The large-scale beta weekend for Dune: Awakening is live now (May 9–12, 2025), giving players an early chance to explore Arrakis in Funcom’s open-world survival MMO before its full launch on June 10, 2025. While the beta offers a thrilling glimpse into the game’s survival mechanics and desert dangers, Funcom has shared a list of known issues that might affect your experience. Let’s break down the key challenges you might encounter during the beta, from technical hiccups to gameplay quirks, so you can navigate Arrakis with a heads-up.
Technical and Performance Challenges
As you traverse the Hagga Basin, you might notice some performance dips, especially when a sandworm is nearby. If your system struggles, expect frame rate drops during the sandworm’s roaming or dramatic breach animation—a spectacle that’s visually stunning but demanding on certain hardware setups. Additionally, interacting with the Suspensor-Pad’s suspension field can lead to jittery visuals and character repositioning, as the server adjusts your position in real-time. These technical hiccups are part of the beta process, and Funcom is likely working to smooth them out for the full launch.
Gameplay and Interface Quirks
The beta also comes with a few gameplay and UI issues to watch for. Placed thumpers—key for luring sandworms—won’t show a marker on your map, so you’ll need to keep track of their locations manually. Notifications for discoveries, like new resources or points of interest, might pop up twice, which can be a bit distracting. If you equip the Welding Torch, its tooltip won’t display, leaving you to figure out its function through trial and error. Additionally, the Reduction grenade’s visual effects might linger if the grenade is destroyed before it activates, creating a visual glitch in the heat of battle.
Abilities, Vehicles, and Visual Bugs
Some abilities and vehicle mechanics are still being fine-tuned. The Vehicle Repair ability from the Planetologist skill tree currently has no effect, so don’t rely on it to fix your buggy or ornithopter during the beta. Visually, abilities like Bindu Sprint won’t animate properly for other players, and attacks like Spitdart won’t trigger hit reactions on enemies, making combat feel less responsive. The Magnetic Attractor, Poison Spore Capsule, and Stunner abilities also lack cancel animations, which might make your character’s movements feel clunky. If you’re customizing your character, tattoos might appear in low resolution during creation or when switching tabs, though this should clear up after a moment.
Exploration and Crafting Issues
Exploring the Hagga Basin might come with some hiccups. If you reach the cave in the Static Compactor Challenge Room, you could lose your sprint ability, making navigation slower until you leave the area. When building, structures might snap below the surface, which could affect your base’s functionality or aesthetics. The Emperor’s Wings, a unique item meant to provide stabilization, is only partially working, so you might not get the full benefit during the beta. Additionally, there’s no destruction sound effect when mining buggies or ornithopters, which can make those actions feel less impactful.
Contracts, Audio, and Other Oddities
Contracts in the beta might display placeholder text like “XX_Item Name” as rewards, making it unclear what you’re earning until Funcom updates the system. The Stillsuit Seals passive, which should help with survival, isn’t functioning at the moment, so you’ll need to rely on other methods to manage water loss. Audio-wise, the lack of destruction sound effects for buggies and ornithopters might dampen the immersion when breaking down these objects for resources. These issues are minor but worth noting as you dive into the beta experience.
A Beta in Progress, A Launch to Anticipate
The Dune: Awakening beta weekend is a chance to explore Arrakis’ dangers and mechanics, but these known issues remind us it’s still a work in progress. From performance stutters to missing animations, these quirks are part of the testing phase, and Funcom will likely address them before the game’s launch on June 10, 2025. For now, embrace the challenges as part of the journey, and use this beta to learn the ropes of survival on Arrakis. Have you encountered any of these issues yet? Share your beta experiences in the comments, and let’s prepare for the full desert adventure ahead!
Source: Official Dune: Awakening Beta Weekend Known Issues
