Strategy Guide for Dune 2000 Mod

It may be hard for new players to see the difference between the 3 houses in Dune 2000 because the houses share so many units in common. The differences between the houses are their unique units and the differences between their combat tanks. The unique traits of each house are listed below.

House Atreides

Atreides' unique units:

• Grenadier [Unfortunately, for technical reasons the D2K mod does not yet support the grenadier unit.]
• Atreides Tank The Atreides combat tank's advantage is its long range. It has a weapon range of 7, while other combat tanks have a range of 5. If utilized properly, its long range can be deadly. The best place to use the range advantage is when a ridge separates your units from your opponent's. You can hit the enemy from longer range, and if they come closer, just retreat a bit and then resume fire from beyond your opponent's range. Even in open desert, the longer range can sometimes be an advantage. The Atreides tank's speed is modest, but it has good rotation speed and turret rotation speed.
• Sonic Tank The Atreides' other unique vehicle is the sonic tank. Building the Ix research center unlocks this unit. It cannot be bought from the starport. Its weapon is long range and quite powerful, but the tank does not have high hitpoints, so it keep its distance from enemies.
• Fremen Once you get a palace, you can build the fremen infantry unit. They are invisible and have a sniper rifle, as well as a rocket launcher. Cloaked units can be detected by turrets and the outpost building.

The Atreides also get the airstrike support power after building a palace.

House Harkonnen

House Harkonnen has the advantage of being able to build a quad from its light vehicle factory early-game, without having to first build an outpost. The quad is useful against vehicles and tanks, and can be useful at harassing enemy harvesters. The Harkonnen do not have access to the medic unit.

Harkonnen's unique units:

• Harkonnen Tank The Harkonnen combat tank's advantage is its toughness. It has 25% more hitpoints than other tanks. This comes at the expense of having slower speed and a slower turning rate.
• Devastator Tank The Devastator tank has heavy armor and a very powerful plasma cannon. It is also very slow. Building the Ix research center unlocks this unit.
• Sardaukar Troopers These powerful heavy troopers have a machine gun that's effective against infantry, and a rocket launchers for vehicles. Building a palace unlocks this unit.
• Nuclear strike After building the Harkonnen palace, you get the ability to launch the Death Hand missile anywhere on the map. It takes some time to arrive at its destination, so it is best suited for destroying enemy structures.

House Ordos

The Ordos rely on hit-and-run tactics with fast units, and in the late-game use special units like the deviator and saboteur.

Ordos' unique units:

• Raider Trike The raider trike replaces the standard trike for Ordos. It is a powerful early-game unit, which maintains relevance throughout the game. It costs $300 instead of $250, and its advantages are well worth the cost. It is faster than regular trikes, and its gun does far more damage. The raider trike is powerful enough that it can be used early-game to harass an opponent's harvesters, despite their heavy armor. The raider trike can hold its own against the longer-range quads, as long as it can get close.
• Ordos Tank The Ordos combat tank's advantage is its speed. It is 50% faster than the Atreides tank, and has a very fast turning rate and fast turret rotation. The Ordos tank's high speed is harder to take advantage of than the Atreides tank's longer range or the Harkonnen tank's extra toughness, but in the hands of a skilled player it can be used to great effect. Its basic tactic is "shoot and scoot". The combat tank should be used incessantly for hit-and-run attacks on vulnerable enemy targets. It can travel in a group with faster units like trikes and quads, which are fast units. Ideally you should attack enemy forces and quickly retreat to avoid fighting a large, organized force. The Ordos tank's high speed allows it to avoid artillery fire as long as it keeps moving. Its speed also allows it to go around enemy lines and attack vulnerable units like harvesters, artillery, etc.
• Stealth Raider Trike Once you build a high-tech factory, you can build the stealth raider trike, which is a cloaked raider trike. It can ambush enemy units and then quickly retreat to safety. A large group of stealth raiders can be effective at ambushing harvesters or sneaking into an enemy base. Cloaked units can be detected by turrets and the outpost building.
• Deviator Tank The deviator fires rockets which give you temporary control of whatever units it hits. You wreak havoc on large formations by turning your opponent's units against each other. Building the Ix research center unlocks this unit.
• Saboteur This is a commando unit that can be used to demolish enemy buildings quickly. Building a palace unlocks it.

The Ordos also get the airstrike support power when you build a palace.

Shared Units

• Trike Trikes are fast scouts which are very effective against infantry. They can be fairly effective against quads and artillery units.
• Quad The quad is built at the light factory, and unlocked by building an outpost. It has missiles with a long range (7) which are effective against vehicles and tanks. Quads are somewhat effective against buildings, and poor versus infantry. The quad's long range makes it effective against artillery and tanks, as long as it can avoid any return fire.
• Siege Tank The siege tank is built at the heavy factory, and is unlocked by building an outpost. It has a medium-long range of 8. It can outrange a gun turret, but not a rocket turret. It has heavy armor to protect it from light machine gun fire, but still has low hitpoints. Its weapon is very effective against infantry and turrets. It is good against vehicles, and only modest against tanks. It has a minimum range of 3.
• Rocket Launcher The rocket tank is built at the heavy factory, and is unlocked by the high-tech factory. It has a long range of 10. It fires volleys of 4 missiles which are quite inaccurate but have a large blast radius. The rockets do excellent damage vs. vehicles, good damage vs. tanks, and moderate damage vs. turrets. They do somewhat less damage against infantry, but can still kill them effectively at long range. The rocket tank has a minimum range of 5.