Trying to decide which of the New World factions is for you? It’s a question you’ll be hit with pretty early on when you reach a specific quest, and the decision can have a big impact on many parts of the game. So it’s important to weigh up your options before you sign away your name on the dotted line.
Aeternum is a big place and there’s plenty to do, so the sooner you decide which faction you’re going to align with, the sooner you can get to some of the game’s best content, including PvP. It can be easy to get distracted exploring or hunting down hemp or petalcaps, but if you want to spend a little time agonizing over which side to choose, here’s what you need to know about New World factions.
New World factions: How to choose
There are three factions to choose between:
- Marauders: A military force that wants to establish a free nation in Aeternum.
- Covenant: An order of fanatics that aim to cleanse the land of heretics.
- Syndicate: A secretive society that values intellect and the search for hidden knowledge.
While the factions themselves don’t offer any real differences in terms of gameplay, there are a couple of things you should consider before making your choice.
If you’re planning on playing with friends, you should coordinate to make sure you all join the same faction. While you can still party up for PvE content if you’re in different factions, you’re likely going to end up pit against each other when it comes to PvP sieges and invasions. Companies (guilds) are also tied to factions, so if you’ve got your eye on one, you’ll need to be in the same faction. As with a lot of MMOs, players from rival factions can also attack you outside of safe zones.
Another consideration should also be faction armor. If you like the visual style of a particular faction, you can purchase its armor set by completing quests for your faction associate to earn currency. So if you want to rock that Plague Doctor look, be sure to go with Syndicate.
Factions also play a significant role when holding territory in Aeternum—the more land a faction controls, the stronger its members become. That bestows advantages in activities such as crafting or receiving more loot drops from enemies.
Dominant factions will vary on different servers, so it’s worth checking the map to see which ones control certain regions. It’s good to support the underdog, but when it comes to PvP, you might find yourself quickly overwhelmed if you’ve joined the smallest faction.
That said, you can switch factions, but you’ll need to wait 120 days before you can change.