You can select four factions to play as in Dune: Spice Wars. Each comes with unique bonuses and setbacks, making them feel different for each campaign you play. How you go about claiming victory will be easier than others, depending on your faction. Here’s what you need to know about which faction you should consider choosing in Dune: Spice Wars.
These are the four factions you can select to control at the start of the game: House Atreides, House Harkonnen, The Smugglers, or The Fremens.
Of the four factions, we recommend playing with House Atreides or House Harkonnen for your first game to understand the basics. These two have some of the more straightforward mechanics. For House Atreides, the only thing they cannot do is pillage neutral villages. They can only take them over, which means they’re going to need to watch their flow of Authority throughout the game. House Harkonnen will receive 10% less resource production from every village they control, meaning they will need to be aggressive in their expansion efforts.
Both House Atreides and House Harkonnen have full access to the Landsraad, whereas The Smugglers and The Fremen have limited access. The Landsraad is an important factor that comes into the play throughout your Dune: Spice Wars match. You’ll be using your influence to navigate specific actions of the Landsraad council, and with limited access to these functions, you won’t gain as many benefits when these appear.
You’ll want to play a game or two to understand the events that appear in the Landsraad to properly prepare for them and see how The Smugglers and The Fremen can take advantage of their unique positions outside of the Landsraad races. Following a few victories and losses under your belt, The Smugglers are a reliable faction to play, followed by The Fremen.
Despite recommending House Atreides or House Harkonnen before the other two, it does not mean they are superior factions. Instead, they’re a better way to understand the core gameplay aspects of Dune: Spice Wars before you try the other two.
