EVE Echoes Faction Guide - The Best Factions to Choose as a Newcomer
EVE Online is very much one of the most complex MMOs on the market currently, with a legacy that spans almost two decades, and this complexity has inevitably trickled down to its successor for mobile devices, EVE Echoes. And while Echoes has made considerable strides to streamline and make the game simpler for the gamers on the go, it’s still quite complex and has a lot of moving parts under the hood.
Factions in EVE Echoes are just one of many systems in the game, albeit the ones you’re introduced to before anything else since you will choose your faction before actually entering the game for the first time. This decision is important since it affects your starting ships and benefits, and you won’t be able to switch it later on. Also, if you’re into the roleplaying aspect, each faction also has a significant chunk of lore behind it.
With that being said, in this guide, we’re going to give a quick overview of the four different factions in EVE Echoes, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of each, in the hopes that we can help you choose the ones that adhere to your preferences the most.
Amarr – Theocracy and Expansionism
“There is One God”
The Amarr are, as far as size and power are concerned, the largest faction in the game. Their society is composed mainly of feudal-type cities and groups all united under the banner of the Amarr Empress. This faction consists of people who are deeply religious and value military might above most other things, which is a focus that has made them into arguably the strongest group in the game. However, it’s this very focus on expansionism that has led them to embrace questionable practices such as slavery.
The Amarr faction starts with the three following traits:
- Laser: A type of mounted weapon that has no projectile travel time and can hit the target instantly. It deals mainly EM and thermal damage.
- Drone: Utility module that deploys drones to achieve a variety of purposes. From combat, to salvaging, to performing repairs, drones are always nice to have.
- Armor: Amarr ships feature heavy armor, which sacrifices mobility for better protection against most types of damage.
Gallente – Freedom and Development
“Freedom is Priceless”
In terms of politics, Gallente is essentially the opposite of the Amarr, putting freedom and scientific development above indentured servitude and expansionism. This faction has produced some of the most brilliant scientific minds in the galaxy, and also some of the most influential leaders and businessmen and women that ever lived.
Gallente knows that in order to develop a civilization, a lot of hard work will be involved, which is why the group is the most welcoming towards immigrants. However, aside from getting access to more hands for labor purposes, the Gallente people also welcome new traditions, customs, and cultures into their society, making it a melting pot of values and inclusiveness for everyone to enjoy.
The Gallente faction offers these three main benefits:
- Railgun: A type of weapon that uses electromagnets to accelerate projectiles to ludicrous speeds. They can hit the target instantly, and inflict kinetic and thermal damage primarily.
- Drone: Utility module that deploys drones to achieve a variety of purposes. From combat, to salvaging, to performing repairs, drones are always nice to have.
- Armor: Like the Amarr, Gallente ships feature heavy armor, which sacrifices mobility for better protection against most types of damage.
Caldari – Corporate Order Above All Else
“Order, Loyalty, Responsibility”
The Caldari are hard working people that put their faith in the tenets of patriotism and corporate order. As a result, they have, since their inception, thrived as a ruthless and business-oriented civilization that would rather strike their enemies down in boardroom negotiations rather than in open warfare. In other words, the Caldari have achieved a prosperous society through corporate dictatorship, to the point where the entirety of their influence is overseen by a handful of megacorporations, instead of an established political system.
Nevertheless, while the order is mostly preserved among their people, their hugely capitalistic worldview means that corporations are always aggressively competing against each other for dominance. For the Caldari, if you’re not fighting under the banner of a corporation, you might as well not exist.
The Caldari offer these three main perks:
- Railgun: A type of weapon that uses electromagnets to accelerate projectiles to ludicrous speeds. They can hit the target instantly, and deal kinetic and thermal damage primarily.
- Missiles: A very versatile weapon type that deals delayed damage after launching them, since the projectiles have to travel to the target before doing their purpose. There are many different types of missiles, each with their own damage type and function.
- Shield: Caldari ships trade in defense in exchange for more powerful shields. Though they are most costly to activate, they allow for ships to travel lighter, as they are usually outfitted with less physical armor.
Minmatar – Adaptability and Self-sufficiency
“Never Give In”
Born as a splinter group of disgruntled Matari citizens who liberated themselves from the yoke of Amarri slavery, the Minmatar Republic is a highly nomadic race with settlements and colonies spread across all of New Eden. Less than a quarter of the entire population of this faction actually lives in the Republic, since the Minmatar people prefer to travel with their smaller groups, each of which has their own tribal traditions and culture. However, a significant portion of the Minmatar people are still enslaved by the Amarr Empire, though this has done nothing to break their strong wills and proud spirits.
Minmatar offers these three perks:
- Cannon: A weapon that can shoot a variety of projectiles to inflict different damage types. They don’t require capacitors to work, and therefore have no effect on the ship’s power generation.
- Shield: Like the Caldari, the Minmatar ships are outfitted with powerful shields to shore up their defenses.
- Armor: Aside from shields, Minmatar ships also offer heavy physical defenses, making them into veritable moving fortresses, at the expense of movement capabilities and power generation.
As you can see, the biggest difference between the factions in EVE Echoes are mostly in their lore and backgrounds, as some of these even share similar gameplay traits. These similarities are further compounded by the fact that, down the line, players can acquire ships from different factions as they progress through the game.
With that being said, the best EVE Echoes faction is actually the ones you identify with the most. Particularly if you’re into roleplaying, you should always go for the factions that most closely represent the images that you want to convey for yourself in the game. And remember that if you play EVE Echoes on PC with BlueStacks, you can easily use the Instance Manager to play on multiple instances at the same time, so that you don’t have to choose between factions.
What is your favorite faction in EVE Echoes? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
