Awakening’s Endgame is the Ultimate Proving Ground for Its Longevity

Dune: Awakening is a massive game, not just because of its success since its launch, but the sheer scope of its in-game world. In order to properly adapt a world like the one in Frank Herbert’s beloved Dune series, Dune: Awakening has no choice but to be a large-scale map filled with exploration and survival, and it’s a blend that is largely responsible for helping the game resonate so well with players.

Working to survive Arrakis while collecting resources and pledging allegiance to House Atreides or House Harkonnen brings gamers an incredibly immersive Dune experience. For the majority of the game, Dune: Awakening is PvE. This makes sense, considering the harsh environments of Arrakis, but the game takes a jarring turn with its endgame. Once it’s time to venture into the Deep Desert, players are forced to pivot from the PvE loop to a PvP experience, and it can take the wind out of the game’s sails, especially for those who really don’t enjoy PvP. Thankfully, developer Funcom seems to have picked up on player frustration.

Dune: Awakening Player Shares Trick for Getting Around Fast

A clever Dune: Awakening player shows off a unique and hilarious trick for getting over and around difficult terrain quickly and easily.

Dune: Awakening’s Creative Director Speaks Up

Joel Bylos recently addressed players in an official blog post on Dune Awakening‘s website, and he had some exciting updates to reveal. Instead of making the Deep Desert entirely PvP, some areas will be changed in order to also satisfy players who have a strong preference for the PvE loop.

In the blog post, Bylos states, “Starting soon, some areas of the Deep Desert will now be flagged as ‘Partial Warfare (PvE)’ areas where players will be able to explore testing stations and harvest T6 resources without the threat of conflict they may not want.” While he doesn’t reveal exactly when these changes will come to the game, it’s still an exciting promise waiting on the horizon. Before, when the Deep Desert was believed to be only PvP, it had the risk of alienating players. When it comes to the MMO genre, forced PvP can sometimes be a death sentence, as it causes the player numbers to drastically drop once the game moves away from its initial gameplay loop. The endgame of Dune: Awakening is what ensures its longevity, so it’s exciting to see that Bylos, and Funcom in general, see the benefit of allowing the Deep Desert to support both play styles.

Working to survive Arrakis while collecting resources and pledging allegiance to House Atreides or House Harkonnen brings gamers an incredibly immersive Dune experience.

How Will Dune: Awakening’s Deep Desert Work Now?

The deepest parts of the Deep Desert will still remain PvP.

In order to still honor Funcom’s vision of a high-risk, high-reward experience in the Deep Desert, Bylos confirmed that “Landsraad control points, shipwrecks and the largest spice fields within this region of the Deep Desert will remain “War of Assassins (PvP)” flagged.”

Exploration is at the heart of Dune: Awakening, and as the game progresses and players become even more skilled, upping the risk by making the Deep Desert only PvP at first made sense, but the execution was simply off. Thanks to the upcoming changes promised by Bylos, Dune: Awakening‘s endgame can still be incredibly challenging while also catering to its PvE lovers.

Funcom’s Changes Are a Good Sign for Dune: Awakening’s Future

Dune: Awakening isn’t even a month old yet, and it has already proven to be a major MMO success. It’s amazing that so many players have already reached the endgame of Dune: Awakening, since it’s designed to keep players occupied for a long time. As Funcom continues to polish Dune: Awakening, the future of the game feels incredibly promising, as it shows that the team behind it is willing to take player feedback to heart.