Gray Zone Warfare factions explained: How to change, differences, more

Nathan Warby
Gray Zone Warfare players in jungle

Gray Zone Warfare features multiple different factions to choose from, but which one should you go for? Here’s everything you need to know about every faction in Gray Zone Warfare, which is the best, and how to change sides.

Gray Zone Warfare has finally arrived in early access and players are wasting no time dropping into this intriguing new extraction shooter. The game is heavily inspired by Escape from Tarkov, all the way down to the multiple factions that players must choose between.

Here’s a breakdown of every Gray Zone Warfare faction and which one is the best to choose.

What are factions in Gray Zone Warfare?

Gray Zone Warfare’s factions are unique organizations that you must choose to align with at the start of the game. They decide where your Base Camp is located, assign you missions to earn loot, and affect which NPCs you meet.

All Gray Zone Warfare factions

Gray Zone Warfare factions screen showing Lamang Recovery Initiative, Mithras Security Systems, Crimson Shield International and their descriptions
Choose your faction wisely.

There are three factions to choose from in Gray Zone Warfare – Lamang Recovery Initiative, Mithras Security Systems, and Crimson Shield International. Each Private Military Company (PMC) has a unique backstory and reason to be on Lamang, which you can check out below:

Lamang Recovery Initiative

After part of Lamang was mysteriously destroyed by ‘the event,’ the Lamang Recovery Initiative is a philanthropic organization that looks to find and protect survivors in Gray Zone Warfare. Since the UN has completely abandoned the area, it’s down to the LRI to perform clean-up operations around the island.

They also have access to professional security details which offer protection from some of the other factions looking to exploit Lamang.

Mithras Security Systems

Mithras Security Systems is described by the devs as a “PMC run by soldiers for soldiers,” which shares the Roman Legion mantra of evenly splitting the rewards of each battle among its members. To join the MSS, you must be highly trained with plenty of missions under your belt.

The downside is that it doesn’t have the strictest background checks, meaning not every new recruit has the best intentions or the cleanest record.

Crimson Shield International

The last Gray Zone Warfare faction to choose from is Crimson Shield International, a ruthless PMC known for achieving results by any means necessary. It has a 95% success rate on all its missions, but this often comes at the cost of innocent bystanders, as the CSI has a track record of “collateral damage.”

If all you care about are the rewards, not the methods, then this could be the faction for you.

Can you team with players in different GZW factions?

No, you can’t team up with players in a different faction in Gray Zone Warfare. You can only join a squad with members of your organization, so be sure to keep that in mind when making your decision.

Best faction to choose in Gray Zone Warfare

Ultimately, the best faction to choose in Gray Zone Warfare is whichever one your friends have picked, as you can only group up with players on the same side.

For more information on the best faction for you, check out our guide on which faction to choose in Gray Zone Warfare.

How to change faction in Gray Zone Warfare

Gray Zone Warfare players can change factions by resetting their characters completely. The option was added to the main menu after plenty of complaints from the community, so check out our guide on how to reset a character for more details.

The devs have also confirmed that players will be able to switch factions every time a wipe takes place, so if you don’t mind waiting you can change sides without having to lose all your progress.

If you’d like more information on these resets in Gray Zone Warfare, check out our detailed guide on wipes.

That was everything you need to know about factions in Gray Zone Warfare. For more, be sure to check out our other guides:

Can you play Gray Zone Warfare solo? Party size explained | Best PC settings for Gray Zone Warfare: High FPS, graphics, more | How to use voice chat in Gray Zone Warfare: Squad & proximity VOIP | Is Gray Zone Warfare down? | Is Gray Zone Warfare coming to consoles? | All Gray Zone Warfare tasks: Mission list so far | Helping Hand Gray Zone Warfare task guide: How to get restaurant key

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About The Author

Nathan is a Senior Writer at CharlieIntel. He’s an expert in EA Sports FC, Call of Duty, and Overwatch, as well as superhero games, including Marvel’s Spider-Man. With a master's degree in Magazine Journalism from Nottingham Trent University, he worked as a Trainee Reporter for Derbyshire Live before moving into games media, with bylines at Dexerto, Cultured Vultures, and more. You can contact Nathan by email at [email protected].