Dune: Awakening’s Respawn Disaster Left Me Stranded, Naked, and Fighting for Survival
Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be stranded in your underwear, miles from home, with nothing but sand and sandworms for company? Welcome to my wild ride in Dune: Awakening, where a busted respawn system turned a simple desert stroll into a survival nightmare.
- Getting devoured by sandworms wipes your inventory
- Respawn system can leave you far from home
- Losing your vehicle and supplies makes survival tough
- Game mechanics encourage careful planning
Sandworm trouble: respawn gone wrong
In Dune: Awakening, death is usually a minor setback. You respawn, pick up your stuff, and move on—unless you run into a sandworm. These iconic monsters, famous from the movies and even popcorn buckets, are the ultimate hazard on Arrakis. When they get you, they strip you down to your undies and gobble up everything you own. It’s a clever mechanic that forces you to respect the desert, but it also led me straight into one of the most frustrating moments I’ve had in gaming this year.
Lost everything but my dignity (barely)
Normally, I’d prepare for sandworm encounters by stashing valuables and carrying only the basics. This time, feeling a bit too confident, I took a risk. I was collecting flour sand, my sandbike parked nearby, and figured I could outrun any worm. Spoiler: I couldn’t. The sandworm ate my bike, my clothes, my tools—everything. When I respawned, the game kindly handed me a vehicle backup tool, but my bike was gone. I found myself at the Riftwatch trading post, 1,500 kilometers from home, half-dehydrated, in nothing but my underpants.
Respawn system: help or hindrance?
Thinking I’d made a mistake, I tried dying and respawning again. Nope—still stranded. Without a vehicle or an active respawn beacon (which I forgot to craft), my only options were Riftwatch or another far-off trading post. You can respawn at your base, but you need to manually enable this every time you build a new one. It’s a detail that’s easy to overlook, especially when the game throws so much info at you after the tutorial. Wouldn’t it make sense to ask if you want your new base as a respawn point?
Drum sand and the struggle home
To make things even more challenging, the region I was in—Vermillius Gap—features “drum sand.” Every step I took made thumping noises, which basically rang the dinner bell for sandworms. Normally, I appreciate how Funcom builds survival around Arrakis’ harsh ecology, but this time it just felt unfair.
After 90 minutes, three more worm-related deaths, and two from dehydration, I finally crawled back home. My patience was gone, and the thought of rebuilding everything I’d lost was exhausting. Still, I’ll return to Dune: Awakening—it’s one of my favorite games of 2025 so far. But next time, I’ll make sure to triple-check my respawn settings before venturing out.
