Faction Warfare Basics

Faction warfare is the region that the Minmatar Fleet calls home. We may deploy around and participate in major campaigns, but our first and only true love will be faction warfare.

As a result, it’s important for all of our pilots to understand the basics of faction warfare.

Map

The Minmatar Republic is in a constant struggle against the Amarr Empire. This struggle never turns off, and is active 24/7 through every single timezone in the game. It’s beautiful, in a way.

The heart of that struggle is the faction warfare map.

The map communicates who holds each system—a yellow system is held by the Amarr Empire, and a red system is held by the Minmatar Republic. These systems are constantly under attack by thousands of players, and it’s our job to capture and defend systems.

Systems

Systems are held by a single faction, and depending on the state of the map they are classified into three types:

Type	Borders	Role
Rearguard	Command Operations (and other rearguards)	Extremely hard to attack; quiet space suited to industry and other activities
Command Operations	A frontline system	Fewer combat sites and lower rewards than frontlines; provide advantage bonuses that assist system capture
Frontline	Hostile territory	Active combat: complexes, lucrative sites, and PvP

In addition to classification, systems have two attributes:

Attribute	Meaning
Contested	Percentage of victory points held. At 100%, the system is available for capture
Advantage	Whoever holds advantage gains more victory points (and contested %) when capturing sites

The Factional Warfare system panel shows both values at a glance—Contested % at the top, Advantage % below, and icons for the current advantage effects:

Complexes

Complexes are the heart of the faction warfare gameplay loop. They come in many different sizes, and are where the majority of fights occur.

They appear in the probe scanner—for example, you may see a “Minmatar Small NVY-1” site. Once a player warps to them for the first time, they appear in the overview.

Site names encode size, ship classification, and payout. Here’s what each part means:

Size	Maximum ship class
Scout	Frigates and below
Interceptor	Interceptors only
Small	Destroyers and below
Medium	Cruisers and below
Moderate	Battlecruisers and below
Large	Battleships and below
Open	Any ship

Classification	Allowed ships
BSC	Tech I only
NVY	Navy and Tech I
ADV	Tech II, Pirate, Navy, and Tech I
ELT	Tech III destroyers and below (all ships of that size, including T3s)

Payout suffix	Meaning
-1	One pilot receives full payout before rewards split
-5	Up to five pilots receive full payout before rewards split
-X	Up to X pilots receive full payout before rewards split

So for a Minmatar Scout BSC-1:

Part	Meaning
Scout	Frigates only
BSC	Tech I ships only
1	One pilot can receive payout before splitting

You can bring a Breacher but not a Vigil Navy Issue, and if there are two of you, you will split the rewards instead of both receiving a full payout.

For a deeper dive into plex mechanics, see Faction Warfare Complexes.

Advantage

Advantage is an additional layer on contested that allows fleets and small gangs to increase the speed at which a system can be captured. It is highly contested when a group wants to actually flip a system—look for advantage to see where the enemy is focusing their efforts.

Source	How you get it	Effect
Supply Depots	Periodically spawn; pay well for multiple players	Reduce enemy advantage
Propaganda Beacons	Deployable; obtained from hacking data sites	Increase friendly advantage
Listening Outposts	Deployable; obtained from hacking data sites	Decrease enemy advantage
Battlefields	Large fleet sites	Significant friendly advantage
Rendezvous Points	Scannable signatures; respawn frequently	Increase friendly advantage

The typical pattern is that groups run propaganda beacons, rendezvous points, and battlefields to achieve 100% advantage. Then, after both sides stall at 100%, supply depots and listening outposts become a priority.

For full advantage mechanics, see Faction Warfare Advantage.

Battlefields

Battlefields are 30-man sites that reward significant income and significant advantage. Because they are lucrative, they are highly contested, and you will often see fleets clashing in battleships and battlecruisers over them.

They respawn several times a day for each faction.

Loyalty Points

Loyalty points are the currency of faction warfare. Complexes, advantage sites, and battlefields reward loyalty points, which can be converted for items to sell on the market.

Loyalty point conversion is an absolute beast, and we have an entire team dedicated to it. To sell your loyalty points, ask about the conversion team. If you’d like to learn how to convert your own loyalty points, join the conversion team.

Additional Resources

• Faction Warfare Complexes
• Faction Warfare Advantage
• New Player Fleet Guide
• Guides index