Dune: Awakening's single-player mode went live on September 17, MassivelyOP reported. The update lets players explore the survival MMO's desert and face its threats and dangers on their own, without other players around, and it arrived alongside a set of adjustments and options aimed at people who want to play the game solo.
Supporting a single player required changes to some of the base mechanics of a game built as an MMO. According to MassivelyOP's summary of the update, single-player changes the following:
- The exchange operates as a vendor rather than a player-driven auction house.
- The endgame Landsraad simulates other guilds' attempts to gain power.
- Progress is kept within the Deep Desert area.
- The cartographer skill clears the fog of war across a wider radius.
The update also added a number of new game options that both solo players and self-hosted multiplayer servers can use.
Book One ends, and the wider game changes too
Beyond the solo mode, the update brought the end of Book One, the first part of the game's overarching narrative. Every story mission now carries new rewards, which are granted retroactively to players who have already completed those missions, and specific quests in the story line are now instanced.
The patch also added character server transfer options, a new character progression system, general performance improvements and changes to melee combat. The Deep Desert gained individual, selectable instancing for PvE and PvP, and the Landsraad was rebuilt around a mission-based framework.
Console head start
The same day, Dune: Awakening's head start opened on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S for players who bought the Deluxe or Ultimate packs, marking the game's first release on consoles. Funcom said crossplay between platforms is not enabled at this stage, and that it is working on adding the feature later in the year.
