our edits is to make light attacks feel more fair.
Making light attacks feel more fair
The first step to making light attacks feel more fair at the level of regular players, is to work toward clarifying their functions in the combat system, especially with regards to heavy attacks. In theory, it goes like this:
Light attacks: fast, hard to block, meant to open
Heavy attacks: slow, easier to block, meant to deal damage, bait
So, to serve their purpose, light attacks need to have a fair ratio of damage, stamina cost and recovery timing and these are the parameters we’ll be iterating on.
DAMAGE
For damage, the global approach is to make sure we adjust light and heavy damage based on the intended functions of attacks. Generally, this means that Lights often are nerfed in damage, while Heavies and especially Heavy Finishers retain their higher damage values. In addition to this, there are certain attacks on certain heroes that we nerfed in terms of attack speed to limit their ability to hit opponents, and therefore reduce “light spam” complaints.
Now, if you are being “light spammed”, it will do less damage to you.
STAMINA
On Live, there are some heroes that can kill an opponent who fail to block all light attacks without spending much stamina. In the Core Combat Update, we will nerf light attack stamina costs globally to 12 stamina cost (from 6) to reduce the effectiveness and ability to kill a player who is unable to block any lights.
We will still remove the stamina penalties on Block/Miss/Parry, as this was a very important step towards making players feel more comfortable about throwing attacks. It’s a very positive change to make the game more accessible and dynamic. We feel that the overall increase to light attack stamina cost should limit the effectiveness of “light spam” at lower levels of play even with these stamina penalties removed, as there was never a stamina penalty for Hit before, anyway. This means that someone who cannot block is much better off in the Core Combat Update than they ever were on Live.
TIMINGS
Timing is an essential component in making the game feel more offensive and we’re satisfied with how the new system has made neutral game less static than it is on Live.
That being said, there are particular attacks that may not need to be as fast as they were on Live – such as the neutral 400ms attacks, which we will nerf to 500ms. Additionally, Orochi is singularly blamed by light spam complainants, so we will nerf parts of Orochi’s Light Attack kit, with some compensation on the Heavy Finisher.
Now, we provide the ability to dodge out of most light>light chains, and give you frame advantage after most light chains end. This means that you have more abilities to counter “light spam” than ever before – whether that’s dodging away, or by using frame advantage after their chain to “take your turn” – now you should be able to prevent continuous “light spam”.
WHAT'S COMING NEXT
With these changes to address the risk / reward of using light attacks, we are confident we’ll be able to get the vast majority of our players, across all platforms and all skill levels, to adapt to our new offensive meta.
We are not planning to do a second Testing Grounds. We feel confident that the first Testing Grounds provided enough data to allow us to identify the major pain points to address, and therefore, these changes will be in the game on August 6th, 2020, as the Core Combat Update. Once released, we will be monitoring the situation closely to make the necessary adjustments as swiftly as possible, and we will be relying a lot on your feedback, so we’ll be counting on you to keep it coming.
The team is super excited for these changes to go live. We’re confident this will make For Honor healthier, with more dynamic games that are more fun to play and watch, especially in Competitive settings.
Please note that the changes mentioned in this article are not the only changes that will be part of the Core Combat Update, but we’ll share more details about the specifics as we get closer to August 6th. Until then, stay tuned!
For Honor Free Weekend Starts July 23
For Honor will be free to download and play on Steam from July 23-26, giving players the chance to cross swords with Vikings, Samurai, Knights, and Wu Lin across a wide variety of battlefields and game modes. The free weekend is also a chance to check out some of the recent additions of the Year of Reckoning, including a new Battle Pass and a rework for the Centurion.
The free weekend kicks off at 10:00 AM PDT via Steam. PC players can keep battling until 1:00 PM PDT on July 27.
If you decide you want to keep your momentum going after the free weekend is over, For Honor will be on sale for up to 80% off during the free period, and any progress you make will carry over to the full version should you decide to purchase it.
For more on the game, including details on the new season, Tyranny, check out our previous coverage.
WARRIOR'S DEN UPDATE - JULY 16
Hello Warriors,
We hope you’re staying cool this July, as every day more closely resembles the swamp climate of Point C on Temple Garden.
Fortunately, we have a refreshing breeze of sales blowing in this week:
Summer Sale
Over 3,000 items at 25% off! Get new threads, new Effects, and new Emotes for the hero you’ve been repping up!
Champion Status Sale
With Champion Status, you can claim to your friends that you are an actual For Honor champion…and technically be correct! If they play For Honor with you, they will directly experience the bonuses provided by your championship. You have until July 23rd to take advantage of this sale!
Winged Anomaly Ornament
These Winged Anomaly Ornaments may be just what you need to spice up your drop attacks. While they do not actually change your hero’s ability to dunk on enemies from the crow’s nests at Point B on Harbor, having wings will certainly help you gain the upper hand psychologically.
Thank you for joining us, and we’ll see you again at the next Warrior’s Den Recap!
If you haven’t already, join the For Honor Community on Twitter, Twitch, and Reddit.
Stay safe and we'll see you on the battlefield!
WARRIOR'S DEN UPDATE - JULY 9
Hey there, Warriors!
Last week we unveiled our official roadmap for the month of July! Check it out below – there’s also an Extra XP Fest on the 17th:
July Roadmap
Mood Effect – Fumes of Horkos
The new “Fumes of Horkos” Effect is out this week! It’s certainly an intimidating way to make a statement on the battlefield.
Battle Outfit – Anomaly of Horkos
The Anomaly of Horkos outfit is available for all heroes now! Head to the in-game store and check out the mysterious new threads.
Ranked Vanquisher Challenge
Rounding out this week’s activities is the Ranked Vanquisher Challenge! Starting tomorrow, fight for your faction to win the most Ranked matches to earn the best rewards for your faction.
Thank you for joining us, and we’ll see you again at the next Warrior’s Den Recap!
If you haven’t already, join the For Honor Community on Twitter, Twitch, and Reddit.
Stay safe and we'll see you on the battlefield!
WARRIOR'S DEN UPDATE - JULY 2
Greetings, Warriors!
The first month of Tyranny is officially in the books. We hope your Metal Trials have gone well! SADPOLLYON, Gitgudmundr, and the Tozens can all be challenging opponents – but it’s all worth it to hear the roar of the crowd.
July Roadmap
Arcade Quests, Content of the Week, Challenges, and an Extra XP Fest! There’s something to try every week.
Blooming Sale
If you have a chance, head on over to the in-game store and grab a wide variety of cosmetics and effects at a discounted price! This sale will last until July 9th at 9:00am.
Shrugs Emote x2
Finally, to round out the new Content for the Week, there are new Emotes available for all your favorite heroes!
An opponent stands across a narrow bridge that arches over a deep canyon. Before approaching, use the “Skeptically Swaying” Emote to show them that you’re not so sure it’s a good idea.
But later in the match: why’d your opponent choose to stand near those spikes? Show them that you question their decision-making with the “Confused Warrior” Emote.
Weekly Quests #37
The Weekly Quest “Wolves From The Door” is available now until July 9th for owners of the Marching Fire DLC.
Thank you for joining us, and we’ll see you again at the net Warrior’s Den Recap!
If you haven’t already, join the For Honor Community on Twitter, Twitch, and Reddit.
Stay safe, and we’ll see you on the battlefield!
WARRIOR'S DEN RECAP - JUNE 25TH
Hello there, Warriors!
We hope you’ve all been enjoying the Season of Tyranny so far! Here’s what we have in store for this week:
Test Your Metal II
We’re continuing the return of Test Your Metal with Chapter 2! From now until July 2nd, go show those Heathmoor impersonators who’s the real boss of the battlefield.
Time-Limited Illustrious Outfit Wolf
Looking for some new threads for your heroes? Head on over to the store and pick up the Timeless Wolf outfit for your main until July 2nd.
Extra Loot Fest
The Extra Loot Fest is ON. Play any game mode (including Test Your Metal II) from June 26th to June 29th and receive more loot! You’ve got three days to increase your chances of getting that drop you’ve been searching for. Good luck!
Chivalry meets Bushido as Warden bashes his way into the world of Samurai Shodown!
Ready the catapult!
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STATE OF BALANCE: HOPE (Y4S1)
Hello Warriors! Welcome to this installment in our ongoing series of State of Balance, where the Fight Team analyzes the results from the just-completed season and discusses where we are headed in the future.
In this blog, we will share data on the Win Rates and Pick Rates of our heroes with you, the community. We will also look at this data to discuss our perspective on certain balance issues, comparing the above data with the community-created Tier List, and where we see balance heading over the coming seasons.
We know the results of previous Testing Grounds phases are hot topics with you, the community, so we want to quickly update you on their statuses. Based on feedback from the previous Testing Grounds phases, we are preparing to release 2 updates. We expect these 2 updates will bring variety to the meta, and will expect to be discussing their impacts in the future installments of the State of Balance.
Centurion got a significant update based on the original Testing Grounds phase (which focused on Warlord, Gladiator, and Centurion). We’ve taken in the feedback from the original Testing Grounds phase and have since made a number of edits to improve efficiency to initiate and sustain offense, as well as reduce the frustration of stun, stamina drain, and the cutscene. The updated Centurion changes went live with the start of Y4S2.
Fight System Improvements have been worked on since the latest Testing Grounds phase (which focused on improving the whole roster’s offensive tools, reducing inconsistencies such as delayed/buffered attack results, improving stamina costs, making zone attack input more comfortable, etc). We are continuing to make a number of edits to them to better set damage levels, and also to reduce the frustrations of Light Spam. We expect these changes to improve the meta of the game, and be a refreshing improvement to the state of play. We’ll communicate more during Y4S2 on the release date of the Fight System Improvements.
HOPE (Y4S1) - DATA
Now - let’s look at the Win Rates data, Pick Rates data, and Community Tier List!
DOMINION WIN RATES + PICK RATES
These are the Win Rate and Pick Rates based on player data combined from Y4S1.
This Tier is based on individual Tier Lists created by the community and combined by the community.
Kensei and Aramusha currently appear at the very top of the Win Rates for Full Population and Top for Dominion. Kensei and Aramusha have always appeared near the top of these data sets, with both having good damage on their attacks as well as good range. We’ve seen Aramusha rise in the meta as well, as players have learned to confirm a 40 damage 700ms Side Heavy off of, for example, a friendly Gladiator’s Toestab. This particular issue occurs because our Openers (which can be ganking tools as in this case, and/or defensive tools when used as Parry Punishes) often carry as much or more damage than our Finishers. In our ‘Testing Grounds: Fight System Improvements’ version, we tried to rebalance the damage to be generally lower on Openers, and more on Finishers. We would expect that this would reduce the rewards for defensive play, reduce the damage reward when ganking, and incentivise offense through continuing the chains toward the biggest damage attacks.
Lawbringer also appears at the top of the Win Rates. There seem to be a couple of reasons for the Lawbringer’s current power level – the ones most addressable, which are high HP and Impale not following the usual rules for binding opponents, were addressed at the start of Y4S2. Topics like Shove-on-Red or the global issue of target-swapping-in-the-lane are also problematic, though not simple to address.
Top of the Win Rates and Tier Lists are starting to converge a bit more than they seem to have in previous seasons. We note that Lawbringer was almost unanimously placed in the S Tier by top community players who created the Tier List, and he appears very high in the Player Win Rates as well. Kensei and Aramusha are placed highly in Win Rates and Tier List as well, and Warlord, Conqueror, Jiang Jun, and Hitokiri appear reasonably high on all results. It still diverges in respect to Shaman, Gladiator and Black Prior who appear lower in the Win Rates, but high up on the Tier List.
Raider no longer appears at the very top of the Player Win Rates for Dominion. Similarly, Raider was particularly high in the previous shared season’s data for Duels (for Full Population the Duel data was the #3 hero at 61% (is now 52%), and for Platinum And Above was the #1 hero at 63% (is now 56%)). The Storming Tap nerf and damage nerfs appear to have impacted the Win Rate as well as frustration of fighting against Raider, without making Raider unviable. We therefore don’t expect to have to make any other nerfs to reduce the frustration element on this character.
Hitokiri also no longer appears at the very top of the Player Win Rates for Dominion. While the Win Rate has gone down somewhat (especially in Duel), we introduced more changes to Hitokiri at the beginning of Y4S2, to reduce the frustration element when fighting the character in 1v1 and group fight scenarios. Our examination is that Full Population players are having a difficult time with the Light Finishers, and Uninterruptible Stance. Jormungandr is currently appearing in the middle of the Win Rate data, and the Tier List. However, we also see that Jormungandr repeatedly is marked as the most frustrating character in the player surveys that we’ve been performing each season. Some of this appears to be stamina-related, some on the early timings of Uninterruptible Stance, some on the frame advantage after a finisher, and some on the survivability given by the Feats. Also – we noted the Jomungandr was much stronger when played in ‘Testing Grounds: Fight System Improvements’. In the short term, we introduced a variety of small nerfs to Jormungandr at the start of Y4S2, and in the longer term we will investigate the survivability benefit given by the Feats (as this was a big part of the higher power level Jormungandr enjoyed in the Testing Grounds). Reflex Guard Heroes still have a difficult time in Dominion. All Reflex Guard heroes currently appear at the bottom half of the Win Rates. We’re keeping an eye on this as it is a trend that is problematic. At the same time, we recognize that their Win Rates increased in ‘Testing Grounds: Fight System Improvements’, likely due to a combination of attacks hitting more often as well as assassins having generally higher damage than heavies/vanguards/hybrids in that version.
When it comes to Duel, we note that there is a reduction of the highest Win Rates in this season’s Duel Win Rate data. Full Population’s highest win rate this season is 63% for Shugoki (was 68% for Hitokiri in the previous shared season’s data), and Platinum And Above now has a highest Win Rate of 60% for Hitokiri (was 63% for Raider in the previous shared season’s data). This is currently moving in the correct direction.
Uninterruptible Stance / High Damage Heroes still have a large presence at the top of the charts. This seems to suggest that these properties are very strong when used in the context of Full Population or Platinum-or-Above play in Duel. The main outlier is Berserker, who has an Uninterruptible Stance but appears quite low in Full Population play. We changed the Uninterruptible Stance timings on Hitokiri, Shugoki, and Jormungandr in 2.19.0 – and expect this to reduce them marked as frustrating to fight by players in our seasonal surveys.
Zhanhu comes into the middle of the Dominion Win Rates, but is low in the Community Tier List and in Duel data. The feeling is that the character does come in generally weaker than hoped. For example, the Superior Block Palm struggles to find a niche, and the Zone Attack is too slow to be as effective as desired – while the fire AOEs and general chaos of a Full Population Dominion game seem to keep Zhanhu more relevant in player data.
Warlord and Gladiator have both moved up quite a bit in the competitive Tier List. Warlord also moved up quite a bit in the Win Rate data, both in Dominion and Duel. While the Gladiator hasn’t moved up nearly as much in player data Win Rate in particular, the buffs that the two have received from Testing Grounds (and the other patches around this time) have moved each up into relevance in the meta. Centurion generally appears low in all results. Centurion requires parry-fishing for damage in 1v1s, and the ganking power of the cutscene (especially vs Revenge) in Dominion. Otherwise, Centurion finds itself lacking in most respects. We expected the Centurion rework to have made a positive impact once we’re able to analyze Y4S2.
Defensive Meta is still the dominant meta, and the Fight Team’s analysis is that this meta is stale and needs to change. We look forward to introducing improvements to offense in the Live game during the course of Y4S2, and we expect this to reduce staring contests and freshen up the way the game is played.
DUEL + BREACH DATA
For interests’ sake, we include the Duel and Breach Win Rates and Pick Rates here.
DUEL FULL POPULATION WIN RATE
DUEL PLATINUM AND ABOVE WIN RATE
DUEL PICK RATE
BREACH FULL POPULATION WIN RATE + TOP 4% WIN RATE
CLOSING NOTE
We would love to hear more from you on the results of the Player Data for Full Population, Platinum-or-Above, and Top, as well as on the Community Tier Lists Please remember that we look at all this data, information, feedback, player survey results, and a whole lot more when we make our decisions.
Keep sending us your feedback, and we look forward to sharing the next installment of the State of Balance!
We hope you’re enjoying Y4S2! 😊
- The Fight Team
For Honor Y4S2 Battle Pass – Prepare for Tyranny!
The Y4S2 Battle Pass includes the following rewards for 26 heroes:
1 Execution (one per hero)
1 Weapon Set (one per hero)
1 Emote (one per hero)
2 Battle Outfits (one per hero)
1 Effect (Idle/Emote/Execution per hero)
Color Swatches, Paint Patterns, Symbols, Emblem Customization
a 10% Bonus in Battle Points earned through completed matches
and much more!
Also new to this season, players will be able to purchase a battle bundle, unlocking the premium pass and 25 tiers instantly.
WARRIOR'S DEN RECAP - JUNE 9TH
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The Season of Hope is ending. The heroes of For Honor are on the cusp of a new Season: Tyranny. A strangely familiar visage is seen in the fog of war - proclaiming that “peace is poison.”
Warriors: Year 4, Season 2 is live on June 11th!
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Metal Trials
The Metal Trials will be live on June 11th! The much-anticipated Test Your Metal is back with a twist: a crowd of spectators. Group up with 3 of your friends and battle campaign mode powerhouses like Tozen, Gudmundr, and Apollyon for the enjoyment of the crowd!
A fun fact: the bosses receive bonuses if the players win a Bo7 round. So good luck grinding the throwback Event rewards, Warriors – as well as rewards for the heroes who did not exist during the previous Test Your Metal.
Centurion
The Centurion rework of legend will finally come to the live game on June 11th. Thank you for your invaluable feedback from last September’s Testing Grounds, Warriors, and thank you for your patience.
Stay tuned for an article that will take a closer look at all of Centurion’s changes. Enjoy playing his updated moveset, and we hope you find playing him INCREDIBILIS.
New Hero and the Core Combat Update
The mysterious new hero will make their presence known on August 6th.
The changes we tried in the last Testing Grounds (now called the Core Combat Update) will also "go live" on August 6th. The Core Combat Update will result in a more dynamic experience for our players and disrupt the potentially stale defensive meta.
We’ll have more news before then, but for now: know that we’re keeping your Testing Grounds feedback regarding damage values, potential light spam, and Feats balancing in mind.
Shrugs ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
An Emote for the informal among us. Use this as you win a Metal Trials match to prove that no-one, not even the bosses from the campaign mode, can touch you on the battlefield.
We hope you enjoyed the Warrior’s Den (from home)!
If you haven’t already, join the For Honor Community on Twitter, Twitch, and Reddit.
We’ll see you again at the next Warrior’s Den Recap. Stay safe, see you on the battlefield!
WARRIOR'S DEN RECAP - MAY 28
Hello Warriors!
We hope you have enjoyed the May throwback events. June 11th (and Year 4, Season 2) is right around the corner! We’re eager to share more about the new season with you, but in the meantime, here are this week’s activities and sales:
Extra XP Fest
It’s Extra XP time once again! Use this time to knock out your Orders you’ve been meaning to get done. This also applies to all matches you play, including Ranked. You’ll be able to participate in the XP Fest beginning on May 29th at 1:00pm (EDT) until June 1st at 3:00pm (EDT).
Signatures Sale
We’ve got a sale on Signatures that runs from now until June 4th 9:00 (EDT)! Pick one up before time runs out so you can celebrate your victories in style.
Ranked Vanquisher Challenge
Does your faction have what it takes to win it all? From now until June 1st at 3:00pm (EDT), be the ones to win the Ranked Vanquisher Challenge!
We hope you’ve enjoyed the throwback playlists and rewards month!
If you haven’t already, join the For Honor Community on Twitter, Twitch, and Reddit.
We’ll see you again at the next Warrior’s Den Recap. Stay safe, see you on the battlefield!
