Faction Quick Start Guide
The first 15 minutes determine the trajectory of your campaign. Each faction demands specific opening moves, expansion priorities, and early-game tech paths. This guide provides actionable build orders and strategic priorities to maximize your early-game advantage.
Master these opening strategies to establish dominant positions before mid-game power spikes.
House Atreides — Peaceful Expansion
Atreides excels at stable, methodical growth. Use peaceful annexation to secure territory without military losses, leverage Landsraad influence for economic benefits, and build toward an unstoppable late-game military.
First 15 Minutes
Build Order & Priorities
- • Scout nearest 2-3 neutral villages
- • Identify spice fields and village traits
- • Check for hostile neighbors
- • Begin peaceful annexation on closest village
- • Build Airfield in main base
- • Train 2-3 militia for defense
- • First village converts—build Wind Trap
- • Research: Improved Airfields
- • Annex second village (with spice field priority)
- • Vote in first Landsraad resolution
- • Build Refinery on first spice field
- • Plan third annexation target
Scout → Peaceful Annex → Build Economy → Landsraad Votes → Secure Spice → Military Buildup
Tech Path Priority
- 1. Improved Airfields
- 2. Economic Reforms
- 3. Village Defense
- 4. Spice Processing
- 5. Ginaz Training
- 6. Diplomatic Relations
Tip:
Landsraad leverage: Vote early and often. Even if a resolution doesn’t directly benefit you, participating builds standing. Target resolutions that grant resource production bonuses—Atreides benefits more than most due to efficient upkeep.
House Harkonnen — Aggressive Oppression
Harkonnen demands calculated brutality. Balance oppression timing, pillage neutral villages for quick gains, and leverage espionage to destabilize rivals while managing rebellion risks.
First 15 Minutes
Build Order & Priorities
- • Scout and pillage closest neutral village
- • Gain Intel and Solari burst
- • Identify next pillage target
- • Annex first village (preferably with resources)
- • Build Office of Order for auto-oppression
- • Train militia to +5% production threshold
- • Oppress main base village (200% output)
- • Research: Covert Operations
- • Recruit first agent
- • Launch first covert operation on rival
- • Build Interrogation Center
- • Annex or pillage second village
Never oppress more than 2 villages simultaneously. Each oppression adds 2% daily rebellion chance. Space out oppression cycles and always have military ready to suppress uprisings. Prioritize high-production villages for oppression timing.
Oppression Timing Strategy
| Game Phase | Oppression Target | Purpose | Risk Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early (0-5 min) | Main Base | Quick tech/military funding | Low |
| Mid (5-10 min) | Spice Villages | Maximum spice for quotas | Medium |
| Late (10-15 min) | Rotating Villages | Sustained production advantage | High |
Watch Out:
The Harkonnen death spiral: Falling behind as Harkonnen is extremely difficult to recover from. If you lose oppressed villages to rebellion or conquest, your -10% production penalty becomes crippling. Always maintain at least one fully-stacked garrison village as your economic anchor.
Smugglers — Hit-and-Run Economics
Smugglers profit from chaos and infiltration. Plant Underworld HQs in rival territories, use superior mobility for constant raids, and leverage black market discoveries while staying lean and agile.
First 15 Minutes
Build Order & Priorities
- • Scout all adjacent factions’ villages
- • Identify high-value infiltration targets
- • Annex nearest village (no distance penalty!)
- • Plant first Underworld HQ in rival territory
- • Build Black Market in main base
- • Train 2-3 Snipers for harassment
- • Pillage isolated enemy village
- • Discover and cash in Black Market
- • Plant second Underworld HQ
- • Research: Smuggling Routes
- • Annex distant resource-rich village
- • Continue harassment raids
Raid Timing Matrix
- ✓ Enemy army is engaged elsewhere
- ✓ Target village has no militia
- ✓ You can reach safety in 2-3 seconds with +10% speed
- ✓ Pillage will fund next expansion
- ✗ Enemy has fast-response units nearby
- ✗ Multiple faction armies can converge
- ✗ You’re behind on tech/military
- ✗ Raid won’t generate profit after losses
Tip:
The Smuggler economy loop: Underworld HQs provide passive income while you focus on raiding. Each raid should fund either a new expansion or another Underworld HQ. Never commit to prolonged fights—profit from chaos, not conquest.
Fremen — Desert Insurgency
Fremen thrive on guerrilla warfare and desert mastery. Use worm riding for strategic mobility, ally with Sietches for support, and harass enemies constantly while avoiding direct confrontations until favorable.
First 15 Minutes
Build Order & Priorities
- • Deploy Harvesting Team on nearest spice field
- • Scout all Sietch locations
- • Identify villages to liberate vs. annex
- • Ally with first Sietch
- • Annex village adjacent to Sietch
- • Train Fedaykin squad
- • Build Thumper production facility
- • Research: Desert Watchers (stealth)
- • Begin harassment raids on rivals
- • First Thumper available—scout worm routes
- • Ally with second Sietch
- • Launch “Awaken the People” operation
Sietch Alliance Priority
| Priority | Sietch Type | Benefit | When to Ally |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Near Enemy Territory | Provides harassment & vision | Minutes 3-5 |
| 2nd | High Resource Output | Trade bonuses & economic buffs | Minutes 7-10 |
| 3rd | Strategic Locations | Map control & worm access | Minutes 12-15 |
Watch Out:
Fremen economy pitfall: With -1 building slot per village and limited trading, Solari income is your biggest challenge. Prioritize Sietch alliances that provide economic bonuses. Never neglect spice harvesting—it’s your reliable income source.
House Corrino — Imperial Consolidation
Corrino plays the long game with imperial authority. Focus on nearby high-value territories, leverage spice tax income for rapid tech advancement, and prepare for the devastating dual-base strategy at 5k hegemony.
First 15 Minutes
Build Order & Priorities
- • Scout only adjacent 2-3 regions (distance penalties are harsh)
- • Identify closest spice field
- • Note which villages are within 1-2 distance
- • Annex closest spice village (priority #1)
- • Build extra building in main base (+1 slot advantage)
- • Train 2 Sardaukar units
- • Collect first Imperial Spice Tax payments
- • Research: Military Efficiency
- • Build duplicate economic building in main base
- • Use Imperial Edict on favorable resolution
- • Annex second nearby village (resource-rich)
- • Build toward 5k hegemony for second base
Quality over quantity. Aim for 2-3 perfectly developed territories with maxed building slots rather than sprawling expansion. Save authority for the 5k hegemony second base deployment—that’s when Corrino truly dominates.
Building Slot Optimization
| Location | Building Priority 1 | Building Priority 2 | Extra Slot Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Base | Military Academy | Economic Hub | Duplicate for stacking bonuses |
| Spice Village | Refinery | Wind Trap | Spice Silo (extra storage) |
| Resource Village | Processing Facility | Defense Structure | Intelligence Center |
Tip:
The Corrino power spike: At 5k hegemony, deploy your second main base on a strategic chokepoint or resource-rich area across the map. This instantly doubles your infrastructure potential and breaks the distance penalty constraint. From this point, Corrino becomes nearly unstoppable.
House Ecaz — Championship Rush
Ecaz aims for mid-game championship dominance. Establish sanctuaries for safe borders, invest in masterpieces for Landsraad favor, and rush to 5k hegemony to unlock devastating champion units.
First 15 Minutes
Build Order & Priorities
- • Scout and identify 3-4 village cluster
- • Plan sanctuary placement on periphery
- • Annex central village in cluster
- • Annex second village to create surround pattern
- • Establish first Sanctuary (neutral village surrounded)
- • Train Knights and Squires
- • Build first Masterpiece (Cultural Monument)
- • Research: Artistic Aspirations
- • Establish second Sanctuary for authority bonus
- • Engage in Landsraad votes (masterpiece bonuses)
- • Prepare champion candidate (Knight unit)
- • Build toward 5k hegemony milestone
Sanctuaries are invulnerable buffer zones. Each sanctuary generates +1 authority and causes adjacent Ecaz villages to double-apply their trait bonuses. Prioritize creating 2-3 sanctuaries early to secure borders and accelerate expansion through authority gains.
Champion Development Path
- • Train 2-3 Knights early
- • Keep them together
- • Avoid major battles
- • Build to 5k hegemony
- • Designate strongest Knight
- • Focus kills on this unit
- • Each kill = hegemony boost
- • Protect at all costs
- • Champion reaches 500+ attack
- • Deploy second champion
- • Dominate all engagements
- • Push for victory
Success:
Current meta king: Ecaz champions are borderline overpowered in the current patch. A fully-upgraded champion with War Banner support can solo entire armies. Rush to 5k hegemony as fast as possible—once your first champion starts racking up kills, the game snowballs in your favor.
House Vernius — Neural Network Build
Vernius demands perfect infrastructure planning. Connect villages with Neural Nodes for massive production bonuses, race through the tech tree with patent advantages, and field self-repairing drone armies.
First 15 Minutes
Build Order & Priorities
- • Scout villages in straight line/cluster from base
- • Plan Neural Network connection path
- • Deploy first Tethered Harvester Drone
- • Annex first village (closest to base)
- • Build Neural Node to connect it to network
- • Research: Advanced Computation
- • File first patent (economic tech)
- • Annex second village in chain
- • Extend Neural Network with another Node
- • Train Fighting Meks and Railgun Drones
- • Research: Drone Maintenance (self-repair)
- • All villages should be connected to network
NEVER leave villages unconnected. An unconnected Vernius village suffers -50% production—worse than useless. Always build Neural Nodes BEFORE annexing distant villages. If an enemy destroys a key Node, multiple villages lose connection simultaneously. Protect your network infrastructure like your life depends on it.
Neural Network Patterns
| Pattern Type | Expansion Style | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linear Chain | Villages in straight line | Simple to connect, easy defense | Single point of failure |
| Star Cluster | Hub with spokes | Redundant connections | Requires more Nodes |
| Compact Block | Tight territorial cluster | Maximum efficiency, secure | Limited map control |
Tip:
Patent rush strategy: Use your ability to skip one tech prerequisite to unlock critical techs ahead of opponents. File patents on economic multipliers or military upgrades to deny enemies and secure monopoly bonuses. By mid-game, your tech advantage should be insurmountable.
Universal Early-Game Principles
Regardless of faction, certain strategic principles apply to all successful openings. Master these fundamentals before diving into faction-specific nuances.
🗺️
Scout Aggressively
First 2 minutes should reveal all adjacent villages and faction positions. Information wins wars.
💎
Secure Spice Early
Meeting spice tax is mandatory. Aim for 2-3 spice sources within first 10 minutes.
🛡️
Minimum Defense
Every village needs 2-3 militia by minute 8. More against aggressive factions.
🧠
Tech Timing
Don’t hoard Knowledge. Research should be continuous, not batched.
⚖️
Authority Management
Expansion speed limited by Authority. Balance village count with development.
👁️
Vision Control
Airfields and scouts prevent surprise attacks. Darkness is death.
Critical Timing Windows
Must have spice production established. Failure = severe penalties.
Early votes establish standing. Participate even if resolution seems neutral.
Vulnerable period before militias establish. Watch for Harkonnen/Smuggler raids.
Success:
The 15-minute checkpoint: By minute 15, you should have: 3-4 villages under control, consistent spice income meeting quotas, at least one complete tech path started, basic military defense established, and knowledge of all immediate neighbors’ positions. If any of these are missing, adjust priorities immediately.