- 10 Factions Total: Steam officially confirms 10 factions exist. In the current Early Access Act I build, 6 core factions are publicly named and interactive (Rada, Commonfolk, Acolytes, Mechanists, Palatines, Gunners). The remaining 4 are scheduled for roadmap expansion.
- 9 Confirmed Named Traders: Anatoly, Nadja, Raisa, Grigory, Jasna, Marco, Olga, Sasha, and Volodymyr operate across outposts.
- Crucial Vendor Fact: Trader Volodymyr has ZERO rank/reputation requirement on all goods—ideal for fresh spawns or players who antagonized other factions.
- Raisa Reconciliation: If your standing with any group dips into hostile (< -300 Rep), visit diplomat Raisa to purchase truce contracts instead of taking permanent fire on sight.
6 Confirmed Act I Factions
These organizations control Zalesye's central outposts, contracts, and resource trade in Early Access:
Rada Council (Rada)
The bureaucratic and military remnant of the pre-Mist regional council. They control key infrastructure, central checkpoints, and state ammunition stocks.
The Commonfolk Union (Commonfolk)
Decentralized mutual-defense collective formed by everyday survivors, farmers, scavengers, and mechanics trying to subsist away from faction wars.
The Mist Acolytes (Acolytes)
A secretive quasi-religious cult obsessed with the radioactive green fog. They view the Mist as a purifying evolutionary event rather than a disaster.
Mechanists Guild (Mechanists)
Pragmatic engineers, machinists, and gunsmiths who hoard machine tools, welding equipment, and technical schematics from abandoned factories.
Palatines Executive Security (Palatines)
Corporate and oligarchic private security contractors deployed before the collapse. Highly disciplined, ruthlessly pragmatic, and equipped with Western gear.
Gunners Syndicate (Gunners)
Hardened mercenary syndicate that operates on a strictly transactional basis. If you have rubles or rare ammo, they are your best friends; if not, you are prey.
9 Verified Settlement Traders
Public changelog v0.5.117 confirmed 9 named traders operating outposts across Zalesye. Below are their specific trading niches, stock peculiarities, and critical player buying decisions:
| TRADER | LOCATION | PRIMARY INVENTORY | CRITICAL STOCK NOTES | REP GATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volodymyr The Unrestricted Trader | Crossroads Safehouse Annex |
| CRITICAL VALUE: 100% of Volodymyr’s inventory has ZERO Rank/Reputation requirement. Essential refuge for early progression or players with ruined faction standing. | NO RANK REQ |
| Nadja Hardware & Machine Parts Purveyor | Mechanists Railway Workshop |
| BUILD v0.5.117 UPDATE: Developers significantly boosted Nadja’s screw (Screws) inventory to ease safehouse workbench construction bottlenecks. | Rep Gated |
| Sasha Wasteland Armorer | Gunners Outpost Bastion |
| CRITICAL NOTE (v0.5.117): Sasha NO LONGER sells the 3-Line Mosin-Nagant (03). Players must loot it from sniper corpses or find it in Forester Stashes. | Rep Gated |
| Raisa Faction Diplomatic Intermediary | Neutral Chapel Outpost |
| CORE MECHANIC: If you become hostile with Rada, Gunners, or Acolytes, visit Raisa to purchase reconciliation courier missions to restore neutral standing. | NO RANK REQ |
| Grigory General Provisioner | Commonfolk Settlement Center |
| Primary day-one restock hub. If your hunger or radiation spikes after an extraction, Grigory is your most affordable medical refuel. | NO RANK REQ |
| Jasna Quartermaster & Hydration Specialist | Commonfolk Outskirts Well |
| ESSENTIAL GEAR: Sells Military Canteens. Essential purchase to counteract the severe dehydration caused by painkiller/morphine usage. | NO RANK REQ |
| Marco Smuggler & Contraband Dealer | Basement Bar behind Train Depot |
| Barter and morale specialist. Baikal Soda cures severe morphine thirst; cigarettes calm sniper aim sway during high-radiation storms. | NO RANK REQ |
| Olga Bulk Goods Merchant | Warehouse Dock 3 |
| Stocks larger batch quantities than regular vendors, but shop refresh cycle takes 3 full in-game days. | Rep Gated |
| Anatoly Covert Black Market Broker | Secret Bunker 04 Drainage Exit |
| Only appears between 22:00 and 04:00 night hours in Zalesye. Demands pristine anomaly artifacts for top-tier military gear. | Rep Gated |
Raisa Diplomatic Reconciliation System
In Scavland, taking bounty contracts against one faction will inevitably lower your reputation with them. If your standing reaches Hostile (< -300 Rep), their patrols will snipe you on sight.
How to Clear Hostile Standing with Factions:
- Travel to the Neutral Chapel Outpost and speak with Raisa.
- Select the aggrieved faction (e.g. Rada, Gunners, or Mechanists).
- Pay a diplomatic bond in rubles or accept a Reconciliation Courier Job (delivering medical supplies or industrial parts to an outpost without firing your weapon).
- Upon completion, your reputation resets back to Neutral (0 Rep), lifting highway checkpoint shoot-on-sight orders.
4 Roadmap Factions (Act II & Act III)
The following organizations exist in the game’s lore and official roadmap, and will unlock as the Zalesye map expands northward in upcoming Early Access phases:
Subterranean Wardens
Subterranean isolationist soldiers sealed inside deep nuclear silos since the first outbreak. Known only through intercepted radio broadcasts.
Northern Marauder Clans
Feral raider factions roaming the uncharted northern perimeters beyond the current river boundary.
State Ecological Expedition
Government-funded scientific survey units sent to chart the biological progression of the Mist phenomenon.
Outland Smuggler Ring
Cross-border contraband syndicate capable of smuggling foreign high-tech hardware into the exclusion zone.