Choosing which faction you will fight for will probably be one of the most important choices you make during the campaign. Each of the nine main factions is represented by players who have choosen to defect to it. Together these players form a team that lends each other advice and makes strategic decisions together. The strategic decisions they make (the rules of which are outlined in the Strat Ops section of this site) can have important and lasting influence on the campaign and can help turn an unsuccessful campaign into a succussful one.
Each faction is assigned a staff member to be the "Faction Moderator" for that particular faction. The Faction Moderator's job is to assist setting up members of that faction, help with questions and implement the strategic actions that the faction takes using the Strat Ops. Faction Moderators oftentimes wind up being the de facto "faction leader", however this is not always the case. In fact members of a faction are required to make their decisions by votes, though members not interested in voting on Strat Ops may simply abstain.
Also many factions are larger bodies of politically independent sub-factions. When choosing a faction players must also inform the staff which sub-faction they will be playing for, upon which they will be assigned to that sub-faction. The sub-faction you choose oftentimes has a major influence on what equipment your unit is outfitted with as well as how many and what quality of pilots you may have. Sub-factions come in three general categories:
- Hosted Sub-Factions are generally smaller sub-factions representing very minor political entities. Hosted Sub-Factions may not be affected by friendly strategic actions such as building new factories or unlocking research, though they may have designs unlocked for them. Example: Clan Wolf-in-Exile and Clans Nova Cat, hosted by Lyran Alliance and Draconis Combine, respectively.
- Allied Sub-Factions are each full members of the faction and may be affected by any friendly strategic actions, sharing technology research among other things. New factories built by a faction may be assigned to any of the faction's allied sub-factions. Example: The CCAF, TDF and MAF of the Trinity Alliance.
- Main Sub-Factions are dominant political/military entity of the faction they are in. They have the full range of strategic options available to them. Example: The AFFS a.k.a. the Armed Forces of The Federated Suns.
The current playable sub-factions for each faction can be found on the faction pages which are easily accessible through the menu on the Home Page. The playable sub-factions are also listed below by category.