Faction

"They've done more good than harm. By most calculations."

— Grimoire description

Factions are groups that Guardians can join and earn Reputation with. Most factions are based within the Last City, but some are found elsewhere, such as the Reef. Completing activities for a faction allows Guardians to increase their rank with them and earn rewards. On the other hand, there are some factions that cannot be joined because they have no Reputation stat, and furthermore, the enemy races have their own factions dedicated to their own goals.

Consensus factions

These three factions form the City's government, the Consensus, and seek champions among the Guardians to represent them in the Crucible. Guardians may pledge themselves to a faction for a fee of 2500 Glimmer to support it and earn faction-specific rewards, such as weapons, armor, emblems, and shaders. Guardians can only change their allegiance once per week, and must pay the fee each time. Players continue to earn Vanguard or Crucible Reputation in addition to Reputation with their faction.

If players earn Level 25 Reputation with a faction, they'll unlock a faction quest that rewards an Exotic class item that increases Reputation gains with that faction.

Dead Orbit	Future War Cult	New Monarchy
Tower Rep Arach Jalaal	Tower Rep Lakshmi-2	Tower Rep Executor Hideo
Philosophy "The Traveler is not our only salvation. Another future lies out among the light of other stars." Dead Orbit is a survivalist faction that believes humanity's future lies not on Earth with the Traveler, but in a great diaspora throughout the universe. They hope that by colonizing as many worlds beyond the Solar System as possible, humanity will become too innumerable for another disaster like the Collapse to break it or an enemy like the Darkness to extinguish it. Dead Orbit members are currently assembling a fleet of starships to begin their interstellar journey.	Philosophy "There is no future but now. No truth but war." Future War Cult is a fatalist faction that believes conflict is the quintessential nature of the universe and the inescapable end-state of most, if not all possible realities. Known for their martial prowess as much as their secrecy and eccentricity, Cultists assert that another confrontation with the Darkness, the "coming war", is inevitable whether humanity makes its stand on Earth or attempts to flee elsewhere. In their opinion, preparing for that confrontation should be the sole, driving purpose of the Last City and the Guardians.	Philosophy "Hope will be born from the collective triumphs of the king in us all." New Monarchy is a monarchist faction that believes humanity should strive to restore the lost glory and order of the Golden Age, and that the ideal way to achieve that is by uniting the Last City under a single, benevolent ruler invested with absolute authority. New Monarchists view the Consensus as a tenuous compromise that impedes the path to true progress. They patiently await the day when the Consensus voluntarily abolishes itself and a monarch is chosen by acclamation.

Faction Rallies

In Destiny 2, the factions return to compete against one another in the Faction Rallies event, where one of the factions is declared the winner by receiving the most support from players across all available activities. They have been deprecated beginning in Forsaken.

Guardian factions

These factions give Reputation to Guardians by default.

• Vanguard—the default faction for all Guardians. The Vanguard advise Guardians on missions and see to the City's defense. Guardians earn Reputation with the Vanguard by completing Patrol missions, Story Missions, Vanguard Ops, and Vanguard bounties.
• Crucible—the City's competitive arena. Guardians earn Reputation by competing and completing Crucible bounties, and Lord Shaxx's weekly bounties.
• Iron Banner—a special tournament in the Crucible. Guardians earn Reputation by winning matches and completing Iron Banner bounties. Formerly hosted by Lady Efrideet and currently overseen by Lord Saladin.
• Cryptarch—any Guardian who brings engrams for decoding are rewarded for their discoveries.
• Gunsmith—field test weapons for the Tower's gunsmith, and he'll reward you with a special delivery with one of the City's Weapon Foundries.
• Sparrow Racing League—complete and win Sparrow races to increase SRL Event Standing and earn better rewards. The Tower Shipwright hosts the event.

Quest factions

These individuals seek the help of Guardians for their own agendas.

• Crota's Bane—Eris Morn is the sole representative of this faction, and is obsessed with stopping Crota and his father Oryx. Completing her bounties will unlock items for sale exclusive to her.
• Queen's Wrath—the Reef is hiring Guardians to eliminate dangerous members of the House of Wolves and the Taken that have escaped into the wild. The Queen's Guard awards those who bring the Reef's enemies to justice.
• House of Judgment—the Queen wants the Prison of Elders cleared of its prisoners, and has tasked Guardians with this duty in exchange for treasures.

Other factions

These factions are named, but cannot be joined by Guardians to date.

• Cult of Osiris—a cult dedicated to the teachings of Osiris. Players can interact with its representative, Brother Vance, but cannot earn Reputation with them.
• Symmetry—a minor faction that was founded on the teachings of Ulan-Tan. Barred from the Consensus for being too dangerous.
• Concordat—a former Consensus member, ejected after its founder, Lysander, was exiled.
• The Hidden - the Last City's spy network, led by the Warlock Vanguard Ikora Rey.
• Seraphs - personal enforcers hired by Rasputin prior to his sacrifice.
• Echelon South - a violent faction that was exiled from the City following the Faction Wars.

Allied Factions

These factions have allied with the Vanguard and the Guardians of Earth in defiance against the Witness, the commander of the Black Fleet and its pursuit of the Final Shape.

• The Coalition:
  • House of Light - an Eliksni house led by Mithrax, who believe in allying themselves with Humanity and worshipping the Traveler.
  • House of Spider—a Fallen crime syndicate formerly held up in the Tangled Shore lead by the Spider.
  • Imperial Cabal - The remnants of the Cabal Empire after the fall of Torobatl that still remain loyal to Empress Caiatl.
    • Iron War Beasts - a sublegion of Imperial Cabal led by Valus Saladin Forge.
  • Reef
    • Corsairs - Awoken soldiers that protect the Reef and the Dreaming City, led by Paladins.
    • Techeuns - Awoken mystics capable of interfacing with paracausal technology.
    • Queensguard - Awoken soldiers that protect the Awoken Queen from harm.
  • Neomuna
    • Cloud Striders - cybernetically enhanced warriors that protect the citizens of Neomuna and live a lifespan of 10 years before succumbing to the augmentations

Enemy factions

• Fallen Houses:
  • House of Devils—noble house located on Earth, most commonly encountered by Guardians.
    • Devil Splicers—a radical sect of the Fallen Splicers belonging to the House of Devils.
  • House of Kings—secretive yet dangerous noble house on Earth rarely seen by Guardians, once led Craask.
  • House of Exile—a house of outcasts from the Battle of Twilight Gap located on the Moon.
  • House of Rain—a small now extinct house that plundered Mercury in the Dark Age. Its livery was taken up by House Dusk.
  • House of Stone—an extinct house destroyed in the Whirlwind. Was led by Chelchis, a Fallen legend.
  • House of Scar—an extinct Fallen house after the events of the Whirlwind.
  • House of Winter—a large Fallen house on Venus looking to secure Vex technology.
  • House of Wolves—a Fallen house that was once loyal to Mara Sov but rebelled under the leadership of Skolas.
    • Taniks' Crew—a rag-tag group of Fallen that work for the mercenary Taniks.
  • House of Dusk—a mysterious Fallen house that emerges during the Red War, engaging every other faction in the system.
  • Kell's Scourge—another Fallen crime syndicate full of anarchists that plundered the vaults and forges of the Black Armory lead by Siviks.
  • House of Salvation—a massive Fallen house formed from remnants of Dusk, Wolves, Devils and Scourge, seeking the destruction of the Traveler and mastery of Stasis. Led by Eramis and her Dark Council.
  • Old Crews—a group of houseless Fallen pirates that have existed since the Long Drift. Many have lairs throughout the Themis Cluster.

• Scorn—a faction of ferocious undead Fallen that were raised through the use of Dark Ether, predominantly found in the Tangled Shore, the Dreaming City, and Savathûn's Throne World.

• Hive Broods:
  • Hidden Swarm—the Hive's outermost line of defense on the Moon, most commonly encountered by Guardians.
  • Spawn of Crota—direct servants of Crota.
  • Blood of Oryx—direct servants of Oryx.
  • The Silent Brood—wardens of The Sunless Cell on the Dreadnaught.
  • Venom of Oryx—elite saboteurs of the Taken King, seen only in The First Firewall Story mission.
  • Savathûn's Brood—servants of Savathûn formerly found on Titan before its disappearance.
  • Grasp of Nokris—servants of Nokris and Xol found in Hellas Basin on Mars.
  • Xivu Arath's Horde—servants of Xivu Arath.
    • Wrathborn—corrupted Fallen, Hive, and Cabal brainwashed to serve Xivu Arath via the Cryptoliths.
  • Lucent Brood—servants and Lightbearers of Savathûn and Immaru found in her Throne World.

• Vex Programmings:
  • Hezen Corrective—Vex units that seek out and attack the House of Winter on Venus.
  • Hezen Protective—protectors of important Vex sites such as The Citadel on Venus.
  • Virgo Prohibition—aggressive and relentless Vex units that test the Cabal's Exclusion Zone.
  • Sol Collective—the largest known Vex programming, encountered on Nessus, Io, Mercury, Europa, Neptune and in the Vex Network.
  • Sol Divisive—protectors of the Black Garden, aligned with the goals of the Witness.
  • Precursors—ancient yet futuristic Vex, found in the Vault of Glass and the Infinite Forest.
  • Descendants—extremely old Vex from the future, found in the Vault of Glass and the Infinite Forest.
  • Proxies—simulated entities created by the Infinite Forest to protect it.

• Cabal Legions:
  • Sand Eaters—most commonly encountered infantry on Mars before the Red War.
  • Dust Giants—highly trained soldiers used to reinforce crumbling lines and fend off Vex offensives.
  • Siege Dancers—elite forward soldiers that take over newfound territory.
  • Ice Reapers—an elite Psion unit containing powerful Psion Flayers.
  • Blind Legion—soldiers that seek out and defend Vex artifacts on Mars.
  • Broken Legion—a renegade detachment contained in the Prison of Elders.
  • Skyburners—celestial demolitions fleet; formerly a reserve fleet until the Taken War.
  • Red Legion—the most technologically advanced Cabal Legion, led by Dominus Ghaul, who came to capture the Traveler during the Red War.
    • Blood Guard—elite Red Legion task force that guards its foremost commanders and operations.
  • Loyalists—the loyal followers of Emperor Calus who serve him aboard the Leviathan.
  • Cabal Deserters—various groups of Cabal forces who broke off from the main Cabal legions for individual reasons.
    • Psion Conclave—a rebel group led predominantly by Psions seeking retribution for Amtec and her sisters, currently led by Yirix.
  • Shadow Legion—a Cabal legion that serves Calus after he became a Disciple of the Witness, and later remained loyal to the Witness. Armed with Pyramid technology such as Tech Packs. Encountered on Neptune and invading Earth.

• Taken—the personal army of Oryx, composed of corrupted and enslaved members of other enemy races, now under the command of the Witness. Encountered throughout the Solar System.

• Nightmares—manifestations of past enemies created by the energy of the Lunar Pyramid that was once piloted by Nezarec for psychological and physical warfare.

• Disciples of the Witness—powerful group of individuals that wield the Darkness and assist the Witness in its pursuit of the Final Shape.

List of appearances

• Destiny (First appearance)
• Destiny 2