Dune: Spice Wars sees players take control of one of a number of factions as they seek to battle for control over the hostile planes of the planet Arrakis from Frank Herbert's Dune novels. The sci-fi real-time strategy game (RTS) requires players to build armies, expand their territories, and fight for control of the few precious resources on the desert world. Contending with giant sandworms, titanic electrical storms, and political opponents, players can engage in grand campaigns or play short battles to experiment with different play styles.
Upon conquering their first Village, players will then be able to research Developments. These special technologies will grant the faction permanent passive bonuses in one of four color-coded areas. Orange technologies will affect the Economy, Blue will affect Statecraft and Infiltration, Red will affect Military developments, and Green will affect Cultural improvements such as Knowledge and Authority. These are the best developments that players can build.
10 Cultural Assimilation (Atreides)
As the esteemed and honorable diplomats that they are, it makes sense that House Atreides benefit from more Statecraft and Cultural bonuses than any other faction. The Cultural Assimilation Development grants them -15% durationof their Peaceful Annexation ability and +5% Solari Production per controlled Village, in addition to unlocking the Recycling Vats building.
Playing to all the strengths of the faction, this Development should be invested in as soon as possible when playing as the House Atreides faction. The Tier 3 Statecraft ability will take around 13 days to complete once unlocked.
9 Iday Alakrab (Fremen)
Iday Alakrab is the rallying cry of the Fremen, and as a Development upgrade, it can make a huge difference to the efficiency of running an army and traversing large territories. This Development will grant the Fremen -30% Supply Drain and gets rid of any penalties to movement speed when supplies are now. Additionally, all Military Units will gain Stealth when no allies are nearby.
This Development accentuates the strengths of the Fremen faction. Suited to a "fast and loose" play-style, players can make use of the surrounding environment with much more ease than some rival factions, and deserve to take full advantage of it.
8 Guerilla Tactics (Smugglers)
Perhaps one of the most unique Developments available to any faction in the game is the Guerilla Tactics ability for the Smugglers. This Tier 3 Military unlock grants Units in the faction +20% Power at nighttime, in addition to unlocking the Extraction Network spy mission and the Command Post Building in Sietch Tuek.
Upon completion, the Extraction Network spy mission will provide units the ability to extract back to their base capital from a Village during combat. The Command Post will add +10 Command Points in addition to +10 Power to Military Units at all times.
7 Arrakis Secrets (Fremen)
As the native population of Arrakis, it only seems right that the Fremen should be entitled to certain unique benefits that are unavailable to other factions. In addition to the ability to tame Sandworms, the Fremen can also gain a number of advantages with this Development. Arrakis Secrets grants the faction +1 Maximum assignable Crew in Harvesting Teams, as well as +5% Spice production.
Arrakis Secrets will also reduce the negative effects of Sandstorms by 50%. Overall, this should massively boost Spice production, which is one of the most important resources in the game to cultivate.
6 Martial Economy (Harkonnen)
The Martial Economy development is exclusive to the Harkonnen faction, who specialize in militaristic dominance with a range of powerful units and military-focussed effects. Martial Economy will grant them -30% Unit Solari Upkeep as well as -30% Unit Recruitment Costs.
In combination with councilor Feyd Rautha, players will also receive refunds for lost units. This can lead to the production of massive armies with very little expense to the overall economy. It will take players a fair amount of time to unlock Martial Economy, since it is a 4th Tier economic development.
5 Imperial Taxes (Corrino)
Being the emperor of a galactic federation comes with some benefits, one of which is being the beneficiary of Imperial Taxes. This Tier 4 Economic Development will grant the Corrino faction +5 Solari Production, +15% Resource Production, and +5 Armor on all buildings. This will apply to all Villages neighboring the faction's Imperial Base.
Since the Imperial Base's neighboring factions are likely to be the most developed in terms of their buildings, this Development will ensure that the rewards of "building tall" are reaped, which is ideally suited to the Corrino play-style.
4 Atreides Delegations (Atreides)
With Atreides Delegations, the Atreides faction will strengthen their diplomatic advantage over other factions considerably. The Development grants them -75% Treaty Upkeep cost and -50% Non-aggression pact cost, in addition to unlocking the Council Chamber building for the faction's Advanced Outpost home base.
This can make political decisions much less costly, which plays to all the advantages of House Atreides. The Council Chamber will also provide +10% Lansraad Standing and +100% Relation Gain with Sietch.
3 Cruel Reputation (Harkonnen)
A Cruel Reputation is the embodiment of the Harkonnen legacy. Feared, domineering and not to be trusted, the expansionist Harkonnens benefit from any Developments relating to increases in Military power and Infiltration. The Cruel Reputation technology will grant the Harkonnen faction +25% Intel and Influence production, as well as +5% Military Unit Power.
Since the Harkonnen faction is not as powerful as some others in terms of its Influence within the Lansraad Council, this Development addresses this weakness while simultaneously bolstering some of the House's strongest assets.
2 Emperor Eyes (Corrino)
Emperor Eyes is one of the strongest Infiltration Developments available to any faction in the game. This Tier 3 technology will grant the faction 3 unmovable Agents in Counter-Intelligence slots, as well as a bonus of +3 Intel for agents assigned to enemy factions.
It goes without saying that this will provide massive benefits in the department of Infiltration, and will enable the player to free up other agents in order to use them for specific Missions. The increased production of Intel will also ensure that Infiltration is progressing at a faster rate.
1 Riches of Arrakis
Available to all faction, the Tier 4 economic development Riches of Arrakis will provide a huge boost to the amount of faction-wide Solari production. The Development will add +10% Solari Production per controlled Special Region, +1% Total Solari Production per controlled Special Region, and +10% Village Resource Production in Special Regions.
Riches of Arrakis is bound to fill the treasury of any faction that implements it. With such high Solari production, players can make much larger trades with rival factions over resources, as well as make larger investments in the CHOAM market.
Dune: Spice Wars is currently available on PC.