Beginners Guide
Everything You Need to Know
Is this game just better For Honor/Chivalry/Warband/ etc?
For Honor is a fighting game with character based movesets and combos. Melee slasher titles like Chivalry, Mount & Blade, War of the Roses are fundamentally different in that everyone has the same move-set available. Mordhau collected all the positives about slasher games before it, like freeform fighting and free movement, which are the main aspects of these types of games, while eliminating undesirable mechanics. Also, the developers are not affiliated with Torn Banner and the game engine is Unreal Engine 4.
How do I attack/combo/feint/morph/chamber/use the alt mode (etc/kick/shoot bows/couch the lance)
Please do complete the tutorial, it teaches you the basics.
What gamemodes does Mordhau have?
There is a fundamental difference between the three flagship modes which I’m about to explain and smaller ones, and that is the presence of main modes on official servers. Mordhau ensures that player experience is balanced, so there is a soft matchmaking system in place that will actively pair mercenaries with similar skill.
Frontline is a large open gamemode which is comparable to Battlefield’s conquest. However, the capture points and objectives are linear, so you will always know where to go – simply pay attention to the HUD. It promotes many types of play – being in the front row with shields and plate armor, using a spear in the back lines, supporting with fortifications and medic bags etc.
Battle Royale is very simple in concept – you spawn in alone and defenceless, you get gear from chests and try to fight your way until the very end. Mordhau’s excellent and very in-depth combat is the main backbone of this gamemode, as dueling is prevalent.
Horde is an ever-evolving co-op adventure where you defeat waves of various enemies. It, or course, gets harder over time and is overall very challenging. With each kill, you get a clientside gold amount which you can spend on ~~trinkets and baubles~~ upgrading your weapons and armor.
Besides playing those three, you may also use the server browser which could have servers with Team Deathmatch, Deathmatch and Skirmish, which is a team vs team gamemode with one life per round.
How many maps are in the game?
For now, 7, though multiple are in the works. Ones available at release are The Pit, Contraband, Tourney, Mountain Peak, Taiga, Camp and Grad. Litemordhautestlevel is a secret developer map.
How do I get weapons and armor?
The Armory provides you with a set of default presets. They cannot be edited, so you’d have to make a new mercenary to start customizing. The cheapest and most accessible things are weapons and starting armor which you can buy for gold, and that ties into the next question.
How does the in-game currency work? Are there microtransactions?
There are no microtransactions.
The game has a progression system. At the end of every match you are being rewarded with XP and gold.
Weapons are really cheap and easy to unlock. Cosmetics vary in price and level, with the more fancy stuff being high tier and more expensive. You can unlock them in any order, as long as you have the required level and gold.
By completing the tutorial you get 2500 gold, an amount more than adequate for your first purchases.
What do I spend the starting tutorial gold on?
I recommend buying the cheapest armor possible and the weapons you like for the quickest achievement of freedom. So the cheapest head, torso, and legs to your liking, plus a weapon on top.
How does armor work?
There are 4 tiers of armor – naked, light, medium, and heavy. The more armor you equip, the more hits you will be able to withstand and the slower you will move. The movement reduction is a flat debuff for each piece on top of being naked. When inspecting a weapon, you are able to see the different armor tiers and the weapon’s damage against them.
Can I have a X armor, a X weapon and a X perk together?
You have sixteen points in total. Each layer of armor costs one point and there are three (technically four) armor tiers, so say a plate torso will cost you three points. A full plate suit of armor costs nine points. An average weapon or tool costs six points, ranging from one to twelve.
Which armor is the best?
Currently, I’d recommend either a 332 or 231 set. Either full plate armor for all the tanky benefits, or adequate protection for more points.
Which weapon is the best?
Any weapon you like, but I recommend the Greatsword, the Eveningstar and the Spear for new players. Shorter, less damaging weapons are considered sidearms though.
How do I set up my binds?
Most people agree that using two buttons for combat is insufficient, there are only 2 people in high tier play who use the 240 degree system. There are multiple ways to set up binds, but the two most common ones are to bind each individual type of attack on the mouse and a bit on the keyboard, or to set up an angle flip on space or alt. If you are starting anew, feel free to use the 240 system though. (Also, the new update showed some new control systems, I don’t know anything about them.)
How do I run this game on a crappy PC?
Here are some Runescape graphic commands that may help you:
r.mipmaploadbias 5-500
r.skeletalmeshlodbias 5-500
Remember to turn off ragdolls in Game settings.
The minimum specs are on the Steam page, but they are a bit high.
Does the game have Third Person view?
Yes, it does. The footage that is available right now is an older version of third person though. It gets changed in the next update.
How do I block?
Pay attention to the opponent’s weapon, especially the part that will hit you first, often the tip. Make sure to always face their blow or it will hit your side. Keep in mind that a chamber lasts shorter than a parry.
What is the best way to learn to play?
Be more defensive. Do not turn your camera so much that you start losing sight of the enemy. Try to stay calm. Making sure to allocate as much mental ability for defence is important, or you’ll end up panicking and pressing the parry button incorrectly. Getting used to various animations will take a lot of time. Oh, and it is advised to chamber the stabs.
Can you explain the stamina and health systems?
Stamina represents the player’s ability to fight. When you run out of stamina, any hit you parry or chamber will disarm you, which gives the enemy a guaranteed hit. Most moves drain the player’s stamina, including blocking – the exception is doing a simple slash or stab. Attacks and kicks that go through make you gain stamina. After not doing any actions other than walking (you cannot run), you start to recharge your stamina.
Health is similar to stamina, but it starts to recharge way slower. You can quickly restore health by using medkits or bandages.
What are accels and drags?
These are an advanced form of swing manipulation. More on them in a separate video, but you shouldn’t worry too much about them. They require either a bunch of hours put into the game, or a mentor. I’ll show some examples of them – see if you can get some information from this.
Why are my feints not convincing? Why can’t I drag?
Unless you’re extremely skilful, it is VERY advised to try to disguise everything by starting the attack as if it were an accel. This way, the animation always starts near the opponent and they will think that it’s a real blow and try to parry.
Can you injure and dismember your opponent?
Indeed. The system is more complex than you think, too.
Are there voice commands? Can you mute them?
Yes to both. Simply press K on the screaming player to keep them quiet – there is a tooltip on the screen about it.
Are one-handed weapons viable?
With buckler, it seems like it.
Is there Anti-Cheat in the game?
Valve Anti-Cheat.
Will there be proximity chat?
Not on release, might be in the future.
Are there female characters?
The development team is undecided on this one.
