In For Honor, the longstanding, most popular, and most functional competitive game mode has always been Dominion. So, which characters currently dominate the meta, post-CCU? There’s not a whole lot of changes from pre-CCU (the ones who ruled before still rule now) but as the meta is a lot more open and way more characters have some degree of usability, the playing field isn’t quite as skewed as it was before, so it’s worth revisiting!

First, here are the roles each character can fill in Dominion: 

• Mid (Clear, range, safety)
• Side Point (Stall)
• Ganker (Dispatching outnumbered targets)
• Roamer (Mobility, peel, teamfight)

(It’s important to remember that roles are not static, for example a character who may primarily be a ganker may be called upon to defend a side point or clear mid. Each character has some capacity in each of these roles.)

Now, here is the scale: 

• Scale: Very Poor ->Poor -> Below Average -> Average -> Good -> Strong -> Very Strong -> Needs Addressing

Let’s get right into the list!

#5: Black Prior

Loads of utility, and a game-changing anti-ganker. 

• Mid: Strong
• Side Point: Very Strong
• Ganker: Good
• Roamer: Strong

With a character like Black Prior, it’s often more productive to list what he isn’t good at than what he is. So what is he bad at? Well, he doesn’t have very good chase, and he doesn’t run the fastest, nor does he have the highest range… but that’s about it. Black Prior’s got everything: damage output, stall/antigank ability, ganking pressure of his own, fantastic feat choices for saving his teammates (which is where a large portion of his Roamer strength comes from), one-on-one potential, midclear, everything. In fact, Black Prior completely alters one of the fundamental aspects of ganking: blockstun. Black Prior’s ability to flow into his all-guard protects him from such a huge percentage of For Honor’s gank setups that putting him on side point makes that point extremely difficult to wrestle away.

Black Prior may be what is perhaps the best example of a complete (if a bit overloaded) character in For Honor, but that doesn’t make him the best at everything. His gank is good, but not as good as his competition on this list. His midclear and mid presence are fantastic, but even he can’t outdo the truly dedicated midclear fighters. So, for all his many strengths, Black Prior takes #5 on this list. 

#4: Warlord

A well-rounded tank. 

• Mid: Good
• Side Point: Strong
• Ganker: Very Strong
• Roamer: Strong

Warlord comes in at #4 on this list thanks to his general aptitude in almost every situation For Honor has to offer. His low recoveries, high health bar and damage reduction feat/perk choices are the primary sources of his answers to everything; they let him contest mid quite safely, especially coupled with his phenomenal zone tracking, and allow him to stall on a side point for longer than most of the cast (on top of the ability to destroy entire teams with Fury + Fire Flask). Dislodging a Warlord from a zone is one of the hardest things to do alone, and even if you bring a friend, Warlord will probably be able to hold his ground until backup of his own arrives to bail him out.

Warlord beats out Black Prior on this list, however, because while he doesn’t have Bulwark Slash or a direct-damage unblockable, he has tons of ways to set up and punish in ganks (and his ganking strength shoots up dramatically if ledges are in range). His ability to teamfight and especially bail teammates out of danger is fantastic thanks to his insane zone. 

#3: Shaman

A predatorial killer.

Mid: Poor

Side Point: Strong

Ganker: Very Strong

Roamer: Strong

One of the fastest moving characters with what is by far and away the best chase in the game, it’s no surprise that Shaman is the most effective roamer and ganker For Honor has to offer. Her bleed-bite gank is absurdly powerful, and can be used to especially great effect with an allied Peacekeeper, Nobushi or anyone running Sharpen Blade. Disengaging from Shaman is impossible whether or not she has a friend (and she’ll almost always have a friend if she wants to), and if she decides to come for you, you’d better not already have your hands full. 

Shaman is also a great duelist, and doesn’t need an ally to be an effective warrior. She can also be difficult to take down if she gets entrenched on a point with her traps. However, she can get in serious trouble fast if she’s outnumbered and her escape routes are cut off. Shaman also struggles in the midlane compared to other top-tier characters, because her attack hitboxes are underwhelming and her clear speed is pretty sad. However, her evasiveness helps her make up for this tremendously, and her ability to prowl the battlefield in search of gank targets and allies who need backup is unrivaled. 

#2: Centurion

Duelist, Ganker and Battlefield Terror.

• Mid: Strong
• Side Point: Good
• Ganker: Very Strong
• Roamer: Strong

Centurion has never been bad at ganking, reigning over every engagement with his pin-knockdown punish. Although his signature knockdown punch is no longer confirmed on a pin, it still has fantastic tracking and is trivially easy to set up with an ally at his side. It doesn’t confirm instant death from wake-up hyper armor anymore, but it certainly still hurts. In a nutshell, Centurion is the least cancerous as a ganker as he’s ever been, but he’s still one of the best in the game after Shaman. 

Centurion is also now an incredible duelist, possessing a variable timing bash that chains into itself, a decent unblockable attack, and good roll-catchers like his kick and leaping heavy (not to mention a great wall-parry punish). Cent has great stall as well (but mostly against just one person), being one of the best stamina bullies and wall abusers of the cast. Cent doesn’t fall behind in midlane either, as his now-feintable zone attack has great target-swapping, range, and attack hitboxes to carve his way through minions while engaging one or more opponents. All of this in addition to being one of the only characters in For Honor who can punish a Kensei zone (thanks to the hyper armor on his leaping heavy), makes Centurion the #2 most powerful character in Dominion.

#1: Kensei

The King of range and hitboxes himself. 

• Mid: Very Strong
• Side Point: Good
• Ganker: Average
• Roamer: Good

Kensei is a great example of a character who is not anywhere near as well-rounded as his competitors, but excels in one or two areas that propel him to the top. He is a mandatory pick mid-clearer because his attack hitboxes, safety and range are so unmatched. An unlocked zone from Kensei in mid is just about the most unpunishable thing in For Honor. The Samurai warrior can consistently clear mid in 3 if not 2 attacks. Trying to dislodge a Kensei from mid is easier than before, thanks to the Body Count nerf, but it can still be extremely difficult if he uses his range, and he’ll still be passively slaughtering your minions as he fights you, so wide are his swings. 

Even outside his comfort zone of midlane, Kensei isn’t bad by any stretch. He’s got mediocre mobility and he’s not that good at initiating, but he possesses fantastic finisher pressure which is not very hard or expensive to access thanks to the CCU. He also possesses what is arguably the best dodge attack in the game: a delayable, heavy input, guard break invulnerable side dodge attack with massive i-frames that chains directly into his aforementioned finisher pressure. Kensei can also be a terror in teamfights with his enormous hitboxes. So, while Black Prior takes #5 for being at least good at everything, Kenei takes #1 for his exceptional midlane power despite his weaknesses elsewhere.

Special Thanks

Thanks to u/The_Filthy_Spaniard for proofreading and peer-reviewing this article. Your help is always appreciated!

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