I too really like the fact that factions are not locked. Samurai and Knights can be on the same team. I think this is a great gameplay philosophy, as it will also make it easier to expand with a new faction. It seems the four classes / archertypes are universal. You got a stealthy, tank, jack-of-all-trades and a mix of offense and defense, and that probably covers it.
So if they add a Spartan faction, or a Indian faction or a Pirate faction, it should be pretty straight forward. 4 new characters (8 character models M/F) all with their own moveset and progression. I can see there being a good potential to make it a core experience of For Honor to do progression on all the characters.
I know already I will be a Knight Vanguard and try and progress that character as far as I can, but if the game hooks me, I will probably try to get high level of all the 12 characters.
If the developers can make incentive; Great cosmetic unlocks, achievements and more tools- Like more victory poses/taunts/execution animations, that would be spectacular.
I think the game has potential to be a bigger e-sport hit than other melee online games if they can make a spectator mode that is really inviting. I remember in Jedi Knight, it was fun to spectate people dueling 1 vs 1 because everyone gathered around in a circle, and because it was possible to Duel someone on a map in other game modes.
In some spectator modes you feel like an invisible ghost, and there is little interesting going on with the lack of camera controlls. Some spectators mode don't lend themselves well for the spectating players being able to express themselves. In-game betting for in-game currency is a fun way to make it more fun to spectate I think.
I also think the developers should take a page out of Chivalry's launch marketing. Chivalry, had many of the biggest gaming youtubers play Chivalry against each other during the launch period, and It really made it popular seeing so many well known youtubers interacing and fighting with and against each other.
What I really like about this game is that it's not a Hero Shooter. I'm not just playing Genji with one of 5 skins, and that is it. You actually make your own character and can change their gender, skin color, armor, emblems, tattoos and everything, so it's almost like an RPG. And you can then play with your friends who play other factions.
And since there are 12 characters with their own progression systems, you get the chance and incentive to level and progress all those.
Right now my worries are;
1) Dominion sounds like the A.I actually have a purpose, but the gameplay we've seen makes me feel that the A.I is annoying. With a skilled player will you be able to 1-one-strike AIs? I hope there will be a level of skill mastery. Where a beginner will be bad at breaking the block of the A.I, or dodge/counter the attacks and thus take longer time to kill a simple foot soldier, a skilled player should be able to do an epic one-shot against a mere simple A.I because these A.I seem to slow the game down.
And maybe that's the point. I really hope they take a page out of Tower Defense style gameplay and realize that there is a lot of gameplay in manipulating/helping/killing/assisting/increasing/obstructing A.I for doing what they want to do.
A.I has the potential to make natural chokepoints in a map, but A.I can also make gameplay stale and redundant of said A.I is always behaving in a simplistic manner.
2) Blocking seems very powerful. I hope the game will not reward players just holding the block button. I hope there will be ways to break a block. A low foot sweep, knee kick, headbutt, pummel strike, uppercut < Some sort of way, to break a defensive players guard who is just stalling for time.
The problem as I see it, is if you make blocking too powerful you end up with an assassins creed situation where you simple hold down the block button until the finishing attack animation of the enemy has transpired. It reduces the combat to only timing and not much else, and that makes it boring.
3) I'm getting a bit sick of the maps shown. They short of get old quick aesthetically. It would be great if they added a day/night cycle, or allowed the maps to be played at different times a day and in different seasons. The Samurai Castle would look really cool in spring with cherry blossoms and nice sunset. It would be that extra touch to the maps that reduce the sensation of repetitiveness, but still seems manageable, because you're talking about the same map layout with the same textures and everything.
4) I really hope they have a good DLC policy. I think the game will be strong if they don't fragment the community. If they introduce a new faction, clearly it will be best if you can play alongside the new characters, even if you cannot play as them yourselves. It's bad form in online games, when half the community play on exclusive areas that splits the community in two.
5) I think they should build on For Honor, instead of prepping up a for honor 2 in 3-4 years time or whenever. Just focus and evolve For Honor as a organic experience. Historical Fantasy allows them to add countless factions, periods and just introduce cool warrior cultures throughout history without thinking about the consequences of historical inadequacies.
I feel the developers struck gold with this mix of fantasy being inspired by history. I really have hopes for this game!
