Dune Awakening Gameplay overview: Survival, Crafting, Combat, and Base-building

Dune Awakening promises to be the next big survival MMO, entering into competition with games like Enshrouded, and Once Human. Set on the cruel desert planet of Arrakis, players will have their hands full simply making it from one day to the next. With a new alternate storyline, there’s plenty to see and experience, even for long-time fans of the books and films.

Funcom’s upcoming survival MMO releases in May 2025, so there’s still time to get ready. Ahead of its launch, you can use the character creator tool on Steam to prepare your character’s looks and starting class.

But, to find out more about the actual game, read below.

What does survival entail in the early hours of Dune Awakening?

Survival is everything in Dune Awakening — your primary concern will likely be having enough water to get by on, and every bit of water will be important to your overall survival in the early hours of the game. Granted, it will be a bit easier to come by later.

But first, you need to find resources, shelter, and water, and build a base. We recommend building a base somewhere away from the dunes and sands of Arrakis, to avoid being accosted by Sandworms.

Keep an eye on that blue meter on the left. That's your hydration (Image via Funcom)

The thirst management system is very important to keep an eye on, as it pertains to survival. The longer you’re out under the sun, the harder it’s going to be to keep that thirst slaked. Thankfully, it’s not as bad in the shade.

However, thirst is not your only enemy. In addition to other NPCs, you will also have to worry about Sandworms infesting the dunes of Arrakis. Keeping quiet is very important on the dunes. Luckily, there’s an indicator that shows the potential of a sandworm attack, which will make things a little easier for you. Keep in mind that if they swallow you, they consume everything you have on your person, and it’s gone forever.

Another nuanced facet of survival in the game will involve paying taxes. Failure to pay taxes on your land holdings will result in the Sardukar purging your presence from the map. So while you do want to keep hydrated, you will also have to appease the Emperor.

What can you expect from Crafting in Dune Awakening?

Crafting shows a great deal of promise in Dune Awakening. You’ll be given access to weapon crafting pretty early into the game, especially since crafting will be important to your survival.

From the beginning of the game, where you’re just making healing items, and making tools, to building huge fortresses, crafting respawn points, and blood extraction tools, there’s a lot to love about the tech in this game. In fact, my personal favorite is gathering resources with a laser cutter.

Remember, the Spice must flow (Image via Funcom)

Crafting is relatively simple in the early going. But eventually, you will need higher-level tech such as Fabricators, both regular and Large. Even if you’re more into the PVE or PVP side of the game, you'll need to invest time in both researching and crafting.

Regardless of what style of player you are, investing in the Crafting system will benefit you, and can help create better weapons and armor. You’ll have to make tough choices about what you prioritize, however, as is the nature of a survival game.

One really cool part of crafting is you can take your base, turn it into a Blueprint, and sell/trade it to other players. It’s easily one of the most interesting facets of crafting in the game.

What is Combat like in Dune Awakening?

Who doesn't want to unleash a powerful flamethrower on their enemies? (Image via Funcom)

Combat in Dune Awakening sounds pretty exciting. You will have four systems of fighting in the game: Melee, Ranged, Abilities/Great Schools, and Vehicular Combat. Since the universe of Dune uses shields, it will be a good idea to have a blend of melee and ranged options. Shields nullify incoming ranged attacks, and lasers cannot be fired at them at all.

The game will have a variety of weapons for both melee and ranged combat. For example, Melee users might wield swords, daggers, or crysknives, while Ranged combat will likely primarily feature lasguns, scatter guns, and darts. We also know that there will be Heavy Ranged weapons like flamethrowers, which promise to be fun.

Furthermore, the game will have various special abilities each character class can unlock. Although you only start with one, you can unlock more and more powers as the game progresses and you visit various trainers.

We don’t know much about vehicular combat yet, other than it will be fairly flexible, and feature everything from Ornithopters to tanks. In general, vehicles will be important as safer ways to travel and get your harvesters out to begin collecting spice.

Base Building doesn’t have to be done alone in Dune Awakening

Base building seems pretty intuitive, and working together to make it happen is a nice touch (Image via Funcom)

Since you can’t just live in a cave somewhere on Arrakis in Dune Awakening, you'll need to get a little into base-building. It doesn’t have to be a titanic death fortress, but it should keep the elements off of you, especially considering sandstorms are not a fun experience. At first, it’s just going to be a few walls, a roof, and maybe a floor.

Thankfully, the Dune Awakening tutorial will help you get through the basics of crafting a “sub-fief console”, so you can claim a portion of the map for your own. While starting simple is advisable, you can put together a truly fantastic fortress with some practice. As you progress deeper into the world of Arrakis, you'll be able to make bigger, better bases. However, one very interesting feature is that you can have your allies help you build.

You don’t have to construct your base all on your own. As mentioned earlier, you can save it to a blueprint to use later or to sell to someone else. As long as whoever owns that Blueprint has the materials, they can easily replicate the design on it.

There is a catch — you will have to pay taxes to the Emperor for your base. The bigger your land holdings/bases are, the more you pay. That means you need to put some effort into harvesting spice, so you can afford the taxes. Thus, there’s much more to survival in Dune Awakening than simply not dying.

Check out our other Dune Awakening guides and features

Edited by Arundhoti Palit