Junior Member
So I was thinking of how the Conqueror and Lawbringer might be improved, when I realized that their issues run deeper than a simple change in moveset. The reason they have so much trouble is that their issues are exacerbated by a system that so heavily favors defense.
Ironically, in this defensive-orientated system, the attackers have the advantage. This is because everyone has the ability to Parry. Since everyone has Parry - the most powerful defensive move in For Honor - classes that also have great offensive capabilities will reign supreme. We can see this already with the Orochi, Warden, etc.
To truly help the Conqueror and Lawbringer, they need more than just class-specific adjustments; Parry itself needs looked at. At the moment, it simply does too much both offensively and defensively:
- it enables offense by too much (guaranteed guard breaks, follow-up attacks, etc.)
- it can stop an attack chain in its tracks
- it can stop an unblockable attack in its tracks
- it eats up the opponent's stamina
So here's my proposed list of changes (with explanations at the end):
General changes:
- unblockable attacks can no longer be parried
- increased recovery frames on a successful Parry (for the person who performed the Parry)
Conqueror changes:
- the first attack in any chain deals increased damage on block (less if parried)
- each successful light attack in a chain deals more damage on hit than the last (up to a point)
- heavy attack base damage increased; heavy attack charge levels 1 & 2 damage bonus decreased (total damage remains the same at each charge level)
- charge level 2 makes the charged heavy attack unblockable
Lawbringer changes:
- can cancel recovery frames of a successful Parry with Light Riposte, Make Way, Impaling Riposte, or Blind Justice
- Light Riposte and Shove count as the first hit of any of his chains
- Impaling Riposte is unblockable, but dodgeable on reaction
- Impaling Riposte and Blind Justice can be feint-cancelled into a guard break
- top light attacks also stun (instead of just top heavy attacks)
- slight increase in speed on heavy attacks and Blind Justice
Explanations for the changes:
It seems unintuitive for unblockable attacks to be able to be parried. In addition, unblockable attacks that can be parried often have big wind-ups and are easily dodged, even when dodging in the direction of the swing (in some cases). Since dodging seems the most intuitive and effective method for dealing with unblockable attacks (and such attacks are telegraphed from a mile away), removing the ability to parry them makes a lot of sense (and makes parry less stronger than before).
In addition to that point, Parry needs to be less of an offensive tool and more of a defensive one. Allowing certain characters to get a light attack in after a Parry might be permissible, but guaranteed guard breaks are not. Increasing the recovery frames of a successful parry should allow parry to take its place as more of a defensive move (a 'reset') rather than a main way to ensure damage. For those who like the idea of dealing with an attack and then counter-attacking, playing characters with attacks following Deflects and actual counter-attacking characters are still available.
Since Parry will still be capable of eating up the opponent's stamina and breaking attack chains, it still remains powerful - just not as much as before. Exhausting an overly-aggressive opponent with parries will still give you an opportunity to go on the offensive.
For the Conqueror changes, I wanted to have the Conqueror live up to its designation as a 'heavy hitter'. Currently, none of the Conqueror's attacks are particularly threatening damage-wise with the exception of a fully-charged heavy attack (which is both highly telegraphed and easily blocked/parried/dodged). By making some of the charged damage baseline, you make it easier for Conquerors to execute low-health opponents and increase how hard most of their chains hit. However, since the damage is taken from the charge levels, each charge attack deals the same total damage as before (so it's not overbearing). Increasing the damage on block/parry (for the first hit of a chain), as well as making a fully charged heavy attack unblockable, disincentivizes passive play against Conquerors. The latter of those two also makes the block-to-heavy-attack (Superior Block on heavy attack startup) more likely to connect, as it is surprisingly easy to block a retaliatory heavy attack from a Conqueror even after he blocked you first. Lastly, the increased damage on hit for light attacks is to further fulfill his status as a 'heavy hitter', as well as help make up for how it is easier to block than other attacks (since attacking from one direction means you only have 2 options for your next light attack in the chain, instead of 3).
For the Lawbringer changes, it was clear that his 'on-parry' abilities shouldn't be affected by the increased parry recovery. However, the same said abilities are rather underwhelming at the moment since they either lead to nothing (Light Riposte) or aren't even guaranteed to connect (Blind Justice, Impaling Riposte). To fix Light Riposte and Shove, I made it so either counted as the first hit of any of his chains. This means that you can go into Book, Chapter and Verse (Shove or Light Riposte, Heavy, Light), Judge, Jury and Executioner (Shove or Light Riposte, Heavy, Heavy), or Swift Justice (Shove or Light Riposte, Light, Heavy) after a successful Shove or Parry. This allows him to be a bit more aggressive and gives him the much-desired ability to chain two 'light attacks' together, in a sense. As for Blind Justice and Impaling Riposte, I decided they should both be unblockable mixups (i.e. the mixup is between getting hit by an unblockable attack or being guard broken out of a dodge). Unblockable mixups are quite powerful, but given Lawbringer's role (counter-attacker) and his other shortcomings, I think having a few powerful tools in his arsenal is called for. Lastly, top light attacks stunning and slightly faster attacks make him a little better against more passive opponents. (And since Parry was changed overall, it's no longer the fatal weakness it once was for him.)
With the above changes, I think not only the Conqueror and Lawbringer will be in a better spot, but so will For Honor itself as a whole. Let me know if you'd do anything differently, or if you've spotted something I've missed!
Junior Member
This does seems better than any other suggestion I have seen on Parry at this moment.So here's my proposed list of changes (with explanations at the end):
General changes:
- unblockable attacks can no longer be parried
- increased recovery frames on a successful Parry (for the person who performed the Parry)
Explanations for the changes:
It seems unintuitive for unblockable attacks to be able to be parried. In addition, unblockable attacks that can be parried often have big wind-ups and are easily dodged, even when dodging in the direction of the swing (in some cases). Since dodging seems the most intuitive and effective method for dealing with unblockable attacks (and such attacks are telegraphed from a mile away), removing the ability to parry them makes a lot of sense (and makes parry less stronger than before).
In addition to that point, Parry needs to be less of an offensive tool and more of a defensive one. Allowing certain characters to get a light attack in after a Parry might be permissible, but guaranteed guard breaks are not. Increasing the recovery frames of a successful parry should allow parry to take its place as more of a defensive move (a 'reset') rather than a main way to ensure damage. For those who like the idea of dealing with an attack and then counter-attacking, playing characters with attacks following Deflects and actual counter-attacking characters are still available.
Since Parry will still be capable of eating up the opponent's stamina and breaking attack chains, it still remains powerful - just not as much as before. Exhausting an overly-aggressive opponent with parries will still give you an opportunity to go on the offensive.
