Upcoming Factions and Utility

After the server test this past weekend the XDefiant community has been revitalized once again. With a release date on the horizon, players are eager to get their hands on the full game and Season 0. During the three-hundred-day-long gap between the two open playtests, fans have speculated what content will be included post-launch, particularly what factions will be added and what utility they could bring to the game. Although no new content was added to the tests during this time, fans can expect additions to start rolling-out once the game is released. However, because of how much time has passed, previously announced development plans are unclear, such as if the roadmap for year 1 that was released back in the Summer is still accurate.

Recently it was accidentally confirmed by Ubisoft that the season one faction will be GSK, also known as GSG9 from Rainbow Six Siege. This faction will bring Bandit’s electrified barbed wire for area denial, Yager’s ADS (or trophy system) to counter incoming enemy devices, and the flash-shield wielded by Blitz. While not mentioned in any of the leaks, the passive ability for this faction could come from IQ, the fourth member of GSG9, who is able to see electronics through walls. It would function similar to the engineer perk in Call of Duty, allowing players to see all enemy equipment on the map through cover. These abilities will undoubtedly reshape the meta players became familiar with in the betas, and the trophy system will certainly be prevalent in competitive play.

As we can see on the road map, each season will introduce a new faction. Now that we know what season one will bring, many are wondering what the rest of the year has in store for us. From Assassins Creed to Rainbow Six, there are plenty of different franchises owned by Ubisoft that could make an appearance as a faction in XDefiant. Just within Rainbow Six Siege alone, there are over twenty different factions, equipped with a plethora of unique gadgets. The original five CTUs (Counter Terrorism Unit) are made up of the FBI with breaching-round grenade launchers and heartbeat sensors, the GIGN with taser-mounted drones and supplementary ballistic armor, the SAS with signal jammers and toxic gas grenades, the Spetsnaz with thermal scopes and mounted machineguns, and the GSG9, who have already been mentioned. 

Our biggest hint up to this point was uncovered during the most recent server test when a few unreleased factions were included on the TRN stat tracking website. Alongside the GSG9 were the Highwaymen, the antagonists from Far Cry New Dawn, and the Wolves, antagonists from Ghost Recon Breakpoint. The inclusion of these factions corroborates other leaks, so it is probable that these will be factions we see implemented in year one.

“The Highwaymen is a nationwide confederation of marauders, made up of loosely-co-operating Chapters, including one based in Hope County. The Highwaymen are ruthless, callous opportunists who care nothing for civilians and see them as target practice or resources. They are an extremely violent group who play loud music that can be heard in the distance, and entertain themselves with death races and gladiatorial fights”

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Expect the Highwaymen to add an extra layer of chaos to the battlefield, seeing as that is their defining characteristic. Some of their signature weapons are already found in XDefiant, such as flame-throwers, Molotov cocktails, and ballistic shields, but they also frequently fought with baseball bats and were accompanied by attack dogs, which were sometimes rigged with explosives. Dogs have appeared in multiple Far Cry games, as both friends and foes, so it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to see them as an ability in XDefiant.

“The Wolves were a military criminal group of former Ghosts and former special forces personnel that had taken over Skell Technology’s new headquarters on Auroa. Working in conjunction with the PMC Sentinel and Bodark the Wolves were led by rogue Ghost Team Leader, Lieutenant Colonel Cole D. Walker. They served as the main antagonistic forces during Episode 1 [of Ghost Recon Breakpoint]”

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While similar in origin and style to the Phantoms, a faction already present in XDefiant, you can expect the Wolves to bring an entirely unique kit to the game. If you have played Ghost Recon Breakpoint you know that their abilities in XDefiant will undoubtably revolve around the bleeding-edge drone technology they wield. While there are many different drones in Breakpoint, some standouts include Azraёl, a powerful surveillance UAV, Murmur, a drone that defends specific areas with a SMG turret, and Legion, a drone which tracks-down targets and detonates once attached to them. Each of these abilities bear resemblances to abilities or killstreaks in other FPSs, but would be a strong addition to XDefiant’s sandbox regardless.

Looking at what Ubisoft IPs are expected to make an appearance in XDefiant can help us guess what abilities could be added, but the best indicator is what current FPSs have already found to be successful. Although Call of Duty lacks much of the depth that XDefiant has in utility, it is still one of the closest comparisons. One core item in competitive COD that is yet to be added to XDefiant is the smoke grenade. In objective game modes, concealment from smoke can be key to capturing a point, planting a defuser, or safely traversing an open lane. While this powerful tool is not yet in XDefiant, Mark Rubin, executive producer, has mentioned that it is being worked on. 

Beyond smoke grenades, there are other types of concealment that have become staples in modern FPSs. Catalyst, Sens, and Viper have abilities that create opaque walls in Apex, Siege, and Valorant respectively. The walls offer visual concealment, but entities and projectiles can still pass through—albeit, in the case of Catalyst, players would sustain some residual movement and visual debuffs. 

Another form of concealment is the ability to remain hidden from other faction’s abilities. This can be likened to the cold-blooded perk in COD or Vigil and Nøkk’s cloaking abilities in Siege. It would most likely be implemented as a passive perk that would allow members of that faction to remain invisible to electronic targeting abilities like the DedSec Spiderbot or the Echelon Sonar Goggles. As new factions roll out, this perk would become more powerful.

One other potential form of utility that could make its way into the game this year is some type of mobility. Flanking, evading traps, making clutch plays on the objective, or just quickly engaging and disengaging from gunfights are all use-cases for a movement ability. This could be as simple as an increased movement speed perk, or as complex as a portal ultra. Regarding the latter, it may seem like a highly unlikely match for the currently suspected factions and tone of the game, but the ability has found success in shooters like Apex Legends, The Finals, Overwatch, Splitgate, and Halo.


A more probable way a faction could get enhanced mobility would be in a similar fashion to Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Black Ops III, or Infinite Warfare. Each of these entries to COD introduced features such as boosted jumps, dashes, and improved sliding. Even in Siege, what is considered to be one of the most slow-paced modern FPSs, there are operators that offer movement abilities. Finka, an attacker, uses a nano-bot stim to give her and her team a speed and health boost, among some other benefits. Oryx, a defender, has a quick dash which allows him to close small gaps faster than any other operator, as well as the unique ability to make vertical leaps through hatches in the ceiling above him. Any variation of these abilities could make for a unique faction in XDefiant with a high skill ceiling.

What factions are you anticipating and what abilities do you think they will bring to the game? Is there anything specific you think would work well in XDefiant? Let us know and share your thoughts by leaving a comment below. Stay tuned for more XDefiant news!

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