Funcom's Joel Bylos Talks PVP and Its Future Inside New Dune Game

Funcom’s Creative Director, Joel Bylos, recently shared a detailed update on the state of PvP in Dune: Awakening, following player feedback from a Reddit AMA session. The update admits that the current PvP system falls short, with risks outweighing rewards for many players.

A major change is coming to the Deep Desert, a region designed for PvP. Some areas will soon shift to “Partial Warfare (PvE)” zones, allowing players to explore testing stations and gather T6 resources without the threat of unwanted combat. Bylos explained that the highly competitive nature of the Deep Desert has been locking players out of endgame content. Despite these changes, the Deep Desert remains vast—beta testers only explored a quarter of it during a weekend, and the weekly “Coriolis Sandstorm” reshuffles the map, keeping resource hunts challenging. Funcom plans to distribute surveys to gauge player opinions on these map adjustments.

Bylos emphasized that Dune: Awakening is built for multiplayer collaboration, with the endgame balanced around guilds and groups. Solo players may find progression grindy. Key PvP areas, like Landsraad control points, shipwrecks, and major spice fields, will retain their “War of Assassins (PvP)” status. Landsraad, a contentious feature, will see tweaks to address issues like resource hoarding and tasks being completed too quickly. Funcom is also introducing micro-rewards for solo and small-group players and expanding the variety of activities to ensure not everyone can do everything at once.

PvP balance is another focus, particularly around scout ornithopters, which players criticized as overpowered due to their rockets. Bylos acknowledged that ornithopters shouldn’t dominate battles and outlined upcoming debuffs to their speed, maneuverability, and heat generation, alongside faster thruster boosts for escapes. A new T5 duraluminum rocket launcher will help counter them. Funcom previously addressed an ornithopter griefing tactic—using them to “ground pound” players—by removing vehicle damage entirely.

While no firm timeline was provided, the ornithopter changes are expected “shortly.” Funcom’s focus remains on refining PvP to align with the game’s collaborative, multiplayer vision while addressing player concerns.