Awakening Solo Taught Me About Surviving on Arrakis

I know I’m far from the first player to do so, but I’ve finally logged over 100 hours in Dune: Awakening. However, not a single one of those hours has been spent alongside other players, as I’ve gone about everything in this game entirely alone. Sure, I might occasionally encounter enemy bases that have already been wiped clean of enemies by other players who arrived just before me, but I’ve not received one bit of direct assistance from anyone. Overall, playing Dune: Awakening solo has been an unforgettable experience that I’m certain would have been substantially different had I played it with friends or other players.

As a survival MMO, some might say Dune: Awakening isn’t “meant” to be played solo, as some of the more difficult content leading up to its endgame is clearly geared toward parties of at least two. In certain cases, the game’s deeper multiplayer framework does show through its solo-friendly surface, but it still rarely fully shuts anyone out for going at it alone. I would even argue that Dune: Awakening is actually a much better experience when played solo, regardless of its MMO tag and challenging aspects. Though it’s not without its shortcomings when played solo, Dune: Awakening offers something to loners that those with constant help might never witness, and that’s abundantly clear after 100 hours of play.

Dune: Awakening Review

Dune: Awakening thrives in atmosphere, worldbuilding, and survival depth, even if its combat and grind somewhat drag behind its setting and systems.

100 Hours of Dune: Awakening as a Solo Player

Dune: Awakening Is an Incredibly Meditative Experience When Traveling Alone

If you’ve read any of my other articles on Dune: Awakening, you’re more than likely familiar with what I value most in this game: the atmosphere. I’ve played plenty of MMOs before, and none have managed to capture me in the way that Dune: Awakening has, simply due to the meditative experience it can be when it’s played solo. Without constant chatter in my ears or the pressure to move when my friends do, I found I could fully appreciate the atmosphere of Dune: Awakening‘s Arrakis, which I consider to be a substantial part of what makes it such a compelling experience.

Dune: Awakening is quiet, it feels empty, and it can be a bit lonely at times when played solo. While this might seem like a given when you’re playing any game alone, I don’t think I’ve ever played an MMO that truly changed the way I viewed the world around me like this one has. Dune: Awakening‘s Arrakis is a massive desert with more open, barren spots than there are rocky or inhabited, and it feels even larger when you’re by yourself. However, being what it is, I feel comfortable saying that’s exactly how it’s supposed to feel.

One of the biggest elements that truly adds to this immersion is Dune: Awakening‘s soundscape, which I would argue should be front and center but simply can’t be if you’ve got other people in your ear. Knut Avenstroup Haugen’s score, for one thing, is one of the most praiseworthy soundtracks of any survival game to date, with a haunting way about it that really steeps you in the world. Beyond that are the sounds of distant machinery, the howl of the wind across the surface and the rumble of the sandworms below, and occasional explosions from spice blows that will send a shiver up your spine. All of this contributes to the feeling that Arrakis is the one with the power, and you are uncompromisingly subject to it.

Survival on Arrakis Isn’t Meant to Be Easy

Dune: Awakening‘s sandworms and storms are already terrifying, but even more so when you’re all alone. Taking long treks across the sand and attempting to complete multiple objectives in one trip requires even more preparation when you’re setting out by yourself, as you have no one to back you up when you run low on resources, your backpack space runs out, or you get downed by an enemy. Also, building your base, crafting vehicles and other items, and gathering the resources to do so can be incredibly time-consuming alone.

Without constant chatter in my ears or the pressure to move when my friends do, I found I could fully appreciate the atmosphere of Dune: Awakening‘s Arrakis, which I consider to be a substantial part of what makes it such a compelling experience.

However, while these things might make playing Dune: Awakening solo sound like a terrible idea to some, it actually enhances the experience that Funcom’s Arrakis clearly wants to offer. For Dune: Awakening to properly honor Frank Herbert’s legacy, it should feel like surviving in Arrakis was never meant to be easy, and it only gets easier with friends or courteous players at your side. Even more than the increased challenge, though, there’s just something to be said about how playing solo allows you to step into this harsh, demanding world rather than just a game that can be mastered.

Dune Awakening Safety Net Better Without

Why Dune: Awakening Is Better Without a Safety Net

Dune: Awakening lets players stumble through failure and discovery, shaping Arrakis into something harsher and more honest than most MMOs allow.

Solo Play in Dune: Awakening Isn’t Without Its Caveats

Solo Combat in Dune: Awakening Is Unbalanced

All of this said, while I would wholeheartedly recommend that Dune: Awakening be played solo, the experience isn’t without its caveats. These are particularly noticeable in the game’s combat, which is really not that great, with or without allies at your side. Firstly, Dune: Awakening teases stealth elements, but that’s about as far as it goes. Certain skills and gameplay mechanics indicate the existence of a proper stealth system, but enemy detection and alerts are very much out of balance with stealth gameplay. It’s unfortunate, as solo players could really benefit from using stealth if it worked.

This ultimately leads to some major issues with Dune: Awakening‘s melee combat, which is passable but still one of the most painful aspects of the game at the moment. Once one enemy in an area is alerted, it almost always happens that every other enemy in the area is as well. From there, not only do all the ranged foes begin making their way toward you, but any shielded melee enemies do as well. Here, the janky melee combat really shows its true colors, especially when you’re playing solo, as it can be incredibly difficult to juggle multiple melee enemies while the other ranged attackers are firing at you from a distance.

Dune: Awakening’s Endgame Has No Place for Solo Players

The other downside of playing Dune: Awakening solo is its endgame, which currently has no place for solo players. After the initial content and exploration in Hagga Basin, solo players encounter a steep wall when they reach the Deep Desert, as it is entirely aimed at guilds and large teams. Some solo players have found ways to make it work, but I personally just couldn’t stick with it. As such, I’ve now gone back to completing everything there is to do in Hagga Basin while I await some changes to the Deep Desert.

Certain skills and gameplay mechanics indicate the existence of a proper stealth system, but enemy detection and alerts are very much out of balance with stealth gameplay.

Fortunately, Funcom has already indicated that it is hard at work on implementing some balance changes for solo players, and hopefully these fixes will help with some of the above issues. Even with those problems, however, I would still more quickly recommend Dune: Awakening as a solo game before I would suggest playing it with friends or other players (unless, of course, your main focus is PvP). Based on my 100 hours playing it entirely by myself, I can confidently say that Dune: Awakening has a single-player experience in it that is worth dying in-game dozens of times for, so long as you have the patience for it.