Sandstorms

Sandstorm in the Deep Desert

Not to be confused with the famed Coriolis Storms of Arrakis, Sandstorms are lesser environmental hazards that traverse the Hagga Basin and Deep Desert periodically.

Details

Sandstorms originate from one side of the map, and travel in a straight line to the opposite side. The origin point and direction are random. While usually wide enough to span more than an entire region of Hagga Basin, their Deep Desert counterparts are orders of magnitude larger and more destructive.

Any players, vehicles or unshielded buildings caught in its path take damage, with enough exposure resulting in destruction/death. While inside, visibility is significantly reduced making it difficult to find shelter if caught in a storm. It is highly recommended that players take shelter in advance of these storms.

Sandstorms are usually announced by the in-game weather radio station and a text notification will also appear towards the left of the screen. The amount of time you are given to react to an approaching sandstorm depends entirely on its origin point, and how close to said point you are.

Shelter Mechanics

On the left-side of the UI, there is a Shelter level indicator, detailing what state of shelter your character currently is in. The different levels are:

• Unsheltered - No protection from Sandstorms. Hydration will deteriorate at a moderate pace.
• Sheltered - Granted by taking shelter under a cliff, overhang or partial structure, this level offers protection from sandstorms hydration will deteriorate at a slightly slower pace.
• Enclosed - Granted by standing within a cave, or mostly complete structure, this level offers protection from sandstorms and hydration will deteriorate at a moderately slower pace.
• Watersealed - Granted by standing within a complete structure this level offers protection from sandstorms and hydration will deteriorate at a considerably slower pace.

(If you are currently operating a vehicle, you can see the vehicles Shelter level indicator on the right-side of the UI.)

Building Damage

Unshielded player-built structures will take damage over time while subjected to sandstorms. The rate of damage is usually quite slow in Hagga Basin, with abandoned buildings taking over a week to completely degrade.

Buildings will take damage from the outermost walls first, with the damage eroding inwards as pieces become exposed. The current damage of a building piece can be seen by using the Build tool in repair mode and aiming at the piece in question.

Building inside caves and enemy bases will not provide shelter.

Caves, rock formations, sand, and terrain do not replace building pieces. For example, while caves can provide a shelter for your character during storms, they do not provide sufficient protection to your base and all of its contents, when it is not water-sealed. You'll need to be place walls or other pieces that intersect with caves, to ensure your base is water-sealed, even if you have sufficient power.

Similarly, if your foundation pieces extended beyond the subfief limits in the sand or terrain, these pieces are will be unshielded and may collapse during sandstorms.

Some of the building features can be personalized, such as stability and building restrictions, within the singleplayer and self-hosted game modes as well as private servers.

Vehicle Damage

Vehicles will also take damage over time to their individual components from sandstorms. The rate of damage again is higher in the Deep Desert compared to Hagga Basin, however they are still not to be underestimated.

A Hagga Basin sandstorm has been known to strip vehicle components of 1/3 of its durability, depending on the vehicle and grade of component. The current damage of a vehicle component can be seen by using the Welding Torch tool, in repair mode and aiming at the piece in question.

Leveling up your Exploration Specialty has levels that reduce damage taken from sandstorms.

Damage to NPCs

Presently, NPCs are not affected by sandstorms. For example, Sardaukar drop ships that patrols Hagga Basin are not affected by sandstorms. Similarly, NPCs standing outside the Griffin's Reach tradepost are unaffected by them.