The Highlander is a Hybrid-class hero for the Vikings. He is described as a heavy hitter and a technical fighter, able to flow between his two fighting styles: Defensive and Offensive Form. A few good hits from his Claymore will rip even the sturdiest Heroes asunder. This article aims to help teach new players about this formidable hero and to give veteran players a tip or two. As a forewarning, this article assumes you know For Honor terminology.
Highlander’s Moveset
Highlander’s basic chain combos are as follows:
- Tir Na Nog - light, light, heavy
- Banshee’s Wail - heavy, heavy
- Lowland Slashes - light, heavy
While Highlander’s basic combos are very basic, the rest of his moveset is actually a bit complicated.
- Defensive Form - In this stance Highlander can block, parry, and guard break. Heavy attacks are uninterruptible on startup, light attacks have Crushing Counter properties.
- Offensive Form - By holding down heavy attack, the Highlander will enter Offensive Form. Continue to hold down heavy attack to remain in Offensive Form. While in Offensive Form Highlander has access to unblockable moves.
- Balor’s Might - Release heavy attack in Offensive Form to unleash an unblockable heavy attack that deals high damage
- Caber Toss - hold backward and press guard break to initiate a grab that will throw your opponent to the ground, guaranteeing Balor’s Might
- Fomorian Kick - Press guard break in Offensive Form. The Highlander will use an unblockable kick that guarantees a Balor’s Might heavy
- Enhanced Light attacks - Light attacks in Offensive Form are faster and cannot be interrupted if they are blocked
- Offensive Form Emote - Pressing the emote button in Offensive Form will make Highlander do a quick taunt
- Celtic Curse - dodge forward, heavy attack. This overhead attack can be canceled into the left or right guard, or canceled into Offensive Form.
- Sprint Attack - While sprinting, press heavy attack. The second swing on this attack can be canceled.
For a very detailed visual guide on Highlander’s move set, check out this video by MightyMattman90.
Highlander Strategies
Highlander is a very technical fighter and therefore has a lot of different strategies to employ. If you’re just starting to play him, take things slow and get used to flowing in and out of Offensive Stance. Remember that you can flow into offensive stance after any chain attack, guard break throw, or parry. But most importantly, your goal as highlander is to stay in Offensive Form for as long as possible to deal lots of damage. A very good strategy for beginners to learn is that you can actually cancel Highlander’s Offensive Form attacks into one another, for instance, you can cancel a Balor’s Might into a Fomorian Kick or Caber Toss. Something many Highlanders use is a Fomorian Kick cancel into a Caber toss, this will catch any opponent that tries to dodge the kick.
As for more advanced strategies, veteran players will know that Highlander’s dodges, while he is in Offensive Form, are extremely fast and have a short recovery time. With enough practice, you will be able to dodge everything all day, every day,but remember to be smart as some Heroes have undodgeable attacks.
For a better look at some of Highlander’s advanced strategies, check out this video by Mulisious.
Highlander Feats
Tier 1 Feats:
- Rush - Trigger to gain a speed boost for a short duration
- Body Count - Killing soldiers grants health and stamina
- Fast Recovery - Your stamina recovers faster
Tier 2 Feats:
- Bear Trap - Stops players in their tracks and does medium damage
- Inspire - An aura that makes soldiers fight faster and buffs ally damage
- Winner’s Advantage - Gain a temporary buff after any successful attack
Tier 3 Feats:
- Second Wind - Recover some of your health
- Long Bow - Fire a longbow for moderate damage
- Fury - Activate to raise speed, attack, and defense for a short time
Tier 4 Feats:
- Spear Storm - An aerial attack that does medium damage over multiple areas
- Fire Flask - Projectile that creates a devastating fire area of effect
- Champion’s Aura - Project an aura that heals you and nearby allies
Most times, Feats are simply up to personal preference as there are a bunch of different ways his Feats synergize. For beginners, I recommend Fast Recovery for tier 1 as a lot of Highlander’s Offensive Form attacks take a lot of stamina to use. For tier 2, Winner’s Advantage is great for 1 on 1 fights. With tier 3, Second Wind is a very obvious good choice as it will keep you in the fight. For tier 4 I personally recommend Champion’s Aura as it can keep your team alive during the breaking phase or a group fight.
Highlander Gear
Highlander’s gear consists of three armor pieces: head, arms, and body. His sword consists of three pieces: blade, hilt, and guard. Highlander’s gear perks are as follows:
- Aegis - All shields received are increased by 20%
- Shields Up - When spawning or when revived, receive a 15 health shield
- Bastion - When in a zone or carrying a banner/offering, gain 10% damage resistance
- Vengeful Barrier - When exiting revenge, gain a 25 health shield
- Last Stand - When in critical health, gain 40% damage resistance
- Fresh Focus - When out of stamina, counter guard breaks, blocks and parries regenerate 20% of your stamina.
- Bulk Up - When gaining a Renown level, increase your maximum health by 4. Has a max of 4 increases.
A beginner’s Highlander perks will be a little lackluster, though don’t sleep on the power of Aegis and Shields Up together. At higher reputations, Highlander has an excellent combination of perks to choose from. Namely, Fresh Focus, Vengeful Barrier, and Bastion. These three together along with Highlander’s feats make him very tough to kill and slightly more so if he’s defending a capture zone.
Highlander Executions
All of Highlander’s executions showcase his brutality, using his claymore sword in very creative ways. Luckily for you, Highlander’s quickest execution, “Intent To Behead” is a default execution meaning you can spend all your hard-earned steel on the other great executions Highlander has. If you want more information on most of Highlander’s executions, take a look at this video by Xinlyfenne.
Highlander Fashion
Highlander’s fashion is excellent, especially at higher reputations. His armor allows for a good amount of player expression, thanks to his cape. In general, Highlander has excellent armor sets that make him really feel like William Wallace on steroids. Highlander’s sword sets also look excellent and have a lot of very intricate designs allowing you to create your own unique sword.
For a look at some of Highlander’s armor and sword sets, check out this video by Colvi Frags.
Highlander Tips
- The Celtic Curse mixup can actually switch targets and is useful for taking on multiple opponents.
- Remind yourself that any attack can Fast Flow into Highlander’s Offensive Form
- Consecutive Balor’s Might attacks can be infinitely chained together.
- Fomorian Kick can stun enemies against a wall
- Enhanced Lights can be used right after a Balor’s Might to try and get extra damage
- Surprisingly, Highlander’s Offensive Form emote will throw some people off.
- Do not underestimate the tracking of Caber Toss. It will catch a lot of dodge happy opponents.
- Parrying a light attack will guarantee a Balor’s Might
- Balor’s Might can be feinted like any other attack. A feint will put you back in the Defensive Form. Use this to bait out an attack you can use a Crushing Counter on.
- Identify your opponent’s playstyle so you can adapt Highlander’s moveset to them and crush them with Offensive Form.
For extra tips and tricks on how to play Highlander, check out these videos:
Max Rep Highlander Guide by The Fiend of Ondar
Highlander Guardbreak and Parry Punishes by Freeze
Offensive Stance Secrets by SpyDaGOAT
Highlander Tips and Tricks by Guard In Charge
Highlander Guide by Flying Walrus
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