Ubisoft’s For Honor will begin its second season of Faction Wars today. The free Shadow and Might DLC also went live today, adding two new maps – Forge and Temple Garden – along with two new heroes – Centurion and Shinobi. Season Pass holders get immediate access to these heroes while everyone else can unlock them on May 23rd using Steel.

More importantly, the next big update, patch 1.07, has arrived with balance and gear system changes. It will be going live at 5 AM PT/8 AM ET/1 PM BST/2 PM CEST on PC, Xbox One and PS4.

The patch will introduce the ability to adjust the right stick dead zone in Guard mode on controllers; a fix for “Soft feints” that results in guard breaks and attacks being cancelled by switching quickly between guard and attack; and a new Epic tier rarity for gear.

Check out the full patch notes below. What are your thoughts on all these changes? Let us know in the comments.

Control changes

• Added the option to customise stick dead zones.

Fight

Soft feints

• [Bug Fix] Guardbreak and Attacks can no longer be cancelled by switching guard and attack very quickly.

Unlock exploit

• [Bug Fix] Unlocking during an attack will no longer make it unparryable.

Revenge

• [Bug Fix] Melee attacks no longer drain stamina on a target with Revenge active.

Sprint

• [Bug Fix] All characters are no longer able to maintain Sprint state while not actually moving.

Moveset

• Updated the use of the Successful Icon on moves that must hit.

Heroes

Raider

• All Heavy attack startups can be cancelled into Stunning Tap.
• Raider Fury and Zone Attack startups can be cancelled into Stunning Tap.
• Stunning Tap can chain into Raider Fury.
• Stunning Tap can chain on Miss Recovery.
• Animation transition improvements to accommodate new mix ups.
• [Bug Fix] Zone Attack can’t be feinted if performed Out of Guard mode.
• Stampede Charge stamina cost reduced to 40 (from 60).
• Target’s stamina drains while being carried by the Raider: minimum loss = 36 stamina points, maximum loss = 66 stamina points.
• Target’s stamina regeneration cooldown increased to 2.7 seconds (from 1.8) after completion of the attack.
• [Bug Fix] Target no longer regenerates stamina while being carried by the Raider.
• Recovery after Knee can flow into attacks 100ms earlier.
• Knee damage increased to 15 (from 0).
• [Bug Fix] Victim’s stamina regenerate after the entire attack is over, not before.
• [Bug Fix] Target starts regenerating stamina after the throw is over, not before.
• Chop and Poke second Light attack damage increased to 15 (from 10).
• Chop and Poke Light finisher damage increased to 15 (from 12).
• Winding Slashes Light attack damage increased to 15 (from 10).
• Raider’s stamina pool increased to 130 (from 120).

Peacekeeper

• First Stab Bleed reduced to 8 damage over 8 seconds (from 15 damage over 8 seconds).
• Second Stab Bleed reduced to 8 damage over 8 seconds (from 12 damage over 8 seconds).
• Third Stab Bleed increased to 16 damage over 8 seconds (from 9 damage over 8 seconds).

Lawbringer

• Updated Moveset page after adding Stun to Light Riposte and Uninterruptible Stance to Make Way.
• [Bug Fix] Pushing an enemy with Shove and then activating Revenge no longer unbalances the enemy.
• [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue causing the guaranteed Swift Justice Finisher to trigger without a hit on the previous attack.
• [Bug Fix] Fixed animation glitch when attacking an enemy on the ground after The Long Arm.

Shugoki

• [Bug Fix] Out of Guard Mode attacks are now consistent with Guard Mode attacks.

Nobushi

• [Bug Fix] Out of Guard Mode attacks are now consistent with Guard Mode attacks.

Warden

• Shoulder Bash Re-enabled switch target on startup

Kensei

• “No Look Kill” execution causes death of the opponent after 1300ms (instead of 1200ms).

Warlord

• Updated Moveset page after removing Headbutt option from Full Block Stance.

Miscellaneous

Conqueror Feat

• [Bug Fix] Conqueror Feat now correctly applies a +50% duration buff on the Boosts in Skirmish and Elimination.

Spectator camera

• Option to stay dead will no longer show if you can’t be revived.

Ladders

• [Bug Fix] Players no longer fall off ladder by releasing the slide down button when hitting someone.

Communication beacon

• [Bug Fix] Resolved an issue causing characters to stay stuck in Beacon placement mode.

Game modes

All modes

• 3V1 and 4V1 penalties have been tweaked so that it is no longer possible to get negative Renown

Skirmish

• Corrected the value of Savior to be 15 Renown instead of 11
• Added an Avenger Renown Bonus (15 points)

Meta game

• The personal contribution in round is now updated after assigning war assets. This was a fix for war asset count not updating correctly on the post-game screen

Online

Error Messaging

• Increased the detail in messaging for the player when having synchronisation or session stability issues

Presentation

Custom match

• Sudden Death timer will now show, when in sudden death, even if the Game time is set to none

General

• Nobushi Move set – Added missing unblockable icon on Kick Move

Progression and economy

Bug fixes

• Fixed a bug where Attacker/Defender color palettes all use the default blue and orange
• Fixed a bug where all players were in the middle position of the “Your Ranking” leaderboard.
• Fix a bug where war asset count not updating correctly in post-game screen
• Fixed occurrences where Placing first place in the faction war during a round will reward the player with the 3rd’s place rewards

Increase XP income from matches

• Base XP gained on a Dominion (PVP) match won increased from 400 to 500.
• Base XP gained on a Dominion (PVP) match lost or tied increased from 300 to 380.
• Base XP gained on a Dominion (Private) match won increased from 200 to 250
• Base XP gained on a Dominion (Private) match lost or tied increased from 150 to 190.
• Base XP gained on a Dominion (vs. AI) match won increased from 320 to 400
• Base XP gained on a Dominion (vs. AI) match lost or tied increased from 240 to 300.
• Base XP gained on a Skirmish (PVP) match won increased from 400 to 500.
• Base XP gained on a Skirmish (PVP) match lost or tied increased from 300 to 380.
• Base XP gained on a Skirmish (Private) match won increased from 200 to 250.
• Base XP gained on a Skirmish (Private) match lost or tied increased from 150 to 190.
• Base XP gained on a Skirmish (vs. AI) match won increased from 320 to 400
• Base XP gained on a Skirmish (vs. AI) match lost or tied increased from 240 to 300.
• Base XP gained on an Elimination (PVP) match won increased from 310 to 400.
• Base XP gained on an Elimination (PVP) match lost or tied increased from 230 to 300.
• Base XP gained on an Elimination (Private) match won increased from 150 to 200.
• Base XP gained on an Elimination (Private) match lost or tied increased from 110 to 150.
• Base XP gained on an Elimination (vs. AI) match won increased from 240 to 320.
• Base XP gained on an Elimination (vs. AI) match lost or tied increased from 180 to 240.
• Base XP gained on a Brawl (PVP) match won increased from 230 to 300.
• Base XP gained on a Brawl (PVP) match lost or tied increased from 170 to 220.
• Base XP gained on a Brawl (Private) match won increased from 110 to 150.
• Base XP gained on a Brawl (Private) match lost or tied increased from 80 to 110.
• Base XP gained on a Brawl (vs. AI) match won increased from 180 to 240.
• Base XP gained on a Brawl (vs. AI) match lost or tied increased from 130 to 170.
• Base XP gained on a Duel (PVP) match won increased from 200 to 260.
• Base XP gained on a Duel (PVP) match lost or tied increased from 150 to 190.
• Base XP gained on a Duel (Private) match won increased from 100 to 130.
• Base XP gained on a Duel (Private) match lost or tied increased from 70 to 90.

[Gear] Add Stat Bundles to default gear (Data) – Added Statistic values to basic gear (when no gear is equipped)

• Arms: defense + 0.8%
• Body: + 0.9%
• Head: + 0.6%
• Weapon 1: + 0.8%
• Weapon 2: + 1.0%
• Weapon 3: + 1.2%

New gear rarity

• A new gear rarity (Epic) is now available to loot after matches and in crates. The new gear is available in all previous and in new visuals and new stats.

Looting rules tweak to accommodate new gear rarity

• Rare gear loot rules changed from reputation 01 up to end of reputation 06 to reputation 01 to end of reputation 04
• Heroic gear loot rules changed from reputation 03 until reputation 30 to reputation 03 to end of reputation 06
• Epic gear loot rules added to reputation 05 until reputation 30

[Gear] Overall Gear Stats revamp (remove, merge and re-arrange stats) and update existing stat bundles – New Stats repartition on gear

• Weapon1: Attack, Defense Penetration, Chip Attack
• Weapon2: Attack, Execution Regen, Revive Speed
• Weapon3: Attack, Revenge Gain, Super Attack
• Helm: Defense, Exhaustion Duration, Debuff Duration
• Chest: Defense, Super Defense, Super Duration
• Defense, Stamina Use, Stamina Regen

New gear stats values

• Lower rarity gear now has higher modifiers than before.
• Modifiers increase faster per level at lower rarities than at higher ones.
• Stat penalties have been increased significantly.
• New Balanced gear bundle
• New type of stats offering only small and balanced bonuses even at high levels.

[Gear] re-design of how we represent visually the gear stats

• You can now see the exact numeric values of all stat bonuses.
• Added a proportional indicator when comparing gear

[Gear] Attack Stats should not affect feats

• The gear stat Attack now only affects normal attacks and not Feats or Bleeds.

[Crafting] Review Crafting prices (Steel and Crafting Materials)

• Tweaks to crafting costs and addition of the Epic rarity to crafting.

Upgrade Cost in salvage material for Common gear

• From: Level 1: 20 / Level 2: 30 / Level 3: 40 / Level 4: 50 / Level 5: 60
• To: Level 1: 10 / Level 2: 13 / Level 3: 16 / Level 4: 19 / Level 5: 23

Upgrade Cost in salvage material for Rare gear

• From: Level 1: 100 / Level 2: 150 / Level 3: 200 / Level 4: 250 / Level 5: 300
• To: Level 1: 55 / Level 2: 80 / Level 3: 110 / Level 4: 130 / Level 5: 155

Upgrade Cost in salvage material for Heroic gear

• From: Level 1: 260/ Level 2: 390 / Level 3: 530 / Level 4: 660 / Level 5: 790
• To: Level 1: 195 / Level 2: 255 / Level 3: 295 / Level 4: 335 / Level 5: 375

NEW Cost in salvage material for Epic gear

• Level 1: 400/ Level 2: 520 / Level 3: 650 / Level 4: 800 / Level 5: 960

Upgrade Cost in steel for Common gear

• From: Level 1: 30 / Level 2: 55 / Level 3: 75 / Level 4: 100 / Level 5: 125
• To: Level 1: 25 / Level 2: 30 / Level 3: 35 / Level 4: 40 / Level 5: 45

Upgrade Cost in steel for Rare gear

• From: Level 1: 150 / Level 2: 170/ Level 3: 195 / Level 4: 220 / Level 5: 245
• To: Level 1: 75 / Level 2: 85 / Level 3: 95 / Level 4: 105 / Level 5: 115

Upgrade Cost in steel for Heroic gear

• From: Level 1: 270/ Level 2: 290 / Level 3: 315 / Level 4: 340 / Level 5: 360
• To: Level 1: 150 / Level 2: 170 / Level 3: 190 / Level 4: 210 / Level 5: 230

NEW Cost in steel for Epic gear

• Level 1: 270/ Level 2: 290 / Level 3: 315 / Level 4: 340 / Level 5: 360

Salvage Value for Common gear – Unchanged

• From: Level 1: 5 / Level 2: 6 / Level 3: 7 / Level 4: 8 / Level 5: 9 / Level 6: 10

Salvage Value for Rare gear

• From: Level 1:30 / Level 2: 35/ Level 3: 45 / Level 4: 50 / Level 5: 55 / Level 6: 65
• To: Level 1: 20 / Level 2: 23 / Level 3: 26 / Level 4: 29 / Level 5: 32 / Level 6: 35

Salvage Value Heroic gear

• From: Level 1: 95/ Level 2: 110 / Level 3: 125 / Level 4: 145 / Level 5: 165 / Level 6: 190
• To: Level 1: 55 / Level 2: 60 / Level 3: 65 / Level 4: 70 / Level 5: 75 / Level 6: 80

Salvage Value for Epic gear

• Level 1: 100/ Level 2: 115 / Level 3:130 / Level 4: 145 / Level 5: 160 / Level 6: 175

PC Specific

General changes

• Added an icon override option for controllers in the user interface options.
• Players are now able to select which controller Icons they want to see in the in-game prompts
• FPS now is locked to 60 while being in the Main Menu by default
• The Task bar icon now blinks if matchmaking is successful when the game is not in focus or is minimized
• Further Improved Multi GPU Performance
• Scaling the window in windowed mode now only updates on mouse release
• Fixed an issue with controllers not being recognized while playing the steam version and having the steam “Xbox/PS4/legacy gamepad configuration” active.

Control changes

• Place Beacon and call for help are now separately bind-able actions
• Added an option to disable mouse input in guard mode

UI changes

• Added actual cost Information to the “Change look” confirmation pop-up
• “Ready” button on the rematch screen does not require confirmation anymore, “ready” status is applied instantly

Bug fixes

• FIXED: Heroes – wrong hero can be selected if the selection is moved quickly after selecting a hero
• FIXED: UI Flicker when hovering over the “Recruit” button
• FIXED: Hovering over feats in the customization menu make icons disappear
• FIXED: User cannot close the ‘Stats Overview’ page with mouse on Hero customization menu
• FIXED: Mouse indicator moves down when entering turtle stance with M+K (while it is assigned to its own button)
• FIXED: Entering social while in the emote tab puts a hold action on one input
• FIXED: Key mapping Page does not show conflicts in red after reentering
• FIXED: Win Ratio/KDA information box overlaps with ‘Loadout’ box if user clicks ‘Hero Overview’ screen after highlighting the ‘View Progression’ option
• FIXED: Vram usage does not take Triple Buffering into account
• FIXED: Title get stuck in multiplayer session if user become AFK on move set screen
• FIXED: Users are unable to use another controller if Steam controller is plugged in on Steam Version
• FIXED: Valkyrie Shield Tackle widget is not shown correctly in the fight widget with M+K controls as full block stance

Ubisoft’s For Honor will be receiving its first DLC with Shadow and Might on May 16th to coincide with season two of Faction Wars. Two new maps and heroes will be added for all players, with the former being playable for free.

The two new maps are The Forge, set in Ashfield and home to the Knights; and Temple Garden, property of the Samurai and basically a huge castle with an imposing cherry blossom tree. Each map will have their share of time and weather variations which can be seen in the videos below.

The DLC will also bring two new heroes – the Knight Hybrid Centurion and the Samurai Assassin Shinobi. Season Pass owners will receive them first for free while Standard Edition owners can purchase them later using in-game currency.

For Honor has seen a significant decline in players since launch but is still going strong in terms of support. What are your thoughts on the new maps? Let us know in the comments.