X Factor

X Factors are a small variable that can stand to be a warrior's trait. Although they were a small part of the show in the beginning, they have become a deciding factor in each battle beginning in Season 3.

The number system has the average warrior rating around the 60s and 70s, skilled warriors above 80 and poor and below average in the 50s and under. Any score above 85 usually signifies a remarkable feat by that warrior.

List of X Factors

Armor Metallurgy

Armor metallurgy signifies the quality of the material used to make the armor of the warriors, both in how well it protects them and how much it restricts their movement. In season three, this X factor was only revealed in the Genghis Khan vs. Hannibal episode.

• Genghis Khan scored a high 85 as his steel lamellar armor and helmet were made of durable steel materials.
• Hannibal scored an average 74 because his Muscalata armor was made of bronze and his helmet was made of brass, both of which were comparatively less durable.
• In the simulation, the armor failure rate of Genghis Khan's steel lamellar and steel helmet were 1.32% and 0.78% respectively. The armor failure rate of Hannibal's Muscalata armor and brass helmet were 4.22% and 7.48% respectively. However Hannibal's Bronze rimmed shield actually out preformed Khan's steel shield in terms failure rate, 2.80% as compared to the steel shields failure rate of 7.48%.

Dominance

Dominance mainly signifies the amount of control the general had over his troops and their loyalty. It also shows the amount of aggression the general was able to show during battle.

• Hernán Cortés has a high 85 for his charisma and for being able to motivate 500 troops to go up against thousands of Aztec warriors. Most conquistadors had high respect for Cortés and he was even able to convince troops sent to stop him by the governor of Cuba Diego Velázquez (since he was defying Velázquez's orders to cancel his expedition & return to Cuba) to join his cause.
• Ivan the terrible has an average 78. Ivan exerted dominance through fear but his mental instability and poor performance as general ultimately led some of his troops to dislike him.
• Saddam Hussein has an average 78. He had his trusted relatives in important positions of the government, his Republican Guards received good training thanks to his oil money and lead the best life. Saddam's brutality against any rebellions helped him to remain aggressive on the battlefield.
• Pol Pot has an average 75. While his Khmer Rouge were poor and received little training, they were well devoted to their cause. Pol Pot's savage killer instinct and violent Khmer Rouge allowed him to remain aggressive.

Disease

Reflects a warrior's susceptibility to disease or any illnesses they were known to suffer from, as well as their ability to use disease to their advantage in battle (as Cortés was able to against the Aztecs).

• Crazy Horse is at 73 because he just missed the tuberculosis and small pox outbreaks. Crazy Horse was also facing famine as the bison were hunted to near extinction.

• Pancho Villa is at low 44 due to arthritis and insomnia, but he managed to survive because he had medical supplies from the train carts which he controlled.

• Hernan Cortés and other conquerors of the Americas used disease against the natives who had no knowledge of or cure to the overseas diseases.

• Vampires survived many diseases like the bubonic plague and so are believed to be naturally resistant to most diseases. Infact, most vampires are immortal.

• Zombies are already mostly dead, so only the diseases that kill their brains could kill the zombie. The Zombies are covered in diseases, mainly their Zombie Virus that turns other lifeforms into Zombies when infected. If the Zombie Virus is killed, the Zombie dies as their organs are dead so they cannot be revived into their past living selves.

Endurance

• The Zombie scored a perfect 100 in this X-Factor since it never stops moving towards prey, even if it means shambling to its own death. This makes it the first warrior that has been confirmed to score 100 in any X-Factor.
• Lawrence of Arabia has 88, for his travels of the Arab desert and young age.
• Vampires have 87, for their naturally superhuman body.
• Theodore Roosevelt is at 71 for his asthma, overweightness and impared vision. However, he has also became an active hunter and did exercise, which prevent this x-factor from being lower.

Extremism

• The NKSOF is at a very high 90 for their highly extremist nature and qualities such as they don't care who they kill with their landmines, they are willing to submit themselves to their own executions for their missions etc.

• The US Army Ranger is at 83 because while they create havoc among their enemy, they try not to panic the civilians and have to be careful about whom they are trying to kill with their weapons.

Fatigue

• George Washington has the highest at 74, for being able to move in a very localized area in the British Colonies.

• Napoleon had the lowest at 67, for extending the line very long during the Russian Campaign and retreating with less than 90,000 of his troops. Also Napoleon's heavy cannons and ammunition caused considerable fatigue when transported and maneuvered, which is another reason he suffered a low fatigue score.

Generalship

• George Washington has the highest at 88, for being very patient until the right moment to attack the British, for innovative use of his limited resources to achieve maximum efficiency and for being able to motivate his outnumbered army to use surprise attacks to defeat the British.

• Despite being a renowned general, Napoleon has a comparatively lower score at 82, for being very impatient during some of his battles which led to the extension in the Russian Campaign and led to his biggest defeat.

• Hernán Cortés has an average 76, as he lead 500 men against thousands of Aztecs warriors, slaughtering 5 million Aztecs over 20 years in his almost irrational search for gold and survived until he managed to get every last piece of gold. However he got an average score probably because he never battled against more advanced civilizations and due to the fact that his victory over the Aztecs was partially thanks to the European diseases the Aztecs easily fell victim to.

• Ivan the Terrible has the lowest revealed generalship at 54, mainly due to his poor mental health. Ivan's unstable mentality meant he was not able to lead his troops that effectively in battle, especially if they were losing. Many of Ivan's soldiers hated the mentally unstable Tsar.

Hand-To-Hand Combat

• The US Army Rangers got an excellent 89. Their featured hand to hand combat technique was the SOCP (Special Operations Combatives Program).
• The NKSOF got a good 81. Their featured hand to hand combat technique was the Hapkido and Tae-kwon-do hybrid.

Initiative

• Pol Pot scored a good 83 mainly because his Chinese stick grenade packed higher explosive payload and was more reliable compared to Saddam Hussein's RGD-5 grenade, giving him an edge when starting an assault with grenade charges, especially when assaulting a structure during urban combat.
• Saddam scored an average 74 mainly due to the lack of explosive power and reliability of his RGD-5 grenade, which made urban assaults much more difficult for his Republican Guards.

Intimidation

• Ivan the Terrible has the highest 90, for spreading fear among his enemies and his own people alike. To do this he formed the elite Oprichniki horsemen who terrorized through his enemies with intimidating appearance (wearing black monk robes) and savage tactics. Ivan also used the most brutal torture methods on his enemies as he was determined to create hell on Earth for those he saw as God's enemies.
• Genghis Khan has a high 89 for the fear and intimidation that the sight of the Mongol horde brought upon their enemies and victims.
• Hannibal has an above average 86 for the massive intimidation caused by his war elephants.
• Hernán Cortés has a good 82 for the fear he spread thanks to his brutal tactics and determination to acquire gold.
• Vlad the Impaler was famous for his intimidation tactics, scaring entire armies by showing them impaled corpses. As a king, Vlad's citizens were too afraid to commit crimes and bragged about this by having a golden cup in the city square, which remained untouched by any thief.

Intuition

• Joan is at 84 due to understanding how to use her weapons with her beliefs.
• William the Conqueror scored 80.

Killer Instinct

• Pol Pot is at 89 for even teaching kids who have just reached puberty (the Khmer Rouge were 16 year old in average) to fight with firearms, for mercilessly killing anyone who he saw as an obstacle in the way of what he envisioned as the perfect society and for leading the Cambodian genocide.

• Saddam Hussein is at 86 due to military training, the use of gas against civilians and his extreme measures against any kind of rebellion.

• William the conqueror is at 86 for being a descendant of the vikings.

• Joan of arc is at 83, even though for a female, she only kills her enemies to bring an end to the 100-year war.

Operational Experience

• The US Army Ranger is at 85 for operating worldwide during their missions, just like the Navy SEALs.

• The NKSOF is at 78, they only focus on their home turf, the Korean Peninsula, which is their own kind of terrain.

Psychological Health

Many warriors are measured by insanity on the show, mainly the violent individuals. According to the experts, someone does classify as insane if it is under about 50. Also according to the experts, being insane can destroy a warrior's chance for victory as their actions would be rash or illogical. If two insane people would fight each other, the one that would be more sane or the one that would use their insanity to their advantage instead of in a self damaging way has an advantage in the fight.

• Hernán Cortés has a reasonable 72.
• Saddam Hussein had a below average 46.
• Ivan the Terrible had a low 37.
• Pol Pot had the lowest at 27. The lowest X-Factor stat of any non-fictional warrior.
• Vlad the Impaler commited genocide but used it to his advantage as a weapon of war and made sure that his army and people were stable under his fear. His decisions prevented the Ottomans from taking over Wallicia.

Psychological Warfare

• The NKSOF is at a high 86. The NKSOF uses landmines and are willing to use warcrimes and extreme measures in a war. The North Korean's cult of personality shows how they mentally control their own people. They do not care if civilians get caught in the crossfire during their operations in South Korea.
• The US Army Rangers is at 74. Although they do want to appear threatening, they want to avoid killing civilians.
• The French Foreign Legion is at a high 87, because of using their Camillus knives in order to cause fear.
• The Gurkhas are at 85, because they move fast with their kukri knives and fear no death.
• The ancient Bronze Cuirass named Muscalata was shaped to show the muscular physique of the warrior as part of psychological warfare. The Carthaginians and Spartans used such armor in the show.
• Psychological impact is one of the reasons the Rajput warriors used two additional blades in their Katar daggers.
• The samurai often used intimidating masks as part of their armor sets to cause fear and confusion.
• The ninja utilized stealth, smoke and disrupting weapons like the shuriken or black egg to spread fear and disorganize enemy ranks.
• The Zande sharpened their teeth to make their enemies think they were cannibals.
• The Zulu hit their shields with their weapons and chanted high pitched battle-cries before charging in a war.
• Native Americans and ancient Celts used war paints and aggressive tactics to spread fear. Native American scalping tradition had significant mental impact on enemies.
• Dead bodies - Throughout history display of enemy's deformed dead bodies have been used as part of psychological warfare against surviving enemies. Vlad the Impaler impaled thousands as part of such tactics.
• Fire arrows - Ancient warriors, specially pillagers, often used fire arrows on their enemies or to incinerate pillaged towns and villages which ultimately caused great fear, confusion and lose of morale among their victims. In the show Sun Tzu, Mongols and the Vikings were shown using fire arrows.
• Flamethrowers - flamethrowers are used in modern urban combat have significant psychological effect. In the show, the IRA, Waffen SS used this.

Physicality

• Gurkhas have the highest at 91. Despite being short, the Gurkhas are physiologically strong and less susceptible to fatigue due to the high altitude mountainous environment of the Himalayas in which they are born and train from early life, strengthening their legs from incessant high incline traversal and lessening their dependence on oxygen after generations of exposure to the thin mountain air.
• FFL are at 87. Their training in the deserts is so harsh that those not physically fit would die or be removed from training.
• Ivan the Terrible has 84. This may be due to the harsh climate of Russia, Ivan's large size and for being able to handle the heavy Bardiche axe and the Pishcal musket simultaneously when firing the firearm.
• Hannibal is at 81. His soldiers proved their physicality in the crossing of the alps. Another interesting reason behind Hannibal's good physicality was his diet. According to the show Hannibal had a healthy and balanced diet habit which can be compared to that of a professional athlete.
• William the Conqueror has 78. Although overweight, William's constant fighting has made him a strong person.
• Genghis is at 76 due to a high protein diet suited for quick bursts of energy but poor for extended periods of exertion.
• Cortés has the second lowest at 69, possibly because he was a politician and never was a warrior before going to the New World.
• Joan of Arc had the lowest at 64, from lack of battle experience and her small female body.

Logistics

• Pancho Villa had the highest at 87, for controlling railroads throughout Mexico and having both his pistol and rifle share the same bullets. Also, he has medical supplies to help his sickness and his people.
• Napoleon had the second highest at 79, for having a great supply of artillery and cavalry in his army.
• Joan of Arc had the third highest at 74, for understanding how to use the siege cannon and also the cannon's supplies would be unlimited until the cannonballs ran out.
• George Washington had the third lowest at 73, for having to make his cannons out of improvised bronze items like candlesticks, pots, kettles, and a statue of King George.
• William the Conqueror had the the second lowest at 72, for having most of his catapults destroyed and even though his men could find trees to build new ones they could still die on the battlefield.
• Crazy Horse had the lowest at 54, due to not being able to mass-produce or buy his weapons, instead stealing them, and also the lack of modern technology and food shortages. Other Native Americans had this problem also.
• The Zande fought other African Tribes because of scarce resources due to Africa's harsh climate.

Training

• Among the revealed scores, the FFL scored the highest at 90. It's mainly because they went through some of the harshest training in the world under extreme conditions in the deserts of North Africa. According to the show, FFL's number of death during training is higher than any other military organization in the world.
• Gurkhas are at a high 87. Being performed in the high mountains of Nepal and sorting out the weak from the strong, the training is harsh. However it isn't designed to be very lethal, unlike FFL and Spetsnaz.
• Saddam Hussein is at 70, due to the fact he has oil money to hire guards with military training.
• Pol Pot is at a low 53, due to a poor economy, underage rebellion soldiers and using weapons more for genocide than fighting.
• Like the FFL, Spetsnaz training is life threatening and many soldiers have died in Spetsnaz training camps. They are trained to swim in blood, ignoring the smell. They are also beaten by their officers until they become resistant to pain. The NKSOF are believed to have a similar training method.

Tactics/Battlefield Strategy

• Most great generals have a score in the 80s. This is regarded as one of the "key X factors" in the simulation.
• Genghis Khan has the highest at 89. Genghis Khan is the only warrior to win after getting the edge in this X factor.
• Napoleon is a close second at 88.

Individual X Factors of season 1 and 2

Vlad the Impaler

Being cruel to everyone, using fear and death as weapons for psychological warfare.

Sun Tzu

Exploiting weaknesses. Use of strategy to predict how a battle will end.