They say that the silent blade proves deadliest, and in For Honor, deadly is as good a thing as you will get. This For Honor guide is all about Orochi, the master assassin of the Samurai faction in the game. With deadly attacks, lightning strikes, and slippery maneuvers, this hero is an all-around favorite for the gaming community.
As the Samurai campaign’s main hero, you get to kick the ass of the game’s biggest villain, and you sport perhaps the most anime-like moveset.
If you’re reading this guide, you probably know what For Honor is all about, violence. But kidding aside, For Honor is a hyperrealistic fighting game established by Ubisoft in 2017. This game is going strong and has a large community and fanbase, all dedicated to continuing the game’s success.
One of the game’s main draws is its unique combat system that marries technical skills with historical precedence. More than its complicated attacking system is its historical flavor that highlights these unique mechanics to create a game like no other.
The Orochi: Hidden Blade of the Samurai
When we say For Honor combat is complicated, that’s barely the tip of the iceberg. For Honor manages to give each of its heroes unique mechanics that take time to master. While some are more intuitive to learn than others, true mastery is still elusive. The Orochi, in particular, is one of the most complex heroes to remember due to its Assassin role and unique hero properties.
As an assassin, the Orochi is focused on movement, skill, and precise attacks to take down opponents. Samurai faction heroes are more mechanic-heavy overall, and the Orochi leans into this characteristic. Nevertheless, when mastered, the Orochi can cut down enemies in seconds.
Playing Assassin Heroes
Assassins take the lead in For Honor based on pure offensive capabilities. These lethal heroes have unique skills focusing on evasion, dealing damage, and moving on after killing. These make them the most slippery hero types in For Honor and some of the most impactful ones.
Because of this speed, assassins often have access to a unique deflect mechanic. This allows them to negate incoming damage when they dodge in the direction of an incoming attack. This mechanic will enable them to do remarkable things, like guardbreak opponents or deal more damage.
This also makes them natural duelists with their already high damage potential. Although they are more fragile than most heroes, skilled players don’t have to worry as long as they ensure that they outclass their enemies in other ways. In games, Assassins are often used to isolate and headhunt solo players for control of the game. By taking out key players, they turn the momentum of a game in their favor.
Their speed also allows them to capture points further away. They gain the most points by defeating multiple enemies simultaneously and extending their kill streak. Through this cycle of ganking and capturing, Assassins often feel omnipresent, ready to strike anywhere, everywhere, all at once.
Orochi Hero Properties
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The core properties of a hero in For Honor are class, health, and stamina. In addition to this are their default guard direction and speed. These all come into play during combat as these resources you use up whenever you move or damage. Down below details some more specifics about Orochi’s properties.
Health
The Orochi has 120 health and a below-average health pool. For reference, nearly all assassins, such as Peacekeepers and Shamans, have a health pool of 120. Meanwhile, most heavies have a health pool of 140. At the below-average range of health, your main focus is avoiding attacks.
You do this either by mastering parries and guarding or deflecting. You also take advantage of your serious damage to burst enemies before they can trade with you.
Stamina
The Warden also has 120 stamina to use up. Stamina in For Honor is used for moves such as attacks, which eat up stamina, mainly if used in quick succession. Bashes from enemies also deplete your stamina bar.
Running out of stamina limits your speed and the number of moves you can make, making you a squishy and vulnerable target. In comparison to other heroes, the Orochi has an average stamina pool. Most characters have 120 stamina, with only a rare few having more.
Default Guard
Your default guard is reflexive by nature. Having a reflex guard means that your Guard Stance is only active for a limited time when used, lasting for only a second or so.
This is primarily due to you having defensive redundancies with your deflect kit.
These two allow you to have multiple defensive options without relying solely on guarding. This kit also incentivizes you to keep on the attack, as this is what an assassin playstyle demands.
Speed
Now in For Honor, speed dictates several things in the game. It dictates how fast you can gank your enemies, as well as how quickly you can capture points in certain game modes.
Milliseconds dictate speed in the game, and your moves are performed in milliseconds while your movement speed is in in-game meters per second. Here are the different walking and running speeds for the Orochi.
Sprint Speed- 7.5 m/
Forward Walking Speed- 1.75 m/s
Backward Walking Spee- 1.25 m/s
Side Walking Speed- 2.25 m/s
By comparison to other heroes, you are on the above-average side. Most assassins have a sprint speed of 7.5 m/s with a forward walking speed of 2.5 m/s. At the same time, heavies have a slower rate at 1.75 forward walking speed. Your main goal is to run around the map and take advantage of your high-impact potential to secure vulnerable points.
Attack Properties
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Let us now move on to Orochi’s attack properties that define their playstyle and moveset. A quick disclaimer before proceeding, For Honor is a fighting game with many terminologies unique to the game. Therefore, this guide assumes you know the vocabulary for certain effects.
While there will occasionally be a quick definition included to catch you up, you are expected to know these. Here are a few important things to remember with the Orochi Class.
Deflect Properties
Your deflect is a special skill that most assassins have to reduce or avoid damage. As an Orochi, deflecting an attack allows you to perform a guaranteed light attack called Wind Gust which ignores Hyper armor. This makes Orochi a fantastic counter to many heroes that attack aggressively, hoping to trade with the Orochi.
What makes Wind Gust extremely useful is its ability to interrupt combos and chains with the pinning property. Not only do you avoid damage, but this allows you to start an attack chain to turn the battle.
Recovery Cancel Properties
One of your main goals as an assassin is to keep the pressure mounting versus your opponents. The Orochi mainly does this through the use of recovery cancels. Recoveries are the brief period after a move, such as an attack where you cannot perform another move.
This recovery essentially leaves you vulnerable to your opponents who, if timed correctly, can attack chain you. As Orochi, you can cancel these recoveries after 200-300 ms to keep on attacking by using a dodge or dodge attack. After an attack, you can use this to immediately perform another move again as long as you have stamina.
The only exception to this is your forward bash Dust Devil Kick, which can only be recovery canceled if it connects. This powerful tool allows you to spam random tracks without taking a break as long as you have stamina. This is great as you don’t have to keep feinting to perform many mixups.
Of the dodge cancels, your side and forward dodges are faster and make it easier to chain attacks. This continues until you run out of stamina or your opponent gets fed up and parries you.
Light Attack Properties
You also have a special light attack property as Orochi. After using any non-bash attack, the Orochi can follow up with a guaranteed light attack that deals less damage. This only occurs if the first non-bash attack hits.
The guaranteed light attack deals four damage, is performed at 200 ms, and costs you six stamina. Otherwise, you deal 10 damage at the cost of 9 stamina. The move is also slower, taking 500 ms.
Heavy Attack Properties
On the other hand, your heavy attacks deal 22 damage as openers and cost 12 stamina. Among these openers, your top heavy opener is faster at 700 ms than your side heavy opener’s 800 ms.
Meanwhile, your heavy finishers both cost 12 stamina. However, your top finisher deals 32 damage at 900 ms and is unblockable. Meanwhile, your side finisher deals 30 damage at 700 ms but is not unblockable.
However, your top finisher deals 32 damage at 900 ms and is unblockable. Meanwhile, your side finisher deals 30 damage at 700 ms but is not unblockable.
The Orochi Moveset
The Orochi’s moveset and chain attacks are reliant on successful counterattacking using your deflect to get Wind Gust. After this, you can perform bursts of great damage by using recovery cancels to overwhelm your enemies.
The Orochi also relies on using their dodge attacks to position themselves advantageously. This makes Orochi a highly mobile assassin that focuses on taking down the most dangerous opponents as his signature style counters the worst attacks and follows up with more serious damage.
The Orochi Move List
Here are Orochi’s moves. A series of attack chains, specific moves can be thrown into the mix, and powerful dodge attacks. These are meant to be chained together to take down opponents.
Cyclone Slashes
Galeforce Swipes
Lightning Strikes Twice
Maelstrom Slashes
Riptide Strike
Lightning Strike
Zephyr Slash
Storm Rush
Dust Devil Kick
Crashing Wave
Wind Gust
Zone Attack
We will discuss each of these moves down below. These moves are best performed after a deflect Wind gust or when you can punish opponents. This optimizes your damage and takes down your opponent as quickly as possible.
Cyclone Slashes (Light, Light, Heavy)
Cyclone Slashes are your double light into heavy attack chain. Because of your light attack properties, this attack noticeably gets you your second attack guaranteed. This move is your default attack chain and is a consistent pressure tool if you use the guaranteed light.
The first variation ending in a side heavy deals 44 damage and costs 27 stamina. This is your double light into a heavy side chain. A double light into top heavy chain deals 46 damage instead and is slower by 200 ms but costs the same stamina.
Suppose you choose not to use the guaranteed light. Depending on your heavy finisher, you will deal 53 to 55 damage. However, this is slower by 300 ms and costs three more stamina.
Galeforce Swipes (Light, Heavy)
Galeforce swipes deal 40 to 42 damage and cost 21 stamina for both finisher variations. This is your fastest attack chain and can be mixed from Wind Gust for greater damage. This is your light into a heavy chain.
Lightning Strikes Twice (Heavy, Heavy)
Lightning Strikes Twice is your double-heavy attack chain. You deal 44 to 54 damage depending on your heavy finisher and lose 24 stamina in either variation. You should aim for a top-heavy opener into a side-heavy finisher as this is the faster variation by 300 ms and only loses you two damage.
Maelstrom Slashes (Heavy, Light, Heavy)
This attack is nearly similar to Lightning Strikes Twice except for the 200 ms guaranteed light mixed in. The damage of this chain is higher by 4 and costs 6 more stamina. This does result in a very fast chain with top-heavy into the guaranteed light into the heavy side finisher.
Riptide Strike (Back dodge, Light)
The first dodge attack we will discuss is Riptide Strike. All your dodge attacks are enhanced attacks, meaning you do not bounce off if the attack hits your opponent’s guard, so your recovery is faster. They all also allow recovery cancels for your attacks.
Unique to Riptide Strike is its extended dodge property. You can convert the backward dodge into Riptide Strike 300 ms into its animation. The attack lunges you forward after your dodge and deals 13 damage for nine stamina. The entire animation with the dodge takes 500 ms.
Lightning Strike (Forward Dash, Light)
Lightning Strike is your forward dash light attack. It is also enhanced and is a good distance closer which deals 12 damage at 566 ms, costing nine stamina.
Zephyr Slash (Side Dodge, Light)
Zephyr Slash is your side dodge attack, and similar to Lightning Strike is also enhanced but is additionally unblockable. It also deals 12 damage but takes 600 ms to do so. It costs nine stamina.
Storm Rush (Forward/Side dodge, Hold Heavy, Release in any Direction)
While Light Dodge attacks are all well and good, where the Orochi truly excels is his heavy dodge attacks, aptly called Storm Rush. Storm Rush is an undodgeable heavy attack that you trigger by holding the heavy attack button after a dodge backward or forwards.
Once you hold the attack, you can release the button from any side to perform a heavy attack. This heavy attack deals 16 damage at 600 ms and costs 12 stamina.
This attack is feintable and cancellable. It also allows you to sash for up to 600 ms if your target is further, allowing you to chase them down. The attack also places you slightly opposite where the attack comes from.
Dust Devil Kick (Forward Dash, Guardbreak)
Dust Devil Kick is an unblockable forward bash that dashes you forward. Its guard breaks opponents at 500 ms and costs 15 stamina. You can input the kick 300 to 500 ms after the dash. Even if you whiff, you can chain the guaranteed light attack. This attack requires you to hit before you can recover or cancel it, so opponents can trade with you through a dodge attack.
Crashing Wave (Sprint Attack)
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Crashing Wave is your heavy sprint attack which you can only perform out of guard mode. It is a heavy attack that hits your opponent’s top guard and deals 18 damage for 12 stamina. It takes 600 ms to perform and is chainable into the guaranteed light as it acts as a chain opener.
This is your main ganking tool Orochi and it allows you to run for an extended period. This deals significantly more damage than other sprint attacks and can be followed up immediately by any dodge attack for continuous damage.
Wind Gust (Deflect, Light)
Wind Gust is an unblockable light attack with 18 damage and costs you nine stamina. This attack is only possible after you perform your deflect on an opponent and is guaranteed immediately.
Wind Gust also has a special property called Pinning Gust. This allows you to bypass the Hyper armor of any opponent and interrupt their attacks.
Zone Attack (Both attack buttons)
Your Zone Attack is a large slash that comes from the left and is considered a heavy attack. It deals 14 damage for 40 stamina and moves at 500 ms.
A dodge can cancel this zone attack and act as a chain starter.
Hard Hitting Punishes
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Your punishes as the Orochi occurs in several scenarios, which I will list below. These help you counter and react to whatever your opponents are up to.
Guard Breaks
Wall Splatters
Parrying
Out of Stamina Opponents
The first punishment occurs on guard breaks. Here you get a heavy plus the guaranteed light for 26 damage. If they are out of stamina, a light attack is safer.
The second punish comes after a wall splatter, which you can set up with a kick. The best punish here is a heavy into the guaranteed light for 23 damage. Parrying your opponent’s heavy attack comes with several heavy punishes. A Zone Attack into the Guaranteed light deals 18.
Or you can Double light for 14. You can also ledge your opponents. Meanwhile, light Parries also get you the heavy into the guaranteed light. If your opponents are out of stamina, you can punish them by throwing them and wailing on them with heavy attacks.
Orochi in the Meta
Orochi in the Meta is a very powerful hero with ganking and dueling potential. They have many combos due to their dodge recovery property, and throwing out attack after attack is very powerful.
Dueling
Your goal as The Orochi is to kick ass and look cool. Get into fights with your sprint attack and spam those recovery cancel dodge attacks after your slower combos to put your opponents under immense pressure to deal with you.
If you’re lucky, they die without being able to deal with any of your wacky katana hijinks. If you aren’t, practice your deflect game to suck the life out of your opponents and continue throwing out every imaginable attack in your arsenal.
At higher levels, the Orochi becomes less of an all-in attacker and a more refined duelist. While the potential to dodge and dodge attacks for continuous damage is still there, much of the effort now goes into changing your mixups to continue the pressure.
Tracking your stamina and waiting for opportunities with your Wind Gust sometimes takes priority to win the fight. It must be noted that this hero is very hard due to the many options available to them. Newcomers must be wary as they can easily get overwhelmed by their choices for new scenarios.
Team Game Modes
Team game modes such as Breach and Dominion need you to endlessly gank your opponents as your superior dueling potential will scare the daylights out of anyone.
Attacking isolated targets and taking on points net you renown for other feats. Taking on groups of two to three opponents is also possible, as your dodge attacks allow you to seamlessly switch between targets while creating distance.
Matchups
As Orochi, you excel against most heroes, especially ones that rely on combos or trading with Hyper Armor. You can overwhelm most other opponents with your kit. You generally will have trouble instead against heroes with All Guard as you only have one unblockable. Additionally, other assassins may prove a problem if they can dodge or deflect your attacks.
Feats
Feats are abilities outside combat that For Honor Heroes can equip in specific game modes. Each hero can have four feats equipped, but a freshly brought hero only has one feat available for each rank.
To gain more feats, a player must level their hero in reputation. Each tier has three feats available, meaning 12 are known per hero. Here are Orochi’s feats and which are the best ones.
Tier 1 Feats
The three tier-one feats of the Orochi are Bounty Hunter, Kiai, and Iron Lungs. Bounty Hunter and Iron Lungs are passive abilities, while Kiai is activated. Bounty Hunter gives you additional health and stamina when killing enemies, allowing you to snowball into a deadly threat.
Kiai stuns nearby opponents and opens them up for some punishes. Finally, Iron Lungs allow you to sprint without stamina, perfect for escaping after a play. Your best hit here is Bounty Hunter, which allows you to scale in health and stamina well into the late game.
Tier 2 Feats
Orochi’s tier 2 feats are Smoke Bomb, Kunai, and Executioner’s Respite. A Smoke Bomb is a thrown projectile that stuns enemies near its radius for a moderate amount of time. Kunai is a quickly thrown dart for 15 damage. Finally, Executioner’s Respite increases the healing you get from executions by 50 percent. The best option is Smoke Bomb for its versatility, playmaking potential, and impact.
The five-second stun it offers is unmatched in terms of disabling potential. Plus, you can use it offensively or defensively; its only downside is practicing what to do after you land it. The Kunai is a good follow-up damage option for 15 damage.
But at this point, do you need that 15 damage when you have so much already? It seems overkill and is less helpful overall. Finally, Executioner’s Respite is a good pickup, especially if you plan to get into many 1v1s. Sometimes, however, you don’t have the time to perform an execution as enemies are around to interrupt you. This is a solid pick but is less consistent overall.
Tier 3 Feats
Orochi’s tier 3 feats are Longbow, Sharpen Blade, and Slip Through. All but Slip Through are activated abilities. Longbow is a long-range damage option that runs into the same problems as Kunai. It’s alright, given the ranged option it provides, but this is a fighting game and not a shooting one.
Sharpen blade is preferable as it heightens your duel potential and allows you to deal with tanks more effectively. It gives your attacks bleed damage for 30 seconds and helps you if you are bad at landing strikes. However, some feats counter this, given the many heals other heroes have that cleanse bleed.
Slip Through is the best feat here for you as your entire kit relies on recovery cancels with dodge and doge attacks. Slip Through raises your attack damage by 30% for a short duration after dodging, adding to your already impressive kit and being naturally synergistic.
Tier 4 Feats
The tier 4 feats for Orochi are Nail Bomb, Fear Itself, and Arrow Storm. Nail Bomb is a mine you can plant to deal 40 and 75 bleed damage. Fear is the superior choice, as it gets you a 50% damage bonus against enemies around you. Arrow Storm is a slow AOE for wave clearing, and Nail Bomb is a good but highly situational pick.
Perks
Let’s move on to the perks available to the Orochi. Perks are passives gained through getting and collecting a specific combination of Gears. Every hero, including the Orochi, has access to 7 individual Perks, with higher-level perks accessible with higher-level gear.
Common Perks
The Orochi’s standard perks are Galestorm, Devour, and Early Reaper. These are useful in games like Breach for extending your kill streak. Galestorm fives 20% movement speed after killing a hero, while Devour heals you for ten health every time you perform an execution. Finally, Early Reaper gives you a head start by making your next attack after spawning or being revived deal 30% bonus damage.
Rare Perks
The Orochi’s rare perk is Endurance. It allows you to last longer in fights the more renown you gain. When gaining a Renown level, you receive a 3% Stamina cost reduction on everything, which stacks up to a 12% reduction.
Heroic Perks
The heroic perk for Orochi is called Survival Instinct. This perk reduces stamina when in critical health (under 25 health). You gain a 25% Stamina cost reduction that works even when you have shields.
Epic Perks
Your Epic perk is Crush Them, which gives your next attack after a hero kill deal 20% more damage.
Legendary Perks
Finally, Your Legendary perk as Orochi is called Head Hunter. It increases your maximum health for each unique hero you execute, increasing your max health by four each time. This stacks up to 16 bonus health.
FAQs
Question: Is the Orochi a Good Assassin in For Honor?
Answer: The Orochi is one of the best Assassins in the game. With a high skill ceiling and near-limitless mixup potential, the Orochi is only limited by your creativity and stamina. One of the main reasons the Orochi is so powerful in For Honor is that their deflect allows them to use combos while interrupting the enemy. At the same time, unskilled players can get completely demolished in seconds if they can’t parry correctly.
Question: How Difficult is the Orochi to Play in For Honor?
Answer: The Orochi is one of the more difficult heroes to play in For Honor. Assassins themselves do take an understanding of the mechanics of the game. Deflects are an acquired skill and are central to Orochi’s game style. Finally, learning the dodge recovery cancels all take a lot of work as flowing into different attacks based on what situation all takes an understanding of what is required.
Question: Should I Play the Orochi in For Honor?
Answer: Playing a hero in For Honor will always be based on how fun you think a hero is. The Orochi is a hero you should pick up if you value dueling and practicing mechanical skills. They are meant to be evasive counterattackers and require players to devise a game plan beforehand. You need a crafty mind to play the Orochi, and not just anyone will fit the bill.
Orochi For Honor Guide: Conclusion
The Orochi is a master of the blade and of the deadly dance that the Samurai excels at. Mastering this deadly warrior takes no small skill, and help should be accepted whenever offered.
Luckily, you have stumbled upon a treasure trove of information to guide your skills and hone your craft. Now, take the field and crush your enemy with your blade!
