STALZONE factions guide — Stalkers, Bandits and the four northern factions

Your first choice is Stalkers or Bandits. That start decides which northern factions you can join later: Stalkers lead to Rise or Frontier, Bandits to the Mercenaries or Covenant. Choose the side whose northern factions you would actually want to fight for.

The starting sides

In the southern Zone every player belongs to the Stalkers or the Bandits. The two sides are hostile to each other, and in the South Zone the location chat shows only messages from players of your native side. This is where you learn the loop, the map and the danger before moving north.

The four northern factions

Faction	Open to	Identity	Signature gear in EXBO's lore
Rise	Stalkers	Freedom-loving, independent	Sniper exo-suit built for long ambushes
Frontier	Stalkers	Paramilitary and disciplined	Avangard armour, strong against mutants
Mercenaries	Bandits	Profit and contracts	RS-124 Reiter super-heavy suit
Covenant	Bandits	Religious zealots	Apostle superheavy armour

In the North, and in areas such as Lyubech-3 and the Wild North, location chat shows only your own faction. Northern play centres on territory: Forge-11 in the middle of the North is contested by all four factions, and faction contracts ask you to destroy other factions' outposts and encampments.

Old names you will still see

EXBO renamed many things to avoid legal problems. Frontier was Duty, Rise was Freedom, and the hostile Murmur was Monolith. The official website currently calls Rise "Dawn", while the in-game patch notes use Rise. Locations changed too: Cordon became Roadside, Agroprom became Kolos Agrocomplex, Dark Valley became Black Willows and Limansk became Lyubech-3. Older videos and guides use the old names.

How to choose

• You want to play with friends: join whatever they join. Faction chat and shared enemies matter more than any faction's flavour.
• You like sniping and scouting: Rise's identity and gear lean that way.
• You like organised squads: Frontier's paramilitary style fits.
• You like the Bandit start and firepower: the Mercenaries.
• You want the most distinctive look: Covenant's Apostle armour, if you accept that it is very hard to obtain.

Faction identity mostly shapes allies, enemies, quests and cosmetics rather than a single best choice. Specialist guides differ on which side is "better", so do not pick on a ranking.

Seasonal faction events

Events can reward a whole faction. During the summer 2026 Triumphs event, members of the winning faction in the Faction Race received a special armour motif. Being in an active faction with friends makes these events more rewarding.