FC New Dawn - The Collapse Explained (LORE)

Summarised background of the remnants of the Cult & the new factions within New Dawn that came after the Collapse.

The Collapse:

It all occurred in late September 2018. According to a war journal left behind by Sam Fisher, the Collapse began with a nuclear attack on Malmstrom Air Force Base in Cascade County, Montana. For the next 24 hours, every nuclear power in the world unleashed their collective arsenals in a total global nuclear war.

North Korea, Israel, and Pakistan were all wiped out in this conflict. In addition to this, large portions of China, Russia, the Middle East, Central Europe, and the United States were destroyed. Among the affected areas of the U.S. was the state of Michigan; Fisher's note suggests that Chicago survived but was damaged in the attacks.

Nuclear bombs also dropped on Hope County, Montana, devastating much of the landscape. Joseph Seed saw this as the fulfilment of his prophecy. Many of Hope County's residents were killed, but a great number survived due to the region's survivalist culture and numerous underground bunkers.

The radiation from the nuclear weapons mutated various fauna. However, the absence of human activity on the Earth's surface led to the gradual recovery of the environment, and many areas experienced a super bloom of renewed plant and animal life. By 2024, the environment had recovered enough for humans to return to the surface.

The infrastructure of the United States was decimated by the Collapse, but over time, small communities began to recover. However, violence eventually began to occur as well, with a man named Vince eventually forming a nationwide confederation of marauders and killers known as the Highwaymen.

The Highwaymen began to take control over most of the country, forming chapters led by high-ranking individuals. Meanwhile, Thomas Rush, a war veteran, formed his own network of peaceful allies to rebuild communities and establish settlements across America, succeeding in rebuilding the city of San Francisco.

In Hope County, many of the survivors came together to build the settlement of Prosperity on the ruins of John Seed's ranch. Meanwhile, the remnants of the Project at Eden's Gate built their own settlement, New Eden, to the north in the Whitetail Mountains. The two groups remained neutral toward each other in spite of their past conflict. Joseph Seed later left New Eden and exiled himself to the north, leaving his son, Ethan, in charge.

Eventually, the Highwaymen came to Hope County, led by sisters Mickey and Lou (the daughters of Vince), and invaded the region, posing a threat to both Prosperity and New Eden. In 2035, Hope County resident Carmina Rye contacted Thomas Rush asking for aid, but Rush and his men were attacked by the Highwaymen and captured.

Many areas of the United States were taken over by the Highwaymen in pursuit of salvage. Among these were a naval ghost ship H.M.S. MacCoubrey, which washed ashore in Florida; the Navajo Bridge in Arizona; Five Stars Theme Park in Louisiana; Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, California; the wreck of the C-147B Paladin government plane in Iowa; the crash site of the International Space Station in Nevada; and the Walking Horse Nuclear Plant in Tennessee.

New Eden

New Eden is one of the main affiliations in Far Cry New Dawn. They are the remains of Project at Eden's Gate, led by the only remaining member of the Seed Family, Joseph.

According to notes, after the Collapse, the surviving Cultists took refuge in the remains of John Seed's bunker. Due to the damage the bunker had sustained in the fighting between the Cult and the Resistance, it was a difficult place to live. Starvation, disease, and a constant threat of flooding threatened the survivors.

Years after the event, Joseph Seed appeared at the bunker to rally his following survivors, telling them of a new world built by God for them to live in. All the survivors left the bunker to follow Joseph to the North, to settle this New Eden.

New Eden is an established religious group born from the survivors of Project at Eden's Gate and live in the north of post-apocalyptic Hope County. They are at war with the Highwaymen, whom they consider "locusts in their garden", and wage a guerrilla war against them. They live a primeval lifestyle, wearing animal skins and utilizing primitive tools and weapons such as bows and arrows. They also abhor technology and intentionally destroy it every chance they get as they see technology as the cause of the Collapse.

Joseph Seed empowers his "chosen" with miraculous apples from his mystical tree which grants them superhuman strength and durability. This empowerment allowed Joseph's followers to survive the post-apocalyptic winters, famine, and pestilence. Eventually, the New Edeners thrived and built their own community where they reject everything from the old world and strive to live off the land in peace.

One day Joseph Seed dreamt of a "shepherd" that would realize the paradise he prophesied. Joseph left New Eden in self-imposed exile to await this "shepherd" who would seek him out, leaving his prideful son, Ethan Seed, the de facto leader of New Eden.

The Security Captain is tasked by Kim Rye to ask for help from New Eden to take down the Highwaymen, although she makes it clear she's only doing it because she sees no better option. The captain recovers Joseph's Word which allows them entrance into the New Eden compound and delivers the book to Ethan.

Ethan grows upset that the captain retrieved Joseph's Word since they are now prophesied to lead New Eden. Ethan believes his father Joseph to be dead and tasked the captain to find proof of Joseph's death. In exchange for accomplishing Ethan's task, Ethan promised New Eden's support once the New Edeners saw Joseph was just a man and accepted him as the new prophet of New Eden.

The captain returned however, empowered by their sacred fruit and with a living Joseph Seed, who hailed the captain as New Eden's "shepherd" and "God's sword". Joseph rallied New Eden to fight at the captain's side in the war against the Highwaymen.

Later in the game however, Ethan Seed betrays them to Mickey and Lou, and they attack and burn New Eden down, killing a large amount of the inhabitants. After the Captain defeats the Twins, they and Joseph discover that Ethan is about to eat a sacred fruit from the sacred tree. Despite Joseph's protest and warning, Ethan takes a bite and is corrupted by it. The captain is forced to put Ethan down, causing Joseph to fall into despair.

Joseph burns down his mystical apple tree and urges the captain to kill him as he claims his soul is also corrupt - the player can either shot and kill him or spare him and leave him. If left alive, Joseph disappears with the burnt body of his son. With their leader gone, their home destroyed, and most of their brothers and sisters dead, the remaining New Edeners continue to roam Hope County attacking the Highwaymen. Their future is uncertain, although Grace Armstrong speaks in favour of allowing them to join Prosperity.

Members:

⭐ Joseph Seed (Founder and Leader)
⭐ Ethan Seed (Former Leader)
⭐ The Deputy/The Judge
⭐ The Security Captain
⭐ Many unnamed members

The Highwaymen:

The Highwaymen is a nationwide confederation of marauders, made up of loosely-co-operating Chapters, including one based in Hope County. The Highwaymen are ruthless, callous opportunists who care nothing for civilians and see them as target practice or resources. They are an extremely violent group who play loud music that can be heard in the distance, and entertain themselves with death races and gladiatorial fights.

Most of their ranks are highly-armed and have a large arsenal of weaponry and heavily customised vehicles, similar to the Project at Eden's Gate.

None of the other chapters are known by name. They are referred to offhandedly as "The Other Chapters" or "The Eastern Chapters". The Hope County Chapter is led by the Twins, Mickey and Lou, during the events of Far Cry New Dawn.

They were founded and led by the Twins' father, Vince, until they killed him after he became a "problem", usurping his position. Each twin took up a role, Mickey as the brains and Lou as the muscle. The Twins have proven to be successful leaders, despite their differences. Ever since the twins took over, the Highwaymen became one of the most dominant gangs in America.

The Highwaymen have chapters all across America, including Louisiana, California, and the Grand Canyon. Each chapter of the Highwaymen seems to compete with one another to try to become the most powerful. Each chapter also seems to function individually with their leadership, though the leaders of each chapter still answer to The Twins.

The Twins, however, met resistance from the Scavengers and the New Eden cult in Hope County and waged a brutal war on both groups for control of the region.

Members:

⭐ Mickey - Highwaymen co-leader (killed by The Security Captain or is spared and leaves Hope County in search of her mother, effectively resigning as a leader of the Highwaymen).
⭐ Lou - Highwaymen co-leader (killed by the Security Captain).
⭐ Vince - Former Highwaymen leader and founder (murdered and usurped by the Twins).
⭐ Gina Guerra - Former Highwayman.
⭐ Irwin Smalls - Fighting manager and self-proclaimed right-hand man of the Twins who fell into their debt and wants them dead to solve it.
⭐ Frank - Prison Warden in the former Hope County Jail.

The Scavengers:

The Scavengers, also known as "Scavs", are the collection of people in Hope County that survived the nuclear holocaust and are a faction in Far Cry New Dawn. Under the leadership of The Security Captain, Kim Rye, and Thomas Rush, they rose up to combat the Highwaymen and the twins Mickey and Lou.

The Scavengers are a group of people that live in post-apocalyptic Hope County. They survived the nuclear holocaust and are trying to rebuild Hope County in communities such as Prosperity, which was originally John Seed's ranch. However, when the Highwaymen and its leaders, Mickey and Lou arrived, their peace and mission of rebuilding Hope County were put in peril since the Highwaymen came to oppress and pillage their communities.

They sought help from Thomas Rush's group to aid them in fighting the Highwaymen and restore Hope County, but the Highwaymen ambushed Rush's train, killing many of the specialists needed to upgrade Prosperity.

Carmina Rye managed to rescue The Security Captain however, and together, they rallied the Scavengers in order to fight back the Highwaymen. The captain began scrounging Hope County for specialists, upgrading Prosperity's infrastructure, raiding Highwaymen supplies, and taking over Hope County outposts.

Members:

⭐ Leader: Kim Rye

Key Members:

⭐ The Security Captain
⭐ Thomas Rush
⭐ Carmina Rye

Other Members:

⭐ Nick Rye
⭐ Bean
⭐ Grace Armstrong
⭐ Jerome Jeffries
⭐ Timber
⭐ Horatio
⭐ Hurk
⭐ Sharky Boshaw
⭐ Roger Cadoret
⭐ Selene
⭐ Nana
⭐ Gina Guerra

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