All factions have distinct advantages and disadvantages. They have different society traits, start with different technologies, and sometimes even have oddities such as smaller maximum base sizes. This means that every faction has a different overall playstyle, although some factions are more suited to some playstyles than others. For instance, the Hive is more likely to ICS than the Peacekeepers, because Yang gets free Perimeter Defenses but little energy income, while Lal can get more population per base and may want to take advantage of it.
The game settings can enhance or reduce the advantages and disadvantages of each faction. For instance, disabling Blind Research weakens the aliens of Alien Crossfire because they never have Blind Research, so they lose one of their inherent advantages (Or rather, non-alien players gain the same advantage the aliens already have). Likewise, Svensgaard would prefer a world with massive oceans (essentially more territory for him) and arid terrain (which hurts land factions much more than the sea-based Pirates), while all other factions would probably prefer the opposite.
The factions[edit]
A table comparing all the factions follows. Note that a faction's "preference" is preferred by the AI but a human player can (and, under some circumstances, may want to) use something else. However, the faction's aversion, if any, is always enforced: a player may never choose a faction's aversion. It simply will not show up in the Social Engineering table.
| Faction | Leader | Preference | Aversion | Society traits | Free tech | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaia's Stepdaughters | Deirdre Skye | Green | Free Market | -1 Morale -1 Police +2 Efficiency +1 Planet | Centauri Ecology | First Mind Worm captured automatically; +1 nutrient in Xenofungus |
| The Human Hive | Sheng-ji Yang | Police State | Democratic | +1 Growth +1 Industry -2 Economy | Doctrine: Loyalty | Perimeter Defense at every base; immune to inefficiency[1] |
| The University of Planet | Prokhor Zakharov | Knowledge | Fundamentalist | +2 Research -2 Probe | Information Networks | Free extra starting tech; free Network Node at every base; extra drone every 4 citizens |
| Morgan Industries | Nwabudike Morgan | Free Market | Planned | +1 Economy -1 Support | Industrial Base | +1 commerce; begins with 100 extra energy; -3 hab[2] |
| The Spartan Federation | Corazón Santiago | Power | Wealth | +2 Morale +1 Police -1 Industry | Doctrine: Mobility | Free prototypes; Scout Rover instead of Scout Patrol at start |
| The Lord's Believers | Miriam Godwinson | Fundamentalist | Knowledge | -2 Research +1 Probe +2 Support -1 Planet | Social Psych | 25% attack bonus; no research first 10 turns |
| The Peacekeeping Forces | Pravin Lal | Democratic | Police State | -1 Efficiency | Biogenetics | Receives double votes in elections for Planetary Governor and Supreme Leader; +2 hab[2]; extra talent every 4 citizens |
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ Net negative modifiers to efficiency in Social Engineering are ignored, while positive modifiers still take effect. Yang's bases can still suffer from inefficiency.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Most factions have "0 hab", meaning it can have up to 7 citizens before requiring a Hab Complex. Morgan has -3, so his maximum is size 4 before Hab Complex, and Lal has +2, meaning his maximum is 9. The Hab Complex always boosts the limit by 7, so afterward the limits are 11 and 16 for Morgan and Lal, respectively. Of course, all limits disappear when a Habitation Dome is built.