Patience leads to victory in For Honor, and the Heavy Class rewards players who can capitalize on their slow uptake. Boasting raw survivability and defense, this Class comprises Heroes who can hold their own in combat. What a Heavy Hero lacks in speed, they make up for with sheer resilience and protective potential. Their robust builds make way for devastating attacks on opponents who get the business end of their enormous weapons.
Granted, the slow nature of the Heavy Class make them less than ideal for players who love to dish out combos. However, in the right hands, a well-timed strike from a Heavy is everything a player needs to obliterate the competition.
10 They're Geared Towards Protection
When using any Heavy Hero, players should capitalize on their defensive potential. Heavies possess better defensive abilities and a naturally larger Health Pool in place of speed. This means they specialize in soaking damage than performing complex maneuvers. Heavies almost always encourage enemies to hit them as hard as they can – and they better hit first before the Heavy does.
Given the Full Block Stances of the Conqueror and Warlord, they enjoy a more defensive approach. Conquerors can follow up full blocks with infinite combo strings, whereas the Warlord can unleash multiple openers for a counter. Meanwhile, some Heavies rely on their combos to provide defense. The Hitokiri rely on charged attacks to pressure opponents, while the Jormungandr uses a variety of attack combos to harass enemies.
9 Moveset Adjusts Tanking Chains
As with most Heroes, Heavies follow the basic moveset flow in For Honor's rock-paper-scissors style combat. However, minor adjustments to any Heavy Hero's moveset declares their preferred tanking approach. Some Heavies tank better by soaking damage, while others tank better by dishing out stronger attacks.
For instance, the Jiang Jun can now open chains with Mighty Attacks and enjoy more Heavy Attacks with their Stamina regeneration. Meanwhile, the Conqueror and the Shugoki have stronger Charged Heavy Attacks. Certain Heavies also incorporate movesets with exclusive attacks. The Hitokiri has Rei Attacks that can knock opponents aside (Rei Kick), or even knockdown multiple enemies at a time (Rei Sweep).
8 The Gimmick Declares Defense
Despite being stalwart defenders, every Heavy Hero has a special gimmick that declares their preferred strategy. This gimmick plays along their moveset adjustments, and dictates how enemies should approach their position.
As an example, the Black Prior has Bulwark Techniques that weaponize defense. The Bulwark Stance can block recoveries and cancel attacks faster. This Stance leads into an unblockable sweep (Bulwark Slash) or an attack negator (Bulwark Counter). In turn, this encourages a more active role in defending points.
Since the Conqueror and the Warlord both have a Full Block Stance, they're encouraged to defend points more often. Their speed tradeoff also gives them a more reactive role in combat. This is better emphasized with the Conqueror's block-enabled charge (Defensible Charge), and the Warlord's push-back charge (Crashing Charge).
7 Become A Sentinel With Feats
Contrary to other Heroes, Heavies have abilities that take advantage of having as many enemies try to penetrate their defenses. Should players capitalize on these abilities, their Heavy Hero can transform into an impenetrable wall.
For instance, the Conqueror, the Warlord, and the Shugoki possess Juggernaut, a Feat that increases their defense in place of movement speed. This encourages more stationary play, which in turn benefits these Heavies' charge openers (Shugoki), block counters (Warlord), and zone attacks (Conqueror).
Meanwhile, the Jiang Jun and the Black Prior have Inspire, which gives the player and their allies a damage boost while giving their soldiers a speed buff. This encourages a joint defensive, perfect for capturing points.
6 Passives Encourage Defensive Play
Due to their status as a defensive class, it's expected for Heavies to possess defensive Self Passives. This much is true; in fact, some of their Passive buffs alter their defensive combat styles. For instance, the Conqueror, the Warlord, and the Shugoki have the Regenerate Passive, which gives them Health outside combat.
With a Conqueror, Regenerate encourages tactical retreats since their Heal On Block Passive (T3) gives back Health whenever they block. Likewise, Regenerate gives Warlords more room for timed attacks since their Deadly Passive (T1) improves damage every three seconds. Regenerate also encourages both riskier and defensive play for the Shugoki, since their Hard To Kill (T3) Passive improves damage reduction as they lose Health.
5 Debuffs Make Defense A Nightmare
As defenders, Heavies anticipate heavy enemy numbers to try and take them down. Thankfully, they have debuffs and abilities specifically designed to deter and resist an enemy's assault. With the right debuffs, a Heavy can transform the enemy's dream ambush into a nightmare.
The Hitokiri can trigger Fear Itself (T4) to decrease the defenses and Stamina regeneration of nearby enemies. This gives enemies less room for complicated maneuvers and dodges, perfect for the Hitokiri's deadly Heavy Attacks and non-interruptable attacks. Meanwhile, the Black Prior can trigger Doom Banner (T2) to decrease their attack and defense. This works well with Oath Breaker (T3), which removes all shields and shield generation of a target. This strategy leaves an enemy cluster open for the Black Prior's heavy counters.
4 Punish Enemies For Trying Too Hard
Like immovable monuments, Heavies serve as humbling reminders that an enemy's technique is useless against someone who doesn't budge. Certain Heavy Hero abilities are designed specifically to resist debilitating moves – and sometimes leave enemies open for a harsh counter.
The Punch Through Passive lets attacks damage blocking enemies. With this, it's as though the Conqueror, the Warlord, and the Shugoki are laughing at an opponent's lame attempt to block their assault. Additionally, the Hitokiri's Righteous Deflection (T2) gives it a ridiculous damage reduction boost when it parries an attack. Likewise, the Shugoki's Rock Steady (T2) won't let enemy Parries or Throws knock them down.
3 Look For Movement Options
Just because a Heavy trades speed for defense doesn't mean they shouldn't move. Despite their formidable defense, a Heavy with no way out is still vulnerable. Heavies should always look for movement options to expand their play. For instance, the Warlord can use Rush (T1) to get a movement boost to accompany repositioning attempts. Their Fury (T3) also improves sprinting alongside attack and defense, opening a chance to counter or escape.
Meanwhile, the Shugoki has Charge Of The Oni, a move that gives it 72.5-percent speed boost and works as a setup for multiple knock-asides or repositioning needs. The Black Prior has Iron Lungs (T1), a similar ability that lets them sprint even with empty Stamina. Opposite this is the Jormungandr's Centurion's March (T2), which temporarily grants unlimited Stamina.
2 Tap Into Unblockables
Compared to other Heroes, the Heavies have access to a lot of unblockable attacks and ones that cannot be interrupted attacks. This power is what they get for prioritizing defense over maneuverability, and players should capitalize on this opportunity.
The Warlord has uninterruptible Heavy Attacks, which work well with its all-blocking Full Block Stance. Meanwhile, most of the Shugoki's moves are uninterruptible during their startup phases. Additionally, the complex moveset of the Hitokiri grants access to some uninterruptible moves and unblockable charge attacks.
1 Assume Leadership As The Alternative
Given their potential to capture and defend points, it makes sense for Heavies to become leaders rather than Vanguards. In these situations, players can capitalize abilities that make it much easier for teammates to mow down enemies.
The Hitokiri has Tainted Gift (T2) which not only marks an enemy hero but regenerates Health for its killer and nearby allies. An extreme version of this is Jormungandr's Scout (T4) which marks all enemies for death and reveals them in the radar. Meanwhile, the Jiang Jun encourages heroism at a disadvantage. Against All Odds (T1) gives nearby allies a damage boost that scales based on how many more enemies exist in the field.