Is PvP mandatory in Dune Awakening?

While Dune Awakening is an MMO with a pretty serious PvP focus, does that mean you are required to PvP? It would likely be a turnoff for many players to be forced to worry about being looted or killed when all they want to do is build cool bases and play through the story of Dune. Everyone comes to an MMO for a different reason, and wants something different out of it. Some want to control the economy and make powerful guilds, while others just like killing other players.

PvP is not mandatory in Dune Awakening. You can’t PvP at all, unless you’re in one of the regions that allows for it. You don’t need to be a PKer to progress in the game, but it does sound like the best rewards and challenges are for people who invest in that part of the game.

How far can you make it in Dune Awakening as a PvE-only player

There is no mandatory PvP in Dune Awakening, which is no doubt good news for many would-be players. You can’t be accidentally PKed, either, because it only takes place in specific zones, such as the Deep Desert.

There are fates worse than being PKed - like being eaten by a sandworm (Image via Funcom)

If you aren’t in an area that allows for it, you can only be killed by enemy NPCs, or gigantic sandworms. After all, death to sandworms is much worse, because you lose everything you had on you. We experienced that first-hand in the most recent weekend beta.

While you can do nearly all of the game’s content without PvPing in Dune Awakening, and none of the progression is locked behind PvP, the pinnacle/endgame content appears to be PVP in nature. We’ve yet to hear about any “PvE-focused endgame” content.

This could change between now and the game’s official launch. We do know that content like the Landsraad is not PvP only, since there are plenty of objectives you can take part in to gain votes for your faction.

There are also no PvE Deep Desert servers that we’re aware of, so it’s unlikely that players will be able to complete that content without getting their toes sandy, and jumping into PVP. If your goal is simply to play the story, and build an awesome base, you can do that without diving into the PVP portion of the game.

This could all change when the live servers launch in June though, so we’ll keep an eye on this. If there are pure PvE servers, or PvE endgame content added, we’ll update this article accordingly.

Check out our other Dune Awakening guides and features

About the author

Jason is an Esports and Gaming journalist at Sportskeeda holding an amazing 11 years of experience under his belt. Having put out 4000-plus articles and amassing over 12 million reads for Sportskeeda, he is among the company’s most experienced writers. Jason holds a Bachelor's degree in English from UNC Pembroke and was inspired to become a gaming journalist very early on in life after reading Nintendo Power.

Jason is a jack of all trades when it comes to gaming journalism. He’s a key writer in Sportskeeda's MMO department, but he also likes to help out in other categories, like streamers, RPG, card games, and whatever else is needed. A solo gamer at heart, Jason's favorite titles include Earthbound and Dragon Warrior.

Jason places high value on accuracy and relevance in his write-ups. He achieves this with thorough research to sift facts from rumors. One of the biggest highlights of his career is his interview with Canadian pro wrestler Kenny Omega about his inclusion in the Like a Dragon game series. He is also good friends with journalist Kazumo Hashimoto, who he admires for the kind of stories he works on and his deep ethics.

A true cinephile, one of Jason’s primary hobbies involves enjoying cinematic experiences. He also loves reading, be it fiction or manga, when not working. Additionally, he streams on Twitch and posts his gaming insights on YouTube.

Know More

Edited by Jason Parker