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While different factions aren’t all that new to monster collecting games,Palworldtakes it one step further by having five different ones, and their goals couldn’t be further apart. Some fight for money, others for their ideals, and all of them want to destroy the player.
But to know exactly what makes them tick, you’d need to scour the game for notes and secret diary entries written by the leaders of these factions themselves. While functionally they all work the same, their ideals change not only where you can find them, but also what equipment they use.
Rayne Syndicate
Leader: Zoe Rayne
The Rayne Syndicate is the first faction you’ll encounter, and in essence, they work like your average criminal organization.They hunt down Pals and trap them, getting ready to smuggle them to the best bidder, and will attack you on sight.
Their goals seem to go no further than gathering wealth, either by selling Pals or stealing from other people. Yet they have a certain code of honor, their leader being not only the strongest among them, but also the daughter of the previous leader.
Zoe Rayne, the leader of the Syndicate,isn’t simply a ruthless killer, even if she feels forced to fulfill that role. She’s someone that suffered greatly under the Syndicate rule, but she also sees those thugs as family.
The Syndicate actively fights other factions, including the PIDF, making them the biggest outlaws of all the factions. They see Pals as nothing more than tools, the only trainer among them being their leader, Zoe.
Free Pal Alliance
Leader: Lily Everharts
The Free Pal Alliance has possibly the biggest disconnect between story and gameplay, since they supposedly look after the needs of all Pals, but can often be seen attacking wild ones. That aspect aside,they work like an animal rights groupthat is not only against the abuse of Pals, but against the use of Pal Spheres all together.
Since they are against the capture of Pals,their development of technology is highly limitedin the Palpagos Islands, since without Pals it is hard to access things like electricity. This can be seen in their equipment, since the most advanced weapons they use are crossbows.
While they are against the capture of Pals,their leader, Lily Everharts,still uses a Pal in her boss fight. This is explained in her backstory, since she never captured Lyleen, rather they developed a friendship; you’re able to even see it in her intro cutscene, since Lyleen doesn’t come out of a Pal Sphere.
Brothers Of The Eternal Pyre
Leader: Axel Travers
The Brothers of the Eternal Pyre work exclusively in the volcanic areas of the Palpagos Islands(unless they are invading your base, that is), sincethey worship the flame as a purifying elementthat removes all sins. The closer they are to a source of fire, the better.
It isn’t known if all members of the Brothers are male, since all basic NPCs models are male for all factions.
This faction works more like a religionthan a faction,seeing their leader as a messiahthat has undergone a voluntary seclusion to attain enlightenment. In reality,their leader, Axel Travers, is simplywaiting at his tower for Tamers to challenge him, since all he values is a good fight.
This makes Axel more of a reluctant leader, caring little about his followers. He seems to wish for a life of a free Tamer, being able to find new and exciting Pals while exploring the Palpagos Islands to their fullest; instead, he can only remain in his Tower waiting for new challenges to find him.
Palpagos Islands Defence Force
Leader: Marcus Dryden
The Palpagos Islands Defence Force (or PIDF for short) is the main police force of Palworld. Whenever you do something illegal, either entering forbidden areas or capturing humans with Spheres, the PIDF will hunt you down with their full force.
They work as a friendly faction for the most part, since they won’t attack the player on sight.Their leader, however,isn’t what it seems, being motivated mostly by greed and ruling his people with an iron fist.
The only illegal zones for players are natural reservoirs for rare Pals, designated as such by the Free Pal Alliance. This makes the Free Pal Alliance and the PIDF sort of allies, which makes sense, since the Alliance can pay for the PIDF services, and the PIDF doesn’t deal with any type of Pal mistreatment.
PAL Genetic Research Unit
Leader: Victor Ashford
The PAL Genetic Research Unit has its base on the snowy peaks of the Palpagos Islands, mostly due to themany ruins of the Ancient Civilizationencountered there.Their relationship with Pals is one of experimentation, breeding and altering Pals in their search for the ultimate lifeform.
It is likely they are the main client of the Rayne Syndicate, due to their constant need for new Pals.
Their leader, Victor Ashford,has reached the pinnacle of his researchwith Shadowbeak, his artificially made partner Pal. While Shadowbeak exceeded all expectations, Victor couldn’t replicate his success, leaving him to still look into ways to mass produce the perfect Pal.
The Factions And The Towers
The main objective of Palworld is to defeat each faction leader in their Tower, which they defend alongside their Pal companion.Yet exactly why they are defending it is unclear even to them, since Zoe states in her journal entries that she doesn’t know why she protects the Syndicate Tower.
The Towers could be tied to the Ancient Civilizationthat once ruled the Palpagos Islands,at least according to the Castaway and their journal entries. This would make each faction a sort of descendant from these Civilizations, their relationships and rivalries being defined eons ago.
The one faction that seems to know more than it seems is the PAL Genetic Research Unit, since, much like the Castaway, their roots seem to come from beyond the Islands. Their technological advancements are based on things from outside the Island, although they are trapped on the Island just like everyone else.
