How to complete the Dune Awakening Zantara's head bounty

Contracts are a key part of progression in Dune: Awakening, but not all of them can be completed as soon as you pick them up. Sometimes, you'll come across a quest requiring resources you don't have access to or a contract that sends you to a part of the desert that's too tough to handle.

Zantara's Head is one of these contracts, and it has the entire Dune Awakening playerbase stumped. The reward for taking down Zantara and delivering proof of his death is a whopping one million Solaris, which is more than enough to set someone up for life on Arrakis. Zantara is the guy that's been helping you since your crash landing at the start of the story, though, so many players are also wondering if it's even worth trying to cash in this bounty.

How to Start Zantara's Head Bounty

You can accept the Zantara's Head bounty as soon as you arrive at Griffin's Reach Tradepost. This is the first trading outpost that you'll visit as a part of the onboarding quests, and if you need help finding it, we've actually got a guide on the location of the Dune Awakening Griffin's Reach Tradepost.

Zantara claims he'll meet you there, but he's nowhere to be found once you finally make the trip. At this point in the game, the contract cannot be completed. It's just a piece of worldbuilding to explain why Zantara isn't accompanying you at this part of the story. A million Solaris would be immensely helpful for new players, but you can't get it no matter how hard you try.

Dune Awakening Zantara Location

Zantara is quite an elusive figure, and locating him in the wide-open desert is easier said than done. Zantara does come back up later in the game, though, so just keep playing Dune: Awakening if you want to find him. Get through the Trials of Aql and hunt down the Dune Awakening Third Trial location, and work through the main story quests to get closer to your reunion with Zantara.

Later on, you can kill Zantara and take his ring as proof of his demise. You won't be able to claim the bounty reward if you try turning it in, though. It'll be removed from your contract list and technically marked as "complete," but it won't make you any richer.

The Zantara's Head bounty really is just there for worldbuilding purposes. You can't even pick it up if you miss it the first time around at Griffin's Reach, and you can also abandon it early without any penalties. Other contracts can be picked up later or restarted if canceled, but Zantara's Head is a special exception.

Thankfully, the other bounties in Dune: Awakening don't work this way. Unlike Zantara, other bounty targets and contract objectives will always be marked on your map with a blue icon. While they won't make you a millionaire overnight, contracts are still the best way to make money on Arrakis when you're first starting out. The road to Zantara is long, so you'll need all the Solaris you can muster to gear up and prepare for the scorching sands ahead of you.