How to play Shugoki? For Honor Shugoki Guide
This chapter contains detailed description of the Shugoki. You will find here information about his strengths and weaknesses, full move set and combat tips.
Last update: 17 February 2017
Shugoki is the fourth character class in the Samurai team and quite a unique at the same time. This class is capable of dealing immense damage, easily becoming the strongest hitter in the entire game. What is more, thanks to his passive, Uninterruptible Stance, he can attack enemies more easily, which is crucial given his extremely slow attacks.
Description - strengths and weaknesses
Uninterruptible Stance is a passive ability. When it's active, you won't be interrupted by an enemy attack, regardless of your current action - be it a heavy attack, guard break, or simple movement. The passive is consumed when hit by an enemy attack, or when an enemy guard breaks you. The passive takes few seconds to regenerate - more if your stamina bar is empty, you are taking damage or when blocking attacks. This will allow you to play more aggressively, as the enemies won't be able stop your attacks with theirs, forcing them to either block them, or dodge. It can also be used when you're dealing with an overly aggressive enemy who is constantly attacking. Wait for him to start one of his heavy attacks and immediately start your own. You will take damage, but so the enemy - and given the power of your strikes he will regret it more. This becomes even more powerful when using a Charged Heavy Attack - this maneuver deals immense damage (it can almost one-hit assassins) and the attack itself is unblockable.
His Demon's Embrace attack is one of the most unique in the game. It allows you to grab the enemy and break his back, dealing quite high damage. What is more, it also heals your character for a proportion of the damage dealt. Finally, the attack has a special function when your character is in a critical state (when you are low on health and the screen is flashing red) - once grabbed, the enemy will be killed with a single hit. It doesn't matter whether the enemy was almost dead or had full health - it's always a guaranteed hit. Charge of the Oni is also worth mentioning. Even though this attack won't deal any damage, you can use it to charge into the enemy, knocking him over.
The main weakness of Shugoki is his sluggishness. His attacks are extremely powerful, but most of them are so slow that even the less-experienced players will have no problems countering them. In most cases you will have to rely on the passive ability to be able to hit them. Additionally, when the passive Uninterruptible Stance is regenerating, you will also receive more damage from enemy attacks, making it even more crucial.
Moveset and hero-specific abilities
Shugoki is meant to be an aggressive character, dealing immense damage with his strikes and not giving his enemies any time to counterattack.
Passive abilities
Shugoki has the following passive abilities:
- Renown - Earn more renown by assisting or saving heroes, and defending objectives to unlock your feats in a match.
- Revenge Mode - Revenge Mode boosts damage and health, turns all attacks uninterruptible and parry and throws knock enemies down. Enemy attacks are auto parried on activation, knocking enemies down.
- Passive Uninterruptible Stance - Has a permanent uninterruptible stance. The stance is consumed if Shugoki gets hit or an enemy uses Guard Break on him. When the stance is consumed, Shugoki takes more damage.
- Uninterruptible Stance Recovery - Passive ability Uninterruptible Stance effect regenerates after a few seconds. It takes longer to regenerate when out of stamina, on hits or when blocking.
- Enhanced Light Attacks - Light attacks are not interrupted on block. Light Attacks are still interrupted on superior block.
- Demon's Embrace - You gain health on a hit but lose some if you miss. When in a critical state (when low on health), Demon's Embrace always kills the opponent. Your uninterruptible stance is consumed.
- Heavy Attack Cancel - Heavy attacks can be canceled into Demon's Embrace during startup.
- Stunning Top Heavy Attacks - Top heavy attacks always stun enemies. A stunned opponent can't see your guard (stance).
- Charge of the Oni - You can cancel Charge of the Oni at any time.
Feats
Shugoki has 12 feats that are divided between 4 tiers (each tier contains 3 abilities). You can choose only one ability from each tier. The table below contains the descriptions of all abilities available for Shugoki.
Tier | Description |
1 | Speed reive - passive ability. Rapidly revive fallen teammates. Available from the start. Iron Lungs - You can still sprint when out of stamina. Requires level 5. Throw Farther - passive ability. Throw Enemies Farther. Requires level 7. |
2 | Rock Steady - Passive ability. You cannot be stumbled or unbalanced by parries and throws. Available from the start. Smoke Bomb - Throw a smoke bomb on the ground that breaks the lock. Requires level 9. Juggernaut - You're slowed and gain high damage reduction. Requires level 11. |
3 | Punch Through- Passive ability. Deal damage on blocked attacks. Available from the start. Long Bow - Fire a long bow for heavy damage. Requires level 13. Second Wind - Passive ability. Losing Health increases your damage reduction. Requires level 15. |
4 | Staggering Blow - Heavy attack cause enemies to fall. Available from the start. Arrow Storm - Aerial attack that deals medium damage in multiple areas. Requires level 17. Regenerate - Passive ability. Regenerate your health when out of combat. Requires level 19. |
Hero-specific attacks
Shugoki's main role is to deal as much damage as possible, pummeling enemies and preventing them from counterattacking. The following table contains information about every attack available to this character class.
Name | How to do | Description |
Charging Heavy Attack | Hold and release heavy attack | An extremely powerful charged attack, capable of dealing immense damage - it can almost one-shot some of the classes. The attack takes long time to charge and it's quite easy to interrupt - it's best to used when your passive is on to prevent that. |
Bash and Smash | Light, heavy attack | Basic attack combination of Shugoki, consisting of a swift light attack, followed by a powerful heavy one. It deals good damage and it's easy to use because of the deceptive speed. |
Bonecrusher | Heavy, heavy attack | Another chain attack of Shugoki. Bonecrusher can deal huge damage, but the combination is quite slow. It's best to use it when you have your passive on to prevent the enemy from interrupting you. |
Crushing Thunder | Heavy attack while sprinting. Cannot be used in Guard Mode. | A simple heavy attack performed while sprinting. The attack has a wide reach, allowing you to hit even those enemies that wanted to dodge it. |
Charge of the Oni | Press dodge while sprinting. The attack can be canceled by pressing the Heavy Attack Cancel button. | A unique attack, as it does zero damage to the enemy. Instead, it allows you to knock down any enemy you bump into during the charge. It can be cancelled at any time, allowing you to rush into someone, knock him over, cancel the attack and strike the enemy before he can get up. The attack can also be used defensively, to get away from a group of enemies. |
Demon's Embrace | Press down and Guard Break. | A powerful and unique attack, allowing you to grab the enemy and break his back. It deals moderate damage on its own and heals you for the portion of the damage done. If you use it while in the danger zone (when you are low on health and the screen flashes red), the attack will kill the enemy, regardless of their health, as well as heal about 2/3 of your health. The attack is quite easy to dodge, so you shouldn't overuse it. What is more, if you miss the attack, you will lose some health. |
Demon Ball | Guard Break followed by a heavy attack | An attack that allows you to briefly stun the enemy and then hit him with a powerful, baseball-like attack. The attack deals high damage. |
Headbutt | Light or heavy attack, followed by a guard break. | This will allow you to deal moderate damage to the enemy and finish the sequence with a stun. Stunned enemy will have his sound muffled and won't be able to see where your attacks come from. Additionally, a stunned enemy can't block attacks. |
Zone Attack | Press light and heavy attack together. | A powerful attack that can be used to hit all enemies around you. |
Tips and Tricks
Some tips that may be useful when using this character:
- Always monitor the state of your passive ability. Not only will it prevent you from taking additional damage, it also will allow you to easily catch enemies off guard and punish them severely when they decide to attack you. This ability is also crucial when using the charged heavy attack - without it, you will either be interrupted or the enemy will dodge away.
- Make use of the Charged Heavy Attack. This ability is the strongest attack in the entire game - a fully charged strike can take over a half of the enemy health bar (almost 80% when it comes to assassins). However, this attack takes a long time to prepare, during which the enemy will either dodge or interrupt it with a quick strike. It's advised to use this attack when the passive, Uninterruptible Stance, is active - the enemy won't be able to interrupt you and you will deal immense damage.
- Demon's Embrace is a powerful ability. Normally it deals moderate damage and heals you for a portion of the damage dealt, but when you are in critical state (when you are low on health and the screen is flashing red) it's a guaranteed hit - it will always one-shot enemy, regardless of their health, restoring about 2/3 of your health. However, you have to be careful when using it - the enemy can easily dodge it and punish you severely. Additionally, missing it will cost you some health.
- Your light attacks are not interrupted on blocks. This means that your chain of attacks won't be stopped once the enemy blocks one of your attacks, allowing you to put even more pressure on the foe.
- Charge of the Oni is a good offensive and defensive ability. If you bump into an enemy while using it, he will be knocked over. Since the ability can be stopped at any time, you can knock the enemy over, stop it and attack him before he can get up. It can also be used defensively, either to retreat from the area when the enemies are grouping on you or when you want to help an ally surrounded by foes.
- Control your character's stamina meter. Shugoki is capable of immensely powerful strikes and using extremely effective abilities, but most of them consume a large portion of stamina. Depleting it completely makes things easier for your enemy and causes your passive to regenerate slower. When your stamina starts to deplete (about 1/3 of its length) stop attacking for a few seconds so it can regenerate.