Dune: Awakening introduces players to the captivating Mentat character class, emphasizing strategic gameplay that revolves around the utilization of mines and turrets to establish area control, alongside long-range weaponry designed for enemy assassination.
The innovative skill tree system within Dune: Awakening allows players to approach each class in multiple ways, fostering the creation of personal builds and distinct playstyles. The Mentat class, in particular, boasts an array of highly potent options for players to explore.
Players can opt to develop the Mentat into a formidable sharpshooter focused on maximal camp-clearing efficiency, or they can embrace supportive abilities that enhance the survival and performance of allies in multiplayer sessions. As you embark on your journey, you’ll begin with the Sentinel ability—a powerful turret adept at dismantling foes. From that point on, the allocation of skill points across three separate Mentat skill trees is up to you.
- Mental Calculus: Amplifies ranged weapon damage and enhances weakpoint exploitation.
- Assassination: Focuses on poison and increases headshot damage.
- Tactician: Offers crowd control methods and various support abilities.
By honing your headshot capabilities, outmaneuvering opponents with turrets and gravity mines, or opting for a Mentat support build, you can effectively clear camps and expedite your leveling process. The Mentat appeals to gamers who relish strategic gameplay, and I can personally attest to the excitement this class has provided during my time with it.
This guide aims to spotlight what I consider to be the optimal early-game Mentat build, centered on amplifying one of its fundamental strengths: Ranged Damage and Weakpoints.
Additionally, I will delve into a Mentat support build concentrated on crowd control and utility, ensuring players can maximize their contribution to the team.
One of the most appealing aspects of Dune: Awakening is the plethora of available content, which means your early-game adventures will be extensive.
Players will engage in battles against bandits for loot, gather resources to construct bases, seek mentors from various disciplines, and complete their training. This makes it imperative to optimize your build not just to survive on Arrakis but to thrive in your pursuit of endgame accomplishments.
The Mentat: Ranged Assassin Build
Upon beginning my journey with The Mentat, I dabbled with several ability combinations and techniques. Ultimately, I discovered that a build maximizing increased ranged weapon damage and exploiting weaknesses was simply too advantageous to overlook.
As illustrated in my gameplay screenshots, I initially distributed my early-game skill points primarily between the Mental Calculus and Assassination skill trees, opting not to invest in the tactician tree. This approach results in an aggressive early-game Mentat build that transforms you into a master headshot sharpshooter. Here’s a breakdown of this configuration:
Abilities:
Poison Capsule: You deploy a hidden dart dispenser that releases a specialized capsule filled with toxic spores. Upon impact, a cloud of poison envelops any enemies who linger in the vicinity.
Sentinel: This ability allows you to deploy a dart projector that employs motion detection to secure a field of fire. You can reactivate it to engage fire.
Techniques:
Exploit Weakness: Through observation and analysis, you can predict your enemies’ vulnerabilities. Hitting an unshielded enemy with a ranged weapon will reveal a weakpoint that subsequently increases damage for future attacks. Only one weakpoint can be visible at a time.
Poison Tooth: After installation by a Suk Doctor, this tooth can be activated when downed, generating a cloud of poisonous mist that affects all nearby enemies—though it also inflicts damage upon you.
Marksman: With expert precision targeting the head, you increase headshot damage, although your proficiency with body shots may decrease.
Passives:
Garment Keeper: Your keen eye allows you to spot garment weaknesses, enhancing durability and preventing wear and tear over time.
Tailoring: Renowned for your needlework, you minimize maximum durability damage incurred during repairs.
Pistol Damage: Your mental training optimizes the lethality of handfired weapons, enhancing their damage regardless of distance.
Rifle Damage: By overcoming projectile drop at long range, your attacks with rifles gain increased lethality.
Ranged Damage: Utilizing mental acuity, you enhance your dart trajectories, elevating damage across all ranged weapons.
Headshot Damage: As expertise with ranged weapons grows, so too does proficiency with shots to vital areas, leading to amplified headshot damage.
Assassin’s Shot: You seize every opportunity in combat, delivering extra damage to enemies struck from behind.
This build maintains the utility of turrets while maximizing your ranged damage output.
When engaging an enemy encampment, I recommend strategically placing my Sentinel without activation. Upon doing so, saturate the area with poison via a poison capsule and target a few headshots with your rifle. As foes charge toward you, activate the Sentinel for maximum effect—creating the ideal moment to unleash devastation.
With thorough reconnaissance, optimal turret placement, and accurate rifle shots, you will swiftly navigate enemy camps, efficiently collecting rewards. This build’s potency has provided me with a powerful sentinel/sniper combo, accomplishing camp raids in a mere matter of minutes.
The Mentat: Crowd-Control & Utility Build
Alternatively, I suggest a build focusing on the Mentat’s Tactician skill tree. This configuration allows for the use of gravity mines to slow or launch enemies, deploy decoys for confusion, and erect shield walls to protect you and your teammates. Playing this support role is immensely rewarding, especially in coordinating with a group.
Below is a summary of some of the most effective abilities that should be incorporated into this build:
Solido Decoy: By utilizing a miniature solido projector, you can create a nearly perfect illusion of yourself on the battlefield. Repeating the trigger prompts the projection to advance, misdirecting enemy attacks.
Anti-Gravity Mine: Triggering this mine employs a modified Holtzman field to nullify gravity in a specified area, enabling the lifting of enemies or allowing safer traversal.
Gravity Mine: When activated, this mine amplifies gravity distortion in a surrounding area, providing an avenue to hinder enemies and weaken projectiles.
Shield Wall: Deploy a half-height Holtzman shield to offer cover during confrontations, also slowing any encroaching enemies, granting you a chance to counter them effectively.
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