Seron Varlin Swordmaster Questline in Dune Awakening

The Swordmaster school starts with Arno at Pinnacle Station. His contract Checking the Post sends you to three dead drops: Devil's Eye Cavern, the Wreck of the Pallas and Imperial Testing Station No. 76. After that, the blind Ginaz master Seron Varlin at the northern tip of Harko Village gives five advanced contracts. The Journey tab calls the line Prowess of the Swordmaster.

Quick answers

All Swordmaster contracts and rewards

Every contract also pays Solari.

Where the questline starts

The board contract Honing of the Blade only asks you to talk to Arno at Pinnacle Station. He stands inside the tradepost, next to the House Sor representative. If you picked Swordmaster at character creation, Checking the Post may already be done: check the Journey tab, and if it is, go straight to Seron Varlin.

Basic training: Checking the Post

Someone has finally contacted Arno, and he wants his old dead drops checked without anyone noticing.

Then ask Arno about advanced training. He sends you to Harko Village. New to testing stations? Read the Imperial Testing Stations guide first.

Advanced training with Seron Varlin

A Tormented Soul

Piercing Eyes and Lab Cleanup

Seron wants Tleilaxu eyes to restore his sight.

Art of the Sword

Use Knee Charge, Eye of the Storm and Crippling Strike three times each, anywhere, then return to Seron. You need about 9 skill points to reach all three abilities. The quickest place is any bandit camp on your way to Helius Gate, where the next contract starts.

Forged in Dishonor

The recipe: 6 Aluminum Ingot, 6 Steel Ingot, 12 Plant Fiber, 20 Blade Parts, 8 Carbide Scraps and 1 Large Blood Sack. It takes 15 seconds and 100 ml of water at a Weapons Fabricator. Fill the Large Blood Sack beforehand. Count the ingots in the crafting calculator, and see the steel and duraluminum guide for the ingots.

The Last Stand of Seron Varlin

Our advice: talk him out of it. Pick "This is not what you need. You've proven you can forge new Swordmasters." This line cancels the duel and gives you a short version of the contract that completes the chain. That is the fastest finish. If you encourage the duel, Seron dies at Fenring's hand, and some players lost the final skill that way, so it is not worth the risk.

The fastest way through

• Bring aluminum-tier gear. Western Comms and Testing Station No. 17 are both busy, and some rooms in No. 17 lock until the enemies are dead.
• Prepare the sword early. Craft or buy the ingots and carbide scraps before you take Forged in Dishonor, and keep a filled Large Blood Sack ready. Use the Blood Extractor on the bodies at Western Comms and Testing Station No. 17 while you're there, and the 1,000 ml of blood is done before you meet Duncan.
• Plan skill points. Respec has a 48-hour cooldown. Put points into Knee Charge, Eye of the Storm and Crippling Strike in the skill planner first.
• Fly. Pinnacle Station, Helius Gate and Harko Village are far apart. An ornithopter halves the travel.

Common blockers

• Can't find Elara Tuek. She often does not show on the minimap. Go to the back room of Hannivar's.
• The Damasteel schematic is missing. If your inventory was full when Duncan gave it, claim it again from the quest log.
• No new contract after Piercing Eyes or Art of the Sword. Talk to Seron again and pick the second dialogue option.
• Anoushka won't talk about eyes. Order exactly the Kirana Brandy with a cidrit twist.

Rewards and what comes next

The contracts give 3,850 XP, including Lab Cleanup, plus 700 XP for the board contract. You get the full Swordmaster tree, Levels 2 and 3, and three capstone unlocks. The final reward also includes the Swordmaster armour schematic. There is no follow-up journey.

Next school? The Bene Gesserit line also runs out of Harko Village, and the Trooper line uses the same Kirana Brandy order. All five schools are compared in the classes and trainers guide.