Ubisoft's dedication to title longevity is now arguably an industry benchmark where non-MMOs as are concerned. Rainbow Six Siege, Assassin's Creed Odyssey and the never-die For Honor represent this idea strongest, and today the publisher-developer revealed Year 3, Season details for the melee-based multiplayer outing.

These details include an all-new Breach map: The Viking Fortress of Storr Stronghold, alongside either Hulda or Gretar -- the Jormungandr female and male representatives of new Viking recruits.

The Jormungandr are Viking sectarians who wear their devotion to the Great Serpent, after whom they are named, on their scarred bodies. Led by Hulda or Gretar, respectively the female and male version of the New Hero, the Jormungandr aims at crushing the weak before Ragnarok comes, as they believe only the most worthy must remain for the Great Battle. Wielding their mighty War Hamarr during fights, they cull their opponents with their powerful attacks.

All players will have the chance to wield their weapons on a new Breach map, the Viking fortress of Storr Stronghold, included in the upcoming Season. Following in the footsteps of previous gameplay updates, Year 3 Season 3 will also further balance the roster with new Hero updates to the Nobushi, Shinobi, Orochi, and many other Heroes.

Ubisoft also reminds us that For Honor will be a part of the new Ubi game subscription service, Uplay+. Watch a new trailer for For Honor Year 3 Season 3, which drops for Year 3 pass holders on August 1 and non pass holders on August 8, emebedded below.

Launching next week Ubisoft's melee combat game For Honor is set to get its biggest update yet with the Marching Fire expansion. We went hands-on with the new Arcade mode recently and were immediately impressed with what we saw. The new update also comes on the heels of a new milestone for the game - 15 million players.

"Warriors fight together and this is exemplified by the ever-growing For Honor community of players worldwide. Over the last year, we have worked tirelessly to do right by our community as we continue to build and expand the world of For Honor, and it is the community's passion that has ensured that we have been able to stay the course," says Stephane Cardin, senior producer at Ubisoft Montreal. "On behalf of the entire team, we would like to thank the 15 million warriors that have taken up arms and joined us on the battlefield. We are deeply honored to have reached this milestone, and we will continue to support For Honor so that more may enjoy what we've built so far."



The Marching Fire update introduces new heroes a new castle defense multiplayer mode as well as the PvE action of Arcade. With a seasonal approach to new content and a steady stream of new players thanks to recent free-to-play endeavors, For Honor follows in the footsteps of another Ubisoft title - Rainbow Six Siege - in providing new and meaningful content to grow its community. Plus, there are dedicated servers now.

Where it looks like Ubisoft are deploying a Rainbow Six Siege model to its medieval melee combat game For Honor. The For Honor Starter Edition includes "access to the full game, story mode, and all PvP modes, with a different system for unlocking Heroes". In that it will offer access to three of the heroes from the beginning - Warden, Raider, and Kensei.

Best of all it's currently free to install and play on Steam so be sure to head here to get swinging. Access to additional heroes is available via the Practice Mode but will cost in-game currency earned via playing to add to your roster. Alternatively upgrading to different versions of For Honor, or buying a Season Pass, will provide faster access to the larger roster.



Ubisoft are also continuing to support For Honor, with the next expansion called Marching Fire coming in October that features a brand new PvE Arcade Mode - which you can see in the trailer above as well as check out our hands-on preview here.

At Gamescom we got a little bit of For Honor surprise, in that a fun new PvE style Arcade Mode is coming as part of an upcoming major update. In our hands-on time with the new mode, the short-and-sweet co-op action proved to be just the right amount of challenge for clearing some of the melee dust of sword hand (i.e. thumbs).

It can be daunting jumping into the game at this juncture though, as it’s been out in the wild long enough that the barrier of entry against more seasoned blade-wielders might put you off. This has been something Ubisoft Montreal has been well aware of over the game’s tenure, and as they continue to support it post-release, they’re coming up with more and more uniquely engaging ways to subvert any apprehension you might have about jumping in.

One new initiative, which was on-hand at this year’s Gamescom, is the addition of an Arcade Solo and Coop mode that is short and sweet, but everlong in what it offers up encounter to encounter. I managed to get hands-on with this new mode, and opted for the Solo PvE experience and played with two new characters in Jiang Ju -- a once feared general from the Wu Lin clan, who wields a massive guandao and Nuxia -- a bodyguard “betrayed by allies” with a thirst for vengeance utilising her unpredictable hook swords.

Click Here to Read Our Full For Honor’s Arcade PvE Quest Mode Hands-On

For Honor: Standard Edition, Ubisoft's melee fighter that features samurai and knights and more is currently free on PC via Uplay. Available from June 11th to June 18th be sure to grab what is no doubt a fun, interesting, a visually impressive brawler. Naturally, the freebie news marks the announcement of a new expansion which is due on October 16.

Called Marching Fire it's being referred to as the biggest and most ambitious update to the game so far.

For Honor: Marching Fire, is a major update encompassing new heroes, new a PVP mode, unlimited PVE content and a comprehensive graphical update.
Features

NEW HEROES FROM THE FAR EAST – Four warriors from the Wu Lin faction are traveling west after civil war, betrayal and personal tragedies strike close to home. The Jiang Jun, once a feared general, now uses his guandao to wreak havoc on the West. The Nuxia, a bodyguard betrayed by allies, uses her hook swords to slay anyone who stands in her way. The Shaolin, a warrior monk forced to watch his monastery burn, now spreads the gospel with his staff. The Tiandi once sat fourth in line for the throne but was consumed by madness and killed his brothers, ultimately leading to the defeat of his empire. Now, he atones by seeking out the wicked with his broadsword.

BREACH THE CASTLE – Attack and defend a castle in Breach, For Honor’s new strategic 4v4 PvP mode. Attackers must work together to storm the castle gates and kill the Lord of the castle, while defenders must either take down the battering ram or kill all attackers to protect the Lord.

UNLIMITED SINGLE PLAYER CONTENT – A new mode, yet to be revealed, offering unlimited single player and 2-person co-op PVE content.

GRAPHICALLY ENHANCED – Significant graphical enhancements bring you closer to the action than ever before.

For more on the core game, which again is currently free to own on PC, check out our full review.

For access to the free version of For Honor - head here.

Haven't played For Honor yet? No worries, Ubisoft has you covered and also has Aussie servers to make your experience all the better. Starting today, a full free weekend for the game kicks off, ahead of Season Six which launches later this month. And, if you jump into the free weekend and want to purchase the game, you can keep all progress and will be offered a massive purchase discount.

A 67-percent reduction in price, to be exact. Season Six, which drops for free on May 17 will also feature:

• New Map: One new map, the Beachhead, will expand the battlefield. The Beachhead will be available to all players for free and playable in all multiplayer modes except Tribute. Once a grand fortress of solitude and respite, it remains a picturesque view from afar and is a desirable stronghold for any army hoping to sway the odds of battle in their favor.
  
• Major Hero Reworks: In the wake of Season Five’s Hero updates and positive feedback from players, For Honor will continue to improve and harmonize the current roster as two Heroes – the Orochi and Peacekeeper – will receive major gameplay updates with Season Six. More Heroes will receive similar updates in the future as the development team continues to prioritize game balancing.
  
• The Visual Collection: This new feature will allow players to track all visuals they have obtained and then apply them on any gear they have in a separate in-game menu. This will help reduce the need to hoard gear for the reason of simply keeping visuals in one’s inventory, and also directly address player feedback about the lack of inventory space.

“We’re happy to see players react positively to our recent For Honor updates, which included the launch of dedicated servers and extensive Hero balancing changes, as well as new onboarding features,” said Roman Campos-Oriola, creative director of For Honor. “In addition to improving the core experience, we are also working on new content, including all-new Heroes; tune in during E3 2018 to learn more!” Following the introduction of the all-new training mode, the implementation of dedicated servers, and other updates, which have brought significant improvements to the player experience, the For Honor team has been dedicated to making the game more stable, accessible, and engaging for all players. To learn more about the development team’s vision for Season Six and beyond, please visit: "http://forhonorgame.com/season6" target="_blank">http://forhonorgame.com/season6.

Continuing post-release support for the unique melee-based multiplayer game, For Honor, Ubisoft has announced a new seasonal event taking place from today (October 20) through to November 2, partly in celebration of the Halloween partying period we're all about to either enjoy, or groan at.

Titled "Feast of the Otherworld", the event takes place across all three platforms and mixes up the base game with new skeleton soldiers, while also offering up Halloween-themed loot for exclusive collection during this event.

This new event brings a haunting variation of the 4v4 Dominion mode, where skeletons have taken over the battlefield. Players will also be able to loot exclusive Halloween-themed cosmetics during the event, including mood effects, emotes and ornaments.

The addition of unique Endless March mode introduces a new set of rules for the 4v4 Dominion mode, which challenges players to adapt their strategies to take down the opposing team. In Endless March, soldiers appear as skeletons and deal brutal damage. Conquering zones will only yield temporary points; the only sources of permanent points available to players come from killing soldiers and enemy players. As with Dominion, players must reach 1000 points and defeat all 4 enemy players in order to win the game.

The Feast of the Otherworld brings players new Halloween-themed rewards. Players can customize each of their Heroes with new mythic outfits that include all-new masks, which transform players into ghoulish versions of themselves. Additional For Honor weekly content released during this time will have a special Halloween flavor to celebrate the limited-time event.

Watch a trailer for the new timed event embedded below.

Which will lead up to the beginning of Season Three, dubbed "Grudge & Glory". Which means everyone will get access to the current "Shadow & Might" content, proving that in addition to being a solid melee combat game For Honor also knows how to name an update. This weekend everyone will be given access to the entire game, included all single and multiplayer content on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

As detailed in the following trailer.



For more info, visit www.forhonorgame.com/freeweekend

Which will "improve connectivity and match stability". In other words the dictionary definition of Dedicated Server. This is great news because For Honor's melee combat and online modes are a lot of fun, so the switch will eliminate a lot of the lag issues and exploits found at launch. The update will come as the game prepares to roll out Seasons 3 and 4 of For Honor competition starting next month.

Creative Director Roman Campos-Oriola noted in the following post that "listening to the community and analyzing their feedback has been really key, because we quickly understood we had to work hand-in-hand with them in order to improve the game". This line of thinking relates not only to the switch to dedicated servers but also the suite of updates and new content that For Honor has seen since launching in February.

Talking about dedicated servers Game Director notes that the change is "A big job. I won’t lie to you, it’s a very big change. We often use a metaphor, internally, that we’re changing the engine of a car while it runs. So it’s a lot of work, but it’s work that has already started quite some time ago. But it will take time, and it will go through several steps before we can release it progressively to the players."

For Honor will also continue to get new content in the form of new maps, new heroes, balance changes, and a new expanded tutorial and training arena. Here's a summary of what's coming.

Dedicated Servers – The development team at Ubisoft Montreal is currently working on a dedicated server infrastructure. In conjunction to the dedicated server implementation, enhancing peer-to-peer stability and matchmaking remain priorities for the team.
Two New Seasons – In August and November, For Honor will receive new season updates, introducing adjustments to the way players fight on the battlefield. Content from each of these seasons includes new heroes, maps, gear variations, gameplay updates and more. All season pass owners will receive early access for the new heroes released during the season. Further details will be revealed at a later date.
New Game Features – Competitive play with a duel tournament feature and ranked 4v4 matches, as well as a brand-new 4v4 PvP game mode, will be added to For Honor in the coming months.
New Training Mode – A more robust training option for both new and veteran players to hone their skills before heading to the battlefield.
Global Balancing Updates – Building on the updates since launch, For Honor will receive more changes aimed at balancing heroes and game modes. Some of these changes will improve elements of the fight system to make attacking more advantageous while putting more pressure on defense. All these changes will be tested via public test environments on PC with the first test starting today.

For more info and an in-depth interview with the team, head here.

With the two new heroes being the Centurion and the Shinobi -- trailers for both can be found after the jump. Season Two will also bring two new maps into the mix, Forge and Temple Garden. Because hey, every multiplayer game needs to have a map called 'Forge' at some stage. All new maps and gameplay updates are currently free for all players with the two heroes available to Season Pass owners until May 23.

Where they'll be up for grabs for 15,000 steel a piece.

Centurions are close-quarters melee fighters that specialize in bypassing defenses and draining their opponent’s stamina. Their short range necessitates getting up close and personal to knock opponents off balance. Once enemies are staggered, the Centurion can punish them with a charged heavy and high damage jump attack. Equipped with the reliable standard-issue gladius, the Centurion is perfectly suited for getting in close and executing short-range combination attacks.

The Shinobi are experts at maneuvering around the battlefield. Equipped with backflip, front roll, dodge cancel and super sprint abilities, Shinobi are hyper agile and mobile heroes. While their low health and difficulty performing defensive counters can leave them vulnerable, their agility and long-range attacks more than make up for their lack of defense. They wield the traditional Japanese kusarigama, a weapon composed of a sickle with a chain attached. With the ability to throw and retract their kusarigama and grab at a distance, Shinobi have the longest range of any hero.

The game-within-the-game Faction War has also been expanded with Season Two offering up new territories to control.

When you take a moment to stop and think about it, trying to walk around in all that medieval armour is kind of a ridiculous proposition. Especially when it's not that great a defense against, you know, swords. But, it does look cool. And For Honor understands the appeal of (real) old-school fighting as it gives players the option to suit up as either a Knight, Viking or Samurai warrior. So then, is it any good? Well, read on to find out.

From our review.

Its longevity will come down to well For Honor can retain its audience. The War of Factions stuff sounds great, but feels lacking in its overall presentation. But there are memorable flashes of brilliance when playing the multiplayer modes, and you come up against another player. And through sheer skill and understanding of the combat, you’re able to gain the upper hand in a heated and intense exchange of metal. And then, put the exclamation point on the outcome with a suitably violent execution. Also, sneaking up on someone to quickly take them out before they can react. Or simply, respecting the Warrior Code and watching two other players duel against the backdrop of AI skirmishes, rain, and all manner of dirt, stone, and fire.

Click Here to Read Our For Honor Review

Following a successful beta that had over 6 million people don the attire of either a samurai, viking, or regular iron-clad knight, For Honor is out now for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. And speaking of PC, the beta drew the largest audience in Ubisoft history for a PC beta. Which is fitting, seeing as the game is based on history. As in the time that a global threat meant that samurai warriors and vikings and knights all decided to go to war. The middle ages they called it.

Anyway, that's according to that one episode of Ancient Aliens we saw on The History Channel.

Developed by Ubisoft Montreal in collaboration with other Ubisoft studios, For Honor offers an engaging campaign and thrilling multiplayer modes. Players embody warriors of the three Great Factions – the bold Knights, the brutal Vikings and the deadly Samurai – fighting to the death on intense and believable melee battlefields. The Art of Battle, the game’s innovative combat system that puts players in total control of their warriors, allows them to utilize the unique skills and combat style of each Hero to vanquish all enemies who stand in their way.

  

Did you manage to go hands-on with the beta for For Honor? What did you think of the combat? After not really feeling one way or another we were certainly impresses and plan to dig into the full version over the next few days.

After the recent Closed Beta, Ubisoft's multiplayer melee combat game For Honor is all set to go into Open Beta across all platforms from February 10 to 13. The Open Beta will feature four game modes and nine playable Heroes across six maps. Giving players a sizable chunk of the full game when it released on February 14. Which is the day after its over. And as that's basically right after the Open Beta ends, you can be sure that this is basically a timed multiplayer demo of the full release.

Included in the "Open Beta" will be the game's intriguing Faction War feature that lets players choose a side and take part in a strategic push for control over specific bits of land. In a new video going over how it all works, we get to see it in action. And as progress carries over from Season to Season, going into the "Open Beta" the Vikings are currently in the lead, so to speak.



For Honor will be released February 14 and in addition to the multiplayer modes, story-driven campaigns for the factions are also expected.

Just in time for Australia Day too -- with the For Honor Closed Beta slated to happen over the weekend of January 26-29. Sign ups are still open so if you haven't had the chance the chance to pledge your sword to the cause, there's still time. Launching alongside the beta is the game's War of the Factions metagame that tracks all multiplayer activities across all platforms.

Posing the question, who's the strongest? The Vikings, old-timey Knights, or the Samurai. War of the Factions sounds like a pretty cool addition to the game, with players from the winning faction being rewarded once the full game is released -- where War of the Factions will take on the role of more traditional seasons.



For Honor will be available February 14.

Out in February, Ubisoft's For Honor looks set to provide visceral melee combat with a sizable portion of medieval fantasy as it's all set to combine the fighting styles of Vikings, Samurai, and Knights. And with both a single-player and multiplayer component that means we're getting close to beta time. For Honor will be conducting a Closed Beta in January, so be sure to head here to register.

In the mean time you can marvel at all the different types of armour in this new story trailer. Which seems to point to a narrative set around putting a rag tag group of fighters together from all the different disciplines in the game to take on whoever it is that needs taking on. A simple setup sure, but a great one.



In terms of multiplayer For Honor offers up 12 unique heroes across the three playable Factions. And today Ubisoft has revealed three new ones. And we can tell you right now that we'll be in the 'Shugoki 24/7' club.

Shugoki: Once the guardians of the Samurai, they have become as family. Massive and fierce, their weapon of choice is the kanabo, a huge stick that they only can wield efficiently. The Shugoki might not have the same agility as the other Samurai, but their rock-like resistance and demon-like strength make them an unavoidable force on the battlefield.

Warlord: Warlord is a name from an ancient Viking tradition, a name that is earned by only the true leaders in combat, those who are ready to spend their whole life servicing all who need it. Warlords’ shields are as versatile as they are strong and their sword, while simple in design, is sharp and deadly.

Peacekeeper: Selected from the desperate, the humbled or the devoted, they are sworn to secrecy by unbreakable oaths. Quick and lethal, they fight with a short sword in one hand and a dagger in the other. Peacekeepers are the deadliest duelists of all Assassins, capable of winning a fight before their enemy even knows they are here.

The For Honor details don't stop there, as Ubisoft has also announced that the game's Competitive Seasons will be tied to a cross-platform metagame called Faction War that will track the conflict between the Knights, Vikings and Samurai. With stuff like points and War Assets being accrued and then spent to conquer and defend territories.

It all sounds very cool, and if For Honor has the gameplay to back it all up then it could quite easily become the first sleeper hit of 2017.

From Samurai to Knight to Viking dude. The melee combat styling of For Honor is a refreshing departure from the button-mashing unrealistic hit detection of most third-person action games. Providing "a layer of depth few games in the space have". With the full game slated for release in February the game is heading into a closed alpha test soon, and we've got three trailers showcasing some of the visceral combat.

First up, we've got the Kensei from samurai warrior faction.


Next up is the Warden from the Knight faction, who comes equipped with a massive two-handed sword.



And finally there's the scruffy, but very cool Viking Raider.

At this year's Gamescom we had a chance ahead of the show proper to take on one of For Honor's competitive multiplayer game modes -- Objective. A point capture beast that boasts 4v4 with huge numbers of AI, earnable "Feats" and an all-important "Revenge" system.

Here's a snippet from our hands-on:

This could all be the product of not playing enough of the game to fully grasp the intricate balance of all the systems though. However, I did play for an hour on a single mode called Objective, which is a Domination-styled 4v4 multiplayer offering with three capture points -- two (A and C) flanking a single, heavily AI populated lane (B). AI are a filler concept, and based on the tide of the match, it will either be your friendlies or the enemy who flood the lane. They’re also a kind of XP and health currency. You can also gain health for standing in a captured area, and you’ll earn twice as many points for populating a captured point, and defending it. In Objective, you can also revive downed players and you’ll earn Feats (like kill streak rewards) for what the team is calling Renown, which is basically being one of the better players on the field of battle.

We had a chance to play as one character from all three factions -- Knights, Samurai and Vikings with mostly heavies on offer, as well as the Samurai’s Orochi class, which is essentially a more nimble assassin. You have endless run regardless of the archetype you play, and you can use the environment to your advantage. The Viking Warlord for example can run at their opponent and if timed correctly, you can grab them, lift them off the ground and essentially spear tackle them into the environment. Some spiked walls make this a dangerous move if you’re in the wrong position, while being anywhere near a ledge when a Warlord comes gunning for you could be one of your worst mistakes. Each character has the ability to use the environment in unique ways like this, and once the game is out in the wild it’s going to be interesting to see just how the community starts to utilise this ulterior form of offense.

Click here for our full, in-depth hands-on with For Honor's multiplayer.

At E3 2016 we were given a chance to take Ubisoft Montreal's For Honor for a little sword-swinging stroll. We also spoke with producer Stephane Cordin who gave some insight into the game's beginnings and what they hope to achieve with such a lofty project.

Here's a snippet from our feature:

On paper, it’s every kid who grew up watching sword-fighting epics’ dream. What if we put some of the most disciplined sword-wielders from history into the same story; into the same fight? What would happen? Which discipline would win out? Whose culture had the strongest will to win, and to survive? In fact, History Channel and the like have made entire series around those very questions, but they’re all spoken to, and presented in, a modern dialogue.

Now, sure, I get where your concern lies -- well, videogames are a modern dialogue too, right? Yes, as a medium, but not in what that medium is capable of doing, if put into the right sword hand. For instance, the game’s main driver, Jason Vandenberghe, is a passionate sword person. He was behind Ubsoft’s Red Steel 2 -- one of the first games requiring the Wii MotionPlus add-on controller device which he felt brought unseen fidelity to gaming (if you click that link, bear in mind that was in 2009). Jason’s For Honor producer compatriote Stephane Cardin was also happy to explain that Vandenberghe himself is a student of the sword -- the German broadsword, to be specific. And also that he has been pitching this idea to Ubisoft for more than three years.

Click here for our preview feature, and stay tuned for more from Stephane on the game soon.

For Honor, the surprise heavy soldier action game from Ubisoft, is looking more and more deadly with every media drop. Today the publisher has focused on the Oni Samurai soldier you'll be able to take up arms with in the game, in its latest trailer.

FOR HONOR is a competitive third-person melee fighting game mixing speed, strategy, and team play with visceral close range combat in multiplayer action.

Experience the chaos, fury, and brutality of battle where you and your friends cut a bloody trail of carnage as brutal Vikings, deadly Knights, and cold-blooded Samurai.

The innovative ART OF BATTLE system lets you feel the power of every strike, the strength of every impact, and the weight of the weapon in your hand.

Watch the new trailer embedded below.