How to Choose a Faction in Dune: Awakening
Dune: Awakening offers two major playable factions — House Atreides and House Harkonnen — each with unique impact on PvP combat, contracts, crafting progression, and reputation systems. This guide explains how factions work, how to join them, how switching affects your character, and what each choice means for gameplay on Arrakis.
1. Faction Overview and Gameplay Differences
In Dune: Awakening, your faction choice shapes your entire experience on Arrakis. It defines your access to exclusive missions, schematics, PvP allies, and political reputation paths. You can currently align with either House Atreides or House Harkonnen, each offering different strategic benefits. This choice is not cosmetic — it locks in critical systems tied to progression.
Importantly, homeworld and caste settings do not affect gameplay. These are purely cosmetic options without bonuses to stats, crafting, or combat.
2. How to Join a Faction
In Dune: Awakening, you do not select a faction during character creation — your appearance and customization options have no impact on faction alignment.
Instead, faction selection occurs later in the game through progression. To join either House Atreides or House Harkonnen, you must take the first quest connected to the factions at Griffin’s Reach Trade Station. After that, you must reach the Anvil Outpost, located in the Vermillius East region. There, you will unlock a series of quests that culminate in your choice between the two great Houses.
This choice is mandatory and tied to the main storyline — it cannot be skipped or bypassed. Reaching Anvil Outpost typically takes around 20+ hours of normal playtime. However, if you follow an optimized route, such as the Hagga Basin South progression guide, you can arrive in under two hours. Be aware, though, that rushing may result in missing valuable Intel points and opportunities to unlock additional classes.
Join a House Quest
3. Faction Switching and Reputation Consequences
Switching factions has major, irreversible consequences. Once you choose, you are locked into a reputation tree that defines your character’s path.
- Switching factions erases all previous reputation progress.
- You may only betray each faction once per character. Betrayed factions become permanently inaccessible.
- This system also applies to future factions introduced after launch.
Plan ahead — once you switch, there’s no way back.
4. House Atreides: Defensive Strategy and Diplomacy
House Atreides rewards players focused on cooperation, structure, and sustainable progression. It favors a more defensive and community-driven playstyle, especially for those interested in long-term growth and alliances.
- Improved relations with NPC factions such as the Fremen.
- Access to defensive structures and upgrades.
- Unique faction-based contracts and crafting schematics.
5. House Harkonnen: Ruthless Offense and Control
House Harkonnen is designed for aggression and domination. It suits players who favor conquest, resource exploitation, and open PvP conflict. Harkonnen tactics emphasize fast expansion and battlefield pressure.
Harkonen Recruiter Kazmir
- Exclusive access to advanced military tools.
- Boosted spice harvesting efficiency.
- Optimized for fast progression and territorial control.
6. Gameplay Impact of Faction Choice
Your faction determines more than aesthetics — it defines your mechanical access to the game’s systems. Choosing Atreides or Harkonnen directly affects what content is available to you.
- Locks or enables specific contracts, tech trees, and missions.
- Determines your allies and enemies in PvP.
- Shapes your political and economic progression paths.
- You can buy items and gear from the Harkonnen merchant based on your reputation (mostly cosmetics)
Harkonnen Merchant
7. Homeworld and Caste: No Gameplay Effects
Despite speculation, both homeworld and caste settings are cosmetic only. They provide visual flavor but offer no passive stat bonuses or gameplay advantages. Reddit threads and interviews confirm they do not impact combat, economy, or progression.
City
8. Faction Population and PvP Balance
According to beta participation data, there is a strong imbalance between factions: Atreides currently outnumbers Harkonnen 7 to 1. This has implications for PvP availability and map control.
- Harkonnen offers more frequent PvP engagements and faster access to contested zones.
- Atreides players may encounter competition for contracts and PvE events.
9. Non-Joinable NPC Factions
Several important factions exist in the world but are not playable by the player.
- Fremen: Can trade valuable gear and assist in specific quests if reputation is high.
- Bene Gesserit: Appear in narrative events and lore but are not joinable factions.
10. Essential Faction Tips for New Players
If you’re unsure which faction to choose, focus on your preferred playstyle. Your choice has long-term consequences.
- Choose Atreides if you prefer diplomacy, structure, and alliance-based progression.
- Choose Harkonnen if you want raw power, PvP dominance, and fast resource gain.
- Remember: betraying a faction is permanent. You cannot return.
