Wide-ranging For Honor update kills controversial "unlock tech" exploit

Ubisoft has killed the controversial For Honor exploit one player used to cheese his way to victory at a recent tournament.

Unlock tech, as it was dubbed by For Honor players, involved making some attacks unparryable if unlocked at just the right time.

It was a technique some within the community frowned upon, and certainly didn't go down well with creative director Roman Campos Oriola.

Yesterday, Ubisoft released For Honor title update 1.11 - the biggest balance sweep the game has seen since launch - and in the patch notes Ubisoft revealed anti-unlock tech measures for a variety of the game's heroes.

It's worth pulling out the change to the Nobushi, as that's the hero Jakub Palen, aka SB.Alernakin, used in the PC hero series grand final to great effect.

• [Bug Fix] Cobra Strike and Sidewinder Form can no longer become un-parryable if unlocked at the right time.

Ubisoft said that "across the game, we're currently working to remove this unintended behaviour", so hopefully that's that for unlock tech. Poor Palen will have to come up with a different tactic.

Meanwhile, the patch makes For Honor less defensive. Ever since the game came out critics have said it favours a defensive approach, with blocking at the forefront. Many players simply wait for their opponent to strike so they can react accordingly, rather than risk taking the initiative.

Now, chip damage (the amount of damage you deal when your attacks are regular blocked by the opponent) has been increased significantly to prevent players from relying on blocking all of the time.

"Chip Damage has been so low that you would never fear to block anything," Ubisoft said. "This increase will make blocking less effective as a stalling mechanic as there will be a more noticeable health penalty to pay."

Another change worth mentioning is the addition of an anti-run measure. In For Honor duels (1v1), you'd often find your opponent run away rather than get stuck in, in order to stall combat and run the clock down. And because some of the heroes are pretty mobile, you'd end up struggling to chase them down. It's pretty frustrating.

Now, For Honor tracks player navigation to identify who is running away and who is in pursuit. If a player is found to be running away for too long, the game will apply different boosts and penalties to the duelists.

The patch notes are extensive and well worth a read if you're into For Honor or considering coming back to the game.