What are Factions?
The Silph Arena Factions is a team-based competitive Pokemon Go PvP League where competitors work together to prove their skills on various battlefields. Started in May 2021, teams, also known as Factions, compete in weekly bouts to showcase their teamwork and strategy, and show fellow competitors and spectators alike who is truly the very best. If you think you have what it takes to compete, gather your friends to create your own Faction and join the battle!
Arena Factions Format
Each Faction is composed of up to 10 members – 7 Specialists and 3 (optional) Alternates
The specialists are divided into 3 Open League specialists (Great, Ultra & Master) and 4 Field Specialists
The Great, Ultra, and Master League specialists will battle in their respective leagues (with a few restrictions), but each Field Specialist will compete using a special rotating meta called a Battlefield. There may even be more than one Battlefield active at a time!
Cycles & Bouts
Factions Season 2 will feature 4 Cycles, each being 9 bouts (weeks) long. Factions will be organized into tiers (Open, Iron, Copper, Bronze, Silver, etc.), with the Open Tier competing in Swiss style bracket, and upper tiers competing in a Round Robin bracket. At the end of the 9th bout, the highest performing Factions in each tier will have their chance to be promoted to a higher tier during the Relegation Bout.
Each bout will consist of seven 3-battle matches (1 per team member). Winning a single battle earns your team 1 point, for a total of 21 possible points per bout. The team with the most points wins!
Teams will play 1 bout every week. Your team will be matched against an opponent from within your region and tier, and you will have the full week to complete your matches.
BREAK DAY: Mondays will serve as a break between bouts. Do your laundry, take a nap, and get yourself pumped up for your battles!
TUESDAY: SET YOUR POSITIONS: Once you receive your opponent, your Factions will have 1 day to decide whether to swap any of your teammates to a new position.
WEDNESDAY: SET YOUR ROSTERS: After positions are set, your Faction will have 1 day to make any changes to their rosters of 6 Pokémon. Competitors only need to re-register if you’re making changes to your roster, the system will automatically register the same team as the previous bout—as long as you are playing the same position as the previous week, and have not been moved from your slot—even if you are replaced into the same one.
THURSDAY-SUNDAY: BATTLE! After rosters are set, lineups will be revealed to your opponents and the battles can begin! The rest of the week is dedicated to scheduling with your opponent and completing your matches.
Faction Tiers
During the regular Season, Factions will be organized into different tiers based on their skill level. There will be a maximum of 9 tiers in each conference, with most tiers containing 10 Factions.
The top 8 tiers will have 10 Factions each and compete in a Round Robin style bracket. The last tier, Open, will be each be made up of the remaining Factions and use the Swiss system to determine their weekly matchups. This last tier may be scaled or eliminated as participation demands, and some of the lower round robin tiers may be removed in less populous regions.
At the end of each Cycle, the highest performing Factions in each tier will have their chance to be promoted to a higher tier, while lower performers will be relegated down. In most cases, the top 2 Factions (1st to 3rd place) will automatically move up and the bottom 2 (8th to 10th place) will move down. 4th to 7th place Factions automatically stay in their tiers for the next Cycle.
The exception to this rule happens in the Iron tier. In order to promote more opportunities to move into the upper tiers, the top 4 Open Tier Factions will automatically be promoted to the Iron Tier.
Arena Factions Rules
Factions follow the rules and procedures in the standard Arena Rules (https://silph.gg/rules), except that they are complemented by the following Factions Rules, which take precedence whenever the two disagree.
1. Eligibility
Factions must have no less than 7 Members in order to register for competition (Alternates are optional). One Member must be designated as the Captain. Competitors may only be a Member of one Faction at a time. All Faction Members must be ranked in the Silph Arena at the time of registration to a given Cycle.
2. Format
Factions will compete against one another, organized by Tier according to past performance within their conference.
- A Bout consists of a set of matches, one for each of the 7 Specialists: 3 Open League Specialists (Great, Ultra, and Master) and 4 Field Specialists.
- A Cycle is a collection of Bouts, in which Factions will face others in the same Tier. Faction Members that can be assigned as Specialists are locked at the moment of registration to a given Cycle, and cannot be changed until the cycle ends.
- Promotion/Relegation: At Cycle end, Factions will be promoted or demoted based on performance. The Cycle may include a final Bout designed explicitly for this purpose.
- A Season in Factions is a collection of Cycles. At the conclusion of a Season, Tiers may be reset.
3. Hidden Information, Outside Assistance, and Coaching
FFaction Members registered in an active Cycle may provide assistance to their teammates, including the use of simulations and active coaching, before, during, and after the course of gameplay. Faction Members may not otherwise receive Outside Assistance, or seek out Hidden Information not readily available to the public. Scrimmaging with people outside their Faction is permitted nonetheless.
4. Battle Teams/Pokémon Registration
Battle Teams may be changed every bout and they must comply with the meta in the Specialist’s position. Pokémon registration and use follow the Silph Arena Rules, with a few exceptions:
- Specialists are not required to register the actual CP of their Pokémon.
- Specialists are free to TM movesets up until the start of the first battle of their Bout.
Once the match begins, no changes may be made to the six (6) individual Pokémon to be used in battle and only one Pokémon may be used at its Best Buddy boosted CP during a match. Any such changes will be interpreted as Cheating.
5. Communication and Coordination
Faction Captains are required to join the Silph Arena Tournaments server to communicate with the Arena and opponents. Opposing Captains must jointly find a method of communication to coordinate matches. If they cannot mutually agree on an alternative, the Silph Arena Tournaments server will be the default method.
Communication must be prompt:
- Faction Captains must contact the opposing Captain no later than 24 hours after Faction pairings are revealed.
- Specialists must contact their opponent no later than 24 hours after individual pairings are revealed.
Communication and coordination must be ongoing:
- Both Captains and Specialists must respond to opponents’ queries within a reasonable amount of time until all battles have been successfully completed.
- Specialists should inform their Captain of any communication, coordination, or other problems as soon as possible. Captains should promptly contact the opposing Captain, and subsequently the Arena Referees if necessary, to address these problems.
6. Captain Responsibilities
In addition to performing the internal administrative tasks of their Faction (such as assigning Faction Members to Specialist positions), which may also be performed by the Faction owner, Captains are the central point of contact with other Factions, Arena Referees, and Arena Staff. As such, their duties extend beyond their duties as Competitors, including but not limited to:
- Managing the interactions between opposing Factions.
- Ensuring their teammates understand and abide by the Silph Arena and Factions Rules.
- Assisting their teammates in the event of coordination or other types of issues.
- Reviewing potential technical issues brought up by their teammates.
- Promptly filing a Dispute whenever an issue arises that cannot be resolved by the involved Specialists or by the Captains (e.g., Battle Team registration errors, coordination failures, emergency substitutions, concessions, technical malfunctions, misreported scores, etc).
- Responding to requests by the Arena Referees for evidence in relation to a Dispute or any other information relevant to Factions.
7. Disputes
Faction Captains must contact the opposing Captain and attempt to resolve any issues that arise during a Bout. If they cannot reach an agreement or otherwise require an official action or ruling by the Arena Referees, they should submit a Dispute following the protocol specified in the Silph Arena Tournaments server. Another Faction Member may submit a Dispute if their Captain is unable to do so. The Arena Referees will communicate their rulings to the relevant Faction Captain(s) within 72 hours of evidence submission. All rulings are final.
Given that Factions is a Special Tournament and Dispute rulings are made exclusively by Arena Referees, some notable differences with respect to dispute resolution in other Silph Arena Tournaments include, but are not limited to:
- The Arena Referees may ask for Individual Values (IVs) of Pokémon used in Factions. Specialists must provide this information if requested in relation to a technical Dispute.
- The Arena Referees may adjudicate a win to one of the Specialists (a battle win even though the journal shows a loss). A win may only be adjudicated to a Specialist who had the battle win secured in their favor at the time of the technical malfunction. Adjudicating a win requires a unanimous vote by no less than five (5) Arena Referees.
In the case of disagreement regarding the significance of a technical malfunction on the outcome of a battle, the Specialists must immediately play a provisional rematch of that battle, and then the rest of their outstanding battles. A rematch is presumed to be a provisional rematch in this respect, unless the Specialists clearly agree about the significance of the technical malfunction and thus restart that game. If the first provisional rematch encounters another potential technical malfunction, a second provisional rematch must be played. If following the rematch(es) Specialists still disagree about the outcome of the battle, they must forward the case to their Captains for review. If the Captains cannot agree, they should submit a Dispute to the Arena Referees. Specialists and Captains should consider the possibility of the Arena Referees adjudicating a win, even if the Specialist loses the provisional rematch, in their deliberations. Factions may be penalized for submitting clearly frivolous Disputes.
8. Streaming
Factions are allowed and encouraged to stream their battles themselves, or work with a third party to produce, edit, shoutcast, and broadcast them.
9. Emergency Substitutions
The Arena may define a limited number of Emergency Substitutions per Cycle, which will be granted to each registered Faction. Using an Emergency Substitution means allowing a Faction Member that is allowed to be assigned to a Specialist position in the current Cycle, but has not been assigned to a Specialist position in the current Bout, to play as a substitute for a teammate who has been assigned to a Specialist position in the current Bout. The substitute is restricted to the Battle Team registered by their teammate in every respect, including Shadow status. A Faction must immediately notify the opposing Faction and subsequently the Arena Referees of their intent to use an Emergency Substitution.
10. Names and logos
The Arena reserves the right to remove Factions from an ongoing Cycle in order to edit or remove Faction names and logos. For example, if these are:
- Protected by third-party rights without written permission,
- Brand or trademarked materials,
- Defamatory, pejorative, offensive, vulgar, obscene, discriminatory, or other hate speech, terms, or imagery. Including alternative spellings to avoid these terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Faction Captains/Faction Managers:
Can an individual manage multiple Factions at the same time?
Yes! You can create and manage multiple Factions, however you can only be on the roster of one Faction at a time.
Can I manage multiple Factions that play in different regions?
Yes, you may manage multiple Factions, regardless of if they play in different regions.
Can I be the Faction Captain for multiple Factions?
Players are only allowed to participate in one Faction at a time. As such, you can not be Faction Captain for multiple Factions.
Can I transfer my Faction to someone else?
No, a Faction is untransferable.
Can I change Faction Captain to someone else?
Yes, the Faction Manager may change the Faction Captain at any time. If you are currently competing in a Cycle, the existing Faction Captain will remain the Captain for that Cycle, while the new Faction Captain will be the Captain for any new Cycles.
Can I add or remove players from my Faction?
Yes, the Faction Manager or Captain may add or remove a player at any time. If you are currently competing in a Cycle, any changes to your team Roster will not be reflected in that Cycle.
Where can I view the Factions I have created?
You can see all the Factions you manage underneath the "My Factions" section of the "Admin" navigation tab. Try logging out and back in if you don't see it at first.
Players:
Can I play on more than one Faction? What if they play in different regions?
Players are only permitted to play for one Faction at a time, regardless of region. You can only play on one Faction, in one region, during any Cycle.
Can I change my role within my Faction?
Yes, players are allowed to change roles at any time. While competing in a Cycle, the Faction Captain will assign players to each of the 7 positions at the beginning of each Bout. During this time, any player can be assigned to one of the 7 positions, regardless of their role. Once the Bout begins, players are locked into their assigned position for the duration of that Bout.
Can I play in Factions if I don’t play in Silph Arena? Can I play in Factions if I have never played in Silph Arena?
Yes! Players are not required to have participated in any Silph Arena activities in the past. The only requirement is participants must create a Travelers Card and log into Silph.GG in order to join a Faction and participate.
How do I accept an invite to a Faction?
The Faction Manager should provide you with a link to their Faction's page. Make sure you are logged into Silph.GG then visit that link and you will see an option to accept or decline the invite.
Where can I view my Faction?
You can see the Faction you play for underneath the "Me" navigation tab. Try logging out and back in if you don't see it at first.
Format:
Where, when, and how do I register for Factions?
In order to participate, you must first create or join a Faction and recruit at least 7 players, and maximum of 10 players. Once you meet this requirement, you can RSVP for your region's next Cycle and assign players to their respective roles. Once your Faction has done this, you can participate in the upcoming Cycle.
How long does Factions last?
Factions will be a permanent format. It is divided into Seasons, Cycles, Bouts, and Matches. Each Season is made up of Cycles, and each Cycle is made up of Bouts that are the number of weeks teams will face each other. Each Bout will last one week and will conclude once all teams face-off and their 7 players have faced each other in their respective roles.
