Factions

What are factions?
Players start with the two default factions in the game: The Vanguard and Crucible. There are three other optional factions that players can deliberately join later in the game. They are the Future War Cult (FWC), Dead Orbit, and New Monarchy. There are two more lesser known factions in the game called the Osiris and Seven Seraphs. There is currently little information about these two factions and how they affect Destiny's lore.








Benefits of Joining a Faction
Factions are represented by specific merchants in The Tower. These merchants sell Legendary gear, weapons, vehicles, emblems, and more in exchange for Marks. However, they won't readily sell you these goods. First, you have to increase your Rank for a particular faction by earning reputation for them. This is done by completing various tasks and missions.

For example, doing PvE bounties missions like Story Missions, Patrols, and Strikes will boost your Vanguard reputation and let you earn Vanguard Marks. In the other hand, completing PvP bounties and participating in Crucible matches will let you earn separate Crucible reputation and Crucible Marks. Joining one of the three optional factions is no hassle as well. You just need to buy and equip a class-exclusive equipment from the faction merchant (cloak, mark, or bond). When completing various activities (Crucible matches, Bounties, Patrol missions, etc) the reputation and marks that normally goes to Crucible or Vanguard will be counted towards this faction instead. That means earning reputation is twice as fast since the tasks for obtaining reputation for Crucible and Vanguard will be counted to this faction instead.



Note: Reputation earned for event factions (Queen's Wrath, Iron Banner) are NOT counted towards your faction's rep.

Take note that the stats of the weapons and armor you'll get from each faction is just the same. However, there's a slight but significant difference. Dead Orbit, FWC, and New Monarchy provide players with boosts for specific attributes while Crucible and Vanguard factions have rather random attribute bonuses. That said, selecting a faction to join is just a matter of player preference, revolving around the player's overall playstyle.

• Intellect
  Reduces the cooldown time of the player's Super Ability, allowing it to be used more often.


• Discipline
  Decreases the grenade's cooldown time, allowing it to be used more often.


• Strength
  Reduces the cooldown time of a player's Melee Ability. (This is particular to some sub-classes)

Faction Bonuses

• Dead Orbit: Discipline/Strength
• Future War Cult: Intellect/Discipline
• New Monarchy: Intellect/Strength

What faction should you join?
Keep in mind that the classes in the game are all equal. There are no significant advantage and disadvantage between them. The decision in choosing what faction to join is entirely up to the player's preference. Aside from attribute bonuses, players may also consider the faction's color scheme. Though this doesn't overwrite the equipped shaders' effects, the selected faction's color has a considerable impact aesthetically. (Crucible and Vanguard doesn't have specific color schemes)



Since players have the freedom to modify their subclass' stats through unlocked perks, the faction that will benefit a player that most will depend on what attributes he/she wants to focus on. For examples, Bladedancers may opt joining the New Monarchy for faster Arc Blade (Super Ability) and Blink (melee) cooldown, complemented by ability and stat modifiers.


Reference: Factions Guide