4X – Loner Strategy Games

Dune Spice Wars in a Real Time Strategy game that pits four factions against each other on the world of Arrakis. Spice is the substance everyone strives to control because it holds the keys to power in the galaxy. Landsaard Standing and Influence Production are the keys to winning the game as House Atreides. The House Atreides represents the noble “good guys” of the game, although they can and will fight when necessary. House Atreides has powerful military units but prefer to settle things through negotiations and diplomacy. They always try to take a fair and just approach with the other factions. House Atreides Playstyle House Atreides is strong offensively and has good defensive stamina for their units. They benefit more than the other factions from having a good standing in the Landsraad Council and with their diplomatic style they not only avoid costing other factions Authority when entering into agreements, their style also makes it easier for them to establish agreements with others. House Atreides would rather store up Influence for use in the Landsarrd than use it for things like Peaceful Annexation. They like to consolidate and hold their regions and use their considerable authority to win a Political Victory by being elected to the Dune Governorship. House Atreides Hegemony The same as other factions, at 2K Hegemony improvements are unlocked for their main base, which for House Atreides is Arrakeen. Once enough resources are available they can build Districts, either Economy, Military, or Statecraft that provide powerful benefits for House Atreides. For instance, building a Statecraft district can give the House Atreides Senate Envoys, which can provide up to 100 more in Influence. At 5K of Hegemony (see my factions page for more about hegemony) they gain 10% in Solari production while under the effects of a positive resolution. But even negative resolutions can be somewhat beneficial. During negative resolutions affecting them their combat units gain 10% power. At 10K Hegemony they can ignore any Charter requirements providing their Landsaard Standing is high enough. House Atreides Peaceful Annexation House Atreides can take Villages peacefully rather than taking them militarily. Peaceful Annexation is slower than the military option since it takes 15 days versus the day or two it takes to take out a Village’s Militia and annex it. The cost of water is the same, which is five, but Peaceful Annexation uses Influence instead of Authority, and the further a village is away from their territory the more Influence it costs. For House Atreides that Influence is usually better used for Landsaard Resolutions. Landsaard Council The Council passes, or rejects, resolutions that can affect the military and economic options for all factions or for a specific faction. House Atreides typically has the most influence over the outcomes because they typically have the most individual votes in the Landsaard. House Atrteides starts with 100 votes in the Landsaard and they can add their Influence points to the vote as well, making them a formidable power in the Landsaard Council. Only the House Harkonnen can come close to matching them. The minor factions can have a significant impact as well if they present a united front. House Atreides’ most formidable opponent in the Landsaard is the House Harkonnen. House Atreides Councilors House Atreides has four councilors available to it at the start of the game. Some House Atreides Counselors can give them additional resource production while others allow them to place veteran Militia units in their Villages at the start of the game. You can read about all the counselors and about the factions at my factions page. House Atreides Unique Developments Each faction has four development paths, Statecraft (Diplomacy), a “Generalized” path, an Economic path and a Military path. House Atreides has one unique Development in each branch. The “Generalized” branch focuses more on game specific items, like a Processing Plant for rare elements. The bottom line for House Atreides? Focus on the Landsaard and Influence production. Playing as House Atreides The House Atreides, along with House Harkonnen, has a Landsaard Standing, the higher the number the better it is for the faction. At 200 Landsaard Standing some of the Landsaard Offices become available if other requirements are met. One of the best paths for winning the game as House Atreides is controlling the Landsaard Council and getting resolutions passed, which raises the House Atrteides Landsaard standing. Paying Spice taxes on time also increases Landsaard Standing. One of the things that hurts Landsaard Standing is, obviously, not paying taxes. Failing to pass resolutions is another. There are also resolutions that target Landsaard Standing. For instance, the Surveillance Committee Resolution will cause the targeted faction to lose 100% of its Landsaard Standing for taking actions against other factions, a significant loss for the House Atreides if you are the target of the Resolution and violate it. The Crown Jewel for the House Atreides is the Dune Governorship. This becomes available when all the Regions on Arrakis are controlled and all the Sietches are allied with someone. For the House Atreides to be eligible for election to this office it must have a Landsaard Standing of 400 or better, which is very high. House Atreides must also be allied with at least 50% of the Sietch factions. Being elected to this position, and holding it for sixty days, allows House Atreides to win a Political Victory. House Atreides Influence Generating Influence is a primary goal as House Atreides so it can be used to sway favorable resolutions in your direction. House Atreides starts with a base gain of 3 Influence. Focusing on the Landsaard is important for House Atreides. Influence can be increased by placing Agents in the Landsaard, which increases Influence production by one per agent. This also increases Intel production, which is important for running operations, and boosts Landsaard Infiltration production as well. House Atrteides also has a unique development in the green “Generalized” branch of development titled “Understand the Beauty.” Once this is unlocked a 20% Influence gain is achieved for each Special Region they control. This development also gives Militia in Special Regions 20% more power. The bottom line for House Atreides? Focus on the Landsaard and Influence production.