Best Base Locations in Dune Awakening

The best base locations in Dune Awakening are on rock in Hagga Basin, next to the ore you need for your current tier. Start near Griffin's Reach Tradepost (copper and granite), move to the Ironworks for iron, then to the Hagga Rift for erythrite and the Wreck of the Alecto for aluminum and basalt. Sandworms cannot reach you on rock.

Each spot below is ranked by how many ore nodes sit around it. Granite and copper are everywhere in Hagga Basin. Iron, aluminum and carbon are several times scarcer, and erythrite, jasmium and Flour Sand are rare. The common ores are everywhere. The rare ones decide where you build.

What makes a good base location

• Rock, not sand. Worms hunt on open sand. A base on a rock shelf lets you step outside, craft and park without triggering a worm sign. Before you place the console, walk the edge of the rock: if part of your claim spills onto sand, a worm can still catch you while you build there. Read the sandworm guide before you build near dunes.
• The ore for your tier within a short ride. You will haul tons of ore. Every extra kilometre costs fuel and time, and puts you on the sand.
• A tradepost or trainer nearby. Vendors, contracts and the Landsraad all live at tradeposts.
• Room for the claim. The Sub-Fief Console sets your building area. Leave space for refineries, a garage and later expansions.
• Shelter for vehicles. Sandstorms damage vehicles left in the open, so plan a garage from day one.

Where to build your first base (Hagga Basin South)

Hagga Basin South is the starter zone. It has plenty of copper, granite, salvage and fuel, and it is quiet.

Griffin's Reach Tradepost

This is the classic first base area. Ghavouri, the Trooper trainer, stands inside, and the House Argosaz representative is next to the post. Derek Chinara's camp, where you unlock the Planetologist school, is a short ride away.

Kaleff's Monument

This is the richest starter spot for copper (162 nodes) and granite (138), with 105 salvage nodes and 95 fuel cell nodes. It also sits close to Kaleff's Stand cave.

Wreck of the Alcyon

A good choice if your bottleneck is Salvaged Metal and Fuel Cells: 94 nodes of each, plus 80 granite and 80 copper.

Pros: safe, close to trainers, near Imperial Testing Station No. 2. Cons: no iron, aluminum or carbon. Also, the Advanced Sub-Fief Console cannot be placed in Hagga Basin South, so you will outgrow this area.

Best mid-game base location: the Ironworks (Vermillius Gap)

Iron Ore is the first ore that forces you to move. The densest iron sits around the three Ironworks enemy labor outposts in the Vermillius Gap.

Southwest Ironworks

This is the best all-rounder: iron, salvage, fuel, copper and granite all in one place. The Ironworks are also the main Hagga source of Complex Machinery, so you can loot and mine on the same trip. Build on the rocks nearby, not inside the outpost, because the guards respawn.

Northwest Ironworks and Table of the Gods

The northern Ironworks has the single highest iron count. Table of the Gods is a quieter alternative a short ride away.

Pros: iron, salvage and fuel for the whole Steel tier, and The Anvil tradepost (Landsraad, faction choice) is within reach. Cons: busy outposts with armed NPCs, and you need iron ore faster than any other resource, so expect to compete with other players.

Where to build for carbon and erythrite (Hagga Rift)

Steel needs carbon, and Iron-tier gear needs erythrite crystal. Both cluster at the far end of the basin, on the Hagga Rift side.

CHOAM Mineral Extraction Facility #4

The best erythrite spot on the map, with carbon right next to it. It is a strong second or third base for a Steel-tier player.

Kel's Splinter and the Wreck of the Tisiphone

These are the two best carbon areas. Use them if you are bottlenecked on steel rather than erythrite.

Pros: two rare resources close together. Cons: erythrite is scarce across all of Hagga, the area is crowded at peak hours, and it is a long way from Hagga Basin South.

Best late-game base location: Wreck of the Alecto

For aluminum and basalt, the Wreck of the Alecto beats everything else: 172 aluminum, 172 basalt and 178 copper nodes in one place. Imperial Testing Station No. 17 (91 aluminum, 91 basalt) and Weather Top (64 aluminum) are the backups. Sietch Ta'lab has a mix of basalt and aluminum if you want a cave nearby.

Pros: aluminum for Duraluminum and plenty of basalt for building. Testing stations nearby drop Particle Capacitors. Cons: far from the starter trainers, and still no jasmium. The jasmium nodes are in caves on the opposite side of the basin, such as Greed (8), Lust (7) and Limbo (7), so you will commute.

Should you build a base in the Deep Desert?

Only a small, temporary one. Titanium and Stravidium exist only in the Deep Desert, but the Coriolis storm wipes everything built there every week. Keep your main base in Hagga and set up a small outpost in the Deep Desert for the week. Read what the Coriolis storm destroys and the Deep Desert guide first.

Water at your base

Location matters less for water than you might think. Your base water comes from Windtraps, which run on base power and work anywhere in Hagga. Early on, before you have windtraps, a base near camps and testing stations helps. Many NPC camps and outposts have water cisterns, and most Imperial Testing Stations have water taps inside, so plan your early runs through them. The full picture is in the water guide.

Plan before you build

• Open the interactive map, switch on a resource layer and use "Where is best" to see node density around a candidate site.
• Browse community and showcase bases to see how players fit refineries, a garage and storage on a claim.
• Use the base generator to sketch a layout that fits the rock you picked.
• Changed your mind later? You can pack the whole base up and move it. See how to move your base.