A work-in-progress version of Dune: Awakening’s first big post-release patch is now testable on Steam, so you can hop in and check out the changes Funcom’s making early doors before it rolls out for everyone in a few weeks.
A bunch of the changes the game’s devs teased or confirmed during their recent AMA and letter to players haven’t found their way into the patch, or at least this early version. Though, you’ll at least be able to try out PvE in the Deep Desert, something folks have demanded en-masse.
Alongside pointing folks to the freshly launch Dune: Awakening Public Test Client on Steam, where you can now test out patch 1.1.10.0, Funcom have released the notes outlining what’s in it.
Among the highlights is the news that “the PvE area near the shield wall has been expanded to cover row A, B, C, D and half of E within the Deep Desert.” So, you’ll be able to check out some Deep Desert PvE, which folks had been calling for to avoid being forced into PvP during Awakening’s endgame, when you’re hunting for the best gear and resources.
I have noticed a few folks on the social arguing that this PvE expansion is too big an adjustment – we’ll have to see what the consensus is. Outside of that, Funcom have “reduced the frequency of Harkonnen attacks on certain Atreides bases (and vice versa) in Hagga Basin”, set up the main menu’s play now button to filter out private servers, and made sure “sandworms now linger for a bit around spicefields that have been recently harvested from”.
Meanwhile, you can now use, claim and list items straight to and from the inventory of your Ornithopter in the exchange. There are a bunch of handy minor tweaks to everything from base building to vehicles, combat and the UI. However, if you’re hungry for the big PvP changes that the devs have teased, adjustments to the Landsraad, or just the ability to deposit all of your stuff at once, you’ll have to keep waiting.
In the meantime, why not listen to the radio and read our DA review?
