Apollyon For Honor Guide

For Honor is one of the world’s most interesting and exciting combat games. Developed in 2017 by Ubisoft, the game features unique heroes, inter-faction conflict, and a rewarding but difficult-to-master combat system based on ancient fighting styles.

This fighting system makes up the bulk of the For Honor game mechanics. Aside from its fantastic heroes, mastering their different combat styles allows you to reach a satisfying technical level of play. Additionally, this combat system is supplemented by unique lore and differing game modes that will enable players to explore the best the game offers.

This game mode, and For Honor in general, has its narrative best set through its iconic Story Mode. Here, players get to see the backgrounds of their heroes and discover their motivations. Underpinning this all is a memorable villain epitomizing the violence that inhabits every warrior: Apollyon.

Apollyon of the Blackstone Legion

Apollyon is the ultimate boss of all three story modes you will go through. Despite this, only the Samurai faction player, The Orochi, gets to fight her. Apollyon is the female leader of the Blackstone Legion and orchestrates many of the challenges players will face.

With an ultimate goal to spread violence across Heathmoore, this dastardly villain must be stopped!

Where to Find Apollyon

In the game, the Orochi will find Apollyon at the Blackstone Legion’s Fortress of Blackstone Fortress. As the Orochi, you must fulfill the prerequisite missions to face Apollyon. The previous mission is Honor, which tasks you with finding a way to Blackstone Fortress. Only then can the final mission being played.

Blackstone Fortress

Blackstone Fortress is where most of your battle with Apollyon will occur. During it, you will explore three main areas corresponding to the phases of your war with Apollyon.

Your first main area is the central chamber of Blackstone Fortress. This is where you can see Apollyon and several of her Knights from the Blackstone Legion fight off the iron Legion, another Knight legion in Ashfeld. After this, you will ascend higher and higher up the stairs of Blackstone Fortress before you duel it out in a hail of blades.

The battle for Heathmoore’s future is about to begin, and you better gear up for it. Below, you will read the different phases of the fight, as well as the combos and feats you can take to bring down Apollyon finally.

The Battle at Blackstone Fortress

Before we begin, this guide assumes you know the different technicalities of For Honor combat and the various terminologies involved. While this guide aims to be beginner friendly, it will take that you have been playing the missions leading up to this final one and have a grasp of how combat works.

At the start of the mission, you will find Blackstone Fortress besieged by the Iron Legion and the Samurai of the Dawn Empire. As catapults batter the keep, you will infiltrate it, do minor objectives, and then battle Apollyon.

You are battling Apollyon as the Orochi consists of three phases. Each phase has different environmental hazards and areas that change how combat with Apollyon will go. Before you go through those, here are a few details you need to learn about Apollyon if you’re gearing up to face her.

Apollyon’s Boss Characteristics

Apollyon, as a boss, shares many characteristics with the other enemies you will fight in For Honor. They have a health pool, a stamina bar, and a base moveset based on that of the Warden Knight Hero.

Health and Stamina Pool

Apollyon has a health pool of 238 health and a stamina pool of 46 stamina. It must be noted that their health pool is massive at this point and relies on you whittling it down throughout your fight with her.

This health pool also determines the rate you move from one phase to another in the battle with her. Every time you damage a collective third of her health, you will trigger the next phase of the fight. These are handy in remembering how much more you must do, as Apollyon does not heal during your battle.

Apollyon’s Moveset

Apollyon’s kit and moveset are based on the Warden Hero from the Knight faction. She has their guard stance animations and attack combos while also retaining their special moves, such as their Shoulder Bash and Crushing Counterstrike. Here are a few things to watch out for.

• Light Attack Combo
• Crushing Counterstrike
• Chain Starters
• Shoulder Bash
• Unblockable Heavy attacks
• Impale Charge

All of these moves are used by Apollyon to deadly effect, so watch out. Below, we will include a list of how to counter these moves and how you can take down Apollyon.

Light Attack Combo

Apollyon’s side light attacks openers, if they hit, guarantee a second light attack from the same direction for less damage. She can easily beat you twice before leading into an unblockable heavy finisher for massive damage.

To counter this, practice parrying Wardens and keeping your side guards up during trading. More often than not, it is easier to do hit-and-run tactics against Apollyon to prevent her from comboing you. 

Crushing Counterstrike

Perhaps the deadliest tool in Apollyon’s arsenal is her Crushing Counterstrike. This gives her Top Light openers Superior Block during its startup animation. You cannot interrupt this opener, and your attack will bounce off. Even worse, if it counters you, the attack gains unblockable and increases damage.

The best way to play around with this skill is patience. If you go ham and start mashing buttons, all it takes is one counter to damage you, and you’ll find a good chunk of health missing.

Suppose you manage to proc the counter; dodge backward instead. Or, use zone attacks if you can’t keep your sword under control, as they won’t provide the counter. Waiting to see what they will do after a chain is essential so that you can anticipate their moves.

Apollyon’s Attack Chain

Apollyon’s heavy finishers are cruel and must be avoided at all costs. Here are a few attacks from them that lead directly into a serious finisher.

• Zone Attacks
• Sprint Attacks
• Forward Dodge Attacks

These are more commonly found if Apollyon is a harder-level AI. In these instances, counter them by dodging or using terrain for cover. 

Apollyon’s Shoulder Bash

A shoulder bash is a unique guard break found in the Warden kit and Apollyons, by extension. They can come from her light attacks, heavy attacks, dash and sprint attacks, and zone attacks. This bash, when charged, has Hyper Armor but can be canceled. The bash can start a chain after it hits.

To prevent being bashed, engage Apollyon in short bursts instead of prolonged trades. As the Orochi, watch if Apollyon feints the bash by delaying it, as you want to dodge at the right time and not too early. 

Unblockable Heavy Attacks

While the Warden has unblockable heavy finishers, this extends to Apollyon’s serious attacks instead. This means that your best bet is to dodge out of the way or interrupt the heavy attack with a light chain to prevent eating up damage.

Apollyon’s Impale Charge

Apollyon has a secondary charge in her impale charge. This attack is brutal if it hits and wall splatters you. Fortunately, it is easy to spot and easy to dodge. The startup animation for this is slow, and you can punish Apollyon after dodging this attack. 

First Phase

The first phase of the mission and the fight with Apollyon begins with you having to disable some catapults. If you remember, the Blackstone Fortress is currently being besieged, and you must take out the keep’s catapults to prevent retaliatory fire.

Disabling the Two Catapults

You will start the mission deep inside the Blackstone Keep as a scout. You will see an arch right in front of you, which you must head through.

There, you will arrive at a cross-section with two catapults on the sides, each on one side of a massive staircase on the battlement. These are the catapults you have to disable while fighting off the opponents found on the two sides. 

The right side has around four enemies an archer, two soldiers, and a Lawbringer. Take out the Lawbringer first before the archer and leave the soldiers for last. Meanwhile, the left side has a Warden and two more soldiers. Once you defeat the enemies, you can disable each catapult by interacting with their interactive icons.

Leading the Army

After disabling the two catapults, your next goal is to lead the Samurai of the Dawn Empire into the Blackstone Fortress. Just follow your companion Okuma to do this. Once you do this, you will find yourself in a large chamber surrounded by enemies.

To get out of this chamber, utilize the fire arrow pickups found in this room to burn down the doors of the reinforcements. You must fight many enemies while attempting to burn down the doors, so pace yourself. After burning down the doors, kill the rest of your enemies.

Up the Tower

Afterward, head to Okuma, who will begin laying a passage for a way deep into the castle by putting a board over the remaining flames. You will come to a flight of stairs and a winding path before you go up the tower. Going up the building, you will encounter multiple enemies you must fight until you arrive at a metal gate. Okuma will begin opening the gate to let you through, as it has been closed by some of the Blackstone Knights. 

As they open the gate, you have to watch out for enemies and buy Okuma time by defending him from a Conqueror, a Peacekeeper, a Warden, and some soldiers. Eventually, the gate will lift enough for only you to continue through it, run through and under it as Okuma defends himself, telling you to go ahead.

As you go ahead, you will continue up to the main tower. Along the way, you will face a Lawbringer, a Peacekeeper, and a Conqueror.

After defeating these enemies, you will finally reach the main room, where you can find Apollyon slaying Iron Legion knights. As she slays the knights, she acknowledges your presence and prepares her blade. You tell her to yield, but she will refuse, leading to the battle.

Fighting Apollyon

This first fight begins with you fighting Apollyon, along with a Warden and a Peacekeeper. It is recommended to focus on the other two first, as Apollyon’s high health makes it harder to 3v1 during the duels.

Take them out by isolating them in small fights and backing off when Apollyon gets too close. Alternatively, take them two at a time to build up your revenge meter. 

As soon as you enter, you will have a brief moment while the Warden in Peacekeeper is killing the iron Legion Knights, which will die quickly. Take this time to damage Apollyon with quick attacks as much as possible. 

During this stage, you can use the pillars as terrain to put space between you and Apollyon whenever you need to recover your health or stamina. During this stage, Apollyon will also primarily use her heavy attacks and top-crushing counterstrike.

Watch out for the walls as well when you dodge, as the movement of this block, and get ready to disengage whenever you are half healthy or less. Get her to 2/3rds health and trigger the next phase by attacking and dodging out of the way before she responds.

Second Phase

Phase two of the battle vs. Apollyon occurs up a narrow flight of stairs, making this the most challenging part of the fight. Your mobility here is minimal, and you will find it difficult to gain time away from Apollyon. Although Apollyon no longer has her backup this time around, she does get deadlier as well. Her moveset will expand to the rest of the Warden’s moveset, as well as an unblockable heavy, indicated by an orange glow. 

During this time, her main combo will consist of a double-side light attack followed by her shoulder bash. Keep on your guard and get ready to block or dodge, as a hit side light often leads to a guaranteed side light from the same side. 

You will also need to watch her shoulder bash, given that it is harder to dodge given the narrow flight of stairs. You will want to be extremely defensive during this fight, as one misstep or failed dodge often leads to a deadly follow-up by Apollyon.

Be careful in your attacks, as well, as she will start setting up punishes at this point by parrying you. 

To make your life easier at this point, practice your back dodge movement down the stairs. Avoid getting caught in combos by using parries and keeping your guard up after an entire chain. You have to practice your observation skills right now, as you need to ensure her shoulder bash will never hit you. 

Third Phase

Eventually, you will start dueling up the stairs into a balcony area, where you will have your final battle with the leader of the Blackstone legion. This triggers when you get Apollyon to a third of her health. In this phase, you’ll have to duel Apollyon amidst the crumbling ruins of Blackstone Fortress, dodging falling debris while dealing with an enraged knight out for vengeance.

During this part of the battle, you will also be looking out for the Warlord’s Impaling Charge. This Impaling Charge coming from Apollyon is unblockable and pins you against any terrain between you and her. While the animation startup is long and noticeable as her body starts glowing, you will still need to practice caution. Either interrupt the attack, dodge or disengage from her to avoid getting caught. 

Winning the Fight

As you dodge out of the way, take note of highlighted red areas on the map. These indicate where falling debris will land and will damage you. These notably do not fall directly on Apollyon but around her instead, forcing you to take the fight to the Blackstone Warlord.

You will need to use your light chain attacks as Orochi to take her down finally. If you have to trade with Apollyon, use your side dash attacks to get around her guard, as her top opener will out-trade you and counter your attacks.

To make this fight a breeze, save up all the poison traps you have found before fighting Apollyon and use them only on her in any of the three phases. When used, there is a bit of splashback damage, but this is insignificant as you can disable Apollyon and her cronies by leaving them out of stamina for the fight. 

Once you’ve beaten down Apollyon, you will see her fall, broken but reveling in the war she has caused and which you now must live through.

She will collapse to the floor and gloat about her victory as down below, a new age of war commences between the factions. Shortly after, she says that she wants everyone to realize who they are before dying. Your days of fighting are far from over.  

Combos and Tips vs Apollyon

Now that you know the main phases of the battle vs. Apollyon and her unique movesets, let’s discuss some combos you can do as the Orochi to take her down with style.

When to Use Poison Traps

You will get a total of four poison mushroom traps to use during the entire mission. It is highly recommended that you save them for whenever you feel pressured by Apollyon, either on the stairs of phase two or in phase one against multiple opponents.

When you use your poison mushroom traps, make sure you land them on Apollyon and move away. You can choose not to move away, however, if you miss Apollyon, you will end up being poisoned, and one attack chain from her will kill you.

This is also important during the first phase, as multiple opponents may land blows on you if you choose not to move out of the way. 

Offensive Combo

Your main offensive chain combos as Orochi are your side dodge attacks, quick light attacks, and guard breaks. You want to use these as much as possible vs. Apollyon, as your heavies aren’t particularly good at trading with her heavies.

Against the other enemies littered around the level, feel free to spam guard breaks and heavy chains to take them out quickly. Against Apollyon, you will have to use your light chain and dodge the attack to cancel your recovery rate. 

What Feats to Choose

Your main feat which you should choose is Second Wind. You can probably flawlessly win vs. Apollyon, but the chances of that, given her high-damage output, are extremely low. Get Second Wind to heal up in between fights or when you need to disengage. Any other feats are purely optional.

FAQs

Apollyon For Honor Guide: Conclusion

Apollyon is the true test of a warrior in For Honor and is a boss that is not meant for the faint of heart. Use all your experience to take down this tyrannical warlord, or she will plunge the world into war. Come out victorious, and peace may finally get a chance.