‘For Honor’ Open Beta Now Available On PC, PlayStation 4, And Xbox One

In For Honor, three factions are at war after a cataclysm tears their world apart. Knights, Samurai, and Vikings clash with each other in a constant struggle for dominance. Each nation wants something different for the world now and will fight any who oppose them. With a campaign for both a single player or two co-op allies, and five different competitive modes, players will find no shortage of battle in the third-person action title.

For Honor is set to release on February 14, but players across all platforms can help test the game right now. The open beta on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One is currently ongoing, giving players a chance to test their mettle against other players or the game’s AI. As noted on the game’s official website, the open beta will wrap up on February 12.

When players start the game, they choose a faction to represent in seasonal challenges across different maps and modes. After each completed match, players receive War Assets to contribute toward their faction’s progress on the map. War Assets can be deployed anywhere the player’s faction is fighting in an effort to defend or attack certain regions. The faction war is shared between all For Honor players across all platforms, and at the end of the competitive season, a faction winner is determined by the number of controlled territories. Members of the faction are then rewarded with items and other accolades.

Choosing a faction to represent does not limit a player to just using those types of heroes in battle. A player championing the Knights can still play as a Viking or Samurai. All players can play alongside each other as well, regardless of chosen faction or active hero. However, any War Assets earned at the end of a match will be used to aid the Knights in the overall struggle for map control in that particular example.

There are five different modes in the For Honor open beta. After completing a tutorial and facing off against a commander of their chosen faction, players can start participating in multiplayer matches. These matches reward War Assets depending on the player’s performance in the match, and even losses still offer some rewards. Additionally, participating in a multiplayer match also has a chance to reward the player with gear for the hero they chose during the match alongside experience for the character and Steel; the main currency in the game. Steel is used to upgrade armor, purchase new heroes, unlock Champion Status, and more in For Honor. Players can even spend Steel to change the appearance of a piece of gear.

Each hero has a number of levels to earn with different rewards to unlock along the way. New emblems, colors, feats, and more are unlocked for a hero as it is played. Players can gear heroes with new items like weapon parts and armor. Unused armor can be broken down into faction-specific salvage that can be used to upgrade wanted armor. Each piece of armor appears to improve some aspect of combat at the cost of another. For instance, a piece of armor might reduce feat (active ability) cooldowns at the cost of filling the Revenge meter.

Although no progress will be carried over once the game launches, players are actively contributing to the pre-season faction war according to the Ubisoft support page. The winner of which will be rewarded with Emblems of Power to customize player shield icons. As the Inquisitr reported, closed beta participants were also awarded special emblems for testing during that period.

Nearly 3 million players and growing. Are you ready to pledge your sword? Download the Open Beta and play for free.https://t.co/9eq9B8fpKq

— For Honor (@ForHonorGame) February 10, 2017

Players of all types can aid their faction in multiplayer matches and those looking for a story can expect to learn more when the game releases. The campaign is not available in the open beta, but each faction has its own narrative to explore. In the multiplayer, players have the option to fight against other players or fight against the AI. There is even an option to play alongside AI, instead of other players, for those looking to aid the faction war alone or with a partial party. Experience, loot, and Steel are earned regardless of the match type and composition in For Honor, giving players plenty of options.

[Featured image via Ubisoft]