The Last of Us 2 will feature two warring factions in a ruined Seattle

The latest State of Play featured new information about the state of affairs in The Last of Us Part 2's rundown setting.

Picking up several years after the events of the first game, The Last of Us Part 2 sees a mature Ellie, making her way through a Seattle ravaged by the pandemic. While we already know the game will be extremely story-focused, it was announced that there will also be side narratives and factions in the mix. The Washington Liberal Front, or WLF, are a group of highly trained rebels that manage to wrestle control of the city from military officials. The Seraphites, or Scars, are a group of religious zealots. They camouflage themselves in nature, and use quieter weapons, such as bows and traps.

Both the Washington Liberal Front and the Seraphites are described by Neil Druckmann, Director of The Last of Us 2 as being “deeply tribalistic and territorial.” These two factions both have unique characteristics that make them formidable threats out in the world. Players will have to use a number of different strategies, as well as some quick thinking, in order to keep themselves safe.

The WLF walk the streets with trained guard dogs. These dogs can sniff the player out, and then alert the soldiers to their location. Ellie can cause different distractions in order to throw them off of her trail.

The Seraphites use Seattle’s overgrown environment as a veil, hiding among the trees and forest, waiting for the right moment to strike. This will require Ellie to stay on her toes, and to stay vigilant when traversing the world

There will be occasions where both factions converge on Ellie in a single location, leaving players with an important choice. They can opt to take both groups down separately, or draw them together, causing them to attack each other, leaving Ellie with a small handful of enemies to clean up after the fact.

While there was a solid bit revealed during this State of Play, including a new workbench system, Naughty Dog states that they’re “just scratching the surface.” The Last of Us Part 2 is set to launch on PlayStation 4 on June 19.