Dune: Spice Wars just got its first piece of post-launch DLC, which adds House Vernius of Ix to the list of factions in the game. However, that expansion is launching alongside a major free update for the core game that adds playable heroes for each faction fighting for control of Arrakis.
Each house in Dune: Spice Wars can pick from two legendary heroes from the Dune universe, for a total of 14 new hero units. If you’re fresh from seeing Dune: Part Two in the theater, some of these will be familiar faces: House Atreides gets to choose from Duncan Idaho and Gurney Halleck, while the Harkonnen can field either Glossu Rabban (Dave Bautista’s character) or Iakin Nefud. For the Fremen, there’s Chani Kynes (Zendaya’s character) or Otheym.
Each of the strategy game‘s heroes has their own unique active skill, global effect, and localized effects, and if they’re slain in battle, they can be brought back as a Ghola – just be ready to deal with the reputational consequences of reanimating the dead.
The update also includes important reworks to the combat and stealth systems, with an eye toward making army compositions more interesting and stealth a more powerful tool. The full patch notes are available on Steam.
Check out our list of the best 4X games if you’re looking for more strategy goodness. Or, if your eyes are on the upcoming Dune-inspired MMO, check out our Dune Awakening preview.
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