XDefiant brings with it five Factions for its pre-season with more to be added over the coming months. Four of the starting lineup are free to play, and the fifth, DeadSec from WatchDogs will either have to cough up to unlock it the hard way. But let’s take a dive into who they all are, where they came from, and what they will bring to the table.
XDefiant Factions
Libertad
Far Cry 6 fan? Then you will recognize these guys as the freedom fighters from the Carribean island of Yara.
Description: Libertad are expert medics, thanks to BioVida therapies they’ve adapted for battlefield use. Their Médico backpack can keep an entire team alive and fighting, and just their presence alone increases passive healing for nearby friendlies.
Ultra: Medico Supremi – Health boost
Passive: Espiritu de Libertad – heals nearby allies
Ability: A fortifying wave boosts total health and regen for you and nearby allies.
Phantoms
Now we are talking. Welcome Shadow Team from Ghost Recon. You will need some of these guys in your squad.
Description: These ex-Ghosts, also known as Shadow Team, offer their training and advanced tech to the highest bidder.
Phantoms are hard to kill and specialize in battlefield control, using a variety of deployed and personal shields to hold down points or anchor a forward rush.
Ultra: Aegis: A spherical plasma shield combined with an electro-scattergun for close-quarters combat.
Passive: Hardened: Health increased as a result of tailored gene therapies.
Ability: Blitz Shield: Equip a tactical shield. Press the Melee button for a shield bash.
Echelon
I’d recognize those Splinter Cell goggles anywhere. If stealth is your game, these guys don’t even appear on the minimap.
Description: The spies of the NSA’s Echelon initiative don’t shy away from a firefight, but information and subterfuge are their most potent weapons.
Echelon are invisible on the minimap and use their abilities to surprise and confuse their foes. In addition, Echelon agents can reveal the location of enemy combatants, giving their allies a huge tactical advantage.
Ultra: Sonar Goggles – Reveal enemies and hunt them down with the classic Third Echelon 5.7 pistol.
Passive: Low Profile – Agent does not appear on enemy minimaps.
Ability: Ghillie Suit – Renders the agent nearly invisible. Movement and aiming reduce the effect.
Cleaners
The Division is represented by the Cleaners from NYC and these guys are fire.
Description: Cleaners are damage-dealing specialists, packing incendiary rounds alongside hardware like a napalm-spreading drone and an old-fashioned flame thrower. This crew takes grim pride in their work—while the Cleaners may not be trained soldiers, they know how to finish a job.
Ultra: The Purifier – A flamethrower ensures enemies are thoroughly sterilized.
Passive: Incendiary Rounds – Incendiary ammo inflicts extra burn damage but decreases weapon range.
Ability: Firebomb – Detonate a Molotov cocktail, causing explosive damage and igniting the area.
DeadSec
WatchDog’s hackers arrive in XDefiant, but you will first have to unlock them or pay for them.
Description: Where DedSec goes, chaos follows. These tech experts can scramble the enemy’s HUD; take control of deployable items like shields, turrets, and drones; and unleash autonomous Spiderbots to hunt down the opposing team. DedSec hackers come from a variety of backgrounds, but they all believe in disrupting and dismantling systems of control, technological and otherwise.
Ultra: Lockout – Disable the enemies’ HUD, minimap, and abilities in the affected area.
Passive: Fabricator – After a device is deployed, the Fabricator prints a new one.
Ability: Hijack – Hack enemy-deployed abilities and make them your own.
And that is the five we start with. A decent spread from some great game franchises. Let’s see how they all work together over the next few weeks. If you want to read more about all the modes and maps in the game, then check out this page.
