How to Escape Sandworms in Dune Awakening

There’s no sight as frightening as spotting a Sandworm on the horizon in Dune Awakening. These massive creatures dwell beneath the sands until they sense a series of rhythmic vibrations, causing them to track down the source of the disturbance furiously. Sandworms are massive in size and vicious when it comes to the hunt. They are also invincible, meaning the player can do virtually nothing besides running for their lives if caught in the creature’s crosshairs. Learning how to come away unscathed from a Sandworm encounter is nothing less than essential. So if you’re looking for tips, here’s how you can escape Sandworm attacks in Dune Awakening.

Dune Awakening Sandworms Explained

Sandworms in Dune Awakening only emerge when you’re traversing the vast open sand areas found between hills and rock formations. These stretches of sand are lengthy, and walking or sprinting across the whole area only increases the chances of your character being swallowed by the Shai-Hulud. Using a vehicle such as the Sandbike will also inform a Sandworm of your location.

While trekking through the sand, you’ll notice a yellow meter pop up on your screen. Its visual vibrations represent the rhythmic nature of your footsteps. As the meters grow in intensity, you’ll start to hear thundering sounds paired with gusts of sand that indicate the Sandworm slithering nearby. Once it turns red, it means the creature is sizing you up, and your chances of survival are slim.

The next thing you’ll see is the colossal creature emerge from the sand before swallowing you whole. After this, you’ll be greeted by the respawn screen, and Dune Awaneking’s death penalty is incredibly harsh, which permanently takes away all the gear you were carrying at the time of death. The only way to avoid this fate is by preventing the Sandworm meter from turning red, since there’s no way to kill the creature.

How to Avoid Sandworms in Dune Awakening

To avoid losing your equipment and hard-earned loot permanently, here are a few tips to escape Sandworm attacks in Dune Awakening:

• Stick to the rocks: If you have to trek through the open sand to reach a specific location, make sure to stick to the rocky outcrops or areas with more granular sand. Once you arrive in these patches of ground, the Sandworm meter will immediately disappear, so you can rest easy.
• Use movement abilities strategically: Movement-based skills like the Bindu Spirit or the Shigawire Claw are great for instantly covering a decent bit of ground. They can also be used as a last-ditch resort to escape Sandworm attacks. Make sure to save them for when the creature gets dangerously close, and always aim to move toward a rocky patch of sand.
• Avoid using Shields: While walking across the sand, make sure to turn off your Shield and Levitation devices, as Sandworms are attracted to them.
• Crouch instead of sprinting: Sprinting causes more vibrations than crouch-walking, making the latter safer for crossing the sand. However, there’s no point in crouch-walking if a Sandworm is already on your tail, as the on-screen meter is becoming more intense.
• Flying vehicles are the best: Flying vessels like the Ornithopter are easily the best way to trek through the sand. Their distance from the ground immediately negates the Sandworm threat, and they also eat up the ground pretty quickly.
• Use Thumpers: Thumpers are Fremen devices unlocked pretty late into the game, after the completion of the fifth trial, to be exact. By this point, you’ll be hunting for spice, which requires you to attract the attention of Sandworms away from the resource. To do this, place a 2-3 Thumpers at a decent distance from the creature, and use them to get its attention. This will only distract the massive worm briefly before it gobbles up the Thumpers, so gather Spice quickly.

And that wraps up our guide on how to escape Sandworm attacks in Dune Awakening. How many times have you died to a Sandworm so far? Let us know in the comments below.