For most new players, we recommend starting as a Mentat: its first ability, The Sentinel, is a deployable dart turret that covers a field of fire while you fight, which makes the hardest early hours, and solo play in particular, far easier. Pick Swordmaster if you want to fight up close, or Bene Gesserit if you want the Voice. The one pick we would skip is Trooper, because launch-week players report its trainer is the first one the story takes you to anyway.
Nothing about this choice is permanent. In Dune: Awakening your starting class is just your first School of the Imperium, and you can learn all five from trainers later and mix their abilities. Below, every class is compared using Funcom’s own Schools of the Imperium showcases and its Update 1.5 notes, with the starting abilities as reported by players, since Funcom’s showcases do not list them.
How Starting Classes Work
During character creation you choose a mentor, and that mentor’s School becomes your starting class. Four Schools are on offer: Bene Gesserit, Mentat, Swordmaster and Trooper. The fifth, Planetologist, is the only one Funcom says “isn’t available in character creation,” so it has to be learned in the world.
Three things Funcom has confirmed shape how much the pick matters:
- You can learn every School. Funcom describes “the ability to mix and match abilities from all of them.”
- Each School has trainers in the world. If you did not pick a School at creation, you find its first mentor and complete their task. Funcom adds that “only one mentor in each School” can teach the most advanced skills.
- The game now points you to them. Funcom’s Update 1.5 notes say it tweaked early journeys and contracts to better guide players to all class trainers.
Your starting class mainly decides which ability you have from minute one and which School you can skip a trainer quest for.
Every Starting Class Compared
| School | Starting ability (per player reports) | Other skills Funcom shows | First trainer, per Funcom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mentat | The Sentinel | Poison Capsule, Shield Wall | Samin Moro at Riftwatch, a Harkonnen base |
| Bene Gesserit | Voice: Compel | Bindu Sprint, Recovery | Sister Mesa, in the Hagga Basin |
| Swordmaster | Knee Charge | Deflection, Eye of the Storm | Arno at Pinnacle Station, Jabal Eifrit Al-gharb |
| Trooper | Shigawire Claw | Anti-gravity Field, Disruptor Damage | Ghavouri at the Griffin’s Reach Tradepost |
| Planetologist | Not available at creation | Cartographer, Dew Gathering, Suspensor Pad | Derek Chinara, Hagga Basin South |
Our Pick: Mentat
Funcom describes the Mentat as a “master tactician and assassin.” The Sentinel is the reason we start with it: a “suspensor buoyed dart projector that uses motion detection to cover a field of fire.” Put it down before a fight and it shoots while you do, which is exactly what a weak early character fighting alone needs. Later Mentat skills add a poison cloud and a half-height Holtzman Shield Wall that gives you and your allies cover and slows enemies passing through it.
There is a practical reason too. The first Mentat trainer, per Funcom, is at Riftwatch, a Harkonnen base, and you have to prove you can make and administer poisons before she will teach you. That is not where a fresh character wants to go, and launch-week players describe the Mentat trainer as one you reach much later, so picking Mentat at creation gets you the School hours sooner. Many players also rate it the strongest starting pick and point to passive bonuses for ranged weapons and repairing in its tree.
When to Pick Each Other Class
- Swordmaster if you want melee. Knee Charge leaps into an enemy and staggers them, and later skills include Deflection, a stance that blocks incoming ranged projectiles for a time, and Eye of the Storm, a spinning attack that hits everyone around you. Update 1.5 gave Deflection three levels.
- Bene Gesserit if you want control. Compel uses the Voice to pull a target to you from afar, with a short “register” delay first, and Bindu Sprint is a burst of speed. Funcom says Sister Mesa will only teach you after you track down ancient texts for her, so this is a School worth taking at creation if you know you want it. Update 1.5 also gave Compel three levels.
- Trooper only if you want the grappling hook from minute one. Shigawire Claw fires a cable that launches you along it and can stagger opponents. But launch-week players report that the Trooper trainer, Ghavouri at the Griffin’s Reach Tradepost, is the first trainer the story leads you to, so you will learn the School early whatever you pick. Choosing Trooper at creation mostly wastes the slot.
- Planetologist cannot be picked at creation. Find Derek Chinara near an Imperial Testing Station in Hagga Basin South to start it. Its Dew Gathering skill raises your dew reaper’s water yield, which pairs with our early water guide.
Can You Change Your Class Later?
You do not need to. Every School can be learned later from its trainers, so your “class” grows into a mix of whatever you train. Players report that you can also reset spent skill points on a cooldown, and that your starting ability stays with you either way.
If you want a completely fresh pick, single-player is the cleanest route: Funcom says multiplayer characters cannot move into single-player, so you create a new character, and a new class, for it. Our single-player mode guide explains the rules, and our crossplay guide covers playing with friends on other platforms.
Tips Most Players Miss
- Schools are not the only build system. Update 1.5 added Specializations, a separate set of points across crafting, gathering, exploration, combat and sabotage.
- Each School has its own armor set, per Funcom’s Update 1.5 announcement, so your look can follow your build.
- Plan your first big goal. Most players spend their early hours working toward an ornithopter, and a Sentinel or Shigawire Claw both help with the scavenging it takes.
Every other guide is on our Dune: Awakening hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best starting class in Dune Awakening? We recommend Mentat for most players, especially solo, because The Sentinel turret fights alongside you from the start. Swordmaster is our pick for melee players.
Can you change your class in Dune Awakening? Your starting class is only your first School. You can learn every other School from trainers in the world and mix their abilities.
Why can’t I pick Planetologist? Funcom made it the one School not available at character creation. Find Derek Chinara in Hagga Basin South to start training.
Should I start as a Trooper? We would not. Launch-week players report the Trooper trainer is the first one the story leads you to, so you will get the School early anyway.
Does your starting class matter in single-player? It works the same way, and single-player needs its own new character, so you get a fresh choice when you start one.
Who is the first trainer you meet? Launch-week players say it is the Trooper trainer. Funcom names him as Ghavouri, at the Griffin’s Reach Tradepost.