Year of Reckoning Season 2

## Tyranny

> *"What do we fight for? Peace!?*
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> *Peace is a false hope! It is a lie told by leaders who have lost the will to fight. But the time of reckoning has come! We will cleanse Heathmoor from the liars and the wicked. We will start a new era for the truest heroes of this world!*
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> *Peace is poison! We are war!"*
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**Year of Reckoning: Season 2**, named "Tyranny," is the fourteenth season of the ongoing Faction War. While the world has its eye on the peace and Honor Games, a sinister threat was brewing. A group of mysterious warriors naming themselves as the Horkos geared up and gathered secret allies from all factions. Peace was soon to be a distant dream as they make their attempt to bring back the Age of Wolves.

## Overview

> *Peace is beautiful, but it is also fragile. Temporary. A false promise of happiness. Some warriors may still live in blissful hopes for peace, but the Truce of Wyverndale is soon to be a distant memory.*
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> *Year 4 Season 2 Tyranny is a new chapter in For Honor's history. Hope may be a waking dream, but peace cannot survive on tainted soil. War is coming!"*
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A genuine feeling of hope grew in everyone’s heart as the Truce of Wyverndale convinced more and more people across Heathmoor. Yet a sinister threat was also brewing. As the celebrations of the Honor Games continued with a reenactment of past battles against Apollyon and the Blackstones, a group of mysterious warriors geared up and gathered secret allies from all factions. Peace would soon become a distant dream...

In one of For Honor's most ambitious season's ever, Tyranny brings much anticipated updates from the community with fight updates, events, new customization, a new battle pass and a new Hero that will reveal themself amidst the season.

## Features

### Test Your Metal - Metal Trials

> *The Honor Games are not over yet. Season 2 continues with the Metal Trials: a tribute to the fall of Apollyon. Warriors from all factions will reenact legendary battles, impersonating the heroes and villains who made history. Not only will you be able to replay the fan-favorite gamemode, Test Your Metal, you will also get access to all the great rewards that come with it.*
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The Test Your Metal gamemode event makes a return to For Honor as the Honor Game shifts its focus on reenacting the events of Apollyon's reign. The gamemode has been rebranded as a the Metal Trials and has the team fight against powerful adversaries from the story campaign. During the first two weeks, players will face one of three faction teams, headed by Apollyon for the Knights, Tozen for the Samurai, and Gudmundr for the Vikings. In the last week, the champions of each faction will group together in a final face-off.

The gamemode is a team deathmatch and is the best of 7 rounds. During the event, players can collect loot from the Apollyon's Legacy event, including exclusive gear, weapon visuals and more. Even the Y3 and Y4 Heroes have been given their own special gear visuals in anticipation of this event.

More information about this gamemode can be found here.

### Centurion Rework

> *Thanks to your participation in Testing Grounds, Season 2 marks the official release of the Centurion update to the live game. You will now also be able put a face to the word: **Incredibilis!***
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Coming with the season update is the much awaited rework of Centurion. After much testing both internally and through the Testing Grounds, the Devs bring to For Honor a renewed Roman warrior. Changes made to his kit have been done to either alleviate frustrating aspects or to improve his flexibility in dealing with more fight situations.

#### Overview

Centurion suffered from some problems in his fight kit – his offense never forced a reaction from the opponent in 1v1 scenarios and didn’t offer much in team fights besides his powerful ability to gank through inconsistent binding rules when it came to revenge-armor. This meant that Centurion was basically forced to turtle in 1v1s until a parry allows him to perform the Cutscene, or gank into the cutscene in 4v4 scenarios. This was very limiting for the Centurion, and frustrating for the opponent.

As we try to improve the Centurion, we would like to see him initiate and sustain offense and also reduce his ability to bind an opponent into certain death.

See more about the behind-the-scene for this update at this deep dive page.

#### Changes

* Jab and Charged Heavy Finishers are now feintable (hard feint and soft feint into GB) later into the animation, even when they approach being fully charged.
* Bind on Full Charged Heavies (Openers & Finishers) has been reduced from 1300ms to 766ms to allow the opponent the ability to react to Centurion's next attack.
* Zone Attack can be feinted after the first and second hit, together with having target-swapability throughout the three strikes. Damage per attack has been reduced, but Stamina cost has been spread evenly between each attack (20 per strike).
* Jab itself has received some improvements aside from being feintable:
	+ Has the ability to target-swap now.
	+ Gains Uninterruptible when fully charged .
	+ Jab-feint-into-Guardbreak has improved in being a roll catcher.
	+ Minimum charge Jab deals less Stamina damage (10 instead of 30) and does not stun anymore.
	+ Charge portion is longer at 800ms, compared to 600ms before. Min-to-max charge Jab speed has been lengthened in response to this, becoming 800-1400ms from 700-1000ms.
* Attacks have been sped up:
	+ Chain and Finisher Lights are standardized now, both becoming 500ms, down from 600ms and 700ms respectively. They also deal more damage.
	+ Legion Kick is now faster at 500ms, sped up from 600ms. Inflicts less Stamina damage but also costs less Stamina.
	+ Eagle's Fury (forward dodge + Heavy) is now faster at 800ms, from 1000ms. Deals more damage.
* Quick Throw removed. Replaced with Jab (Light attacks now chain into Jab).
* Parry Counter (Parry + GB) now deals less Stamina damage. It also now chains into either a Jab (instead of Kick) or a chain Light attack.
* Wallsplats guarantee a fully charged Jab or Heavy.
* Eagle's Talon (Heavy on downed opponents) deals more damage, and now fully regenerates Centurion **and the victim's** Stamina.
* Centurion's forward movement and forward dodge distance have been increased, while many of his attacks have better forward momentum to catch back strafing opponents better.
* And more...!

Together with this rework, Centurion is receiving a new line of armor gear which reveal his face for all to see. Check the patch notes for more info on specific changes made.

### New Armors and Weapons

> *For Honor's Year 4 Season 2 Tyranny brings brand new emotes, executions, outfits and armor variation. If you are not sold on the concept of peace, Tyranny brings you more ways to show how edgy you really are.*
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The warriors of Horkos want to be both feared and revered on the battlefield. Some of them wear black and gold attires as an homage to the former Blackstone Legion. Having secured the best resources available in Heathmoor, they are able to forge frightful armors for their allies across all factions.

Get access to the Horkos rewards during Y4S2 Tryanny through the seasonal and battle pass rewards.

All Heroes have received a Rare weapon visual which reflects the sinister arrival of Tyranny. As for armor, the original Heroes together with the Marching Fire Wu Lin heroes have received variations of already existing sets. While Centurion has received an entirely new set of gear in celebration of his rework, Year 1 and Year 4 DLC Heroes will receive new visuals later in the season.

### Hero Updates

Other Heroes have been rebalanced, with a focus on what the community found to be frustrating to play against or as. These changes hopefully allow for better balance and to reduce frustration they may have caused.

* Jormungandr:
	+ Uninterruptible start-up on his Heavy Openers and Serpent Smite (forward dodge heavy) have been delayed to 300ms before the attack lands.
		- Their start-up values were 400ms for Heavies and 100ms for Serpent Smite.
		- Their new value is now 500ms for Side Heavies, 600ms for Top Heavies and 700ms for Serpent Smite.
	+ Stamina damage and Regeneration pauses have been reduced on all bashes.
	+ Light Finishers and Bash Finishers now have frame disadvantage to prevent spamming.
	+ Light Openers chain into Light Finishers a little later, with Jotunn Surge doing the same when chained into any Finishers. This gives opponents an easier time parrying the follow-up Light Finisher.
	+ Heavy Finishers feinted into Guardbreak now have better tracking.
* Hitokiri:
	+ Uncharged Heavy Openers now don't have Uninterruptible Stance. Fully Charged Heavy Openers still have Uninterruptible Stance.
	+ Sweep's Uninterruptible Stance start-up delayed to 1000ms from 800ms.
	+ Light Openers, Heavy Openers and Infinite Heavies chain to the next attack slightly later, allowing opponents a wider window to dodge the next attack.
	+ Light Finishers aren't Enhanced anymore.
	+ Heavy Openers and Infinite Heavies
	+ Senbonzakura now counts as a Top Unblockable attack, thus can be parried now.
* Shugoki's Openers have had their Uninterruptible Stance start-up delayed. To 300ms (was 200ms) for Lights, no earlier than 433ms (was 400ms) for Heavies.
	+ Heavy Openers now also does not have Guardbreak Immunity during the charge phase.
* Jiang Jun & Lawbgringer have had their max health reduced to 140. Previously, they have 145 and 150 health respectively.
	+ Lawbringer's Impale attack now follows the same rules for binding an opponent on hit as other attacks
* Nuxia's exclusive T1 and T4 feats have been buffed:
	+ Damage buff from Deadly Duet (T1) increased to 20% from 15%.
	+ Infection (T4) has had some changes:
		- Damage model has change to be a flat 10 damage per tick, from 5 (+3 per incremental ticks). Still ticks every second.
		- The ability now lasts 10 seconds (from 6.9 seconds).
		- Cooldown has been reduced to 120s from 180s
		- Effect radius reduced to 5m from 6m.
		- Activation now causes a Light Hit reaction on the target.
		- Visual feedback has been improved.
* Black Prior's Bulwark Counter has been fixed so that it cannot be used in unintended situations. It now only counters "Attacks." This means it will not react to Feat Traps, ragdolls, people entering/exitting ladders, etc.

### Battle Pass

> *The new battlepass is also here. Through the hundred tiers, get access to the new collections of items that you'll be able to unlock as you progress through the free or premium pass. Battle Pass and season content will be themed around a secret society in Heathmoor, named the Order of Horkos. This cult is determined to spread their influence on all factions, no matter the cost.*
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Rejecting the peace offered by the leaders, the cult known as the Order of Horkos has risen as a secret society in Heathmoor. It was created by a group of mysterious warriors who rallied the former Blackstones to their cause. With spies and covert allies across all factions, it has gained more and more influence over the past years. Its members believe they have been chosen by a deity, named Horkos, to weed out all impostors and hypocrites. Drawing some of their powers from alchemy, they are determined to become the leaders of a new world.

Through the influence of the Horkos, bring together magic, alchemy and corruption with this set of items from the Battle Pass.

Due to the Year of Reckoning releasing only two Heroes, the Year Pass has been replaced with the seasonal Battle Pass. Bring your customization to a whole new level with 100 Tiers of rewards for all heroes, all worth over a million Steel! As this pass is seasonal, progression through the Pass will reset at the end of the season.

#### Free & Premium Pass

The Season Pass has two ranks: the Free Pass and the Premium Pass. All players will have access to the Free Pass, earning rewards which include embossings, ornaments, an emblem outline, color swatches, paint patterns and more. Rewards are earned every few tiers.

The Premium Pass on the other hand offers the bulk of rewards, such as new signatures, new weapons, new executions, new effects, and more. Premium Pass owners will still receive rewards from the Free Pass. The Premium Pass also offers +10% Battle Points, the points necessary to progress through the Battle Pass tiers.

As both Pass' progression are shared, a player is able to upgrade to a Premium Pass and receive all rewards they would have gotten if they had purchased the Premium Pass from the start.

*Note*: Compared to last season, a few improvements have been made to the Battle Pass. Aside from increasing the amount of Steel and Salvage that was received per tier by tenfold, Battle Pass Gear can now be freely applied to other Gears regardless of rarity. This Battle Pass Gear change applies to past Battle Pass Gears too.

#### Notes

Take note that the purpose of the Battle Pass is to guarantee rewards for players, compared to how all rewards were based around random drops post-match or scavenger crates. The Battle Pass however will not replace any current system of cosmetics and loot gain, such as the above mentioned random drops, any event loot or the content of the week.

Content of the Battle Pass, even for the Premium Pass, will only be character customization items and consumables, preventing a pay-to-win model. All tiers are also visible to Free Pass owners, so there are no hidden rewards. However, the exclusive rewards in the Premium Pass may become unobtainable at the end of the season.

Progression through the tiers of either Passes can be hastened with Steel, skipping either 1, 5 or 20 tiers at once. The price for hastening progress is static through the tiers and between both ranks of Battle Passes.

### Other Changes

Four new emotes will be added to the game, with two coming after the Metal Trials. The first two emotes display an attitude of discontent and rudeness through "Dubious Assessment" and "One of your Shrugs." The latter two emotes display an air of confusion or skepticism through "Confused Warrior" and "Skeptically Swaying." All four of these emotes were winners of the Emote contest held last year.

To reflect the season of Tyranny, there have been changes to the menu elements. New menu music, together new background visuals for all menus. Just like last season with the "Master of Peace" effect visual, this season has an effect visual that can be earned in Ranked Duels called "Horkos Sigil." Later in the season, at the start of July, Horkos troops have set themselves up in Samurai and Knight territories on the war map (see gallery below).

Frustrations with revenge lock has been remedied this patch, as they have been either removed or greatly diminished for moves that force a specific animation when they land. Revenge lock had multiple issues, including a lack of responsiveness on activating Revenge and a lack of comprehension as to why Revenge didn't activate. To curb these issues, moves that locked revenge now allow victims to activate revenge once damage (Health and/or Stamina) has been dealt. This means that moves such as Nuxia's Traps, Shaman's Predator's Mercy and Black Prior's Bulwark Counter will still be able to Revenge Lock, but to a lesser extent; all other moves that used to lock should now be Revenge Parriable.

Here are the Heroes and moves affected by this change:

* Aramusha (Ring the Bell)
* Black Prior (Fixed issue with Bulwark Counter)
* Gladiator (Skewer, Punches during Skewer, Fuscina Ictus ("Toe Stab"), and fixed issue with Throws, including throws from Skewer, generating Revenge)
* Highlander (Caber Toss)
* Hitokiri (Rei Kick)
* Jiang Jun (Dou Shi's Choke)
* Jormungandr (Heavy Finishers, Jotunn Grudge, Jotunn Surge, Jotunn Farewell, Jotunn Gift)
* Lawbringer (Long Arm)
* Nuxia (Glass Waltz, Jade Ballet)
* Orochi (Hurricane Blast)
* Peacekeeper (After 3rd Bleed Stab)
* Raider (Knee hit after Stampede Charge)
* Shaman (After the bite during Predator's Mercy)
* Shaolin (Sun Kick, Sun Kick Sweep)
* Shinobi (Forward Double Kick, Side Double Dodge Kick, Sickle Rain (initial hit), 3rd hit of Sickle Rain Stabs, Slide Tackle, Front Roll Kick, Teleport Kick)
* Shugoki (After the hit during Demon's Embrace, Headbutt)
* Tiandi (Palm Strike, Dragon Kick)
* Valkyrie (Shoulder Pin, Spear Sweep)

Sanctuary Bridge has received some map adjustments. Ladders have been added to the overpass bridges leading to the respective Capture Zones, giving players options in how to approach those Zone especially if they are occupied by the opposing team. Debris and obstacles have been either cleared or changed to allow for ease of combat within the Zone. Ledges leading to Minion Lane for both Zones have been made into proper drops with improved response to drop input (for Zone C, the cart has been removed to make the drop a single drop than a two-step drop). Finally, some ledges have been removed.

Other smaller changes include the following:

* For Breach, the Guardian Boost visual effect for the altar has been improved to better reflect the new Guardian buff instated last season.
	+ The buff shown on Heroes has also changed from bright orange to electric blue.
* In regards to Bots, they have been adjusted to not be so defensively powerful. They should now parry/block less frequently and get hit by more attacks especially if the attack is fast.
	+ This should make PvAI combat feel more like fighting a human player, allowing players to use tactics from PvP also on the bots.
* The Event playlist on the multiplayer map now has a timer to indicate how much time is left until the Event ends.
* Feats such as Last Laugh have had bug fixes so that they now work properly.
* Fixed an issue where Tiandi in Arcade Quests used the Dark Prince model.
* A number of visual defects for gear visuals have been amended.

## Midseason

### Rise of the Warmongers

Before the arrival of the new Hero, one more actor takes stage to finally bring war to the land: the Warmonger! Taking on the look of the Destroyer herself, these tyrants have come to end the peace in Heathmoor. Stand up and fight against this terrible foe who in a deathmatch much akin to the Metal Trials, as they become stronger every round.

In the second half of the event, as the Warmonger is released as a playable Hero, players gain access to the Event Pass for some exclusive weapon visuals and effects.

Learn more about the event and the Event Pass here.

### New Hero: the Warmongers

She who walks the path of glory and death without fear will rise.

The Warmongers are determined to become the new leaders of Heathmoor. With renegades from all factions among their ranks, they wear grim masks as an homage to the fallen wolves who knew the true nature of war. The Warmongers prey upon enemies with their elegant flamberge and use a dark power named Corruption to weed out the weak.

She can be purchased for immediate access with monetary currency in the Warmonger Hero Offer bundle, or purchased seperately with in-game currency two weeks later. Purchasing her through the bundle not only gives access to Warmonger, but also offers an exclusive elite outfit, an exclusive ornament, 3 Scavenger Crates and 7 days of Champion Status.

See more about the Warmongers on their designated page here.

### Core Combat Update

Core Combat Update (CCU) offers changes to improve offense and timing consistency, together with reducing the effectiveness of light spam. The following are the changes that have been made through the CCU:

* Inputs now will not have variation between being buffered or delayed. The feinting effect has been changed so that it is more believable (the pre-patch feint effect has been moved to Dodges). Both should improve timing consistency.
* Stamina penalties removed from blocked, missed, interrupted and parried attacks to improve offense. Feints and Soft Feints still cost additional stamina.
	+ Stamina damage on a number of stamina draining moves were also buffed with the original CCU. However, in a later patch on August 27th, all moves that dealt more than 30 Stamina damage were standardized to deal only 30.
* Stamina cost for Lights increased to counter light spam.
	+ Originally, this bumped up Stamina costs for all Lights to 12. After some additional patches, normal Light Attacks (Opener/Chain/Finisher/Dodge/Soft Feint Lights) were adjusted to 9, while all other Lights (Guaranteed Lights and Berserker's Feint-into-Light) were reduced to 6. These should deter mindless spam while maintaining a player's ability to use them as viable offensive choices if used with intention, as originally intended.
* Damage values adjusted to incentivize the use of combos while reducing the strength of lights and parry punishes.
	+ Light attacks and counter-attack moves generally are weaker, while heavy attacks are stronger. Chain attacks (especially finishers) are stronger than openers. Faster attacks in general are weaker than slow attacks.
	+ In a later patch on August 27th, heavy attack damage were reduced to address the risk-reward balance as well as concerns with time-to-kill. They have been adjusted to values closer to what was had in the Testing Grounds' second phase.
	+ In the August 27th patch too, deflect attacks have been buffed due to the CCU standardization making them unrewarding. They should be a more rewarding option now.
* Recoveries normalized to shift frame advantage/disadvantage and hit stuns around. This will help improve offense, provide timing consistency, and also prevent continuous light spam.
	+ Light attacks are disadvantaged. This allows opponents to always have frame advantage if they end with a light finisher.
	+ Light attacks also have had their branching timing changed to allow opponents to dodge out of a Light Spam.
	+ Heavy attacks (particularly Finishers) are now advantaged, meaning there is more incentive to end chains with a Heavy to keep up the Offense.
* Sub-500ms opener attacks normalized to 500ms, and dodge attacks that were 500ms are now 533ms. Both are meant to counter the abuse of fast attacks.
* Zone attacks are made more comfortable to perform. In a later patch on August 27th, some Zone Attacks had their damage increased due to becoming too low as a result of the CCU standardization, especially if their Zone Attack were their most viable Guard Break punish; a few were decreased for being too high in damage.

Together with these changes, there have been changes to Feats & Perks to accommodate for the damage/stamina changes, together with adjustments to some Heroes' kits.

* Trap-based Feats now do not cause Stun effects and exhaust those caught in its blast radius by default. Those that kept it typically are meant to be used for the Stun, such as the Knight's Fiat Lux Feat.
* Shield and healing Feats/Perks now provide less shields/health. For shield Feats/Perks, their duration have also been reduced.
	+ The Shields Up and Vengeful Barrier perks' shields are now 25 from 15, but lasts only for 15 or 10 seconds respectively instead of infinitely.
* Damage resistance Feats/Perks either have had their values reduced or adjusted.
	+ For example, Hard to Kill now grants 30% damage resistance when at low health (under 50), from granting varied resistances based on current health.
* Orochi's Chain and Top Finisher Lights are now slightly slower (500ms from 400ms), but their Top Heavy Finisher is now Unblockable.
* Lawbringer's Shove moves (both Dodge and chain variants) now do not have Uninterruptible Stance.
* Aramusha's Heavy Attacks and Berserker's Chain Heavies are now slower.
* Highlander's Defensive Form Lights are now standardized to be as fast as other Heroes' Lights (500ms from 600/700ms).

Details for these changes can be checked out on the midseason's patch notes page here.

### New Content

New Illustrious outfits and Event Exclusive Execution have been released. You can either guide a sheep with Belligerent Shepherd or summon a wolf with Belligerent Alpha. Would you like to dictate if your foe is a sheep or a wolf as you hold a blade to their neck? Purchase the Wolf among Sheep execution!

### Other changes

The matchmaking screen has been changed to show all information for the gamemode that is being searched for. This also includes your own player statistics.

The Ram's health in the Breach gamemode has been increased from 9000 to 9750. Even after the Breach adjustments implemented back in the Season of Hope, data showed that Defenders still had a slight advantage. Increasing the Ram's health by one Cauldron drop should give a little more breathing room to push their ram forward.

Because of the invasion of the Horkos, the Shard remains in ruins with Draconite infecting the area. However, there is one more victim of the invasion: Daubeny and his castle where the Ring belongs to. Other maps such as Market Town and Overwatch have been wrecked by the spreading corruption. The faction statues on the faction war map have also been destroyed, with the Samurai one being covered by a tarp.

## Gallery

### Video

For Honor Tyranny Story Trailer Ubisoft NAFor Honor Year 4 Season 2 Tyranny Launch Trailer Ubisoft NA
## Trivia

* In anticipation for this season's Warrior's Den reveal on June 9th, a tweet was sent by the dev team the day before. It depicts Centurion walking off towards the Den while one of the staff attempts to notify Centurion with "Where are you going, Cent? The Warrior's Den isn't until tomorrow at 12:00pm ET / 16:00 UTC !"
	+ Check out the tweet itself here.
* This season was hinted at during the Blades of Persia event, where the event orders were cryptic riddles. The answers to these riddles were "Peace is poison" and "we are war," both of which are stated in this season's trailer.
* Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this season was delayed from mid-April 2020 to June 11th, 2020. Check out the dedicated section on the Y4S1 page for more.
* This season marks the first season where seasonal executions were faction execution, with one unified execution per faction.
	+ The Knight execution "Benedictio Militis" (lit. "A Soldier's Blessing" in latin) is in reference to what is known in the present as the accolade (alternatively, dubbing or adoubement); "Benedictio Militis" is its Latin name. The accolade was the central act in the rite of passage ceremonies into knighthood.
	+ The Viking execution "Sjaud" is a reference to Norse funerals, where on the seventh day after a person has died, people would celebrate *Sjaund* (sjöund; lit. "seventh") which included ritual drinking.
	+ The Samurai execution "Ware Shinaba" likely is read as "我死なば" in Japanese, which can be translated as "If I am to die..." This likely makes a reference to the act of seppuku performed in the Execution, where the victim "chooses" to die honourably instead of being executed in other ways. "If I am to die (I'll choose to die honorably)."
		- Seppuku (切腹; lit. "cutting the stomach"), sometimes known as "harakiri" (腹切; lit. "stomach cutting"), is a ritualistic suicide associated with the samurai of medieval Japan. It was used as a method to restore one's honor by voluntarily atoning for their sins in death, killing oneself to prevent capture by the enemies, or was a form of capital punishment.
		- While pop culture often portrays seppeku as simply stabbing oneself, likely to censor the act, seppeku was a form of disembowelment where beyond the initial stab, they would cut their stomach horizontally (and sometimes also vertically) to make their death slow and painful in atonement of their dishonour.
			* The inclusion of an assistant, or "*kaishakunin*" (介錯人; lit. "intervention person"), for the ceremony was not standardized until the 17th century, making the act of seppuku prior to then more painful and prolonged. The inclusion of an assistant beheading the disemboweled was meant to be an act of mercy.
	+ The Wu Lin execution "Tiandeng" uses the characters "天灯" (*Tiān dēng*) which translates to "sky lantern" or "heaven lantern."
		- In Chinese culture, the release of sky lanterns depends on the context of when they are released. In terms of death, releasing a sky lantern symbolizes the souls floating to heaven with the lantern either carrying or guiding them to their destination.