Dune: Awakening’s Chapter 3 is slated to release later today, aiming to “drastically change” the endgame experience while attempting to draw lapsed players back to Arrakkis by removing taxes and offering resource packages to help them rebuild lost bases.
Once it goes live, Landsraad progression will move away from stockpiling resources, being instead tied to missions grouped into different categories like exploration, combat, sabotage, gathering, or crafting.
Dune: Awakening Chapter 3 Improves Endgame, Removes Taxes
Missions allow us to gain standing with a house of our choice and can be shared with other party members. According to developer Funcom, they are connected to “a lot of the new content.”
Dune Awakening’s overland map has also been “completely reworked,” having its visuals improved while removing the ornithopter’s fuel and water mechanic. The locations on it house various new activities, including five new testing stations, the game’s dungeon equivalent.
One of the most important aspects of missions is the different types of experience they provide, required to progress through the specializations introduced in Dune Awakening’s Chapter 3. Housed in a new menu, they are spread across five large tracks to progress through once we reach the endgame.
As we complete missions and gain experience, we can unlock various specialization traits using Spice that grant a variety of bonuses, such as +5% headshot damage, 3 extra skill points, or additional maximum stamina.
It’s up to us to decide whether we focus on a single specialization track or dip into more, but it’s worth noting that, as we progress through their 100 tiers, the Spice cost associated with unlocking traits increases.
Elsewhere, the difficulty of testing stations scales up to level 999. Access to the first five levels is dependent on faction ranking. Past that point, it is tied to the last level completed. A greater difficulty means more dangerous opponents but also better loot.
These dungeons drop augment schematics that can be turned into proper augments using a new crafting station found in our base. When attached to gear, they improve our character’s capabilities through effects such as increased accuracy, damage mitigation, and more.
Dune Awakening’s Chapter 3 also “completely removes taxes” which developer Funcom admits was a “point of contention” for players who needed to take a break from the game, only to find their bases gone upon returning.
Furthermore, players who haven’t visited Arrakis in more than 28 days will receive a “welcome back bundle” with enough resources to quickly build a base and ready a vehicle.
Dune: Awakening’s Chapter 3 also includes other new features, including a story segment that sees us chasing a Face Dancer. It is accompanied by the premium Raiders of the Broken Lands DLC, both releasing today.
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