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Building a base inDune: Awakeningcan be quite challenging for newcomers, more so if they are not aware of the best places to build their shelters. Some spots are always taken first and for a very good reason: they offer the best strategic position to access resources, quests, and trading posts.
This guide offers players some insight into the bestplaces to buildtheirbasesinDune: Awakening.From the early hotspots of resources and access to quests, to the late game’s Deep Desert zones, where players can build an outpost.
Updated June 16, 2025, by Lucas Simons:Dune: Awakeningpost-launch has gone through a rough sandstorm, which has swept away many of the Meta spots for building a good base. Though most of them remain the same, there are places, especially in the Deep Desert, where players shouldn’t dare to build. This update adds a bit of insight into how the Deep Desert map is now more PvE-friendly, and the hotspots to build a base to avoid unnecessary PvP action for those roaming the desert alone.
Best Places To Build A Base In Early Game
There are several places where players can buildtheir first base inDune: Awakening, but here is a list of the ideal hotspots:
Next, players will find even more details on why to build their bases near these spots in the early stages of the game.
Aren’s Refuge Surroundings
This rocky island in the middle of two important points of interest (Griffin’s Reach Trading Post and Imperial Research Station Nº2) has access to most of the resources a player needs to kickstart their adventure in Dune: Awakening. It is also surrounded by many bandit camps andnear several unique schematic cheststhat players can loot every 45 minutes to get some extra mats to boost their gear, and of course, blueprints to craft powerful gear.
Near Griffin’s Reach Trading Post
A considerable vantage point, since it’s close to the first NPC hub players will find in Hagga Basin, and will help them get many quests to kickstart their exploration. Building a base here is optimal, but since there are few available build zones (most are blocked by terrain or open sand), it becomes problematic to claim a spot.
Near Imperial Research Station Nº2
The very starting point of the adventure, and the place where thePlanetologist Questline begins. Building here is a good choice for those who want to explore leisurely, and also offers considerable advantage when players need to move on to a better zone. There’s plenty of water and special mats to be farmed in the Research Station, and also some important schematics they need to improve their gear.
Best Places To Build A Base In Mid-Game
Moving forward with the adventure, players will be requested to move their base away from the early zone, and delve deeper into Arrakis. To reach the next destination (Vermillius Gap)players will need a sandbike, so build one before proceeding to one of these zones:
The sandworms in Arrakis roam a designated area, which is often limited between areas. If the sandworm is chasing you, moving to a new zone will reset the ‘sandworm threat’ meter.
Here are a few more details on these particular zones, and how players can take advantage of building their bases in these locations.
Near Anvil Trading Post
Once players move north towards the Mid Game stage, they will encounter a new NPC Hub called Anvil Trading Post. This zone offers the first series of quests to join one of the two factions (Atreides or Harkonnen), plus a bunch of water plants players can farm. It has access to Iron, more Granite for building, and it is near one of the best early schematic farming spots (Ghanima Cavern).
Near Northwest Ironworks
Offers a lot of places to build around this big rocky island, plusaccess to five schematic farming spots. The overlook from Northwest Ironworks can be used as a platform to deploy the Ornithopter and gain an altitude advantage. It is also an optimal sandbike deploy spot to reach the northern region of Arrakis by land. Plus, it has access to plenty Flour Sand spots that are safe from the sandworm.
Table Of The Gods
If players want to build really high and create a great sky-base, this is the optimal place to set their roots. It offers an overview of The Sheol and The O’odham, two of the late game regions in the game, where players can find Jasmium and Aluminum. On the downside, they will need to transport lots of resources by climbing, unlessthey have the Ornithopter already.
Best Places To Build A Base In Late Game
Reaching the endgame inDune: Awakeningmight take a few hoursso players need to consider building their definitive base in one of the following spots.
Eastern Shield Wall (Pinnacle Station Area)
Near the third unlockable NPC Hub in the game, there’s a wide area filled with late game resources like Aluminum, Basalt, and of course, some neatschematic farming spots like Southern Comms. There’s plenty of space, plenty of resources, and lots of Poppy fields for players to gather dew. Near the mid-region ofEastern Shield Wallthere are at least 20dew gathering hotspots, so building lots of water cisterns and accumulating water for crafting is a good choice here.
Eastern Shield Wall (North)
Closer to the border of the map, it offers a considerable altitude advantage to build a sky base. Also, close to end-game PoIs and schematic farming spots. There’s plenty of Aluminum, and its easy access to the Deep Desert entrance makes it a strategic spot for big guilds looking to construct a base of operations. Beware, though, there are a few PvP-enabled zones nearby. Since there’s plenty of space to build here, many clans have grown attached to this area. Think of this area as the ideal base of operations for big clans.
Eastern Shield Wall (The Pillars)
The Pillars is the middle section between Eastern Shield Wall and Hagga Rift, and players can identify for its many rocky pillars ascending into the sky. That’s where the real base-building spots are located. The elevated platforms offer plenty of resources, and the altitude advantage makes it a great place to deploy the Ornithopter and a confluence of various farming routesfor resources like Calibrated Servoks, Carbon, Erythrite, and Aluminum.
Eastern Shield Wall (South Overlook)
This spot is located near the Atreides Faction base, and overlooks the O’odham and offers a nice plateau to build sky bases. With many pathways to descend the mountain using the Buggy or the Sandbike, and a nice deploy altitude for the Ornithopter, this is the prime spot for big guilds who want to control the influx of resources in Hagga Basin.
Best Places to Build a Base in the Deep Desert
One of the things to keep in mindwhen building a Deep Desert basein Dune: Awakening is that there are now two main zones cut by a border right in the E line. Taking a look at the grid in the image above, players will notice that the PvE zone has been extended from B to E, and that there are several rocky islands added in each quadrant. The ideal spots to build a base are the Rock Isles, located betweenE1andE4, and betweenE8andE9. These places are close to certain areas that are often filled with Titanium Ore (G-H 7), and for those aiming to play solo, offer a quick retreat from the PvP zone that can get tremendously heated in peak-player hours.
These rocky islands play a fundamental role in ensuring players have enough space to build optimal bases that can be used as their footholds in the Deep Desert. Though many believe building a base in a place that resets every week with the Coriolis Storm is a waste of time, this is mandatory for those who want to reach the top tier in terms of equipment (Plastanium), since they will need the resources that only pop up in the deep desert to do so.
