{"id":1696450,"date":"2026-09-19T10:47:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T10:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jF4e3kAJ52UpKs5AaM6N2h"},"modified":"2026-09-19T10:47:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T10:47:12","slug":"dune-awakening-now-has-a-solo-mode-for-players-put-off-by-its-mmo-leanings-while-funcom-has-adjusted-progression-so-you-dont-have-to-lose-things-anymore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/dune-awakening-now-has-a-solo-mode-for-players-put-off-by-its-mmo-leanings-while-funcom-has-adjusted-progression-so-you-dont-have-to-lose-things-anymore\/","title":{"rendered":"Dune Awakening now has a solo mode for players put off by its MMO leanings, while Funcom has adjusted progression so ‘you don’t have to lose things anymore’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dune Awakening<\/a> was lauded for its survivalist take on Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic when it was released last year, but there’s one element of Funcom’s sci-fi adventure that’s proved consistently controversial, and that’s its MMO-adjacent elements. Players seemingly love constructing bases and braving the many dangers lurking in Arrakis’ deserts, but are less keen on sharing that experience with other players, especially when the game becomes more competitive in its PvP focussed Deep Desert.<\/p>\n

Now though, in a move that would please Harkonnens galaxy-wide, Funcom has made it so you can keep Arrakis all to yourself. Dune Awakening’s long-sought after single-player mode has arrived. Update 1.5<\/a> introduces a tweaked version of Awakening suitable for solo play, while also adjusting Arrakis in a bunch of other ways to make it generally more accessible and less punishing.<\/p>\n

Funcom has changed several core mechanics to make solo mode work, chiefly retooling multiplayer-reliant systems so they can work independently. The player-driven market known as the Exchange now functions as a sci-fi supermarket offering a wide-array of items for players to pick up as they please. Meanwhile, its Landsraad political system simulates rival guilds automatically, ensuring it “progresses even without player participation”. Finally, while not player-driven, Coriolis storms have been softened so that players can maintain progress in the Deep Desert, though Function cautions that these storms remain “very dangerous.”<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most interesting addition, though, is difficulty settings. Awakening now features three difficulty presets for both single-player and self-hosted servers, alongside a fourth, customisable difficulty mode that lets players tweak parameters like sandstorms, security zones, item durability, base decay and even XP multipliers.<\/p>\n

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