This post gives an in-story reason for General Tozen's infamous catchphrase. Assuming the Raider cannot speak Japanese, they had no idea what he was actually saying and made up the part about him saying how great they were during the battle. Which is exaggerated by Stigandr when he meets Ayu and Holden years later.
This could also explain the seemingly magical powers Tozen had, with the Ominous Fog that preceded him and the shadow clones being embellishments and lies told by the Vikings to make the story more interesting.
From a historical perspective it is unusual that all the factions have women among their ranks and even as leaders, as Apollyon demonstrates. However, considering the backstory it makes sense. After the earthquake hundreds of thousands were dead and, since the war against the other factions began so quickly it's very possible that the commanders of each army began to recruit women because they just didn't have enough men to fight. A thousand years pass and the societies of the Legion, Warborn and Chosen are more equalitarian because their women demonstrated that they can do the same things as men.
Also, simple survival of the fittest rules mean that the people who were strongest and toughest would survive because they could fight off their enemies over limited resources. This would apply across both genders; the population able to move enough hardened warriors, irrespective of gender, would likely win a fight. The only heroes we see that aren't available to females are the ones heavily dependent on sheer size and mass, such as the Lawbringer, Warlord, Shugoki, Highlander, and Centurion. Classes dependent on skill and flexibility are often both genders, while classes focused on mobility, agility, and evading attacks are exclusively female.
The fact that so many men are being mobilized to war is why the Wu Lin faction has trained the all-female Nuxia as bodyguards, proving why the other factions are more egalitarian in their makeup: it's just not healthy for your society to mobilize an entire gender for warfare for as long as they have.
In a more morbid and darker context however; it means that the traditional roles and positions for women are much more harsher than their real life counterparts, as physical and mental strength would determine their worth rather than just their sex. A frail and soft woman would be seen as useless to these desperate societies, because if they can't contribute in the protection of their lands then they would be shunned and ridiculed for being weak.
Steel as currency:
Steel doesn't make sense at first glance as the currency used in-game, until you consider the environment, cultures, and Post ApocalypseMedieval Stasis going on. Steel itself, after all, isn't a naturally-occurring metal, instead being the result of industrial processes with iron and carbon. With the world having been devastated a thousand years ago and the survivors of the cataclysm having lost much of their knowledge, the ability to produce steel would be difficult. And indeed, we know that the Legion's knights don't even know how their siege equipment works; they simply copy the schematics. This likely extends to other scientific fields, such as steel-making, meaning that steel is hard to create and at the same time very valuable for anyone interested in warfare. These factors make it ideal as a currency, and we even see steel used as currency in the campaign, when the Vikings raid Odingard and find crates of plates of steel stolen from the Samurai by the Blackstone Legion.
The Dawn Empire resides in a swampy, forested land, and they are the displaced survivors from a distant land. Aside from low numbers, they don't live in a metal-rich environment. This is backed up by their armor and weapons, since even their most heavily-armored heroes wear mostly wood and leather armor, and their weapons are generally light on metal. Since weapons-grade metal is rare, they reserve it for their weapons, and steel would be extremely valuable for them.
The Warborn, while they live in metal-rich mountains, are not well-organized and mostly work as farmers and raiders. It's unlikely that they have much in the way of mining, nor would they have large-scale steelworks to refine iron and coal into steel. As such, they would prize any refined steel they could find for forging into weapons and armor, and for the most part none of their weapons use much metal outside of the Warlord's sword, shield, and chainmail.
The Legions have a larger amount of metallic armor and large, metal-heavy weapons, but even then, the Warden's armor is only partially steel plating and chain, while the Conquerer wears mostly chainmail and a greathelm, and the Peacekeeper wears only leather. Only the Lawbringer wears an enormous set of tournament plate armor, and it's said to be a secret of their order. So even among the Legions steel is less common. Furthermore, Ashfeld's knights are mostly resupplied from Legion cities further south and west, and Legion territory in Ashfeld is mostly fortresses in poorly-developed wilderness, meaning that they wouldn't have much in the way of locally-produced steel. Since the knights use so much metal in their weapons and armor, they'd no doubt prize whatever steel they could find for maintaining their equipment and building new weaponry and armor.
Steel is also a very practical currency for exchange purposes. While every faction may have their own monetary system in their more developed regions as such Koto or the lands to the southwest of Ashfeld, that does not mean that the other factions would accept such as payment even if properly minted. Steel, with its practical purposes, makes for an effective form of barter. Even for civilians, an ingot of steel can be quite useful - your scythe gets broken? You can bring the remains of it and that ingot to the blacksmith, giving him the material to repair the tool as well as payment he can use elsewhere to barter finished products for food to feed himself. While it may not be "give me five Steel" like you might see with florins or today's dollars, a certain weight of it would be accepted. The Dawn Empire marked ingots could be a form of 'official' cuts at a certain weight meant for use by merchants in foreign lands.
The presence of two Roman-themed heroes, the Centurion and the Gladiator, in the medieval Knights lineup actually makes a lot of sense when you look at some of the Knight classes and their historical inspirations. While the Warden and the Conquerer are fairly traditional Central and Western European armored warriors, the Lawbringer and the Peacekeeper reflect Italian medieval and Renaissance traditions. The Lawbringer wears the classic Renaissance plate armor and poleaxe that originated in northern Italy, while the Peacekeeper's sword and long dagger fighting style originated in the dueling styles of Italian city-states, especially Florence and Venice. Coupled with the fact that all the Knight heroes speak Latin, and its clear that most of the Knights have a very strong southern French and Italian style, which fits them as the descendants of their world's equivalent of an ancient Roman-style empire.
The lack of respect that the Orochi gets from Seijuro makes more sense when one checks the prison cells under the monastery during Runa's mission. Apollyon's voiceover mentions that among the samurai, being taken prisoner is considered dishonorable, so it would make sense that a samurai being locked up in the dungeons would be shameful as well. It's probably not to the same extent as being captured in battle and imprisoned by the enemy, but it's still enough to be considered shameful and humiliating.
The Orochi was imprisoned for speaking out of turn, which was extremely disrespectful and angered the Emperor. So it could have less to do with them being locked up and more to do with the fact that the Orochi had already shamed themselves in the eyes of the Emperor's court.
The sheer technological stagnation over a thousand years makes a painful amount of sense. Aside from the cataclysm destroying so much of civilization to begin with, the unending warfare between the various factions means that there isn't time or resources to devote to scholarly pursuits. Prior to the modern era, any technological advancement often required years or decades of tiny, incremental improvements by individuals or massive intellectual investment to make any progress; for example, in the Middle Ages a small alteration to the shape of a knight's helmet is a sign of huge progress in armor technology. Such investments are unlikely to happen when societies are constantly engaged in unending resource wars for simple survival. Everything has to go to producing weapons and armor and building fortifications and securing resources, and very little technological progress can be made.
While Ubisoft's decision to say that the Knight Faction is polytheistic may seem to contradict the lore as the children of Ashfeld claim to all follow the same God, this is only true for the original four knight heroes. The Centurions and Gladiators still seem to worship the Roman pantheon (going by the Mars quote) and come from the surviving remnants of the empire the Iron Legion descended from, while the Black Priors seems to have some other kind of religion based on darkness. So when looking at the faction as a whole the Knight Faction could be seen as polytheistic on account of the multiple gods from the various faiths that the faction follows.
Contracts can cause players to play a bit sub-optimally, especially when they have specific conditions like "execute 4 enemies while playing Tribute." In particular, there's the Attacker contract, which requires you to capture X number of zones in Dominion, which actually encourages players to capture zones and then immediately abandon them so that the enemy can take them and thus letting the player recapture them. However, in a way, this makes sense historically: many real-life battles were decided by commanders and officers each having their own agenda that didn't necessarily line up with that of their lord or ruler, which would drive them to fight in a way that benefited them at the expense of the overall plan. The Battle of Sekigahara was quite famous for how much of it was predicated on the flimsy loyalties of the commanders of different parts of the armies.
For Honor takes place more or less in the Modern Day, maybe a little in the future. That's assuming the cataclysm happened in the middle ages, which is evidenced by the shared existence of Samurai, Vikings and Knights at the time. And then 1,000 years of on and off warfare occurred between the three factions. M. With that in mind, all the technological advancements in Ashfeld make more sense than none at all. After all, look what we achieved in 1,000 years. It's entirely possible that there are other surviving civilizations in this world that are much more advanced because they didn't spend a full millennia doing nothing but fighting.
Heroes
Why is the protagonist of the last story campaign an Assassin class instead of a Vanguard? The last part of any game is the most difficult so of course you'd be given an Assassin, who is harder to play.
In addition, while both the storylines of the Knights and Vikings campaigns mostly involve conventional battle, which would call upon the Vanguard and Hybrid classes, with only a little bit of scouting and recon (representing the missions for Mercy and Runa), almost all of the Samurai missions involve the Orochi either scouting dangerous environments or infiltrating enemy bases, with the Orochi only engaging in direct battle when necessary. Even when assaulting the Shard, the Orochi ends up scouting ahead of the main battle and hunting down and killing Apollyon. Naturally, this role would fall to an Assassin class instead of a traditional Vanguard class.
The mixed heroes in multiplayer makes sense considering the chaos after Apollyon's death. The Vikings, while unified under the Warborn, still feature many clans who are struggling to survive after the food was destroyed, and thus Warborn warriors would go wherever they can and work for whoever is willing to pay them so they can survive. Ayu may have become the Emperor of the Dawn Empire, but the Samurai are constantly at war with one another and no doubt many of them have begun to travel as mercenaries after their own Daiymo were killed. Finally, while Apollyon is dead, Ashfeld is littered with petty lords and countless knights and warriors looking for anyone willing to buy their services. On top of this, Warborn chiefs, Legion officers, and Dawn Empire lords will not turn down skilled warriors willing to fight for them in this time of war and chaos, no matter where they came from.
The Gladiator class having an increased stamina pool and reduced cooldown times makes quite a bit of sense. They were arena fighters after all, they would naturally want to have a lot of stamina so they could keep the show going, as well as using their abilities frequently to mix things up and keep it interesting.
The ability to choose each hero's skin tone seems like just an extra bit of customization, however every faction has a sensible reason for why they would have warriors of different races. Everyone the Legion conquers are forced to join them, so their warriors would naturally be from many different places and races. Viking regularly take captives during their raids, perhaps they went native and raised families among them. The Samurai traveled a great distance from their homeland in the east, so they would have naturally picked up other people along the way. Being so few in number they may even be willing to take in outsiders to bolster their numbers and assimilate to their culture.
There are even strong indications that the Shugoki are a native populace, or possibly even Vikings or Ashfelders who were incorporated into the Empire's society over the generations, due to both their immense size and the fact that their trailer says that the Shugoki "have become like family." Certain masks come with light brown, blond, or red hair as well.
The DLC heroes represent the mercenaries, irregulars, and unexpected allies that join each side as the war goes on. Warriors like the Centurion and Gladiator coming in pursuit of fortunes, while those who went unnoticed like Shinobi take action to help their people, and ancient oaths bring allies like the Highlanders. It also explains why they cost so much steel to unlock compared to the rest. Warriors like the Raider, Peacekeeper, or Shugoki are more common(relatively speaking) and thus easier to recruit. The DLC fighters are completely new to everyone and few in number, demanding a far higher price for their services.
The Berserker class is different from the Classic Barbarian Hero who wields a massive weapon and runs around wearing no clothing. Instead they're fast, mobile attackers who count as Assassins. However, this makes sense in the context of their setting. They're described as being akin to animal spirits or wild beasts instead of warriors, and their aggressive, mobile fighting style fits that of a harrying wolfpack rather than a battlefield warrior. The class plays like a hunting predator on the battlefield rather than a raging mindless killing machine, because that's what they are: wild predators in human form.
It sounds pretty insane when the Orochi's class trailer claimed they were the equal of 100 other warriors. However when you consider how easily they and other heroes can mow down the Mooks, it suddenly doesn't seem all that implausible. Without other hero characters to face them they could very well cut them all down.
The heroes each having a Weapon Specialization makes a lot more sense outside of a gameplay perspective, when you take into consideration the setting and the factions' respective environments.
The Chosen:
The Kensei, unlike typical samurai, use the enormous nodachi. The sheer size of it indicates that it would require a lot of metal to make, and also an expert blacksmith. In the Myre, where resources are few, such a weapon not only denotes the Kensei's wealth, but also improves their leaderly appearance in the eyes of their people, as well as striking fear in the hearts of their enemies. In addition, the nodachi is a difficult weapon to master, automatically marking anyone who wields one effectively as a warrior of great skill.
The Orochi wield a single katana, as well as poisoned knives. Being Imperial assassins and nobility, a katana would be a very common sidearm for their order. In addition, the shorter blade makes it an ideal weapon for close combat inside confined spaces, as well as attacking lightly-armored or unarmored foes... which is one of the roles of an assassin.
The Shugoki wield the brutal kanabo, which is basically a big stick with metal spikes. While being cheap to make, it's also an armor breaking weapon in real life. Combined with the Shugoki's demonic might, the kanabo is a nightmare for the armored Legions, and especially the armor-less Warborn. In addition, the kanabo would be a viable tool for the kind of work that a Shugoki would be expected to do, using its mass and weight to drive back an attacker, and no doubt it would be a useful tool for protecting an important person or a gateway since it could be used to disperse crowds without hurting anyone simply by being extended and used to push or drive people back.
The Nobushi are female vigilantes who wield the naginata, which, like the kanabo, needs little metal to make. Essentially being a spear, it also requires little skill for even an amateur to use. A long spear is also a useful tool for quickly striking around and down from fortifications like the walls around villages, as well as hitting enemies on horseback, which is a valid threat when a Nobushi is expected to defend towns from bandits and raiders who might be mounted. The naginata can also be useful in the wilds of the Myre, with the length of the polearm making it a useful weapon against things like charging boars, or to attack aquatic predators from inside a boat, or as a last-ditch defense if one falls into the water.
The Shinobi are assassins who wield dual kusarigama, or chain scythes. One would expect a classical ninja to have a sword, but only those with significant connections and money can get them amongst the Chosen. The scythes are farm tools that are easy to acquire and convert into weapons, meaning that the Shinobi can keep their secrecy while also gaining effective weapons.
The pairing of the katana and the wakazishi for the Aramusha makes sense, as a samurai would traditionally have both of those blades on their person. The Orochi would only carry a single blade for mobility, and the Kensei is armed with a much longer blade for the frontline, but the Aramusha is a duelist and would want to bring both of his personal weapons to the fight, not only for combat but because they're likely his most prized possessions and he would want to keep them close.
The Hitokiri are fearsome warriors who wield the massive masakari axe. As former executioners, it stands to reason that the tool of their previous trade would be the only viable weapon they could get their hands on - and practically speaking, it would be the only weapon they would have any experience using, period.
The Legion:
The Wardens all wield the longsword, which is a viable weapon against virtually any form of opponent, armored or not, since the cutting edge is useful against lightly-armored foes while the size and length of the blade makes it useful for grappling and levering armored foes or parrying long weapons.
The Peacekeepers are assassins who dual-wield a dagger and arming sword. The light weight of the dagger and arming sword keeps them mobile and are effective tools in close combat inside buildings or tight spaces like alleyways and would let a Peacekeeper remain mobile and able to scale obstacles - all of which are valid concerns for a spy, saboteur, and assassin.
The Conquerors use the flail and shield. Both items are easy to mass produce for the conscripted former criminals, with more experienced Conquerors getting better equipment over time. And since the Legions often fight one another, the blunt, crushing flail head would be effective against other armored enemies like other Legion soldiers, as well as smashing apart the shields used by many Warborn foes.
The Lawbringers use the poleaxe, which mixes the aspects of a spear, an axe, and a hammer. It is ideal for dealing with the enemy that the Lawbringers will deal with most often: other knights who wear heavy armor, whom the Lawbringer will be hunting down to bring to justice.
The Centurions are close range fighters who wield a single galdius. The gladius is traditionally used alongside the scutum shield, but the Centurion forgoes this in favor of a caestus. Much like the Gladiator, the Centurion here is a duelist and Glory Hound who fights in a brutal, flashy manner, so he forgoes the weapons of a soldier who fights in formation and fights with a more aggressive style, which is ironically how the Romans naturally preferred to fight and which the Legionary system was created to control and stamp out. With no Empire remaining, the Centurion now fights how he chooses.
The Gladiators use a combination of trident and buckler. The relatively light weight of the weapons and lack of real armor makes sense when one considers that the Gladiator is a Glory Hound. After all, if the Gladiator can slay well-armored and armed foes while wearing minimal armor themselves, what does that say about their skills?
The Black Priors are knights who wield the relatively old combo of sword and more importantly, kite shield. The shield is utterly massive, superior in defensive capability to both the Conqueror and the Warlord's, while compensating for the Black Priors lack of full plate armor (only their arms and heads are have any sort of armor, the rest is leather and chainmail). And while the size of the shield may prevent the Black Priors from being more mobile than the aformentioned two (for example, being unable to easily mount and defend themselves on horseback), the kite shield still gives them a unique edge whilst on foot.
The Warborn:
The Raiders use the Dane axe, a heavy two handed axe with long reach as well as cutting power. For the Raiders, whose strength and size make them the perfect example of The Big Guy, it's a perfect fit. As a cultural bonus, the weapon itself is associated with power among the Warborn, lending to the Raider's mystique and charisma. The chopping power of the Dane Axe also makes it an effective tool at cracking through shields and spears and breaching armor, which is important when the Warborn are so often fighting the Legions.
The Berserkers are wild warriors who use twin axes. Axes are the common man's tool; multiple purpose, easy to acquire and replace, and to convert into weapons. Seeing as the Berserkers ritually train the wilderness, the axes may also serve as a symbolic link to their humanity through the animalistic fury. The light weight of these axes and their small size means that a Berserker could also stow them quickly, allowing them to climb over or weave around obstacles quickly, which is a necessity when running through rough wildlands and harsh mountains.
The Warlords wield the traditional sword and shield combo, with the sword being a gladius. As leaders, they encourage their soldiers by using the same weapon combination in battle. But at the same time, the design of the Warlord's weapon and shield make them symbols of status, authority and tradition. Further, the shield and armor means that a Warlord can stand in the center of a battle line and lead a charge most effectively, as well as commanding and rallying his troops while still being able to protect himself.
The Valkyries are female warriors, who use the spear and shield combo. The shield, being small, is likely used more to parry than outright block, and the spear gives them the advantage of reach. Even though the shield can be upgraded to completely metal, the Valkyries are noticeably more muscled than other females and can handle the weight. Their strength as well as the relatively light weapons allow them to move fast, fitting their job as scouts perfectly, and the long spear is a useful tool for both striking at human opponents and fending off wild animals, which is a valid concern for any scout.
The Highlanders wield the massive and seemingly impractical claymore. However, their fighting style consists of both strength and a lot more discipline in comparison to the other viking heroes - they NEED to be disciplined in order to effectively use such a heavy weapon on the battlefield. The length of the claymore gives them reach while the sheer weight of it can allow the Highlander break through armor and shields with a single swing - or failing that, at least knock the enemy off balance. Not only that, but the very sight of a heavy weapon like that plays very well as an intimidation factor.
The Shamans are female warriors who use a combination of hatchet and kukri-style dagger. The axe is a common weapon among the vikings, meaning the Shaman could likely get one anywhere. The style of their dagger, on the other hand, is very unique for their people, which suggests the Shamans mainly use it for ceremonial purposes outside of combat.
The Wu Lin:
The Tiandi are an elite preatorian guard, who wield their signature dao swords in combat. The chopping power of the large blades, coupled with the Tiandi's strength and martial arts skill, allows them to swiftly slash and chop their way through any adversary with ease.
The Nuxia wield the rather unsual hook swords in combat. As assassins, they do ceremonial dances with their swords, which, due to their unusual shape, would make the target assume them unfit for combat, hence lowering their guard - and allowing the Nuxia to stab them in the throat. Their unique brand of Confusion Fu with the hook swords also means that, if forced into a confrontation with another combatant, a Nuxia would have an air of unpredictability, allowing her to quickly dispatch her foe or fight her way out of the situation.
The Jiang Jun is established as a proud fighter, which is likely why he wields his signature Guandao - mastery of such an unusual glaive would not only showcase his skill, it would also make him even more famous and recognizable.
The Shaolin uses a simple bo staff, albeit capped with metal on either end - being a mere monk who fled from his burning monastery, the Shaolin likely has nothing to their name other than their clothes, teachings and martial skill. They likely wield a simple staff because they simply lacked the resources to gain other weapons, or perhaps because they wished to adhere to their teachings and not wield any bladed weapons.
The Shugoki are all thickset and large, with body structures reminiscent of sumo wrestlers. While this may seem like the game using the same models, it actually makes sense from a societal point of view, if the Shugoki use the same sort of training and regemin as sumo wrestlers. The Shugoki are the all male protectors of the Chosen, and like traditional sumo, their greatest advantages are their strength and endurance. And like the sumo, the men of Shugoki families/clans are probably made to take a strict dietary regimen in order to gain the ideal size, as well as undergoing physical training at an early age, and only when they reach the desired levels of size, strength and endurance are the young Shugoki finally able to train with the kanabo.
While most of the Dawn Empire's population are said to be relative foreigners to the region, the Shugoki are strongly implied to be natives to Ashfeld and Valkenheim who were integrated into their society. Not only are they larger and stronger than virtually anyone outside of the Raider and Warlord, but there's other hints as well. For example, Gundmundr has a special grab move in which he will grab the player in a bear hug and break their back, which is almost exactly the same as the Shugoki's Demon's Embrace, save that Gundmundr's grab is a vertical bear hug instead of lifting the opponent overhead and squeezing them against his shoulder. Seeing this move in action all but confirms that the Shugoki have at least some ancestry from the Vikings.
Backing this up further is that certain helmets for the Shugoki come with distinctly blond, light brown, or even red hair. None of the other samurai classes can have this kind of hair color.
Out of all the other classes, the Nobushi are the only vigilantes. Why? Why do they elect not to join the military when women are easily accepted as soldiers? Why are they exclusively female? The answers lie in the history of their society:
Firstly, the vigilantism. The Nobushi are free warriors who answer to no higher authority, nor take sides. Their one and only duty is to protect the common people, which the military have a hard time doing. But as with all vigilantes, they operate outside of the powers that be: some of the prouder daimyo might see the mere existence of the Nobushi as a threat to their authority. So the Nobushi have to hide their identities and fight alone - the spiteful daimyo might destroy everything a nobushi holds dear just to make an example of them.
Second, the unaffiliation. It's stated that all factions are rife with civil war, and the Chosen are no different. The daimyo constantly fight each other, putting commoners in harms way. Their soldiers are recruited from many places, with even the far out villages contributing their share of men and women - no doubt relatives or friends of the Nobushi's. With the warring antics of the daimyo, it wouldn't be surprising that the Nobushi would be too soured to accept any association with the military.
Finally, the gender. This in part has to do with their weapon: the naginata. Naginatas Are Feminine is in full effect, as the Nobushi themselves enforce that image by using it as their signature weapon. And as stated above, they are simple weapons to train with and to make, and many a village blacksmith would willingly make it for free - why wouldn't they want to arm their most viable protectors? The second part is that all Nobushi, being legendary figures among commoners, have been around for a long time. They probably come from secret lineages, much like the Shinobi clans, with mothers telling their daughters from childhood about the virtues of being protectors. No doubt these girls would feign weakness or injury to avoid being recruited when the time comes, and instead stay in the villages to become the mythical heroes when needed.
The Aramusha's swords mainly feature serrated edges. While anyone who knows a thing about swords may groan at this (serrated edge blades have a higher chance of getting stuck in armor and such), most of the Aramusha's wakizashi have the serrations in specific places. Many of the blades have serrations near the guard, or on the back of the blade, but never the actual cutting edge itself. The only ones that do have a full serrated edge is Kiyohime's Embrace, and even those have points spaced wide apart, making them relatively practical as well as painful.
Serration in swords is also useful for disarming an opponent, as the serrated backs of the blade can be used to trap and hold an enemy's blade. Since the serrated part is generally close to the hilt, it allows the wielder of the weapon more leverage to twist and pull the blade and force it aside or pull it out of the enemy's hands. This is useful for someone like the Aramusha, who would be expected to be fighting thugs or other ronin in the streets or dueling peer opponents rather than engaging in combat as part of a unit in a line on an open battlefield.
The Orochi seems to know a bit about the Legions. Being the Emperor's chosen warrior they would naturally have to know about any potential threats, such as the Legion and its Knights, learning everything they can about them beyond simple fighting styles, such as their ways, beliefs, and notable individuals. This explains how they know or have at least heard of the Warden, and recognize Holden. The Orochi is appalled by the chaos in Ashfeld because they know it goes completely against everything the Legion stands for, and is a clear sign that something has gone very wrong.
A few of the Tiandi's feats will only trigger as their health is depleted. As a Praetorian Guard sworn to defend their liege with their life, it makes sense that they would have abilities emphasizing them fighting to the death.
If Orochi are so famed for their Undying Loyalty, why is it that Seijuro would be willing to take the dead emperor's throne for himself? Simple, with the Emperor and the royal family dead, there is no one left who he would feel honor bound to obey, meaning that the only person he has to be loyal to is himself. Considering that the other contenders for the throne are (with the exception of Ayu) no better than him, Seijuro has no reason not to try and take it for himself.
The Shinobi and Hitokiri are the only two Samurai classes without access to the longbow feat. This could be explained by their background and origins. The Shinobi is an assassin who would have little need to use such a weapon, or find it unhelpful for their skillset, at least in pitched battle. The Hitokiri on the other hand is an executioner by trade and would never have been trained to use one.
Holden, aka Gryphon, stopped using his lawbringer armor because it would have been extremely difficult for him to maintain it as a wandering mercenary. Not only would he not have reliable access to a blacksmith who could repair it, the cost of repairs and replacement parts would no doubt be very steep as well. The art of forging the lawbringer's armor is also a secret of their order as well, so he might not have been able to hire a regular blacksmith to repair it at all.
As for his poleaxe, the lawbringer's fighting style revolves around blocking their enemies strikes and counter attacking. However, this is only practical because they are wearing a suit of full plate mail, and would be quite risky other wise. As a result, Holden had to switch to a different weapon and fighting style.
In single player, the Orochi expresses concern over how the two years they spent in prison could have affected their fighting skills. This justifies how they, the Emperor's Champion and the best swordsman in the entire Dawn Empire, are able to make mistakes and lose to ordinary opponents while being controlled by the player.
This also explains Seijuro's ability to switch guard stance faster than the player can react during his boss fight. Not only is Seijuro one of the best warriors in the empire, but his opponent is severely out of practice, limiting their ability to read and predict his moves, making some of his attack impossible for them(and by extension the player) to react to.
Fridge Horror
It is emphasized numerous times that the Samurai are either outnumbered ten to one or that they must be worth ten of their enemies. Now consider that most Samurai encountered in-game are not actually that much better than their counterparts - the Raider goes through Chosen foot soldiers as easily as the Orochi goes through both Warborn and Blackstone foot soldiers. Imagine the demographic crisis they will face after even a couple seasons of campaigning against the other factions, especially when they are unable to use the Myre to thin the enemy for them.
A potential alleviation for this is brought up at the top of this page: remember the story mode campaigns are being told by Holden, Ayu, and Stigandr, and part of viking story-telling is exaggeration. Stigandr would probably be more likely to say "We slaughtered samurai and knights by the hundreds!" than admit "a hundred vikings struggled to take a fort manned by maybe a dozen of you."
The Medieval Stasis the factions have been living is actually pretty scary when you think about it. The factions have been fighting for centuries but still know very little of each other, and forgotten much of their own histories. While this can be attributed to their very different cultures, and they appear to at least know each other's languages, they should have learned more about each other in all that time.
The Legion no longer understands the principles behind how their siege engines work and have been copying the same plans for forever. Even if the knowledge was lost in the cataclysm, it has been centuries. Scholars should have been able to figure out how they worked, either through experiments or reverse engineering.
Of course, it is also quite possible that with the factionalism within the Legions it may be that the scholars who figured it out were forced to suppress the knowledge to keep the advantage to themselves. The construction of the Lawbringer's plate armor, for example, is stated to be a secret known only to their order.
Plus, some of the Devs have said the Cataclysm originally happened around 900-1100 AD, several armors the classes wear or can were were not around at the time so they had to have been developed at a later time, meaning there's been some progress since then.
Shamans live in isolation away from others and has gone mad because of it. How many travelers, foragers, or hunters could she have come across and killed out in the wilderness to satisfy the voices in her head?
Speaking of the Shamans, the Vikings have taken a mentally ill woman and turned her into a weapon.
Conquerors seem like a classic case of From Nobody to Nightmare and Rags to Riches, having been criminals or conscripts who were pressed into service, survived, and kicked enough ass to become elite warriors themselves. Keyword being survived. Conquerors are among the few conscripts who actually made it through the ordeal, and could have any number of psychological or emotional scars from the experience due to being given a weapon with little training and thrown to the wolves to fight on their own.
Conquerors are the only heavy class that isn't gender locked to male. Assuming that female conquerors are not exclusively criminals, it would appear that the Legion is not above pressing women into service if things get bad enough.
Apollyon's whole goal was to cause a giant never-ending war. What does everyone do in multiplayer? Fight one big endless war. By fighting online everyone has played right into her hands by continuing the never-ending cycle of violence. The fifth multiplayer season is even named "The Age of Wolves".
Because the Wu Lin faction has not properly entered the Faction War yet their heroes are currently fighting as mercenaries for the other three. When the Wu Lin do arrive all these warriors will immediately show their true allegiance and turn on their one time allies, using all the knowledge and information they've learned working for the other faction against them.
Alternatively, just as many of these wu lin will opt to betray their families and home country to continue to fight for people who have come to accept and welcome them, or simply on the moral principals that the situation in Ashfeld is already bad enough without their home nation throwing themselves into things. Still pretty terrible either way.
post gives an in-story reason for General Tozen's infamous catchphrase. Assuming the Raider cannot speak Japanese, they had no idea what he was actually saying and made up the part about him saying how great they were during the battle. Which is exaggerated by Stigandr when he meets Ayu and Holden years later.