Dying Light 2 Factions: Survivors, Peackeepers, and Renegades explained
Should you side with the Survivors or the Peacekeepers?
Want to know which Faction to side with in Dying Light 2? Techland's second instalment in the popular zombie parkour adventure series brings you into a three-way war between three Factions in Villedor: the Survivors, the Peacekeepers, and the Renegades. Each of these Factions has their own goals, laws, aims, and ways of life, and there's no right or wrong answer as to which side is good and which is evil. Well, except the Renegades. They're pretty evil.
In this spoiler-free guide we'll walk you through what happens when you side with either the Survivors or the Peacekeepers in Dying Light 2, and the rewards you'll gain for doing so. We'll also go into detail about the backstory and traits of the major Factions in the City.
Which Faction should you join in Dying Light 2: Survivors or Peacekeepers?
There really is no right answer when it comes to siding with the Survivors or the Peacekeepers. Nor is there a single choice which determines whether you are a Peacekeeper or a Survivor. Throughout the story of Dying Light 2, you'll interact, work, and fight with members of both Factions.
When it comes to siding with a particular Faction, there are two types of decisions and consequences. The first is purely story-based: your decisions will affect how various characters see and treat you, and during major story beats they'll affect certain parts of the map and which quests you must complete in order to progress the story.
The second is when you activate a zone's Facility. There are two types of Facility - Water Towers and Electrical Stations - and when you bring one online, you must choose whether to hand it (and therefore control of that whole region of the map) to the Survivors or the Peacekeepers. Apart from one main story quest which tasks you with activating a Facility, these choices have little to no effect on the story. Instead, your choice will unlock certain map features for that zone.
Each Faction has a series of progressing map features which are unlocked by assigning zones to that Faction. If the Peacekeepers have control of a zone, they'll install traps and give you access to new weapons to use against the Infected. If the Survivors control a zone, they'll focus on parkour and traversal, giving you more ways to quickly move about the city.
Peacekeeper rewards:
- Car Traps: PKs install Car Traps in all Zones that they control.
- Razor Cannons: Fast shooting Razor Cannons are great at decimating packs of incoming Virals.
- Electrical Traps: Electrical Traps electrocute enemies caught in them, blocking passage through the surrounding area.
- Crossbow Pack: Receive a semi-automatic Crossbow and a set of blueprints for unique Elemental Bolts.
- Molotov Lanterns: When hit by a projectile, Molotov Lanterns will fall and set fire to a huge area around them.
- Pendulum Traps: Colossal Pendulum Traps can mow down whole groups of enemies beneath them.
- UV Trap: UV Traps are very helpful during a chase, acting as both a trap for infected and an additional source of UV light.
Of these, the best is definitely the Crossbow Pack. That Crossbow is simply incredible, and a strong contender for the best weapon in Dying Light 2.
Survivor rewards:
- Ziplines: Ziplines speed up traversal significantly, creating additional routes through a Zone.
- Airbags: Jump over high walls instantly using Airbags installed in Survivor Zones.
- Landing Bags: Landing Bags cushion your fall, allowing you to reach the ground quickly and safely.
- Survivor Revival: When you fall in a Survivors Zone, a helping hand will revive you close to the point at which you fell.
- Air Vents: Improved Air Vents that increase your mobility with the Paraglider.
- Upgraded Airbags: Upgraded Airbags that allow you to jump even higher than before.
- Two-Way Ziplines: An improved version of Ziplines that lets you travel upward.
Of these, the Airbags are a particular favourite of mine. Very useful for quickly and safely dropping to street level. The Air Vents are also a great indirect upgrade to the Paraglider, and the Survivor Revival perk is lovely to have as well.
Now let's walk through the three main Factions of Dying Light 2 in turn. We won't get into any story spoilers, and much of this information has been made clear already thanks to Techland's dev diaries and trailers - but we'll give you an idea of their history, their policies, and their morals so you have a better idea of who you might like to align more with.
Survivors Faction
The Survivors are the first Faction you come across in Dying Light 2. As you might imagine, their focus is on survival. They are a tight-knit community of people from all walks of life, and they have erected numerous safe zones and pockets of civilization on rooftops across Villedor.
One might think that they're the "good guys", but things really aren't that straightforward - as you'll quickly discover after your first encounter with them. They may be a tight-knit community but that also means they are very partisan and obstinately distrusting of outsiders. The hubs of Survivor activity are also filled with just as much backstabbing and self-preservation as anyone else. There are no clear laws, nor anything to uphold right and wrong apart from mob mentality.
The Survivors are in dispute with Peacekeepers over resources. Namely - that the PKs are hogging all the resources. There are very few Survivors who don't consider the Peacekeepers to be enemies. Survivors can take care of themselves without anyone else's help - or so they think.
Peacekeepers Faction
Peacekeepers represent the main military presence in Villedor whose main goal is to fight back the Infected and keep everyone safe. The downside is that they do so with an iron fist, and a series of aggressive, authoritarian policies which give Survivors very little room for independence.
PKs have access to a lot of weaponry, and there's no doubt that they're very effective at handling the Infected. However, despite their apparent upholding of law and order, there's as little focus on the judicial process here as with the Survivors. Justice is swift and harsh, with torture and public executions handy tools for keeping the rest of the population in line.
The Peacekeepers are a very hierarchical bunch, with soldiers' tattoos representing how far up the chain of command they are, and who they answer to. An individual Peacekeeper feels like a very ordinary human when you talk to them, much like an individual Survivor does. But when viewed as a whole, Peacekeepers do have quite a lot to answer for, just like everyone else.
Renegades Faction
The Renegades are the "enemy" Faction of Dying Light 2. They are a large band of ex-prisoners and morally bankrupt soldiers who act like bandits and marauders whenever you come across them. They are led by Colonel Chris Williams, who is also known as the Butcher thanks to his actions 15 years before the start of the game, which resulted in the bombing of Villedor with chemicals in a brutal attempt to wipe out the Harran Virus. The Renegades also factor into Aiden's backstory and reason for coming to Villedor: Williams's right-hand man, Waltz, performed experiments on Aiden and his sister Mia as children.
Unlike the Survivors and Peacekeepers, there's very little in the way of depth and complexity with the Renegades. They're pretty bad people, and there are very few chances to ever "side" with them in any way throughout the game. You can't decide to give control of certain Zones to the Renegades; you can only fight to liberate those areas from them.
That's pretty much all you need to know about the various major Factions in Dying Light 2. Of course, if you want people around you who you can truly trust, your best bet is to invite your friends to play Dying Light 2 coop multiplayer with you! While you're here, you can also check out our handy guides on earning more Military Tech and Infected Trophies for upgrading tools and weapons; and our guide on Dying Light 2 Inhibitor locations to upgrade Aiden's stats and abilities.