Patch 1.5.15.0 has landed on the Public Test Client for Dune: Awakening on Steam, so if you like poking at changes before they hit the live servers, now is your moment. The headline items are an optional BattlEye install, a gentler speed penalty when gliding with rocket pods, and another round of stability and progression fixes.
How to help with testing
On the PTC you get the Progression Unlock Panel, which only exists in this client. Besides handing you resources, gear and XP, and letting you unlock Journey chapters, it also lets you unlock faction ranks and crafting materials – so you don’t have to grind your way to the content you actually want to test.
Funcom explains how the Public Test Clients work in its official FAQ. Feedback and discussion belong either on the relevant Steam Discussion Board or on the Discord server dedicated to the PTC.
Highlights of patch 1.5.15.0
Several game and server stability improvements.
You can now launch the game without BattlEye anti-cheat installed or enabled – that applies to single-player mode and to private or self-hosted servers that don’t require it. BattlEye is still mandatory on multiplayer servers that have it enabled, and trying to connect to one from a client without BattlEye will throw an error.
The speed reduction while gliding with a scout ornithopter carrying a rocket pod module drops from 20% to 10%. Funcom notes this number isn’t final – it will be tested and tuned during the PTC for both the scout and the assault ornithopters.
Fixed a crash that could happen when you used the Base Reconstruction Tool to place a large base.
The shielded enemy in the new player experience now gives you more time to land a Heavy Attack before it retaliates.
Multiple fixes for reported Story and player Journey progression issues.
The full list of changes is on the official patch notes page.
What it means for you
The BattlEye change is the most interesting part for anyone who plays solo or on a private server – it means one less piece of software running on your machine when you don’t need it at all. BattlEye has been a recurring theme in Dune: Awakening updates before, and we covered one such round in our article on the BattlEye rollback hotfix.
The smaller gliding penalty is good news if you fly a rocket-pod-equipped scout ornithopter, since it makes the loadout less punishing to move around with. Ornithopters have had their own share of patch attention – see the hotfix for the Ornithopter cockpit.
Where to go next
If you’re still finding your feet on Arrakis, start with our overview of how the gameplay works. Curious about the previous test build? We wrote about PTC patch 1.5.1.0 as well, and everything else lives in our Dune: Awakening news hub.
FAQ
Only on multiplayer servers that have BattlEye enabled. For single-player mode and for private or self-hosted servers that don’t require it, you can now launch the game without BattlEye installed or enabled.
Connecting to a multiplayer server with BattlEye enabled from a client without BattlEye will result in an error.
On the scout ornithopter it goes from 20% down to 10%. Funcom says the value isn’t definitive and will be tuned during PTC testing for both the scout and the assault ornithopters.
No, it’s currently available on the Public Test Client only.
It’s a PTC-only tool that gives you resources, gear and XP, unlocks Journey chapters, and also lets you unlock faction ranks and crafting materials so you can test content faster.