The Warmonger in For Honor serves as one of the fiercest specialized Classes available amongst the Knights Faction. In the For Honor lore, Warmongers formerly belonged to the Blackstone Legion. However, rumors suggest they're actually from the Order of Horkos, an inter-faction secret society aiming to reject the old gods to bring forth a new era.
This uncertainty adds a flair of mystery to the Warmonger. What's more, their attacks also emphasize spreading corruption to enemies through their trusty Flamberge. The Warmonger has one of the most technically diverse toolkits throughout the game, and here's how to take advantage of that.
Know Their Role As The Truest Vanguard
Before getting into the Warmonger’s bag of tricks, it’s important for players to understand their fundamental role in combat. Perhaps the truest iteration of the Vanguard Class, the Warmonger specializes in a wide variety of combat situations. Courtesy of Corruption, Warmongers can isolate foes and punish those who refuse to yield.
In terms of mechanics, Warmongers possess heavy finishers against hyper armor on top of enhanced light attacks. To add to their mobility, they have a chargeable bash and special heavy dodges. Unlike other Heroes, Warmongers are expected to adapt to an opponent’s playstyle to continue playing aggresively.
Ruin Teams With Corruption
The Corruption mechanic is what makes Warmongers such fearsome opponents. Accessible via its Feats, Corruption deals damage over time to an opponent and opponents surrounding them. While Corruption doesn’t deal heavy damage (at least, without the right Feats), it does discourage team play on part of the opponents.
Warmongers can bank on Corruption to dismantle an efficient enemy team. Focusing solely on a Corruption build will likely leave the Warmonger weaker in both offense and defense. However, using this mechanic correctly can make the Warmonger an excellent offensive support.
Understand Basic Attacks
Most combat in For Honor relies on players timing and experimenting with Light, Heavy, and Zone attacks alongside Dodges, Blocks, and Parries. However, the Warmonger’s attacks have special properties that greatly influence the way their chains work.
- Light Attacks: While low in damage, all Light attacks are enhanced and share a hitstun property. Initial Lights have a small hitstun, whereas chained Lights have medium hitstun. When used on ledges or cliffs, enemies hit with a chain Light may end up falling to their deaths.
- Heavy Attacks: Top Heavies deal more damage compared to side Heavies, regardless of whether they’re initial or finisher attacks. All Heavies share the same speed.
- Zone Attacks: Despite the hefty 40 Stamina cost and low damage, all Zones are considered Heavy attacks. As such, they’re applicable as an initial Heavy attack when it comes to chains. The Warmonger’s Zones come from the left, which may matter in terms of defense.
- On The Prowl (Running Attack): Considered the Warmonger’s running attack, On The Prowl also counts as an initial Heavy when used in chains. Contrary to Zones, On The Prowl also hits from the right.
Consider The Dodges
In addition to the Warmonger’s attacks, it also helps to understand the core mechanics of their Dodges. When timed properly, Dodges can turn the tide of battle, especially given the Warmonger’s penchant for adapting to various combat situations.
- Prey Upon (Forward Dodge): This Forward Dodge attack remains undodgeable to the enemy. Considering its strong forward tracking, players can use Prey Upon to punish opponents that love rolling around. Gamers can also delay the maneuver mid-execution and even feint it right before impact. This gives Prey Upon great potential for chaining.
- Beast Of Prey (Sideways Dodge): This Sideways Dodge attack is unblockable. Similar to Prey Upon, players can delay this move mid-execution and feint before impact. Likewise, being able to cancel Beast Of Prey allows players to use it to initiate chains.
Pressure Early With Chains
Given the Warmonger's ability to adjust to any situation, players need to get familiar with their chains early on. Instead of relying on chains to score hits, the Warmonger needs to understand when to switch chains to maintain the rhythm of the fight. When done correctly, the Warmonger can outplay opponents with chains easily.
The Basic Chains
The Warmonger comes with four chains, all of which remain essential to their core playstyle. It’s important to note that the Warmonger’s Heavy Finishers have Hyper Armor, meaning they cannot be interrupted before impact.
- Vanguard’s Bane: Light, Light, Heavy
- Tyrant’s Assault: Light, Heavy
- Warmonger’s Wrath: Heavy, Heavy
- Warmonger’s Bane: Heavy, Light, Heavy
The Chain Starters
As with other Heroes, the Warmonger possesses chain starters, which can lead straight into a Light chain or a Heavy finisher. When mastered, a Warmonger can feint attacks into these chain starters or regain control in combat with an unexpected combo.
- Zone Attack: Light + Heavy
- On The Prowl (Running Attack): Forward, Heavy
- Prey Upon (Forward Dodge): Forward + Space, Heavy
- Beast Of Prey (Sideways Dodge): Left OR Right + Space, Heavy
Punish With Preying Claw
One of the Warmonger's most integral attacks, the Preying Claw (Light OR Forward/Sideways Dodge, Guardbreak) is an unblockable attack that can easily interrupt an opponent’s momentum. Since it can come from multiple directions, Preying Claw is already annoying as a Guardbreak ability. What's more, its chargeable nature makes it a much deadlier attack when timed properly. Here's what players should know about it:
Charges
The Preying Claw possesses three charges, or Levels, that grant different effects depending on how they’re used:
- Level 1: When hit, the Level 1 Preying Claw gives a Guaranteed Light Attack.
- Level 2: Warmongers have the option to let go of the Preying Claw if the enemy is moving around. This move provides limited tracking.
- Level 3: When hit, the Level 3/Full Charge Preying Claw gives a Guaranteed Heavy with Hyper Armor. Warmongers also have the option to cancel the Preying Claw at the last second.
Other Factors
Aside from charges, the Preying Claw also has unique factors that players can capitalize on to maximize its use in combat:
- Target Swapping: Players who pull off a Preying Claw can switch targets for the Guaranteed Light or Guaranteed Heavy. This option makes Preying Claw suitable for situations where multiple enemies surround the Warmonger.
- Guardbreak Disadvantage: While Preying Claw is unblockable, it remains dodgeable. Enemies who get to Dodge or Backwards Dodge Level 1 or Level 3 Preying Claw will get a free Guardbreak.
- Punish Rollers: Warmongers who face rollers can use Preying Claw to punish them. When they notice an enemy roll away from the Preying Claw, cancel the Claw in Level 2 and follow up with a Forward Dodge attack.
Punish With Vicious Impale
Aside from ordinary Parries, the Warmonger has a special maneuver they can pull off right after parrying an enemy. Thanks to the Vicious Impale (Parry + Guardbreak), a parrying Warmonger can impale an opponent and drag them across the battlefield. Various elements remain in play for Vicious Impale, depending on the situation:
- Poisoning Wallsplat: If executed in rance of a wall, Vicious Impale gets a special follow-up. The Warmonger pins the target onto a wall and slashes with the Claw, dealing additional damage.
- Trade in the Splat: While it’s tempting to make a follow-up after Poisoning Wallsplat, this is extremely unadvisable. If both the Warmonger and the opponent spam attacks after Poisoning Wallsplat, this results in a trade instead.
- Grounding Riposte: Should the opponent get a knockdown by the time the Warmonger does Vicious Impale, the attack happens differently. Instead of dragging the opponent across the battlefield, the Warmonger stabs the enemy downward, dealing the same damage as Poisoning Wallsplat.
Perks Should Prioritize Defense
While the Warmonger boasts a solid offense, their timing-heavy nature means misses can get lethal very quickly. As such, Perks for the Warmonger should focus on securing their defensive potential, such as those below:
- Devourer: Grants 10 Health to the Warmonger upon an execution.
- Endurance: Gives a 3% reduction to Stamina cost (up to 12-percent) for every Renown level gained. This allows Warmongers to access their special moves more often.
- Head Hunter: Gives a +4 to Maximum Health (up to +16) for each unique Hero execution.
Feats Depend On Combat Approach
Despite the attractive choices of Feats for the Warmonger, not all of them are equally viable. Depending on the preferred approach of the Warmonger, some Feats per Tier will inevitably outshine the rest. Here are a few good options:
Tier 1
- Corruption Blade: When triggered, the next enemy the Warmonger hits receives Corruption, dealing damage to a target and nearby allies. This encourages dispersion among enemy ranks.
- Rush: When triggered, the Warmonger gains a slight movement speed boost that stacks with other speed buffs. This incentivizes the use of Dodge attacks and bashes.
Tier 2
- Elixir Of Corruption: When activated, this grants a bit of lifesteal whenever Corruption deals damage to foes.
- Flesh Wound: This Passive gives the Warmonger slight damage reduction over time.
Tier 3
- Power Of Corruption: This gives a boost to damage dealt to Corrupted foes, a great incentive for a Corruption-heavy playstyle.
- Punch Through: This Passive increases chip damage, incentivizing aggressive playstyles and combo maneuvers.
- Tough As Nails: This Passive increases Maximum Health.
Tier 4
- Corruption Blast: When triggered, the Warmonger can bestow Corruption to nearby foes.
- Auto Revive: This Passive will automatically revive the Warmonger upon death, unless they are executed. Clutch situations could greatly use Auto Revive, as the Warmonger’s diverse kit may be able to help the team turn the tide of combat.
Combat Scenarios
Given the multifaceted skill set of the Warmonger, it can get tricky determining just how they should approach combat. Interestingly enough, slight adjustments to the Warmonger’s offensive strategies can give them immense advantages in duels or team fights.
Duels
While the Warmonger does have decent offensive and defensive options, they don’t have a lot of freedom when it comes to a more relaxed gameplay style. Rather, the Warmonger’s toolkit encourages pressuring and punishing the opponent for their mistakes. Save for the Dodges, the Warmonger has short-ranged attacks, which incentivizes sticking to melee.
Thankfully, Dodge attacks and Vicious Impale do help boost offense for the Warmonger. Not to mention, Grounding Riposte poses a huge threat for out-of-stamina foes, since this maneuver will discourage them from pulling off heavy moves. Players do need to take note of the Warmonger’s limited recovery options; after all, missing a Preying Claw leaves them wide open for a Guardbreak.
Team Fights
Thanks to the Warmonger’s offense, they coordinate well in teams. Their naturally wide horizontal hitboxes make them ideal for dealing damage to multiple foes. Due to their pressuring potential, the Warmonger’s Dodge attacks and Vicious Impale can force enemies to miss attacks and leave them wide open for ganking. Courtesy of their Preying Claw, a Warmonger can accommodate multiple enemies at once.
Unfortunately, their lack of sustainability and recoveries make them less than in team fights where they can’t hit their targets. After all, Warmongers who miss their marks can receive nasty Guardbreaks. As such, Warmongers work better as gankers or roamers instead of heading to the frontlines.