Dune: Awakening

In Dune: Awakening, a trip can end before it starts: you leave for scrap, the sun drains your water, and a sandworm takes an interest in your route. Get onto rock or into shelter first. Drink, check the weather, and pick a shorter way home. Arrakis rewards the Sleeper who turns back with enough supplies to try again.

A useful first route

1. Build shelter and make water. Follow the opening Journey, the game's tracked story tasks. Put a small shelter on solid rock. When you reach Water From Blood, make a blood extractor and purifier so you can turn collected blood into water. Fill your supply before leaving.
2. Do the First Trial of Aql. The Trials are Fremen tests tied to the story. Track the first one in the Journey menu and head to Mihna Cavern in Hagga Basin South. It unlocks the Scavenger Stillsuit schematic; craft the suit to help save water. It will not replace a filled water supply.
3. Build a sandbike. In guided progression, Across the Gap sends you to Imperial Testing Station No. 2 for parts. Research the Sandbike Mk1 Assembly, make the parts you still need, and use a welding torch to assemble the bike. Add a fuel cell before a long crossing. If your research is already unlocked, check the Vehicles tab instead of waiting for that Journey step.
4. Grow into Deep Desert runs. Follow later Trials as you improve your base and gear. Work toward an ornithopter, the flying vehicle used to reach the Deep Desert through the Overland map. Make your first resource run short enough to bring both your supplies and your haul home. There is no prize for donating your whole kit to the dunes.

Check your mode before you pack

Single-player: Custom settings can change heat, dehydration, resource gathering, and what you drop on death. Check yours before copying another Sleeper's packing list. Your Deep Desert map does not reset. Official multiplayer: The Deep Desert changes after its weekly Coriolis Storm, so scout the current route before a run. Choose a PvE instance to avoid player combat, or a PvP instance if you accept that risk for higher mining and spice-harvesting yields. Private or self-hosted worlds: Check the host's storm and PvP rules and any custom survival settings.

Leave room for the desert's bad timing

Before a trip, fill your water supply, check your vehicle's condition and fuel, mark your destination, and spot rock or a building you can retreat to. If heat drains your water, rest in shade and head home early. If a storm approaches, get yourself and your vehicle into shelter, or store the vehicle with a Vehicle Backup Tool when you can. If a worm threatens a crossing, reach solid rock; leave a stranded bike if staying beside it puts you in danger. That is sound desert craft.

If you lose gear, return to shelter and rebuild a basic water and travel kit before chasing the loss. If your bike is destroyed, check the Vehicle Backup Tool's Recovery option. Eligible vehicles cost Solari to recover and return with reduced durability; items stored inside do not return. Take a short supply run next. The grand expedition can wait until you can get home from it.