To start The Scourge, talk to Frida Maltros at the event tent in any Hagga Basin trade post, finish her first two contracts to open the shop, then trade blood for Blood Marks at Shaffat's Clinic in Arrakeen. Blood Marks buy every cosmetic and decoration in the event.
It's Funcom's Halloween event and it ends on 2 November, so the clock matters. Some players hit an invisible wreck on the very first contract, which locks the shop; the workarounds are below. Checked against Funcom's 23 October announcement and Method's 25 October reward list.
Funcom gives dates but no closing hour. AEDT runs 11 hours ahead of UTC, so if the event shuts during European or US hours on 2 November, Australian players lose that evening. Don't leave your last trades for it.
How to start The Scourge
- Find Frida Maltros. She stands in an event tent at the Hagga Basin trade posts. Steam players report she's missing at some posts, so try another or go straight to Shaffat's Clinic in Arrakeen.
- Accept Containment: Vital Equipment. Head to the wreck in eastern Vermillius Gap, just west of The Stash, and interact with the container by the crash site.
- Hand it in. Return to Frida for your first Blood Marks and an emote.
- Take Eyes of the Kirab. Loot five eyes from the glowing yellow Kirab and bring them back. This opens Frida's reward shop.
- Bank blood. Fill your blood bag on any enemy and empty it into the Blood Purifier at Shaffat's Clinic.
Funcom says the event moves through phases as the disease spreads, each with new contracts. On 24 October Steam players who finished the Kirab contract were told new contracts would come later; by 25 October Method listed two more.
The four contracts so far
| Contract | What to do | Blood Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Containment: Vital Equipment | Recover the container at the Vermillius Gap wreck | 100 plus an emote |
| Eyes of the Kirab | Loot 5 eyes from glowing yellow Kirab | 300 |
| Eyes of the Outlaws | Loot eyes from Slavers or Deserters | 200 |
| Eyes of the Forsaken | Loot eyes from Sandflies or Maas Kharet | 200 |
That's 800 Blood Marks from contracts, per Method. For the last one, go for Sandflies in the Western Shield Wall: Method rates them more plentiful and easier to reach than the Maas Kharet at Mysa Tarill and The O'odham.
How to farm Blood Marks
Contracts pay once. Everything after that comes from blood, and you don't need the "Infected blood" Funcom's announcement mentions: Method found the purifier takes blood from any enemy, so farm wherever kills come fastest.
- The rate: 1 Blood Mark per 1,000 blood deposited at the Blood Purifier in Shaffat's Clinic. You can repeat it as often as you like.
- Carry more per trip: the Baron's Bloodbag holds 30,000, so one full bag is 30 Blood Marks.
- Kill faster, bleed more: Method reports Feyd's Drinker pulls 1,000 blood per kill, and a Filter Extractor Mk6 or Impure Extractor Mk6 can take upwards of 7,500 per body.
- Stack your objectives: Slavers and Deserters fill your bag and count towards Eyes of the Outlaws at the same time.
If your character is short of the kit that makes a blood run quick, our levelling guide covers the fastest route up.
Every Scourge reward and its cost
Frida's shop sells buildables for your base and cosmetics for your character. Prices are Method's list as of 24 October, and it expects more items as the event goes on.
| Reward | Type | Blood Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Derelict Recovery Suit | Cosmetic | 500 |
| Contagian Visor | Cosmetic | 400 |
| Vacuum-sealed Body Display | Buildable | 250 |
| Decussate Cross | Buildable | 250 |
| Flesh Sculpting Displays | Buildable | 200 |
| Cadaverous Decorations | Buildable | 200 |
| Osseous Decorations | Buildable | 200 |
| Sealed Radiation Containment Chest | Buildable | 200 |
| Jury-Rigged Light Stand | Buildable | 100 |
| Hot Zone | Swatch | 100 |
| Vial of Pestilent Mien | Cosmetic | 100 |
The full set costs 2,500 Blood Marks (Method's article says 2,400, but its own prices add to 2,500). Take away the 800 from contracts and you need 1,700 from the purifier: 1.7 million blood, or about 57 full Baron's Bloodbags. Want only a few pieces? The suit and visor cost most, so price them in first.
Known bugs and workarounds
- Switch Sietch: Method's writer had to change Sietch five times before the wreck appeared. Guided.news reports Funcom saying this helps some players, though not reliably.
- Missing NPC or tent: go to Shaffat's Clinic in Arrakeen instead of a trade post.
- Single-player: Sietch hopping isn't an option. One Steam player says backing up their base, exiting to the Overland map, then to the main menu, and waiting a minute before re-entering made the wreck appear.
- Crafted items not showing: reported on Steam for some event buildables, with no fix yet.
The recent hotfixes didn't touch the event. 1.5.15.1 on 20 October fixed Xbox PC connection problems and 1.5.15.2 on 22 October fixed travel queue hangs, both before The Scourge began. Our 1.5.15 patch rundown has the wider update.
Need more time for the hunt?
With the event clock running, our operator can level your PC character by hand (piloted) on Power Levelling, and everything earned on the way stays yours. We also deliver Solari on every PC World by in-game trade, for the gear a fast blood run needs.
The Scourge FAQ
Is there any other Dune: Awakening reward right now?
Yes, in the US only. Buying a Dune: Part Three ticket through Fandango gives a code for Paul Atreides' Throne and the Navigator Sarcophagus, both arriving in December.
I haven't played since launch. Can I still do it?
Funcom hasn't listed a level requirement, and the whole event plays out in Hagga Basin and Arrakeen. Our returning player guide covers what changed while you were away.