It was back during the preliminary gameplay reveal trailer that we first caught wind of ‘factions’.
There, sitting on the menu next to the likes of ‘The City’, ‘Bounty’ and ‘Raid’, three other aspects of the game that we know all too little about, was ‘Faction Wars’, our gateway into another Destiny portal rife for exploring. But just what are ‘Faction Wars’ anyway? Are they simply another aspect of the Destiny campaign, or are they perhaps our route into the world of PvP clan wars? Whatever the case, their official confirmation not too long after was met with little surprise from a community already speculating and theorizing over their role within the game.
“Probably the best thing to say right now is the factions that we’ve released are real factions in the game” stated then-Bungie employee Joseph Staten when speaking to OXM back in April 2013. He continued “If you find yourself drawn to one of them artistically or by name only, you’ll definitely have opportunities in the game to, I’d say, heighten those associations”.
The Loyal Few
Judging by those comments, it would seem that factions will have at least some importance, although how important your choice of faction will be is as of yet completely unclear. What we do know is that there are five distinct factions for you to choose from, all inevitably with their own methods and motives.
As evident by their logos which have since sprouted up on t-shirts worn by Bungie developers as well as in the form of forum avatars, the factions that you can presently choose from ago by the names of Dead Orbit, Future War Cult, New Monarchy, Osiris and Seven Seraphs. But as Staten inferred, at this point you’re picking favourites based on very little, and if that’s the case, then your choice for now will depend entirely on which logo you think is the coolest.
Flying The Flag
What we do know with regards to the PvP and campaign elements of the game is that your Guardian can be constantly ported over from single-player to multiplayer and back again completely at will. And with this being the case, perhaps your choice of faction will follow you throughout, with your character flying the colours of Dead Orbit or Seven Seraphs as they battle against the Cabal, Fallen and even fellow Guardians.
Bungie have also confirmed that some weapons will be completely exclusive to multiplayer. And this perhaps ties into the theory that your choice of faction could afford you a certain batch of unique weapons following the release of an image that showed the ‘Conduit F3 Fusion Rifle’ decked in the garb of the Future War Cult. The parallel theory here is that, much like the Borderlands series, these factions are little more than weapon manufacturers, each with their own blend of aesthetics and style.
Cult Warfare
But for as little as we know about factions, they still represent another awfully enticing aspect of an impressive, multi-faceted game. Whether they’re little more than aesthetic choices, or more likely an integral part of the ‘Faction War’ mode, their inclusion alone suggests an inherent focus on the little things that aim to compliment the more important tenets of Destiny’s make-up. Whatever the case, as we gear up for further information on factions, Guardians and everything else in between, I can rest assured knowing that my choice has already been made in preparation for Destiny’s arrival.
Be more. Join the Cult.