Wasteland Diaries: Sector 2

In Fallen Earth the Grand Canyon Province is divided into sectors. Sector 1 is where you will learn the basics of the game, but there are a few important and new concepts you will be introduced to in sector 2. Those two concepts are mutations and factions. NPCs will try to introduce you to these concepts through a series of quests in Sunshine Corners. The quests will give you a basic rundown of each of Fallen Earth's faction's ideology, but there are a few other things you should know.

The purpose of the post will be to make sure that you know what to expect when you arrive in sector 2. You will be making one of the most important choices in your character's development when you choose a faction to align with. Each faction has different perks, mutations, and capstones. These all play a major part in what your character will become and must not be taken lightly, unless you like dumping chips into respec injectors. After the cut, I will arm you with the knowledge to make a better-informed decision.

Did somebody just shoot at me?

The first thing you might notice in sector 2 (aside from the more lush landscape) is that most humans and/or humanoids carry guns. And they will shoot at you. One of the first things on your to-do list before entering sector 2 should be maxing out your dodge. But you did that already, right? When ranged mobs begin firing on you en masse (especially if you are a melee specialist), you will need plenty of dodge to minimize cloner visits.

What are we fighting for?

Another thing that is different is the PvP zones. No longer will they be simple scavenging hot-spots. They are now towns, complete with denizens (not always friendly), merchants and vaults. However, you may want to stay on your toes while in these towns, as anyone can attack you at any time. Each conflict town is also typically controlled by a single faction. Members of the controlling faction will have several benefits. The guards will be friendly to them and shoot their enemies on sight. There will be missions available to the owning faction (sometimes AP missions). And in some cases there will be special resource nodes that only that faction can use.

In the wrong part of town?

Certain towns will be allied to certain factions, but unlike conflict towns, faction towns won't require you to worry about other players. You will either be welcomed with open arms or fired upon relentlessly. Until you've chosen a faction to side with, you are able to enter any and all faction towns unhindered. Choosing a faction is not as overt an act as you might think. You don't just pick a side; you will do missions that award you faction reputation. When you do a mission for a particular side, you gain half as much faction rep with that faction's allies. But you also lose as much faction reputation with the faction's enemies and twice as much with the arch-enemy faction.

Each faction town will offer different skills, capstones, and mutations. I'll list the details below, but it's something you should consider when choosing a faction. If you are flipping the wheel, you will want to start in the town controlled by your eventual arch-enemy faction. Flipping the wheel is an entirely different can of worms, and I'm not going to explain the finer points of it in this post. The idea of a wheel flip is to get all the bonus AP and mutations of your enemies before switching sides. Sound fun? It's not, and it requires a lot of grinding even if you do it right, because you can't start the sector 3 missions until level 35. Doing a flip to just unlock all of the mutations is a much simpler matter.

You may want to factor certain things into your faction choice. These are all important considerations when choosing a faction: weapon skill specialty (rifle, pistol or melee), skills, mutations, and capstones.

Each faction could be chosen on straight coolness, also. There are no hard and fast rules on which faction is right for you. Hell, you might just decide to be a Vista because in real life you're an eco-hippie vegan. Below I'll give you a breakdown of what each faction represents, and that might influence your decision.

CHOTA
Ideology -- chaos
Enemies -- Lightbearers and Techs
Arch-enemies -- Enforcers
Weapon of choice -- melee
Skills trained -- armor use, athletics, dodge, and melee
Mutations taught -- enhancement, patho-transmission, thermal control, and primal
Capstones -- Feral Mind, Vile Strike, and Armor-melting
Special skills -- Pain Sponge, Fitness, and Brutalize
Tradeskills -- armorcraft, mutagenics, and weaponry

Vista
Ideology -- nature
Enemies -- Travelers and Enforcers
Arch-enemies -- Techs
Weapon of choice -- rifle
Skills trained -- group tactics, athletics, dodge, and rifle
Mutations taught -- primal and sonic influence
Capstones -- Pack Mentality, Thundershot, and Pale Horse
Special skills -- Survivor and One Shot, One Kill
Tradeskills -- ballistics, cooking, nature, and science

Lightbearers
Ideology -- society
Enemies -- CHOTA and Techs
Arch-enemies -- Travelers
Weapon of choice -- melee
Skills trained -- first aid, athletics, dodge, and melee
Mutations taught -- empathic, telekinesis, and telepathy
Capstones -- Storm of Steel, Foresight, and Sharing the Light
Special skills -- Autumn Leaves, Sand and Stone, and River Meets Rushing Boar
Tradeskills -- medicine, mutagenics, and weaponry

Enforcers
Ideology -- order
Enemies -- Vistas and Travelers
Arch-enemies -- CHOTA
Weapon of choice -- rifle
Skills trained -- armor use, group tactics, dodge, pistol, and rifle
Mutations taught -- suppression
Capstones -- Fatal Setup, Last Ditch Effort, and Nullification
Special skills -- Evasive Maneuvers, Smoke Screen, Inspiration, and Rifle Smash
Tradeskills -- armorcraft, ballistics and science

Techs
Ideology -- technology
Enemies -- Lightbearers and CHOTA
Arch-enemies -- Vistas
Weapon of choice -- pistol
Skills trained -- first aid, armor use, and pistol
Mutations taught -- enhancement, nano-manipulation, and thermal control
Capstones -- Short Fuse, Seal the Gap, and Shock Blast
Special skills -- Efficiency & Equilibrium, Perforate, and Smoking Sabot Round
Tradeskills -- armorcraft, ballistic, geology, science, and mutagenics

Travelers
Ideology -- self
Enemies -- Vistas and Enforcers
Arch-enemies -- Lightbearers
Weapon of choice -- pistol
Skills trained -- athletics, dodge, pistol, and social
Mutations taught -- sonic influence and telepathy
Capstones -- On Wires, Skullcrusher, and Shotgun Wedding
Special skills -- Gun to a Knife Fight
Tradeskills -- medicine, nature, and science

By now you should have a pretty good idea which faction you might want to consider joining. I've listed them in the order that they appear on the wheel. Pay particularly close attention to the neighboring faction on the wheel (allies). Sometimes a factional alignment may not occur to you, like the Lightbearer rifleman who can draw from the Enforcer and Vista skills and capstones. The choices you make will have a major impact on the rest of the game, so choose wisely. If I don't see you in the wastes, I hope to see you here.