XDefiant: All Factions and their abilities, explained

Since everyone has their own unique playstyle, XDefiant allows you to choose a particular faction to gain distinct abilities. Each group excels in various fields, from support strategies to tactical espionage. Here’s a look into all XDefiant factions and their abilities.

All XDefiant Factions and abilities

XDefiant offers five factions to choose from, with the following groups:

• Libertad: Support team
• Phantoms: Specializes in defense
• Echelon: XDefiant spies with emphasis on sneaking tactics
• Cleaners: A fiery squad that focuses on offense
• DedSec: Cyber Attackers that can mess with an enemy’s equipment

Thanks to the wide variety of factions, it should be easy enough to pick the right one based on your playstyle. But, since each XDefiant faction comes with distinct abilities, we’ll break them all down to give you a better idea:

Libertad

XDefiant’s Freedom Fighters excel in support roles with their handy healing abilities. They are known as “expert medics” whose mission is to free those in their Caribbean nation of Yara. Take advantage of this faction’s many healing items to last longer in the field. 

• Abilities:
  • Médico Supremo Ultra: Backpack with signficant healing abilities.
  • Espíritu de Libertad Passive Trait: Gradually heals your characters and others around you.
  • El Remedio Ability: Gas Canister with the power to heal friendlies until canceled or destroyed.
  • BioVida Boost Ability: Produces a wave that increases total health and regen for you and your allies.

Phantoms

Phantoms, also known as Shadow Team, use the power of advanced technology and shields to dominate matches. They are among the most challenging factions to eliminate due to their highly defensive strategies. 

• Abilities:
  • Aegis Ultra: Perfect for close-quarters combat, using a plasma shield and electro-scattergun.
  • Hardened Health Passive Trait: Utilizes gene therapies to increase Health.
  • Mag Barrier Ability: Emits an electromagnetic barrier to block enemy attacks.
  • Blitz Shield Ability: Allows players to equip a tactical shield, including a shield bash with the Melee button.

Echelon

The Echelon faction focuses on espionage, playing the role of spies for the NSA’s Echelon initiative. If you enjoy sneaking operations, try this team, as they will appear invisible on the minimap. They also have the beneficial ability to showcase enemy locations to keep all allies informed. 

• Abilities:
  • Sonar Goggles Ultra: Reveals enemy locations.
  • Low Profile Passive Trait: The player will not appear on the opposing side’s minimaps.
  • Intel Suit Ability: Communicate with other players by sharing nearby enemy locations.
  • Digital Ghillie Suit Ability: Makes an agent nearly invisible, but movement and aiming reduce this effect.

Cleaners

Although you would think Cleaners are tied to some form of cleaning, they are actually Pyro Technicians. They deal a hefty amount of damage to enemies using their fiery weapons. You’ll get the chance to wield tools, like a flame thrower, to set the battlefield ablaze. 

• Abilities:
  • The Purifier Ultra: Wield a flamethrower to eliminate foes.
  • Incendiary Rounds Passive Trait: Ammo inflicts an increased burning damage at the cost of a weapon range decrease.
  • Incinerator Drone Ability: Release a drone that burns everything in its path.
  • Firebomb Ability: Deal damage to the enemy with a Molotov cocktail.

DedSec

Those who enjoy messing with the enemy can join XDefiant’s DedSec faction. These Cyber Attackers disrupt the opposing side’s plan by scrambling their HUD and taking control of their devices. They also have a few other tricks up their sleeves, including the stunning effect of their trusty Spiderbot. 

• Abilities
  • Lockout Ultra: Disable enemy HUD, minimap, and their abilities within a radius.
  • Fabricator Passive Trait: A mechanism that prints a new device after it has been deployed.
  • Spiderbot Ability: A Spiderbot that latches onto a foe with a face hug and stuns them.
  • Hijack Ability: Gain the power to hack enemy abilities and gain control over them.

More factions may be included in the future, but for now, five are set for XDefiant’s launch. If there are any changes, we’ll update this guide with more information.