Dune Awakening Story Line

Dune Awakening has released 1.2.20.0 Public Test Client Patch, with the full version expected to go live in November. This update is crucial for both combat and survival in Dune Awakening.

The core of this patch includes two highly anticipated features: Base Backup Tool and improved Carrier Ornithopters transport, along with a series of other optimizations and fixes. These features are still in testing; let's take a look at their effects and performance.

Carrier Ornithopter Vehicle Transport

Players can now use Carrier Ornithopters to move other vehicles from Hagga Basin to Deep Desert, or vice versa. This feature is especially beneficial for solo players, saving significant time traveling between Hagga Basin and Deep Desert.

Towable vehicles include Harvester, Buggy, Assault Ornithopter, and even a Sandbike bike. The only vehicle that cannot be towed is another Carrier Ornithopter. Inventory within the towed vehicle remains intact during transport and is not lost.

Restrictions

Currently, towed vehicles cannot carry passengers. The driver must operate Ornithopter alone, while other players must find their own destination to meet up. However, passenger transport functionality may be added later.

Additionally, after towing a vehicle to Arrakeen or Harko Village in Deep Desert, the vehicle will spawn normally, but players cannot access its inventory at the local CHOAM Exchange.

Base Backup Tool

Base Backup Tool is a new Iron Tier item that requires only 10 Iron Ingots to craft. It allows players to pack and store an entire base building and its internal items into a single tool for easy relocation. Currently, the following areas can be packed:

• Every wall, every workstation, and base.
• Every storage box and all items inside.
• Electrical configurations, plumbing, and all other details.

Base Backup Tool Limitations

Note that only items entirely inside the building will be stored. Items outside the building will not be stored. Additionally, vehicles within the base will not be automatically stored. You can back up the base by taking it apart and placing it in a crate.

Only the base owner can use this Base Backup Tool. Co-owners, regardless of their permissions, cannot use it. Furthermore, when the base is packed and repositioned, all items and crafting queues are perfectly preserved, as if nothing happened; however, permissions are cleared, requiring the player to reset permissions for the base and its internal crates.

Currently, this tool can only be used in Hagga Basin; backing up or placing a base in Deep Desert is not allowed. This is to prevent players from using zone lines to duplicate bases. If it cannot be returned to its original location, the system will attempt to automatically add foundations and support structures to help the base adapt to the new terrain.

Players can place backup bases between different zones on the same server or any Hagga Basin zone on a target server during server transfers. However, if a backed-up base is swallowed by a Sandworm, BBT and your entire base stored within it will be lost.

Each Sub-File console can only use BBT once every 3 weeks. You can back up and store multiple bases simultaneously (without affecting the active base count), but placement is still limited by the total active territory count.

BBTs cannot be traded, stored in banks or storage boxes, and can only be placed in the player's personal inventory. They can be manually destroyed, but this will permanently result in the loss of the base.

UI And Quality Of Life Updates

• A news subscription feature has been added to the main menu, displaying details of developer updates and patches.
• Research UI has been optimized for performance, making keyword searches smoother and more responsive.
• The icons for Fuel Cell items have been updated, with a yellow bar added to align with other menus.
• The UI of the trade pop-up has been significantly improved, aligning colors and icons, and fixing issues such as overlapping price inputs and warnings.
• Spice Wars Symphonics radio station has been added, featuring new ambient background music. Some tracks will also be available on Atreides Radio. Intermittent playback.
• Adjusted controller input for player-to-player trading; preparing to trade now requires holding down the X button instead of the right analog stick.
• Fixed an inconsistent behavior issue with automatic running while walking; now, enabling it allows continuous movement while the map is open, consistent with vehicle behavior.
• When a player's health is full, attempting to use a healing item will display a HUD alert.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where projectile weapons were damaging incorrect vehicle modules.
• When players do not have enough Dune Awakening Solari, the currency prediction text will be displayed in red.
• Fixed a bug that could potentially restore vehicle component durability.
• Fixed an issue where the laser turret on Buggy remained active after switching seats (but the laser firing position still has a bug).
• Fixed an issue where invisible colliders were generated when using a Carrier Ornithopter to tow a vehicle, preventing Carrier Ornithopter from landing properly.
• Fixed an issue where vehicles destroyed by storms did not have their inventory cleared.
• Fixed an issue where shields pushed vehicles; now, when a vehicle intersects with the shield's placement area, it will show that the placement is blocked by another object.
• Vehicle backup tool's recycling mode UI now clearly indicates that it will consume 15% of the vehicle's maximum durability.

These changes are clearly preparation for future server merges and population consolidation, as server meshing is no longer implemented. After these changes are complete, at least Deep Desert's population may increase again, which should be beneficial for boosting player enthusiasm.

Dune: Awakening is undoubtedly in trouble right now. Compared to its initial launch glory, player numbers are steadily declining, averaging only 11,000–12,000 concurrent players. Most servers are underpopulated. The once bustling and chaotic Deep Desert now feels empty, and trade routes are quiet. The world now feels lifeless.

This is a fatal problem for an MMO—no players. As a sandbox game built on tension and survival, it cannot function when the desert itself is lifeless. So what exactly happened to Dune: Awakening? This goes back to the initial problem: the conflict between PvP and PvE.

Why Are Players Leaving?

The key reason for the player exodus in Dune: Awakening is the huge disconnect between PvE and PvP content. In the first few dozen hours, players primarily spent time in Hagga Basin learning base building and resource gathering, which accounted for approximately 90% of their playtime.

However, once the endgame arrives, almost all players are left with only one option: to enter Deep Desert to find the highest-level Dune: Awakening items and equipment. This essentially forces all players who want to continue playing to enter PvP.

The frustration of PvE players stems from being harassed, ambushed, or having their content blocked by guilds when they simply want to progress and enjoy limited content. This frustration is entirely justified.

PvP players, on the other hand, are mostly motivated by challenge, the thrill of real combat, and fair competition, rather than simply causing trouble. They are equally frustrated by the current state of the game.

But the current game framework forces players into this conflict. When the mechanics encourage random encounters rather than meaningful ones, the tension quickly turns into toxicity.

What Do Players Really Need?

PvE Players

PvE players primarily feel they have no choice. While gathering, farming, or completing quests, they are ambushed by groups specifically hunting them, and they are often unprepared for combat. The best rewards and materials are locked in areas guaranteed to see PvP encounters, creating constant anxiety.

PvE players don't want absolute safety; they want meaningful progression without relying on the mercy of others. They need breathing room to focus on crafting and exploration, without fear of every outing becoming a potential ambush.

PvP Players

PvP players primarily feel that combat feels aimless. Dune: Awakening lacks a defined reward system for PvP players; combat is random, and even defeating any opponent doesn't provide much excitement, failing to satisfy either side.

PvP players crave skill-based gameplay, not cheap kills. They want contested areas, meaningful duels, and rewards based on strategy rather than simple ambushes or outnumbered attacks.

Official Solution

Shrinking The PvP Area

The developers made many changes to address this issue, their biggest initial adjustment being to reduce the PvP area by half. This allows PvP players to establish bases in the central PvE area of the map and safely access spice fields, rendering raiding mechanisms ineffective. This change has undoubtedly angered a large number of PvE players, leading to a mass exodus.

Instanced Loot

The official patch 1.2.10.0 added PvP Instanced Loots, meaning every player can obtain items from chests instead of having them snatched first. This is a positive step, effectively reducing the gap between players.

However, introducing this feature after the game population declines will cause S-tier loot locations that naturally attract PvP players to compete for to disappear, significantly reducing the already limited interest of PvP players.

How To Solve This?

Short-term Solution

Since the player population on each server is relatively small, Deep Desert areas could be connected to create a unified environment. This would allow players from different servers to coexist, trade, and fight without losing their progress.

This could revitalize Dune: Awakening, restarting the game world's economy and allowing players to trade items using their Dune: Awakening Solari.

Furthermore, this would rekindle the enthusiasm of PvP players, restoring a sense of danger to Deep Desert and bringing value back to the land.

For PvE players, a larger player base would create more opportunities for cooperation, alliances, and trade.

Long-term Solution

The developers could try dividing the game ecosystem into dedicated PvE servers and dedicated PvP servers, allowing players to choose based on their desired experience.

Players on PvE servers could focus on progress, crafting, and exploration without worrying about their progress being destroyed by PvP players popping up anywhere. This would provide a tense but non-punitive experience.

The developers could also make specific adjustments to the PvP servers, such as faster respawn times, higher rewards, and more realistic objectives. This would separate purposeful warfare from opportunistic hunting.

This approach can be combined with Deep Desert Instanced Loot, allowing multiple PvE servers to share one Deep Desert and multiple PvP servers to share another, ensuring each community has an active world. This isn't particularly complex for the developers, as they've successfully implemented it in their previous game, Conan Exiles.

In short, neither PvE nor PvP players are inherently bad. Both sides want a Dune: Awakening that rewards their time and effort. It's the system design that pushes both groups towards unwanted conflict without providing the structure or incentives to make these encounters meaningful. The real issues to address are the lack of clear objectives, poor reward balance, and the absence of a framework that makes conflict worthwhile.