New World’s Factions: Who Are They & Who To Join

Amazon Games’ New World MMO gives players the choice between three factions to join, but the decision remains in place for 120 days and dramatically affects gameplay. Thankfully, players don’t have to decide which faction they want to join immediately. Instead, after reaching Level 10 and completing several essential questlines, player characters are given a choice between New World’s factions: the Syndicate, the Covenant, and the Marauders. Each faction vies for land in the unexplored wilderness, seeking dominance over resource nodes and valuable settlements. While joining the faction with the most land or closest trading posts may be tempting, each faction promotes a different playstyle, armor appearance, in-game motivation, and more.

In a fictional version of the 17th century, New World takes place on a landmass in the Atlantic Ocean called Aeternum Island. Players take the role of explorers discovering a new land, but later development focused on this narrative, as developers deemed (understandably) problematic. The MMO also embraces a social aspect of storytelling, similar to EVE Online, where players’ conflicts and battles shape the history of Aeternum Island. The game’s recent release suggests content updates and additions may be far away, and many players are still working towards reaching Level 60 – the current level cap. However, one thing in common with many avid players is the thought process behind which faction to join.

The factions in New World affect many social gameplay aspects, including which guilds can be joined and which players may attack in PvP areas. However, this choice also influences New World’s core gameplay and story experience. The current playstyle of many New World players focuses on completing grindy quests to reach Level 60 as efficiently as possible. Thankfully, players can accomplish many other activities depending on in-game location and preference. While PvE and PvP combat is unavoidable within New World, the nuances behind character builds can be significantly impacted by the faction choice. This means that the following three options may suit different players, as they affect both gameplay and narrative.

New World’s Syndicate Faction

Within New World’s Syndicate Faction, spies, thieves, and radical archivists will find themselves right at home. Described in the game as a secretive organization searching for forbidden knowledge and power, the Syndicate works towards securing a new Age of Enlightenment. Unfortunately, their goals often butt heads with the current establishment of New World, leading many members and leadership to hide their true purpose on Aeternum Island. Rebelling against society’s established rulesets may appeal to a specific portion of gamers eager to find an appropriate in-game motivation for their New World characters. While others may be called to a more ‘honorable’ lifestyle with the game’s other faction, the Syndicate is the natural choice for rebels, shadowy warriors, and those who prefer an element of cloak and dagger-style gameplay in their combat.

From a mechanical standpoint, the Syndicate faction currently holds dominance in several New World servers. This means that players choosing the Syndicate have significantly fewer PvP options in Aeternum’s open-world island, with fewer players having selected the Covenant and Marauder factions. Additionally, the Syndicate enjoys various fashions, spanning from fashionable Dark Souls-like bosses to a traditional Plague Doctor outfit (which is unfortunately currently bugged). As the dominant place faction in many New World servers, Syndicate players can access better business deals and secure cheaper Fast Travel. Additionally, the increased number of conquered settlements assures Syndicate players can earn more money for their wares and provides players with more companies to join.

New World’s Covenant Faction

While the Syndicate seeks forbidden knowledge to bring about a new age, New World’s Covenant faction aims to spread their religious mindset throughout Aeternum Island and eliminate all those who stand against them. Like most zealot-esque factions, the Covenant instills their form of justice to heretics and rebels, with NPCs often preaching a ‘holier-than-thou’ narrative throughout unique faction quests. From a Dungeons and Dragons standpoint, the Covenant is home to the Paladin types, with the urge to smite sinners and rebels high on their list. This organization believes Aeternum Island is inherently holy but must be cleansed before its true beauty reveals itself. While this faction represents some problematic views, it also emphasizes the inherent evil of each New World faction and the unjust conquering of the otherwise untouched Aeternum Island.

The Covenant regularly ties with Marauder for controlled territory and population count, offering fewer business partners than Syndicate players. However, Covenant players looking to participate in PvP have many options with Syndicate and Marauder players on Aeternum Island. The Covenant armor sets employ various styles to give a haunting, mystical aura around its members. Armor sets available at higher faction reputation provide a mix between pilgrim witch doctors and religious knights, mirroring styles from religious organizations that existed throughout the ages in real life. Different talismans and charms often adjourn their armor, culminating in a unique, professional style to match their New World weapons. Unfortunately, the Covenant factions likely have fewer companies for players to join but can still provide many desirable options for those interested in religious conquest.

New World’s Marauder Faction

The final New World faction may appeal to the more militaristic-styled players, mirroring factions like Planetside 2’s Terran Republic. New World’s Marauder faction is described as a “ruthless military force,” hellbent on destroying the opposing factions and establishing a land of unadulterated freedom. Their dream society emphasizes a system where strength begets these liberties through any means necessary, in contrast to the other factions in the game, such as the Syndicate. Players looking to brute force their way through New World’s territory, quests, and challenges may find themselves in similar company when joining the Marauders. While most factions have a strict code of etiquette, the Marauders’ warrior style makes their NPCs appear overtly chaotic and battle-hungry. The quest for freedom is a noble goal, but the bloodshed to accomplish that dream provides twisted morals for the Marauder army.

Like New World’s Covenant faction, the Marauders struggle with claiming total dominance in several servers. However, this likely serves Marauder players well by providing many enemy players to face in PvP zones. Brute strength and constant battle culminate in enough goods to sell throughout Aeternum’s various trading posts, giving several opportunities to make up for potential lost profits. Out of all available faction armor sets, New World’s Marauder faction has the most iconic. A mix of Conquistador and medieval knight fashion style permeates most of their armory, making their players some of the most fearsome on the battlefield.

At the end of the day, players eager to join their friends should all settle on entering the same faction to make gameplay more cooperative and enjoyable. Matching outfits, unique faction quests, and cooperative PvP all provide enjoyable MMO gameplay for small groups. Alternatively, solo players or those willing to spar with their companions might choose different New World factions to enjoy the PvP combat mechanics with less stress.

About The Author

Natalie Lindner
(499 Articles Published)

Natalie Lindner is a Game Features Writer for Screen Rant, creating content on the past, present, and future of games in the industry. Prior to this, she worked out of a writing consultancy in Rhode Island from 2018 to 2021, where she helped college students improve their writing abilities. Natalie has contributed her video game writing to several smaller websites and projects since 2018 and is eager to continue that journey with Screen Rant.

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Working out of New Hampshire, Natalie spends the time she isn’t writing about games outside; hiking or biking. On those rainy days, she can be found striving for action on the latest FPS or perusing the latest comic books.

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