Brief Takeaway
Best For: 4v4 game modes (Dominion, Breach). Excellent team fighter and ganker.
Price: 15,000 Steel
Difficulty: Intermediate
Playstyle: Aggressive with recovery cancels and constant pressure
Strengths: Strong feats, hyper armor, undodgeable attacks, recovery cancels
Weaknesses: Gets predictable if you spam, stamina heavy, not as good in duels
Moveset
Pirates primarily have 3 core mechanics: Light/Heavy Combinations, Pistol Blast, and Walk the Plank.
Light and Heavy Combos
Pirates can do 2-hit combos in any combination. Your first light deals 12 damage, and your second light also deals 12 damage but comes with the Undodgeable property, meaning it catches people trying to dodge away. If you go Light into Light, that’s called Privateer’s Engagement. Light into Heavy is Privateer’s Trick.
For heavies, your opener heavy deals 20 damage, and your chain heavy also deals 20 damage but gets Hyper Armor, so you can’t get interrupted once it starts. Heavy into Light is called Pirate’s Curse, and Heavy into Heavy is Pirate’s Scorn.
It’s ideal to end on heavies so you can follow up with Pistol Blast. If your combo doesn’t end on a heavy, you can try Walk the Plank to keep the pressure going.
Pistol Blast
Pistol Blast can be done after any heavy attack. You do this by pressing Guard Break right after landing a heavy (that’s X on controller or middle mouse button on PC after your heavy connects).
The Pistol Blast deals 5 additional damage on top of the 20 damage your heavy just caused, bringing your total to 25 damage. It also maintains pressure and extends your combo since you can chain into either a light or heavy attack after. The range on this thing tracks and lunges forward a lot, and here’s the key feature: you can swap targets mid animation, which is huge for anti-ganking situations.
Walk the Plank
Walk the Plank is a forward plunge followed by a jump kick. You primarily use this when your combo doesn’t end on a heavy. The input is holding back on the left stick while holding heavy.
This is an Unblockable heavy move that deals 24 damage and creates some distance between you and your opponent. If you’re near a wall when it connects, you get a wall splat which guarantees you another heavy. You can use Walk the Plank after pretty much any attack in your kit: lights, heavies, dodge attacks, zone, or forward dodge heavy.
The cool part is you can soft feint Walk the Plank into Guard Break by pressing X mid animation, and you can also cancel the recovery after it hits. This means you can immediately dodge, go for another attack, or even fire off a Pistol Blast to keep your offense rolling.
Zone Attack
The zone is a 15 damage right heavy. Stamina cost isn’t too bad. It’s mainly good for crowd control in teamfights and finishing off opponents who are low on health.
Dodge Attacks
Most characters have dodge attacks, and Pirate is no exception. Her forward dodge heavy is called Cavalier Dance, and it’s a Hyper Armor heavy that deals 12 damage and is Unblockable. You can feint this to mess with people, and the stamina cost is only 12, so it’s not bad at all. It’s a good pressure tool and gap closer.
Side dodge heavies are called Grand Cavalier. You can dodge left or right and press heavy to get a 10 damage attack. These are good for punishing bashes and whiffed attacks, and they’re great for counter attacking and applying external pressure in teamfights.
Chain Options
After landing any heavy attack, Pirate has multiple options to keep the pressure going. You can go for Pistol Blast (5 damage and continues the chain), Walk the Plank (24 damage unblockable), another heavy (20 damage with hyper armor), or a light attack (12 damage).
After Walk the Plank connects or whiffs, you’ve got even more options because of recovery cancels. You can recovery cancel into side dodge, recovery cancel into a dodge attack, recovery cancel into forward dodge heavy, or recovery cancel into Pistol Blast. This is what makes Pirate so safe on offense and hard to punish.
Essential Combos
Basic Combos for Beginners
- Light, Heavy, Pistol Blast into Light or Heavy
- Simple chain that keeps up consistent damage
- Pistol Blast adds 5 damage (gets you to 25 total)
- Side Dodge Heavy (when they whiff) into Pistol Blast, Heavy, Feint, Walk the Plank, Heavy
- Good punish when your opponent misses their attack
- Puts pressure on them with the unblockable mixup
- Heavy, Pistol Blast, Walk the Plank (near wall), Wall Splat, Heavy
- Wall punish combo
- Gets you 44+ total damage
- Any Heavy into Pistol Blast into Walk the Plank (recovery cancel into side dodge)
- Keeps your offensive going
- Makes you really hard to punish
Advanced Pressure
- Walk the Plank into Recovery Cancel into Side Dodge Heavy
- Makes your opponent guess what you’re going to do next
- Forward Dodge Heavy (feint) into Guard Break
- Opens up people who just block everything
- Heavy, Pistol Blast, Heavy, Pistol Blast
- Max offense when they’re overwhelmed
Best Feats Setup
The default Feats are considered the best set Pirate has to offer, according to many sources and personal experience.
Tier 1: Armor Piercing Slug (Recommended)
- Fires a bullet that deals damage and lowers defense
- Comes back pretty quick
- You can confirm it after side dodge heavy lands
- Alternative: Tireless (if you need stamina management help)
Tier 2: Pocket Bomb
- Launches a small bomb for damage
- Smaller radius than other bombs
- Good for interrupts
Tier 3: Trick Shot (Recommended)
- Bullet ricochets between enemies
- Applies bleed damage to multiple people
- Really good in teamfights (30 bleed plus 10 direct damage per target)
- Can hit up to 3 targets total
- You can confirm this after heavy attacks
Tier 4: Gunpowder Surprise (Recommended)
- Launches a bomb that knocks enemies down
- Deals damage when it hits
- Really good for interrupting ganks or getting kills
- Doesn’t knock down your teammates
Why These Feats Work: Pirate gets ranged pressure in teamfights with her feats, which most heroes don’t have. Using Armor Piercing Slug and Trick Shot together lets you chip away at multiple opponents while staying pretty safe.
Combat Tips & Strategies
Duels
Pirate is decent in duels but not the best. Here’s what to focus on:
- Aggressive pressure with recovery cancels
- Walk the Plank mixups (let it go through, soft feint to GB, or feint it)
- Baiting parries with forward dodge heavy feints
- Using side dodge attacks to punish bashes
- Watch your stamina because her kit uses a lot
Dominion & 4v4 Modes
This is where Pirate really shines:
- External pressure with side dodge attacks
- Target swapping with Pistol Blast to get out of ganks
- Feat spam for ranged pressure
- Recovery cancels to stay safe in teamfights
- Interrupting enemy attacks with Pistol Blast
- Anti-gank with hyper armor and dodge cancels
Key Techniques
Recovery Cancels After Walk the Plank hits or misses, you can immediately:
- Dodge to avoid getting punished
- Side dodge heavy to counter attack
- Forward dodge heavy to keep the pressure going
- This makes Pirate really safe when you’re on offense
Target Swapping with Pistol Blast When you’re getting ganked:
- Land a heavy on opponent A
- Press Guard Break for Pistol Blast
- Switch your lock to opponent B while the animation is going
- Pistol Blast lunges over to the new target
- Gets you some distance from the first opponent
Hyper Armor Trading Use your chain heavies to trade with opponents:
- Second heavy has hyper armor
- Can’t be interrupted once it starts
- Wins trades against most light attacks
200ms Dodge Recovery Pirate has faster dodge recovery than most heroes (200ms instead of 300ms):
- Dodge attacks come out faster
- Harder to punish you in teamfights
- You can spam side dodge attacks on external opponents for chip damage
Counters & Weaknesses
What Beats Pirate
Bashes
- Stop her hyper armor chains
- Interrupt Walk the Plank pressure
- Examples: Warden shoulder bash, Conqueror bash
Parries
- Side dodge attacks get predictable
- Forward dodge heavy is easy to parry if she spams it
Patient Defense
- Wait out her stamina
- Don’t fall for the feint spam
- Block and counter after she runs out of stamina
What Pirate Struggles Against
- Heroes with strong bashes (Warlord, Conqueror, Black Prior)
- Patient defensive players who don’t panic
- Running out of stamina from aggressive chains
- 1v1 duels against really good duelists
Why Players Hate Pirates
Pirate gets a lot of hate in the For Honor community because of:
- Safe Offense – Recovery cancels make her really hard to punish
- Pistol Blast – Removes hyper armor and interrupts your chains
- Strong Feats – Trick Shot can deal 120 total damage across 3 targets
- 200ms Dodge Recovery – Faster than the normal 300ms everyone else has
- Hyper Armor plus Unblockables – Strong offensive kit
- Release State – She was crazy overpowered when she first came out, so people still hate her
Even after getting nerfs since release (removed soft feint to GB on forward dodge heavy, damage got reduced, hyper armor takes longer to start), Pirate is still strong in competitive play.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Pirate good in 2025?
Yeah, Pirate is still one of the best picks for 4v4 modes because of her feats, recovery cancels, and teamfight pressure.
Is Pirate worth 15,000 Steel?
Definitely, especially if you play Dominion and team modes a lot. She’s versatile and strong.
Is Pirate good for beginners?
Kind of. Her basic chains are simple, but getting good at recovery cancels and managing stamina takes practice.
What’s the best feat loadout?
Armor Piercing Slug, Pocket Bomb, Trick Shot, and Gunpowder Surprise. This gives you the most impact in teamfights.
How do I counter Pirate?
Use bashes to interrupt her chains, parry predictable dodge attacks, and play patient to drain her stamina.
Can Pirate wall splat with Walk the Plank?
Yeah, if you’re near a wall when Walk the Plank hits, it wall splats them and you get a free heavy.
Keywords: For Honor Pirate guide, Pirate combos, Pirate moveset, Pirate feats, For Honor Pirate tips, Walk the Plank, Pistol Blast, Pirate punishes, For Honor 15000 steel hero, Outlanders hero guide
