History Main / FactionCalculus

* MasterOfOrion has ten races who actually play fairly differently. Each has a special racial bonus (and a few have handicaps to go along with that if their bonus is too powerful - most races can only colonize half the planets in the galaxy until they've researched the proper tech, but Silicoids can colonize them all right away. But their population grows HALF as fast as everyone else's!). They also have certain tech fields that they are better or worse at, and tendencies toward good or bad relations with certain other races. This results in quite a bit of difference in how each race plays, plus a rather extreme case of unbalance. The Psilons are excellent at all research AND are liked by most other races, making them one of the clearly best races, while the Klackons have an equally overpowered ability (bonuses to industrial production) but are widely disliked (they're still one of the top races though). Mrrshans and Alkaris have awful abilities (small combat bonuses) and are generally disliked, making them the hardest to play, while the Darloks (bonuses to all spying activities) are hated by all, but can often become the leaders in technology by stealing everyone else's tech, and can keep themselves alive by inciting wars between other empires.

* ''AgeOfMythology'' has four with the Titans expansion: Greeks (Balanced), Egyptians (Subversive), Norse (Powerhouse), and Atlanteans (Cannon)

* ''MagicTheGathering'''s five colors are divided like this. Green is Powerhouse, large, expensive and powerful units. Red is Subversive, quick, hard hitting but weak units. Blue is a mix of Balanced and Cannon: lots of very specialized SquishyWizard units, with a few expensive powerful attackers. White is Horde, with the "White Weenie" deck coming into play. A mix of protection and flying keep it from being a sheer zerg faction. Last but not Least, Black is another Balanced[=/=]Cannon mix, being a "[[IDidWhatIHadToDo do anything at a price]]" faction, they have a very TheMario feel, but pay outrageous costs for their flexibility.

* {{Wizard101}} has seven schools of magic. Storm is a GlassCannon, Fire is a GradualGrinder mixed with some GlassCannon, Ice is the StoneWall and later on learns GradualGrinder spells, Life is CombatMedic, Myth is the BeastMaster, Death is based off LifeDrain based spells, and balance is a mix of TheMario and [[StatusBuff status buffing.]] All of them are actually very well balanced.

In Strategy Games whether [[TurnBasedStrategy turn-based]], [[RealTimeStrategy real-time]] or FourX, when there are different factions, these will ([[CosmeticallyDifferentSides usually]]) have different advantages, disadvantages and play styles to entertain the player. With a low amount of factions, there are clear, fundamental differences, but as the factions grow, the differences subside, until [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters eventually]] the sides are not polar opposites as much as points on a gradient or two.

With two factions, it will be the [[RedsWithRockets USSR]] vs. NATO, [[WorldWarII Allies vs. Nazis]], [[{{Warcraft}} Humans vs. Orcs]], or the [[YanksWithTanks USA]] vs. [[TerroristsWithoutACause an unspecified terrorist organization]] [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial who are not Middle Eastern.]] One faction ("Powerhouse" for convenience) will rely on [[MightyGlacier powerful units]] and are commonly Russians, Nazis, Orcs, TheEmpire and other assorted powerhouses, while the other faction ("Subversive") will use [[FragileSpeedster faster, weaker]] and somewhat cheaper units (depending on gameplay mechanics) but will usually not have to resort to the ZergRush any more than the Powerhouse will have to resort to the Tank Rush. This second faction is typically NATO, the Allies, Humans or other good guys, although in keeping with current real world trends, it's becoming more common for the US or NATO to be the Powerhouse while weaker, decentralized non-state bad guys play as the Subversives.
* Example: Allies (Subversive) vs Russia (Powerhouse) in ''[[CommandAndConquer Command & Conquer: Red Alert]]''.

With three factions, the previous Subversive faction becomes "The Balanced" by moving up the power scale, while a new Subversive faction emerges. The new Subversives rely on [[FragileSpeedster weak, swift]], [[ZergRush massed]] units and [[SquishyWizard special powers]] such as stealth or MindControl. The Balanced, as suggested by its name, has become a balance between the new Subversive and the Powerhouse, not quite as powerful but not quite as weak either. Typical Subversives include TheUndead, [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial non-Arabic]] terrorist organizations, WWII Russians and the morally ambiguous.
* Examples: Atreides (Balanced), Harkonnen (Powerhouse) and Ordos (Subversives) from Westwood's ''{{Dune}}'' games. ''{{Starcraft}}'''s Zerg (Subversive), Terrans (Balanced) and Protoss (Powerhouse).

When a fourth faction is introduced, the Balanced splits in two; The new Balanced and the Cannons. The Balanced move towards the Powerhouse in a MagicKnight fashion, while the Cannons specializes with more SquishyWizard and GlassCannon units. With this split, the power field has become close, and factions grow alike.
* Examples: ''{{Warcraft}} III''''s Human Alliance (Balance), Orcish Horde (Powerhouse), Undead Scourge (Subversive) and Night Elf Sentinels (Cannons).

The fifth faction, The Horde, completes the circle by being a mix of the Powerhouse's power and the Subversive's numbers. The Horde doesn't have very powerful units. They're probably better than the Subversives' and worse than the Cannons' and it's only through sheer numbers the Horde will win. The Horde takes the ZergRush aspect of the Subversive as its only tactic, but they won't need any other tactics. Numbers will suffice. The Subversive, having lost their numerical superiority, will compensate with further special powers, making basic Subversive units weaker than basic Horde units, but no longer used as much for {{Zerg Rush}}ing.
* Example: The ''Rise of the Reds'' [[GameMod mod]] for [[CommandAndConquer Generals: Zero Hour]] has the USA (Balanced), the Russian Federation (Powerhouse), the European Union (Cannons), the Global Liberation Army (Subversive) and China (Horde).

* ''RiseOfLegends'': Vinci (powerhouse), Alin (subversive), and Cuotl (balanced).that being said the units themselves are [[CosmeticallyDifferentSides largely the same]], and all this can change on a dime when the various hero units come into play.

In Strategy Games whether [[TurnBasedStrategy turn-based]], [[RealTimeStrategy real-time]] or FourX, when there are different faction, these will ([[CosmeticallyDifferentSides usually]]) have different advantages, disadvantages and play styles to entertain the player. With a low amount of factions, there are clear, fundamental differences, but as the factions grow, the differences subside, until [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters eventually]] the sides are not polar opposites as much as points on a gradient or two.

* {{Monsterpocalypse}} has six factions each are one of six agendas, G.U.A.R.D. (Protectors), Terrasaurs (Radicals), Planet Eaters (Destroyers), Lords of Cthul (Fiends), Martian Menace (Invaders), and Shadow Sun Syndicate (Collaborators). The later sets add six more factions to each agenda, Elemental Champions (Protectors), Empire of the Apes (Radicals), Savage Swarm (Destroyers), Subterran Uprising (Fiends), Tritons (Invaders), Ubercorp International (Collaborators).

* ''SWINE'': Subversive Rabbits, powerhouse Pigs.

* ''{{Warcraft}} II'': As Humans and Orcs are CosmeticallyDifferentSides at the lower end of the TechTree, advanced units differ enough to require different strategies. Orcs are more of a Powerhouse, relying on Bloodlusted Ogre-Magi, while Humans rely on subversive but powerful spells such as Invisibility, Blizzard (TitleDrop of Blizzard Entertainment) and Exorcism.

* ''[[CommandAndConquer Generals]]'': Breaks the mold by having subtituting the Horde for the Powerhouse in the ThreeFaction setup.

* ''SwordOfTheStars'' base game: Humans (Balanced), Liir (Cannon), Hivers (Powerhouse), and Tarka (Cannon).
** The first expansion added the Zuul (Horde).

* Also theoretically, {{Sacrifice}} has five factions if one plays with one god straight - Persephone (Balanced), James (Powerhouse), Stratos (Subversive), Pyro (Cannon) and Charnel (Horde). Technically speaking, a player can mix and match with the various powers, meaning his unit combinations can come anywhere inbetween.

* A non-video game example in ''{{Bablyon 5}}'': The Vorlons are the Powerhouse, the Shadows are Balanced, and the Sherridan-led Army of Light is Subversive.

* ''BattleRealms'': The 4 Clans; Dragon, Serpent, Wolf, Lotus.

** On the tabletop {{Warhammer 40K}} [[RunningGag takes this trope to an extreme that no other example here could reach]].
*** ...Sort of. The 40k Tabletop has 16 Codices in use now, each one representing a different army. That's still reachable.

** And then there's the unlockable faction in Alien Crossfire - the Firaxians (named after Firaxis Games, the developer).

* {{World In Conflict}}: USA, Soviets, NATO. Here, though, the differences are much smaller then in other games - there is very little reason to choose one faction over another.

* ''AgeOfEmpires'' series have lots of factions to play with (at least in skirmish/multiplayer) and they always add more for each expansions.

* ''MagicTheGathering'''s five colors are divided like this. Green is Powerhouse, large, expensive and powerful units. Red is Subversive, quick, hard hitting but weak units. Blue is a mix of Balanced and Cannon: lots of very specialized SquishyWizard units, with a few expensive powerful attackers. White is Horde, with the "White Weenie" deck coming into play. A mix of protection and flying keep it from being a sheer zerg faction. Last but not Least, Black is another Balanced[=/=]Cannon mix, being a "do anything at a price" faction, they have a very TheMario feel with a cost for their flexibility.

* Also theoretically, "Sacrifice" has five factions if one plays with one god straight - Persephone (Balanced), James (Powerhouse), Stratos (Subversive), Pyro (Cannon) and Charnel (Horde). Technically speaking, a player can mix and match with the various powers, meaning his unit combinations can come anywhere inbetween.

* ''{{Warcraft}} II'': As basic Human and Orc units have identical stats, advanced units differ somewhat. Orcs are more of a Powerhouse, relying on Bloodlusted Ogre-Magi, while Humans rely on subversive but powerful spells such as Invisibility, Blizzard (TitleDrop of Blizzard Entertainment) and Exorcism.

*Examples: Atreides (Balanced), Harkonnen (Powerhouse) and Ordos (Subversives) from Westwood's ''{{Dune}}'' games. ''{{Starcraft}}'''s Zerg (Subversive), Terrans (Powerhouse) and Protoss (Balanced).