The Project at Eden’s Gate, the crazed doomsday cult that terrorized Hope County, Montana
VS
The Followers of Yermak, the enigmatic cultists that menaced a post-nuclear Russia
WHO IS DEADLIEST!?
Combatants[]
Project at Eden’s Gate[]
The Project at Eden’s Gate, also known as PEG or the “Peggies” are a doomsday cult that serve as the primary antagonists of Far Cry 5. The Project was founded by Joseph Seed, also known as “The Father” in Hope County, Montana, with his brothers John and Jacob, as well as his adopted sister Faith. Within a few years of their founding, the cult amassed large numbers of illegal weapons, including machine guns, rocket launchers, and even armed aircraft. At the same time, John Seed used his experience as a lawyer to buy out much of the county. After a US Marshall and four Hope County Sheriff’s Deputies attempted to arrest Joseph Seed for charges associated with kidnappings the cult was accused of, Seed saw this as the fulfillment of a prophecy of “The Collapse”, the downfall of civilization, which the cultists believe they were chosen by God to survive. After the incident, the cultists began “The Reaping”, in which they violently took over Hope County, cutting off contact with the outside world and seized anything in the county they saw as of value, while killing or forcibly converting anyone who stood in their way. The citizen’s of Hope County would fight back alongside the rookie deputy who escaped after being attacked by cultists in the failed raid on the PEG compound.
Followers of Yermak[]
The Followers of Yermak are an enigmatic cult in the Novgorod Region of Russia, founded sometime after the Third World War, with a base located somewhere between Lake Ilmen and Vizha. The origin of the name is unknown, though some speculate that the followers are named after the 16th century Cossack leader Yermak Timofeyevich, however, the name may be unrelated.
The exact details of the cult’s beliefs are unknown because of their insular nature, however, they are known to be extremely violent and will attack anyone who crosses their paths, and was active in conflict with the postwar factions, the Novgorod Republic, the New Order, and the Trade Union.
Their conflict with the New Order, however, ended in an alliance with the New Order with the goal of destroying their shared enemies, the Novgorod Republic and the Trade Union. Much of the Followers’ forces were killed during an attack on Veliky Novgorod, the Republic’s capital. Afterwards, the surviving Yermak troops were betrayed by the New Order. The Republic, however, was not finished, and a Republic-Trade Union alliance known as the Novgorod Commonwealth destroyed the main base of both the New Order and the Followers of Yermak.
After their destruction at the Battle of the Cult Camp, the remaining cultists divided into sects and slowly began to unscrew the bolts of the faction. One large group attacked the city of Chudovo. They massacred many citizens and created an especially gruesome scene in the church. They were eventually pushed out by Commonwealth soldiers and civilians. Although they still pop up from time to time, they slowly fade away from wasteland memory.
Weapons[]
Handguns[]
SW-1911 (PEG)[]
The Project at Eden’s Gate uses the SW-1911, a weapon based on the Colt M1911 manufactured by Smith and Wesson. The M1911 is a semi-automatic pistol that fires the .45 ACP. The weapon is single-action and is recoil-operated. The famous firearms designer produced the pistol to be used as the standard sidearm for the United States military. The weapon was used through countless conflicts like World War II and the Vietnam War. Production for the weapon came through the United States' need to modernize its arsenal. It is still being used by American law-enforcement and military forces in limited amounts. A large amount of variants were made, the most popular being the MEU(SOC) pistol. 28 countries currently have the pistol in their arsenals. The SW-1911 used by the PEG has an eight-round magazine, as opposed to the original M1911’s seven rounds, but fires the same .45 ACP round as the standard M1911.
Makarov (Yermak)[]
The Makarov pistol is a Russian sidearm developed and produced in the Soviet Union. The Makarov was the standard sidearm for Soviet troops all the way until the collapse of the communist regime. Nikolai Makarov designed the weapon to replace the TT-33 pistol. Firing the 9x18mm Makarov, the pistol had a magazine capacity of eight rounds. The weapon was selected because of its simplicity and decent stopping power. Since 2003, the Makarov has been replaced by the MP-443 Grach. However, there are still a large number of these Soviet pistols on the market and are used by Russian law enforcement. More than a dozen countries still use the pistol as their side-arm of choice.
119’s Edge[]
The PEG’s SW-1911 for its superior stopping power.
Shotguns[]
Baikal MP-133 (PEG)[]
Somewhat oddly given the setting, the Project at Eden’s Gate use Russian Baikal MP-133 shotguns which, while available in the US, are far less common than the Remington 870 on which they are based. The Baikal MP-133 is a Russian 12-guage pump-action shotgun similar to the Remington 870. The weapon is intended primarily as a civilian weapon for uses including hunting, home defense, security. The weapon will, for the purposes of this have a capacity of six rounds plus one in the chamber (as per the seven rounds total in the game).
AA-12 (Yermak)[]
While it is not clear how, the Followers of Yermak have managed to get their hands on some AA-12 automatic shotguns. The Auto Assault-12 (AA-12), originally designed and known as the Atchisson Assault Shotgun, is a shotgun developed in 1972 by Maxwell Atchisson. The current 2005 version has been developed over 18 years since the patent was sold to Military Police Systems, Inc. The original design was the basis of several later weapons, including the USAS-12. The weapon is selective fire, operating as a semi-automatic, or in fully automatic mode at 300 rounds per minute. It is fed from either an 8-shell box magazine, or a 20- or 32-shell drum magazine. For the purposes of this match, it will be loaded with buckshot, giving it an effective range of about 50 meters, with a 32-shell magazine.
119’s Edge[]
In this clash of Americans using a Russian shotgun and Russians using an American shotgun, the Followers of Yermak win out for the fully automatic firepower of their AA-12.
Assault Rifles[]
AR-C (PEG)[]
The primary assault rifle seen in Far Cry 5 is a fictional AR-15 patten weapon known as the AR-C, which looks like an amalgam of different AR-15 pattern rifles. The weapon appears to be similar in size to the M4 carbine and has a similar rate of fire to the upper range of the M4’s rate of fire, about 950 rpm, with a presumed maximum effective range of about 500-600 meters. The weapon is fed from a 30 round magazine of presumably 5.56mm NATO ammunition. It should be noted that the 950 rpm rate of fire is shown in-game make it more difficult to control the weapon in full auto.
AK-74 (Yermak)[]
The AK-74 (Russian: Автомат Калашникова образца 1974 года or "Kalashnikov automatic rifle model 1974") is an assault rifle developed in the early 1970s in the Soviet Union as the replacement for the earlier AKM. The weapon fires a 5.45mm round from a 30-round magazine, and is capable of fully automatic fire at a rate of fire of 650 rounds per minute. The weapon has a range of 625 meters. The AK-74 weighs 3.3 kg or about 7.25 pounds.
119’s Edge[]
The AR-C has a higher rate of fire, but the AK-74 has a slightly longer range and may be easier to control. Even.
Light Machine Guns[]
M60E4 (PEG)[]
The Project at Eden’s Gate uses the M60E4 as their standard LMG. The M60E4 is the latest version of the M60 machine gun, a belt-fed light machine gun introduced to the U.S. military in the late 1950's. It saw extensive use in the Vietnam War as a squad-support weapon. It fires the damaging 7.62x51mm NATO round at a rate of fire of 500-650 rounds per minute, although it does face jamming issues because it is belt-fed, though the E4 variant resolves many of these issues. For the purposes of this match, it will have a 100-round belt.
PKM (Yermak)[]
The PK is a 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun designed in the Soviet Union and currently in production in Russia. The weapon is fed from a belt (100 rounds for the purposes of this match) and fires at a rate of 650-750 RPM, at a range of up to a kilometer.
119’s Edge[]
While the M60E4 is far more reliable than older models, it still shares much of the basic M60 design, and thus may be susceptible to some issues, while the PKM has a long-standing reputation for reliability, and for this reason takes a ‘’’slight edge’’’
Launchers[]
Airtronic RPG (PEG)[]
The Airtronic RPG-7USA is a US-made copy of the famous Soviet RPG-7 rocket launcher. The primary difference between the Airtronic RPG and its Soviet counterpart are the AR-15-style grips and stock, the replacement of wooden parts with high-impact, heat-resistant polymers, and inclusion of Picatinny rails for attaching optics (though the PEG doesn’t use them). The weapon is designed to fire standard RPG rockets, with the intent of selling the launcher to Third World countries as an alternative to the standard RPG-7. As it uses the same rockets, the Airtronic RPG presumably has a similar effective range of 200 meters against a tank-sized target, and a maximum range of 920 meters, at which point the rocket self-destructs.
RPG-7 (Yermak)[]
The RPG-7 is a Soviet-made 85mm anti-tank rocket launcher. The weapon was first delivered to the Soviet Army in 1961 and, like the AK-47 has since been widely exported during the Cold War era, and is still in the arsenal of many countries and paramilitary organization. The weapon is known for low cost, ease of use, durability and reliability. To some, it's the very symbol of guerrilla warfare. The RPG has an effective range of 200 meters against a tank-sized target, and a maximum range of 920 meters, at which point the rocket self-destructs.
119’s Edge[]
As the PEG does not use optics with the Airtronic RPG, and thus do not make use of its main advantage, the two weapons are similar enough to be even, using the same ammunition.
Technical Armament[]
Both the PEG and Followers of Yermak make use of technicals. A technical is a pickup truck armed with a machine gun or other heavy weapon used as an improvised fighting vehicle. Technicals may be armored by welding scrap steel plates to the sides of the vehicle, sometimes replacing the windshield with a steel plate with narrow vision slits (it will be armored for the purposes of this match).
Browning M2 (PEG)[]
The M2 Machine Gun, Browning .50 Caliber Machine Gun, is a heavy machine gun designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. It is very similar in design to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning Machine Gun, which was chambered for the .30-06 cartridge. The M2 uses the much larger and much more powerful .50 BMG cartridge, which was developed alongside and takes its name from the gun itself (BMG standing for Browning Machine Gun). The M2 has been referred to as "Ma Deuce", or "the fifty" in reference to its caliber. The design has had many specific designations; the official designation for the current infantry type is Browning Machine Gun, Cal. .50, M2, HB, Flexible. It is effective against infantry, unarmored or lightly armored vehicles and boats, light fortifications and low-flying aircraft. The weapon has a rate of fire of 450-635 rounds per minute and a maximum range of 2000 meters.
DShK (Yermak)[]
The DShK 12.7mm Machinegun (Дегтярёва-Шпагина Крупнокалиберный or Degtyaryov-Shpagin Large-Calibre) was a Soviet heavy machine gun developed in the middle of the 20th century. It is currently phased out almost entirely by newer machine guns using the same caliber, the NSV and Kord. The weapons fires a 12.7 x 108mm round comparable to the .50 BMG, at a rate of fire of 600 RPM from a disintegrating metal link belt. The weapon has a range of up to 2000 meters.
119’s Edge[]
The two weapons are similar enough to be called ‘’’Even’’’.
X-Factors[]
| Project at Eden’s Gate | X-Factor | Followers of Yermak |
|---|---|---|
| 60 | Training | 50 |
| 50 | Combat Experience | 65 |
| 50 | Logistics | 40 |
| 50 | Tactics | 60 |
| 90 | Brutality | 90 |
Explanations[]
In terms of training, the Project at Eden’s Gate score slightly higher as, at least some of them were trained by veteran 82nd Airborne soldiers Jacob Seed, and at the very least, ammunition would be more available to the project for target practice than the Followers. On the other hand, the Followers of Yermak have fought more dangerous adversaries- while both sides fought mostly militias and armed civilians, the Followers of Yermak faced the more trained, organized, and better equipped Novgorod Commonwealth and New Order, who possessed heavy armored vehicles, including small numbers of BTR APCs and T-64 tanks, far more dangerous weapons than anything anyone in Hope County has access to. While both factions were ultimately defeated, the Followers fought against a more dangerous foe. In terms of tactics, the Project at Eden’s Gate tend to prefer overwhelming attackers with overwhelming force and numbers, with PEG members sometimes literally charging their enemies. The Followers are by no means tactical geniuses, but they are at least accomplished in setting up ambushes and surprise attacks. In terms of logistics, the PEG take an edge as they have been hording weapons and ammunition for years, while the Followers are armed with whatever they scavenged from old military bases and police armories from before the war. In terms of brutality, both sides are about even- the PEG will massacre those who refuse to convert and/or surrender any supplies they wish to take, while the followers will fire on outsiders without warning and regularly raid settlements and kill anyone who gets in their way.
Scenario[]
The battle will take place in an abandoned town in a densely forested area, with the PEG entering the town from a dirt road to the north and Followers from the south. Neither side will be familiar with the area. The opposing forces will each consist of ten infantry and two technicals.
Battle[]
- Project at Eden's Gate: Troops x 10, Technicals x2
- Followers of Yermak: Troops x 10, Technicals x2
Ten Project at Eden's Gate cultist stood at a roadblock in abandoned town at the edge of a dense coniferous forest. A PEG technical stood in the path of the road, at the entrance of the town itself, along with five cultists on foot in the street, and five more spread between the roof a two-story store overlooking the edge of town and a house on the opposite side of the road.
Suddenly, an RPG flew out from the forest, impacting the technical on the left side of the road. The explosion set off the ammunition and fuel inside the truck in a ball of flames that killed the entire crew, as well as two other PEG cultists standing near the vehicle. While the Peggies were thrown into chaos by the explosion, a group of about ten Followers of Yermak advanced out of the woods, firing their weapons, while two Yermak technicals advanced down the road, their DShK machine guns blazing.
A PEG cultist on top of the two-story store tried to fire an RPG at the Yermak technicals, but was struck by dozens of 5.45 and 12.7mm rounds, perforating his body. The RPG discharged as he fell backwards, the rocket going high, over the heads of the Yermak cultist and landing harmlessly several hundred meters away.
"Reinforcements incoming, keep those sinners at bay!", a voice called out over the PEG radio as technical drove in through the clearing surrounding the abandoned town. The PEG technical fired its Browning M2 at both of its Yermak counterparts. Both Yermak technicals were struck by multiple rounds, the crew being torn apart by the high-caliber rounds as engines of the trucks ignited, reducing them to flaming wrecks. The .50 round kept going after piercing through the trucks, killing two unfortunate Followers. (PEG: 7 troops, 1 technical), Yermak: 8 troops, 0 technicals)
The PEG technical, however, was neutralized seconds later. The Yermak RPG gunner fired a rocket at the technical, which did not directly strike the truck, but impacted about a meter to the side. The blast was powerful enough to overturn the weaponized pickup, sending the gunner flying through the air and landing headfirst a dozen meters away, the impact instantly killing him. The driver crawled out of the upended cultist vehicle and tried to draw his pistol, but was struck by several rounds fired by the advancing Yermak cultists, who advanced, using the downed vehicles as cover, with shouts of "In the name of Yermak!".
As the Yermak troops advanced, A PEG cultist clad in heavy armor pointed an M60 machine gun out the window of an abandoned house with a shout of "God forgot about you a long time ago!" and opened fire, supported by three more cultists armed with customized AR-15s. Two Followers of Yermak who were running between cover were struck by the hail of bullets and cut down in a hail of fire. The rest of the Yermak cultists were pinned down behind destroyed technicals and rusted out farming equipment lying in the clearing surrounding the abandoned village. (PEG: 7 troops, Yermak: 6 troops).
A Follower of Yermak shouted to his comrades, before running to the rusted hulk of an old tractor and placing a PKM machine gun on the hood, firing the weapons at the Peggies, striking a PEG cultist on the roof of the two-story store, killing him with a burst of fire to the chest. This got their attention. A Peggie with an RPG fired at the tractor, destroying the rusting machine along with the Follower behind it.
But the Yermak machine gunner's sacrifice was not in vain. Thanks to his distraction, the other five Yermak cultists managed to advance closer to the Peggie's left flank. An RPG slammed into the side of the where the Peggie with the M60 stood, blowing away the wall and part of the roof of the structure and killing all three PEG cultists inside. (PEG: 4, Yermak: 5)
The five Yermak cultists burst in through the hole in the wall, weapons in hand, only for the lead cultists to be struck by a shotgun blast. A PEG cultist had entered the building and fired his weapon at the Yermak cultist. The fallen Follower was instantly avenged, as the next Yermak cultist in the ground fired a burst of three buckshot shells into the Peggie with an AA-12, spraying his blood onto the walls of the ruined house.
The Follower with the AA-12 then advanced to the front window of the house while crouching, before rising up and spraying the lower floor of the storefront. The two Peggies inside were filled with shot as the wide window of the store shattered. The AA-12 gunner, however, was hit seconds later by a shot from the last Peggie on the roof with an AR-15.
The last stand of the last survivor of Eden's Gate, however, was cut short in a storm of bullets as he fell before the AKs of the Followers. The three survivors of the Followers of Yermak looked among themselves, and realized they were the last survivors of their patrol, and turned away from the ruined town, realizing they had no chance to hold it if more of the enemy came.
WINNER: Followers of Yermak
Expert's Opinion[]
The Followers of Yermak won this battle thanks in large part to their superior combat experience, having faced larger and more organized adversaries such as the Novgorod Commonwealth and the New Order. This advantage, as well as some weapon advantages, allowed them to overcome the superior logistics of the Project at Eden's Gate.
To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.