Funcom Probes Dune: Awakening PvP Ornithopter Grief

Dune: Awakening developer Funcom has announced an incoming fix for players frustrated by being repeatedly crushed by helicopters—known in-game as Ornithopters—during PvP encounters.

As effectively highlighted by Redditor Bombe18 in the video below, there is currently very little recourse if an Ornithopter targets you. The moment you self-revive, the aircraft returns to repeat the cycle. This is a particularly frustrating way to perish, as stopping it is nearly impossible without a missile launcher on hand.

Dune developers, I accept defeat in PVP. But being crushed by an orni that takes zero damage? No.
byu/Bombe18 induneawakening

"Dune developers, I accept defeat in PvP," wrote Bombe18 (via Eurogamer). "But being crushed by an orni that takes no damage? No." They proposed a couple of potential fixes: either make the Orni take damage when it crashes into players, or simply disable the crushing mechanic and its ability to conduct aerial assaults altogether.

The positive update is that Funcom quickly took notice of the issue raised by Bombe18 and many other players.

"Sorry about this," responded Funcom's Chief Creative Officer, Joel Bylos. "We have people working on fixing the goomba stomping ASAP."

It's not just Ornithopters that are immune to damage—this applies to all vehicles. Players are concerned that unless Funcom addresses this across the board, the PvP meta will simply shift from Ornis to another equally frustrating tactic. Hopefully, a comprehensive solution arrives soon.

Despite this PvP issue, Dune: Awakening has had an impressive launch, earning a 'Very Positive' user review rating on Steam. Within hours of its release on June 10, Funcom's survival MMO attracted over 142,000 concurrent players on Valve's platform, with player numbers expected to rise over the weekend. You can also check out our initial impressions in our Dune: Awakening review in progress.

To help you survive on Arrakis, we've put together Dune: Awakening resource guides to help you locate iron, steel, aluminium, and more. If you're just starting out, take a look at all the available Dune: Awakening classes, and follow our ongoing Dune: Awakening walkthrough for a step-by-step guide through the story.