Befriending a Faction

These seems like they would be standard questions, so I'm sorry if it's been asked, but I can't seem to find it in the manual, on the official web site, in any guide/FAQ, or by searching the forum, so...

- At what magic point do you become officially "allied" with the Luxons or Kurzicks?
- Is this per-character or per-account?
- Can you somehow back out/change your mind, or is it absolutely irrevocable?
- Are there certain missions, areas, or skills that are accessible from only one faction or the other? (I just tried to enter Eternal Grove to go elite-hunting and found the gate locked against me...)

Thanks.

The point really is when you have more faction with one than the other - then you can buy from their merchancts. However, it might also techincally be after you gain 10,000 faction with one or the other - then you're considered their friend and you can move forward with the game.

Per account.

Yes, you can - you can just spend all the faction you've gained (you trade it for amber or jade depending on if you're Kurzick or Luxon) and then just go do the quest for the other side.

There are to a degree - you can't enter some of the places until you've done certain things first. For example, if you're allied with the Luxons, I don't think you can get into Eternal Grove at all because you don't get the quest that eventually allows you to be there and have it not be locked.

I'd recommend going through all the way on one, then doing the other. Then you don't have to worry about changing sides, and you can go through both. Also, your guild's choice of who to be allied with (if you're in one) doesn't determine which side you can play on - you can play on either side regardless of your guild's affliation.

Hope this helps a little.

Here's the basic rundown. To continue the storyline after completing the Sunjiang District mission, you have to go to either Cavalon (Luxon) or House zu Heltzer (Kurzick). At this point you take a corresponding "Befriending the Luxons/Kurzicks" quest. To complete the quest, you need to accumulate 10,000 unspent faction points with that Faction. When you have that amount, talk to the NPC for the quest and it will be complete. They will give you another quest to continue the storyline. It's Stolen Eggs for Luxon and Defending the Forest for Kurzicks. These quests will take you to either Gyala Hatchery for Luxons or Eternal Grove for Kurzicks. After completing this mission, you will do the Unwaking Waters mission, wherein you will be rejoined by the other side to complete the storyline.

Luxon and Kurzick faction points are account-based. You can do quests on any of your characters to accumulate the faction points you need and you can use the same 10k to complete the "Befriending" quest on all your characters.

The Luxon NPC's will not speak to you if you have more unspent Kurzick faction than Luxon, and vice versa.

Nothing I have outlined above is affected by whether or not you are in a guild, alliance, or to which side your alliance is aligned.

You can spend Luxon or Kurzick faction in 2 ways. First, you can trade it for Jadeite (Luxon) or Amber (Kurzick) which are rare crafting materials used for their respective armors. Or you can transfer faction to your guild, however, you can only transfer faction of the same Faction to which your guild is aligned. Transfer Luxon faction only when your guild is Luxon, and vice versa.

The titles relating to the Friend of / Ally of / Steward of / etc... are earned by donating faction to your guild in the amounts specified by each of the titles.

When you spend faction, either by converting it to crafting material, or transferring it to your guild, you lose an equal amount of the other side's faction points as well. So, if you a significant amount of unspent faction on one side, and you want to start earning faction on the other, if you don't spend the faction you already have beforehand, it will be wasted.

Also, you are limited to 10,000 unspent faction at a time, so if you are close to that amount, you may consider spending some to not waste the excess.

Hope this clears it up for you.

Thanks for the information. Sounds like, if I don't have a pressing need to spend faction, I can just work both faction ratings up to 10,000, complete the "befriending" quests with all my characters, and have free access to both sides' territories?

If you have more faction on one side, Kurz for example, many Luxon NPCs will want nothing to do with you (can't talk to them or use their services). Work on one side at a time then spend that Faction then go to the other side. As long as you have reached an outpost you will always be able to go there--Kurz or Lux--but if the NPCs will talk to you is another matter.
And remember that when you use 1k faction for Jade or Amber, your faction for the other side will also decrease 1k.

I don't know if the above helped, or answer your question, but I tried. =P