Arrakis

Arrakis (also known as Dune) is the most valuable planet in the Known Universe, and thus, the Imperium, as it is the only place where spice can be found.

Arrakis is orbited by two moons.^[1]

In-Game

Arrakis is where all Sleepers begin their journey - building, exploring and surviving.

Playable regions

There are three known playable regions on Arrakis: Hagga Basin, Deep Desert, and Polar Cap (coming soon).

Hagga Basin Landmarks

The Hagga Basin region features several terrain landmarks and structures:

Testing stations
Enemy outposts
Tradeposts (Griffin's Reach, Anvil, and Crossroads)
Fortresses (Helius Gate and Riftwatch)
Shipwrecks
and camps
Terrain landmarks: Hammer, Kynes's Promise, Hand of Khidr, Mirzabah, Stone Sentinel, and Shieldwall, Spy Nest, and Mysa Tarill.

Other landmarks

Other landmarks can be reached using the overland map:

settlements: Arrakeen and Harko Village
story locations: Fallen Light, Neo-Carthag Arena, Ruins of Old Carthag, Water Shipper's Mansion, and Wreck of the Hephaestus
minor landmarks
dungeons: Testing Station #24, #89, #136, #152, #195, and The Old Quarry

Locals

There are several groups of locals and factions present on Arrakis.

Hostile locals (such as Kirab, Sandflies, Slavers, Maas Kharet, and Deserters)
Travelling questgivers (such as Arkady Demidenko)
Representatives from the Landsraad Great Houses and members of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood
Pilots
Residents of settlements, fortressess, and tradeposts
Hostile Sardaukar nighttime patrols

Fauna

Sandworms are one of the most significant and iconic fauna in the Hagga Basin and Deep Desert regions, acting as divine "givers" of life and "takers" of death in the Dune universe.

Other wildlife can be found in some regions of the planet, such as the Kulons in Arrakeen and Harkovillage. This wildlife is also represented by statues.

Geobotany

Each region's biome (e.g. Hagga Basin has several biomes such as the Vermillius Gap) has its own heat rating. For example, the amount of flora (such as plant fiber, dew fields, or agave plants) and ore (such as iron ore and copper ore) depends on the biome's heat rating and location. Additional plant varieties can be found within testing stations across the planet.

In terms of terrain, the open sand can contain quicksand, drum sand, flour sand, or a spice field.

Apart from a biome's temperature causing a sunstroke and terrain causing vehicles to be lost to quicksand, radiation is another environmental hazard present on parts of Arrakis.

Events

Recurring events in Hagga Basin and Deep Desert:

Ships are crashing from the sky onto the open sand, likely due to the War of Assassins.
Spice blows are audible explosions occurring on the open sand. They are as indicators that spice fields have formed.
Limited time events: giant turrets shot at the sky and caused a constant barrage of ships falling all around Hagga Basin, as part of the CHOAM Salvage Rights event.
Weekly Landsraad missions and decrees occur, which impact all the players on Arrakis.

Other planets

There are no immediate plans for content on other planets than Arrakis.

While he wouldn't elaborate much further on specific content plans, Junior did leave me with one tease: "Who knows, as the years go on, maybe we’ll leave Arrakis and explore some other areas." It opens the game up to a range of possibilities, with the likes of Caladan or Giedi Prime potential locations.^[2]