There are currently two factions and six subfactions (based on race) in Archeage:
- Nuia, comprised of the Dreamwalker Exiles (Elves), the Queen's Crown (Nuians) and Andelph (Dwarves)
- Haranya, comrpised of the West Ishvaran (Harani), the Wandering Winds (Firran), and the Repentant Shadows (Warborn).
There are three primary nations, and additional ones can be made with the process of creating a Player Nation. These are the:
- Nuia Alliance, containing only the Elven, Nuian and Dwarven people.
- Haranya Alliance, containing only the Firran, Haranyan and Warborn people.
- Pirate, can contain all of the races listed above.
(In short, a faction is your identity based on your home continent, being Nuia or Haranya. A nation is your identity based on if you are loyal to your original home continent, if you go rogue and become a pirate.)
The East & West factions/nations cannot interact with each other, aside from combat, and without learning the others language, it will come out as gibberish when attempting to communicate, except in Mail.
They can also not form parties or raids, however Pirates that were formally part of the east or west can join their former factions Raid/Party, but pirates can only join Pirate Guilds. Nations can do the same as Pirates, but performing diplomatic relations can forge temporary friendliness to the Nuia or Haranya Alliance.
You can change your faction with the Exile system, which has been introduced in 6.2