Dune Awakening Vehicles Guide: All 7 Vehicles

Dune Awakening has seven vehicles: the Sandbike (copper tier), Treadwheel (aluminum), Buggy (steel), Sandcrawler (plastanium) and the Scout, Assault and Carrier Ornithopters. All are modular: craft the parts at a Fabricator or Vehicles Fabricator, assemble them with a Welding Torch, fuel them with Vehicle Fuel Cells and park them inside a shelter.

All vehicles at a glance

Only ornithopters can fly the Overland Map, so ground vehicles stay on the map you built them on. Every part is in the vehicle catalog.

Sandbike: your first vehicle

The Sandbike is the only vehicle you can build from copper. The Mk1 parts are made at a Fabricator, Portable Fabricator or Vehicles Fabricator, 20 seconds each, with no water cost:

Total: 43 Copper Ingots, 13 Advanced Servoks, 6 Particle Capacitors. Optional: Sandbike Inventory Mk1 and Sandbike Backseat Mk1 cost 12 Copper Ingots and 7 Advanced Servoks each. The Mk2 parts switch to iron and can still be made at a basic Fabricator; from Mk3 you need the Vehicles Fabricator. The Booster (from Mk2) adds a temporary burst of acceleration and top speed.

Treadwheel: the aluminum one-seater

The Treadwheel starts at Mk4. Its chassis costs 34 Aluminum Ingots, 12 Advanced Servoks, 14 Cobalt Paste and 6 Carbide Scraps; the hull, engine, PSU and tread are in the same price range, made at the Vehicles Fabricator. Cheap add-ons from the basic Fabricator: Treadwheel Passenger Mk1 (12 Copper Ingots, 7 Advanced Servoks), Inventory Mk2 (20 Iron Ingots, 15 Advanced Servoks) and Scanner Mk2 (25 Iron Ingots, 15 Advanced Servoks). It fits in the Vehicle Backup Tool, like the Sandbike.

Buggy: mining and squad transport

The Buggy is the steel-tier workhorse. A full Mk3 set (chassis, hull, rear, engine, PSU and 4 treads) costs 150 Steel Ingots, 81 Cobalt Paste, 52 Advanced Servoks, 23 Particle Capacitors, 13 Armor Plating and 10 Complex Machinery, plus 855 ml of water, all at the Vehicles Fabricator.

Its real value is the turret slot on the Utility Rear:

• Buggy Cutteray Mk3 (30 Steel Ingots, 25 Particle Capacitors, 17 Cobalt Paste, 10 Ray Amplifiers): a mounted mining laser. It needs a Storage module to hold what it mines and has no analysis mode.
• Buggy Rocket Launcher Mk5: defense on the move.

The standard Rear takes a Storage or Booster module instead. For aluminum and other bulk ore, a Buggy with a Cutteray and Storage beats hand mining by a wide margin.

Sandcrawler: the spice harvester

The Sandcrawler is built to harvest Spice Sand. You need the chassis, cabin, engine, PSU and two treads, plus the Vacuum (the scoop) and the Centrifuge (the container). The vacuum doesn't work without a centrifuge. The full Mk6 build costs 320 Plastanium Ingots, 312 Spice Melange, 210 Cobalt Paste and 133 Advanced Servoks, among others, plus 5,810 ml of water at the Advanced Vehicle Fabricator.

Harvesting is loud: the vibration brings worms, so time your runs and keep an exit route. The Planetologist skill Sandcrawler Yield raises the take. Read how to farm spice and the sandworm guide before your first run.

Ornithopters

Ornithopters are the endgame of travel, and the only way off Hagga Basin. The Scout Mk4 costs 217 Aluminum Ingots in total; the Assault needs duraluminum, and the Carrier needs plastanium and can lift other vehicles and a Cargo Container. Full recipes and flying tips are in how to get an ornithopter.

Fuel: Vehicle Fuel Cells

All vehicles run on Vehicle Fuel Cells, refined from raw Fuel Cells (looted from wrecks) at a Chemical Refinery:

The Small Chemical Refinery costs just 45 Copper Ingots, so build it early. The Spice-infused Fuel Cell is a different item: it powers spice generators, not vehicles. Raw Fuel Cells lie in wrecks all over Hagga Basin, and the Southwest Ironworks has the most in one area, so one loop there refills your stock:

More spots in where to find fuel cells. The Planetologist skills Fuel Efficient Driver and Fuel Efficient Pilot stretch every cell. Keep a spare Small Vehicle Fuel Cell in your inventory: running dry on open sand is the classic way to lose a bike to a worm.

Vehicle Backup Tool

The Vehicle Backup Tool costs 6 Copper Ingots and 2 Particle Capacitors at a Fabricator or Survival Fabricator. It stores and restores your Sandbike, Scout Ornithopter or Treadwheel, and it can recover a destroyed vehicle for a cost.

• Empty the vehicle's storage first, or it won't pack.
• Plan for one stored vehicle at a time: if the tool refuses to pack a second one, deploy the first.
• The Buggy, Sandcrawler, Assault and Carrier don't fit. Park those in a garage or hangar.

Repairs and the Welding Torch

The Welding Torch assembles, disassembles and repairs vehicles. Repairs use welding wire:

• Welding Torch Mk1: 6 Copper Ingots. Uses Welding Wire (100 for 5 Salvaged Metal).
• Welding Torch Mk3: 12 Steel Ingots, 8 Advanced Servoks, 8 Cobalt Paste. Steel Welding Wire is 100 for 5 Steel Ingots.
• Welding Torch Mk5: 24 Duraluminum Ingots, 11 Advanced Servoks, 12 Cobalt Paste. Duraluminum Welding Wire is 100 for 5 Duraluminum Ingots.

Better torches repair with less long-term durability loss, and the Planetologist skill Vehicle Repair reduces it further. A Repair Station (40 Iron Ingots, 20 power) at base helps too.

Where to park vehicles

Plan a garage into your base from day one. See best base locations for spots with room, or browse ready-made layouts with hangars in bases. For the metals behind Mk4–Mk6 parts, use the refining guide and the crafting calculator.