XDefiant: Here Are All The Factions Available At Launch

Factions are a huge part of the gameplay mechanics in XDefiant, and picking your preferred Faction is a decision that can be made before the game releases.

XDefiant is launching before the year’s end, but we currently know all the Factions that will be available at launch. Therefore, players can analyse all their abilities and determine their personal favourites.

What Are Factions in XDefiant

Ubisoft looks to be doing things differently from other shooters, particularly regarding the playable characters for their free-to-play shooter. In XDefiant, Factions are essentially groups of characters from different Ubisoft titles, and each brings their own unique set of tools and gadgets to the game.

XDefiant will launch with five different Factions, four of which are available immediately, and one requires unlocking. Each Faction specializes in something different, and it’s up to players to decide their preferred Faction based on their style of play. They all have two standard abilities, an Ultra, and a Passive. Here are all the Faction details you need to know before launch:

Cleaners – The Division

The Cleaners hail from The Division series and are comprised of ex-sanitation workers looking to cleanse New York of the virus that plagued the area. Equipped with flamethrowers and incendiary equipment, the Cleaners work best in Point Control and can easily lock areas down. The Cleaners have the following abilities:

Abilities

• Incendiary Rounds (Passive): Bullets from the player’s weapon cause burn damage at the sacrifice of weapon range.
• Firebomb (Ability): A Molotov is thrown that ignites an area and causes explosive damage.
• Incinerator Drone (Ability): A drone drops napalm in a small path forwards.
• The Purifier (Ultra): Players equip a flamethrower that causes massive damage.

DedSec – Watch Dogs

The infamous hacking group from the Watch Dogs series is the second Faction in XDefiant. The group is great at causing chaos and disruption for enemy teams. DedSec is likely to be locked at launch, unlockable through challenges. DedSec uses the following abilities:

Abilities

• Fabricator (Passive): After a gadget is used, the fabricator automatically makes a new one. Always giving DedSec operators uses of a tool.
• Hijack (Ability): Players can hack an enemy-deployed ability, making it friendly and turning it against the opposition.
• Spiderbot (Ability): A spider bot that seeks enemies and latches onto their faces, stunning and disrupting their view.
• Lockout (Ultra): Enemies’ HUD, mini-map, and abilities are disabled if caught in the ultra’s area of effect.

Echelon – Splinter Cell

The Echelon group is comprised of operators that work in the espionage field. The Faction comes from the Splinter Cell games, and players wanting to play as Echelon can look forward to specializing in stealth and flanking their opponents. The Faction uses these abilities:

Abilities

• Low Profile (Passive): Players do not appear on enemy mini-maps.
• Intel Suit (Ability): Enemy locations nearby are shared with members of your team.
• Digital Ghillie Suit (Ability): Players become nearly invisible but their movement and aiming lowers the ability time.
• Sonar Goggles (Ultra): Enemies are revealed and can be hunted with the iconic and powerful 5.7 pistol.

Libertad – Far Cry 6

Libertad is a group of Yaran freedom fighters derived from Far Cry 6. The Libertad is seen as the healer or support Faction that provides aid and ensures their team keeps fighting during the match. The Faction has these abilities at their disposal:

Abilities

• Espíritu de Libertad (Passive): Players are slowly healed, along with allies in their close vicinity.
• BioVida Boost (Ability): The health regeneration is boosted for the player and close allies.
• El Remedio (Ability): A device that is placed on the ground and heals those who stay close to it, it heals continuously until destroyed or the ability is canceled.
• Médico Supremo (Ultra): A massive healing regeneration and health boost are given for a limited amount of time.

Phantoms – Ghost Recon

The Phantoms are the operators from the Ghost Recon series and are the defensive Faction of XDefiant. The militia mainly focuses on keeping objectives. Those looking to use the Phantoms will have these abilities to utilize:

Abilities

• Hardened (Passive): Players have an increased health pool.
• Blitz Shield (Ability): Phantom operators equip a tactical shield to block shots and melee enemies.
• Mag Barrier (Ability): A forcefield that blocks enemy gunfire and grenade damage.
• Aegis (Ultra): Players use an electric scattergun with a plasma shield.

XDefiant Future Factions

While XDefiant will only contain these five Factions at launch, Ubisoft has confirmed that more Factions will release with every season. There are many Ubisoft factions that could join the game, including Assassins from Assassin’s Creed and operators from Rainbow Six.

Ubisoft has already released a roadmap detailing the plans for the first year of XDefiant and it definitely looks promising. If you want to know when the game is releasing, you can check out our prediction here.