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Factions and Races

Player guide to Definya factions, faction-locked races, bonuses, penalties, and build planning.

By Definya Team

Definya character creation starts with a faction choice. Your faction decides which races you can pick, so choose it before you settle on a race fantasy or build plan.

Canonical factions

  • Life Bringer
  • Shadow Walker

The current creation UI shows both factions, with tooltip text describing time-of-day PvP flavor:

  • Life Bringer: +10% PVP damage during the day, -10% PVP damage during the night
  • Shadow Walker: +10% PVP damage during the night, -10% PVP damage during the day

Faction identity can interact with time-of-day themes such as Life Bringers favoring morning and Shadow Walkers favoring night. Check the current game UI and combat pages for exact PvP effects.

Life Bringer races

Life Bringer characters can choose:

  • Human
  • Elf
  • Dwarf

Shadow Walker races

Shadow Walker characters can choose:

  • Human
  • Orc
  • Minotaur

Race identity from tooltips

Character creation summarizes race bonuses and penalties as:

Race comparison at a glance

Relative fit: 1 = niche, 5 = defining strength. Use the chart for the overall shape, then open the individual guides for exact details.

MeleeRangedMagicToughnessGatheringCrafting
Human
Elf
Dwarf
Orc
Minotaur

Use this as a quick shape comparison. Human stays neutral, while the other races push harder toward a few themes and trade away others.

  • Human: no listed bonuses or penalties.
  • Elf: bonus to Distance, Cooking, and Alchemy; penalty to Strength and Resistance.
  • Dwarf: bonus to Stamina, Strength, Resistance, Mining, and Lumberjacking; penalty to Magic and Dexterity.
  • Orc: bonus to Strength and Magic Resistance; penalty to Magic and Shielding.
  • Minotaur: bonus to Stamina, Strength, Resistance, Axe, and Club; penalty to Magic and Dexterity.

Build planning tips

  • Pick faction first if a race is central to your build concept.
  • Human is the neutral race in both factions.
  • Physical melee builds often pair naturally with Dwarf, Orc, or Minotaur themes.
  • Distance/dexterity-leaning builds often pair naturally with Elf.

Choosing without overthinking it

Races have their own bonuses and penalties, but they should support the build you want rather than replace class choice. If you are unsure, Human is the flexible option in both factions.