Rebuilding: Factoring in Factions

One of the largest additions to the Rebuild series that you can look forward to in Gangs of Deadsville is, well… the gangs. Of Deadsville.

Factions! There are other groups of survivors out there, and they’re struggling just as hard as you are to reclaim the city’s territory before it’s overrun. Of course, that means that your little band of upstarts is in their way, and they’ll let you know how they feel about that. Indeed, stumbling upon the stronghold of a new faction usually means that your fort is in for the occasional raid on its supplies, as well as other, more subtle forms of sabotage.

But wait! It’s not all bad. You start on pretty neutral terms with most factions when you first meet them, which means that they are perfectly happy to talk to you while they’re wandering the city. You can peacefully interact with a faction by sending a survivor out to start a Trade mission on their caravan icon when it appears on the map.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll get a nice pop-up listing all the resources and items both sides have to swap. If you’ve played a game like, oh, say, Fallout at some point in your life, this menu should seem a bit familiar! You can click on objects your trade partner has available to see how highly they value them. Once you’ve determined that, you can start offering possessions of your own until both sides are at least equal in value, at which point you can swap goods! Hey, if you’re feeling particularly generous, you can even offer more item value than your partner is asking for, which could result in the faction gaining some Respect for you, and perhaps giving you better deals in the future. 

If the faction’s caravan is being a bit too stingy for your tastes, you can always try to Haggle. This gives you a chance to reduce the markup that the faction is applying to its items, but beware: haggling can backfire and raise the markup, so make sure you don’t accidentally price yourself out of something you desperately need!

Some of the factions have access to a pretty wide range of items, while others definitely have specialties. Looking for Medicine? Making friends with the Pharmacists is probably a good idea. Besides, look at those honest, not-at-all-shifty faces! Who doesn’t want to party with those guys?

In addition to Trade, you get a few other options whenever you click a faction’s caravan, such as the ability to attack it. This is a difficult proposition, but it is a great option for jerks, or for players trying to weaken or outright wipe a faction off of the map. Be careful, though, as factions won’t just sit back and let you snipe at their caravans unpunished!

Sound like a lot? We’ve only just scratched the surface of what factions will eventually offer. As time progresses, factions will get their own unique storylines and random events, more detailed battle mechanics, and a wider range of diplomacy options. If all that piques your curiosity, now is the best time to pick up Rebuild: Gangs of Deadsville up on Steam Early Access!