Defense | Combat How to defense in For Honor?
Last update: 09 February 2017
One does not live by attacks alone because a good defense is as important as offense. In this chapter you can find information on blocking and parrying attacks, dodging and a few general tips about defense.
Guard
Blocking enemy's attacks is the basic method of defense. It is "simply" about setting your character in a proper stance – the same as the incoming attack. If you stand still in the same stance as your enemy, their attack is blocked automatically, reducing almost all of the damage taken.
You should remember about a few things. First, guard can be used only when you use Lock Mode – in Out of Lock mode you can't use any stances which means that you can't block any attacks. Second, a guard can be easily destroyed by Guard Break – in this situation an enemy can deal you a lot of damage. But Guard Break can be countered – simply do the same thing – when you see that an enemy uses this move activate your Guard Break and both attacks will cancel each other dealing no damage to both players.
You must also remember that guard won't protect you from an enemy that used Revenge mode. An enemy that entered this mode will easily bypass your guard and deal a lot of damage. It is better to use parries or dodge the attacks until your enemy goes back to "normal mode".
Parry
Parrying is much different than a typical guard – instead of standing still in one place and wait for enemy's attack you must use an attack to deflect the one done by an enemy. This allows you to throw them off balance which gives a short moment when you can use an attack that your enemy won't be able to block.
If you want to perform parry you must – wait until your enemy uses a heavy attack, set your character in the same stance as your enemy and also use a heavy attack right before their attack reaches you. At first, this may be hard for you to do, especially when you are facing a character that you know nothing about but learning this move can give you a tremendous advantage over your enemies. Parry throws your enemy off balance and depletes a lot of their stamina – if after parry enemy's stamina bar is empty they will fall to the ground, leaving themselves defenseless.
Warning – only heavy attacks can be parried. The exception here is Warden class – this hero can parry light up attacks (up stance).
Dodge
Everyone that have played any of the Dark Souls games or the third Witcher game will recognize this game mechanic. A dodge allows your character to slightly jump sideways, avoiding enemy's attack or even perform a roll, getting away from a dangerous enemy. A dodge uses a bit of stamina but it is useful in some situations.
There are two situations where it is good to use a dodge. First is a duel with an enemy that has unblockable attacks – more about his in the chapters dedicated to specific classes. Although you can't block the attack, you can easily dodge it jump sideway at the very last moment. This also allows you to go on offensive – you can jump sideway and attack your enemy from a flank when they recover from a missed attack.
Another use is when you face an enemy that has entered Revenge mode. You can't block their attack because they go through your guard like a hot knife through butter. Fighting with them is also pointless because an enemy in Revenge mode receives less damage and deals more. The best way to deal with such enemy is to dodge their attacks or roll in one of the directions – Revenge mode lasts only a few seconds so there is a chance that you can successfully dodge their attacks without any damage.
But remember that dodging can also cause you some problems. They use a lot of stamina which can exhaust your character rather quickly, they are also useless against fast enemies (Assassins class) and those that can do a series of quick attacks. If you dodge one attack you can get hurt be the next one – not only you receive damage but also lose a lot of stamina. It is better to use guard and/or parry in this type of situation.
Fighting with a few enemies at the same time
Fighting with more than one enemy at the same time can look extremely difficult but thanks to Lock Mode it is much easier than you think. Just lock your camera on one of the enemies and observe others. When an attack comes from one of the "side enemies", set your stance to match the direction of the incoming attack – when an enemy attacks you from left, use left stance; when from right, use right. But remember to place yourself on a battlefield so that you won't have any enemies behind your back – it is very difficult to block incoming attacks from that direction.
Fighting with a few enemies is also connected to a very powerful ability – Revenge mode. A more detailed description can be found in a separate chapter, but to put it simply – when you face a few enemies then your Revenge meter fills much faster. After a few seconds you can enter this mode which, most of the time, leads to winning a 1 vs. 3 fight.
Tips
When using guard you should remember to:
- To observe your stamina bar. When it gets below 1/3 of its length be careful to not deplete it completely when an enemy attacks you. When your bar is empty you can't use dodges and each Guard break ends with you falling to the ground.
- Don't attack your enemy blindly using many attacks. Your enemy can simply wait until you are done and make a counterattack when your character is exhausted after depleting all of its stamina.
- Keep an eye on your stamina meter. If it gets below 1/3 of its length you should stop attacking and allow the meter to regenerate. This means that you have to wait up to a few seconds but it can decide about the victory.
- Get a knowledge, even the most basic, about each class and their feats. You only need a few matches in the Duel mode to get a faint idea about a give character which can be helpful during other matches – it will be easier for you to foresee enemy's next move which means that it won't be easy to surprise you.
- Get a knowledge, even the most basic, about each class and their feats. You only need a few matches in the Duel mode to get a faint idea about a give character which can be helpful during other matches – it will be easier for you to foresee enemy's next move which means that it won't be easy to surprise you.
- When facing more than one enemy try to hide your back from them – it is easier to block attacks that comes from sides and front, rather than back attacks.
- If your enemy's attack has a longer reach (they use a longer weapon), use the environment to your advantage. Fighting in tight passages or close to terrain obstacles (like barrels or stones) means that your enemy can have problems with using their attacks – they will simply get blocked by environment.