How to play Nobushi? For Honor Nobushi Guide
This chapter contains detailed description of the Nobushi. You will find here information about his strengths and weaknesses, full move set and combat tips.
Last update: 17 February 2017
Nobushi is a specific class - it combines the traits of assassins, allowing the player to deal great amount of damage, while also being equipped with a Naginata that provides it with great attack range and the possibility to keep the enemy at distance. Additionally, the key trait of this character is causing bleeding effect on the opponent and taking advantage of that for maximizing the damage.
Modifiers, abilities, and class attacks
Half of the attacks of this class enable it to put the enemy under a bleeding effect, causing him to receive damage as time passes by. Nobushi also has Way of the Shark passive ability. It causes enemy that is under a bleeding effect to receive additional damage from it. It is a key ability which you should mandatorily take advantage of - without it the damage dealt by this class is much smaller and so is combat effectiveness of Nobushi.
What distinguishes this class is its weapon and attack range related to it. Since it is possible to attack the enemies from safe distance, no enemy will be able to attack you without reducing the distance first. What's more, this class can fluently combine fast and slow slashes with side and forward dashes, creating various attacks and forcing the enemy to remain in defense and in safe distance from Nobushi. This character also has fourth stance (Hidden Stance) which is described further in this chapter.
Sadly, Nobushi's advantage - attack range - is also the greatest disadvantage. This character is great as long as the enemy isn't able to get close. In close combat this character's attacks and abilities are much less effective. It is worth remembering that the key to success is the efficient use of Way of the Shark passive ability - if the enemy manages to stop you from causing him to bleed or from dealing damage to him when he is under the bleeding effect, he will greatly reduce the amount of damage you deal. The last thing you must remember is stamina consumption - performing numerous attacks will quickly deplete stamina and leave you vulnerable to enemy attacks.
Modifiers, abilities, and class attacks
Nobushi is a character class focused on harassing the enemy from long distance, causing him to bleed and, if needed, moving from enemy in order to regain distance advantage.
Class modifiers
Nobushi class has the following modifiers:
- Renown - enables the player to gain same number of renown points for all actions.
- Way of the Shark - enables the player to deal more damage against bleeding target.
- Hidden Stance - the fourth, character-unique stance. It enables Nobushi to avoid any attacks (except for Guard Breaks). It can be started while the light attack animation is being played.
- Cancel Attack Recovery - allows the player for breaking light attacks in order to perform Viper's Retreat, Kick or to enter Hidden Stance. Additionally, after the Kick ability it is possible to use Hidden Stance or Cobra Strike.
- Light Attack Combo - if the second attack of the chain of light attacks hit the enemy, the third one is guaranteed to hit as well.
- Side Slashes - enables the player to perform an attack from reverse direction (stance) than the direction on which you are dashing. After the Side Slashes you can activate Hidden Stance, Viper's Retreat, Kick or Dodge.
- Zone Attack - enables the player to cancel the zone attack after the first hit.
Feats
Nobushi has access to 12 feats divided into 4 tiers (3 per each). You can use only 4 of them simultaneously - one per each tier. Below you can find a table with all feats described.
Tier | Contents |
1 | Iron Lungs - a passive ability. You can sprint even when the stamina bar is empty. Available since start. Speed Revive - a passive ability. Increases the speed of reviving the allies. Requires level 5. Body Count - a passive ability. Killing the enemy soldiers regenerates your health and stamina. Requires level 7. |
2 | Arrow Strike - summons a strike that deals medium damage in the selected area. Available since start. Smoke Bomb - you throw a smoke bomb on the ground. It removes targeting. Requires level 9. Revenge Attacks - a passive ability. The attacks fill Revenge bar. Requires level 11. |
3 | Blissful Rest - you regain all of your health. Available since start. Long Bow - allow you to shoot with a long bow and deal medium damage. Requires level 17. Sharpen Blade - all attacks deal small damage as time passes. Requires level 15. |
4 | Stalwart Banner - Nearby allies are constantly regenerating their health. Available since start. Arrow Storm - Allows you to send a storm of arrows on a small area. It deals medium damage. Requires level 17. Fire Trap - a trap that explodes and burns the nearby area. Requires level 19. |
Special attacks
Nobushi has access to many special attacks that are mostly focused on long range of her attack. What's more, many of these attacks can cause the enemy to bleed. The below table contains information about all special attacks available for this class.
Name | How to perform | Description |
Poke the Nest | Light attack, light attack, light attack | The basic combination of Nobushi attacks. If the second attack hits the enemy, the third one is guaranteed to hit him as well. Additionally, the third attack puts the enemy under a bleeding effect. |
Hiss and Bite | Light attack, strong attack | The second combination of this class' attacks enables the player to perform a strong attack and follow it with a strong attack. Doesn't put the enemy under any additional effects. |
Death Rattle Form | Strong attack, strong attack | The slowest combination of Nobushi's attacks. Despite the fact that it deals high number of damage, it is easy to parry. Additionally, it doesn't cause any effects to the opponent. |
Slithering Thrust | Performing a light attack during sprint. Attack unavailable in Lock Mode. | An attack which you can use only outside the Lock Mode. It enables you to perform a light push which puts the enemy under a bleeding effect. A perfect attack for starting the fight - the bleeding effect will increase the damage you deal (thanks to the Way of the Shark passive ability). |
Coiling Slash | Performing a strong attack during sprint. Attack unavailable in Lock Mode. | An attack which you can use only outside the Lock mode. It deals more damage than Slithering Thrust, but it doesn't cause the bleeding effect. |
Hidden Stance | A unique, fourth stance available for this character. By moving the guard down (instead of to the sides or to the up), Nobushi enters Hidden Stance. In this stance you can avoid all attacks (except for the Guard Break) and perform a few of your own. This ability is activated similarly to parrying - you must use it when the enemy attack is incoming. It requires some training, but after a short time you should be able to use it easily. | |
Cobra Strike | Forward dash and light attack. | An attack which allows you to jump towards the target and perform a light attack which additionally causes bleeding effect. |
Viper's Retreat | Backward dash and light attack. | An attack that is similar to Cobra Strike, but in which Nobushi jumps backwards and perform a slash forward that hurts the target from long distance. Causes bleeding effect. |
Kick | Light or strong attack and then Guard Break. | Enables the player to perform a kick after a light or a strong attack. The kick throws the enemy back and might cause him to fall into an obstacle (this will stun him) or into an abyss (which will kill him). It can be also used for pushing the enemy away and gaining some space. |
Side Slash | Left dash or right dash and strong attack. | Enables Nobushi to jump to the side and perform a quite strong attack. What's interesting, the attack comes from different side than the one in which the character moves - when jumping to the left, the attack comes from the right side and when jumping to the right, the attack comes from the left. This makes the attack much harder to parry than in most of similar maneuvers. |
Swift Recoil | Backwards dash after blocking an attack. | A useful ability which enables Nobushi to jump back and increase the distance between her and her opponent. Simply block any enemy attack and jump backwards when that attack is blocked. |
Zone Attack | Pressing light and strong attack buttons simultaneously. | A strong attack which enables you to hit all enemies around you. The attack is split into two phases and the second hit will put the target under a bleeding effect. |
Tips
A few tips that can be useful while playing this character:
- Remember that blindly throwing yourself at the enemy and trying to overwhelm him with a storm of attacks is the worst thing you can do. Take advantage of the range of your attack and put the enemy under the pressure. Nobushi has few health points, it makes her vulnerable to enemy attacks and easy to eliminate.
- Use abilities that cause the enemy to bleed. Not only they deal damage to the enemy as time passes, but they also force the enemy to act - frequently, when a player sees that he loses health, he will try to do something and make a mistake. Additionally, bleeding effect works perfectly with Way of the Shark passive ability.
- Don't forget about the passive ability Way of the Shark. Thanks to it, Nobushi's attacks deal additional damage against targets that are under bleeding effect. Causing this effect isn't hard since half of this class attacks can do it. Without correctly using this passive ability, Nobushi's damage will be reduced significantly.
- Try keeping the opponent at distance. Nobushi has the greatest reach in the game and you must take advantage of that whenever it is possible. Use Kick ability to keep enemy away and Viper's Retreat and Swift Recoil to jump back and gain some precious space.
- Nobushi has a fourth, hidden stance. Use it to avoid all enemy attacks and surprise your opponent by performing one of your special attacks after dodging an attack. However, remember, that Hidden Stance consumes great number of stamina - don't base your whole play style on this stance.
- Use numerous dashes toward the enemy. Dashes with light attacks cause the enemy to bleed while side dashes combined with strong attacks can disorient your opponent by attacking from a different side than the one in which your character moves. You can perform 5 different dashes, this is more than enough.
- Constantly control stamina of your character. Nobushi doesn't have much stamina and her attacks consume quite a lot of it. You can very quickly deplete all of your stamina, making the fight much easier for the opponent. When you have small amount of stamina (about 1/3 of stamina bar), stop attacking for a few seconds and regenerate it.