Loading...
Loading...
The faction reputation system is one of the central progression mechanics in Crimson Desert. The continent of Pywel is home to over 110 distinct factions, ranging from noble houses and military organizations to mercenary bands, outlaw groups, merchant guilds, academic institutions, and religious orders. Every faction tracks your reputation independently, and your standing with each group determines what services, quests, and territories are available to you.
The political landscape of Pywel is in turmoil. The King of Demeniss lies unconscious, and the resulting power vacuum has fractured alliances across the continent. Noble houses vie for control of their regions, mercenary bands sell their swords to the highest bidder, and religious orders press their influence into the chaos. Where Kliff and the Greymanes stand in all of this is shaped by the choices you make throughout the game.
Reputation with each faction is measured across five tiers. Most factions start at Neutral, though certain story-driven factions may begin at Hostile or Friendly depending on your background and early quest decisions.
Tier | Standing | Effects |
|---|---|---|
War | Lowest | Faction members attack on sight. Bounty hunters sent after you. All vendors and services locked. Cannot enter faction-controlled settlements without combat. |
Hostile | Low | Faction members are aggressive but do not attack immediately. Guards will confront you on entry to their territory. No vendor or quest access. Reputation can still be recovered through specific reconciliation quests. |
Neutral | Default | Standard interaction. Basic vendor access. Standard quest board available. Faction members are indifferent to your presence. |
Friendly | High | Discounted vendor prices. Access to mid-tier faction equipment. Faction patrols will assist you against enemies within their territory. Additional quests unlocked. |
Alliance | Highest | Full allied status. Exclusive vendor inventory with unique items and equipment. Allied troops join your battles within faction territory. Access to restricted resource nodes, mining deposits, and secret dungeons. Unique quest chains available only at this tier. |
Reputation is tracked individually for every faction. Raising your standing with one group does not automatically lower it with another, though certain faction rivalries create natural tension. The system rewards consistent engagement: players who invest time completing quests, defending territory, and trading with a specific faction will gradually climb toward Alliance status.
Completing quests: The primary way to raise faction reputation. Each faction offers its own quest lines through local notice boards, faction leaders, and named NPCs. Higher-tier quests grant more reputation.
Defending territory: Repelling attacks on faction settlements, escorting caravans, and clearing hostile encampments in faction-controlled land earns standing.
Trading: Selling goods to faction merchants and supplying requested materials through trade contracts contributes a small amount of reputation over time.
Liberating territory: Freeing occupied towns or outposts and returning them to a faction's control provides a large one-time reputation boost.
Attacking faction members: Killing or assaulting NPCs belonging to a faction causes an immediate reputation drop. Repeated attacks push standing toward War.
Helping rival factions: Completing quests for a faction's direct rival may cause a smaller reputation loss with the opposing group. This is not universal; only factions with an active rivalry are affected.
Story choices: Certain main story and side quest decisions permanently alter faction standing. These choices are clearly telegraphed in dialogue and cannot be reversed.
Criminal activity: Stealing from faction stores, pickpocketing faction members, or sabotaging faction infrastructure lowers reputation.
While most reputation changes are gradual and recoverable, a handful of story-critical decisions lock you into a permanent alignment. For example, choosing to side with one noble house during a territorial dispute may permanently set you to Hostile with the opposing house. These moments are flagged during dialogue, and the game warns you before locking in an irreversible outcome.
Reaching Alliance tier with a faction unlocks the most powerful rewards in that faction's territory. The specific benefits vary by faction type, but the general categories are consistent.
Benefit | Description |
|---|---|
Allied Troops | Faction soldiers will fight alongside you during battles within their controlled territory. In large-scale engagements, allied troops can turn the tide, particularly during siege warfare and territory defense events. |
Alliance-tier vendors sell unique weapons, armor sets, and consumables that cannot be obtained elsewhere. Each faction's vendor stock reflects the faction's identity; a mercenary band might sell combat gear, while a merchant guild offers rare trade goods and crafting materials. | |
Restricted Resource Nodes | Certain mining deposits, herb patches, and gathering spots in faction territory are locked behind Alliance reputation. These nodes yield rare materials used in high-end crafting. |
Secret Dungeons | Each major faction guards the entrance to at least one hidden dungeon within their territory. These dungeons contain challenging encounters and loot exclusive to the Alliance tier. |
Unique Quest Chains | Alliance-only quest lines reveal deeper faction lore, provide significant experience and gold, and often lead to unique story outcomes. Some of these quests tie into the broader main story of Pywel's political conflicts. |
Hernand is a prosperous duchy in western Pywel, known for its fertile lands, merchant traffic, and tournaments. The region's political structure is built around noble houses that oversee different territories, with the Goldleaf Merchant Guild exercising significant economic influence.
Faction | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Noble House (Ducal) | The ruling ducal house governing Hernand. House Celeste oversees bounties throughout the region. Reaching Alliance with House Celeste unlocks exclusive access to their private armory. | |
Noble House (Marquis) | A marquis house that controls the city of Calphade. House Lanford has been destabilized by the defection of Cassius Morten to the Black Bears, weakening their military standing in the region. | |
Noble House (Baronial) | A baronial house known for their spearmasters. House Alfonso sponsors fighters and tournaments across Hernand, and their combat academies produce some of the finest infantry in western Pywel. | |
Merchant Guild | The largest merchant guild operating in Hernand, with the motto "gain over questions." Goldleaf traders are found across the duchy, and the guild will deal with anyone willing to pay, regardless of allegiance. |
Pailune is a rugged northern region defined by tribal conflict, mercenary warbands, and harsh wilderness. It is the homeland of several of the game's central characters, including Kliff. Tribal clans and mercenary groups dominate the political landscape, with shifting alliances creating a volatile environment.
Faction | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Mercenary Band | Kliff's mercenary band, originally from Pailune. The Greymanes are a tight-knit group of fighters who take on contracts across Pywel. Their reputation is central to the main storyline. | |
Mercenary Band | A rival mercenary faction led by Myurdin. The Black Bears are larger and better funded than the Greymanes, and the rivalry between the two groups drives much of the early game's conflict. | |
Tribal Clan | One of the established tribal clans of Pailune. The Beighen maintain traditional ways and control territory in the northern reaches of the region. | |
Tribal Clan | A warrior clan known for their skilled fighters and territorial ambitions within Pailune. | |
Tribal Clan | A tribe that inhabits the forested lowlands of Pailune, relying on hunting and foraging to sustain their communities. | |
Tribal Clan | A highland tribe in Pailune known for their hardy warriors and mountain settlements. | |
Tribal Clan | A Pailune clan with long-standing territorial disputes against neighboring tribes. Their alliances shift depending on the political climate. | |
Outlaw Group | Followers of Draven who wield dark sorcery. The Crow Brothers operate on the fringes of Pailune's society, feared by both tribal clans and mercenary bands. |
Demeniss is the political and military heart of Pywel. The kingdom's capital is built into sheer cliffs and is the seat of royal power. With the King lying unconscious, the noble houses of Demeniss have fractured into competing power blocs, each maneuvering to seize control.
Faction | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Royal Family | The royal house of Demeniss. The King, a member of House Thorel, has fallen into an unexplained coma, creating a power vacuum that threatens to tear the kingdom apart. Loyalists within House Thorel struggle to maintain order. | |
Noble House | A prominent noble house within Demeniss that has positioned itself as a contender for influence during the King's absence. | |
Known as the "Eyes of Demeniss," House Byron operates an intelligence network across the kingdom. Their spies and informants give them outsized political leverage despite their relatively small military force. | ||
Military Organization | Grand General Bastier commands the Inquisitors, Demeniss's most feared military force. The Inquisitors enforce the crown's authority, though with the King incapacitated, Bastier's loyalties and ambitions are uncertain. |
Delesyia is a technologically advanced region in Pywel, distinguished by its focus on mechanization and engineering. The factions here reflect Delesyia's industrial character.
Faction | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Mechanization Faction | A faction of engineers, inventors, and mechanics who push the boundaries of Delesyia's technological capabilities. Marni's Tinkertons are responsible for many of the region's mechanical innovations. | |
Military Organization | Delesyia's military air wing, one of the only organized aerial combat forces on the continent. The Aerial Force projects Delesyian power far beyond its borders. |
The Crimson Desert region is a vast expanse of arid badlands in southern Pywel. The harsh environment breeds equally harsh factions: marauder bands, religious orders, and bandit gangs compete over scarce resources and ancient ruins.
Faction | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Outlaw Group | A desert raider band that preys on caravans and travelers crossing the Crimson Desert. They control several oases and use them as leverage over trade routes. | |
Outlaw Group | A mysterious faction operating in the deep desert, known for their distinctive helmeted warriors and secretive leadership. | |
Outlaw Group | A bandit gang famous for riding giant iguanas as mounts. The Goldenscale Bandits are formidable in desert combat, using their reptilian mounts to cross terrain that horses cannot handle. | |
Outlaw Group | A violent bandit faction that operates without the organization or territorial ambitions of the other desert groups. They survive through raiding and pillaging. | |
Religious Order | A powerful religious order that worships the god of light. The Church of Solumen holds its strongest influence in southern Pywel and maintains a significant presence across the desert region. Their temples serve as safe havens for travelers. | |
Religious Order (Dark) | A dark religious cult that practices human sacrifice. The Antumbra Order operates in hidden sanctuaries throughout the desert, and their activities put them in direct conflict with the Church of Solumen. |
Several factions operate across multiple regions of Pywel, making them important regardless of where you spend most of your time.
Faction | Type | Region | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Military (Orc) | Gorthak and beyond | Led by Valgash, the Ironflame Orcs control the fortress region of Gorthak and project military power into surrounding lands. They are one of the strongest non-human factions in Pywel. | |
Academic Institution | Multi-regional | An academic institution dedicated to the study of history, magic, and the natural world. Scholastone scholars can be found in libraries and research outposts across the continent, and they offer quests related to exploration and discovery. | |
Religious Order | Southern Pywel (strongest) | While centered in the Crimson Desert, the Church of Solumen maintains temples and missionaries across southern Pywel, making it a cross-regional political force. |
Not all factions exist in isolation. Many have active rivalries, and your actions on one side of a conflict can affect your standing on the other. The following are some of the most significant faction rivalries in Pywel.
Greymanes vs. Black Bears: The core rivalry of the early game. Both mercenary bands compete for contracts and territory in Pailune and beyond. Siding heavily with one will lower reputation with the other.
Church of Solumen vs. Antumbra Order: A religious conflict between the worship of light and a dark sacrificial cult. These two factions are irreconcilable, and reaching Alliance with one will push you toward War with the other.
House Thorel loyalists vs. rival houses in Demeniss: The King's coma has created a succession crisis. Supporting House Thorel's claim to legitimate rule puts you at odds with houses seeking to exploit the vacuum.
House Lanford vs. Black Bears: Cassius Morten's defection from House Lanford to the Black Bears created a bitter feud. Actions that strengthen the Black Bears will further weaken House Lanford's standing in Hernand.
Focus on two or three factions early. Spreading your efforts across too many factions at once slows your progress toward Alliance tier with any of them. Pick factions whose vendors and territory rewards align with your build.
Check rival relationships before committing. Before accepting a major faction quest, review whether it will damage your reputation with a faction you also want to cultivate. The quest journal indicates rivalry impacts.
Trade contracts are low-effort reputation. Selling goods to faction merchants through trade contracts provides a steady trickle of reputation without requiring combat. This is useful for merchant guilds and academic factions.
Save before permanent choices. The game warns you before irreversible reputation decisions. Use these warnings to save your game and consider the long-term consequences before committing.
Alliance vendors are build-defining. The unique equipment available from Alliance-tier vendors can define your character's playstyle. Research which factions sell the gear you want before investing reputation.
Liberating territory is the fastest path. Freeing an occupied settlement provides the single largest reputation gain available. If a faction's territory has been overrun, prioritize liberation quests.
Pywel - The continent and its regions
Black Bears - Rival mercenary faction led by Myurdin
Siege Warfare - Large-scale battles where faction allies matter most
Crafting - Uses materials from faction-restricted resource nodes
Combat System - Core combat mechanics in Crimson Desert
