Are you ready to take an adventure through time? Put on your armor and don't forget your polearm, because Joe Payne is here and is giving us a full rundown on For Honor: its weapons, heroes, and most importantly, its history! Through 10 years of Middle Age/Dark Age reenactment, Joe has amassed a plethora of information to give us regarding this popular action game.
I had the rare opportunity to interview a Middle Age/Dark Age reenactor with a decade of experience behind him! After seeing Joe Payne's tweet offering his extensive knowledge of combat in the Middle Ages/Dark Ages, I just couldn't pass up this amazing opportunity to get his take on the 11th Century fighting game. Not only does he know all about the weapons and heroes of For Honor, but he also has extensive hands-on experience reenacting battle scenarios in the same time period. Since its release in 2017, For Honor has kept up a constant stream of new content and updates, keeping the fans interested and playing. In 'honor' of the roadmap for Year 3 release, we're going to dive deep into the lore of For Honor and find out how much Ubisoft got right about the most violent time period in history.
How did you get into this type of work/culture?
JP: I got into it after seeing a show, and thinking "I could do that." so I signed up!
Which faction/warrior did you act as the most and why?
JP: I generally played either as a Viking (because I look like a villain) or as the good guy in 15th century Knightly tourneys.
What is your favorite aspect of the Middle Ages/Dark Ages?
JP: I enjoy the simplicity of life – there was no stress for most people besides trying not to die of basically everything.
What is your favorite weapon? And why?
JP: In terms of favorite weapons, I was always best with an arming sword and shield, but my FAVORITE was my short handled bardiche with a mace head on the butt end. Destroyed some plate armor with that!
What is your least favorite? And why?
JP: My least favorite was a long-handled bill or other polearms. I liked to get in people's faces.
Any tips for wielding (swords, axes, Spears, shields)?
JP: Tips for wielding? Depends on the weapon, but learn your blocks first. If they can't hit you, you're halfway to winning. Don't forget that only swords have any kind of protection for the hands, and you can use axes to open up enemy shields. Spears break too often for my liking. A good shield is a weapon as well as armor, but you have to use it properly otherwise its just dead weight.
What are some inconsistencies you saw in the game which weren't real?
JP: One thing For Honor gets wrong is a pretty standard one – I know they have to take some liberties to make a balanced game, but some of them are absurd. For starters, a plated knight would DESTROY any of the other groups – a Knight would train with weapons and armor from age 8, and the steel of the others is nowhere near good enough to get through plate. Also, a Knight in plate is never combat rolling everywhere, he'd hit the ground once and thud, it'd be all over bar someone stabbing him through the eye slits of his helmet. The Samurais are spinning around way too much and their swords would be ineffective against armored enemies.
What did For Honor get right about history?
JP: However, a lot of the techniques used in the attacks are legitimate. The sword stances are real, the axe attacks are believable – the actual ATTACKING part is fine – but there's no way you're turning aside a Viking's Dane axe with a longsword. Also, most of the Katas (forms) are real are correct.
There you have it, a thorough objective view on some of the most famous, and infamous weapons used in the game. We learned some interesting and exciting information about our mains and even some characters you may not have used yet. I know what I will be thinking about every time I do a combat roll with my Warden. Thanks Joe for the quick, informative, and entertaining interview!
