In Phoenix Point, the new tactics battle game from X-Com creator Julian Gollop, you need to carefully manage your soldiers, your research and manufacturing projects, the ever-spreading Pandoran threat, and the many bases you’ll establish along the way. It’s not just these logistical elements you’ll need to keep an eye on, though. Phoenix Point presents players with three different factions to contend with, each with varying requests, quest lines, rewards, and more. The diplomacy mechanic adds another complex layer to an already-intricate experience, and may overwhelm new players. In an effort to alleviate potential frustration, we’ve put together this guide on how the faction system works, rewards for increasing your favor with each, and some more general tips for navigating diplomacy.
Other than the player’s faction, The Phoenix Project, there are three other groups in Phoenix Point:
- New Jericho
- Synedrion
- Disciples of Anu
Early on in the campaign, you’ll run across each of them, and gain access to faction-specific missions. In most cases, you’ll be engaging in combat against the Pandoran mutant threat or one of the other two factions, depending on your favorability with them. Every group has a relationship with the others, and completing a mission for one will affect your standing with the others. For example, one of the first missions you’ll get from Synedrion is to sabotage a New Jericho base, and taking it on will raise your standing with Synedrion, but reduce your standing with New Jericho.
As faction relations rise and fall, they will begin to attack one another. You can opt to defend bases from attacking factions, or even raid a haven yourself. The battles are tough as nails, but you can sometimes get a new aircraft out of it, which allows you to explore more of the Geoscape map at once.
By flying your aircraft to faction bases, you can engage in resource trade, recruit soldiers, borrow technologies, or even raid their buildings. There is also a unique soldier class for all three groups. Below, we’ve gone into greater depth for each faction, their philosophies, and how to gain access to their special classes.
Phoenix Point Factions – New Jericho
In the post-apocalyptic world of Phoenix Point, New Jericho aims to bring the fight directly to the Pandoran threat. It’s a militaristic faction that believes that force is the key to rebuilding the world. They’re constantly butting heads with Synedrion, and many missions ask you to sabotage them in one way or another.
Unique Class: Technician – The technician has the ability to heal teammates and vehicles, as well as deploy automated turrets onto the battlefield.
Phoenix Point Factions – Synedrion
Synedrion is a technologically-advanced human faction. They value knowledge, and their leadership takes the form of a council rather than a single figurehead. They believe that coexistence with the enemy is the way forward, even if it means using technology to keep the Pandoavirus at bay.
Unique Class: Infiltrator – The infiltrator specializes in stealth. They can utilize silenced weapons, and are capable of deploying drones to scout the battlefield.
Phoenix Point Factions – Disciples of Anu
The Disciples of Anu are a cult-like faction that believes the invasion of the Pandoravirus is some kind of divine punishment, or even the salvation of humankind. They’ve taken their zealotry so far that they have created human-mutant hybrids. Their leader is known simply as The Exalted, and appears to have exposed themselves to the mist in order to gain somewhat stable Pandoran mutations.
Unique Classes: Berserker and Priest – The Disciples actually boast two unique classes. The berserker is a melee-focused brawler that specializes in close-quarters combat and self-healing. The Priest is a crowd control-focused class that can control enemy units for a bit.
Phoenix Point Diplomacy
By opening up the diplomacy tab on the Geoscape screen, you can see your current standing with each faction and their attitude towards the Phoenix Project. Different benefits open up the higher your standing gets. You’ll need to complete faction-specific missions in order to reach the following levels of diplomacy:
- At +25 attitude, you can see the location of the faction’s havens on the Geoscape map.
- At +50 attitude, you gain access to some of the faction’s technologies, which typically provide you with combat and research bonuses.
- At +75 attitude, all of a faction’s technologies will open up to you.
In addition to new classes and technologies, you can trade for resources and recruit soldiers at a haven. In order to do so, you’ll need to research the Haven Trade Protocols and the Haven Recruitment Protocols.
And that’s a basic run-down of the factions in Phoenix Point. Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments section!
