Character creation in MMOs usually involves picking hair and a face and slapping on a scar if you're lucky. Dune: Awakening quickly steps away from that formula. Instead of just a bunch of cosmetic options, it gives you a character creator that feels real, detailed, and totally connected to the world you're about to dive into.
It's the kind of feature that MMO players didn't know they were missing. The first thing you notice is how every little detail has been carefully considered. Players have full control over details like sclera color, dark circles, and even signs of sun damage and aging on the skin.
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+ 2From vitiligo and freckles to weathered scars and aged tattoos, they weave a silent yet powerful tale. Even the tattoos have real lore behind them, like the Chakobsa Sigil from an ancient hunting language or the Sapho mark tied to the Mentats in Dune.
They're pieces of identity, hinting at your character's deeper past before you even touch the game's story. Not to mention the background system, which deepens the immersion even more. You pick your character's backstory, social rank, and mentor, and each choice affects how people interact with you, plus what unique emotes or dialogue options you get.
Picking Caladan ties you to honor and tradition, while Giedi Prime connects you to deception and Harkonnen ruthlessness. Your caste, from the high-ranking Na-Familia to the unassuming Pyons, brings more to the experience. Your mentor, whether a Swordmaster, Bene Gesserit, Mentat, or Trooper, provides your first skill and guides how you approach survival, combat, and politics.
This system's design choices also highlight a great deal of thought. Instead of being tied down to one class by your mentor, Dune: Awakening invites players to discover new trainers and combine disciplines on their adventure. Early customization isn't just flavor text thanks to the flexibility, which sets up a build that grows with the player's journey, making early choices matter long after the tutorial.
This narrative integration carries into the opening moments of the game itself. It's a small but powerful gesture that immediately validates your effort to craft someone with real roots in the Dune universe. Although practical gear like still suits and masks might conceal a lot of your look, Funcom has confirmed that a transmog system will give players a chance to highlight the identity they've carefully crafted.
click to enlarge+ 2All of this explains why Dune: Awakening's character creation marks a long-awaited evolution for MMOs. It doesn't stop at sliders; it lets you sculpt a character's very soul. It gets you invested in your character long before you even set foot on Arrakis.
Players are already picking up on how much this system changes their connection to their avatar. Early beta participants noted feeling attached to their characters right away, a rare experience in most traditional MMOs before leaving the starting zones.
And with plans to allow character imports from the standalone character creator into the full game, players are already investing in their stories before the first battle, the first desert crossing, or the first encounter with a sandworm.
Dune: Awakening gives MMOs what they've been missing: a character creation system that lets you become the hero, not just design one.
For more articles like this, take a look at our Features and Dune Awakened page.