10 Dune Awakening tips and tricks we wish we'd know earlier

The Dune Awakening tips and tricks laid out below are all the special pieces of advice that I wish I'd known before I started my journey on Arrakis, the little moments of understanding that had to be earned through hard experience and suffering. These tips aren't just about how to play, they're how to succeed: exploitable strategies and nuances to Dune's gameplay systems that aren't obvious when you start off.

Fortunately, having spent a lot of time wandering the sands, I've brought out the top 10 tips I wish I'd known before starting off in Dune Awakening, and to master the powers of a true survivor in this sci-fi hellscape...

1. Survey Probes should be your first priority in any new region

Each region is clouded over when you first reach it, and while exploring around will slowly scrub away the fog of war, you can reveal the whole thing by firing a Survey Probe into the air. These are recon devices that you get very early on and aren't hard to make – the launcher itself is reusable and your Fabricator can create new ammo – but the challenge is that you need to fire the probe from a certain height to get it to work, meaning you'll need to find a mountain or precipice and climb up to the top.

When you reach the new region, I recommend stowing your gear somewhere safe, getting on a bike, and exploring until you find a very high point, then heading up there to fire the probe. You'll thank yourself later, as it means you can orchestrate the rest of your explorations with full knowledge of the area.

2. Climbing allows for unconventional strategies

While some dangerous areas are contained in spaces like underground facilities, outside bandit camps and danger zones allow a lot of freedom for how you approach them. Rather than use the paths and doors that the regular enemies would use, try finding new entrances and exits to make use of this advantage. Sniping is an especially valid approach with this strategy, climbing to elevated ground and picking off opponents. Speaking of which…

3. Remember to shoot unshielded enemies and melee shielded ones

Dune Awakening has both shielded and unshielded enemies, and how you're meant to deal with each one is specific: shielded enemies can't easily be killed with firearms and ranged attacks, especially early on. You need to defeat them with the slow heavy attacks tied to melee weapons.

This means it's best to clear out unshielded opponents early on with precision headshots, then fight the shielded foes without the fear of being shot at in the process. Alternatively, try kiting shielded foes away so you can deal with the different groups individually.

4. Always extract your enemies' blood

I can't stress this enough: morbid as it sounds, obtaining the Blood Extractor and Blood Sack is an essential element. Once you kill enemies, you'll be able to leech 1000ml of blood out of their corpses by using the extractor, then store it in your pouch.

This blood can be drunk as is if you're suffering from dehydration, but I don't recommend it unless in dire need, as it comes with a debuff. Instead, bring it back to your base and feed it through a Blood Purifier. When powered up, the Purifier will convert and store it as water, a massive benefit. Converting blood to water should become part of your survival routine on Arrakis for any real chance at survival.

5. Don't take your chances with Worms and Sandstorms

Arrakis is obviously full of threats for you to deal with, the biggest two of which are the Sandstorms and the Dune Awakening Sandworms. The former of which occur randomly (you'll get two minutes advance warning), while the worms are summoned by vibrations and noise on open sand. Worms kill you instantly if they catch you, while Sandstorms shred your health until either they pass or you find cover.

What's so dangerous about both of these isn't just their damage, but the fact that being killed by either one deletes your backpack. When slain in other ways, players drop their items and can retrieve them again if they can make it back to that spot, but Sandworms and Sandstorms erase what you leave behind (with the exception of the first time either one kills you to tutorialize this element). Avoid both at all costs, especially if you have valuable gear on you!

6. Keep your base powered or you'll regret it

Your base is fueled by a generator you'll build yourself, but it's not just there to ensure your constructed devices work. Fuel generators provide shielding to the base structure itself, which stops it from being damaged by sandstorms, and power up the built-in security systems that keep out enemy players. Your generator will tell you how long the energy will keep it powered for, but once it runs out, your base will be damaged by elements and potentially picked apart by players. Make sure you come back regularly and ensure the generators have ample fuel, especially if you're building new devices that might drain them further.

7. The map will help you find whatever it is you need

Once you fire the Survey Probe, it won't just show you all the local landmarks – it'll lay out all the places you can gain resources too. These come in two types – ambient resources that can be farmed or gathered from (water fields, ore for mining, etc) or landmark locations that can be picked for more complex components, like crashed ships and research stations. Scroll over these and they'll actually tell you what components and materials you can find, so not only can you work out where to go on Arrakis, you can also decide why you'd want to.

8. If you're flush with cash, a Tradepost is a good way to get easy resources

You'll discover the Dune Awakening Griffin's Reach Tradepost fairly early on in the main questline, but each region has its own Tradepost that serves as a hub for missions and allows you to meet up with factions. While they serve many purposes, one of the most under-sung elements are the titular traders. While they rarely sell anything too unique or exciting, if you've acquired a lot of Solari you can just buy whatever resources you need without having to prowl around dangerous areas in the hope of finding it. There's also a good chance of finding one of the Dune Awakening Trainer locations in locations like this, the special mentors who unlock new skill trees for you.

9. A Suspensor and a Shield are fantastic – but use them with care

Characters in Dune can get devices that they fold into their equipment loadout, and two of the best ones are Suspensors (which allow you to lower your gravity to float, negate fall damage and do major jumps) and Shields, which protect you from ranged attacks to a degree. They're incredibly useful, especially the Suspensor.

However, both of these have their downsides: firstly, they require a built-in power pack from which they both draw energy. Without a spare, you can find yourself depleted and struggling in a bad moment, so make sure you're taking that into consideration. Secondly, both devices (and ones like them) up your vibrational frequency and attract Sandworms much faster. If you're crossing the open plains, shut down all tech to reduce your footprint and make yourself harder to detect.

10. It's better to explore at night than in the daytime

Most survival titles tell you that it's the nighttime you need to fear, but in a world of baking sun, it's the day that proves more lethal. Night provides two major advantages – firstly, it stops you from overheating in direct sunlight (because there isn't any), so you can explore freely.

Secondly, most of the major threats tend to have an element of light to them that stands out more in the night to make them easier to spot, like surveying ships, the glow of sandworm's mouths, and so on. It means you can not only get around the world without burning, but you can spot dangerous or important elements more easily from a distance.

Want to know more about surviving this deadly world? To find out who has the best chance, check out the best Dune Awakening Homeworld, Caste and Mentor in Character Creation for you to pick here! Or find out to unlock all the mid-game gear with the fundamentally-important Dune Awakening Carbon Ore here!

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.