For Honor’s Gear Perks have undergone a few changes since their implementation in Marching Fire, and while many are just the same, others are quite different, whether they've been gutted or propelled forward in viability. Today, we’ll be ranking them based on their performance in Breach, the most popular game mode after Dominion (if not the most well-balanced). It is also the game mode where perks have the most relevance, as:
-Healing is more scarce
-More time to unlock and use renown-gated perks
-Mobility and rotation speed are even more important
Let's start with our Critera:
Criteria:
- D Tier: Useless/Narrow
- C Tier: Situational/Niche
- B Tier: Average/Mediocre
- A Tier: Strong/Broad
- S Tier: Outstanding/Excellent
Note: This list is also ordered from top to bottom (including inside of tiers), top being the worst, and bottom being the best (EG, Survival Instinct being above Crush Them).
D Tier:
Early Reaper
Upon spawn or revive, your next attack deals 30% extra damage. Damage bonus does not stack with other buffs. Applies to chip damage from blocked attacks, landed attacks, and damage dealing feats - against heroes or soldiers.
Early Reaper is an obvious dud, granting you a pathetic bonus that is easily wasted or lost. That's really all there is to this perk. There is literally no worse option in the game; do not use this perk.
Crush Them
Upon Hero kill, your next attack deals 30% extra damage. Damage bonus does not stack with other buffs. Applies to chip damage from blocked attacks, landed attacks, and damage dealing feats - against heroes or soldiers.
This is pretty much the exact same as Early Reaper, but is only slightly less situational and uncommon. Treat it the same, and take it just as seriously.
Survival Instinct
When in critical health ( <25 HP), gain a 25% stamina cost reduction.
This perk is not only very underwhelming, it can be detrimental to try to get use out of. It encourages you to play aggressively (VERY aggressively if you intend to benefit from it) in a situation where you should probably be a lot more careful.
Shields Up
Upon revive, gain a +25 HP shield that lasts for 15 seconds.
A shell of its former self, Shields Up went from being one of the most consistently useful perks to being one of the least. Being revived is, admittedly, much more common in Breach, but the short duration means the only use you'll get out of this is if you're revived in the midst of combat, which can only happen with a select few characters who have access to Speed Revive.
C Tier:
Aegis
All shields received are boosted by 20%. Applies to shields given by feats, perks, boosts, and revenge. Note that revenge shields can never exceed your max health.
Much better in Breach than in Dominion, but still narrowly useful, Aegis is very underwhelming. Its main use is making your revenge shield meatier (which requires you to be so badly outnumbered that your opponents are trying to cut through it instead of waiting it out, and for your character to have enough health for the revenge shield to actually have the space to benefit from the perk). Its secondary use is to buff shield pickups, which is nice, but still not a very huge deal, considering how relatively small the shield pickups in Breach are, making a 20% boost hardly noticeable.
Feline Agility
Gain +4% movement speed when reaching renown level 1, and +2% for each subsequent level. Maximum +10% movement speed at max renown.
This perk does not provide a very significant speed boost, even at the max level, and is heavily undercut by the renown gain requirement, meaning you’ll only get to use it towards the end of a match where the fighting area is smaller anyway. Even before the Commander’s Lair, it has a largely unnoticeable effect. Overall, Feline Agility is mediocre and outclassed.
Clever Tactics
Capture zones and use banners/offerings 15% faster. Zones affected are capture points in Dominion, and archer points and healing zones in Breach.
This perk is much less situational in Breach, especially if you're playing as an attacker, but its impact is negligible most of the time. Capturing the healing point is already a very quick process, and attackers can fortify archer points far too rapidly as is. Planting the banner 15% faster is also hardly noticeable in the vast majority of instances, so while this perk has a much broader application, it's still not very impactful.
B Tier:
Supersonic
In revenge, gain +15% movement speed and uninterruptible sprint. This remains active for 10s after revenge ends.
When you pop revenge, you don't want to run away; you want to deal damage and stall. This perk supports a playstyle that is often counter-productive. That isn't to say it's not effective; you can run away every time you get revenge with almost no counterplay. This can be nice for running away to the healing pool, or out from a crowd of pikemen, so that's something.
Radiant Rebound
Upon spawn or revive, gain a 20% boost to movement speed for 10 seconds
While it is not as potent as it is in Dominion, Radiant Rebound can secure a critical edge to rotation speeds, especially at the start of phases. Killing a few enemy pikemen or the officer on the rampart can give you a massive advantage in the opening engagements there. This perk also helps if you are freshly revived and need to escape to the healing pool. Outside of that, however, this perk has little use. It's not a small or insignificant niche, but it's definitely not usually going to improve your performance all that much.
Devourer
Executions heal an extra +10 HP. Healing occurs at the kill time of the execution.
While Devourer and Shields Up have both been on the receiving end of severe nerfs, Devourer still retains a place of general usefulness and viability. It's just a bad version of Remedy at this point, but it's still not a poor choice overall.
Bulk Up
Gain +4 HP maximum health per renown level. Maximum +16 HP at max renown.
An average perk that lets you tank one or two more hits before dying once you reach your max level. Its main weakness is requiring renown, so it won't help you almost at all until the late game, which is unfortunate for this perk's viability. It's basically a bad Head Hunter, similar to the relationship between Devourer and Remedy.
Last Stand
When in critical health ( <25 HP), gain 40% damage resistance.
A very underrated perk, Last Stand is capable of saving you from one, and sometimes two otherwise fatal mistakes while your health is critical. Especially since the damage reduction of the CCU, this perk can save you from at least one lethal attack per life at a fairly consistent rate. Definitely give this perk a try in Breach, where healing is harder to come by and you will reach critical health a lot more often. Its only (albeit major) downside is requiring you to be low health to activate.
Headhunter
For each unique Hero executed, maximum health is increased by +4 HP. Maximum +16 HP if you have executed each member of the opposing team.
This perk has the same strengths as Bulk Up, except it is unlocked much earlier in the match and synergizes very well with heal-on-kill perks like Remedy and Devourer. Lets you take one, possibly two more light hits before dying.
Galestorm
Upon Hero kill, gain a 20% boost to movement speed, for 10 seconds. Does not stack. Must land killing blow to activate.
Galestorm grants a noticeable and useful boost in a commonplace scenario. It's barely held back from A Tier by the fact that executions eat into the duration of the boost, and you must land the killing blow to get anything out of it. Nonetheless, rotating from fight to fight can be accelerated significantly by this perk.
A Tier:
Fresh Focus
When out of stamina, blocks, parries, and counter guard breaks recover 20% stamina.
With Fresh Focus equipped, you should never stay exhausted for long in teamfights, ganks, or even against an aggressive solo opponent. This is, obviously, a huge edge, especially against characters with great OOS pressure like Conqueror, Centurion, and Jormungandr. It's hard for this perk not to be useful, and so, here it is in A Tier.
Remedy
Upon Hero kill, gain +10 HP. Must land the final hit to count.
This perk is essentially a better version of Devourer. Can't go wrong with extra health for doing what is literally half your goal: killing people.
Bastion
When in a zone, or carrying an offering/banner, gain 10% damage resistance. Zones include capture points in Dominion, and archer points, healing zones, and near the ram in Breach.
A 10% damage reduction everywhere you should be playing is a huge deal, especially over time, and you can't go wrong with this perk. This perk is almost never useless, but it's important to keep in mind that damage reduction buffs do not stack, so if you're playing Hitokiri for example, you should not run Bastion with Spirit Shroud. That being its only real weakness, aside from not applying mid-rotation or while fighting over a banner off-point, Bastion is a solid choice for any character who has it.
S Tier:
Rising Dawn
Revive allies to 75% HP. (Instead of 50%)
The ability to revive people to immediate combat readiness in the middle of a fight (since most characters with Rising Dawn also have the Speed Revive feat) is incredible in any game mode, Breach prominent among them. 75% is plenty of health to start with in an ongoing battle, and with Rising Dawn and Speed Revive, it can be incredibly hard for an opposing team to keep your allies dead in the heat of combat.
Rapid Refresh
Upon hero takedown (kill or assist), or when reviving an ally, all feat cooldowns are reduced by 5%. Applies to active feats, and passive feats that have cooldowns.
One of the rarest perks, Rapid Refresh is also among the best, for all three characters who can use it. Valkyrie, for her T3 and 4 options (excepting Regenerate), is the least effective beneficiary, but Nobushi and Tiandi, with their wide array of powerful passive (in Tiandi's case) and active (in Nobushi's) feats. Nobushi, however, outshines Tiandi in this regard, because she also comes equipped with Speed Revive and Rising Dawn, turning her into a potent combat medic with constantly refreshing feats. If you play any of these characters, Rapid Refresh is never a poor choice, especially in Breach.
Vengeful Barrier
When exiting revenge, gain a +25 HP shield for 15 seconds.
A superb perk that is only useless if you kill/scare off everyone attacking you before exiting revenge. An extra 25 health while in a revenge-triggering situation lets you take another two, maybe three hits, and that's a huge difference in any engagement. Additionally, this perk now triggers the revenge shield bug, enabling you to have a massive overshield upon exiting revenge for an entire 25 seconds. If your character can have this perk, take it.
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