Each faction has its icons, whether its the Viking Raider or the Wu Lin Tiandi. But each faction also has its weakest and strongest characters to take into battle, fighters who outshine the rest of their army. Today, we'll be making a per-faction general tier list, averaging the characters' performance across game modes to determine which warrior each nation should depend on in their darkest hour, and which character you should try next if you like a faction but haven't yet picked up this list's winner.
The Knights: Black Prior
Slayer of armies, survivor of hordes.
Black Prior changes every teamfight he’s in, whether he’s outnumbered or ganking. His Bulwark Counter alters the power imbalance of every scenario in his favor, and his massive hitboxes (even on his light attacks) help cement his place at the top of every engagement. In duels, he’s no less threatening, with his myriad of unblockables and heavy damage, as well as stellar defense against all forms of attack.
Black Prior's strongest competition from within his faction is either Lawbringer or Centurion. They all have their areas of complete dominion; Conqueror is a defender, Lawbringer is a ganker. But Black Prior is anything you want him to be, and anything you need. Duelist, staller, anything, and that is why Black Prior is the best Knight character in the game. If you like the Knights, but haven't given him a shot yet, I would highly suggest you do so.
The Vikings: Berserker
The Berserkers of Valkenheim are rightly feared by foes of every stripe, Viking or otherwise. But unlike the similarly dreaded Shamans, the Berserkers are far better equipped to deal with larger-scale combat, boasting hyper armor, damage, unblockables, and recovery cancels galore to slaughter opponents of any numerical difference.
The Berserker is also a great duelist, with unreactable feints into lightning-fast light attacks and punishing guard breaks. He comes equipped with one of if not the best deflect in the game, capable of instantly killing an opponent near a ledge, interrupting any chain, and consistently dealing significant damage. His main weaknesses are reflex guard and low overall health, but these can both be offset by careful use of hyper armor, revenge, and feats.
Berserker is as old as For Honor, and he's been both completely useless and downright mandatory in competitive play over the course of this game's life. Berserker isn't that hard to pick up, either, so he's a worthy next choice to pick up and learn.
The Samurai: Kensei
While the sword saint's true power is best witnessed in the midst of an army of foes, where his enormous attack hitboxes cut down enemies like grass and keep worthy opponents at a distance, Kensei is the most versatile of the Samurai army, with an arsenal of much more useful mixups than before. He poses a significant threat in more situations than any of his competition, able to serve several roles while most Samurai can only fill a few, if not strictly one.
Kensei is a warrior matched only by those of other factions, so here he is on this list. He's also quite straightforward compared to the other options the Samurai have, and he's completely free, so there's no reason not to try him if you're looking to add another battlefield terror to your arsenal.
The Wu Lin: Jiang Jun
Jiang Jun's choke riposte is currently one of the deadliest counterattacks in the game.
Unlike Kensei, however, Jiang Jun comes equipped with far more unblockable attacks. This only makes him more terrifying in hectic teamfights, where his wide swings cleave through anyone foolish enough to stay in his path and parry it. He butchers minions of all strengths and sizes, and his feats can sway the outcome of a game, from Tier 1 to Tier 4.
You can't go wrong with Jiang Jun. He holds his own when he's alone, and with friends, he's borderline unstoppable. If you're trying to get into the Wu Lin faction, JJ is a great place to start, as well as continue your journey to master the relative newcomers to For Honor's lands.
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