There are three factions or empires in PlanetSide 2: Terran Republic, New Conglomerate and Vanu Sovereignty.

Each faction has its own ideology and view on the war. All can be read here, and there is some unofficial lore at Encyclopaedia Auraxia. Just don’t take it too seriously, it’s mostly for flavor.

Each faction has access to a few faction-specific weapons and vehicles, and there’s also a large variety of cross-faction vehicles and equipment produced by Nanite Systems.

How to choose a faction?

If you are a new player, choosing a main faction for yourself – create a character for each faction and try things out for yourself. Listen. Absorb. Try to get a feel for the faction as a whole: visuals, sound effects, style. 

“Do I like what this faction is about?” – is the question you should be asking yourself. The description of factions below should help you answer that.

Do not choose a faction based on perceived power of a certain vehicle or a weapon – things get nerfed, buffed and reworked all the time.

Terran Republic

Terran Republic is professional military, all about loyalty and discipline. They intend to restore order on Auraxis, by any means necessary.

Solve their problems with a volume of fire.

Weapon traits: Generally, TR weapons have high rate of fire, with a high damage output and large magazines, but long reloads and mediocre accuracy. Use conventional gunpowder weapons. 

Most unique empire-specific weapons:

• Heavy Assault: T7 Mini-Chaingun – a hand-held multi-barrel cannon that can sustain fire without losing accuracy.
• Heavy Assault: T2 Striker – a magazine-fed rocket launcher. Its miniature rockets will automatically snap-lock to nearby enemy aircraft, but they can be used against ground vehicles too.
• Infiltrator: TRAP-M1 – a burst fire sniper rifle.

Vehicle traits: high cruising speed, sustained damage output.

• Main Battle Tank: Prowler – armed with a twin cannon, it can output the most damage over time. Prowler can anchor itself in place to gain a massive bonus to projectile velocity of the main cannon, basically transforming into mobile artillery at will.
• Secondary Vehicle Weapons:
  • Vulcan – armor-piercing chaingun, devastating against vehicles at close range.
  • Gatekeeper – a multi-barreled launcher that fires salvos of medium range anti-vehicle projectiles.
  • Marauder – an automatic anti-infantry grenade launcher.
• MBT Ability: Barrage – an activated ability that provides a temporary boost to the reload speed of the main cannon, significantly boosting Prowler’s damage output.

MAX Ability: Lockdown – TR MAX units have access to an ability that anchors them in place, providing significant bonuses to projectile velocity, rate of fire and reload speed. Especially devastating when used with twin Bursters for anti-air purposes.

Engagement style is militaristic: get there fast, dig in, and obliterate any opposition with a rain of fire.

New Conglomerate

New Conglomerate is a band of corporate-hired mercenaries and freedom fighters. Armed with experimental gauss weapons and repurposed engineering equipment, they fight for independence from Terran government.

Solve their problems with a punch to the face.

Most unique empire-specific weapons:

• Heavy Assault: Jackhammer – a burst-fire heavy shotgun, devastating in close quarters. 
• Heavy Assault:  NC15 Phoenix – a rocket launcher that fires first-person TV guided missiles that deal heavy damage to vehicles. 
• Infiltrator: Railjack – a coilgun sniper gauss rifle with highest velocity and damage per shot, but with a small delay between the trigger pull and the shot itself.

 

• Main Battle Tank: Vanguard – a heavily armored tank with the most powerful single-shot cannon. Vanguard has more health than other MBTs.
• Secondary Vehicle Weapon:
  • Enforcer – a recoilless magnetic dart launcher, effective against armored vehicles.
  • Mjolnir – a close-range weapon that unleashes salvos of anti-vehicle grenades.
  • Canister – an anti-infantry shotgun that fires explosive pellets.
• MBT Ability: Vanguard Shield – upon activation, significantly reduces incoming damage from the front, top and sides, giving Vanguard the ability to withstand dramatic amounts of punishment for a short time.

MAX Ability: Aegis Shield – upon activation equips an energy riot shield that protects the MAX from the frontal damage, but prevents them from using weapons.

Engagement style is guerrilla warfare: hit first, hit hard and hold a punch while doing so.

Vanu Sovereignty

Vanu Sovereignty are a group of scientists and religious zealots that worship long gone aliens and their technology. Their goal is to augment the humanity through genetic experiments.

Solve their problems with fancy alien technology.

Weapon traits: Generally, VS guns are easier to hit things with. Average damage output and good accuracy. Most of VS weapons don’t have bullet drop, which helps at long distance shooting. Use plasma or energy weapons.

Most unique empire-specific weapons:

• Heavy Assault: Lasher X2 – a plasma gun that fires explosive balls of plasma.
• Heavy Assault:  Lancer VS22 – a long-range particle acceleration weapon that can charge up to fire more powerful shots. 
• Infiltrator: Phaseshift – a semi-auto sniper rifle that can switch between slow and powerful, or a fast and spammy firemodes.

 

• Main Battle Tank: Magrider – a hover tank that takes advantage of magnetic levitation technology. It has a fixed frontal turret and can strafe to avoid incoming damage.
• Secondary Vehicle Weapon:
  • Saron – a versatile semi-automatic anti-vehicle plasma weapon, that can pace shots for greater accuracy at long range, or magdump at close range for a high burst of damage.
  • Aphelion – an automatic plasmagun that fires anti-vehicle projectiles in full auto. Its rate of fire ramps up over time, and when fully charged, Aphelion can unleash a blade projectile that deals heavy damage and can pierce through multiple targets.
  • PPA – automatic anti-infantry weapon that fires balls of explosive plasma, deadly to infantry.
• MBT Ability: Mag Boost – upon activation, provides a strong boost of forward acceleration and levitation height.

MAX Ability: Zealot Overdrive Engine – when activated, increases MAX’s movement speed and damage output at the cost of taking more damage.

  NS Operatives

As of the 25th April patch of 2019, Nanite Systems Operatives have been added to the game. Nanite Systems was traditionally something of a 3rd party to the war itself – it remains neutral and acts only as an arms dealer and supplier of Nanites. However, they have decided to act in the war for Auraxis, employing Remote-Controlled Drones to fight for them.

Upon spawning upon a continent for the first time, when playing NSO you will join the faction with the lowest population until you change continent. You will not randomly find yourself on the wrong faction mid-fight.

It should be noted you can only access this faction with a Membership, and any NSO accounts after your membership expires will be locked out until you renew it once more (the character(s) will not be lost). 

Weapon Traits:

• Has two main branches of weapons: The NS weapons that sport high accuracy and movement speed whilst aiming down sights, and the NSX weapons which all have their own gimmick of sorts.
• Also has access to NSO-only weapons on top. They are mostly re-imagined versions of the original NSX lineup.
• Does not have access MBTs, ESFs or MAX suits. This may change in the future
• Directive weapons are all re-badged versions of the original NSX weapons with their gimmicks, fire-modes or stats tweaked.