warden for honor

Warden For Honor Guide

Latest posts by Matthew Du (see all)

A true knight in For Honor is a fan of longswords, heavy attacks, and bashing things with their boulder shoulders until their opponent suffers brain damage. The truest of all these knights is the Warden, your standard vanilla white knight who also happens to kick ass.

For Honor is a hyperrealistic fighting game established by Ubisoft in 2017. What makes this game so unique is its advanced fighting system. Its unique heroes’ attack chains and movesets are based on historical manuals and treatises to make the game engaging.

Besides that, its roster of heroes and the community behind the game are massive and continue to expand yearly.  Learning how to play is a no-brainer if you want to enjoy this game. Luckily, that’s where this guide comes in. Read below to learn about the Warden, For Honor’s quintessential knight.

The Warden: a Knight for any Situation

the warden a knight for any situation
Image via Ubisoft

While For Honor combat is relatively tricky, you’ll encounter a unique hero every once in a while. A hero that is relatively easy to learn but packs quite a punch, even during higher skill levels! The Warden is one such hero due to their unique properties, balanced stats, and mixable movesets.

Part of this ease of use is due to the Warden’s intuitive controls and combos that lead to a low learning curve. The Warden is a Vanguard hero in For Honor, one of four hero types that determine the properties of a hero in For Honor.

Being Vanguard heroes, the Warden can hold their own against specialists despite any scenario as long as they are played well. As such, they can fulfill various roles, such as dueling, disruption, capturing points, and more. They gain the most renown by capturing and holding points, winning outnumbered fights, and killing minions. They round out team compositions and create a dependable lineup. This makes them perfect for individual play.

Warden Hero Properties

The common 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 the Warden’s properties. 

warden hero properties
Image via Ubisoft

Health

The Warden has 130 health and has an average to slightly above 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 average range of health, you have the luxury of trading more hits with your opponent. With the right feats, you can also take more damage to keep you in longer fights.

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. You use them for nearly everything, from sprinting to dodging.  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 Warden has an average stamina pool. Most characters have 120 stamina, with only a rare few having more.

Default Guard

Your default guard is static by nature. Having a static guard means that your Guard Stance stays and remains active in whichever direction you hold it. This stays in the same guard even when doing actions such as performing dodges. Most heroes in For Honor have a static guard set up. 

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 specific 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 Warden. 

  • Sprint Speed- 7 m/s
  • Forward Walking Speed- 1.50 m/s
  • Backward Walking Spee- 1 m/s
  • Side Walking Speed- 1.50 m/s

By comparison to other heroes, you are on the below-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 share the same rate as you or are slightly faster at 1.75 forward walking speed. Your main goal is to hold points instead of running around the map.

Attack Properties

the warden attack properties

Let us now move on to the Warden’s attack properties that define their playstyle and moveset. As For Honor is an intricate fighting game, this guide assumes that you know the vocabulary used for specific effects. We will include a quick definition at times to catch you up. Here are a few essential things to remember with the Warden Class. 

Light Attack Properties

Your light attacks have properties that vary depending on if they come from the top or the sides when you input the move. In terms of damage, opener side light attacks deal ten damage. Meanwhile, opener top light attacks deal 12 damage but gain a damage boost when a special move is inputted, which is discussed later. 

Each light attack has a speed of 500 ms and costs nine stamina. However, if they are the second light attack in a chain, they deal 13 damage from the top and 14 from the sides.

Warden has a uniquely special property that occurs if you attack in the same side direction twice with a light attack. The second light attack becomes a guaranteed hit and moves faster, taking only 200 ms with only six-cost stamina.

However, their damage is reduced to 5. Guaranteed attacks are attacks that, once inputted, will always hit. This makes them valuable additions to any moveset.

Heavy Attack Properties

Your heavy attacks have differing properties again, depending on whether they are top-heavy or side-heavy attacks. Top heavy opener attacks deal 27 damage and have a 900 ms speed. Meanwhile, side-heavy openers deal 24 damage but are 800 ms in speed. Both openers cost 12 stamina. 

The fun part with Warden’s heavy attacks is if they are finishers in an attack chain. As finishers, they are unblockable and ignore your opponent’s guard. This is noticeable as a fiery orange glow around your character when performing the attack.

Top heavy finishers deal 32 damage, while heavy side finishers deal 30 damage. Both cost 12 stamina and have a speed of 900 ms. 

The Warden Moveset

The Warden’s moveset and chain attacks depend on mixing up light and heavy attacks for a heavy finisher. Being unblockable, these heavy attacks deal a lot of damage and chunk out the enemy’s health. 

Sprint attacks, dash attacks, zone attacks, and a unique bash specific to the Warden complement these attack chains. It must also be noted that the Warden’s sprint, dash, and zone attacks are counted as openers and are chainable into a heavy finisher.

the warden moveset
Image via Ubisoft

The Warden Move List

Here are the Warden’s moves. A series of attack chains and specific actions that can be thrown into the mix, as well as the Warden’s unique move. These are meant to be chained together to take down opponents. 

Vanguard’s Advance (Light, Light, Heavy)

Vanguard’s Advance is your first attack chain and your most adaptable one. A subtle call back to your hero type, this attack chain is a three-part attack. This is done with two light attacks into a heavy finisher. 

The first variation depends on whether you use your special light attack as your opener and second attack. As attacking from the same direction triggers the guaranteed follow-up light, this attack is best for landing consistent hits. This variation deals 45-47 damage in total and uses up 27 stamina. 

The second variation occurs when you decide to attack from a different direction during your second light attack, following a side opener. Although this second attack isn’t a guaranteed hit, it does more damage, perfect for low-health enemies. Overall, this variation deals 53- 56 damage and costs 30 stamina.

The final variation of this chain is when you start with a top light opener instead. If you trigger a crushing counterstrike (more on this later), you deal up to 63-66 damage. If you don’t start the crushing counterstrike, you deal 55-57 damage for 30 stamina.

Guardian’s Assault (Light, Heavy)

Guardian’s assault is your second attack chain and is much quicker than Vanguard’s Advance. This is done by inputting a light attack and immediately following up with a heavy attack. However, note that this is only 200 ms faster than a double light from the same direction into a heavy.

As always, this attack has a few variations. Your first is when you open with a side light into a heavy finisher, dealing 40 to 42 damage for 21 stamina. The second variation is if you start with a top light opener. Triggering a crushing counterstrike with this deals 50-52 damage for 21 stamina. Not triggering: It deals 42-44 damage instead. 

Warden’s Wrath (Heavy, Heavy)

Your Warden’s Wrath deals the most consistent damage as it is two heavy attacks in a row. This is perfect for out-of-stamina opponents, unsuspecting enemies, or low-skilled players.

Depending on your opener and finisher, you will always pay 24 stamina with this attack and will deal anywhere from 54 to 59 damage. 

Crushing Counterstrike (Top Guard, Light)

If you’ve noticed, we have a unique property for our top light attack called a crushing counterstrike. By using your top light attack as a parry, your attack gains superior block properties.

If it happens to catch an attack when it triggers, the damage is enhanced from 12 to 20. Now, let’s break all of this down, as this is a rather complicated move for a not-so-complicated hero. 

This attack only triggers if you are performing it against a top attack by your opponent. When they attack, you want to light attack at the same time. If the timing is right, which depends on your reflexes, you will parry their attack, and your light attack will go through, dealing enhanced damage. 

It is important to note that this works best if your guard mode deadzone is set to 0. Additionally, depending on if you are countering a heavy or light attack, the time you trigger the attack must change. Delay it a bit for heavy attacks while you should perform it immediately versus light ones.

This attack is an excellent defensive counter but isn’t always the best opener. Instead, this is a test of your reaction time to see how quickly you can parry your opponents with this move.

Valiant Breakthrough (Forward Dodge, Heavy )

the warden move list

Valiant Breakthrough is your dash attack. This forward dash deals 16 damage at the cost of 12 stamina and connects at 500 ms. This dash is relatively easy to predict as it always hits the top guard of your opponent. The dash starts at 300 ms and is useful for closing distance.

This move works situationally and is best used after feinting your shoulder bash to catch opponents off guard. As they dodge the shoulder bash, you can quickly cover the distance with the dash attack instead and can chain this into a heavy finisher.

Shoulder Bash (Forward/Side Dodge, Guard Break)

Now we’ve come to the meat of Warden’s gameplay, their special move, the Shoulder Bash. This movie has several properties, depending on how long you charge the bash by holding the guard break. But here are some key things that happen regardless of how long this is charged.

Firstly, the shoulder bash deals ten stamina damage at the cost of 12 stamina. This will also leave them open for attacks whose optimal combination we will discuss later.

The move takes 700 ms to use at its lowest charge to 1300 ms at its highest charge. It takes 300ms to reach the target after charging. It can be used after a forward or side dodge and after all attacks but another dodge. The Shoulder Bash being performable after any attack other than another Shoulder Bash makes it challenging to anticipate.

The move is also feintable and cancellable as long as you haven’t moved forward yet and are still charging; canceling will still cost you ten mana. Note that if you overshoot your opponents, you are guard broken, but if they have no dodge attack or bash, they may not reach you till you recover. 

The first level of Shoulder Bash is the immediate shoulder bash. After charging for 400 ms, you will immediately use the bash. The second level is slightly different, charging between 400 and 1000 ms instead.

Both levels lead to a bash that guarantees a double-side light combo for 15 damage. The third level occurs when charging for at least 1000 ms. When connecting, you get a guaranteed heavy attack finisher and can wall-splat the opponent. Importantly, you also gain Hyper armor after the charge. 

Rushing Slash (Sprint Attack)

Rushing Slash is your heavy sprint attack which you can only perform out of guard mode. It is a heavy attack that always hits your opponent’s left guard and deals 12 damage for 12 stamina. It takes 400 ms to perform and is chainable into a heavy finisher or shoulder bash.

This is your primary ganking tool as Warden. Although it isn’t recommended to run around the map, sometimes, you have to. This move can lead to a deadly and repeatable combo of shoulder bash into a double light.

Zone Attack (Both Attack Buttons)

Your Zone Attack is a large slash that always comes from the right and is considered a heavy attack. It deals 13 damage for 30 stamina and moves at 500 ms.

As your Zone Attack is relatively fast, they can be used in place of a bash during mixups for a hefty stamina cost. The recovery from your Zone Attack, however, is fast enough to defend against some dodge attacks and guard breaks immediately after. 

Hard Hitting Punishes

Your punishes as the Warden occurs during several scenarios, which I will list below. These help you counter and react to whatever your opponents are up to and allow you to get the most damage in.

  • Guard Breaks
  • Wall Splatters
  • Parrying
  • Out of Stamina Opponents

The first punishment occurs on guard breaks. Here you get a guaranteed side heavy for 24 damage. If you are out of stamina, a top light is your best bet for any punishment instead.  

The second punish comes after a wall splatter; something quickly set up with your shoulder bash. The best follow-up here is to hit them with a top-heavy. Parrying your opponent’s heavy attack also opens them up to a quick light attack for 15 damage. Meanwhile, repelling an opponent’s light attack opens them up to a top-heavy.

If your opponents are out of stamina, you can punish them by throwing a Zone Attack into a Top Heavy attack. This does cost a lot of stamina, so save this for when you have a stamina advantage. An alternative instead is a Top Light into a Top Heavy. 

Warden in the Meta

warden in the meta
Image via Playstation Universe

Warden in the Meta right now is a solid hero with great dueling and holding potential. The best part is that they are free and don’t require you to break the bank or grind out the game for steel. Down below are the different types of game modes and how the Warden fits into each one of them.

Dueling

Your goal as Warden is to constantly feint your heavy attacks and shoulder bash to slowly induce your opponent to paranoia. Warden is a very good duelist in For Honor and is solid even for first-timers. Their intuitive kit means that the basics allow them to win solidly. Meanwhile, their feints and the infinite combo of bashing, attacking, and bashing again let them to bully their opponents.

At higher levels, the Warden still holds their own. Mastering feints means that your Opponents are forced to read your moves, a challenging skill to master. By being unpredictable, you catch your opponent off guard. The goal in Warden dueling is to feint your attacks to condition opponents and then switch things up to control the game. This makes Warden a very good duelist, no matter the odds.

Team Game Modes

Team game modes such as Breach and Dominion require you to hold and capture points. Occasionally, you will want to gank opponents, but these circumstances are few and far between. Most importantly, you should stay at your capture points and reinforce Heavies by taking advantage of your dueling skills.

While they don’t have the most impactful feats, they still provide a well-rounded character. You can also alternate as an off-tank when your Heavy is down to take off the pressure from your team. You should also defend against pesky Assassins. 

Matchups

As Warden, you excel at most matchups. You want to ensure that you are against opponents who rely on guards, as your heavy finishers will melt them. Additionally, heroes without good dash attacks are easy prey to your Shoulder Bash and should be harassed.

You generally want to avoid matchups against mobile opponents as they can easily dodge your bash and take advantage of your guard being broken. You also want to avoid offensive heroes who can win against you in trades, as your defense isn’t always as good aside from your Crushing Counterstrike.

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 the Warden’s feats and which are the best ones.

Tier 1 Feats

tier 1 feats   

The three tier-one feats of the Warden are Body Count, Conqueror, and Come at Me. Come at Me is a triggered ability that increases the renown you get from killing soldiers and enemy heroes at the expense of more damage taken.

Meanwhile, Body Count heals you for each soldier you kill, adding some sustain to your kit. Finally, Conqueror allows you to capture points faster and upgrade control zones more quickly. 

Among these tier 1 feats, Body Count is an excellent sustain passive to this, but it requires more fighting to take advantage of, and the healing isn’t enough against huge soldier waves.

Thus, depending on your playstyle, Conqueror and Come at Me are the preferred feats. Use Come at Me whenever you have the advantage in a fight to farm renown and get more impactful feats. Conqueror is best for rushing in and capturing points with a hyper-aggressive team.  

Tier 2 Feats

tier 2 feats   

Warden’s tier 2 feats are Inspire, Fiat Lux, and Thrilling Comeback. Inspire is an activated ability that helps your allies deal more damage while buffing your soldier’s attack speed.

This buff allows you to turn the tide of battle for all your nearby allies. Fiat Lux is Latin for “Let there be light.” It is essentially a flashbang grenade that blinds enemies. Finally, Thrilling Comeback heals you for a bit when activating Revenge.

Your best bet here is to take Inspire. A considerable damage boost is enough to win most fights. It ensures that your teammates get a boost whenever the defense falls or when they must capture a point. Fiat Lux is alright, being situationally good in taking down enemies. But you aren’t a primary ganker, and many heroes are too mobile to be caught in this. Plus, it also hits your allies if you mess up and miss. 

Finally, a thrilling comeback is a solid tool, but the scenarios where you consistently get into fights and go against multiple people are few. If they’re too often, consider checking your positioning and awareness. 

Tier 3 Feats

 

tier 3

Warden’s tier 3 feats are Second Wind, Pugno Mortis, and Takedown. All of these are activated abilities. Second Wind is a nice self-heal, while Pugno Mortis is a large AOE grenade that can deal damage over time. Takedown ensures that all throws result in knockdowns.

Second Wind is by far one of the most clutch abilities in the game. Pugno Mortis is fun for duels but is not as impressive as a self-heal. Takedown is also entertaining but is not as optimizable for Warden and doesn’t get them enough mileage.

Tier 4 Feats

tier 4

The tier 4 feats for Warden are Catapult, Stalwart Banner, and Morale Booster. Catapult is an enormous AOE damage ability that is very slow but does massive damage. Stalwart Banner is an AOE over time heal that is useful for stopping bleed and burns. Finally, Morale Booster is a more potent inspiration with a greater range.

Stalwart Banner is the top pick here, as it gives you additional tankiness and keeps allies alive. As a bonus, it shuts down some effects like bleeding and helps you win duels.

Catapult is just far too slow and is only good for out-of-stamina opponents. Meanwhile, Morale Booster is a great second choice. Pick it if you already have a nearby teammate running the Stalwart banner.

Perks

Let’s move on to the perks available to the Warden. Perks are passives gained through getting and collecting a specific combination of Gears. Every hero, including the Warden, has access to 7 individual Perks, with higher-level perks accessible with higher-level gear.

Common Perks

common perks   

The Warden’s standard perks are Aegis, Shields Up, and Devour. These are useful in games like Breach and allow for damage reduction. Aegis increases all shields received by 20%, while Shields Up gives you a 25 hp shield after you are revived, which lasts 15 seconds. Finally, Devour heals you for ten health every time you perform an execution.

Rare Perks

The Warden’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 Warden 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 as Warden 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.

Legendary Perks

Finally, Warden’s legendary perk is called Fresh Focus, which is probably one of the best perks available to any hero in the game. When exhausted, new focus allows you to generate stamina through counterguard breaks, blocks, and parries.

You can regenerate 20% of stamina per action. This, coupled with your feats, allow Warden to never run out of stamina and keep fighting till the end.

FAQs

Question: Is the Warden Good to Play in For Honor?

Answer: The Warden is a beginner-friendly class that can seriously kick ass. The Warden is a solid pick for any player due to his different mixups, heavy damage, and easy-to-play fighting style. Although some players may find this playstyle too straightforward, mastering this hero allows one to dominate every duel.

Question: Is the Warden Easy to Play in For Honor?

Answer: The Warden is a Vanguard hero that is one of the easiest to play in For Honor. The best part about this is that this easy playstyle still comes in with some rewarding mechanical strength, as the Warden is an excellent duelist.
This ease comes due to their balanced stats and intuitive kit. The Warden has enough health and damage to compete with other heroes. Meanwhile, mastering their attack patterns and learning their feints allows them to play mind games with an opponent to win the fight.

Question: What is the Best Way to Play the Warden in For Honor?

Answer: The best way to play the Warden in For Honor depends on if you are in a duel-based game or a point capture-based mode. As a duelist, you play the Warden by putting pressure on your opponent with Unblockable heavies and your shoulder bash.
By feinting these attacks, you catch your enemies by surprise and force them to overreact and leave themselves open.
In team-based modes, your job is to function as an off-tank to hold points and defend squishy heroes on your team. While you can choose to gank, this is less effective than capturing and staying with your team. 

Warden For Honor: Conclusion

A knight has a lot to learn before they can start playing at being a hero. It takes more than swinging a sword to get good with the Warden, but luckily, the next step isn’t that much of a stretch.

The Warden is a satisfying hero to play and a great introduction to the world of For Honor. Try them out and keep them as a pocket pick whenever you want to enjoy the game.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top