Does anyone see For Honor as a potential e-sport? | Forums

[spaff_meister]

One of my first thoughts - and i'm not sure why - is that this game would be great to watch as an ESport. Cinematically, it's perfect imo, and the concept is simple enough to grasp and be entertained.

What it comes down to then is the gameplay specifics, the balancing, the learning curve and mastery requisite. For a game like this, which's combat system we've only seen the likes of a few times before, there's a lot that could go "wrong," in the ways of being too easy/unbalanced for it to be eSports worthy.

I'll likely pre-order though, so long as I get more information on the gameplay mechanics, as the game looks ace.

[Serdones]

Interesting question Looking forward to know what you guys think!
For us, eSports is not something we claim, but something we gain, with the support from the community and competitive players. You guys will probably decide when the game comes out.
Cheers

I appreciate the input.

Fortunately, I have seen quite a bit of buzz about For Honor's competitive potential here and around other parts of social media, so hopefully the community does push the game in that direction.

[DirtyBirdie]

I very much hope so

[Serdones]

On the subject of duel mode: It doesn't seem to me that the major emphasis in this game is its teamplay, but rather individual skill. That's not to say teamplay isn't important, but I'd say it's a pretty safe bet - in light of how proud they are of AoB - that a duel mode is a given. I'd be very surprised if this isn't in the game tbh.

As for e-sports: Similar games, such as Chivalry, Mount & Blade, War of the Roses, etc, all have/had a very dedicated competitive scene - especially Chivalry and Mount & Blade. These competitive scenes are fairly small, however, and are nowhere near the size of that of a MOBA or FPS. That being said, there have been no game like this made by as big of a developer as Ubisoft before, so who knows?

For the record, I don't think this game can be classed as a MOBA just because it has minions, objectives and small team sizes. A MOBA game usually entails lanes, a focus on specific heroes and their roles in a composition, gold to buy items, leveling up to get new skills, destroying the opposition's base, etc. A MOBA game would be league of legends, Dota, Heroes of Newerth and Smite; a person who wants to watch MOBA e-sports will generally not find what they're looking for in a game like For Honor, I don't think.

Yeah, I didn't mean to classify For Honor as MOBA -- just mentioned that some people and I had made that comparison based on some possibly similar features. Comparison isn't necessarily classification. We'd also been speculating in another thread that maybe the AI units were part of a MOBA-esque mid-match progression system. Afterwards, I read an article from IGN mentioning AI units could be killed for "points," and then said about Feats that they were unlocked with "consecutive kills." From that, I guessed they only meant consecutive kills of enemy players, as killing a bunch of AI units isn't much of a problem. And since Feats are the only sort of mid-match character progression we know about so far, there probably isn't a MOBA-like progression system. It was just early speculation based on limited information.

I do agree the emphasis on the Art of Battle system might suggest a duel mode is likely.

And yeah, like I said in the OP, I'd still love if For Honor could at least develop a dedicated competitive community, even if that didn't necessarily translate into an actual e-sport. Though you're right, this coming from Ubisoft could really help.

[Makeshyft_Man]

Can it be an esport? Absolutely.

However, I must add a few caveats.

If we look at the current popular esports we can see that one of the requirements is it must have (1) a deep meta, (2) a focus on both individual and team-oriented gameplay, and (3) an exciting pace.

So let's hit these up and see how For Honor stands up so far. (I am aware this is pre-Alpha)

On the topic of meta, I think this is where For Honor really needs to prove itself. The combat mechanics seem solid. I'd like to see more about how 2v2 and "target trading" work, as well as the effects of different weapon/armor/perk set-ups. There needs to be solid and interesting player choices and roles that are necessary to fulfilling the win prerequisites. In addition, I'd like to hear or see more about how the creeps will effect overall gameplay. (Creeps = AI units)

On the topic of teamwork, it greatly depends on the gameplay modes For Honor chooses to embrace. The map seemed a little big for capture points. I think having more defined "lanes" that players would end up running into each other on would help. As well as having creep pressure sway capture points that are neglected for too long.

On the subject of exciting pace, I'd say For Honor is pretty strong. It has a cinematic and action-oriented combat mystique that I was thoroughly entranced by.

So again: Is it worthy of Esports? It definitely has the potential to be!

[IamCrumbz]

I see some characteristic's of Moba in #Forhonor but In all, I wouldn't classify it as one. Moba's are typically Free to play MMO RPGs. #ForHonor Is more of a CMP, Hack/Slash RPG. >.>Now on the topic of E-sport's, I'd have to say Yes! #Forhonor is E-sport worthy. Mainly because of The ArtOfBattle weapon's mechanic. Im being totally honesty, I've never seen a more straight forward fight mechanic with a spot on realistic feel in my life. #IamTeamSamurai

[TheS4dNesS]

Esports yes it should.

I'm thinking of Counter Strike for this game minus the AI or creeps.

[TheS4dNesS]

The director says it already they will talk about campaigns and the likes in the future but for now its more like a shooter game with swords.

So for sure their will be E-sports in this game.

[MathiasCB]

Would totally like to watch this hit the E-sports. Would enjoy both watching and trying to play it myself.
I see it as a potential e-sport as it demands that little extra from the player in terms of how the game is played.

Then a gain a question that pops up for me would be about the factions.
Obviously you've picked a side, most likely you'll stick to that side as you've grown into playing as a member of.. lets say the legion. What if two teams both side with the legion, should they just be put up against each other as Legion VS Legion or should one side be forced to switch faction?
Personally i wouldn't like a Legion VS Legion battle, they're on the same side, but i wouldn't like one team to be forced out of their preferred side.

I think we will see For Honor in E-sport, it will be a big game on twitch for sure which will contribute to it becoming an e-sport.

[SpabRog]

I play Fighting Games competitively, and all I gotta say is that this game has a strong possibility to have a strong dedicated competitive scene. It's easy to learn from what it looks like and everything else seems like its mind games. I can see teamwork and strategy being really important in the long run. Can't wait to see the end result, praying on a beta date soon lol.