From Friday to Monday, the big beta of Dune: Awakening took place. MeinMMO author Cedric Holmeier tested it for you and reveals whether the survival MMO is also something for MMORPG fans.
As an MMORPG fan, I was very excited about the beta of Dune: Awakening. The developers market the survival game as a “survival MMO,” which piqued my interest. Even though some of the MMO aspects are said to appear later in the game, I was able to convince myself of the gameplay in the beta and get an impression of whether Dune: Awakening is something for MMORPG players.
Here you can watch the trailer of Dune: Awakening:
The grind is fun
In the first hours of Dune: Awakening, the game explains the basics:
- Water is vital for survival.
- The sun is dangerous.
- Even more dangerous are the worms, because if you get eaten, you lose everything.
- Collect as much stuff as possible.
- Upgrade equipment and bases, then head to the next area.
With these tips, I get sent from quest to quest to obtain more tools and upgrades for my base and my character. My constant companion is the giant sandworm, which always appears threateningly close and creates excitement.
The quests are typical for MMORPGs: collect this, complete that, and explore the first research station – these are the dungeons in the game. After the first few hours, my character leaves the starting area with the first decent equipment to establish a new home in the second area behind the desert.
This first period flies by, as the grind between collecting resources and defeating enemies is really fun. The resources spawn in the same locations each time, so I enjoy taking a detour on my way back from my mission to pick up some iron.
Dangers create excitement
In the second area, the tutorial is basically complete. While quests continue to push me forward, the environment and the enemies are noticeably more hostile. While a hit from the enemies hardly left marks on my desert outfit before, I now have to regularly retreat in battle and let my turret do the work.
Also, the previously distant worm often gets very close due to the “drum sand” fields. Twice it ate me while I was greedily looting a crashed spaceship, devouring my entire inventory and equipment. I hope it tasted good.
The increasing dangers are never annoying, and that is something that deserves praise for Dune: Awakening. Although my character needs to drink, he doesn’t suddenly lose all mobility or collapse immediately.
While there are debuffs, and they do have a significant impact, they never cause frustration. Even after the worm had eaten my equipment, I felt more motivated than frustrated – I wanted to quickly return to where I had just been.
Where is the MMO?
The developers of Dune: Awakening have already announced that many of the MMO elements will only come into play in the mid- and endgame, and that is why they were not included in the beta. Nevertheless, I was able to try out the guild system and build a nice base together with a few friends. The rights system works very well and allows players quick access to the important things of the base.
However, I have not yet been able to test the auction house and the PvP. Trading resources is an essential part of Dune: Awakening, even though I haven’t seen it yet. Accordingly, the large endgame PvP was also missing in the beta, yet there were PvP areas. The few fights there were only ones I could observe, and they looked more like fights against NPCs, only these played much better. However, the combat system of the survival game is not perfect.
What is completely missing are challenging raids and dungeons. The test stations, which represent the dungeons in the game, always offer the same enemy types. Those looking for boss and raid mechanics, hours of rehearsed fights, and hefty rewards will likely not find them in Dune: Awakening.
With a maximum group size of four players, the dungeons can be completed without much resistance; it just takes a bit longer alone. There may still be challenges for entire guilds in the endgame, but this cooperative aspect runs through everything that has been seen so far.
Conclusion: Not for hardcore PvP and PvE players, but…
… those who enjoy collecting, crafting, trading, chatting with friends, and being active in housing in MMORPGs will find joy in Dune: Awakening. However, those hoping for tough PvE challenges will be disappointed.
The same goes for players who love sieges in Throne and Liberty and battlegrounds in WoW. The PvP in the survival MMO resembles a third-person shooter, rather than having skills that would remind you of an MMORPG. However, those who like shooters and MMORPGs can hope for a genre mix with Dune: Awakening that tries to combine the best of both worlds, which it partly succeeds at. However, the beta itself did not run perfectly: Players mention 20 adjustments that would improve Dune: Awakening immediately after 40 hours in the beta
