Factions

Summary

Factions on UO Outlands represent a persistent, large-scale Player versus Player (PvP) conflict where guilds align themselves with one of four distinct factions to wage war across the realm. This system revolves around controlling strategic Wayposts, stealing and securing rival Faction Flags, engaging in Faction Caravans, protecting or assassinating Faction VIPs, and participating in direct combat with opposing faction members. Participation contributes to individual player scores, guild prestige, and the overall standing and power dynamics between the factions, culminating in weekly resets and rewards.

Factions
The Andarian Legion	Golden Banner of Cambria	The Prevalian Order	The Terran Rebellion

Factions
Factions Overview	Faction Silver	Faction Dungeons	Mount Gear System	Aspect Triumphs

Getting Started

The Factions Menu

Access to Faction features is managed through the Guild Menu (`[Guild`), specifically under the "Factions" tab. Players can also directly open this menu by typing the command `[Faction`. Participation in the Faction system requires players to be members of a guild.

Joining a Faction

Guild leadership (Officers or Guildmasters) can choose to align their entire guild with one of the four Factions via page 3 of the Factions Menu. Clicking the "Join" button next to the desired Faction enrolls the guild. A 7-day cooldown prevents changing Factions again only when a guild actively selects a *new* Faction; simply leaving a Faction without joining another does not trigger this cooldown. Once aligned, text related to the guild's own Faction appears Green, while other Factions appear Orange.

Last Week Tally preventing joining the top faction.

Certain restrictions apply: a guild cannot join a Faction if any of its allied guilds belong to a different Faction. Furthermore, guilds are prevented from joining the Faction that achieved the 1st place rank in the "Last Week Tally," which reflects the strongest performing faction from the previous week. Guilds can leave their current Faction using the "Leave" button on the same menu page.

Enabling Participation

Even if a guild is aligned with a Faction, individual members must opt-in to actively participate. This is done by enabling the "Participate in Factions" toggle on page 1 of the Faction Menu. This setting can typically be changed once per hour. Changing this setting is restricted while flagged in PvP, inside a Faction Castle, or near a Faction Flag or Waypost. Players who do not enable participation will not adopt Faction flagging, cannot enter Faction Castles, cannot engage in Faction activities, and will not display a Faction tag overhead.

Account and IP Restrictions

A player can only have "Participate in Factions" enabled for characters belonging to a single Faction across all their accounts sharing the same IP address. Attempting to enable participation for a character in a different Faction will be blocked. If a guild changes Faction, the system audits its members; any player found to be in multiple Factions across their accounts will have participation disabled on all characters, forcing them to choose a single Faction to participate with going forward. Offline players affected by this will be notified upon their next login.

Flagging, Interaction, and Combat

Faction Flagging Rules

Faction flagging for Criminals and Murderers.

File:Factionsflagging4.png

Party flagging overrides Faction flagging.

How players appear to each other is heavily influenced by Faction alignment and participation status:

Opposing Factions: Active participants flag Orange to participants of other Factions and can generally be attacked freely (exceptions apply in specific event zones).
Same Faction: Active participants flag Green to each other by default. Exception: If two players are in the same Faction but their guilds are at war, they will flag Orange to each other.
Criminals & Murderers: Faction participants who are Murderers always flag Red. Criminals always flag Grey. By default, Faction members cannot attack Murderers within their own Faction unless the Murderer becomes temporarily Criminal (e.g., by attacking an Innocent).
Parties: Being in the same Party overrides Faction flagging if the target has "Flag Green to Party" enabled, causing them to appear Green regardless of Faction.
PvP & Special Events:
PvP event participation overrides Faction status.
Players actively participating in events like Town Struggles, Corpse Creek Contests, Dungeon Flashpoints, Stygian Rifts, Strangelands, etc., are NOT considered Faction participants while inside the event zone. They adopt event-specific flagging and do not count for Faction Kills.
Ships:
Ships are neutral zones for Factions.
Players aboard ships are NOT considered Faction participants and do not adopt Faction flagging or count for Faction Kills.

Harmful and Beneficial Actions

Harmful actions against members of the same Faction are generally disallowed unless both players are in the same guild, in the same party (with party flagging enabled), or their respective guilds are at war.

Non-faction player healing a Faction player...

...results in the healer becoming attackable by other Factions.

Beneficial actions have specific consequences: if a player NOT actively participating in Factions performs a beneficial action (like healing) on an active Faction participant (or their follower), the non-participant becomes flagged as attackable (Orange) by all *other* Factions for 2 minutes. This does not apply during PvP/Special Events.

Toggling the Prevent Faction Healing setting.

Players can use the command `[PreventFactionHealing` to toggle a setting (enabled by default) that blocks them from performing beneficial actions on Faction participants if they themselves are not active participants, thus avoiding the temporary flagging consequence.

Commands and Settings

The Commands and Settings menu (Paperdoll -> Help -> Commands -> Faction) offers several toggleable options and hotkey assignments specific to Faction gameplay.

Area of Effect (AoE) Spells

Faction AoE spell targeting rules in specific zones.

AoE spells cast by Faction participants have modified targeting rules in certain areas. If the caster is within 50 tiles of a Waypost or Faction Flag, inside a Faction Castle, Faction Town, or Faction Dungeon, their AoE spell will ONLY hit other Faction players/followers (ignoring non-Faction blues). However, for each friendly Faction player within the AoE radius that the caster *cannot* harm (due to same-faction rules), the spell's damage is reduced by a cumulative 20% against all valid targets hit, up to a maximum penalty of 80%.

Core Mechanics: Wayposts

Wayposts are fixed control points in the overworld, representing strategic locations contested between Factions.

Structure and Layout

Map showing Faction Waypost locations and chains.

There are 18 Wayposts total, organized into "Chains" of three Wayposts situated along paths connecting each pair of Faction territories (e.g., 3 between Terran and Cambria, 3 between Cambria and Prevalia, etc.). The Faction Menu (Page 2) and the `[FactionMap` command display the locations and chain structure.

Waypost Markers and Control

Waypost marker showing control progress.

Each Waypost features a Marker displaying the controlling Faction's banner and an overhead progress bar indicating their Control Percentage (0-100%). Single-clicking the marker shows the exact percentage.

Neutral: No Faction has control.
Partial Control:
Waypost showing partial control progress.
A Faction has >0% but <100% control.
Full Control:
A Waypost under Full Control.
A Faction has 100% control. This is required for certain actions like initiating Flag Steals.

Waypost Region and Contesting

Each Waypost has a surrounding Region. Players receive system messages upon entering/leaving. To contest a Waypost, players must be considered "Valid Contestants" during periodic Control Ticks.

Waypost Control Ticks

Every 15 seconds, a Control Tick assesses who is contesting the Waypost. A player is a Valid Contestant if they are:

Alive and Visible (not hidden).
Inside the Waypost Region.
Have "Participate in Factions" enabled.
Have NOT been inside a House or Ship within 100 tiles in the last 2 minutes.
Are NOT currently under a Stationary Penalty.
Their Faction has Full Control over all prerequisite Wayposts in that specific Waypost Chain (see below).

Control Progress

System message during Waypost contesting.

If, during a Control Tick, all Valid Contestants belong to a single Faction: 1. If an opposing Faction has control, they lose 10% Control Progress. 2. If the Waypost is Neutral, the contesting Faction gains 10% Control Progress. 3. If the contesting Faction already has Partial Control, they gain another 10% Control Progress. Contesting players receive messages about progress and their Potential Faction Score. Earning Faction Score from Wayposts contributes towards War Aspect experience.

Potential Faction Score

Increasing Control Progress adds to a player's Potential Faction Score for that Waypost (up to 75 points). This score is awarded only when the Waypost reaches Full Control under their Faction. If the Waypost becomes Neutral, all potential score is lost.

Full Control and Locking

A Locked Waypost after reaching Full Control.

Reaching 100% Control Progress (takes 2 minutes from 0%) grants Full Control. All players who contributed within the last 10 minutes earn their banked Potential Faction Score. The Waypost then becomes "Locked" for 2 minutes, indicated by sparkles, during which it cannot be contested.

Waypost Chain Control Order

Example of Terran's Waypost control order towards Andaria.

Factions must capture Wayposts within a chain in a specific order relative to their own Castle: 1. Nearest Waypost: Closest to their Castle. Can always be contested. 2. Middle Waypost: Requires Full Control of the Nearest Waypost before contesting. 3. Farthest Waypost: Closest to the opposing Faction's Castle. Requires Full Control of BOTH the Nearest and Middle Wayposts before contesting. Attempting to contest out of order results in a notification.

Waypost Summaries and Tracking

The Faction Hotbar showing Waypost status.

Compact Waypost control summary on Faction menu page 1.

Waypost status can be monitored through:

Page 2 of the Faction Menu (shows all Wayposts, progress bars).
The Faction Hotbar (`[FactionHotbar`, shows only relevant Wayposts for your Faction).
Page 1 of the Faction Menu (compact summary showing counts per opposing Faction, Crown icon indicates full chain control).
Activity Icons next to Wayposts indicate recent actions: Lock (), Dagger (Contested, ), Left Arrow (Lowering control, ), Right Arrow (Raising control, ).

Using the Orb button for Waypoint tracking.

Using the Orb button on the Faction Map.

Clicking the Orb button next to a Waypost (in Menu, Hotbar, or Faction Map) displays its location on the map, lists coordinates, and activates a tracking arrow.

Core Mechanics: Faction Flags

Each Faction possesses a unique Flag, initially located in their respective Faction Castle's Flag Room. The ultimate objective is often to steal enemy Flags and secure them within one's own Castle.

Flag Status and Location

Faction Flags secured in a Faction Castle Flag Room.

Faction menu showing Flag status (location).

Page 1 of the Faction Menu and the Faction Hotbar display the current location of each Faction Flag under "Flags in Castle" or "Flags Carried."

Qualifying For a Steal Attempt

Example: Prevalia qualifies to steal Terran's flag.

Example: Prevalia flag is in Terran castle.

Example: Andaria needs control vs both Prevalia and Terran.

To be eligible to attempt stealing a specific Flag secured in a Castle, a Faction must meet Waypost control requirements:

If Flag is in its Home Castle: The stealing Faction must have Full Control over all 3 Wayposts in their chain connecting to the Flag's Faction.
If Flag is in an Enemy Castle: The stealing Faction must have Full Control over all 3 Wayposts in their chain to the Flag's Faction *AND* Full Control over all 3 Wayposts in their chain to the Castle's Faction (total 6 Wayposts).

Infiltrating Castles: Faction Doors

Faction Castles are protected by destructible Faction Doors. Members of the owning Faction can bypass them via double-click (5s cooldown). Opposing Faction members must attack them (double-click or use `[FactionDoor` command nearby) to destroy them. Destroyed doors respawn in 30 minutes. Damaged doors repair automatically if not damaged for 30 minutes. Accessing the Flag Room often requires destroying one or more doors. Recall/Gate/Hike into enemy castles is prohibited.

Players can use the `[FactionDoor` command to attempt to double-click the nearest Faction Door within 2 tiles.

Initiating a Flag Steal

Initiating a Faction Flag steal attempt.

If qualified, a player can initiate a steal attempt by moving within 2 tiles of the target Flag and double-clicking it (or using `[FactionFlag`). This player becomes the "Stealing Player," marked by a light beam and announced overhead. Only one steal attempt can be active per Flag at a time, and individual players can only attempt one steal simultaneously.

Players can use the `[FactionFlag` command to attempt to double-click the nearest Faction Flag within 2 tiles.

Faction menu showing a flag 'Under Attack'.

Faction Hotbar showing a flag 'Under Attack'.

While a steal is in progress, the target Faction's status shows "Under Attack" in menus/hotbars.

Flag Steal Control Ticks and Progress

Control Tick progress during a flag steal.

Similar to Wayposts, Flag Steals progress via Control Ticks every 15 seconds. Steal Progress increases by 10% per tick if the Stealing Player is Alive, Visible, Inside the Flag Room boundary, and NOT under a Stationary Penalty. Failure to meet these conditions resets all progress. The steal attempt takes 3 minutes to complete (0% to 100%). Losing qualifying Waypost control *after* initiating the steal does not cancel it, but failure requires requalifying. Players of the stealing faction inside the Flag Room during ticks earn Potential Faction Score.

Successful Steal: The Flag Carrier

A player successfully steals and carries a Faction Flag.

Upon reaching 100% Steal Progress, the Stealing Player successfully captures the Flag and becomes the Flag Carrier.

Core Mechanics: Handling Captured Flags

Tracking Flag Carriers

Tracking a carried Faction Flag via the menu Orb.

Carried Flags are indicated in the Faction Menu/Hotbar. Clicking the Orb button next to a carried flag reveals its coordinates, opens a map, and starts a tracking arrow.

Flag Carrier Restrictions

Flag Carriers can generally move and fight normally (including mounting) but are subject to critical restrictions:

Cannot enter Houses or board Ships.
Cannot use Recall, Hike, Gate Travel, or Moongates.
Cannot enter Dungeons, Arena, Casino, or other non-Overworld areas.
Cannot Hide or become Invisible.

Flag Returning and Expiration

A carried Flag will automatically return to the last Castle it was secured in if:

The Carrier enters an invalid location (House, Ship, Dungeon etc.).
30 minutes pass since it was stolen without being Secured in a new Castle.
The server reboots (Flag drops at Carrier's last location upon restart).

Returned flags clear any associated Potential Faction Score.

Flag Carrier Death and Recovery

A dropped Faction Flag after carrier death.

Waypost control is needed to pick up a dropped flag.

If a Flag Carrier dies, the Flag drops to the ground at their location. A dropped flag retains its 30-minute return timer. To pick up a dropped Flag (by double-clicking within 1 tile), the player's Faction MUST currently have Full Control over the 3 Wayposts in their chain connecting to the Flag's Faction. This emphasizes the importance of maintaining Waypost control throughout the entire flag capture process.

Purifying Faction Flags

A Purified Faction Flag with flame graphic.

Before a stolen Flag can be secured in a new Castle, it must be Purified. This requires the Flag Carrier to bring it to the Purification Pyre located in the center of Daemon Keep (a Grey Zone). The Carrier must remain within 2 tiles of the Pyre for 60 consecutive seconds (progress checked every 15s via Control Ticks). Moving too far or becoming hidden resets the process. Purification takes 1 minute total (0% to 100%). Players within 50 tiles during purification earn Potential Faction Score. Successfully purified flags display a distinct flame graphic.

Escorting Bonus (Purification)

Spending 60+ cumulative seconds within 50 tiles of a non-Purified Flag while it's being transported outside Castles/Daemon Keep (i.e., escorting to the Pyre) increases the Potential Faction Score earned from the Purification phase by +100% (max 100 points). This contributes to War Aspect experience.

Securing a Faction Flag

Securing a Purified Flag in the Faction Castle.

Once Purified, the Flag can be brought to the Flag Room of the Carrier's Faction Castle to be Secured. This process mirrors the Steal attempt: requires the Carrier to be Alive, Visible, Inside the Flag Room, and NOT under a Stationary Penalty for Control Ticks (every 15 seconds) to increase Secure Progress by 10%. It takes 3 minutes to complete (0% to 100%). Failure resets progress, but the Secure attempt can be immediately re-initiated as long as the flag is carried. Waypost control is NOT required to attempt Securing. Players present during Secure ticks earn Potential Faction Score (up to 25 points).

Escorting Bonus (Securing)

Spending 60+ cumulative seconds within 50 tiles of a Purified Flag while it's being transported outside Castles/Daemon Keep (i.e., escorting to the home Castle) increases the Potential Faction Score earned from Flag Securing by +200% (max 75 Potential Faction Score). This contributes to War Aspect experience.

Successful Secure

Reaching 100% Secure Progress successfully secures the Flag in the new Castle. All banked Potential Faction Score from the entire Steal-Purify-Secure process is awarded to participating players. If any guild member earned 100+ score during the process, the guild gains 1 Prestige. The newly Secured Flag appears in the Castle's inventory and becomes Locked (unstealable) for 10 minutes.

Scoring, Penalties, and Bonuses

Player Faction Score

Players earn Faction Score through Waypost control, Flag activities (Stealing, Purifying, Securing, Escorting), participating in Faction Caravans, engaging with Faction VIPs, and killing Faction enemies. Scores contribute to weekly and seasonal rankings and rewards. The `[ShowFactionKills` command displays lifetime and seasonal kill score totals (60s cooldown). Scores reset weekly during Tabula Rasa.

War Aspect Experience

Players earn War Aspect Experience from increasing Faction Score (at a rate of 33% of the score earned, requires War Aspect unlocked) for activities including: Waypost Control, Faction Caravans, Faction VIPs, Flag Escorting (Purification and Securing), and Flag Securing.

Faction Player Kills

Kills To Give: To be worth score, a victim must have "Kills To Give" (KTG). Players regenerate 1 KTG every 4 hours (max 6 stored) and gain 1 KTG per 100 Faction Score earned from objectives (Wayposts, Flags, Faction Spawns, Caravans, VIPs etc.). Killing a player with 0 KTG yields 0 score.
Score Value: A valid kill reduces victim's KTG by 1. Base score is 20 Faction Score, divided among killers by damage %. Kills occurring near Wayposts/Flags (within 50 tiles), inside Faction Castles/Towns/Dungeons are upgraded to 50 Faction Score. Killing a Flag Carrier grants an additional +50 Faction Score (victim must still have KTG).

Heat of Battle

Performing key Faction actions (contesting Wayposts during ticks, purifying/stealing/securing flags during ticks, damaging Faction Doors) applies a 30-second "Heat of Battle" flag. This prevents immediate escape via Recall/Gate etc. The flag is cleared for players near a Waypost when it returns to 100% control.

Faction Death Penalties

Dying as a result of a Faction Kill imposes a 2-minute Faction Death Penalty on ALL characters on the player's Account/IP. During this penalty:

Player does not count as valid for Contesting Wayposts or Stealing/Securing Flags (but can still receive banked score).
Cannot initiate Steals or pick up dropped Flags.
Cannot cast Field or AoE spells.
Deals 50% less damage (Players & Creatures).
Healing output reduced by 50% (Self & Others).

Stationary Penalties

If a player uses Recall/Gate/Hike, or has been stationary for 5 minutes or more, they receive a Stationary Scoring Penalty. While penalized, they do not count towards controlling Wayposts, Flag Stealing/Securing, or VIP Controlling/Contesting. The penalty is removed once the player moves 5 steps. A system message notifies the player.

Faction Handicap Bonus

Based on the previous week's overall performance ("Last Week Tally"), Factions receive a Handicap Bonus for the current week: 4th Place (Weakest) = 30%, 3rd = 20%, 2nd = 10%, 1st (Strongest) = 0%. This bonus percentage represents the chance that on any Control Tick (Waypost, Purify, Steal, Secure), the Faction will gain double progress (20% instead of 10%).

Underdog Handicap

Additionally, a Faction receives a temporary Underdog Handicap Bonus against any specific Faction that currently holds more Secured Flags than they do. The bonus is 15% per flag difference (max +60% for 4 flags) and stacks with the weekly Handicap Bonus. This bonus also provides a chance for double progress on ticks related to actions against that specific stronger Faction.

Support and Logistics

Faction Castles

Each Faction has a Castle in its home territory, serving as the Flag repository and respawn point. Only members of the owning Faction can enter freely or Recall/Gate/Hike into the region.

Faction Ghost Gates

A Faction Ghost Gate visible only to dead Faction players.

Near each Waypost is a Faction Ghost Gate, visible and usable only by dead Faction participants. Using it teleports the ghost (and nearby followers) to a random spot in their Faction Castle's courtyard.

Faction Moongates

Faction Moongate inside a Castle Flag Room.

Inside each Castle's Flag Room is a Faction Moongate, usable only by members of that Faction. It allows travel to Wayposts relevant to that Faction's chains, following standard moongate restrictions (no criminals, no Heat of Battle). Players arrive Revealed at the destination.

Weekly Cycle and Rewards

Tabula Rasa (Weekly Reset)

Every Friday at 8 PM EST, a "Tabula Rasa" occurs:

All Faction Flags return to their home Castles.
All Wayposts become Neutral.
Faction Doors are fully repaired.
Potential Faction Scores are cleared.
Faction Dungeon rotates.
Weekly scoring and rewards are resolved.

Faction Ranking and Titles

Faction Ranking based on Last Week Tally.

During Tabula Rasa, Factions are ranked 1st-4th based on the previous week's performance, determining the next week's Handicap Bonus and joining restrictions.

Individual player performance is tracked via seasonal Faction Score totals in `[ServerRank`. At season's end, players receive a Rank % based on their score relative to all other Faction participants. This Rank % determines their Faction Title Tier for the upcoming season:

Rank %	Title Tier
99%-100%	6
95%-<99%	5
75%-<95%	4
50%-<75%	3
25%-<50%	2
0%-<25%	1

The actual title displayed is a combination of the player's current Faction and their earned Title Tier. Faction Titles, if enabled via the "Display Faction Title" toggle, override Achievement Titles.

Factions
Factions Overview	Faction Silver	Faction Dungeons	Mount Gear System	Aspect Triumphs