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You are able to customize your character during the character creation process, which takes place when you start a new character in the game. As with most MMORPGs, you have a wide variety of customization controls to affect how your character looks.
In addition to basic appearance, you can choose to add natural abilities (which include mutations), which will in turn modify your appearance further.
Following physical appearance adjustments, you can select a profession, distribute remaining natural ability points among attributes, select skills, designate a background story for the character, and select a starting location.
There are four types of character associations in the game – factions, alliances, allegiances and clans.
Factions refer to in-game groups of associated characters, such as the Silics or the Hell Riders. Factions are not player-controlled entities, though player activity can influence them. Every character has a faction rating with each of the factions, based on many factors such as race (Human or Mutant), how many of the faction members they have slain or wounded, and the results of faction-based missions that they choose and complete. How other characters react to you is based on your faction rating with them, as well as on your actions (if you shoot a friendly character, you take negative faction hits and the character may defend themselves or run away).
Some factions are also members of an alliance, which is simply a collection of factions that are interrelated somehow (usually because they have treaties with each other).
All characters start the game “neutral,” though faction ratings are adjusted based on whether or not the character is a Human or Mutant. Characters can eventually join an alliance, if they like. This is called “declaring an allegiance”. To declare allegiance to a faction, characters work toward the common goals of the faction. For example, to become a member of the Silic Republic, one would take Silic missions, hunt down and destroy Silic enemies, or exterminate local nuisance creatures (you can find all this information out by talking with certain Silic characters in-game). Once a character declares an allegiance to a faction, they can gain faction ranks, which in turn allow the character to use special faction items, take special faction-only missions, provides access to faction-only areas, own property on faction land, etc.
Characters can only join one faction at a time, though you can nullify your allegiance and join a new one after a period of time – but beware! Leaving a faction will to some degree hurt your faction rating with your former friends. Also, if your faction rating drops below a certain point, you may find yourself forcibly removed from your faction!
Clans are player-created and controlled entities like you find in any MMORPG. A clan can be formed by player characters wanting to make their own in-game community. The clan leader’s character determines what kind of other characters can join the clan. Members of enemy or warring factions will not be able to join, and if an existing clan member’s faction rating drops far enough, they could be automatically ejected from the clan. Though clans are player-created and controlled, they still have to abide by faction restrictions. If your faction ratings are neutral enough, you will probably be able to join any clan. Clan leaders can designate titles for clan ranks, and will have a large amount of control over their community. If a clan becomes large and influential, they may have an impact on the in-game factions and story plot. Clan members also receive their own chat channel, and can monitor other clan member’s whereabouts to make partying easier.
Announced Major Factions (click on a logo to learn more about that faction):
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