Yes, you can join several of the major factions in Kenshi like United Cities, Holy Nation, Anti-Slavers and Shek Kingdom. Joining factions comes with many benefits but also obligations that impact the gameplay experience.
Overview of Major Joinable Factions
United Cities
The United Cities is the dominant economic and military power based on advanced technology. To join, you must purchase a foreigner registration card and donate money to climb the nobility ranks. Higher ranks grant you more privileges like owning a house in a city and gaining access to exclusive research, gear, and robotic bodyguards. However, you must also pledge military support to UC leaders and pay taxes on property.
Example gear unlocked: Eagle‘s Cross legendary plasma weapon, Scout legs blueprint
Holy Nation
The Holy Nation is a religious group that hates non-humans and woman having equality. But they offer economic stability and will protect official members. To join, you must follow restrictive policies and gain acceptance into the inner nobility circle by donating artifacts found in ancient labs. This unlocks the secrets behind engineering their top-tier heavy samurai armor and unique meitou weapons. However, you must fight their wars against other factions like the United Cities and commit to spiritual oaths.
Example gear unlocked: Judge armor blueprints after ascension ritual, Holy flame sword from High Inquisitor
Anti-Slavers
The Anti-Slavers fight to free slaves and destroy slave camps operated by groups like United Cities and Holy Nation. By rescuing and escorting escaped slaves to safety, you build trust and can coordinate Anti-Slaver captains to launch full scale sabotage missions against slave markets. After freeing 100+ slaves you may be invited to attempt infiltration of Rebirth, the largest slave camp, to liberate prisoners from within. This grants access to obtain engineer blueprints for automating turrets from Flotsam Ninja allies.
Example gear unlocked: Marine armor blueprints from Flotsam Ninjas, SP4RT4N robotic ally reward
Optimal Starts for New Players
Here are my personal favorite starts for beginning your first playthrough:
- Wanderer in Hub town – Gives you flexibility to learn mechanics. Earn money via mining copper and build relations with Tech Hunters or United Cities traders.
- Hive Worker – Tough robotic worker excellent for laboring to build a base. Doesn‘t need food.
- Trader – Decent starting gear and 15,000 cats to begin a shop running.
- Freedom Seeker – Challenging but very rewarding escaping slave start. Train stealth and assassination.
As a newer player, focus efforts near civilized villages with copper and iron deposits as this enables you to quickly research base building technology. Maintain good relations early on while your squad gets its bearings.
Comparing Major Faction Cities
Faction controlled cities across Kenshi have distinct cultures. Here are key traits of their capitals:
| City | Security | Culture | Commerce | Entertainment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Cities | Heavy guards | Opulent nobles | Technology for sale | Casinos, bars |
| Holy Nation | High policing | Religious lectures | Farms and bread | Prayer day rhythm |
| Shek Kingdom | Martial law | Sparring, war drums | Mercenary gear shops | Pits fights |
| Flotsam Ninjas | Guarded walls | Disciplined training | Limited, mostly jail items | Meditative teaching circles |
My Journey Infiltrating UC Nobility
On my last playthrough, I took an unusual approach to gain favor with United Cities early on. My squad posed as a small wandering trading group and rented a shop in Squin. To gather huge profits, I made stealthy trips into ancient lab facilities to steal engineering research and sell it to Nobles and Tech Hunters. My best merchant quickly hit over 50 in research, enabling her to craft goods worth 50,000+ cats!
After saving 1 million cats, I bribed the Nobles to skip title ranks and buy a mansion in Heft despite being a lowly "foreign peasant". This unlocked access to exclusive luxury goods and high tech manufactory equipment which I again reverse engineered and sold for profit. My group became renowned across the faction for our engineering prowess!
My trader retainer sporting United Cities royal armor only available at Emperor rank
Unfortunately over time the greedy UC tax men stole over 500,000 cats from me. So I secretly began aiding the Anti-Slavers free slaves to build favor with their leaders. Eventually I learned that Stoat, an assassin in my squad, had once been enslaved by the Empire!
Now I begin preparations for the grandest betrayal…to topple the rotten UC slave regime from within! My plants within the High Courts notify me that the paranoid Emperor Seiji is searching for a successor. If I can properly leverage the subordinate Noble houses against each other the throne could be within my grasp!
Rumors Around Kenshi 2 Development
While details remain scant, game director Chris Hunt has suggested Kenshi 2 may take place when the First Empire established control over the continent ~1000 years prior to the original. Some speculate around this period the beginnings of factions like United Cities had emerged while groups like the Holy Nation were just tribal villages centered around superstitions.
It will be exciting to see the origins of these groups and if long lost factions may once again return! Rumors suggest the mysterious southern empire consisting of hundreds of cities simply called "The Nation" could play a role. Their mastery over robotic technology made them control the largest army ever seen in Kenshi before abruptly vanishing. Could Kenshi 2 reveal their fate?
Stay tuned for more coverage and speculation! If you enjoy pondering the mysteries of Kenshi‘s lore and factions I invite you to join our community forum at www.kenshifactions.com to share your own theories. We have over 300 active fans dissecting game updates and discussing how to perfect base building strategies. I will also be posting more hands-on faction guides soon!
Let me know what hidden factions you hope get expanded on in Kenshi 2!
