Today, we take a closer look at the skill system in FUNCOM's promising MMORPG — Dune: Awakening.

Types of Skills

In the game, skills are divided into three categories:

• Skills — active abilities: grenades, turrets, "voice," energy shields, and more. You can equip 3 skills at a time.
• Techniques — passive buffs that enhance skills or reduce their cooldown. They work constantly but are also limited to three.
• Attributes — classic passives, with no limit on the number. They buff damage, repair, stamina regeneration, and more. More details below.

Starting Classes

At character creation, you choose a Mentat (mentor) — this determines your starting class. At the time of writing, there are five:

• Infantryman
• Mentat
• Bene Gesserit
• Swordmaster
• Planetologist

⚠️ Don't worry about making a mistake in your choice — during the game, you can learn skills from any other class by finding the appropriate mentor.

🪖 Infantryman

Elite troops of the great houses, versatile in firearms. Yes, shields in the world of Dune heavily restrict ranged attacks, but there are guns capable of piercing them — and that's why the Infantryman is valued.

Skills:

1. Collapsing Grenade — creates a field that pulls enemies to the center. Those caught in the zone are stunned and become vulnerable.
2. Gravity Field — slows everything inside: bullets, grenades, enemies. Provides time to retreat or clear out.
3. Anti-Gravity Field — disables gravity within the radius. Decide whether to fly yourself or let the enemies float.
4. Seeker Assault — slow but long-range projectile. Explodes with high damage. Can be manually detonated.
5. Fragmentation Grenade — a regular shrapnel grenade, but indispensable in an assault.
6. Shigacord Hook — like Spider-Man's. Swiftly latch onto anything and fly. Combined with a power belt — unbeatable mobility.
7. Energy Capsule — neurostimulator, boosts ranged damage by 50% for 10 seconds. Cooldown — 25 seconds.
8. Suspension Blast — knocks back surrounding enemies. Radius can be controlled.

Attributes:

• Heavy Weapon Damage
• Shotgun Damage
• Gunsmith (reduces wear during repairs)
• Maintenance (slows wear)
• Ranged Damage
• Disruptor Damage
• Suspension Efficiency
• Reflexive Reload — reloads gun after using a grenade/mine under the influence of melange

Techniques:

• Center of Mass — more damage to the body, less to the head
• Mobility Under Load — faster with heavy weapons
• Death from Above — increased damage in the air
• Suspension Dash
• Combat Conditioning — faster cooldown of abilities

🧠 Mentat

Representatives of a secret order with supercomputer brains. Masters of control and weakening opponents, indispensable in PvE and PvP.

Skills:

1. Guardian — turret shooting heavy projectiles, pierces shields. Perfect for solo play.
2. Seeker Hunter — guided needle, deals massive damage. Impressive but debatable.
3. Stunner — tranquilizer dart, stuns and makes the target vulnerable.
4. Poison Mine — poisons everyone upon activation.
5. Poison Dart — creates a poisonous cloud.
6. Energy Source — replenishes energy of nearby allies.
7. Anti-Grav Marker — neutralizes gravity in the area.
8. Solid Decoy — creates an illusion that then moves forward.
9. Gravity Mine — slows everything inside.
10. Barrier Wall — shield against ranged attacks, slows enemies.

Attributes:

• Shield Overload (under melange)
• Rifle Damage
• Pistol Damage
• Overall Ranged Damage
• Armor Wear Reduction
• Fewer Penalties When Repairing Clothing
• Back Damage
• Headshot Bonus

Techniques:

• Exploiting Vulnerabilities — 50% extra damage to a vulnerable point
• Sharpshooter — more head damage, less body damage
• Poison Tooth — passive, poisons enemies after your death
• Steel Will — resistance to the Bene Gesserit's "Voice"

🌍 Planetologist

Scientists and terraformers, experts in surviving extreme conditions. Not stars in combat yet, but in terms of support and survivability — they're monsters. Promising as a foundation for builds in PvE, farming, and exploration.

Skills:

1. Power Platform — launches you into the air. Can be used as a mobile lift, escape method, or even a combo starter (e.g., with Infantryman's "Death from Above").
2. Sand Cocoon — buries in sand, reducing incoming damage and restoring HP. Top choice for solo survival.
3. Flora Regenerator — plants a healing plant for all nearby allies. High cooldown, but the buff is substantial.
4. Moisture Trap — passively increases desert regen. Can be set as a stationary rest point.
5. Drought — dries up the area, reducing enemy heal efficiency and slowing plant growth. Counter-pick against supports.

Attributes:

• Bonus to HP Recovery on Sand
• Recovery Skill Efficiency
• Heat Resistance
• Increased Regen at Low Water Level
• Reduced Resource Consumption in Construction
• Increased Resource Gathering Speed
• Buff to Finding Rare Materials
• Environmental Fusion — makes you less noticeable if stationary

Techniques:

• Eco-Resonance — regen bonus near Flora Regenerator
• Growing Pulse — each heal tick increases its strength
• Sand Effect — chance to dodge attacks while standing on sand
• Natural Instincts — chance to find rare resources during normal gathering

👁️ Bene Gesserit

A mysterious order of women with iron discipline and colossal power. Their weapons are not guns, but words, genes, and influence. In battle — masters of mind control and psychological warfare.

Skills:

1. Voice — compels an enemy to execute a command: drop a weapon, freeze, or turn away. Doesn't work on everyone, but powerful.
2. Shadow of Truth — temporarily makes you invisible. Any action breaks the effect.
3. Mind Scream — disorients enemies in the area, reducing accuracy and slowing reactions.
4. Punishing Mantra — creates a field that enhances ally damage and increases incoming damage to enemies.
5. Illusion of Pain — enemy takes "head" damage, but it actually affects energy or armor. Psychological attack.
6. Memory Channel — activates ancient knowledge, granting a random buff: speed, resilience, or recovery.
7. Genetic Mark — places a "fate mark" on a target. Damage to marked enemies is boosted by the entire group.

Attributes:

• Control Resistance
• Voice Enhancement
• Energy Recovery Speed
• Mental Attack Resistance
• Command Buff Effectiveness
• Bonus When Interacting with NPCs

Techniques:

• Sisterhood Will — reduces the effect of enemy "Voice"
• Blood Call — temporarily speeds up skill cooldown during damage
• Will Suppression — holds enemies under control longer
• Ancient Instincts — chance to automatically avoid control once every few minutes

⚔️ Swordmaster

Remnants of those who completed the now-defunct Ginaz school. Revered throughout the Empire. Their mastery of combat techniques remains unmatched.

🥋 Swordmaster Skills:

1. Eye of the Storm — you whirl with your blade like a storm, striking everyone around.
2. Disruption — focus your attention and guarantee a parry of the next melee attack, delivering a counter that injures the opponent's arm and reduces their damage for a short time.
3. Riposte — parry the next melee attack and counterattack, inflicting a bleeding wound.
4. Reflection — enter a defensive stance, reflecting incoming darts. The ability works as long as you have stamina.
5. Inspiration — inspire yourself and allies, increasing melee damage.
6. Crippling Blow — a strike below the knee that slows your enemy. A dirty move... but in war, there are no dueling rules.
7. Dash and Knee Strike — leap forward, dealing stunning knee damage. Disables the target for a long time.

🛡️ Swordmaster Attributes:

1. Precise Parry — when your blood is infused with spices, your damage resistance increases.
2. Long Blade Damage — your damage with swords and rapiers is increased.
3. Blade Damage — you deal more damage with melee weapons.
4. Solid Stance — reduces knockback damage.
5. Confidence — each sprint attack or slow blade attack increases your damage resistance.
6. Bleed Resistance — bleed state accumulates slower.
7. Foresight Strike — if your blood is infused with Melange spices, your next strike will hit twice.
8. General Training — your maximum stamina is increased.
9. Desert Adaptation — reduces stamina loss from dehydration.
10. Field Medicine — increases healing from medkits.
11. Enhanced Hydration — the higher your hydration, the higher your stamina.

🧘 Swordmaster Techniques:

1. Dance of Blades — eliminating an enemy temporarily boosts your next blade attacks.
2. Life on the Edge — at low health, your senses sharpen: regeneration increases by 200%, knockback damage is reduced, and stamina consumption is decreased.
3. Desperate Lunge — lunging toward an enemy makes you vulnerable, but you've learned to use it to your advantage: sprint attacks increase damage resistance.
4. Breath Control — you recover stamina faster.

From the closed testing experience — you will be able to learn all skills, attributes, and techniques if you level up sufficiently. Learning occurs with masters: the first level of skills only requires meeting a master, but all subsequent levels require completing a quest chain with an advanced master. Good luck, traveler. Arrakis does not welcome everyone.