Y8S4 TU2 and Year 9 Predictions

The Khatun teaser trailer's inclusion of Nine One One's "Be Careful What You Wish For" appears to have gone largely unremarked, and so I would like to remind you all that we haven't gotten such a third party musical inclusion since the announcement of the titanic Marching Fire Update, the scale of which has inspired me to anticipate what Year Nine might hold if it follows in 2018's footsteps, as I suspect it may.

Year 8 Season 4 TU2: the Khatun snd her horde, in league with General Zhi, will overthrow and replace the Order of Horkos as the narrative threat. Chimera will break down as the factions within remove themselves to reinforce their holdings against the Mongols; both Covenants are thusly removed from the narrative.

Year 9: Open World PvAI gamemode that acts as a Lite version of Story Mode, with objectives, a short narrative spanning a couple of maps, and roaming Mongol invaders. This will utilize the numerous map assets accumulated over the years, granting long-beseeched unhindered exploration, an interactive progression of the story, and the opportunity to expand upon the worldbuilding of For Honor's parallel world.

New armor sets for base game roster, Wu Lin and Harbingers( Warden, LB, Conq, PK and BP for the Knights; Raider, Valk, WL, Zerk, and Jorm for the Vikings, etc.) themed around the 13th century, which saw the Mongol invasion of Europe from the 1220s to the 1240s. For an example in the Knights, this would entail a mix of chainmail and partial plate, with potential for variations that have proper surcoats.

More Mongol Heroes including a cavalry unit and an archer unit: We all know the Khatun is going to be an Outlander, but this needn't be the case forever, especially if her horde does take its place as the new main antagonist - and it's not like the devs are going to stop making new Heroes, so why not commit them to a new Faction? As for these speculative Heroes being a horsebound skirmisher and a buzzing archer, I like the idea of them being effective glass cannons that demand adaptiveness from the rest of the roster, much like the Mongol forces did from the lands they invaded.

QoL Changes: Redone Heroes Tab - instead of all Heroes being arranged in the same place, have them available from a dropdown menu represented by their respective Faction. This prevents the need to continually squish the roster icons with every new Hero release. Multiple Material application; Customizable armor damage, in the form of set options or a slider; Toggleable Emblem Outlines; access to PvAI matches while playing a locked Hero; removal of Matchmaking Penalty for abandoning PvAI matches.

And that's all I've got - a blend of what I believe to be feasible and what I'm aware are likely insane dreams, but this is the first time in a while that I've had so much hope for the future of the game. Sorry for the long read, but let me know what you all think!