u/Pipothe_Edits

I’ve been seeing tons of comments on various posts claiming that the Fireflies were bad, incompetent, weak, and so on. But if we look at the lore, that is completely false—riddled with lies and fallacies—and ignores any evidence to the contrary just to make their arguments hold water.

>The Fireflies were incompetent and weak because FEDRA defeated them in Boston; they lost Pittsburgh and the university, they were about to kill Ellie, and Joel defeated them single-handedly.

First of all, FEDRA only started winning in Boston because the Fireflies had been fighting for 20 years against an enemy armed with military-grade weaponry and vast numbers of troops—not to mention the risks FEDRA itself had to take by implementing extreme measures; essentially, they had to play Russian roulette to "finish them off." The argument regarding Pittsburgh relies on the fallacies of incomplete evidence and hasty generalization. The Fireflies armed, organized, and initiated the fight against FEDRA; without them, the local population would never have taken action. To claim that "if they fell in Pittsburgh, they didn't succeed in any other zone" ignores the fact that FEDRA soldiers mention early on how the Fireflies lined up and executed troops—warning that the same fate awaited them if the Fireflies took control. When one soldier argues that wouldn't happen, his partner notes that people in other zones had thought the exact same thing. Essentially, the Fireflies succeeded in many more areas and operated far beyond just the western zone. Further evidence lies in the university lookout post, where a soldier mentions new recruits arriving from Chicago and trucks and supplies being transported from the Salt Lake City hospital—demonstrating a level of logistics and organization that stands in stark contrast to the incompetence they are often accused of. Finally, when they attack the FEDRA outpost, they successfully exploit the checkpoints' blind spots, demonstrating their efficiency in urban combat. Now, regarding the hospital, there is ample evidence that they would have succeeded:

1- Jerry notes that Ellie's fungus grows differently; if he hadn't conducted studies—as some claim—he wouldn't know its nature. I should also clarify that he only knows how it presents, not why.

2- The Fireflies had been researching the fungus for months; at the university, we see X-rays and evidence of experimentation. They understood how it worked—they weren't novices.

3- As can be seen, the hospital was not simply used as-is; the plans show how it was fortified and improved. Once again, we can see that the hospital sustained no structural damage and that the operating room was properly prepared.

>The Fireflies are like FEDRA because they kill civilians and only want power.

This "argument" completely ignores the fact that the narrative and origins of the Fireflies are the exact opposite of FEDRA's; let's look at some of their characteristics:

the Fireflies recruit anyone willing to fight for their cause—unlike FEDRA, which conscripts people by force, as seen with Ellie.

The Fireflies kill civilians only as collateral damage and attack army outposts rather than schools, whereas FEDRA carries out public executions without evidence. In Pittsburgh specifically, it is mentioned that the Fireflies armed and organized the resistance and initiated the fight; this implies that they stood with the civilians—and indeed, there was a reason people supported them.

FEDRA operates as a dictatorship devoid of freedom or dissent, while the Fireflies aim to bring democracy—they are polar opposites.

>The Fireflies aren't evil just because many soldiers leave—Tommy is a prime example of this.

The fact that soldiers leave doesn't make the group evil; if they kill and torture soldiers, it's simply the nature of civil war. Tommy and the others were naive; it was obvious the Fireflies weren't going to take down FEDRA with hugs—they had to use force, because that’s how the world works in that universe. Furthermore, Marlene knew Tommy was important, yet she let him go and didn't come looking for him; she respected his choice.

Years later, she trusted Joel. As we can see, they were far from being cruel to deserters the way others might have been.

>The Fireflies were "bad" because they treated Joel poorly and didn't ask Ellie.

While they never asked her, Ellie would have agreed—Marlene knew that—and they couldn't risk a "no." Besides, Joel didn't respect her choice either; worse yet, he lied to her for years. The way they treated Joel was completely justified: When they first appeared, they didn't know who he was. When someone shows up at your main base, the first thing you do is incapacitate them and take control—it's a precautionary measure.

Even knowing who Joel was and what kind of person he was, the Fireflies didn't kill him. They didn't even kill him at the end when he was leaving with Ellie; they just said, "Come on, man, we just want the girl," implying they didn't want to kill him. Marlene knew what Joel was like; she never wanted to kill him—not even at the end. It was the exact opposite with Joel.

This makes it clear who wasn't killing just for the sake of killing, and who wanted the greater good without slaughtering so many innocents. It was the same with Jerry; he never wanted to kill Ellie out of sadism, but for the common good—he already knew what was needed.

On top of that, what they did to Joel was deserved; he was a criminal and a terrorist who had killed countless people. It was the least they could have done—especially considering they even let him go free with his gear.

The Fireflies knew nothing about *Cordyceps* or whether the vaccine would work.

This shows a complete lack of understanding regarding an entire chapter of the story. At the university, a guard's note mentions that the Salt Lake City hospital and the university were exchanging supplies and trucks; furthermore, it is both implied and explicitly stated that they had been studying the infected and the virus's behavior for years—something Jerry mentions in his recording.

Speaking of that recording, it details all the differences between a normal fungus and the one found in Ellie; in other words, the Fireflies already understood the nature of the fungus in both cases.

They weren't going in blind; they already had a framework and someone fully qualified for the task—a reality very different from what is commonly claimed.

In conclusion, the Fireflies weren't incompetent, terrorists, a new FEDRA, sadists, or selfish—but neither were they entirely good people.

For those who want to debate, we can do so in the comments.

I feel like playing this way could help me when I'm staging a comeback—especially if there are multiple ones. Plus, since playing in a coordinated group is harder, it’ll feel easier when I play without one.

Basically, if I play one match with the burst rifle and then switch to the hunting rifle, my skill drops significantly—or sometimes it happens out of nowhere right when I start. Is this normal, or is there something I should be doing about it?

I’m not a very patient person—especially when it comes to games—and today, this one really pushed me over the edge. Here’s the gist of it: At first, I wanted to play with a buddy, but the game wouldn't let us. I got impatient, so we didn't end up playing together. I jumped into a match on my own, and it kept dropping me into games that were already underway and essentially lost—basically, the opposing team had 15 respawns left, full armor, and upgraded weapons, while my team was out of lives and down to just three players. We lost, and I started losing my cool. Then, in that same lobby, I got stuck with a team full of bad players—mind you, I played poorly too; that’s just how I get when I’m angry. I quit the match. I joined one last game, and it was the same story as the first: a match that was already a lost cause, and there were only two of us. I bailed because I was so furious with the game that I felt like I was going to break something.

I love Factions, but a lot of the time it feels like the game does this on purpose. I mean, what’s the point? By the way

I’m not posting this to whine or say the multiplayer is crap; I just want to know if this happens to anyone else.