This week’s Warrior’s Den was no snoozer. The For Honor team announced some exciting new changes and showcased more of the upcoming Marching Fire expansion. Ubisoft has previously teased an exciting new PvE mode for their fighter title but kept pretty hushed. In the past several weeks, however, they’ve decided to finally bring the hype with Arcade Mode.
The dev team also streamed an in-depth walkthrough of the new Breach game mode and announced an open test on PC. That wasn’t all, though – there are also some big patch notes coming up, which include a buff for our boy Warden.
The skinny on Arcade Mode
Arcade Mode is a new PvE mode where For Honor players can complete either alone or with a friend. This new game mode is actually story-based, offering individual quests that pit warriors against formidable opponents. Its quests are described as miniature stories transpiring within the greater war. They come in different levels of difficulty: Common, Rare, Heroic, Epic, Legendary. These aren’t your typical duels, however – they come with additional challenges.
What sets Arcade Mode truly apart are its combat modifiers. These are either beneficial or detrimental effects which are applied at random to either players or their opponents. They are intended to force players to adapt their playstyles on the fly. Positive effects can come in the shape of effects such as stealing life upon hit or increased health. Negative effects, in contrast, can be anything from losing health over time to not being able to block or parry incoming attacks. Increasing difficulties pose greater debuffs and lesser buffs.
Okay, so how open IS this test?
REALLY open! As in, literally anyone can participate. PC gamers who are curious about For Honor can participate – no purchase required! This will include the new PvP game mode, Breach, and the three new maps to play it in. Players will also be able to play the entire new Wu Lin faction alongside the rest of the roster.
The open test also includes:
- Custom matches in Duel/Breach
- The brand new Perks system
- A massive graphical overhaul
- Update to the For Honor UI
- A new responsive dialogue system
- NEW victory celebration screen
Players interested in participating in the open test can preload the game via Uplay on September 4th. The open test runs from September 6 (8:00 AM EDT) to September 10 (5:00 PM EDT) and can also be played on Steam.
Check out Breach!
Warrior’s Den came through with an in-depth playthrough of the new game mode. The purpose of Breach is either to storm and dominate an enemy keep or to defend it. Check it all out in the video below!
 The content of the week: Elite Outfits
As per every week, there are also new aesthetic items up for grabs. These are:
- “Phantom Queen” – Vikings
- “Sentinel of Avalon” – Knights
- “Daikichi” – Samurai
These cost 7000 steel per Hero. The trailer can be viewed here.
Patch for September 6
In addition to some bug fixes for reflex guard and stance change buffs for heroes, Warden also received a rather significant buff. Regarded as a bug, Warden’s Shoulder Bash now consumes less stamina on missing than the devs had intended. Cancelling (feinting) the move now costs 15 stamina instead of 27. His Crushing counterstrike now also allows for him to land a second Light Attack, as they have intended with this rework.
The full patch notes can be viewed on Ubisoft’s official For Honor website.
How’d you like the Breach playthrough? Thoughts on Arcade Mode? As always, feel free to leave a comment or twelve!
