"Know Thy Self. Know Thy Enemy."

History has brought us countless brilliant minds behind warfare and strategy, from Sun Tzu (quoted above) to George S. Patton to Michael Jordan. (He DID avert galactic warfare, after all). This February, we’d like you to join the ranks.

For Honor, Ubisoft’s new action game, pits bold Knights, brutal Vikings, and deadly Samurai against each other for the first time in history. (No cartoon aliens, sorry!) In our previous post, we introduced the three rival factions and explored the classes you can play. Today, we’re diving into the world of For Honor. Strap on your helmet, grab your ban hammer, and join us.

“This Above All: To Thine Own Self Be True.” - Shakespeare, Hamlet

Customization is one of the key features in For Honor. You’re beginning an epic journey, let’s look the part! You’ll find all the customizations you expect, like gender, skin color, and armor color. (Our favorite is a nice, bright downvote red. It lets your enemies know you mean business, and also hides the bloodstains).

For Honor lets you create your hero into an incredible level of detail; each component of your armor can be engraved, branded, and individually colored, your weapon can have a unique hilt and blade combo, even your emotes and how you communicate with other players are individually chosen.

“War is a game that is played with a smile.” - Winston Churchill

How does one play For Honor? Let us count the ways, beginning with story mode, playable as single-player and two-player co-op. It’s an immersive tale of larger-than-life warriors plunged into war. It’s bloody good fun.

Multiplayer comes in many forms. Here’s a quick rundown:

Dominion, aka Capture The Flag Realness: 4v4 battle where you score points through killing enemies, capturing specific areas, and controlling them.

Skirmish, aka Screw The Flag, I’m Here To Kill You: 4v4 battle where you score points for your team by killing enemy Heroes.

Elimination, aka Last (Wo)Man Standing: a best of five rounds 4v4 mode. There is no respawn and the last player standing wins the round for their team. No pressure.

Brawl, aka Teamwork Is Dreamwork: A 2v2, best-of-five rounds battle to the death. Each hero spawns at a different point of the map.

Duel, aka The Metal Glove Slap: Battle it out against a single opponent in a best of five-round fight in an arena.

“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”-G.K. Chesterton

The world of For Honor is filled with beautiful wildlands, grandiose landmarks, and majestic ruins. It was paradise, at least until a natural disaster struck a millennium ago, nearly destroying all civilizations. The Knights, Vikings, and Samurai rose from the ashes...and promptly resumed fighting. You can explore the new world in 12 larger-than-life battlefield maps. Here’s a sneak peak at a few of them.

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” – Sun Tzu

Congrats, you’ve passed For Honor 101! Let’s take a look at some advanced tactics that will help you and your faction succeed.

First, a painful reminder: always be aware of your surroundings! Environmental hazards can mean instant death, and in this dangerous world, there are many. Opponents can throw you off a cliff, push you into a fiery wreckage, or bear hug you into a spiked wall. Owie.

“The best defense is a good offense.” - the Strategic Offensive principle of war

Are you the kind of gamer that relies on button mashing, or do you memorize each combo to deliver effective, powerful attacks? If you’re the latter, For Honor is right in your wheelhouse, you show off. Executing the right combo will trigger an unblockable attack that will slice through your enemy’s defenses. If you’re on the receiving end of this strike, you’ll get a brief warning, at which point you’d best duck and dodge your heart out.

"Leave no one behind." - Military creed, translated from the Latin phrase "nemo resideo"

When your comrades fall in battle, your team certainly takes a big blow, but you’re not entirely out of the game. So long as you weren’t chucked off a cliff, thrown into a wall of spikes, or brutally executed, an unconscious player can still be revived by a living teammate. If you’re one of the lucky ones still fighting, spare a second (if it’s safe) to bring your fellows back into the land of the living. It could be crucial to winning a match.

“Peace, above all things, is to be desired, but blood must sometimes be spilled to obtain it on equable and lasting term.”

Say it’s you who’s bleeding to death on the ground, waiting anxiously to be resurrected. Don’t just lie there! Try moving the camera around the map, and communicating what you see to your teammates. This tactical, overhead view can only be used by unconscious players, so don’t let the unique vantage point go to waste.

"The smallest feline is a masterpiece." - Leonardo da Vinci

(It’s not a quote about war, but hey, it gets the job done!) In the great battle to come, will you side with the noble Knights, vicious Vikings, or deadly Samurai? Fight for glory. Fight for Honor. Pick up For Honor on PC, PlayStation 4, or Xbox One, available on February 14.