That existing lore, and the attention to detail of die-hard fans, was something the developers at Funcom constantly had at the front of their minds while developing Dune Awakening Story Guide: Awakening . I spoke to Gavin Whelan, the studio's Senior Art Director, about working with an existing IP and what the future holds for the upcoming g

This is because, later in the game, you'll be tasked with abandoning your sub-fief and moving beyond the starting area. The more you build up your sub-fief early, the more you can take with you later on. You'll be gratned a fabrication tool that allows you to copy and paste your sub-fief into a new area, so spend time making sure the structure is something worth taking with

Dune: Awakening also features shielded enemies that are a bit of a nuisance to deal with, especially for those who prefer a ranged playstyle. Shielded enemies take almost zero damage from attacks, but executing a Slow Blade attack (essentially a charged attack) can not only deactivate their shields but also often kill them in the proc

Of course, the true threats of Dune: Awakening 's open world are sandworms and coriolis storms. If players are defeated in any other way in the game, they have the option to either self-revive or intentionally succumb to the desert. If they do perish in those circumstances, they can retrieve all of their belongings in typical survival-crafting MMO fashion. Should they be swallowed by a sandworm or die in the middle of a coriolis storm, on the other hand, they will lose all of their belongings permanen

While most of Arrakis is a barren wasteland filled with scavenger camps and other locales to discover, there are also various settlements and trading outposts that are worth exploring. The first one you can discover in the starting area is called Griffin's Reach Tradepost, and has a merchant in addition to some other important N

It's all about taking your time to assess the situation and see how masterful you can be with your approach . After all, there's nothing more satisfying than watching an enemy walk into a trap after you've been waiting in silence for far too l

As soon as Dune: Awakening starts, players enter the dark hall of the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam , who beckons them with a simple, "Show yourself, child," and the character creator opens. There are a wide variety of different characteristics for players to adjust here — like Voice, Height, Face Type, Age, and the most intricate details of the character's build, hair, eyes, and much more. It's not the most extensive character creator ever made, but it's robust enough to offer some deep personalization for a survival-crafting MMO. If the options are too overwhelming, there are also countless presets for players to choose f

As an MMO, the multiplayer component is obviously a defining element of Dune: Awakening , expanding the scope of Conan Exiles , Funcom's previous multiplayer survival game. That also means that Dune: Awakening is sacrificing the ability to take on its challenges in single-player, so anyone looking for a solitary experience on Arrakis might have to turn to one of the various Dune strategy games made over the ye

Stillsuit fabrication is introduced early on in Dune: Awakening . However, while the task many seem optional, you should prioritize this goal. This is because, early on in Dune: Awakening, it's pretty easy to run out of water, and find yourself constantly using moisture on dew plants to barely stay al

Thankfully, Dune Awakening doesn’t make the mistake of asking you to fill your inventory with resources for hours at a time without doing anything else, instead ensuring each resource you collect is instantly used for something that helps you progress. However, there’s still a repetitiveness to general tasks that can’t be igno

Lastly, while your Arrakis guide will teach you a lot about what kind of things you can fabricate and craft using various resources. There are two main pieces of optional gear you'll want to craft early on: water carriers and suspens

Having experienced little more than the base level survival aspects, some tweaking during the ongoing closed beta periods will be needed. The majority of the objectives I was tasked with asked me to find specific resources, which were usually plentiful, and then return to my base to use it in crafting. Rinse and repeat. The sort of stuff has been the staple of this genre for years

At the beginning of the game, the Mother Reverend will ask where you were born and who your mentor is, which are important decisions that will shape your entire experience in Arrakis , so take your time choos

Unlike water, ammunition is plentiful and you’re introduced to weapon-crafting early on. With unique tools for blood extraction, placing respawn points, and resource mining, your inventory is full of gadgets. Rather than using pickaxes to farm copper ore, you use a lore-certified laser cutter. While I’m far from a Dune expert, nothing that Awakening introduces feels out of place in this unive