House Atreides in Dune: Spice Wars excels in diplomacy, controlled expansion, and political influence. This guide will walk you through the best early-game setup, research priorities, military strategies, and late-game positioning to secure a Hegemony victory consistently.

---

1. Best Counselors for Atreides

For this guide, choose:

• Master of Assassins (Thufir Hawat) – Improves espionage and counter-intelligence.
• Swordmaster Duncan Idaho – Strengthens your military and offers diplomatic bonuses.

This combination provides a balance of military and strategic depth, allowing you to expand safely while leveraging Atreides’ strong diplomatic potential.

---

2. Early Game Setup (First 5 Minutes)

Step 1: Initial Unit and Scouting Strategy

• Pause the game (spacebar) to issue your first set of orders efficiently.
• Train a Warrior and a Ranger in your main base.
• Scout for the nearest Spice field with your Ornithopter.
• Set Ornithopter to auto-recon once the Spice field is located.

Step 2: Capturing Your First Village

• Send your Warrior and Ranger to annex the nearest Spice village.
• Build a Refinery immediately after annexation.
• Enable auto-recall on your Harvester to minimize losses to Sandworms.
• If needed, heal and resupply units by moving them close to your main base.

Step 3: Initial Research Priorities

Queue up the following techs:

1. Local Dialect Studies – Reduces annexation costs.
2. Composite Materials – Lowers building costs.
3. Modular Parts – Supports Atreides’ peace agreement strategy.

Step 4: Resource Management

• Build a Wind Trap in a village with high wind strength to ensure water stability.
• Construct a Plascrete Factory to sustain long-term expansion.
• Assign your first Spy to Arrakis Infiltration for intelligence gathering.

---

3. Mid-Game Expansion and Diplomacy

Step 5: Territory Control and Military Balance

• Annex additional villages whenever Water and Authority allow.
• Expand towards key resource zones (Plascrete, Fuel Cells, or Solari boosts).
• Build Airfields at strategic locations to enable rapid unit deployment.
• Train additional military units to defend expanding borders.

Step 6: Landsraad and Political Influence

• Prioritize Blue Tech Tree advancements:
  • Negotiation Tactics – Boosts influence generation.
  • Political Stance – Strengthens late-game military power.
• Vote strategically in the Landsraad to deny enemy advantages and secure Atreides’ bonuses.
• Monitor opponent votes and adapt influence spending accordingly.

---

4. Late-Game Military & Victory Strategy

Step 7: Military and Defense Preparation

• Upgrade militia and build missile batteries in villages near enemy borders.
• Deploy airfields to enable fast military response.
• Maintain peace treaties with at least two opponents to focus resources effectively.

Step 8: Securing a Hegemony Victory

• Continue annexing strategic zones to increase Hegemony steadily.
• Use spies for political leverage and targeted operations.
• If military confrontation is unavoidable, use Atreides’ superior diplomacy to limit conflicts.

---

Final Thoughts

House Atreides’ path to victory relies on strategic expansion, strong resource management, and diplomatic maneuvering. By following this guide, you’ll maximize early growth, maintain control over political influence, and secure a dominant late-game position. Keep these strategies in mind, and you’ll consistently achieve victory on Arrakis!

Good luck, and may the spice flow in your favor!