Faction Reputation, how should it work?

[Scoob]

Hey all,

Was just wondering about this due to my current rep levels in my fairly long-running game.

I'm allied 100% with the Shinobi Thieves as I paid to join very early in the game. I have no other interactions with them though, as they're very tight with their prices for any goods - stolen (from bandits) or manufactured by me. So, I sell elsewhere.

I'm 0% with the Western Hive, despite doing most of my trading with them. I've bought loads and sold loads yet this does not appear to impact my standing with them.

The various bandits rep has gradually fallen as they attack me - I had no option to "pay off" the Dust Bandits for example this game, as I had in the past, so they've been relentless attacking me.

The Shek - Hundred Guardians, Band of Bones and another group (just Shek Warriors it seems) - have been attacking me near non-stop too, so my rep with those is dropping, though not particularly fast compared to the Bandits.

The Slavers were 0% for ages, but started repeatedly trying to bash down my gates - while remaining neutral - so I had to attack them. Now I'm at -2%.

So, any hostile action - even in self defence - appears to lower my faction standing. But no amount of trade does anything to raise it. Also, I've regularly helped engage enemies attacking a faction I'm visiting - be they one of the bandit groups or some sort of critter swarm - yet my standing remains at 0%

What am I missing here?

Scoob.

[nex]

you are right: any hostile action will result in rep loss.. this way i have - through friendly fire with ranged - lowered my rep with allies to 95 from 100

also trading does nothing to gain rep.

[K1tschy]

You raise your standing by a dialog with faction leaders, bringing bounties in, healing npcs (this one has a cap or it gives really miniscule amount the higher your standing is), buying and/or freeing enslaved (buying a slave that was previously in Band of Bones will raise standing with Band of Bones).
Any hostile actions will lower your standing.

[nex]

from what i've read the healing faction bonuses cap out at 25.. not that i've gotten even remotely close to that.. i once tried with the skeleton faction and after 5 it only raised by miniscule amounts..

[Hatsune Neko Gaming]

the higher the importance of someone, the more rep you will gain if you heal them.

[Scoob]

Thanks guys. I do help heal "allies" i.e. my hired Mercs, but they're so much better / faster at it than me that my medics barely get a look in.

I admit, I've never really been concerned about positive rep before, but it's good to now know what things influence it.

Scoob.

[Zee_]

Originally posted by HaTsUnE_NeKo:

the higher the importance of someone, the more rep you will gain if you heal them.

This, so much this.

If you want to raise your rep with a faction, try and find an NPC that has a diplomatic tag then follow them around. Heal them if they get injured and watch your rep skyrocket.

If you want to see this in action (and also see how easily you can cheese the reputation system), go ahead and attack the Dragon Ninjas tower, then grab Dimak and... erm... her boyfriend (can never remember his name) after the fight. After you pick them up heal them both for instant friend status. There is no way to actually ally with the Dragon Ninjas, but they will never attack you again and will come to your aid whenever they see you in the world.

Then you can take em to the HN for their bounties, the second you turn them in you'll go straight back to hated status (-75).

Sometimes the reputation system is like riding a rollercoaster. Go from neutral to -75, then up to positive 75 (or more if you heal the other ninjas in the tower after turning most of them into cripples inside their own tower), then back to -75 all in a single day. This happens because Dimak is the leader of the faction and her BF is the second in command.

[nex]

could i kidnap them, beat them up, lock em in a cage, heal em, rinse and repeat for 100 relations? would be nice. better than faction pacifiers at any rate..

[Scoob]

I did try healing the War Leaders from various attack parties once the attack had been thwarted, but that did nothing. I guess this type of NPC doesn't count?

Scoob.

[Zee_]

Originally posted by nex:

could i kidnap them, beat them up, lock em in a cage, heal em, rinse and repeat for 100 relations? would be nice. better than faction pacifiers at any rate..

Locking an npc in a cage is negative rep, attacking them is negative rep, healing them is postive rep. So I doubt that would work out, the second you put them in a cage any rep you gained will go back into the negatives. The example I gave works the way it does because kidnapping is a minor hit to reputation if you're already hated by a faction, and healing the leaders of a faction is massive gains. It only works if you defeat them first, then kidnap, then heal them while carrying them. If you heal them first and then kidnap them (or put them in a cage) you'll lose much of the reputation you gained.

The example I gave is meant to demonstrate that the reputation system can be abused, not that it should be. The wild swings in reputation is an oddity I run in to from time to time when bounty hunting. It always goes into the negatives when I turn the targets in or toss them in my own jail to use as training dummies.

Originally posted by Scoob:

I did try healing the War Leaders from various attack parties once the attack had been thwarted, but that did nothing. I guess this type of NPC doesn't count?

Scoob.

Depending on the faction, war leaders can sometimes be nothing more than a normal mob with a ttile and not neccessarily a higher rank. Fogmen for instance, war leaders are just regular fogmen with a title, as far as reputation goes they are still low man on the totem pole.

Certain factions are harder to raise rep with than others... Tech Hunters I'm looking at you, I've been healing/repairing every tech hunter I come across for over 2 years and my rep is only 0.0026.

[rompier02]

Hi. Don't know how it is supposed to work but my experience are such :

1. Player walks in the game world & gets into skirmish with any faction, you lose rep.

2. Player gets ambushed/attacked by any faction & player defends himself, you lose rep.

3. Set up Outpost, get raids by any faction you lose rep. They come into your compound with malicious intent & still you lose rep.

4. Skirmish with any faction in the boonies/wilds & Player kill all of the attackers & you lose rep. No survivors/witnesses & everytime the faction knows. Somehow I suspect the working Eye in Venge double up as a spy cam & relays information to the Faction involve.

Only a handful faction remains neutral after skirmish. Good point you have raised though.

[stecph]

In my view, it would make sens eto lose rep if you are aggressive, but if you mind your own business and somebody attacks you, then I call self defense!

[Scoob]

Originally posted by rompier02:

4. Skirmish with any faction in the boonies/wilds & Player kill all of the attackers & you lose rep. No survivors/witnesses & everytime the faction knows. Somehow I suspect the working Eye in Venge double up as a spy cam & relays information to the Faction involve..

Yeah, that one struck me as a little daft. Exactly how are these dead guys reporting back to their superiors? Sure, if a faction sends an attack against your settlement and no one comes back, they can put 2 and 2 together. One of their squads going missing while out on patrol though - no where near your settlement - is another matter.

Another weird thing... When attacks on my settlement "fail", the attackers will often go neutral. Even if they're still red (when you hover your cursor over them) they don't agro your normal squads, though those on wall-mounted crossbows still shoot them.

I used to let attackers go if they were retreating, now I'll just fill them full of crossbow bolts if I'm able. Stuff 'em lol.

Scoob.

[K1tschy]

Originally posted by stecph:

In my view, it would make sens eto lose rep if you are aggressive, but if you mind your own business and somebody attacks you, then I call self defense!

What you call self-defence they might see as failure to comply if we are going with justification and logical explanation of game mechanics.

In the end it's just gamy game mechanics.

PS
btw I think in one of the updates it was made possible - that you can actually attack slavers in self-defence and guards will stay out of it if they are not part of UC.