Understanding the intricate web of resources and systems in Dune: Spice Wars is essential for long-term success. This guide lays out every major resource type, what it does, how it’s generated, and how it interacts with others. Whether you’re just getting started or trying to refine your strategy, this breakdown will give you a complete picture of how the game’s economy and systems interconnect.

Spice: The Core of Your Economy

Spice is the central resource in Dune. You gather it through Harvesters deployed on spice fields. Your spice income splits between two uses:

• Stockpile (Purple): Fulfills your Imperial Bribe every 25 days. Failure to meet the bribe causes serious negative effects.
• Selling to CHOAM: Generates Solari, your primary currency.

You can control this balance with the spice slider. Adjust it to stockpile just enough for the next bribe, and sell the rest for income.

Solari: Your Operational Currency

Solari functions like fuel—it’s used for:

• Constructing buildings
• Paying upkeep on infrastructure
• Recruiting and maintaining military units

Even powerful buildings like the Main Base Districts have large upkeep demands. Solari is everywhere, and you’ll need a steady flow of it throughout the game.

Tip: Monitor both your income and expenses. Avoid running negative Solari as it limits expansion and upkeep.

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Authority: Your Expansion Engine

Authority determines how far and how quickly you can expand. Every new Village capture costs Authority, and zones further from your base cost more.

You start with a base gain of 4 Authority per day. Boost this by:

• Assigning agents to Arrakis Infiltration
• Securing authority-granting events or Landsraad resolutions
• Constructing the Administrative Vault (+30 Authority)

Without Authority, you simply can’t expand. It’s the most important bottleneck in the early game.

Core Resources: Plascrete, Manpower, Fuel Cells, and Water

These are your fundamental inputs for almost everything:

Plascrete

• Used to construct buildings and pay building upkeep.
• Produced from Plascrete Factories or Mineral-rich zones.
• Always needed. Build at least one factory per Village—excess can be traded.

Manpower

• Required for recruiting military units.
• Needed to crew Harvesters for bonus spice income.
• Acquired from Recruitment Offices.

Caution: Units also have ongoing manpower upkeep. Overspending here locks your ability to crew Harvesters or reinforce armies.

Fuel Cells

• Used for powering Airfields, Refineries, and Ornithopters.
• Acquired through Fuel Cell Factories and Energy Source tiles.
• A low-maintenance resource, but still essential. Don’t run out.

Water

• Required to:
  • Annex Villages (5 Water each)
  • Maintain armies (reserved per unit)
  • Trade with Sietches (10 Water per deal)

Built from Wind Traps (3 Water per Wind Strength). Zones with high Wind Strength (4–6) are ideal for water generation.

Tip: Water acts like a reserve—it’s consumed by presence, not one-time purchases.

Knowledge: Unlocking Technology

Knowledge powers your progress through the tech tree. Each tech has a base cost, which increases based on how many techs you’ve already researched. Early tech is quick—late-game tech can take 90+ days.

Generate Knowledge by:

• Building Research Hubs
• Building a Research Center in your HQ (+3 Knowledge and lower Research Hub upkeep)
• Using district bonuses (e.g. the Bazaar or stacked Statecraft buildings)

Stay ahead of the tech curve to unlock crucial economy and military upgrades.

Influence and Landsraad Standing

These are your political currencies:

Landsraad Standing

• Provides fixed votes in the monthly Landsraad Council.
• Essential for diplomatic resolutions and Charter positions.

Influence

• A spendable resource used to sway votes.
• Generated via certain agents, buildings, and faction traits.

Use these to:

• Push beneficial laws
• Block enemy laws
• Secure powerful Charter positions like Speaker or Dune Governorship

Tip: Smugglers and Atreides tend to be Influence-rich; military factions may lag.

Intel: Espionage Fuel

Intel is used to run operations like:

• Ceasefires
• Supply drops
• Sabotage
• Assassinations (in multiple stages)

Gain Intel by:

• Assigning agents to Arrakis, CHOAM, Landsraad, Spacing Guild, or other factions
• Using infiltration bonuses (5 Intel per agent on enemy faction slots)
• Building Intelligence-related HQ structures (e.g. Intelligence Agency)

Operations have Intel costs, Gold costs, and infiltration prerequisites. The more powerful the operation, the more prep and investment required.

Tip: Intel doesn’t have upkeep. Stockpile it for critical moments.

Wrapping It All Together: Managing the Web

Every resource in Dune: Spice Wars is interconnected:

• Spice fuels Solari, but also taxes.
• Solari powers buildings, upkeep, and military.
• Authority gates expansion, which grants more resource production.
• Water enables expansion and trade.
• Manpower and fuel support infrastructure and army capacity.
• Knowledge and Influence shape your long-term growth and politics.
• Intel gives you active leverage in combat and diplomacy.

Mastering the balance means never sitting with a full stockpile of one resource while lacking another. Check your economy often, make trade-offs, and adjust strategies as you grow.

With this guide in hand, you’re ready to navigate the complex systems of Dune: Spice Wars. Monitor your income, invest wisely, and always—always—pay the spice tax.