For Honor – Valkyrie Guide

The Valkyrie in For Honor is an interesting mix of hero types, with strong defensive power, but agility that comes close to that of the more agile heroes in the game. She doesn’t have a lot of offensive power, but she makes up for that weakness by offering a strong game based around knocking an enemy down or into an environmental hazard. This For Honor Valkyrie guide will help you understand basic and advanced tactics with the character, as well as how to perform the Valkyrie Shoulder Pin, which people have trouble pulling off.

Spear Sweep

Almost all of your strategies surrounding the Valkyrie should revolve around the Spear Sweep. The default notation for the Spear Sweep is grab the opponent, then press the grab button again to throw the opponent (in any direction), then follow that with Down on the Left Analog Stick and Heavy Attack. This translates into a guard break, followed by a throw, then the Valkyrie spins to knock the opponent off their feet with a low spear attack to their legs.

You can use the Spear Sweep as the third attack in any of the Valkyrie’s chain combos such as Boar Hunter, Thrust and Slash, and Harrier’s Fury. Simply input the Down and Heavy Attack command instead of the normal third attack in any of those chain combos and the Valkyrie will transition directly into the Spear Sweep. You can also use it after the Shield Crush for even more utility.

The Spear Sweep cannot be blocked, but it can be evaded with a well-timed sidestep or a back dash. In addition, fast opponents can interrupt the Spear Sweep if they’re quick with a Light Attack. It’s much easier to evade the Spear Sweep than it is to interrupt it, but both options are possible.

Now that you know how to perform the Spear Sweep let’s look at how it should be used. If the Spear Sweep connects the opponent is knocked to the ground. This allows you to follow up with a Pouncing Thrust or a simple Heavy Attack. If you opt for the Pouncing Thrust you can transition directly into the Boar Hunter or Thrust and Slash chain combos, with the Pouncing Thrust taking the place of the first Light Attack in both of these combos.

You can end any of these chain combos with another Spear Sweep. In addition, if you mix things up with a Heavy Attack instead, you can follow that with a Shield Crush and then go into another Spear Sweep. As you can see, the idea is to keep your opponent on the ground as often as possible by shifting from one Spear Sweep combo into another.

Of course eventually your opponents will catch on to this trend and start trying to avoid your follow up attacks after a Spear Sweep. This is when you can mix in guard breaks and other attacks to keep an opponent guessing. For Example, after a successful Spear Sweep, you can still move in with a Pouncing Thrust, but instead of going right into a chain combo, stop and go for a guard break instead. This is especially useful if you’re near an environmental hazard that can cause an instant death.

The most important aspect of the Spear Sweep to keep in mind is that you will run out of stamina with these repeated Spear Sweep combos. Your stamina will start to get low after your second Spear Sweep, so keep this in mind as you continue your offensive pressure. If your stamina is too low, back away and let it replenish before you dive in again.

Superior Block Light Attacks

Like a few other characters in For Honor, the Valkyrie’s Light Attacks can be used to counter all incoming attacks when properly timed. Make sure your block position is accurate, then press Light Attack just before the opponent’s attack makes contact with you. With proper timing the Valkyrie will deflect the attack and connect with her Light Attack. This is a great way to transition right into one of the Valkyrie’s chain combos and eventually into the Spear Sweep.

Dodge Counter

The Valkyrie has great sidestep attacks with the Hunter’s Strike, but that’s not the only advantage of her sidestep. Any direction she dashes in, whether it’s a sidestep to the left or right, or a forward dash directly ahead, she automatically blocks in that direction. For example, if she dashes to the right, she will block to the right as well. This makes it very difficult for an opponent to interrupt the Valkyrie’s sidestep or forward dash with a Light or Heavy Attack.

Shoulder Pin (Bleeding Effect)

If you successfully auto-block with the Dodge Counter, follow with an immediate Heavy Attack to initiate a Shoulder Pin. It’s important to press Heavy Attack as soon as you see the deflect animation of the Dodge Counter. When successful, the Shoulder Pin causes a bleeding effect that will slowly drain the life of your opponent for a short time. This can be blocked, but it happens so fast that you will rarely see an opponent block the Shoulder Pin. The significant damage of the attack, plus the bleeding effect make this one of the Valkyrie’s most important tactics.

Shield Tackle

Another defensive ability for the Valkyrie is the Shield Tackle. Press Down on the Left Analog Stick together with the Dodge button (X on the PS4, A on the Xbox One), then hold the guard break button (Square on PS4, X on Xbox One). When you release the guard break button the Valkyrie will charge forward with her shield. While holding guard break and during the forward movement of the Shield Charge, Valkyrie will automatically guard against all blockable attacks (not guard breaks).

If the Shield Tackle connects as a counter hit, or if you charge the attack for a few seconds, it will knock the opponent to the ground. You can then follow with a Pouncing Thrust and continue with the Valkyrie’s various Spear Sweep combo options. You can also cancel the Shield Tackle into the Pouncing Thrust by pressing Light Attack before it connects.

The best way to hit the Shield Tackle is to move toward an opponent in an effort to bait them into attacking. As soon as you see them flinch, dash backward into the Shield Tackle to take advantage of the situation. Be careful because the Shield Tackle can be dodged easily if you use it when an opponent is not attacking or recovering from an attack.

Pouncing Thrust and Hunter’s Strike

If you’ve played as a Peacekeeper or against a Peacekeeper you’re probably familiar with the Dashing Thrust that most players use to close in from a distance. The Valkyrie’s Pouncing Thrust is a very similar offensive tool. While it should primarily be used after scoring a knockdown with the Spear Sweep, it also has very good range and executes quickly, making it difficult for an opponent to react to it.

The Hunter’s Strike is a sidestep attack that allows the Valkyrie to evade an incoming attack and start her offensive at the same time. Both the Hunter’s Strike and Pouncing Thrust take the place of the first attack in the Boar Hunter and Thrust and Slash chain combos, allowing you to transition right to either combo immediately following these two attacks. Couple these attacks with the Dodge Counter and you can frustrate your opponents by waiting for them to attack, then countering or evading and shifting right into the Valkyrie’s Spear Sweep shenanigans.

Shield Crush and Ram’s Headbutt

The Shield Tackle isn’t the only tool the Valkyrie has to knock players into environmental hazards or off a nearby cliff. Both the Shield Crush and Ram’s Headbutt serve similar purposes by knocking an opponent back. Perform the Shield Crush by pressing guard break after any Heavy Attack (on block or hit), and pull off the Ram’s Headbutt by holding the guard break button again after a successful guard break.

A fully charged Ram’s Headbutt knocks the opponent back quite a distance. When used near a wall you can follow with a Heavy Attack or Pouncing Thrust to really get into the Valkyrie’s offensive options. However, the real benefit of these two attacks is knocking an opponent into environmental hazards, especially with the Shield Crush after an opponent blocks one of the Valkyrie’s Heavy Attacks.

Zone Attack Cancel

For many characters a Zone Attack is an excellent tool to clear out a group of enemies surrounding you. It’s uninterruptable and inflicts moderate damage, but drains 50 percent of your stamina so you have to be careful how often you use it. For the Valkyrie it’s a good attack to use because she can cancel the second attack of the two-hit combo by pressing Circle (PS4) or B (Xbox One). Train an opponent to block both attacks, then cancel after the first attack and follow with a guard break instead to really confuse an opponent.

Defending Against the Valkyrie

The best way to defend against the Valkyrie is to use a lot of guard breaks and evasion. Be ready for the Pouncing Thrust anytime the Valkyrie starts to back off or stands at a distance. You can dodge the Pouncing Thrust to the left or right, or simply block it up (high).

If you can stop the Valkyrie from starting her Spear Sweep tactics, she won’t have much left to start her offense with. Back dash or roll back to avoid the Spear Sweep, then quickly dash in to punish the attempt. If you do get hit with the Spear Sweep, be ready to dodge or potentially counter a guard break as soon as you stand up.

It’s extremely important to stay far away from cliffs and other environmental hazards. The Valkyrie has several ways to use the environment against you to end a fight in an instant. If you’re not mindful of your positioning, it could easily come back to haunt you.

Finally, use guard breaks to your advantage against the Valkyrie. She wants to block or counter your attacks with her numerous defensive options, but she doesn’t have much to counter a guard break other than the default counter. However, if you focus on guard breaks it will make the Valkyrie stop using the Shield Tackle and other defensive options.

Valkyrie Moveset

Dont’ forget to check our our strategies for the Berserker, or for more general combat help, head over to our Combat Tips, or you can find other useful articles in our For Honor guide hub.