There are five playable factions, previously known as classes, in XDefiant, with three playable characters in each of them. Every faction has access to four unique skills that can be synergized with other faction skills to create unique team combos. Our guide will provide you with a tier list of the best factions in XDefiant, including their best skills and synergies.
XDefiant: S-Tier Faction
Libertad
- Type: Healers
- Characters: Iselda, Beto, Seleste
Libertad is the most complained about faction in the game at the time of writing, and the reason is that it’s incredibly good. Full Libertad teams are so effective that there’s very little chance to take them down.
Of the four available skills, BioVida Boost is the best one, creating a wave that heals both you and all nearby allies. What makes it so effective is that players can use it all the time with practically no interruption, leaving no chance for the enemies. This faction synergizes well with almost any other faction, but Cleaners can really benefit from its healing abilities.
I’ll be glad to see the next healers faction Outcasts provide some sort of counterplay to the Libertad players in the future. But for now, Libertad remains the best of them all until Ubisoft decides to nerf everything.
XDefiant: A-Tier Factions
Phantoms
- Type: Tanks
- Characters: Gorgon, Singa, Rhino
Many XDefiant players are even more concerned about Phantoms than the Libertad faction. This team of tanks has so much HP that killing them could be a real problem.
The best skill they have is Hardened, which increases the HP of the Phantoms members to 120 points. That’s 20 points more than all other players have by default, and this small boost actually changes the balance of the game significantly. If you combine players from Phantoms and Libertad, you’ll have some really strong alliances on your hands.
In such a fast-paced game like XDefiant, maybe 20 HP more is a bit too much, and think it’s probably best to nerf it to 10 HP for better balance.
Cleaners
- Type: Damage Dealers
- Characters: Kersey, Green, De Rosa
Cleaners are the most clean-cut faction in the game, which is pretty well balanced in many regards. They can be extremely effective in close-range combat, although their long-range damage may suffer.
The best skill of this faction is Firebomb, which allows you to throw Molotov Cocktails. These are extremely effective for igniting a group of enemies in close quarters, dealing tons of damage in the process. Since Cleaners have little protection of their own, pair them up with either Phantoms, Libertad, or even Echelon for larger maps.
I recommend using Cleaners on smaller maps, such as Dumbo and Echelon HQ. That’s where you can utilize this fun faction in the best possible way.
XDefiant: B-Tier Factions
Echelon
- Type: Recon
- Characters: Malee, Rafa, Samir
Echelon has so much to offer when it comes to countering all other factions in XDefiant. You can become invisible to your enemies (Digital Ghillie Suit), disappear from their minimaps (Low Profile), and even share the locations of enemies with your allies (Intel Suit).
That’s a lot of possibilities for only one faction, but if you want to make real use of all these abilities, you need to master them really well. This, of course, requires a lot of practice and patience, which isn’t what most XDefiant players are looking for. If you want Echelon to be effective on any map, they need strong support from the Cleaners side to really push that damage.
I see how this faction pays homage to the Splinter Cell series, but it’s probably not the best set of mechanics for such a breakneck game like XDefiant.
DeadSec
- Type: Control
- Characters: Sebastian, Gia, Jing
While Echelon can counter Cleaners, Phantoms, and Libertad, the DeadSec faction counters Echelon. Their ultra skill Lockout disables the enemy’s HUD, minimap, and even all the abilities that have been used in the designated area.
So why is this faction so low on our tier list, you may ask? Well, the problem is a technical bug that prevented lots of players from collecting enough XP to unlock DeadSec. This issue has turned away many players from playing DeadSec in the first place, although Ubisoft has promised to fix this issue in the future.
Those are the best factions in XDefiant, including their best skills and synergies. Stay tuned for more Xdefiant tips and tricks articles right here.
