The level cap in Dune: Awakening is 200, and the smart route is story first, Journeys always, and the Deep Desert last. Every level gives one skill point, so 1 to 200 is 199 points, nowhere near enough to fill the five archetypes' fifteen trees. Builds are choices.
The curve is the part most guides skip. Levels 7 to 100 cost a flat 600 XP each. The last 20 cost between 5,297 and 13,126 each. The final 73 levels are over three quarters of all the XP in the game. XP table from the community wiki, checked 8 October.
The curve: cheap to 100, brutal after 160
| Levels | XP per level | What it feels like |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 6 | 40 to 550 | Tutorial |
| 7 to 100 | 600 flat | The story carries you |
| 101 to 127 | 650 flat | Still easy |
| 128 to 160 | 651 to 1,649 | The climb starts |
| 161 to 180 | 1,743 to 5,026 | Content, not quests |
| 181 to 200 | 5,297 to 13,126 | The real grind |
The first hundred levels are almost free: six levels of warm-up, then 94 at 600 XP, and the story, the faction paths and the Journeys carry most of it without a deliberate grind. From 128 the cost climbs every level, and from 161 your XP sources have to change from "whatever I was doing" to Testing Stations, Deep Desert content and contracts you'd otherwise skip.
Where the XP is
Story and faction quests
Book One is complete as of 1.5, seven arcs including all three parts of The Great Convention. Add the Atreides or Harkonnen path and the flat part of the curve is mostly behind you.
Journeys
Well over a hundred across story, faction, side quests and the Lost Harvest arc. They pay XP for things you'd do anyway: first build, first vehicle, first visit. Check the Journey tab every session.
Scanning sectors
Every map sector pays XP once when you scan it from a high point. It also fills the map, and the Cartographer skill now extends the reveal radius. Do it as you travel, not as a chore.
Contracts
Story quests are one and done; contracts refresh. Tradeposts and social hubs keep offering them, and the harder ones pay XP alongside Solari. Hagga Basin is PvE now, so the delivery leg is safe.
Testing Stations and dungeons
Chapter 3 added five Imperial Testing Stations that scale with difficulty, and 1.4 added a sixth. Past level 150 this is your main XP, and the loot funds the rest.
The Deep Desert
Pick the PvE instance for XP without the risk, or PvP for 2.5x harvesting yield. Either way, the top-tier content lives here and so does the XP that gets you past 180.
Character level versus Specialisations
Our Specialisations guide covers all five tracks, how to unlock them and which to level first.
The route, in order
- Levels 1 to 60: follow the story. Scan every sector you pass. Work through the Journeys as you go.
- Levels 60 to 100: pick a faction and run its path. Take contracts from the hub you're already in.
- Levels 100 to 150: Testing Stations on the Overland Map, difficulty as high as you can clear. Keep doing contracts.
- Levels 150 to 200: Deep Desert. PvE instance if you want it quiet, PvP if you want the yields and the fights.
Rather skip the climb?
Our operators level your PC character by hand from wherever it is now to any level up to 200, priced per level. Everything they earn on the way, Solari, resources and gear, stays on your character.
Got questions first? The FAQ on our Dune: Awakening page covers how piloted orders work. Just starting? The beginner guide covers what 1.5 changed. Short on Solari for the gear at the top? Here's where it comes from.
Quick answers
Do Specialisations give skill points?
Some do. Combat Specialisation traits add skill points on top of the 199 from levels; the other four tracks pay in bonuses, not points. A respec is available if you regret a tree, paid in Spice Melange.
Does the level cap go up with updates?
It hasn't. Chapter 3 added Specialisations and Augmentations on top of the cap instead of raising it.