Kurzick and Luxon

Hello, I am new to the game, could someone please explain to me how Kurzicks/Luxons work? I understand they are 2 opposing factions fighting for resources, land, ect. I currently have an A/R who has both the quests Befriending the Kurzicks, and befriending the Luxons. I am have about 4000 faction w/ both please answer these questions:

What is the red/blue line that fluctuates in between Jade Sea/Echovald Forest?

Will I have to choose 1 side? If I do, will I still be able to PvP for the other side? Also, is the choice account-wide or character based?

If I choose one side, will I be able to get the other side's armor?

Are there any skills/runes/insignias or other gameplay affecting aspects exclusive to either faction

My guild is Kurzick, does that mean if I want to stay with them, I have to be kurzick?

Which faction is better for PvP? Including win/loss ratio, wait time to start, ect.

Thanks for answering my questions

Red and blue line determines controlled territory. So say, if Luxons control a town you won't be able to use it's merchants if your kurzick.

You don't have to pick one side, you get imperial faction which you can spend on either.

Yes. You can get both Kurzick and Luxon armor, regardless on who you are with.

No, no gameplay differences between the two factions.

No, you can play with either Luxons or Kurzicks. When you turn in points however, they can go to your Kurzick guild.

Depends on what is going on, typically Kurzicks win more in Alliance Battle, but that's because battling is done mostly on their turf so they get a home field advantage, but Luxons get more faction when they win because of the advantage. In other types of alliance PvP, anything goes.

If you are in a Kurzick guild, you should do Befriending the Kurzicks and play Kurzick initially. The choice is not permanent. The Kurzick or Luxon identity is account wide. Build up your Kurzick rank and buy Kurzick PvE skills from the Scavenger in House Zu Heltzer; or Scavengers in Fort Aspenwood, Jade Quarry, or Alliance Battles. Do the PvE quests down the Kurzick side of the map in the Echovald forest.

Kurzick or Luxon, take your pick in PvP. I was with a Kurzick guild many years ago, now a level 12 Luxon. Kurzick PvE skills and Luxon PvE skills are exactly identical, just different icons is all.

The line on the map shows areas controlled by each Faction based on the outcome of Alliance Battles. You can only buy armor from the opposite faction if your faction happens to control the town where the vendor is.

After you have leveled for a bit, you can switch sides by cashing in your faction and accumulating some faction for the other side by fighting on their side at Fort Aspenwood or Jade Quarry, etc. If you have more Luxon faction than Kurzick faction, then you are considered a Luxon by vendors and quest givers. To go back, just get rid of the alien faction and get more of your own faction.

If you go in to a town controlled by the opposite faction, the NPCs will be rude to you. Merchants will not deal with you. That's all. You can still take out their henchmen and explore or farm greens or whatever.

Look up Luxon or Kurzick on the wiki. A bit confusing at first, but it all makes sense. Playing as either you eventually get it all.

The main key in being able to deal with either side, is your faction bars for Kurzick / Luxon. 'Not' the title bar that you accumulate for one side or the other for skills. The higher points on one bar, is the side you can use merchants and so on with.

Case in point, I'm a level 3 Kurzick having my Paragon Kurzick skill 'Save Yourselves', and working close to level 4. However recently I decided I wanted to map out the Jade Sea, so I found out I had to do the befriending Luxons quest for the 10k faction points, and did so, after which I went along the quest line to open up the other Luxon mission towns, ending with the town on the 'other' side of the whirlpool area. I mapped everything out, all was peachy.

I didn't however change sides, or spend those faction points, which by the end was in the 14k Luxon faction point range. All I have to do now, is earn enough Kurzick faction points, and spend those instead, to both regain 'trust' on the Kurzick side, as well as leveling my SY skill to level four. As soon as you have even one point above the others side, you can deal with that chosen side, for whatever reason. The only reason reasons to change sides is to be with a different guild in that faction, earn the other side's identical skills, or just cause you like to have fun doing it. (Probably other reasons, beyond my purview of such.)

As such, this is the complexity that comes with the Cartographer title track, and might help ya out in dealing with that tidbit too, as well as the whole tiffy down in Cantha. Have fun playing.

As you know, you need 10K faction to complete the Befriending quests. This will not use up the Faction, you will still have it even after you turn in the quest. But, one thing to keep in mind is that, when it does come round time to spend the faction, you will lose an equal amount of the opposite faction when you spend it. So, if for example, you were to spend your 4k Luxon faction now, you would lose the 4k Kurzick also.
So, my advice is to do one Befriending - turn in that faction - then do the other.

It has something to do with which side wins battles, or has more faction, or some other thing I forget. Basically, the only way in which it affects you is, it will change who will talk to you.

Not really.
Yes.

There are some skills that are affected by your rank in the Friend of the Kurzick/Luxon title tracks. The skills are the same for both sides though.

You never actually "become" Kurzick or Luxon, and your Guilds alignment really only affects GvG and/or trying to own a town through faction.
It does mean though, that if you want the most benefit from your faction, you should donate it to your Guild/Alliance, (and buy skills) and therefore, you should concentrate on your Kurzick title (for skill effects).

One thing to bear in mind in regards to armor and faction is that you can buy Kurzick/Luxon armor materials with faction points from each side -- Amber with Kurzick, Jadeite with Luxon. Amber is usually worth more at the materials trader, and depending on values, you can acquire amber and sell it to the material trader for more than the cost to buy jadeite from him. So you can actually make a profit with Kurzick faction if going for Luxon armor.

I was actually wondering the same questions, glad to see it was asked and answered ^_^.