I’m all for massive dungeons, and it turns out those are called Imperial Testing Stations in Dune Awakening. While some of the early ones are quite short. Over time in my journey on Arrakis, I'll run into ones that take me quite some time to navigate through.

There is just that certain itch that once it gets scratched in a game, you can’t wait to do it again. I've not had this kind of fun in a dungeon-like environment for quite some time.

Imperial Testing Stations are also public. So, you could find it had already been cleared. There might be another player working on it. You can even raid them with some friends. Much later in my adventure, I’d be needing help just to clear some of the hardest ones out there.

Thankfully, for now, things are still a bit simpler. My biggest issue was getting across small parts of sand. Hoping that somehow a sandworm will not just pop up out of the ground and eat me.

I ended up leaving my base that I've marked in a green square and headed west towards the spot I marked in a red square. The fun part of exploration is sometimes taking a little detour and climbing up some rocks. At the time, I did not know the best route. I simply had some survey data showing the southern part of the map.

Along the way, I did stop to mine some copper. I had no idea at the time what was in store for me inside an Imperial Testing Station. That I, for once, would want lots of inventory space.

The scariest part was having to run across a stretch of sand around the middle point. I could see off in the distance as the top of the sand moved as a worm slid under it. Putting me at the edge while my heart pumped in a mad dash to get to the next set of rock outcrops, where I'd be safe from any sandworm attack.

Once I got to the entryway of Imperial Testing Station, I knew this was not going to be like any other site I had explored yet. It had quite a massive doorway. Along with some trash from local scavengers littering the mouth of it.

Armed with a dagger and some bandages, I headed right in. The amount of water I had on me at the time was already getting below half my carrying capacity. An oversight I'd attempt not to make again when dealing with these kinds of sites. Thankfully, you can usually find small amounts of water inside them.

A mission had sent me here to get a poison snooper device. It was, however, far from being my main objective. I wanted to explore every inch of this place. Between the shielded doors that I needed to find a way to get past. Along with the many enemies within. This place was thrilling, to say the least.

Each of the different testing stations found scattered across Arrakis had different kinds of experiments they were carrying out. They seemed mostly to focus on different sciences related to botany. From plants to the soil and even the atmosphere of Arrakis itself.

Not wanting to miss anything going on in this testing station, I naturally walked around like a two left footed drunk individual. I could not sneak up on a corpse if I tried, and I sure tried. As each room, small or large, was covered in such detail, my eyes did not know where to look first.

You would think the people with the guns and knives would be the first thing to catch my eye. You would, however, be wrong. It was often the foggy mist of light falling from the sky onto a rich plant environment. A rare sight on Arrakis. My eyes craved anything but more desert.

In many of these kinds of sites, I'd find a recording left behind. Sometimes they were the former workers. Many times, it would be a band of scavengers that had for a time occupied the place. Sometimes they would even now be the recently deceased individuals that did not like my poking around.

After many attempts to stop me. I slowly made my way through a place that was starting to feel more like a maze the anything else. When I was not looking at the plants, my eyes would gloss over seeing different kinds of chests.

Not knowing whether I needed it or not. I kind of just wrapped my hands around anything I could get. Even some stuff that was on the bodies of those in my way. I felt they would not need those items anyway. Why let it go to waste?

There would also be an end-of-dungeon chest. These things had strange holograms on top of them. When you opened them, fog would pour out of them. You could then find schematics, special spice-infused metals, or even items.

I ended up equipping the Passive Suspensor Belt and found it would help aid me when climbing down or around mountains. It would later help me reach some rather tricky peaks that I wanted to get a view from, but simply lacked the current ability to get up.

Once I was done looting, I quickly found a passageway that brought me back to the start of the Imperial Testing Station. I got the same little greeting I did the first time around. I then went up a bunch of stairs to head outdoors.

While this one was not massive by any means. It was a sign of things to come. I know had my new favorite activity on Arrakis. It would be nearly impossible mission to get me to pass by one of these sites if I had not explored it before.

These places would also become quite a way to get a bountiful amount of schematics, making all kinds of power unique items, from armor to weapons. Along with just a lot of general loot that would help further my current or future crafting needs.

Before heading back to my base. I crawled up the mountain that the testing station was inside. At the top was Derek Chinara, who wanted the Poison Snooper I had collected. He teaches Planetology, and I'd end up increasing my mining yields among many other important aspects by training with him over time.

Final Thoughts

I then made what felt like a long journey across some sand back to my base. Hoping to not get eaten by a sand worm or have a shiv thrust into my back by a scavenger. After a small scuffle on my way back, I arrived mostly intact.

By then, it was quite dark outside. I somewhat welcomed the cooler air. As I was about out of water. Traveling by night would end up being something I'd prefer to do as long as I did not get caught by any nightly patrols.

It was clear I did not have enough storage to try and sort out all the new kinds of loot I got from the Imperial Testing Station. Along with needing some water. So, I went around my local area gathering some basic materials to resolve the current situation.

Information

Screenshots were taken and content was written by @Enjar about Dune: Awakening.