Notoriety
Every job you finish gets you noticed, by the island and by the people you did it for. Notoriety is the record of that. It never locks you out of anything, death doesn't take it, and some of the people keeping score haven't introduced themselves yet.
How it works
Notoriety works a lot like experience in other games. The more you do to help the island, the more notoriety you build up, and the more well-known you are across Deer Isle as a whole, with the Survivors of Deer Isle.
Factions notice too. Quests you do for a faction on the island can earn you notoriety that makes you look better in that faction's eyes. Do a run for the bikers and the Sons of Deer Isle remember it. Do STAG's dirty work and STAG takes an interest, which is not the same thing as liking you.
Killing counts too. Dangerous animals, infected and the AI you fight all leave a mark. The bigger the thing you put down, the more people hear about it.
Climb the ladder, get a rank. Each faction has its own ranks. Crossing into a new one fires an achievement everybody on the server can see, and the rank carries a title.
It restricts nothing. There's no gear you can't use and nothing you're blocked from buying. What it may do is change the price: some traders deal more generously with a name they respect, and a few keep their better stock behind a door you have to earn.
Dying takes your gear and nothing else. Notoriety you've earned stays earned. Track it in your journal, on the Notoriety tab.
Not everyone announces themselves. Some factions earn notoriety from you before you know they exist. When you're told that someone took notice, that's who. The story will introduce you eventually.
The ladders
Each faction has its own ladder, from where you start to the top. The two island-wide ladders (the Survivors and STAG) are the longest.
Survivors of Deer Isle everyone on the island
- StartUnknown
- Rank 1Seen Around
- Rank 2Familiar Face
- Rank 3Known Name
- Rank 4Local Legend
- Rank 5Island Legend
- Rank 6Deer Isle's Own
It can go the other way. Below zero you're Talked About, then Bad News, Outcast, Marked and, at the bottom, Pariah.
STAG Paramilitary Forces the other axis: this one measures how badly they want you
- StartUnnoticed
- Rank 1Person of Interest
- Rank 2Watched
- Rank 3Wanted
- Rank 4High-Value Target
- Rank 5Kill on Sight
- Rank 6Enemy of the State
Groot Hill the town where the story starts
- StartStranger
- Rank 1Passing Through
- Rank 2Useful
- Rank 3Regular
- Rank 4Trusted
- Rank 5Neighbor
- Rank 6One of Us
Waldo Military Base the garrison at Waldoboro
- StartUnvetted
- Rank 1Auxiliary
- Rank 2Private
- Rank 3Lance Corporal
- Rank 4Corporal
- Rank 5Sergeant
- Rank 6Staff Sergeant
Huntsman's Clan hunters, trappers and the people who buy pelts
- StartUnproven
- Rank 1Tracker
- Rank 2Blooded
- Rank 3Trapper
- Rank 4Hunter
- Rank 5Huntsman
- Rank 6Kin
Cross them and you're an Outsider, then a Poacher, then Quarry.
Sons of Deer Isle the Portland bikers
- StartCivilian
- Rank 1Hang-Around
- Rank 2Friend of the Club
- Rank 3Prospect
- Rank 4Patched
- Rank 5Road Captain
- Rank 6Brother
Cross the club and you're a Nuisance, then a Rat, then an Enemy of the Club.
Getting noticed
Start by talking to people. Every settlement has someone with work to do, and the jobs add up. Some say an underground network is quietly working to undo what STAG did to the island, and that it notices the people who help. Jobs that come around again keep your name climbing between the bigger stories.