Dune: Awakening lets you start the game with an important choice. You directly have to pick a Great School of the Imperium (your class, basically), at character creation. While that choice feels permanent, the game actually gives you a ton of flexibility as you level up. Here’s everything you need to know about how classes work, which one to choose, how to respec, and how to mix skill trees.
All 5 Classes in Dune: Awakening
At launch, Dune: Awakening has five total classes, but only four are available when you first create your character. Here’s a quick rundown:
Bene Gesserit – Best for Manipulation & Control
- Starting Skill: Voice Compel – Forces the targets toward you.
- Focus: Manipulation and subterfuge. The Bene Gesserit will excel in manipulating and mentally bending enemies to their own will.
- Skill Trees: Weirding Way, The Voice, Body Control
- Skill Bonus: +10% Influence Range
- This one is really hard to learn at the start, and can make you struggle. It’s a better subclass than the main one. However, it becomes extremely powerful once you master it.
Mentat – Best for Precision & Stealth
- Starting Skill: The Sentinel – A deployable turret that shoots anything in range that moves
- Focus: Recon and strategy. Will require you to plan and be patient.
- Skill Trees: Mental Calculus, Assassination, Tactician
- Skill Bonus: +20% Scanning Range
- Play as a tactical specialist who strikes with deadly precision and sets the pace of battle to his own rythm.
Swordmaster – Best for Close Combat & High Damage
- Starting Skill: Knee Charge – Leap forward and kick with your knee to deal damage and stagger enemies.
- Focus: Melee damage and survivability
- Skill Trees: The Blade, The Will, The Way
- Skill Bonus: +15% Melee Damage
- If you like getting in your enemy’s face and staying there, this class is built for you.
Trooper – Best for Mid-Range Combat & Beginners
- Starting Skill: Shigawire Claw – Grapple and pulls in enemies
- Focus: Ranged offense and demolition
- Skill Trees: Gunnery, Suspensor Training, Tactical Tech
- Skill Bonus: +15% Damage Resistance
- The most straightforward and flexible class to start with, and a great intro to the game’s combat systems. However, it is also the easiest class to unlock afterward, so you may not want to pick it first.
Planetologist – Best for Exploration & Resource Gathering
- Not available to pick during Character Creation
- Unlock Method: Main Story Progression. You meet the Planetologist Trainer soon after the introduction sequence. Count around an hour of gameplay if you focus on the quest at first.
- Skill Trees: Scientist, Explorer, Mechanic
- Great for those who enjoy exploration, climbing, gathering, and messing with vehicles. Not a combat class, but a strong pick for utility and late-game value. You definitely want to spec some points in this skill tree.
Can You Respec or Change Classes?
You can’t change your “main class” once you pick it during character creation. That choice is permanent. However, you can unlock and use the skill trees from all classes later on.
By doing class-specific quests for different masters, you slowly gain access to their skills. You can then mix and match active abilities and benefit from passives as you see fit. Those are called Ability Trainers. It’s NPCs located throughout the game world who grant you access to the skill tree of their School. Completing their quest unlocks the basic skills of other classes, allowing you to vary your abilities and adjust your character to your preferred playstyle.
There is also a respec system! It unlocks sometime after Level 20, and lets you respec every 48 hours. Perfect if you want to shift your focus or test new builds.
Class Builds, Mixing Skill Trees, and the Skill Point Cap
At launch, there’s a 200 Skill Point cap. Each full skill tree takes about 95 points, meaning you could fully complete two class trees and still have a few points left.
In practice, you should:
- Focus on 1 or 2 main class trees (for active skills)
- Spread passive points across others, especially for utility or survival
Picking your first class in Dune: Awakening is important, but not limiting. With the ability to unlock all skills and respec later on, you’re free to experiment and adapt to your playstyle. Just don’t forget to pick a strong base: Trooper for beginners, Swordmaster for thugs, Mentat for thinkers, and Bene Gesserit for those who love control.
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