I’m again this week to cap off my preliminary impressions of Dune Awakening after gathering my ideas and permitting them time to actually bloom earlier than percolating into the carafe of gameplay opinions. There’s a lot to love about this sport from the gorgeous graphics and animations to the best way Funcom captured the essence of Dune to recreate the residing, respiration world of Arrakis. In my final column, I informed you all about my expertise making an attempt to change into a real Fremen… which now that leads me into the endgame.
I attempted. I severely, actually tried to get into the endgame like a correct gamer. However after my time in Delusion of Empires, Pax Dei, and doubtless another survivalboxes I’m not considering of proper now, I’ve realized these video games simply aren’t for the kind of PvP participant I’m. I don’t actually wish to run round for hours increase a base and establishing myself as a base builder, robber baron, or no matter taste of survivor the sport consists of. I simply wish to struggle once I can and run by some story once I wish to loosen up. Dune Awakening handles the story bits pretty properly, however the PvP fights are simply packed behind an excessive amount of stuff I don’t wish to do.
So after all of the PvE play, of following the tutorials and making an attempt to understand the sport for what it’s, I discovered that I wasn’t even near the PvP elements of the sport, which is the place I actually wish to reside. I suppose I’m simply an outlier within the PvP world of players. Clearly there’s a want for this type of sport, however I simply need extra simply accessed PvP in my MMOs.
I do know that’s what the likes of Valorant, Overwatch, Mecha Break, and a thousand different titles are purely constructed for. It’s simply that I wish to have my cake and eat it too. I would like one other unique Guild Wars, the place I may play by and benefit from the MMO themepark once I wished a narrative and totally realized world after which change over into the straight-up battles of PvP once I was itching for a very good struggle. It’s simply so bizarre to me that even when I wished to search for a struggle in Dune, I spotted I wasn’t going to seek out one anytime quickly.
That’s once I remembered my outdated Crowfall guild. I’ve been out and in of so many video games since then that I had forgotten how unimaginable these persons are. I briefly ran round Pax Dei with them, they usually blew my socks off at how a lot they had been in a position to accomplish. I assumed I had checked on whether or not they had been taking part in Dune, however one way or the other I missed them. Properly, it seems they’re in it to win it, they usually had been pleasant and type sufficient to spice up my sorry butt into the Deep Desert.
On a fast apart, since I hadn’t realized they had been taking part in, I merely discovered the very best inhabitants server I may throughout character creation and began up there. Meaning, with there being so many servers, I didn’t magically create my character on their server. And as I sort this, there aren’t any accessible server transfers, so I needed to begin over. Thankfully, even with my brand-new character straight out of the tutorial, these people had been in a position to get me on my toes and method past the place I had gotten to naturally taking part in the sport.
So as soon as I had the gear and the means I used to be in a position to really discover out what was up with the Deep Desert. First, I needed to get there, which concerned flying north for a protracted methods. I couldn’t consider how massive the starter map was. When it comes to a typical MMO, it was large! It’d possible be the scale of three zones in Guild Wars 2. As you journey between named areas in Dune, you’ll see small messages pop up on the display indicating that you simply’re coming into a brand new space within the zone. It doesn’t give a tough load display or something, both – only a transient message and countdown timer. And perhaps since there are principally no different gamers round, it’s extraordinarily seamless. Nevertheless, when it got here time to really journey to a brand new map there was a tough load display.
However then it will get bizarre. As an alternative of simply coming into the Deep Desert, you get put into an overworld map. It’s a completely top-down view the place you click on to maneuver. As an alternative of flying your ornithopter from a third-person perspective as you may have this complete sport, you as an alternative click on round prefer it’s some form of RTS sport. It was very unusual. I actually can’t consider one other MMO the place there was such a stark distinction in gameplay unexpectedly. It felt really weird.
It seems on this mode you may have new gas and water meters to keep up, and as you fly round, these will deplete. You need to fly over small islands that point out they are going to refill your water or gas, after which you possibly can proceed in your method. Apparently, that is how journey works, not simply to the Deep Desert however to a few of the different zones within the sport. I consider there are cities and different PvE maps, however I’m not curious about these proper now. So I flew out to the Deep Desert and clicked to enter. As soon as there, it was form of much more of the identical. to be trustworthy.
There’s mud in all places and a few player-made buildings. I suppose since all the great loot and kit drops right here, plus the sport is a number of months outdated now, the Deep Desert is rather more populated than the remainder of the sport. Quite than seeing a player-made construction every now and then, you’ll discover them strewn far and wide.
Giant areas of the Deep Desert are PvE-only nonetheless, although, which mockingly was a little bit of a reduction as regardless of being right here, I hadn’t leveled up any expertise but. I acquired equipped with endgame armor and weapons because of my guildies, however I used to be nonetheless going to be method outmatched if I acquired right into a battle with anybody. I is perhaps a 1337 gamer, however with out the passives and expertise that include a correctly leveled character, I used to be going to get smoked.
However the attract coming to the Deep Desert is all the most effective loot within the sport. There are shipwrecks and dungeon-styled areas for roaming and looting high-end mats. The worms are apparently greater too!
And that’s form of it. My takeaway is that in the event you’re a PvPer who simply desires to play the sport for enjoyable and interact in battles once in a while, Dune Awakening might be not it. It’s too lengthy a PvE/survival drag to get to the PvP parts, and once you do, it’s essential to be grouped up for achievement. There are a number of avenues for being a solo participant in right here, however it’s going to be harmful and onerous to not get wrecked by organized teams. You really want some high quality pals like I had to assist out and work along with you.
Now, if you’re somebody who’s engaged with a stable group of different gamers and enjoys not simply the basebuilding features and fight however actually working collectively in the direction of a shared aim whereas competing with different guilds for loot and glory, then Dune Awakening could also be excellent for you. For me, popping in to take a look at the sport is enjoyable, however in any other case I’ll proceed to march on.
