Surviving on Arrakis, the barren and treacherous planet from Frank Herbert’s Dune universe, isn’t just about avoiding dehydration. According to new stats from Funcom’s closed beta for Dune: Awakening, most players succumb to combat with NPCs, but surprisingly, deaths from sandworms and dehydration are equally common.
Our Ben tried Dune: Awakening during Gamescom and, curiously, couldn’t get eaten by sandworms no matter how hard he tried. It left us wondering—did his character smell bad enough to repel even Arrakis’ apex predators?
Funcom’s closed beta stats, however, reveal that sandworms have had their fair share of meals, tying with dehydration as the second most common cause of player deaths at 22%. The top spot, with 58% of fatalities, belongs to NPC combat—a stark reminder of just how dangerous life on Arrakis can be.
To survive, players must find water wherever they can—including from unlikely sources like the kangaroo-like muad’dibs scurrying across the desert. These tiny creatures may look adorable, but they’re a vital resource in Arrakis’ unforgiving ecosystem. Funcom has teased additional tools and strategies to improve survival rates as the game gears up for its early access release in 2025 on PC, with console versions to follow.
Would you brave the perils of Arrakis, or do the stats have you thinking twice?