Choosing a Faction
Why join early, how to vet leaders and payouts, vault risk, protection during wars, and what ranked wars expect from members.
By Weav3r
Overview
A faction is Torn's clan. Join one early for armory, upgrade perks, organized crimes, ranked wars, and chat. Almost nobody serious stays factionless long-term.
There is no single correct faction. Match play style and war tempo to yours, then vet leaders and payouts before you accept. Faction perks unlock three days after you join, when Recruit status ends.
Respect bar
Around 500k-1m respect is a common community bar for a usable upgrade tree. Closer to 1m+ keeps Steadfast / Toleration nearer stronger factions.
Weigh the real benefits
- Armory - borrow weapons / armor you cannot afford yet; many factions stock meds, candy, beer, and Xanax for chains / wars.
- Upgrade perks - gym (Steadfast), nerve, addiction (Toleration), travel (Excursion), hospital, and more, bought with respect.
- Organized crimes - cash + crime XP; member cut is often around 80-95%, depending on the faction.
- Ranked wars - hit pay from cache sales; also big respect for the tree.
- Faction chat - advice from people who already know the game.
"Free Xanax for training"
Unlimited free training Xanax is uncommon. Be cautious if that is the main sales pitch. Free Xanax for chains / wars is normal in many places.
Vet before you accept
Find factions via chat invites, New Player Chat, recruiting threads, or the Faction finder. Then run this table:
| Ask / check | Green | Red |
|---|---|---|
| Respect on the faction page | ~500k-1m+ with a real upgrade tree | Near-zero respect and no plan to grow |
| Leaders (age, karma, forum tone, open bounties) | Active, readable history; you would take orders from them | Constant forum aggression; networth racing while members look stuck |
| OC / RW payouts | Stated cuts; members paid well | Vague "perks instead of pay"; opaque investment funds |
| War tempo and attendance | Clear schedule; honest about what happens if you miss | Enlist everyone with no warning; punishability unclear |
| Member mix and size | Spread of levels; size matches how loud you want chat / war coverage | All filler, or join requirements that do not match other recruits |
| Energy / armory culture | Clear rules for Xanax, losses, and gear | Energy spends with no reward; pressure to slut losses |
Park vault cash carefully
Many factions let you park cash in the vault so muggers cannot take it. If you lack banking permissions, you ask a banker to withdraw.
Bankers can move balances
Anyone with banking privileges can adjust your vault balance. Stealing is heavily frowned on, but it is legal under Torn rules and has happened. Deposit only what you can lose until you trust them.
Know protection rules once
Joining a faction does not remove new-player protection by itself. Protection is the 
green leaf icon on your profile (players call protected accounts greenleaves). It is temporarily suspended while you are in a faction war (ranked wars, territory walls, or raiding). Then players without protection can attack and bounty you. Protection returns when the war ends, or if you leave. You cannot leave during an active ranked war.
Expect ranked-war duties
If the faction wars, members are part of that loop. See Ranked wars and Chaining.
- Ask how often they enlist and what happens if you cannot attend.
- Prep often means Xanax stacking to ~1,000 energy before start; do not dump that stack in the gym unless leadership says so (Rehab for the drug side).
- During war: stay in faction chat, chain on orders, prefer Leave / Hosp over Mug, watch retal windows.
- Hit pay comes from cache sales; the exact split is faction policy.
- Wars also dump respect into the upgrade tree to improve the perks you earn from the faction, and if you perform well you often receive a decent payout.
Leave clean when you outgrow it
Outgrowing a newbie faction or a bad fit is normal. A few days' notice is polite, not required. Take what is yours per their rules, settle debts, do not steal armory gear. You cannot leave during an active ranked war.
Do this
- Decide war-heavy vs quieter play style.
- Shortlist factions near the ~500k-1m respect bar (or accept the tradeoff).
- Run the green / red vetting table with leadership.
- Join; wait out Recruit for perks; deposit only trust-level vault cash.
- Read Ranked wars before your first enlist.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Should new Torn players join a faction?
Yes, early. Almost every active experienced player is in one. Armory, upgrade perks, OCs, wars, and faction chat are hard to replace. You can leave later if it is a bad fit.
How much faction respect should I look for?
Around 500k-1m is a workable community bar for unlocked perks. Tiny respect factions can still be fine if you know you are trading away Steadfast / Toleration for a long time.
Is the faction vault safe?
Not fully. Anyone with banking privileges can adjust balances. Theft is rare and heavily frowned on, but it is allowed under Torn rules. Only deposit what you can afford to lose until you trust the bankers.
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