Faction
The world of Arknights, Terra, is comprised of many factions, whether nation-states, corporations, or independent groups, with their own interests and goals.
List
The table below shows the factions to which Operators in Arknights are aligned/affiliated with, which includes the branches of a faction as well as those loosely tied to one particular faction.
The in-game faction is not always indicative of the Operator's current allegiance/affiliation as of the most recent story content, however.
Ægir  |
    | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Abyssal Hunters  |
      | ||
Babel  |
    | ||
Bolívar  |
      | ||
Columbia  |
                      | ||
Blacksteel  |
       | ||
Rhine Lab  |
          | ||
Higashi  |
         | ||
Iberia  |
          | ||
Kazimierz  |
        | ||
Pinus Sylvestris  |
     | ||
Karlan Trade  |
         | ||
| Laios's Party |     | ||
Laterano  |
            | ||
Leithanien  |
          | ||
Lungmen  |
        | ||
L.D.A.  |
    | ||
L.G.D.  |
   | ||
Minos  |
     | ||
Penguin Logistics  |
     | ||
Rhodes Island  |
                                                    | ||
Elite Op  |
    | ||
Followers  |
   | ||
Op A4  |
      | ||
Op Reserve A1  |
     | ||
Op Reserve A4  |
     | ||
Op Reserve A6  |
     | ||
S.W.E.E.P.  |
   | ||
Rim Billiton  |
           | ||
Sami  |
      | ||
Sargon  |
                    | ||
Siesta  |
    | ||
Siracusa  |
             | ||
| Chiave's Gang |    | ||
Tara  |
    | ||
Team Rainbow  |
        | ||
Ursus  |
   | ||
U.S.S.G.  |
     | ||
Victoria  |
                             | ||
Glasgow  |
    | ||
Yan  |
             | ||
Sui  |
      | ||
Trivia
Prior to the update of the Network Archives upon the release of Who is Real (CN)/Mansfield Break (Global), almost all Operators in the game had Rhodes Island displayed as their affiliated faction, greatly outnumbering the number of operators affiliated with a non-Rhodes Island faction. This had the unintended side effect of leaving many faction logos (such as Columbia, Siracusa, and Higashi) unrevealed, and causing the Network Archives to be greatly cluttered and disorganized. This was somewhat improved with a significant update to the Network's visual aesthetic. This "catch-all" status of Rhodes Island is likely due to inconsistencies regarding factors determining an Operator's displayed faction prior to said update; for example, an Operator's Infection status does not appear to determine their faction: Nightmare and Bagpipe (an Infected and non-Infected Victorian, respectively) had Victoria displayed as their faction logo, but Phantom and Skyfire (another Infected and non-Infected pair of Victorians) weren't affiliated with Victoria, for unknown reasons, having their displayed faction logo as Rhodes Island instead.
After the update, almost all Operators in the game are regrouped into a more proper faction, with the Rhodes Island faction seemingly reserved for Operators that:
- Are already employed at Rhodes Island for some time (implied or otherwise) before the start of Main Theme (e.g. Amiya, Kal'tsit, Elysium, Folinic, etc.).
- Cut off their ties with their previous faction before joining Rhodes Island (e.g. Mudrock and Ethan with Reunion, Ch'en the Holungday with L.G.D., etc.).
- For unknown reasons, this does not apply for Reed; despite having defected from her previous faction, Dublinn, during the events of Episode 09, she has Victoria as her displayed faction instead of Rhodes Island. This is likely because Dublinn was not revealed to be a significant (antagonistic) faction at the time of Reed's release.
- Does not have a known birthplace or faction prior to joining Rhodes Island (e.g. Surtr, GreyThroat, etc.).
- May have a unique faction in a later update, but will have Rhodes Island as a placeholder faction logo until that point (e.g. any Operators from Kazdel or the Durins' underground world like Myrtle).
- For some reason, this does not apply to Perfumer, born in Minos, despite Sideroca being updated to be a member of Minos when the faction logo was added with Pallas and the release of Interlocking Competition: Hymnoi Wisdom. Perfumer is also not considered a Minoan Operator for the purpose of Pallas's talent "Birth of a Hero." Perfumer's faction is kept as Rhodes Island likely because she is grouped as part of what appears to be the RI Medical Department in the Network Archives, consisting of her, Folinic, Sussurro, Warfarin, Myrrh, Podenco, and Gavial. On the other hand, Vulcan, who is known as Rhodes Island's dedicated blacksmith, and should potentially remain a member of the R.I. faction, was made a Minoan Operator.
Despite the faction overhaul implemented, almost all of the Operators who formerly had their faction as Rhodes Island did not have the prefix of their file number changed to reflect their current faction (e.g. Phantom's file number is still R109 instead of being changed to VC109 after having his faction changed to Victoria). Whether or not an update would be released to address this oversight remains unknown.
While Pinus Sylvestris is technically a distinct faction, it is a sub-faction of Kazimierz, and Pinus Sylvestris operators are considered Kazimierz operators for the purpose of Nearl the Radiant Knight's second skill, 
Night-scouring Gleam.