Characters / For Honor

The world of For Honor is a large and diverse series with numerous characters. With new playable heroes being added in various updates.

Also for tropes or entries related to the characters from the campaign and story please go here:

• Story characters.

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Heroes

General Tropes

The Twelve Base Heroes

All heroes of all factions share a number of traits, starting with their skill and unwillingness to surrender.

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• The Ace: It's noted that it’s not so much that the Mooks are weak, but that the warriors you play as are just that strong.
• Action Girl: Warden, Raider, Kensei, Tiandi, Conqueror, Berserker, Orochi, Shinobi, Gladiator, Black Prior, Hitokiri, Jormungandr and Zhanhu can be female, and of course every classes that has its gender locked as female as noted below in Amazon Brigade.
• Amazon Brigade: Pretty much every classes that gender-locked as female (Valkyrie, Nobushi, Peacekeeper, Shaman, Nuxia, Warmonger, Pirate and Afeera).
• Balance, Power, Skill, Gimmick: This is the overall dichotomy of the four different hero classes.
  • Vanguard: The Balance. Vanguard heroes have the most balanced stats among their factions and have the most straightforward fighting style. Vanguard heroes usually wield their faction's National Weapon. They gain renown fastest by fighting at the central control point and killing Mooks.
  • Assassin: The Skill. Assassin heroes are optimized for fighting aggressively against other heroes, and possess the ability to deflect attacks, which takes the form of a special dodge that can be followed by an attack that is too fast to be blocked, parried, or avoided. Additionally, most Assassin heroes can inflict Bleed, which not only makes the opponent gradually lose health, but also makes them more vulnerable to a Bleed inflicting opponent's attacks. Weapon-wise, Assassin heroes tend to wield two or more weapons at once. The tradeoff is that they have the least health and use Reflex guard, meaning they cannot hold their guard indefinitely. They gain Renown fastest by fighting other heroes in 1 on 1 duels, though this still works even if the Assassin is outnumbered.
  • Heavy: The Power. Heavy heroes hit very hard and either have a omnidirectional block stance or attacks that cannot be interrupted, alongside having very high health. However, they have low stamina and move very slowly compared to their fellow heroes. Heavy heroes have one of the more varied arsenals in the game, but usually wield either powerful, two-handed weapons or one-handed weapons paired with shields. Heavies generate Renown the fastest by taking and holding the side points in Dominion.
  • Hybrid: The Gimmick. Hybrid heroes have a wide variety of abilities that allow them to fulfill any role as needed, but need a lot of practice to master their skills. Fittingly, hybrid classes gain Renown equally from all actions. Weapon-wise, hybrid heroes favor versatile spears or staves, though Samurai Hybrid heroes often wield swords.
• Bling of War: All of the classes can have very fancy attire thanks to Character Customization, ranging from various Cool Helmets to shinier metals to custom paint jobs on whatever equipment they want.
• Calling Your Attacks: All the heroes shout in their respective languages when performing a special move, Japanese obviously for the Chosen, Latin for the Legion and Icelandic/Old Norse for the Warborn. Wu Lin, meanwhile, use Chinese when letting loose their special attacks. Outlanders call their attacks in whatever language their home culture uses.
• Chainmail Bikini: Averted. Female characters wear armor that is just as practical and concealing as their male counterparts. And for the classes that do go with limited armor (the Raider and the Gladiator), it applies to both genders.
• Civil War: Apollyon notes that when the Vikings and Samurai aren't warring against others, they’re generally warring amongst themselves, and the numerous sub-Legions did the same prior to Apollyon absorbing them into the Blackstone Legion. According to her, during the 20 years she spent rising to the top of the Blackstone Legion, the Myre had seen about seven civil wars between the daimyo. The Wu Lin are experiencing a civil war during the time of the multiplayer storyline, and are actually in self-imposed exile to escape said conflict.
• Color Motifs:
  • The Legion emblem’s colors are orange and green, the former representing knowledge and strength, the latter hope and stability.
  • The Chosen emblem’s colors are turquoise and brown, the former representing immortality and spirituality, the latter control and serenity.
  • The Warborn emblem’s colors are red and black, the former representing passion and danger, the latter death and harshness.
  • The Wu Lin’s emblem color is purple, a signifier of royalty, emphasizing how they are guardians of their emperor in exile.
• Cool Helmet: All of the factions have a variety of cool helmets to customize your character with, from crusader and otherwise knightly helmets for the Legion, horned and otherwise Dark Age style for the Warborn, and everything between kabutos, mustachioed mempo, and oni masks for the Chosen.
• Cool Sword: A trope not exclusive to sword users, as Character Customization allows for stylish and cool weapons for all playable classes, be they swords, polearms, axes, and otherwise.
• Character Customization: You can customize your warrior to give them a unique appearance, including but not limited to their armor, weaponry, gender, and skin tone.
• Damage-Increasing Debuff: Certain heroes have the ability to inflict Bleed on enemies via special attacks. Most of these heroes actually do more damage to an opponent who is already bleeding, which can lead to a Cycle of Hurting rather quickly.
• Damage Over Time: Certain heroes have the ability to inflict Bleed on opponents, which not only makes them gradually lose health, it also makes them more vulnerable to characters who can inflict Bleed, ranging from applying a Damage-Increasing Debuff or making heavy attack finishers unblockable if the foe is bleeding. In general, this is the purview of Assassin heroes - each faction has an assassin class hero who can inflict Bleed.
• Dual Wielding: While multiple heroes in-game do this, Dual Wielding is a focus for the Assassin class heroes - each faction has at least one Assassin hero who wields two weapons simlutaneously (Knights have the Peacekeeper, Vikings have both the Berserker and the Shaman, Samurai have the Shinobi and the Aramusha, and the Wu Lin have the Nuxia).
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: While basic descriptions drop the pretenses, the knights are “The Legions”, the Vikings are “The Warborn”, and the samurai are “The Chosen”.
  • That said, Apollyon mentions a “vast Nordic empire” in the observables around Siv's fortress, and Japanese is explicitly called out as a language. Whether this is a case of Translation Convention or not is left unclear.
  • It has been confirmed via Word of God that the world of For Honor takes place on Earth, but one that suffered a global catastrophe around 1100 AD. So all of the language and cultures that appear in the game are the same as those from real world history, with a few changes. Though this fails to explain the Roman Centurion and Gladiator, or the Ancient Egyptian Medjay, whose cultures were long dead by 1100 AD.
• Finishing Move: Killing an enemy with a heavy attack gives your character the option of performing a violent “Execution” move on them. This not only prevents the defeated enemy from being revived by an ally but also heals the victor.
• Force and Finesse:
  • The Warborn lean towards Force, having the most brutal fighting style amongst the three factions, with even their assassins focusing on brute strength and aggression.
  • The Chosen lean towards Finesse, favoring swiftness and precision in their weapon use, and even their heaviest fighter requires some caution to use properly.
  • The Legion’s fighting style, on the other hand, can be described as the middle of the road compared to the other two, combining brute strength in some heroes and precision and finesse in others.
• Fragile Speedster: The Assassin type classes are fast and have a lot of quick combos, but they tend to lack damage in single hits as well as relative durability.
• Gender Is No Object: Played with, for a world that stuck in Medieval Stasis, all factions have suprisingly egalitarian societies where women can lead and fight in the front without anyone batting an eye, but some warrior orders/classes seems to only accept members of a certain gender.
  • The Lawbringer, Centurion, Warlord, Highlander, Shugoki, Aramusha, Jiang Jun, Shaolin, Gryphon, Kyoshin and Medjay are male-only, while the Peacekeeper, Valkyrie, Shaman, Nobushi, Nuxia, Warmonger, Pirate and Afeera are female-only. Everyone else can be played as either gender. However, gender is purely cosmetic in this case.
  • Hybrid warriors in general seems to only accept members of a certain gender with Zhanhu as the current exception.
  • Though the models and foreign-language dialogue of all the soldiers are male, the faceless goons in your localized language (IE, English) have both male and female lines.
• Healing Factor: Heroes with the “Regenerate” feat will begin to regain health while out of combat.
• Immune to Flinching: Numerous moves have “hyper armor” which prevents a character's action from being interrupted, though they still suffer the damage normally.
• Jack of All Stats: The Vanguard classes serve as the most balanced in terms of strength and speed.
• Large and in Charge: The warriors are all noticeably taller than the Mooks they command. Word of God states that this is actually due to a lack of nourishment resulting in most warriors being stunted from malnutrition, with even Apollyon who towers over everyone else only being just over six feet tall.
• Lightning Bruiser: The Hybrid classes have all the strengths of both the Assassin and Heavy classes.
• Men Are the Expendable Gender: Downplayed. While the weak disposable AI-controlled Mooks are mostly male, some of the voices (if you can hear them over the din of battle) are actually female.
• Mighty Glacier: The Heavy classes are powerful but slow.
• National Weapon: Baseline Vanguard heroes wield weapons that are popularly associated with their respective factions - a longsword for the Warden, a Dane Axe for the Raider, a Katana (or rather the greatsword version, an Odachi for the Kensei and a Dao for the Tiandi.
• Neck Snap: Several Finishing Move Executions conclude by breaking the neck, both with weapon assistance and, in the Raider's case, by hand.
• Off with His Head!: A sizable number of Finishing Move Executions involve decapitating the opponent. Each class shown as of this writing has, at minimum, one decapitating Execution.
• One-Man Army: There's a reason each hero is called a hero. They can quite literally cleave through hundreds of normal infantry without a problem, slay strong captains like they're just a slightly more difficult foe, and only find a real challenge when confronted with another hero of the same caliber. In the story missions, the player-controlled heroes play this very straight, often single-handedly turning the tide for their side through defeating enemy soldiers, captains, and heroes.
• Proud Warrior Race: Four separate groups, all legendary for their skill in warfare and willingness to do battle.
• Shield-Bearing Mook: All of the Mooks carry shields, including those from the Chosen faction. Unfortunately, as they are mooks, Shields Are Useless. That said there is a heavier captain with a shield which is quite useful to them, giving them the same full-guard as Warlords have.
• Shields Are Useless: The basic grunts all carry wooden shields that do not stop them from being killed in a single swing. Subverted of course for the actual playable characters, as well as some captains encountered during single-player and Breach.
• Spikes of Villainy: Nearly every class has quite a few gear pieces that give them these, though only the conflict loving Warmonger really fits the evil part of this trope.
• Took a Level in Badass: On a meta level, every hero that has been reworked. For the uninitiated, that means a large update in the playstyle of the hero. Of particular note is Kensei, who was one of the weakest heroes before receiving a rework, but is now one of the stronger options.
• Turns Red: A rare player-controlled example. If your warrior’s on the ropes (Such as when they’re outnumbered) but they manage to hold their own, they can use the Revenge mechanic in order to enter a rage state. In this state, they gain a temporary shield that acts as additional health, increased defense and attack, infinite stamina, and do not flinch when struck. Trying to trade blows with a warrior when they're in revenge mode will almost always end poorly for their opponents.
• Weapon Twirling: Just about everyone has an emote where they do this.

Legion (Knight) Classes

In General

“We are the guardians of our people. We stand strong against all invaders. Duty is our shield, order: our weapon. When we defend the weak, we are… immortal.”

A faction that resembles European knights, hailing from Ashfeld. They are known for their siege technology and their lack of unity.

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• Ancient Rome: The Legions are descended from a forgotten empire that strongly resembles a more advanced version of Ancient Rome, and even has holdovers from this Romanesque past such as gladiator games. The more modern Legions show heavy influences of Medieval and Renaissance Italian culture mixed with Roman elements, such as the sword-and-dagger dueling style of the Peacekeeper, Roman-style plumes and ornamentation, the Lawbringer's North Italian-style tournament armor, extensive use of Latin, and Latin and Italian naming conventions.
  • Meanwhile, the Black Priors used to be the Order of the Holy Balaur, named for a type of dragon in Romanian mythology^note Several theories on the origins of the Romanians trace them to latinized Dacians, and the Romanian language is descended from Latin, while the Warmongers are a cult worshiping a war god named Horkos, who has the same name as a personification in Greek mythology^note Specifically, the personification of the curse that strikes those who swear a false oath. Somewhat ironic, considering they are the ones who broke the Truce of Wyverndale.
  • As the developers have confirmed that the world of For Honor is Earth with the point of divergence being a literally world-reshaping cataclysm around 1000 AD, it's extremely likely that the ancient empire that the Legions descened from actually is (or at least was) the Roman Empire.
• Chaos Is Evil: Their thought process is that they need to keep peace and order amongst others. Those who abandon this ideal and work to start a war (i.e., the Blackstone Legion) are therefore labeled as evil for their warmongering ways.
• Crystal Dragon Jesus: Apollyon mentions in an observable that the people of Ashfeld believe in one God that they differ in the interpretations of, but also (perhaps figuratively) states that the gods of the Knights are of material possessions. Or they literally worship a god of metals. Considering the fact that they tend to wear more metallic armor than the other factions, that actually makes sense.
  • With the reveal of the Warmonger, we know that at least one god some of them worship is a War God called Horkos.
• Death from Above: A shared execution among all Knight classes has them call a catapult strike on their enemy.
• Evil Counterpart: They actually have two opposing sides built in, unlike many other factions, which are more diverse. There is the Iron Legion (good) and the Blackstone Legion (evil). The lack of diversity is Justified by how Apollyon literally destroyed everyone who wouldn't follow her.
• Foil: Every released class for the Legions is one to another of their classes, with each pair of DLC class being a foil to the one immediately following/preceding it.
  • The Peacekeeper to the Lawbringer. While both come from orders dedicated to keeping the peace and generally work alone, Peacekeepers are lightly armored, Always Female, Secret Police who work in the shadows to avert chaos, while Lawbringers are heavily armored, Always Male, One Man Armies who work openly to end it. The Peacekeeper is the Fragile Speedster among the Knights who relies on Damage Over Time to wear down opponents while the Lawbringer is a Might Glacier who focuses on using Counter Attacks to get openings to inflict massive amounts of damage while he can. The Peacekeeper depends on dodging, parrying, and deflecting (mixed in with a well timed guardbreak) to get openings for her attacks, while the Lawbringer has multiple Unblockable Attacks that allow him to make openings for his offensive.
  • The Warden to the Conqueror. While the Wardens are trained to be elite warriors of an ancient order, the Conquerors are criminals who were pressed into service and survived long enough to make a name for themselves. The Wardens follow their code while Conquerors are presumably in it for themselves. The Warden can use a well-timed overhead attack to cut through opposing attacks from above while the Conqueror can use a well timed side dodge to block and light attack in one motion. Incidentally, both classes have a chargeable shoulder charge/Shield Bash Unblockable Attack.
  • The Black Prior to the Warmonger. Both are part of religious groups founded by former followers of Apollyon that have a preference for wearing black. However, while the Black Prior is a Well-Intentioned Extremist Atoner who wishes to make amends for what they did under Apollyon, and focuses on blocking attacks with their shield (including several that are normally unblockable), buffing allies, and have access to a Healing Factor, the Warmonger is The Social Darwinist who worship a war god and follow Apollyon's ideals, and focus on attacking with their longsword and claw, using poisoned weapons and grenades to inflict damage over time, and have several unblockable attacks.
  • The Gryphon to the Warmonger. Both are characters that have ties to the game's story, the Warmongers emulate Apollyon as best they could due to her being deceased, the Gryphons on the other hand have Holden Cross whom is alive and well. The Warmongers cling to the old ways made by Apollyon of making a Forever War, the Gryphon's follow the new path created by Holden Cross which has them walk the Earth, ingrain themselves in different cultures. The Warmonger is focused on obliterating the enemy with poisoned attacks and grenades alongside unblockable attacks, while the Gryphon has some of the very few team healing abilities in the game.
  • The Gladiator to the Centurion. Both are part of empire that the Legions defend, and have a distinctively Roman theme in contrast to the majority of the Legion's Medieval Knight. While both come from a far more civilized culture than the knights, the Centurion is a professional soldier who wears tons of armor but has no shield and fights to protect their empire, the Gladiator is the only member of the legions to wear a Chainmail Bikini (for both genders) but does possess a shield, is an arena fighter who entertains others via Gladiator Games, and is fighting for their own glory. The Centurion is a straightforward fighter who uses sword blows mixed in with punches to overwhelm their opponents (to the point of literally being able to knock over an opponent with a fully charged punch) while the Gladiator is more focused on maneuverability and deception, and can inflict massive Damage Over Time by impaling an opponent on their trident.
• Faceless Goons: Inverted Trope in the Knights’ case - their heroes are so covered head-to-toe that only the Conqueror has any amount of visible skin, and the actual Mooks have more of their face revealed than them! Certain Peacekeeper and Conqueror helmets can also show more of their wearer’s face than others, but it’s hard to see them outside of the inventory screen.
• Going Native: Downplayed. The Knights have gotten used to the freedom of being so far from their ruler's influence. As Apollyon puts it, the Knights taught Vikings siege warfare, and the Vikings showed them what freedom was.
• Heroes Prefer Swords: Out of all of the factions, the Knights favor sword-like weapons the most, with the Warden using a longsword, the Peacekeeper carrying an arming and short sword, and the Centurion using a gladius. The Knights also happen to be the most heroic, or at least attempting to be heroic, out of all of the factions.
• Join or Die: The Legions will conquer and destroy any who would not join them.
• Jousting Lance: Polearms are a common weapon among the Knights, with the poleaxe being the weapon of choice of the Lawbringer and the trident being the weapon of the Gladiator.
• Lost Technology: The Legion has access to very advanced siege weapons and equipment, but they don’t understand how they actually function, as a lot of scientific knowledge was lost in the cataclysm. They simply replicate the diagrams they preserved from the destruction.
• Medieval European Fantasy: The overall faction resembles a fantastic (albeit Low Fantasy) interpretation of European knights.
• Medieval Stasis: The endless wars following the devastating cataclysm a thousand years ago have stamped out a lot of technological progression among the Legions. That being said, they still have a lot of very precise diagrams of these ancient machines, including massive siege engines and a curious device that can fire extendable wooden walkways. Apollyon mentions that while the Legion’s scholars and engineers don’t understand the scientific principles behind how many of their machines operate, they can still replicate them based on these old designs.
• The Order: All the Legion’s classes except for the Conqueror come from one. The Conqueror, Centurion, and Gladiator are more of a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits.
• Playing with Fire: The faction-specific effect for Knights is to sprout a pair of wings made of fire during specific animations.
• Siege Engines: The Legion makes heavy use of them, particularly against the Vikings. Massive battering rams, catapults, and ballistae that launch boarding ramps. Calling in a catapult strike is a common tier-four feat among Knight classes.
• Trick Bomb: Knight classes can use them as common feats, such as the Fiat Lux and Pugno Mortis.
• We ARE Struggling Together: The Legions are wracked with infighting, to the point that they can be considered a unified force In Name Only. The Iron Legion was at first the only one, but after the gigantic earthquake that ravaged all three factions, various petty lords began to make their own Legions, splitting them apart. By the end, they do manage to come together under Holden Cross and the Warden, mainly against the Blackstone Legion.
  • The Knights have no true central leadership, at least in Ashfeld, with the people owing allegiance to whichever order or Legion currently controls their lands.

Peacekeeper

“When wars end, it is the silent blade that keeps the peace”

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Marisol Romero (Female)

Voiced in Japanese by: Mie Sonozaki (Female)

Type: Assassin
Weapon: Sword and dagger

Peacekeepers are quick, lethal, and can win a fight before their enemy even knows they are there. It takes a special type of warrior to be a silent blade. Theirs is not a legacy of glory. They are an instrument of death, wielded to turn the tides of war. You may never see them. But you will feel the difference they make and trail they leave behind.

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• Crippling Overspecialization: Downplayed, but the Peacekeeper can only really shine if she manages to inflict a bleeding wound on an opponent, as most of her damage comes from either inflicting bleeding damage or striking an opponent who is already bleeding. The downplayed part is that the Peacekeeper has so many way to inflict bleeding damage that it isn't actually that hard for her to bleed an opponent - notably, the Peacekeeper was the only Assassin hero to have a "Medium" difficulty level (the Orochi and Berserker are both labeled as "Hard").
  • In a broader, straighter sense, the Peacekeeper specialty is entirely in singling people out and overwhelming them once she gets them bleeding. This is significantly harder when she's constantly under pressure of being ganked in the 4v4 modes, where her short reach prevents her from reasonably keeping multiple opponents off of her.
• Damage-Increasing Debuff: Bleeding enemies don't take more damage per say, rather the Peacekeeper gains enhanced attack properties that make it easier to inflict more damage such as enhanced lights and unblockable heavy finishers.
• Damage Over Time: Their dagger is capable of inflicting bleed damage on foes, which causes them to slowly take damage for a few seconds.
• Dual Wielding: Unlike most versions of this trope when swords come into the equation, the Peacekeeper arms herself with the more practical arming sword and dagger combo.
• In the Hood: To keep with their mysterious aura, most Peacekeepers wear hoods over their helmets.
• McNinja: Peacekeepers are basically Western-style ninjas.
• Mercy Kill: One of the Peacekeeper's duties is putting soldiers too injured to go on out of their misery.
• More Deadly Than the Male: The Peacekeeper is a female-only class, and they're the Legion’s personal assassins.
• Professional Killer: They're assassins for the Legion, and a customization option even has them wearing the insignia of the Assassins.
• Secret-Keeper: They know things that could bring down even the most well regarded of knights.
• Shown Their Work:
  • Rather than dual-wielding two arming swords, Peacekeepers dual wield an arming sword and a dagger, which was historically the much more common method of dual-wielding. It's cited in multiple combat manuals, while dual wielding with only one-handed swords is only shown in very few manuals.
  • The crossbow that the Peacekeeper can use is based on an actual Italian weapon known as the balestrino, or assassin's crossbow: a light, one-handed crossbow designed to be hidden and shot at close range.
• Secret Police: What they are, essentially; assassins that keep the peace by silently putting down subversive elements.
• Status Infliction Attack: The vast majority of the Peacekeeper's dagger attacks inflict bleed on enemies - in fact, this is practically the only function of the dagger.
• Taking You with Me: One of her fourth-level feats, Last Laugh, drops a grenade at her feet when the Peacekeeper dies, almost always ensuring she takes her killer and any of their nearby friends with her.
• Three-Point Landing: They finish with one after doing a guard break by backflipping off their opponent.

Warden

Voiced in English by: Liam O'Brien (Male) and Jennifer Hale (Female)

Voiced in Japanese by: Masaki Terasoma (Male) and Mitsuki Saiga (Female)

“Driven by duty, devoted to their people… but only a few may join their order.”

Type: Vanguard
Weapon: Longsword

The Wardens are powerful, noble warriors dedicated to the defense of their land and their people. Well protected in mixed armor of plate, chain, and leather, Wardens wield massive two-handed longswords for slashing enemies and blocking attacks. Trained to be proud, charismatic, and loyal, the Wardens are expected to embody only the highest values of the Knight faction. Few achieve this, yet all strive.

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• Ambadassador: Wardens are trained to be diplomats as well as warriors.
• Braids of Action: Female Wardens have a single braid of hair extending out the back of their helmets.
• Butt-Monkey: A Warden known to the fanbase as Larry appears as the default execution victim in the executions preview menu. One of the Warden's unique executions is even named Larry's Banner in his honor.
• Cool Helmet: He's got plenty of well designed knight helmets in his loot table.
• Counter-Attack: The beginning of a top-stance light attack from the Warden can block an enemy’s attack in that stance. If it does, it becomes unblockable half-sword attack with its damage is greatly increased.
• Dash Attack: The Warden has a unique shoulder charge attack, which knocks players around on impact and can lead into a variety of other options. They can also charge up their tackle for a stronger impact or can be used for a delay.
• Guest Fighter: The male Warden appears in Samurai Shodown 2019 in its 2nd Season Pass, as the series' first-ever guest character.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Female Wardens retain the same braid throughout all helmet customization options, and although many options are blonde, there are some exceptions that offer brown hair or black hair instead.
• Hammer Hilt: One execution that Wardens can use is hammering their opponents to death with the hilt of their swords.
• Heroes Prefer Swords: You play as the Warden in the single-player, and they specialize in two-handed longsword use.
• I Gave My Word: When a Warden gives their oaths of service, they are honor-bound to follow them, and do not break those oaths lightly.
• Jack of All Stats: While all Vanguard classes are balanced, the Warden’s stats are the closest to perfectly balanced.
• Knight in Shining Armor: An ideal Warden exemplifies the knightly code of chivalry.
• Our Founder: The Legion erects many statues and monuments of Wardens.
• The Paladin: The Wardens are the closest there is to this idea in Ashfeld, being sworn to defend the weak and maintain law and order. Very few are willing and able to follow through on the Warden’s oaths, and those that do so are deeply respected.
• Simple, yet Awesome: Compared to the other warriors, including their fellow Knights, Wardens aren’t as flashy in technique or as exotic in their weaponry, but their attacks are very efficient - they may automatically hit twice with a light attack from a side stance, their shoulder tackle and pretty fast zone attack provides useful mix-ups to their repertoire, and their Crushing Counterstrike makes many characters’ most powerful attacks from the top stance very dangerous to try against them unless the Warden is incapacitated while they swing.
• Stab the Sky: One of their emotes is to raise their sword to the sky.
• Spin Attack: The Warden’s zone-attack is a quick one-handed outward swing of their sword while spinning around.
• Sword and Fist: Not only does the Warden cut you up with their longsword, but they also ram into you with their shoulder to make the former easier.
• We Help the Helpless: They’re honor-bound to help the weak, which is why there are so few Wardens in the modern era.

Conqueror

“In desperate times, conscripted criminals refill our ranks. Sometimes, however, you find a diamond in the rough.”

Voiced in Japanese by: Takuya Sato (Male) and Suzuka Kimura (Female)

Type: Heavy
Weapon: Flail and shield

Conquerors are ex-prisoners and forced conscripts who have risen to the rank of elite soldier. They are heavily-armored warriors, relying on a defensive style and their massive flails to whittle away at their opponent’s stamina until they fall under the Conqueror's massive onslaught. Climbing from the lowest rank to this prestigious role in the Knight’s forces. Conquerors have earned the respect of their peers through determination and feats of arms.

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• Action Survivor: They tend to be recruited out of the random poorly trained conscripts that manage not to die and actually can fight.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Every Conqueror has earned their position through valor on the battlefield.
• Boring, but Practical: Much of the Conqueror’s playstyle revolves around repeatedly shield-bashing opponents. Or blocking and counter-attacking to wear them down.
• Chained by Fashion: The default appearance for their right arm has a manacle on its wrist and the chain wrapped around the lower arm. Being a reminder of their past as ex-prisoners.
• Charged Attack: The Conqueror’s heavy attack can be held, building up for a heavier strike. After the Season 5 update, the charge now also makes it unblockable.
• Combo Breaker: Before their rework, the Conqueror had Superior Block on their regular guard, meaning all their blocks would end attack chains. A properly timed all-guard can still stop an attack and even open up for a counterattack, however.
• Combos: While all classes have combos (called Chains in-game), the Conqueror is one of the few classes to have an endless chain, being able to alternate between light and heavy attacks indefinitely as long as they have stamina.
• Difficult, but Awesome: The flail is described as a weapon that can be just as dangerous to the wielder as to their enemies, but when mastered it’s near unstoppable.
  • Prior to Y 6 S 2, if timed correctly the Conqueror can simultaneously block and counter with a heavy attack, requiring them to attack at just the right moment after the enemy does.
• Epic Flail: The Conqueror’s choice weapon, along with a protective heater shield.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: From poorly trained criminals to some of the Legion’s most elite warriors.
  • Also in a meta sense, in Y 6 S 2 Conqueror went from a hero who stood around and did nothing until they could bash you for a single light's worth of damage to a hero who stands around and still does nothing until they can bash you then spam you with infinite unblockable 50/50s.
• Glacier Waif: Female Conquerors are noticeably thinner than their male counterparts but no less durable. The Conqueror was also the only Heavy class that was not gender locked prior to Year 3.
• Healing Factor: Passive healing properties are included among the Conqueror’s assignable feats, including healing on block and regeneration out of combat.
• Logical Weakness: Prior to Y6S2, "Curse of the Pharaoh", the Conqueror was the only class that couldn't feint, as a flail cannot be stopped once in motion. This was removed, but the animations look rather odd as a result.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Prior to Y 6 S 2, Conquerors used to have superior block properties on their heavy attack's startup, but this was removed. Their shield is still effective as their all-guard or dodge guard however.
• Meaningful Name: The Conqueror can have an easier time capturing zones in Dominion matches if they have the “Conqueror” feat, which speeds up the time it takes to claim zones. It could also refer to how they got where they are having fought and earned their status through grit and skill at arms.
• Neck Snap: Utilized by the Conqueror in their “Garrote” Execution, wrapping the chain of their flail around their opponent’s neck, kicking out one leg, and tugging.
  • Perform a decapitation version of the above with the “Modified Hangman”.
• Not the Intended Use: The full block stance was meant to be used against attacks from multiple directions. In practice, players abuse it to cancel heavy and even light attacks, as a makeshift form of feinting.
• Token Evil Teammate: Conquerors are ex-criminals and conscripts who were pressed into service. They’re not devoted to any order and have no code. Their class trailer even shows them amid a burning village. That being said, they've been supplanted in this role by the Warmonger, as she is the only unambiguously evil class in the entire game.
• Trading Bars for Stripes: The Conquerors come from elite warriors picked out of the convicted criminals the Legion uses to refill their ranks in desperate times.
• Scratch Damage: One of their third-tier feats can cause blocked heavy attacks to still do some damage.
• Shield Bash: In addition to protection, the Conqueror’s shield can serve as an unblockable attack as well as using it to deliver a vicious backhand for their throw. Said Shield Bash is infamous for its Dynamic Entry capabilities in multiplayer since it can be performed while charging, usually doesn’t work against an opponent who isn’t distracted, and knocks the target down on hit.
• Sleeves Are for Wimps: Notably, Conquerors have multiple customization options that leave their arms entirely bare, in stark contrast to both their own full-body armor and that of the other Knights.
• Spikes of Villainy: Possible Character Customization options provide this look (with “villainy” being up to interpretation).
• Stone Wall: Conquerors are the most defense-oriented of the heavy classes, being the best suited to holding off their opponents, but doesn’t consistently deal as much damage as the other heavies.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Despite being a menacing juggernaut with an Epic Flail in battle, the Conqueror does some downright childlike things with said flail, ranging from carelessly swinging it around and comically injuring themselves, cheerfully dragging it along as if it was a puppy on a leash, and skipping over the thing as they spin it beneath them like a jump rope in the most carefree manner possible.

Lawbringer

“Pray that you do not need them. And when they arrive, pray that you have done no wrong.”

Voiced in English by: Evan Buliung

Voiced in Japanese by: Kazuhiro Yamaji

Type: Hybrid
Weapon: Poleaxe

The Lawbringers are the justice in Ashfeld. They enforce the laws and dispense punishment. Their armor is without equal. Their weapon is a grim reminder of the ultimate punishment for lawlessness. They will go wherever they are needed – pray that you are on the right side when they arrive.

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• The Big Guy:
  • The Lawbringer is noticeably larger than the other Legion classes. It’s likely his historical inspiration was tournament plate armor which was bigger and sturdier than typical plate armor.
  • Other heroes tend to strike you with their shield or weapon’s shaft to open you up in their animations for guard breaks. The Lawbringer instead just straight-up grabs you, possibly your face if you're sufficiently shorter than him.
  • Playing off this, the Lawbringer has the highest health in the game.
• Boring Yet Practical: The Lawbringer’s most effective tools are often simple throws and shoves, especially “The Long Arm,” which is an unblockable that tosses the enemy over his shoulder and leaves them open to a quick attack. A skilled Lawbringer can simply lock an opponent in place for an ally to kill them, or push them into hazards.
• Counter-Attack: While all classes can Parry, the Lawbringer takes this to an art form - most of his kit is centered around Parrying and retaliating with powerful blows to compensate for his low stamina.
• The Dreaded: No one wants to see a Lawbringer coming. This aspect of the character is used interestingly in-game. One of the biggest strengths of the Lawbringer is to be able to make the enemy fear attacking the Lawbringer, as the Lawbringer’s retaliation can be devastating to the unprepared. This plays nicely into the Lawbringer’s need to control the flow of the battle.
• Foil: To the Nobushi. Both are polearm-wielding Hybrid classes who defend the innocent when other, regular means of law enforcement have failed, but the Lawbringer is a heavily armored male-only Mighty Glacier sent by their Dreaded Order, while the Nobushi is a female-only lithe Fragile Speedster whose origins are Shrouded in Myth.
• Geo Effects: The Lawbringer is famous among players for his moveset being used to toss people off ledges.
• Godzilla Threshold: Lawbringers are only sent in as a last resort when all else has failed and order has completely broken down.
• Grapple Move: A Lawbringer specialty. Lawbringers can impale their opponent and carry them forwards, grab them to throw over to the sides, or flip them overhead with the back of their poleaxe. Oftentimes, this results in a Lawbringer hurling a hapless foe over a ledge.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Done during one of his executions, and also one of his basic attacks against mooks. Also used non-lethally during his charge attack that involves charging and impaling the enemy to carry them forward.
• Judge, Jury, and Executioner: In lawless areas, Lawbringers are the law. Suitably, they posess some of the most efficient Executions in the game, most notably "The Impaler" which comes out incredibly fast for a 50-hp execute.
• Knockback: The special ability of the Lawbringer is to cause stun with every attack.
• Mighty Glacier: Despite being the Hybrid class he is actually more resilient and slower than the designated Heavy Legion class - the Conqueror.
• Neck Lift: He lifts his opponent into the air before delivering a Neck Snap during one execution.
• One Riot, One Ranger: Lawbringers are sent to lawless areas in order to bring back order.
• Punch Catch: The “Chokehold” Execution has the Lawbringer perform this, then crushes his victim’s hand and then spins them around and snaps their neck with the same hand. Another Execution has him do a Punch Catch... with the axe end of his Poleaxe, then stab them through the head with its spike.
• Secret Art: The secret to making the Lawbringer’s (anachronistic) plate armor is known only to their order.
• Swiss-Army Weapon: Wields a Poleaxe, a polearm with an axe blade on one side, and a hammer head on the other, and he's not afraid to simply hit you with the butt end of it either. The class trailer itself claims it to be the most versatile weapon ever made.
• The Slow Walk:
  • Performs one in his trailer, with each step audibly thudding as he advances on an unlucky Valkyrie.
  • In-game, most characters stand ready to battle when locking on to an enemy. The Lawbringer just walks… menacingly.
• Unblockable Attack: Any combo finisher the Lawbringer uses is by default Unblockable, and one of the fastest ones in the game to boot. Using this and the risk of attempting a parry only to have it turn out to be a feint...that gets turned around into them parrying you is one of the main mixup tools in the Lawbringer's kit.
• Tin Tyrant: Uniquely, the Lawbringer has exactly no option that shows any part of their face, or even any part of their body at all, despite having a (completely useless) option to select their skin color, which plays into their overall ominous design.

Centurion

“Some… fight for warlords. They… fought for an empire. Their might inspired generations of soldiers… and struck fear into the hearts of their enemies. They are Centurions - their confidence radiates out to all those who follow them.”

Type: Hybrid
Weapon: Gladius

The Centurion sees the battlefield like a chessboard. Equipped with the reliable standard issue gladius, Centurions can bypass enemy defenses through strategic close-quarters combat.

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• Ambadassador: Lore from Year Four says that the Centurion is an ambassador from the more stable lands beyond Ashfeld controlled by the Legions. This doesn't stop him from being an exceptional badass warrior.
• Animal Motif: Most of his attacks are named after Lions and Eagles.
• Artistic License – Military: Unlike their real-world counterparts, the Centurion does not carry a shield. Word of God says this was intentionally done to differentiate them from the Warlord, who already carried a sword and shield.
• Badass Cape: Seems to come standard, and they’re skilled warriors.
• Boisterous Bruiser: Especially when compared to some of the other Knight heroes, the Centurion’s verbal taunts between attacks are quite loud and hammy.
• Combat Pragmatist: He’ll punch, kick, and bash his opponent in the face with the pommel of his sword, as well as use throwing knives and leap in to stab them while they're down.
• Combos: His fighting style is very “Mix-Up Intensive” with his attacks leaving opponents open to other moves, and is infamous for stringing together long attack chains, doing health and stamina damage.
• Dash Attack: Centurions can charge their heavy attack to get more range and turn them into one.
• Foil: To the Gladiator, coming from the same empire, but being an enlisted soldier as opposed to an arena fighter and entertainer. They command legions of troops in the army, while Gladiators fight as singular mercenaries.
• Frontline General: Centurions lead their armies from the front.
• Gladiator Games: Their executions and general fighting style, and even their helmets are clearly based off Roman gladiatorial games.
• Groin Attack: One of his unblockables is a kick below the belt.
• I Shall Taunt You: He punctuates his attacks and executions with various taunts. Most notable is one where he makes the classic thumbs-up thumbs-down gesture, and when his opponent gives a thumbs-up, the Centurion promptly gives them a vicious thumbs-down and stabs them.
• Kick Them While They Are Down: He can pounce on downed targets to do extra damage, and specializes in knocking his opponents off their feet. Running out of Stamina while fighting a Centurion is an almost guaranteed death sentence.
• Large Ham: The Centurion tends to be the loudest and hammiest of any of the fighters, with their battle cries sounding across the map. Their executions are also some of the flashiest of all, with the Centurion grandstanding and making big theatrical gestures.
• The Leader: Centurions inspire through their bravery and confidence.
• Nemean Skinning: He wears various pelts on some of his chest armor.
• The Remnant: Possibly. They hail from an Empire in the south that was thought to be long-since destroyed. However, considering the fact that they and the Gladiators are still around^note One of the observables has Apollyon state that they are still around, even in the campaign indicates that enough of it is left over for more of them to be trained.
• Reverse Grip: His unblockable heavy attack involves using the sword in a reverse grip with the other hand pushing on the pommel for a very painful stab.
• Simple, yet Awesome: He fights with nothing but a Gladius and his own fists, and has no difficulty killing with either.
• Slashed Throat: One of his methods for dispatching mooks.
• Stamina Burn: The Centurion's specialty - his jab attacks all drain a fair amount of stamina, even if they don't do much damage, allowing the Centurion to gradually whittle down his foes until they can't fight back.
• Support Party Member: While the Centurion is most certainly a deadly opponent in one-on-one combat, his assortment of stunning knockbacks and unblockables means that he can lock down an opponent who is distracted by another player, and keep chaining low-damage knockbacks that knock them into walls and leave them vulnerable to his allies. One of his Tier four Feats gives everyone on his team(including himself) a shield.
• Sword and Fist: Uses both his sword and his offhand fist when he fights. His “Haymaker” feat also makes punches and kicks deal damage.
• Unblockable Attack: In addition to his unblockable kicks and jabs the Centurion can end any of his attack chains with a charged unblockable heavy attack.

Gladiator

“Gladiators have risen the rank of fighters and have run out of challengers. With their trident and shield, they charge into the fray, their armor minimal and their bravado staggering. It is now time for gladiators to fight for something greater than themselves.”

Type: Assassin
Weapon: Trident and Shield

The Gladiator is a fighter by trade. They have honed their skills through grueling matches in the arena and are now the top of their field. They fight for their own personal reasons; Some fight to glory, some fight for riches but they all fight. Their armor is minimal to allow for greater mobility with their shield and trident but also to better highlight their skill. They have won over the crowd in every match but how will they fare when all that skill and training is put to the test in all-out war? It is time for the Gladiator to fight for something greater than themselves.

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• Acrofatic: While definitely not fat, the male Gladiator is noticeably stockier than other male assassins. Despite this they possess a large stamina pool, are nimble enough to dodge or deflect hits with their buckler, and have the same “Iron Lungs” feat as the Shugoki, allowing them to sprint when out of stamina.
• Agony of the Feet: A signature attack of the Gladiator is a quick jab of their trident into their opponent’s lead foot. It deals only minor damage, but cannot be blocked or parried (only dodged), can quickly follow nearly any other attack, and if it hits an exhausted target, it will be automatically followed by a punch that knocks them down. One of their executions has the Gladiator pull the same trick to pin the opponent in place for a neck-breaking buckler uppercut.
• Boisterous Bruiser: Even more so than the Centurion. The Gladiator fights to prove they are the best. They even strike a pose and flex their muscles when entering Revenge mode!
• Crowd Pleaser: As a fighter back in the arena, pleasing the spectators was their primary goal. Their low tier weapon pieces are called “Crowd Favorite” and “Prizefighter”, with one fourth-tier feat being called “Roar of the Crowd”.
• Foil: To the Centurion. While both warriors hail from the same empire and use similar techniques, Gladiators fight as entertainers and mercenaries, while the Centurion is a soldier and leader.
• Fragile Speedster: Invoked by the Gladiators themselves, forgoing actual armor out of the belief that nobody will be able to land a hit on them.
• Gladiator Games: They spent years fighting their way to the top in the arena.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Done non-lethally with one of their moves, jabbing their opponent in the chest from which they can haul them off to the side or inflict bleed damage.
• I Shall Taunt You: Much like the Centurion. Some of their dialogue translates to “Favorite of the crowd!” and “Mars favors me!”.
• Mr Fan Service: Male Gladiators are a buff Walking Shirtless Scene with quite a bit of thigh showing.
• Not in This for Your Revolution: They couldn’t care less about the war or who wins it, just proving that they’re the best.
• Private Military Contractors: They've left the arena in pursuit of fortune as mercenaries.
• Prongs of Poseidon: Gladiators fight with a trident sans the traditional net, and a few of their moves are even named after Neptune, Poseidon’s Roman counterpart as god of the sea.
• The Remnant: Possibly. They come from the same Empire as the Centurion, which was thought lost. The fact that there is apparently still an arena around for them to have fought in indicates that, while it may not be as powerful as it once was, some of it is still around and in good enough shape to afford to have stuff like gladiators.
• Sword and Fist: Gladiators will strike opponents with their off-hand like the Centurion, and share their “Haymaker” feat.
• Shield Bash: Several of their attacks involve striking the enemy with their buckler, which causes stun and drains stamina. Taking a feat will cause those punches to deal some damage. Two of the executions also involve a powerful buckler strike to the head as a killing blow.
• Shields Are Useless: Sort of. The buckler is too small to provide the same kind of coverage of even the Valkyrie or Conqueror's shields, so it cannot be used to hold a multi-directional block. To that end, they can only reflex block or dodge deflect like other assassins, yet it is still just as capable as full-sized shields as a striking tool to stun and disorient enemies.
  • It is worth noting the Gladiator has the shortest reflex guard of all the assassins, lasting a whopping 500 ms.
• Simple, yet Awesome: The Gladiator is the only assassin whose difficulty is rated as easy.
• Sports Hero Backstory: Due to The Gladiator having been conscripted from Gladitorial Arenas and having a flair of showmanship in their Finishers.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: Downplayed, the male Gladiator’s armor varies between covering little or most of his torso, but never all of it.
• Worthy Opponent: They left the arena and became mercenaries because there were no good challengers.

Black Prior

“Mala ultro adsunt. Misfortune comes uninvited. It hungers for blood, craving eternal darkness. The time to repent is over! I will take up arms again. Step out of the shadows and teach them true darkness!”

Type: Heavy
Weapon: Longsword and kite shield

Once knights of the Order of the Holy Balaur, the Black Priors were born when their leader, Vortiger, was swayed by Apollyon’s promises of power. With her defeat, the order dispersed and disappeared. Now, the Black Priors have returned and fight for Vortiger, seeking to make amends for their past and pledge fealty to the Knights.

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• The Atoner: Vortiger and his Black Priors once served Apollyon and now seek to make amends for their actions. Vortiger himself says that "The time to repent is over!" in his trailer.
• Badass Preacher: The Black Priors, in general, are an order of fanatical monks. They are also extremely skilled and dangerous warriors, to the point that they were able to prevent the Vikings and Samurai from taking one of the Knights’ most strategic strongholds even before returning from their self-imposed exile.
• Big Damn Heroes: Downplayed. When the Knights’ region of Etrivatrian was besieged by the Viking and Samurai, Vortiger and his Black Priors suddenly arrived to save the overwhelmed defenders. The things they did in order to secure their victory were so extreme that it was hardly heroic though.
• Cast from Hit Points: Their “Sinister Shield” feat allows them to sacrifice health to grant an ally a shield.
• Cool Helmet: Black Priors can replace their cowls with knightly helmets. And some helmets are even worn under their cowls for variations.
• Counter-Attack: The Black Prior uses their shield to deflect attacks, and can counter many normally unblockable moves with Shrouded Bulwark, which not only flips the enemy over and throws them to the ground, but also makes Black Prior invincible while they perform a circular slash to hit everybody they flipped, and even those they didn't flip.
• Covered in Scars: The Black Priors use scarification to emblazon their skin with symbols as a sign of devotion to their faith.
• Dark Is Not Evil: The Black Priors have a motif of shadow and darkness around them, and are brutal and merciless warriors. Nonetheless, they have pledged themselves as allies to the Knights after Apollyon’s defeat.
• The Exile: After Apollyon’s defeat Vortiger went into self-imposed exile, returning years later to aid the Knights he once fought against.
• Excessive Evil Eye Shadow: Both the Male and Female Black Priors surround their eyes with warpaint(usually black) to evoke a sense of dread in their enemies.
• Healing Factor: The Black Prior has a unique feat which allows them to heal while in Bulwark Stance. They also have access to Regenerate as a possible Tier 4 feat.
• In the Hood: Hoods and cowls are a prominent part of the Black Prior’s aesthetics and design.
• Knightly Sword and Shield: Their weapons of choice, however, they are not knights themselves. Their order’s symbol, a pillar standing over an eclipsed sun, is also meant to represent a sword and shield.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Bears an enormous kite shield as one of their primary weapons.
• No-Sell: The Shrouded Bulwark ability lets the Black Prior negate a number of enemy attacks, including many unblockables and grabs like the Highlander’s Caber Toss, Shaman’s Predator’s mercy, and Shugoki’s Demon’s Embrace.
• The Order: Originally known as the Order of the Holy Balaur, the Black Priors came to be after Vortiger fell under Apollyon’s influence and swore his order to her cause.
• Order Reborn: The Black Priors disbanded and went their separate ways after Apollyon was defeated and Vortiger exiled himself, but have reformed now that he has returned.
• Red Baron: Like all of Apollyon’s generals Vortiger took a demon name, but like Holden Cross, he has returned to using his real one.
• Reformed, but Not Tamed: While the Black Priors have sworn fealty to the Knights, they are still every bit as brutal and merciless as when they fought for the Black Legion.
• Scary Impractical Armor: While the entire cast has this to some degree, the Black Priors take it to a completely different level. A few of their weapon and armor sets look like they came right out of Dark Souls.
  • Word of God says the Black Prior was intentionally given a more fantasy inspired look, to better differentiate them from the other knights.
• Scratch Damage: They can equip the “Punch Through” feat, causing blocked attacks to still do some damage.
• Shield Bash: Much like the Conqueror, Black Priors use their shields to perform unblockable attacks. This includes their zone attack which does no damage but shoves the target back.
• Spikes of Villainy: On both their armor and shields. The spikes on their shields also double as Spikes of Doom, being sharp enough to dismember their enemies with.
• Support Party Member: The Black Prior has numerous feats with which to support their allies, from granting them shields to buffing their damage.
• Token Evil Teammate: They’re far more brutal and merciless than any other Knights save for the Conqueror. Were it not for their actions at the battle for Etrivatnen, where their aid was desperately needed, the Knights would likely have never accepted them into their ranks.
• Token Good Teammate: At the same time, compared to the other Harbingers characters, the literally insane Hitokiri, the apocalyse cultist Jörmungandr, and the Secret Police Zhanhu, the Black Prior is the only one with any inkling of morality.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: The Black Priors are ruthless warriors who do not follow the code of chivalry and will go to just about any lengths to seize victory in the name of the Knights.
• You Are Too Late: A villainous example. Apollyon recalled the Black Priors to reinforce her army when the Samurai and Iron Legion besieged the Shard, but they were delayed by the knight’s forces. By the time they arrived the battle was already over and the Blackstone Legion defeated.

Warmonger

"A time of reckoning has come. We will cleanse Heathmoor of the liars and the wicked. We will start an era with the truest heroes of this world. Peace... is poison. We... are... war."

Voiced by: Patricia Summersett (English)

Type: Vanguard
Weapon: Flamberge

Warriors of the Order of Horkos, a secretive cult that formed out of the remnants of the Blackstone Legion. The Warmongers believe in Apollyon's ideals of war and culling the weak, and broke the fledgling Truce of Wyverndale by leading the Order of Horkos into an all-out invasion. Wearing full plate armor, wielding a two-handed flamberge sword, and armed with exotic alchemical poisons, they are a terrifying force on the battlefield who intentionally mimic Apollyon's belligerent ideals.

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• Amazon Brigade: As they intentionally style themselves after Apollyon, they are all female.
• Always Chaotic Evil: The Warmongers are all explicitly aligned with Horkos being the founders/product of it, though the existence of a Chimera armor set implies this trope isn't the case.
• Auto-Revive: Warmonger's final tier 4 power is the ability to self-revive after death, provided that she isn't executed. It's a pretty rare power, so it makes Warmonger one of the few Heroes to possess it.
• Badass Cape: Some of their torso armor comes with various types of capes on their back.
• BFS: Like the Warden, the wield a two-handed sword, and have many similar moves to the Warden. The Warmongers are more focused on agility and versatility rather than the Warden's more straightforward and economical longsword techniques.
• Black Knight: Like Apollyon before them, Warmongers wear dark-colored knight armor sets and are very fearsome warriors.
• Blood Knight: It's in their name after all and being followers of Apollyon make them this. Bonus points for being actual knights.
• Call-Back: Each of her starting signatures reference the campaign, consisting of her either pulling out a dagger that's stuck into her side, or standing triumphant on a helmet that resembles Daubeny's.
• Cool Helmet: They're default helmet resembles Apollyon's helmet design, with a few minor adjustments to make it stand out. Even better when they can actually wear Apollyon's real helmet when unlocked from their loot table.
• Counter-Attack: She can counter off of a parry with an impaling charge that, if it hits a wall, lets her slash the opponent and inflict bleeding damage.
• Cult: They are the leaders of the Order of Horkos, an esoteric cult worshipping the god of the same name. Astrea acts as their leader, and styles herself as the divine descendant of Horkos and a herald of war. The cult itself seems to be focused on scientific research into alchemy and medicine, which is how they were able to recruit so many warriors from every faction into their ranks.
• Genius Bruiser: Like Apollyon, Astrea is quite intelligent and had a hand in creating the alchemical poisons that she and her order use.
• Knight Templar: The Warmongers are fanatics who believe in Apollyon's idea of war being the natural state of mankind. They are convinced that they are saving the world by plunging it into a constant war and that they are purging the liars and the wicked who flourish under a poisonous peace that only allows the weak to rule.
• Legacy Character: They intentionally designed their armor and fighting style to invoke the memory of Apollyon, even going so far as to speak like her.
• Mad Scientist: The Order of Horkos are an entire organization of these who specialize in alchemy and chemistry, and Astrea and the Warmongers are experts in the use of poisons, particularly a nasty substance known as the Corruption. many of the color schemes and paint patterns associated with the Order have themes of science, crystals, and chemistry.
• Mission from God: After being wounded in battle, Astrea had a vision of the god Horkos who told her to take up Apollyon's mantle and continue her work.
• Moveset Clone: They share most attack animations from both Warden and Apollyon. Justified as Apollyon also derived from Warden, so it's natural for Warmonger to follow along. However, their mechanics are largely different; for example, Warmonger doesn't have Crushing Counter with her top lights but otherwise have enhanced lights, uninterruptible heavy finishers, and a side dodge unblockable heavy. They are also unable to infinitely continue their chains with their claw swipe like Wardens can with their shoulder bash.
• One-Handed Zweihänder: Although the Warmonger is capable of swinging it with two hands in certain attacks, she prefers stabbing and swinging her greatsword with one hand.
• Plague Master: The Corruption, which is an alchemical poison developed by Astrea and the Order of Horkos. When applied to their blades or thrown on the ground like a grenade, it places a poisonous debuff on the next opponent who is hit. Other enemies who get too close are infected by the Corruption and take damage over time. This forces the enemy to spread out until the effect ends.
• Rage Helm: To further emulate Appolyon, they also copy her skull-esque helmet.
• Serrated Blade of Pain: Flamberges are a more historical version, having "flame-like" waving blades.
• Smug Super: Downplayed. While aside from the Corruption their fighting style is very grounded, they're still prone to making dramatic, condescending poses, to the point that it extends to their executions.
• The Social Darwinist: Like Apollyon, they are devoted to weeding out the weak "sheep" and revealing the ferocious "wolves" among their enemies. Unlike Apollyon, however, they prefer to test the ferocity and bloodlust of their foes through personal slaughter rather than carefully arranging war between different factions.
• Suddenly Shouting: They shout "ENOUGH!" when swiping with their claw and "STAY HERE" when dashing forward for an overhead attack.
• Sword and Fist: They integrate claw swiping with their sword fighting moveset.
• Taking Up the Mantle: Astrea believes that she was told to do so by Horkos. Taking on Apollyon's likeness and continuing her mission.
• Token Evil Teammate: As a group of warriors emulating Apollyon, Warmongers are one of the very few unambiguously malevolent heroes in the game. Though the existence of a Chimera armor set for the Warmongers implies that not all of them believe in perpetuating Horkos' Forever War.
• Torso with a View: One of their executions has them turning their opponent around before impaling them through their stomach with their clawed gauntlet.
• Unblockable Attack: Their side dodge heavies are unblockable, as is their claw swipes.
• War Is Glorious: Much like Apollyon, they believe that war is the only way to reveal the strong and to purge weak and evil people from the world. Astrea's catchphrase is "Peace is poison" after all.
• Wolverine Claws: The claws on their gauntlets can be used to slash and rake at their opponents. In practice, this acts as a bash attack that opens up the enemy for another chain.
• You Will Not Evade Me: The Warmonger's forward heavy attack is undodgeable.

Gryphon

Come on, warriors! Show them how you fight!

Voiced in English by: Evan Buliung

Type: Hybrid
Weapon: Bardiche

The Gryphons are warriors who have traveled to every corner of Heathmoor, searching for wisdom, combat skills, and culture from factions outside their own. They fashion themselves in armor bearing designs and structure from cultures they've immersed themselves in to honor the knowledge they've accumulated on their journeys. While the Gryphons were never an organized, militarized people, they now band together under Holden Cross's influence to aid the Chimera Alliance in destroying the Order of Horkos.

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• Composite Character: They are this, having traveled all across Heathmoor and learned and adapted various fighting styles from several of the other playable heroes into their own repertoire of attacks, most notably the Kensei's dodge attacks, the Highlander's Fomorian Kick and Celtic Curse attacks, and more obviously many of Lawbringer's moves due to Gryphon being Holden Cross in all but name. Their alternate feats are also made up of feats from the other factions as well.
• Cool Helmet: While starting off with no headgear, the Gryphons have a decently wide selection of head protection thanks to having ingrained themselves in different cultures.
• Foil: They are almost the complete opposites of the Warmongers:
  • Just like the Warmonger they are genderlocked, but are made up of males rather than females.
  • While the Warmongers base themselves off of Apollyon and follow her old ways, the Gryphons are based off of Holden Cross after he had turned a new leaf.
  • The Gryphons are also Omniglots, in contrast to the Warmongers, who speak only English (or the language you have chosen).
• Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Contrasting the previous Warmongers, Gryphons are usually bareheaded. Although this is downplayed as there's a few headgears available and they are pretty varied.
• The Medic: Gryphon's default feats all have a healing aura in addition to their damaging effects, allowing him to easily turn the tide for his comrades.
• Old Soldier: The Gryphons are distinctly aged soldiers, tempered by experience and extensive travel amongst all the world's factions.
• Omniglot: Thanks to their background, they can speak specific lines in either Latin, Icelandic, Japanese, or Chinese, either in response to heroes from those specific factions or quoted directly from the heroes whose moves they're copying.
• Precision F-Strike: Delivers these to enemy Warmongers upon delivering a chain finisher.
  Gryphon: Futue te ipsum!^TranslationGo fuck yourself!
• Veteran Unit: They are one of the few heroes that are locked at being Cool Old Guys.

Chosen (Samurai) Classes

In General

"Cast away from our land, we are rebuilding. Our hearts are strong, our devotion: absolute, and our skill is beyond question. We will be remembered."

A faction that resembles feudal Japanese samurai, who have made their home in the swampland known as the Myre following a long exodus. While they are few in number, individually they are more skilled warriors than the other factions.

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• Badass Longcoat: Some options for the Kensei, the Nobushi and the Aramusha are these, also being sleeveless.
• Bilingual Bonus: All of their class names are, unsurprisingly, rendered in Japanese:
  • "Kensei" means "sword saint" or "sword master."
  • "Orochi" means "serpent," referring to the classes' agility and use of poisoned weapons. Also likely a nod to Yamata-no-Orochi.
  • "Shugoki" literally means "guardian demon", fitting the class' Oni motif.
  • "Nobushi" roughly means "outside warrior" - as they are meant to be defenders of countryside villages, it fits (and is possibly a subtle nod to the long range of their weapons).
  • "Shinobi" literally means "patience", but more obviously simply refers to "shinobi no mono" ("one who waits patiently to strike"), a longer form term for "ninja".
  • "Aramusha" roughly means "the abandoned warrior."
  • "Hitokiri" literally means "manslayer".
• Bow and Sword in Accord: A tier three feat available to all of the Samurai classes, pulling out a bow for a powerful ranged attack. Truth in Television as the Samurai were historically archers first, swordsmen second.
• Civil War: While the Samurai desire only peaceful isolation from their neighbors, they are just as prone to infighting and strife as they are, having had several civil wars during the twenty years Apollyon spent rising to the top of the Blackstone Legion. Despite this, they are still willing to put aside their differences and unite against a greater foe, should the need arise.
• David vs. Goliath: The Chosen have the least numbers out of any playable faction, but make up for that in raw skill.
• Doomed Hometown: Following the Cataclysm that ravaged the Earth, Japan was hit the hardest as The Chosen decided to set sail for a new land in what would become The Myre. By the time that life was sustainable in the new territory and The Chosen sent envoys back home to Japan in order to help escort those they left behind; Japan had already sank into the ocean.
• Enemy Mine: In spite of their frequent feuds and infighting, the Chosen will quickly unite to battle a larger threat, putting aside their differences for the greater good of defending their people and way of life.
• Fighting for a Homeland: Following the cataclysm they spent their time wandering in the desert before managing to find a hew home in the Myre and consolidating their power.
• Heroic Neutral: The Samurai only want to protect their lands, people, and keep their culture alive. While they do fight among themselves, they're the only one of the three sides that did not attack or seek conflict with another, staying within their own borders until the Warborn raided them and Apollyon slew the royal family.
• Last of Their Kind: The Chosen believe they are the last of their kind as a result of the great cataclysm a millennium ago that destroyed their original homeland, far to the east. Word of God says that their homeland sunk into the ocean and is in fact gone.
• Malevolent Masked Men: From the perspective of the Legion and Warborn, as the Chosen classes like to wear armored masks.
• Petal Power: The faction-specific effect for Samurai is for cherry blossoms to scatter around them during specific animations.
• Rain of Arrows: "Arrow Storm" is a devastating tier four feat available to Samurai classes.
• Samurai: The Chosen warriors are, of course, samurai.
• Seppuku: Year Four adds the Ware Shinaba execution to all Samurai heroes. The Samurai gives their defeated opponent a knife, which they gut themselves with, and the Samurai hero will then chop off their head and bow respectfully to their slain foe.
• Siege Engines: While not nearly as visible in the campaign as it is for the Legions, an observable has Apollyon note that the Samurai have some of the most complicated and powerful siege engines, which are far more advanced than those used by the Legions. Unlike them, the Samurai have learned from other sources, whereas the Legion simply copies the same designs.
• Smoke Bomb: A common tier two feat among Samurai classes.
• Terraform: The trees and foliage throughout the Myre are not native to the region, and were planted by the original samurai with seeds from their homeland.
• Tragic Keepsake: The Samurai's fortress in the Myre used to have a broken archway and a busted gate that hadn't worked in years, which its dilapidated state and its exhibit-esque display hints its purpose as a reminder of the cataclysm that ravaged their original homeland. When the Warborn attack it, they find out to their cost that the gate is now working again, though a canal that had previously allowed ships to sail into the Myre through the fortress is now dry as a result of the cataclysm.
• You Can't Go Home Again: Following the cataclysm that ravaged the world, the Samurai loaded up ships with as many people, flora, and fauna belonging to their island and left for the Myre. When they returned to their homeland to inform those that couldn't come with them on the initial voyage that there is a new place to call home, they found that their island was swallowed up by the earth at some point after they left.

Orochi

Voiced in English by: Josh Keaton (Male) and Courtenay Taylor (Female)

Voiced in Japanese by: Shin-ichiro Miki (Male) and Kumi Tanaka (Female)

"Each of our warriors must be the match of ten of our enemies. Each Orochi is a match for a hundred."

Type: Assassin
Weapon: Katana

The Orochi are the Imperial assassins of the Samurai. They roam the battlefield like ghosts, terrorizing and slaughtering those unfortunate enough to cross their path. Lightly armored and trained in the arts of stealth and deception, the Orochi dispatches enemies with a katana. Usually loyal beyond reproach, the Orochi holds the darker samurai secrets of dealing death in myriad ways, from throwing deadly knives to using a poisoned blade.

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• Combat Pragmatist: The Orochi supplement their sword skills with thrown knives and poisoned weapons.
• Cool Mask: The Orochi wears a mempo that covers and protects their face. It also has dashes of paint to give an image of sharp teeth.
• Counter-Attack: This is basically the Orochi's whole schtick, capitalizing on their opponents' missed strikes to inflict considerable damage. This is epitomized in their Rushing Storm move which allows them to well...rush and attack right after dodging backward and they get a guaranteed combo if they successfully damage their opponent so quite a bit of mind games are required to deal with Orochis.
• Dash Attack: Storm Rush has them step back before doing a short sprint forward with a strike to one side.
• Glass Cannon: The Orochi can deal a lot of sustained damage, but has poor armor.
• Iaijutsu Practitioner: Incorporates quickdraws and following up with fast slashing combos as part of their fighting style, often retreating away from their opponent and then striking back before they have a chance to react.
• Katanas Are Just Better: Orochi wield regular-sized katanas, as opposed to the Kensei's nodachis, with deadly swiftness.
• Kiai: Orochi can stun opponents with a battle cry as a first-tier feat.
• One-Man Army: Every Chosen warrior is expected to be a match for at least 10, the Orochi are expected to be a match for 100.
• Poisoned Weapons: One of the Orochi's special traits they can employ.
• Professional Killers: Orochi serve as Imperial assassins.
• Reverse Grip: Orochi clutch their katanas in a reverse grip when doing Storm Rush.
• Samurai Shinobi: While they don't look like traditional ninja portrayals, they get their skills from ninja clan lore.
• Undying Loyalty: Orochi have this as a general reputation. It is the big factor for why the Orochi ends up rescued from prison in the single-player campaign - because the Orochi is known for being loyal and has equally loyal allies willing to help.

Kensei

Voiced in English by: Andrew Kishino (Male) and Sumalee Montano (Female)

Voiced in Japanese by: Shunsuke Sakuya (Male) and Saeko Zougou (Female)

"Every army needs warriors whose specialty is victory."

Type: Vanguard
Weapon: Nodachi

The Kensei all aspire to be living incarnations of Bushidō, the Samurai "way of the warrior". Masters of the martial arts, ready to die for their emperor and for their fellow Samurai, the Kensei all fight with the ōdachi. That deadly blade, a longer version of the classic katana, is used to cleave their enemies in a few elegant and powerful strikes. They strive for perfection, never expecting to reach it.

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• Armor Is Useless: Noted to wear the heaviest armor amongst the Chosen. This does not avert their Glass Cannon status.
• Awesome, but Impractical: Defied in-universe. Their nodachi swords were once thought to be too long for legitimate use in war. The Kensei proved that notion wrong.
• BFS: The Kensei wield ōdachis, twice the length of an average katana.
• Confusion Fu: Kensei have a lot of soft feint options for their top heavy attacks, including guardbreaks, side light and heavy attacks, unblockable pommel strikes and dodge attacks.
• Cool Mask: Their various kabuto helmets include accompanying mempo masks that obscure the face.
• Dash Attack: Helm Splitter. It doesn't hit very hard, but it hits fast, and immediately lets Kensei do a chain-finisher.
• Death Glare: Their "Chilling Stare" feat, which lowers the defenses of the target and enemies around them.
• Difficult, but Awesome: Gameplay-wise the Kensei is described as the hardest Vanguard class to use as it has a very high learning curve to master but is deadly in the right hands.
• Everything's Better with Samurai: The most overtly "samurai" class of all the Chosen, from the fighting style to the default mustachioed helmet (for male Kensei).
• Glass Cannon: While they hit just as hard as their Vanguard counterparts, the Warden and Raider, Kensei attack more swiftly while lacking the other characters' durability.
• Katanas Are Just Better: Technically an ōdachi, but as that mostly amounts to "a longer katana", the difference is negligible.
• The Leader: All of the Chosen's greatest leaders are said to have trained as Kensei.
• Master Swordsman: Kensei translates into "sword saint", and is used to describe exceptionally skilled swordsmen.
• The Perfectionist: They train all their lives to achieve perfection, knowing they will never truly attain it.
• Three-Strike Combo: The Kensei's specialty is the ability to link any three attacks into a three-hit chain, with the third hit being a special ability as long as the last attack was a heavy attack. They may also simply do it after guard breaking and throwing a player, or a dash attack.
  • After the Season 5 update, they can now perform any combination of Lights and Heavies in a three-strike combo with the above options still available on heavies while lights are still lightning fast.
• Undying Loyalty: While not as famed or well known for it as the Orochi, Kensei are taught to live and die for their comrades and for the Emperor.

Shugoki

"The shugoki: once our guardians, they have become as family. And what more fierce protectors could we ask for?"

Voiced in English by: Jonathan Adams

Voiced in Japanese by: Kenji Nomura

Type: Heavy
Weapon: Kanabō

Shugoki appear slow and cumbersome. Don’t let that fool you — they possess the strength of a demon and an unbreakable will. It takes incredible fortitude to be the guardians of your people. You must defend them at all costs and put their needs above your own. This has never been an issue for the Shugoki. Their weapon of choice seems unwieldy, but in their hands it is as deadly and precise as any blade.

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• Acrofatic: Despite their bulk, Shugoki are not as slow as one might think. The "Iron Lungs" perk allows them to sprint even when out of stamina. "Charge of the Oni" even allows them to expend stamina to keep up with their more agile allies.
• Achilles' Heel: Rapid multi-hit attacks can not only power through the Shugoki's super armor, but exploit their damage vulnerability when said armor is down. Guard breaks can also strip away the super armor, even if countered. This no longer applies as of Season 9, since Uninterruptible Stance applies on every attack and the Shugoki no longer takes extra damage when it is down.
• Bear Hug: Their unblockable attack is a back-snapping bear hug that heals based on damage dealt. Fans joke that the Shugoki's just an all-loving fellow that wants to embrace you.
• Big Fun: While still as deadly as all of the other heroes, the Shugoki also has a few humorous taunts and even his Executions can give you a chuckle.
• The Big Guy: Are the largest Chosen class. And he uses this massive bulk with his charges and executions, with one involving him simply sitting on his victim, and the season 4 execution shows that he can literally squash his people's head like a grape with his bare hands.
• Brutish Character, Brutish Weapon: Shugoki are the largest Chosen class, are based on oni, and wield kanabo clubs.
• Cadre of Foreign Bodyguards: They were originally this, being natives to the general region and incorporated as guardians when the Dawn Empire first settled the Myre, where they used their strength to serve as protectors and guardians. Over the centuries, they fully integrated into the Empire's society. Most notably, they are the only Samurai hero type who have an option for blond or red hair in their helmet selections; every other Samurai with visible hair only has dark shades of brown or black.
• Carry a Big Stick: The Shugoki wields a massive kanabō.
• Cool Mask: Wear the fearsome visages of Oni demons.
• Counter-Attack: Shugoki's playstyle revolves around using his large amount of hyper armor to trade blows with his opponents in order to put them into a mixup while also disabling them for nearby allies.
• Dangerous Backswing: Shugoki's side heavy attacks cover a wide radius and deal lots of damage, but if there are allies fighting alongside him, they will accidentally be in his radius most of the time.
• Death or Glory Attack: Prior to the Season 9 rework, Demon's Embrace would One-Hit Kill them if his own health is in a very low state...but it cost him health if it missed and the recovery time after missing it can give the opposition more opportunity to wallop him before he can even act again. If they were trying for the One-Hit Kill, there's no excuse for their enemy to not kill them after they miss. After Season 9, the move lost the one-hit aspect but became more reliable.
• Difficult, but Awesome: Though the game lists him as "Easy," the Shugoki is one of the hardest heroes to master because of his dependence on counter-attacking, the slow speed of his attacks, and his vulnerability to quick attacks. A great deal of Shugoki gameplay involves baiting out an enemy's attacks to leave them vulnerable. While the Warlord and Conqueror have shields and benefit from an all-guard stance, the Shugoki does not, putting more emphasis on the player's ability to block and parry. The Season 9 rework makes things easier for him since his attacks are much faster, he gains Uninterruptible Stance with most of his offensive moves, and his signature Demon's Embrace is much easier to connect with.
• The Giant: Very much fits the archetype, being a bestial, stout warrior at least a head taller than any other hero who has a limited repertoire of moves but makes up for it in sheer power and immovability. His Throw is even a Clawhold, and one of his feats increases the distance enemies are thrown by his moves.
• Groin Attack: One Execution forces the opponent to their knees this way before bouncing their head off the Shugoki's belly for the kill, presumably causing a Neck Snap.
• Immune to Flinching: Shugoki has a super armor effect "Uninterruptible Stance" that allows them to finish attacks even if struck while doing it. Prior to Season 9, this only lasted for one hit before he has to wait for it to refresh, while after Season 9 it becomes active while launching attacks, making him deadly at trading blows.
• Mighty Glacier: The Shugoki is by far the slowest of all of the heroes, but his talents more than make up for it.
  • He swings his kanabō in big-wide arcs with hyper armor to boot, relying heavily on trading tactics to break enemies as they shore up against his Heavy-class health pool.
  • His slow speed is offset by his value in objective and team-based game modes such as Dominion, where he's very good at contesting control points and interrupting enemies in team fights with his hyper armored heavy attacks, and his Heavy-class perks encourage this playstyle as well.
• Neck Lift: His Season 9 execution has him lift his opponent up with one hand and crush their neck by squeezing, before tossing them away.
• One-Hit Kill: Prior to Season 9, Demon's Embrace would inflict one thousand damage (in a game where the heaviest hits tend to deal at most fifty to sixty damage) if the Shugoki is at critical (flashing red) health.
• Oni: They give off the vibe of oni due to their masks and their use of the kanabō club. Shugoki even means "guardian spirit", "ki" being a suffix used for oni names.
• Primal Stance: Downplayed. He enters one when out of stamina, walking with a pronounced hunch until it regenerates.
• Shout-Out: One of his executions is called "The Mountain", where he reenacts the way Gregor Clegane kills Oberyn Martell.
• Simple, yet Awesome: His bread and butter is swinging his kanabō around in wide-sweeping arcs that can be charged and feinted to throw enemies off, and his economical headbutt is one of the few bashes that does damage directly without requiring a follow-up attack.
• Stout Strength: The big fatties that are Shugokis can lift up everyone in a bear hug, from the heavily-armored Lawbringers to other Shugoki. The "Mountain" execution involves them crushing an opponent's head with their bare hands, helmet or not, and the "Shugoki Smash" execution involves them pounding an opponent into the ground with a hammerfist to the head, again helmet or not, then grabbing them by the leg and slamming them into the ground one-handed, regardless of size.
• Support Party Member: The Shugoki is a nightmare when teamed up with another player, due to the number of slow unblockable attacks he can unleash that can blindside a distracted player. In addition, if he can catch someone in his Demon's Embrace, they're still vulnerable to other attacks while he's performing the back-breaker, meaning that even if the Embrace isn't enough to kill the target, the hits from other opponents likely will.
• Use Your Head: The Shugoki can perform a headbutt after any opening attack or during a forward/side-dodge that interrupts the opponent and deals small damage, and is a key part of his "disabler" fighting style, allowing him to easily prevent opponents from taking their turn.
• Victory by Endurance: The Shugoki's shtick - his Uninterruptible Stance allows him to hit you with powerful attacks and be sure he's the one who wins out while you trade hits with him. He's also the only hero in the game that can heal off of their basic moveset from Demon's Embrace... if he hits you with it, at least.
• Wrestler in All of Us: The Shugoki does a variant with sumo wrestling with an emote that has him do a sumo wrestling's signature foot stomp before the start of a match, and an impressive Bear Hug as a powerful move.

Nobushi

Voiced in Japanese by: Romi Park

"Nobushi: elegant aggressive fighters with the lightest of armors and the most exotic of weapons: the naginata. They seem hardly battle-ready, but looks, in this case, are profoundly deceiving."

Type: Hybrid
Weapon: Naginata

The Nobushi are the defenders of the villages too far from the Imperial City for the army to reach. They are elegant fighters with a curious weapon. They have the lightest armor that allows them to move like the wind but cannot take a lot of damage. But don’t let their appearance fool you, they are one of the most effective fighters the Samurai have.

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• Animal Motif: Snakes, as shown in her combos, Poke the Nest, Hiss and Bite, and Death Rattle Form.
• Badass Long Coat: Every Nobushi wears a thigh-length coat.
• Crippling Overspecialization: Nobushi's complete reliance on light attacks to get opponents bleeding leaves her prone to being simply stalled out by being blocked or worse light parried for massive damage by players who know their way around fighting her, making her a bit of a downplayed Skill Gate Character, who can still ruin your day if you're not careful.
• Damage Over Time: The Nobushi is one of two base game classes able to inflict bleed damage on enemies, getting her opponents bleeding through long reaching light attacks.
• Foil: To the Lawbringer. Both are Polearm-wielders who defend the innocent when other, regular means of law enforcement have failed, but the Lawbringer is a heavily armored male-only Mighty Glacier sent by their Dreaded Order, while the Nobushi is a female-only lithe Fragile Speedster whose origins are Shrouded in Myth.
• Fragile Speedster: The Nobushi's low Assassin-class health pool is offset by her long range allowing her to engage from a distance her enemies can't and her crafty dodge techniques that can be used to weave in and out of an enemy's attacks while poking them to death or simply to make enough space to force the enemy to close the gap.
• Glass Cannon: Especially with her Way of the Shark passive which increases the damage she does to bleeding opponents by 20%, meaning she can deal absolutely horrific damage, but her Assassin-class health pool means she has to use her dodging and long range to the fullest extent.
• Long-Range Fighter: As long range as For Honor gets, Nobushi uniquely can fight at longer ranges than the entire rest of the cast, being able to stand far enough away from enemies that she can safely poke enemies with hyper armor and still be out of range of their attacks, all thanks in no small part to actually using her naginata for thrusting attacks.
• Naginatas Are Feminine: The Nobushi is a female gender-locked class that wields a naginata.
• Shrouded in Myth: Despite being well known for protecting those in the borderlands of the Dawn Empire, no one really knows that much about them.
• We Help the Helpless: The Nobushi protect those who live beyond the samurai's protection.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: A more subtle version. The game doesn't focus much on it, but the Nobushi does have an air of Japanese elegance, especially since she wields a naginata, and one of her taunts is a 'proper bow'. Also in stark contrast to more practical hairstyles worn by other female characters in the game, she has an elaborate Shimada-esque hairstyle under her hat.

Shinobi

"Theirs was a secret society. Even we Samurai were not sure they actually existed or if they were just a myth until they came out of the shadows. Shinobi."

Type: Assassin
Weapon: Twin Kusarigama

The Shinobi are silent warriors able to move with a dancer’s grace and kill with precision thanks to a lifetime of disciplined training. They wield the traditional Japanese Kusarigama.

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• Aloof Ally: They've appeared after centuries of hiding, without word or warning, to fight their people's enemies.
• Chained by Fashion: Their default outfit has chains wrapped around their forearms.
• Cool Mask: The Shinobi wears a sanjaku-tenugui to cover their face.
• Dual Wielding: Uses a pair of kusarigama.
• Eyepatch of Power: Some gear sets have their hachimaki covering an eye.
• Foil: To the Aramusha, who they happen to share an order with. They are silent assassins who work from the shadows, whereas the Aramusha are brash enforcers and bodyguards working openly for the more powerful Samurai houses.
• Lightning Bruiser: Prior to their rework, Shinobi were incredibly squishy with the lowest health pool of all the heroes, and were incredibly reliant on dodging and underhanded tactics to get out of a fight alive. Now though Shinobi has the standard assassin health total and has gained a plethora of tools to pressure opponents with bash/undodgeable 50/50s, a large amount of safe dodge options with built-in mixups to keep opponents guessing while also nimbly avoiding damage during fights and some of the most dangerous and damaging counter attacks of the entire cast.
• Martial Arts Headband: Wears one by default.
• Ninja: Compared to the Orochi, they look a lot more like traditional ninja portrayals.
• Ninja Log: One of the Shinobi's signatures invokes this trope, having them vanish in a puff of smoke and leaving a log behind on the victory screen.
• Ninja Run: Naturally. During their "super sprint" ability they run with their chest low and arms stretched wide behind them.
• Shrouded in Myth: The Shinobi have been in hiding for so long that they were considered to be little more than a legend among the Samurai. If it weren't for the weapons they wield, the Samurai wouldn't have been sure they shared a common origin at all.
• Sinister Scythe: Carries a pair of Kusarigama, or chain sickles.
• Smoke Out: The Shinobi disappears in a cloud of smoke during their "double dodge" ability. Appearing a bit further away.
• Speed Echoes: They cause them while using Super Sprint.

Aramusha

"They join this war not out of duty or command. They join because they are elite warriors in search of their own destiny, a destiny stained red with the blood of those in their way."

Type: Hybrid
Weapon: Dual Wakizashi

The Aramusha is a Samurai fallen from grace. They are not silent nor elegant but they move with the precision of a predatory cat and waste no movements. Their dual blades make short work of any who stand against them.

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• Aloof Ally: He may be fighting on the same side as the rest of the Samurai characters, but much like the Shinobi his motivations are all his own.
• Badass Long Coat: A few of his higher tier armors give him one.
• Combos: The Aramusha is unique in that he only possesses a single attack chain. However, this chain can be continued endlessly as long as the pattern is followed. His sprint attack and forward dash attacks are also considered chain starters, giving him numerous openers to start his assault.
• Confusion Fu: A master of this. Most of his attacks can be feinted, while a few can be canceled into light attacks from another direction. You can also switch between heavy and light attacks freely during his infinite chain to keep the opponent guessing.
• Cool Mask: Like Kensei and Orochi, Aramusha also wears various types of mempo when equipped with different headgear. Most of his mempo designs resemble oni faces.
• Counter-Attack: Blocking an attack with "Blade Barricade" allows him to counter with a stunning pommel strike, push his opponent back with a kick, make a fast top-heavy attack, or an unblockable side heavy.
• Defector from Decadence: Word of God states that the treachery and greed of their master's house led the Aramusha to abandon his oaths.
• Difficult, but Awesome: It takes quite a bit of skill with cancels, feints, and timing to make the most of his strengths. A good Aramusha will be stringing together a merciless chain of heavy and light attacks while feinting into guard-breaks and canceling into light attacks.
• Dual Wielding: They are mainly armed with two Wakizashis in combat.
• Foil: He could be seen as one to several other characters.
  • To the Shinobi, who they happen to share an order with. They are the brash enforcers and bodyguards working openly for the more powerful Samurai houses, whereas the Shinobi are silent assassins who work from the shadows.
  • While the Aramusha began as an elite warrior in the upper class before falling from grace, the Conqueror started at the bottom as an expendable foot soldier and worked their way to the top. The Aramusha uses fast strikes and misdirection to overwhelm his foes, while the Conqueror relies on a stout defense and crushing counter blows.
  • Most of all to the Kensei, proud leaders who embody Bushido and are seen as the ideal Samurai. Wearing heavy armor and wielding a massive Nodachi, focusing on three-hit combos. While the Aramusha is a Rōnin and loner that follows his own path, wearing no armor and carrying a pair of shorter Wakizashis. Using an infinite chain of fast attacks.
• Handwraps of Awesome: His hands and lower forearms are wrapped in cloth.
• Hired Guns: They work as mercenaries.
• How the Mighty Have Fallen: Their current situation could be seen as this, having once been noble warriors and enforcers of powerful lords, and now aimless mercenaries selling their services for coin.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Does one during his "Bare Hand Beat Down" execution.
• No Shirt, Long Jacket: He wears his coat open with no shirt in his default appearance and a few armors.
• Not in This for Your Revolution: The Aramusha is not fighting out of commitment or duty, but rather following his own path, and killing whoever happens to be standing in the way.
• Oral Fixation: He's chewing on what appears to be a piece of reed or wheat.
• Reverse Grip: Holds one of his swords like this in the pre-match load screen.
• Rōnin: Aramusha once served the most prestigious of lords, but no longer, wandering the land as sellswords. According to Word of God they're based on ronin, drawing inspiration from classic samurai movies.
• Sarashi: He wears one under some of his coats.
• Scarf of Asskicking: Wears one in his default look, and sports a few different ones on his other chest armors.
• Serrated Blade of Pain: Quite a few of his high tier swords have notches and serrated edges.
• Shown Their Work:
  • The Aramusha has numerous tattoos across his torso and arms, similar to those of a Yakuza. Many ronin who failed to find a new lord would turn to crime, falling in with such groups, and the Aramusha has indeed joined the same order the Shinobi is from, acting as their enforcer.
  • Rather than carrying two full-sized katanas the Aramusha employs shorter wakizashi. When dual-wielding with a katana it was rarely with two, but rather one in tandem with a wakizashi.
• Smoke Out: He briefly vanishes in a cloud of smoke during his sprint attack, an ability he shares with the Shinobi.
• Unflinching Walk: One of his executions, “Think Fast,” involves shattering a jar of flammable liquid on his opponent and then flicking a lit match over his shoulder as he casually walks away.

Hitokiri

“I offer you peace and salvation. Be not afraid... your soul is now mine!”

Type: Heavy
Weapon: Masakari

Hitokiri take their name from the word "manslayers". They are ghostly warriors who roam the land searching for criminals to execute with their deadly Masakari axe. On the battlefield, they spread terror to any opponent foolish enough to confront them.

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• Artistic License – Military: Real-life masakari are single-sided, however, the Hitokiri's was given two blades to make them stand out.
• Creepy Doll: The Hitokiri carry numerous doll heads, which they believe to contain the souls of their slain enemies.
• Despair Event Horizon: Inverted. While many executioners cross it performing their duties, Sakura actually found a sense of purpose and meaning in removing criminals from the world. Played straight with the other Hitokiri, who are said to have lost all faith in humanity.
• Difficult, but Awesome: Their tier 4 feat “Senbonzakura” has a long animation which makes it easy to dodge, but can one-shot anyone if it connects.
• The Dreaded: Their mere presence spreads fear to any opponent who tries to confront them.
• I Am the Noun: They say "I am the Reaper" or "I am the Death God" in Japanese when executing their kick.
• Immune to Flinching: Almost as famous as Shugoki and Berserker for it, with an entire moveset built around uninterruptible attacks.
• Judge, Jury, and Executioner: Similarly to the Lawbringers, they roam around looking for criminals to execute with their axe.
  • The Hitokiri's feats really emphasis the "Executioner" part, giving them additional bonuses upon executing enemies. These include gaining a shield and being uninterruptible while performing an execution, causing allies to gain health upon completion of one, and gaining damage resistance until they are killed after successfully executing someone.
• Malevolent Masked Man: Even more so than the other samurai. The Hitokiri's masks are meant to invoke a sense of cold lack of emotion to unnerve their enemies.
• One-Hit Kill: “Senbonzakura” hits the target for 200 damage, enough to kill anyone in one hit, unless they have a shield or defense buff. It can be dodged, however.
• Recruiting the Criminal: Rather than executing Sakura for her crimes, the master kensei who defeated her saw potential, and allowed her live on the condition that she fight for the samurai.
• Serial Killer: Sakura became one after losing her mind.
• Token Evil Teammate: They're executioners who are feared even by their own allies, and are said to have lost all faith in humanity.
• Voice of the Legion: Sakura's voice echoes in a ghostly way in the reveal trailer.
• Where I Was Born and Razed: Sakura was born in the town of Kaidan, which is where the Canopy map takes place. When she returned to execute a criminal something caused her to lose her mind and kill everyone there.
• Your Soul Is Mine!: The Hitokiri believe that they steal the souls of their opponents after killing them.

Kyoshin

"The ability to choose and adapt... to be neither or both. To breathe and fight like the wind. This is our freedom."

Type: Hybrid
Weapon: Shikomizue Blade and Scabbard

Outcasts believed to be anointed by the gods, the Kyoshin train as priests in a hidden monastery. For years, they were believed to be myths and hid in plain sight, but the onset of the Great Drought has forced them into the open.

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• Always Accurate Attack: Kyoshin chain finishers cannot be dodged — they must be blocked or parried.
• Blade Spam: Kyoshin have an attack where they hit an opponent five times if the first strike connects.
• Blind Weaponmaster: Word of God is that this is the archetype the Kyoshin was based upon. Their base outfit invokes this by having one of their eyes covered by a headband, making them half blind by choice.
• Character Title: They are the titular characters of the "Visions of the Kyoshin" event, where they first debuted as spectral entities found on the field.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Appeared as spectral figures in the "Visions of the Kyoshin" event, who persisted after the event ended until their full release one month later.
• Dual Wielding: They use both sword and scabbard in combat.
• Legacy Character: They are this to General Tozen, making use of his blade twirling all-guard stance and his spinning kick, as well as being the explanation for Tozen's Doppelgänger Attack, as some Kyoshin could choose to become Tozen's Shadows, altering their appearances to become identical to the general. Likewise, Kyoshin has access to Tozen's armor as part of their customization options, unfortunately sans Tozen's helmet.
• Reverse Grip: Kyoshin wield their blades in both traditional and reverse grip.
• Single-Stroke Battle: One of Kyoshin's executions uses this, performing a Flash Step and slicing the opponents neck before dramatically sheathing their sword, at which point the victim collapses, decapitated.
• Sheath Strike: The Kyoshin weaponizes their scabbard for many of their attacks and executions.
• Shrouded in Myth: Like the Shinobi, the Kyoshin existed in secret and were thought to be little more than a myth before revealing themselves.
• Spectacular Spinning: The Kyoshin twirl their swords as their all-guard stance, derived from Tozen's similar technique. Their sword twirling is even strong enough to have superior block properties; in addition their Fujin Force attack is a spinning slash that also has superior block properties.
• Sword Cane: The Shikomizue is a sword whose scabbard looks deceptively like a cane.
• Uniformity Exception: So far, the Kyoshin is the only hero who has a sheath for their blade, although this is mostly because it is a part of their fighting style.

Warborn (Viking) Classes

In General

“The world fears us. We are the favored of the gods. We plunder new lands. We raid and we grow strong. We live for battle, ready to die in glory.”

A faction with a marked similarity to Vikings, hailing from Valkenheim. They are known for rage and traps.

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• Bear Trap: Weaponized by the Warborn as a tier two feat for their various classes.
• Blood Knight: Vikings live for battle, and death in battle is their ticket to Valhalla.
• Brutish Character, Brutish Weapon: Axe-wielding classes are common among the Warborn, such as the Raider, who uses a long-handled Dane Axe as their primary weapon, and the Berserker, who dual-wields one-handed axes.
• Exposed to the Elements: Despite living in the icy mountains of Valkenheim, which are even colder now that a volcanic winter has settled over them, many Viking classes wear limited clothing, with the Raider being the most extreme case. Only the Warlord wears a full set of warm clothing, with the Berserker and Valkyrie wearing far less than you'd expect for a frigid mountainous homeland.
• Horns of Barbarism: The Raider and the Valkyrie can wear helmets adorned with a variety of different horns. The Warlord and the Berseker don't have these options, but make up for it with equally impractical helmet ornamentations like the ever-classic wings.
• Horny Vikings: A pseudo-Norse people hailing from the Grim Up North, notable for their battle rages and horned helmets and with a class outright named "Valkyrie". The Valkyrie and Warlord fight with relatively realistic weapons with such attitudes while the Berserker and Raider fit the classic "big angry people with axes" imagery more.
• Fighting for a Homeland: The Warborn seek to reclaim their ancestral lands from the Legions.
• Poor Communication Kills: In the single-player campaign, they have very little interaction with the main plot outside of the attempt to invoke Divide and Conquer, meaning that they never find out about the Chosen/Legion truce and Apollyon's deceptions until after they negated the Keystone Army effect of her death.
• Made a Slave: Apollyon mentions in one Observable that the Warborn turn their captives into slaves.
• Nemean Skinning: Furs and pelts are abundant among the Viking’s armor.
• Shock and Awe: The faction-specific effect for Vikings is for electricity to run through them or their enemies during specific animations.
• Shrouded in Myth: Apollyon notes in an observable that the Vikings had disappeared for centuries before reappearing a few hundred years ago. Where or what happened to them in the interim is a complete mystery.
• Smarter Than You Look:
  • Both Apollyon and Mercy note that despite the Vikings being seen by the Legions as little more than violent invaders, they're actually quite clever. They have some impressive feats of engineering such as a massive mountainside elevator, as well as advanced siege weaponry like ballistae and grappling-rope launchers.
  • Apollyon also notes that, despite the Vikings being a violent and brutal society, they have a very tight set of alliances and friendship within their clans, and they have a tightly linked trade and farming network that moves their food and seed grain to safe winter storehouses. The entire reason why she uses a massive ram (which takes an entire fortnight to construct) on the final Viking fortress is so they can knock down the gate immediately, because the Vikings’ communications network and strategic mobility means that if the siege lasts more than a day, the entire Blackstone Legion would be overwhelmed by the number of Vikings that would sail down the rivers to reinforce their brethren.
  • This even extends to multiplayer maps: the maps that often have the most sophisticated siege equipment or defensive layouts are often the Viking-themed ones. The fortresses are often made of wood, but they either have very well-designed defensive layouts (like the Gauntlet) or huge and sophisticated siege equipment (in River Fort). High Fort also features a massive castle on the scale of anything that the Legions or Dawn Empire can build as well, showing that they're just as good at architecture as their more “civilized" rivals.
• Spanner in the Works: Their assault of Apollyon’s castle after her death basically ruins the Enemy Mine between the Iron Legion and Chosen, as they mistake their attack for a betrayal by the other side.
• Sword and Fist: The Warborn fighting style is distinctly more physical than that of the Legion or Chosen, often using grappling moves and knee attacks.
• Trick Bomb: The Fire Flask is a common tier four feat among the Vikings.
• The Usual Adversaries: The Vikings are the typical enemy the Legions fight and are an opponent across all three campaigns. Five of the six Knights campaign missions, two of the Viking missions, and two of the Samurai missions involve fighting them, and they’re noted as still raiding Ashfield long after the Blackstones burn their food and the Raider sacks Koto. They also break the truce between the Iron Legion and Dawn Empire armies when they attack both sides during the siege of the Shard.
• We ARE Struggling Together: According to Apollyon the Vikings have always fought each other far more than they do the Knights and Samurai. The establishment of clan alliances and closely-linked merchant trade was a relatively new phenomenon among them, which led to them becoming more aggressive and attacking Ashfeld more frequently as an outlet for their culture's need to fight.

Berserker

Voiced in English by: Patrick Seitz (Male) and Erin Fitzgerald (Female)

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Circe Luna (Female)

Voiced in Japanese by: Jiro Sato (Male) and Kanon Tobori (Female)

"Berserkers. Wild, free, and utterly without fear."

Type: Assassin
Weapon: Dual hand axes

Berserkers are chaotic and brutal dual-axe-wielding Vikings. Their savage love of combat strikes fear into the hearts of most, friend and foe. The Berserker fights relentlessly, capable of vanquishing foes before they can mount a decent defense. Unconcerned with their personal safety, they care little for their own defense, focusing instead on killing as many enemies as they can.

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• Attack! Attack! Attack!: Being The Berserker and whatnot, Berserkers are relentless fighters more concerned about killing opponents than they are on personal safety which is reflected in gameplay, having poor ability to hold up blocking but devastating infinite chain combos.
• The Berserker: Besides the name, their use of minimal armor, fury in combat, and role as the Warborn’s Assassin class encourages this playstyle.
• Cool Mask: Their default headgear resembles a metallic Domino Mask.
• Confusion Fu: Despite their aggressive playstyle, Berserkers are capable of doing some very crafty feints and mixups which allow them to further keep their enemies on their toes as they try to predict and defend against the Berserker’s random onslaughts.
• Dangerously Close Shave: An idle animation for the Berserker is rubbing one of their axe blades against their own throat in an implied shaving motion.
• Dual Wielding: Wield a pair of single-hand axes in battle.
• Fragile Speedster: Subverted as they are uniquely the only Assassin in the game with a base health of 130 compared to the typical 120 and has hyper-armor baked into basically their entire moveset, one that's basically designed to press the offensive instead of dancing around the enemy.
• Immune to Flinching: Their chains cannot be interrupted by enemy attacks once they’ve already got in a hit. Their Head Crusher and Slashing Rush attacks also have this property automatically.
• Spin Attack: Their dodge attacks, zone attacks, Slashing Rush, the ending attacks of their chains has them do a reverse spin first… many fans regard the Berserker as Spin Attack: The Class.

Raider

Voiced in English By: Travis Willingham (Male) and Sarah Elmaleh (Female)

Voiced in Japanese by: Masafumi Kimura (Male) and Atsuko Yuya (Female)

“Sometimes a Viking is born who carries the spark of gods: Raiders, we call them. It is a name that can summon armies. Ruthless, fearless, made for battle.”

Type: Vanguard
Weapon: Dane axe

Fighting with heavy two-handed Dane axes, Raiders are always found at the forefront of the Viking horde. They cover themselves with tattoos – souvenirs from past battles. These fierce warriors embody the ideals of true Viking warriors: bravery, integrity, and passion. All know that their moment of death has already been chosen, and so they do not fear it. Of course, they all intend to bring as many foes with them as they can.

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• Braids of Barbarism: The default hairstyle for Raiders, though this can change with Character Customization.
• Combos: Enforced Trope for the Raider's Fury move - you can use it all on its own...but its damage will basically be the same as a light attack if it's not used after a chain of attacks.
• Covered in Scars: Raiders go even further by having a good amount of freshly-red and mostly-superficial-looking cuts over their arms and torso too. The female Raider also has a Rugged Scar over her lower lip toward her chin.
• The Fatalist: Raiders believe that their death is decided by fate, and as a result don't bother with armor and are utterly fearless in battle.
• Foe-Tossing Charge: One of the Raider's signature moves is a charge that picks up a target and carries them while throwing aside other enemies nearby. If the charge's path hits a wall or object, the Raider slams their opponent down and knees them in the face for high damage while also leaving the victim open to attacks from any of the Raider's nearby alies, while if it reaches a ledge or wall spikes, the Raider hurls them off for fatal damage.
• Foil: Towards the Warlord. Both are leaders amongst the Vikings, but while the Raider runs on typical Horny Vikings traits and rally others through reputation and mythicism, the Warlord more closely resembles historic Vikings and leads through acknowledged prowess and tradition.
• Horny Vikings: Notably while ornament customization allows this for all Viking classes, it is enforced on them by not being able to turn off ornaments on their armor. The male Raider also plays the stereotype to a hilt - with his horned helmet, Beard of Barbarism and sculpted bare chest of blue woad and mystical tattoos
• Geo Effects: Many players' early experience with Raiders are seeing one run in, pick them up, and toss them off a ledge or into environmental hazards.
• Lightning Bruiser: Possibly the best example of one in For Honor. His attacks hits like a train, his heavy attacks have hyper armor and he is really fast as well.
• Neck Lift: The Raider can do this when killing Mooks, picking one up by the neck and tossing them aside.
• Neck Snap: The appropriately titled “Necksnapper” Execution forces the Raider's opponent to their knees to have their neck snapped by hand.
• Skeletons in the Coat Closet:
  • The default attire for the Raider includes several femurs strung together and hanging from the belt.
  • Possible helmet customization is a helmet with a skull mask, possibly made from an actual skull.
• Spin Attack: Their unblockable zone attack starts with them doing a reverse spin toward their right before they swing their axe to the opposite direction.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: Male Raiders only have pauldron straps over top their chests, despite living in the freezing Valkenheim. Female Raiders just add a colored strip of cloth over their breasts. Female Raiders have a similar style as their male counterparts, but have a wrap of cloth over their breasts.
• Wrestler in All of Us: Shown in two executions - the "Viking Press Backbreaker" and the Chokeslam.

Warlord

Voiced in English by: Fred Tatasciore

Voiced in Japanese by: Hiroshi Shirokuma

“To become a warlord means service to all who need it, for life. They are the shield of our people… and they will not fall.”

Type: Heavy
Weapon: Gladius and shield

Warlords are not born into leadership. They’ve had to earn it through blood, sweat, and steel. To be a Warlord means a life of service to their people. Their shield protects those who cannot fight – their sword will cut down those who would attempt to cause their people harm. Their fighting style is simple yet brutal. You will always find them leading the charge.

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• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Warlords gain their rank through valor in battle.
• Foil: Towards the Raider. Both are leaders amongst the Vikings, but while the Raider runs on typical Horny Vikings traits and rally others through reputation and mythicism, the Warlord more closely resembles historic Vikings and leads through acknowledged prowess and tradition.
• Frontline General: “A leader who does not lead the charge is no leader at all.”
• I Can Still Fight!: “Auto Revive” is a passive tier four feat that allows Warlords to revive from non-Execution defeats without external help.
• Lightning Bruiser: His “Rush" feat gives him a large movement speed boost, making him faster than an assassin for a short time. “Fury” provides a similar movement bonus, but nowhere near as fast.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: The Warlord uses a round shield in tandem with a gladius.
• Made of Iron: His “Flesh Wounds” and “Tough As Nails” feats give him passive damage resistance and increased maximum health respectively. A Warlord with both can turn into a borderline Damage-Sponge Boss, and when combined with “Auto Revive” can even get back up if he wasn’t executed.
• Neck Snap: The Warlord gets in on this quite a bit through his executions, either breaking his victim's neck with brutal shield bashes or taking it into his own hands with a headlock-neck snap.
• Nemean Skinning: Several of his chest armors have pelts on them.
• Shield Bash: Warlords can rush opponents with their shield, similar to the Raider, and utilize it in several Execution moves.
• Shown Their Work: Viking swords are in fact derived from Roman swords such as the gladius and spatha, obtained through trade.
• Simple, yet Awesome: Their sword and shield combo aren’t as visually impressive as some of the other weapons and styles, but no less effective.
• Use Your Head: The crux of Warlord's offense is to headbutt his opponent when they least expect it and stab them, as otherwise he's completely lacking in unblockable attacks or any real dangerous mixups.
• We Help the Helpless: Warlords are honor-bound to help anyone who needs it, for life.
• Wrestler in All of Us: He uses a falling elbow drop with his shield in one execution (named "The Viking's Elbow"), as well as John Cena’s Attitude Adjustment in another. Clotheslining his opponent before snapping their neck with a headlock in his Season 4 execution.

Valkyrie

Voiced in English by: Nika Futterman

Voiced in Japanese by: U-ko Tachibana

“The Valkyries - a warrior order who have made a deal with the gods. Each one can earn glory for our fallen dead.”

Type: Hybrid
Weapon: Spear and shield

The Valkyries have made a deal with the gods. They will fight and earn glory so that those who can’t will be counted in the halls of Valhalla. They are scouts and trackers who use their spears and shields to deadly effect. They are chosen by the gods – hope you never encounter one on the battlefield.'']

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• Amazon Brigade: The order of Valkyries is made up solely of women.
• Army Scout: Apart from fighting, the Valkyries also serve as scouts. This is displayed in Runa’s gameplay sections.
• Bargain with Heaven: Their purpose, to earn glory for those who can’t, is based on a deal with the gods.
• Braids of Action: Sports a particularly impressive one, which in later helmets can also be changed from the default blonde to various shades of red.
• Damage Over Time: While not focused on this, the Valkyrie is the only base-game Viking class to be able to inflict this — dodging into a side attack and following it up with a heavy attack will inflict bleed on an enemy.
• Duel Boss: An unnamed Valkyrie is the boss of Chapter 1.2, whom the Warden fights one on one.
• Fragile Speedster: Despite being the hybrid class, Valkyries are very lightly armored and can’t take a lot of hits instead relying on specialized counter moves to stay out of harm’s way as well as initiate combos.
• Groin Attack: Her first response to having her breasts groped is to kick the one responsible between the legs.
• Horny Vikings: Like the Raider, it is enforced on them as while they have ornaments that lack horns by default they must make use of an ornament that adds horns to their helmets.
• The Order: The Valkyries are part of an order dedicated to gaining honor for those who died outside of battle, though they get to personally choose who they bring honor for.
• Shield Bash: The Valkyrie’s special ability is using their shield to attack.
• Valkyries: As per their name, they choose who their acquired glory goes to, thus choosing who gets to go to Valhalla.
• Spin Attack: The Valkyrie’s Spear Sweep knocks enemies down after a reverse spin of their spear sweeps past the opponent's feet.
• Thanks for the Mammary: During the old No Touching execution, the opponent accidentally grabs her breasts before getting kicked between the legs and bashed over the head with her shield.
• Use Your Head: She can headbutt her opponent not only in combat, but also in a couple of her executions. Judgement Call begins with her pulling the opponent into a headbutt. During Get The Horns she grabs the opponent by the shoulder and straight up headbutts him to death.

Highlander

“Like the rocks that break the waves, Highlanders have weathered many storms. Ancient alliances have kept their lands safe, but their oaths have come due.”

Type: Hybrid
Weapon: Claymore

The Highlander is not a typical hard-headed Viking. Ancient alliances and obligations have pulled them into this war otherwise they would have remained guarding their homelands. They can stay in a defensive posture and stand toe to toe with the fiercest of warriors, weathering the flurry of blows with their claymore, until they see a momentary weakness and then they pounce!

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• An Arm and a Leg: Chops one of his opponent’s arms clean off in one execution.
• Badass Boast: The Highlander's “Dunmaglass!” shout when switching to Offensive Stance is one, as it references the estate and war cry of Clan MacGillivray, whose motto is “Touch not the cat without a glove.” This also counts as an internal shout-out, as the lead writer for the game is a MacGillivray.
• Battle Thralls: The Vikings conquered the Highlander’s territory long ago, forcing them to fight for them.
• BFS: Wields a mighty claymore, even bigger and heavier than the Warden’s long sword.
• Brave Scot: The Highlander is a heroic warrior and also has a notable Scottish accent in his trailer.
• Difficult, but Awesome: The Highlander is a lot of things. His most obvious traits are the fact that he's as slow as the Shugoki and can only increase his speed by using the Tier 1 Rush feat compared to Shugo' who has the super sprint, he has lower than average health at 125 compared to other heavy/heavy-style hybrid heroes and has an absolutely atrocious stamina economy that makes performing mix-ups incredibly risky. But, thanks to his heavy-class perks, offensive stance and a particular bug that allows him to cancel the recovery of his offensive stance dodges by swapping the direction of his guard, in the right hands he becomes a straight Lightning Bruiser who can dance through all manner of attacks and shrug off any attacks that do land with perks like Bastion, Bulk Up or Last Stand.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Before the class was even announced, the hostile Viking captains in the campaign carried claymores and wore tartans, hinting at their existence.
• Foil: In contrast to most of the other Viking classes, the Highlander is cautious and calculating, as well as patient and stoic. Even the Warlords are passionate and furious in battle, but the Highlander remains calm and controlled.
• Glass Cannon: He's this outside of 4v4 modes where he lacks access to defensive perks such as Bastion or Bulk Up, where his 125 health makes using his hyper armor and offensive stance risky.
• Gondor Calls for Aid: The Highlanders are not natives to Valkenheim, but they have long-standing oaths to fight for their Warborn overlords when the time comes.
• Mechanically Unusual Fighter: Stance System not withstanding, the Highlander is completely incapable of successfully landing heavy attacks after a guard break or light attack parry. He is however capable of transitioning into offensive stance upon a light parry or after a guard break throw that wall-splats, from which an offensive stance heavy attack will be successful.
• Stab the Sky: Does a fairly restrained one with his claymore in one emote.
• Stance System: The Highlander by default holds the defensive stance while in combat retaining most typical combat abilities such as blocking and parrying and possesses crushing counter light attacks and hyper armored heavy attacks. By holding the heavy attack input from neutral, after an attack or after parrying or throwing an enemy Highlander can enter offensive stance, where he completely loses the ability to block and parry so long as he holds the stance, but gains access to quick pommel jabs that aren't deflected on a normal block and are lightning fast allowing him to overwhelm his opponents before going for a more decisive attack or simply jab them out of the windups of their own attacks.
• The Stoic: Highlanders are described as very patient and stoic warriors, waiting for the most opportune moment to strike.
• Shown Their Work: The Highlander’s fighting style is based heavily on maintaining his center of balance; virtually every stance he takes is done so in order to ensure his center of balance is on his body, because even with superhuman strength, holding it in any remotely normal greatsword fighting stance would cause him to fall over. The very few known examples of fighting styles and stances with weapons as hilariously large as the Highlander’s blade show similar positioning so the weapon’s wielder can stand with such an immensely heavy weapon without falling.
• Sword Drag: Used while in his Offensive stance.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: While they fight for the Warborn they are still mad at how their people have been oppressed and forced into service by their Viking masters. The first part of Season 3’s name, “Grudge and Glory”, owes to this bitter resentment.

Shaman

“They scream the name of those next to die. She will use her hatchet and dagger to cut bodies down and then she will use her hands. They are louder now. The voices overwhelming. They won't stop. They won’t stop until all lay dead.”

Type: Assassin
Weapon: Hatchet and Dagger

The Shaman’s solitary existence has made her insane but don’t let her erratic behavior fool you, she is one of the deadliest warriors alive and she will feast on your bones.

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• Achilles' Heel: A hero with the Thick Blood feat can neuter one of her most damaging attacks, since it prevents bleeding effects.
• Ax-Crazy: She makes the Berserker look comparatively sane with her bloodlust and tearing into her opponents with her teeth, which is saying something.
• Battle Thralls: Like the Highlander, the Shaman hails from one of the far-off lands the Warborn subjugated. Unlike the Highlander, she seems far more eager to shed blood in their service…
• Blood Lust: One of the Shaman’s unique traits is that she can execute a special finisher attack on a bleeding foe, tackling them to the ground and tearing into them with her teeth. She also regains health when attacking bleeding targets.
• Damage Over Time: She can apply bleed effects similar to the Peacekeeper's poison.
• Dual Wielding: Wields both a hatchet and dagger.
• Go Mad from the Isolation: Long periods of solitude have left the Shaman dangerously unhinged.
• Healing Factor: She heals when damaging bleeding targets, and when successfully executing her tackle and bite.
• Hearing Voices: Hears voices in her head that can only be quelled by killing her enemies.
• I'm a Humanitarian: She can pounce on bleeding and wounded enemies and tear out their throats with her teeth, swallowing flesh while doing so.
• Kukris Are Kool: Her dagger appears to be based off a kukri.
• Loners Are Freaks: Lives alone and happens to be a mentally-disturbed cannibal.
• Primal Stance: Shamans move in a low crouch and will shoulder check enemies as a sprint attack.
• Slasher Smile: She puts one on during her idle animation.

Jörmungandr

“Jörmungandr, RISE!! Bring your wrath! Ragnarok comes!”

Type: Heavy
Weapon: War Hammer

Members of a Sectarian Viking cult that worships the legendary World Serpent, the Jörmungandr cull the weak before the battle of Ragnarök to ensure only the strong battle in the war to come.

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• Animal Motif: Snakes. The first Jörmungandr were people afflicted with a skin deformity following the Great Cataclysm that gave them a snake-like scaling, and part of their rite of passage involves burning the skin with acid to harden it with serpent scales.
• Cult: Members of the Jörmungandr class are devoted to worshipping the legendary serpent of the same name.
• Foil: To Centurion. They both punish severely by beating the stamina out of their opponents and deliver painful finishers when their opponents are knocked down. The Jörmungandr is slow and powerful that uses a simple combo moveset for stamina punishment, while the Centurion uses a mix-up of fast attacks combined with a variety of punches and kicks thrown in.
• Genuine Human Hide: They're rumored to use human bone and leather for their clothing.
• Groin Attack: Though their hammer strike against fallen opponents is supposed to hit the stomach or chest, in practice, it tends to land a little... lower.
• Hammer Hilt: The Jormungandr hero can kill an enemy by shoving the hilt of their hammer into the enemy's eye.
• Ironic Name: Their name being Jörmungandr. Now, when you name yourselves after a giant serpentine titan in Norse mythology that you worship, that's fine. But when you wield the same type of weapon in battle that was used by the God of Thunder, said god being the greatest foe of your cult's snake god, that killed your deity, you kind of have to scratch your head for a second. This is intentional. The Jörmungandr believe that the world serpent has or will defeat Thor, and carry his weapon to symbolize their god's triumph over its ancient nemesis.
• Kick Them While They Are Down: In a similar manner to Centurion, they can bash their opponent to the ground in order to perform the Hammar Slam, a spinning slam that strikes their opponent square on the chest (or their lower regions).
• Recruitment by Rescue: Gretar, Hulda's male counterpart, was inspired to join the Jörmungandr after their unexpected intervention saved the army he was fighting in from being annihilated.
• Savage Piercings: The Jörmungandr are cultists of the World Serpent who seek to bring Ragnarök and are covered in piercings in their brows, ears, and noses.
• Screaming Warrior: Every attack and punch cries out with a reference to Norse mythos. Special mention goes to the male version, Gretar, especially when he lays down the hammer with, "RAGNARÖK!".
• Skeletons in the Coat Closet: According to the questline accompanying their release, the white powder used for their warpaint is made from the powdered bones of their victims.
• Snakes Are Sinister: They worship the great serpent of Norse mythology, Jörmungandr, a serpent beast whose body spans the entire world.
• Social Darwinist: They seemingly believe that only the strong are worthy to fight during Ragnarök. To this end, they will kill any they deem weak.
• Unblockable Attack: Any heavy attack they throw in a combo is unblockable.
• Wandering the Earth: The Jörmungandr travel far and wide, looking for signs that Ragnarök is coming.

Varangian Guard

"The oath bought and sold is worth no coin at all."

Type: Heavy
Weapon: Axe & Kite Shield

Vikings from beyond Heathmoor's lands, these warriors have flourished as steadfast and loyal to a fault mercenaries, willing to do whatever it takes to complete their client's goals.

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• Amazon Brigade: The Varangian Guard consists entirely of women, natch.
• Cadre of Foreign Bodyguards: The Varangian Guard are named and modeled after the historic Varangian Guard of the Byzantine Empire. In game, the Varangian Guard speaks a combination of Icelandic, reflecting their origins, and Greek, reflecting their historic role.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: The Varangians wear a kite shield on their left hand that can be used to assume the Oathkeeper stance, a brief superior block stance similar to Aramusha's, that upon successfully blocking an attack, can be followed up with a myriad of counter attacks.
• Private Military Contractors: They travel many lands working as mercenaries and axes-for-hire.
• Undying Loyalty: In direct contrast to its debut season's focus on treachery, the Varagnian Guard are all about loyalty and once sworn an oath, no bribe will ever change their minds.
• Use Your Head: A few moves feature headbutts.

Wu Lin (Ancient Chinese) Classes

In General

The Wu Lin are a faction of warriors akin to Ancient China. Four Wu Lin warriors now travel West seeking vengeance from war, betrayal, and personal tragedies. They fight to claim their rightful place in the next Dynasty.

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• Civil War: Their homeland became consumed in civil war after the great cataclysm, which has continued to rage for centuries, with no faction being strong enough to gain dominance and establish order. This was apparently made even worse later on when the Wu Lin homeland was attacked by remnants of the Blackstone Legion. The "Escape of the Emperor" special event showed that the Wu Lin's Emperor had to flee under a Blackstone siege, and was only saved by Sun Da using his mastery of pyrotechnics to delay and kill the Blackstone troops.
• Dance Battler: Downplayed but every character from their faction uses moves inspired by martial arts which involves a lot of twirling and wide moves. To drive the point home – they all have a dodge attack.
• Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Played straight by the Jiang Jun, Nuxia and Shaolin, who wear non-obscuring hats or headbands instead. Downplayed in the case of the Tiandi, who wear helmets that still have their faces fully exposed, and can be completely averted as every member of the Wu Lin eventually gains access to a helmet that completely obscures their face.
• Meaningful Name: One rendition of the faction’s name literally means "martial forest" (武林), which is a wuxia term for the martial arts community.
• Purple Is Powerful: The Wu Lin’s emblem color is purple, and they’re all skilled warriors.
• Stock Wushu Weapons: The faction is based on China and their weapons are all traditional arms, such as dao, gun, shuang go, guan dao and chang dao.
• Support Party Member: The Wu Lin’s heroes have a large number of team and support oriented feats among them. Such as increasing attack damage, or healing allies.
• Walking the Earth: All have traveled west due to turmoil in their homeland.
• Wuxia: Their aesthetic.

Tiandi

Type: Vanguard
Weapon: Dao

The Tiandi are loyal protectors to Kings, Queens, and Emperors. They are masters of the dao blade, the weapon of choice for these Royal Guards.

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• Always Accurate Attack: "Tiger Dodge" attacks cannot be dodged, meaning that they must be blocked or parried to avoid damage.
• Cast from Hit Points: Their “Sacrifice" feat costs 25% of their own health to activate.
• Comeback Mechanic: Many of the Tiandi’s feats are themed around this. Gaining passive bonuses when low on health, such as bonus damage, Life Drain, and a damage blocking shield.
• Combos: Specialize in chained attacks.
• Cool Sword: The Tiandi wields a Dao, a one-handed single-edged saber.
• Foil: To the Centurion, even if unintentionally. Both are enlisted, elite soldiers. Both possess similar default armor designs and weaponry, a single-handed blade supported by strong barehanded punches and kicks. The difference is that Centurion's style is brutal and efficient with straightforward power blows and combinations, while the Tiandi’s style is arrogant and flashy, with a great deal of unnecessary flourishing and impractical spins.
• Large Ham: They’re LOUD and considering each gender has four lines associated with four attacks, you’ll be hearing them around the map quite often.
• Life Drain: One of their feats causes them to gain this when their health drops low enough.
• Praetorian Guard: The Tiandi are royal guards and the sworn protectors of Kings, Queens, and Emperors.
• Punched Across the Room: Or rather kicked. One of the Tiandi’s special moves is an unblockable kick that will send the target flying if it connects. On the smaller scale, the Tiandi can use open fisted shoves as unblockable guard breaks.
• Reverse Grip: They carry their blade end up behind their shoulder in their idle and running stances.
• Sword and Fist: Much like the Centurion, the Tiandi make use of their empty hand to deliver unblockable palm strikes to opponents.
• Taking You with Me: Like the Peacekeeper they can equip the “Last Laugh” feat, which drops a bomb that has a chance of taking out their adversaries when killed.
• Tiger vs. Dragon: Alluded to in the Tiandi's movset — they have two different dodge attacks, Tiger and Dragon. Tiger dodge attacks are faster, cannot be dodged, and meant for chains, while Dragon dodge attacks hit harder but are slower to connect. Luckily, Dragon dodge attacks also employ Confusion Fu in the form of special wind-up animation that requires very specific timing to parry.

Nuxia

Type: Assassin
Weapon: Twin Hook Swords

The Nuxia are trained bodyguards and assassins who often disguised their talents through dance. They are deadly artists of the hook swords.

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• Bodyguard Babes: With so many men called to war, the Wu Lin’s nobility were forced to find others who could act as their bodyguards, training women like the Nuxia to fill their place.
• Cool Sword: The Nuxia wields Twin Hook Swords, a pair of swords that have a curved hook blade at the tip.
• Dance Battler: She incorporates many graceful dance moves into her fighting style.
• Defensive Feint Trap: Subverted, it’s actually an OFFENSIVE feint trap - she has a unique mechanic on her attack called ‘trap’ and they only hit if the enemy tries to block them.
• Dual Wielding: They wield dual hook swords, which they can hook together for longer reach.
• Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Nuxia means “female warrior”, and that’s what they are.
• The Exile: She was forced to flee China after the Roaring Rampage of Revenge mentioned below.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: When the general the Nuxia was guarding was killed she brutally hunted down and slaughtered all of his enemies in retaliation.
• Reverse Grip: The Nuxia typically wields her hookswords in this manner, slashing with the bladed handguards and puncturing with the spikes on the hilt rather than swinging them as blades.

Jiang Jun

Type: Heavy
Weapon: Guandao

The Jiang Jun are generals among the Ancient Chinese armies. They are wise leaders who have mastered the guandao, a polearm with a heavy blade on the end.

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• The Ace: The Jiang Jun is famous and renowned throughout China for never losing a battle.
• Acrofatic: Despite his age and size he moves with exceptional grace and form. His "Shifu's Poise" stance also increases stamina regeneration, letting him recover faster than many of his younger adversaries.
• Death Seeker: After a lifetime of war and battle the Jiang Jun now seeks only to face an opponent who can give him a worthy death.
• Dying Smirk: Not as pronounced but in reference to his DeathSeeker tendencies he lets out a small chuckle whenever you defeat him.
• Four-Star Badass: Jiang Jun (將軍) translates into "General", and they're fearsome warriors.
• Herd-Hitting Attack: All of the Jiang Jun's moves are zone attacks. He can also execute an unblockable one off of a parry, which can be chained into another.
• Narcissist: Clearly has a high opinion on himself and his skill but that also extends to his looks. His basic emote has him cheering then noticing his own reflection in the blade of his weapon and looking into it with an approving smile.
• Neck Lift: "Dou Shi's Choke" allows him to perform one after a parry, draining the target's stamina.
• No Historical Figures Were Harmed: His design was based off of the legendary Chinese warrior, Guan Yu.
• Old Soldier: Their hair is completely white in their default look, but age has in no way dulled their skills. Most of their attacks include the option of soft feints or mix-ups to catch unwary foes, and they have a special Sifu's Poise stance that lets them casually dodge an incoming attack to recover their stamina.
• Stroke the Beard: One of his emotes.
• Worthy Opponent: Having won every battle he's ever fought, the Jiang Jun has left China and traveled west to find someone capable of giving him a real challenge.
• You Fight Like a Cow: Even compared to other characters - all of his lines sound like he's chastising the enemy and telling them to do better, not to mention one of his moves involves a dismissive backhand to the face. Even his executions are all about mocking the enemy, and most respectful execution involves knocking the enemy to the ground, slapping their hand away when they struggle to get back up, and pushing them gently back down so they can die peacefully.

Shaolin

Type: Hybrid
Weapon: Gun Staff

The Shaolin are fierce warrior monks known for their athletic, monkey-like fight style, and their prowess with a staff. They hold their written prayers close to them at all times.

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• Barehanded Blade Block: The Shaolin does not use his staff to block attacks but rather his bracers to swat aside weapons.
• Difficult, but Awesome: The Shaolin possesses a very unique mix of mechanics which can be hard to learn but devastating when mastered.
• Doomed Home Town: The Shaolin's monastery was burned to the ground in a fire.
• Human Note Pad: His skin is covered in the prayers of his monastery's elders.
• Monkey King Lite: His fighting style and overall goofy attitude is reminiscent of Sun Wukong which is blatantly apparent in several of his gear outfits.
• Sole Survivor: Of his destroyed monastery.
• Stance System: The Shaolin has a special "Qi Stance" which stops stamina from being regained but allows them to perform special moves.
• Tragic Keepsake: He carries various relics and mementos from his destroyed home.
• Warrior Monk: The Shaolin are fierce warrior monks.

Zhanhu

“In the midst of war... I breathe fire.”

Type: Hybrid
Weapon: Changdao

Skilled and deadly commanders who are masters of the changdao, or two-handed greatsword. They are also adept at using flammable bombs and gunpowder explosives.

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• Badass Long Coat: A few of their armor pieces sport a longcoat.
• BFS: Wields a Changdao sword, a long saber that is similar to the Nodachi.
• Breaking Old Trends: The Zhanhu is the first Hybrid class that can be played as either gender - all previous members of the group were gender-locked as male or female.
• Death from Above: The fourth feat, "Scorching Deluge" has the Zhanhu light a fire rocket to rain down small fiery projectiles in a selected area.
• Healing Factor: Has access to "Regenerate" as a tier 4 feat.
• Playing with Fire:
  • The Zhanhu's default feat setup has them throwing a projectile that burns a target if the target is near fire, a trap that explodes and burns when tripped by a foe, increased damage on a burning foe, and raining down fire missiles on a selected area.
  • While escorting the Wu Lin Emperor to safety, Sun Da used a new type of powerful flame-based explosive to disrupt and burn the invading Blackstones. While this killed many and opened a route to escape, some of the Blackstones were.... changed by the exotic chemicals used in the recipe for the explosives.
• Secret Police: the Zhanhu is based off the Jinyiwei, which were Ming Dynasty secret police and military operatives. Fittingly, he wears a similar uniform and hat to such police, and Sun Da himself was a military planner who protected the Wu Lin Emperor.
• Taking You with Me: Like the Tiandi, Zhanhu can take the "Last Laugh" feat, dropping a high damage bomb when they die.

Outlander Classes

In General

A group of travelers and wayfareres crossing the oceans, the Outlanders arrived in Heathmoor following a year of massive climatic upheaval. Though they have no stake in the war between the Chimera Alliance and the Order of Horkos, they are no strangers to conflict.

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• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: For the first time in the game, Averted — the Outlanders have no single cultural equivalent in history, instead being a mishmash of characters from other cultures who are Walking the Earth.
• Not in This for Your Revolution: The Outlanders don't share any particular allegiance with each other nor the denizens of Heathmoor, they're simply victims of the Forever War who've come to throw their hat in the ring for one reason or another. That being said, the Afeera and the Ocelotl downplay this, as both come from cultures that Horkos ravaged in some way and do want revenge.
• Rag Tag Bunch Of Misfits: The Outlanders are travelers from all over the world, united in search of adventure and a sense of belonging. Shown members include pirates from the equivalent of the South China Sea, Medjay from Egypt, Afeera from Arabia, and Ocelotl from central Mexico.
• Walking the Earth: The Outlanders have no homeland that they fight for, instead traveling the world in search of treasures and adventure.

The Pirate

"Get ready. 'Cause you're in for a wild ride."

Type: Hybrid
Weapon: Cutlass and Flintlock Pistol

A seafarer and cutthroat, the Pirate is the first of the Outlanders to take to the field, bringing with them the power of gunpowder to the battlefield.

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• Arbitrary Gun Power: The Pirate's flintlock pistol has all the destructive power of a mere light attack, mainly seeing use in mid-chain bash attacks. Even the Pirate's pistol-based feats aren't any more deadly than the Long Bow feat shared by many heroes; their pistols only seem to inflict fatal wounds during their executions.
• Amazon Brigade: The playable Pirates are this, consisting solely of women, each the captain of their own crew.
• Bizarre and Improbable Ballistics: Their aptly named Trick Shot feat has them fire a bullet that will indiscriminately bounce between 4 targets, including your allies and yourself.
• Bottomless Magazines: Despite using single shot flintlock pistols, the hero is never seen reloading. The most explicit example is their Bullet Dance execution where they fire off several shots from two pistols at their victims feet while still having ammunition to execute them with both pistols.
• Confusion Fu: The Pirate has perhaps one of the most ridiculous infinite mix-ups of all the heroes, to note:
  • The Pirate has an incredibly versatile opener in the form of her dodge-forward heavy, an unblockable top heavy that comes with hyper armor and the ability to soft-feint into a guard break, which not only costs less stamina than a hard feint into a guard break, but comes out faster allowing it to guard break certain dodge attacks more reliably.
  • Hyper armored chain heavies, while they can't be soft-feinted, allow her to check for enemies trying to attack her out of...
  • Walk-the-Plank, a relatively slow and telegraphed unblockable pinning move in a similar vein to Gladiator's that instead of dealing high bleed damage if left alone on a hit simply does incredibly high damage on hit, and can be performed after any attack including itself, can be soft-feinted into a guardbreak, while also being able to be transitioned back into a chain with a gunshot allowing it to match Gladiator's skewer's bleed damage, or into a kick that if it wall-splats confirms a heavy from Pirate.
  • Undodgeable light finishers to catch anyone trying to dodge out of the mixup but have dodge attacks too fast to be guard broken or grabbed out of, which can then still be chained into Walk-the-Plank.
  • A grab that can be performed on any whiffed heavy that allows Pirate to catch enemies who try and dodge her heavy attacks who don't have safe options to perform on a dodge with a damaging bash that will beat hyper-armor, which also allows Pirate to chain back into her combos again.
  • To top it all off Pirate is almost always safe on a whiffed attack as she can cancel the recoveries of her attacks with a dodge allowing her to perform her side dodge or forward dodge heavies if she's anticipating retaliation when an attack whiffs.
• Eyepatch of Power: Apparently, as a default customization option, the Pirate has an eyepatch over their left eye, and is just as much of a One-Man Army as the rest of the heroes.
• Fantasy Gun Control: No longer in effect - the Pirate wields a flintlock pistol and regularly uses it in executions.
• Foreshadowing: In the lead up to the announcement of the Pirate as the new hero for Year 5 Season 4, "Frozen Shore", the Mooks in Dominion and Breach were all given a pirate theme.
• Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: Played With. They are the only class so far that uses firearms as one of their primary weapons and are gender locked as female, but still leans heavily on close-quarter physical combat.
• Hitbox Dissonance: The Pirate tends to ignore proper spacing by just sliding across the ground to close the distance with her heavy attacks and heavy-whiff gunshot-grab.
• Large Ham: She never stops speaking during combat, made especially egregious by her having only one voice line associated with parrying.
• Pirate: Exactly What It Says on the Tin, though aesthetically, they seem to combine Chinese and East Asian pirates (the ethnicity and voice) with those from The Golden Age of Piracy (weapon types and outfits).
• Pirate Girl: The Pirate is an exclusively female hero class.
• Skill Gate Characters: The Pirate was intentionally made with a low-skill floor with tons of tools and intentionally overtuned tracking range/hitboxes to make her appealing to newer players. That said, she can be beaten by those who understand her moveset.
• Shown Their Work: Unlike the Wu Lin, who speak in imperial Mandarin, the Pirate speaks in Cantonese, reflecting most actual Chinese pirates coming from the South.

The Medjay

Type: Hybrid
Weapon: Bifurcated Fan Axe

The last remnants of Egypt, the Medjay protect their culture and their homeland. Most stay in the homeland to guard its remaining treasures, but when the viking Bolthorn stole the Scarab Bracelet, the Medjay Neferka and those who followed him traveled to Heathmoor both to reclaim the bracelet and end its curse.

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• Ancient Egypt: Explicitly stated to come from Egypt, and they have the aesthetic to match.
• Artistic License – Military: Fan axes in real life do not have blades at both ends, let alone split into two smaller axes. Lore handwaves this as a development that happened some time after Egypt fell, and the Medjay became more aggressive in defending the remnants of their culture.
• Bifurcated Weapon: The Medjay's fan axe can be split into two smaller axes to change stances.
• Foreshadowing: As with the pirate, the arrival of the Medjay was hinted at during their debut update well before they were actually announced — the update, "Curse of the Scarab", focused on a bracelet explicitly stated to belong to pharaohs, with the accompanying event featuring a map themed around the plagues of Egypt.
• Hired Guns: Of a sort — the Medjay Neferka traveled to Heathmoor to recover a relic stolen from his homeland, the titular bracelet of "Curse of the Scarab". Now that he has it back, he's fighting as a mercenary to afford a voyage home. The rest of the Medjay seem to share this motive.
• Last of His Kind: Neferka, the narrator for the Medjay's trailer, is the last of the line of the Pharaohs.
• The Remnant: The Medjay are all that remains of the Egyptian people, as the nation was swallowed up during the cataclysm.
• Stance System: The Medjay is the first hero in the game to have permanent stances — they can shift between a defensive stance (where they use their axes as a pole weapon) and an offensive stance (where they split the axe into two smaller blades and engage in Dual Wielding).

The Afeera

Type: Hybrid
Weapon: Mace and Shield

Hailing from the Sultanate of Arabia, the Afeera are swift female warrior-scholars who have long guarded their lands and rulers from harm. They had long known of the conflict in Heathmoore, but were ordered not to interfere by their leaders. When the Order of Horkos invades, kills the Sultana, steals the Celestial Sphere, and destroys it after receiving a vision, though, the Afeera find that their time as bystanders is over.

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• "Arabian Nights" Days: The Afeera are Middle-Eastern warriors that explicitly hail from Arabia and follow a Sultan or Sultana.
• Badass Bookworm: The Afeera are trained in the arts and sciences long before the future fearsome warriors are trained in combat.
• Bystander Syndrome: The Afeera knew about the conflict occurring in Heathmoor via the Celestial Sphere, but were ordered not to intervene. Then the Order of Horkos raided Arabia to acquire the Celestial Sphere.
• Carry a Big Stick: The Afeera carry a downplayed version of this trope, wielding a humble one handed mace, that is no less deadly for its size, able to deliver unblockables or push enemies around depending on the direction the Afeera swings. Notably, compared to Conqueror, Shugoki and Shaolin who simply clobber their foes into submission to set them up for an execution, the Afeera embeds the sharpened head of her mace into her opponent to set up an execution.
• Meaningful Name: It's only fitting that the most agile of the Outlanders is named after an Islamic word for gazelle.
• Waif-Fu: Afeera are extremely agile, but have numerous moves that focus on knocking over opponents who can be twice their size, either through careful redirection of motion or brute force.

The Ocelotl

Type: Hybrid
Weapon: Macuahuitl and Tepoztopilli

Famed warriors of the Aztecs, the Ocelotl are ferocious yet patient warriors, embodying the jaguars they are named after. Their people, having managed to endure the Cataclysm, pillaged their fallen neighbors for vast amounts of gold, which they then traded peacefully with passing sailors and pirates. When Horkos arrived in the new world, though, they sacked the Aztec lands, taking with them gold, animals, relics, and even one of the Ocelotl. Now, having learned seafaring from the Conquistadors they managed to capture, the Aztecs and their Jaguar Knights have sailed East, ready to exact vengeance upon their foes.

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• Asshole Victim: Subverted - the Ocelotl trailer's description acknowledges that the Aztecs committed significant amounts of Human Sacrifice, but by the time the Order of Horkos showed up to sack their lands, the Aztecs had apparently become more peaceful and traded their surplus gold with seafarers, making Conquistador Vela's actions yet another Kick the Dog moment for the Order of Horkos.
• Carry a Big Stick: Their Macuahuitl, while superficially like a sword, is really a wooden club studded with obsidian blades, making it more of a combat saw. It can still take an opponent's head off.
• Dual Wielding: Wields an obsidian bladed club (the macuahuitl) and a similarly tipped spear (the tepoztopilli).
• Made a Slave: The first Ocelotl brought to Heathmoore was taken as a prize by Horkos conquistadors. Then he broke free from them.
• Meaningful Name: His name means "Jaguar Warrior", alluding to the sacred nature of the Jaguar in many Central and South American civilizations, and he even wears a jaguar skin.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Compared to the Afeera who joined the war when it came to them, the Ocelotl have come to Heathmoor for vengeance against those who invaded their home.
• This Means Warpaint: Puts the Vikings to shame with all the warpaint he wears, which is based upon surviving pictograms and descriptions of Jaguar Knights.

Others

The Trapper

The Trapper

An otherwordly killer who has descended upon Heathmoor in the wake of a massive set of storms. He serves as the boss for the 2021 Dead by Daylight crossover.

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• Adaptational Badass: Played With, while he's plenty scary and tough in his source game, his opponents were usually just survivors unable to fight back. Here, he gets to fully show off how much of a powerhouse he is by taking on powerful medieval/feudal-era warriors. Additionally, the Entity seems to summon hooks for him to sacrifice his victims on compared to his home game where he has to down survivors then carry them to a hook, potentially losing them in the process.
• Bear Trap: Several of these are hidden in the arena the Trapper is fought in, and they act just like the Viking feat. (immobilizes and damages the player)
• Difficult, but Awesome: Defeating the Trapper is extremely difficult, but doing so awards the vanquishing team a significant number of points, making it that much easier to win the match.
• Fatality: His unique execution (which cannot be interrupted) consists of stabbing an opponent twice with his machete, then summoning an Entity hook and hanging them as a sacrifice. For the duration of his event, it was purchasable for use by players.
• Fish out of Temporal Water: He comes from a relatively modern time (or whatever the hell the Entity's realm is) but is presumably sent to the feudal/medieval lands of Heathmoor to terrorize its denizens.
• Guest Fighter: From fighting the somewhat hapless survivors of Dead by Daylight to going toe-to-toe with hardened warriors in For Honor.
• The Juggernaut: All of the Trapper's attacks are uninterruptible, meaning that nothing the player can do to him will stop an attack from finishing its animation.
• Lovecraft Lite: The Trapper is a human servant of a spider-like Eldritch Abomination who regularly kills people in a never-ending cycle for the amusement of The Entity. This time, though, he's up against people who are able to fight back, and while he cannot be permanently defeated, he can be temporarily repelled.
• Machete Mayhem: He carries his somewhat iconic improvised machete as his weapon of choice.
• Moveset Clone: His only two attacks are Centurion's deceptively fast heavy attacks. Which are also unblockable.
• Outside-Genre Foe: The Trapper is a foe from a team-based Survival Horror game as opposed to the Hack and Slash Low Fantasy setting For Honor is set in.
• Unblockable Attack: Every single attack he uses cannot be blocked. They can still be parried.

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