House Atreides is the ideal faction for players who want to leverage diplomacy to secure victory without engaging in large-scale warfare. Their late-game passive abilities make them incredibly powerful, positioning them as the prime candidate for a diplomatic victory. By maintaining strong relationships, avoiding pillaging, and focusing on strategic expansion, Atreides players can achieve dominance while keeping their military primarily defensive.

Counselor Selection

The best counselor choice for House Atreides is Duncan Idaho, as his 20% reduced upkeep and 10% reduced annexation cost provide significant long-term economic advantages. Your second counselor choice is flexible:

• Buffer – A solid choice if you plan on focusing on agents.
• Gurney Halleck – Strengthens your military if you need additional defensive power.
• Lady Jessica – Enhances your political influence, allowing you to manipulate the Landsraad to your advantage. Jessica is typically the strongest option in the long run due to the stacking Landsraad bonuses.

Early Game – Establishing Control

Step 1: Initial Exploration and Expansion

1. Send your Ornithopter to scout for the nearest spice field.
2. Recruit a Trooper and a Ranger and send them to capture the first spice village.
3. Train an additional Ornithopter to speed up exploration.
4. Construct a Refinery in the first spice village and set your Harvester to auto-recall.
5. Build a Plascrete Factory to sustain early expansion.
6. Identify and target valuable nearby zones, prioritizing mineral-rich areas or special resources.

Step 2: Research Priorities

1. Composite Materials – Boosts Plascrete production, which is essential for expansion.
2. Advanced Engineering – Enhances building efficiency across your villages.
3. Silos – Increases spice production efficiency.
4. Energy Markets – Provides additional Solari generation.

Make sure to adjust your spice-to-Solari ratio so that you’re collecting slightly more spice than needed for the Imperial tax while maintaining financial stability.

Step 3: Second Village Expansion

1. Capture your second village and construct a Plascrete Factory.
2. Establish Water Production in the village with the highest wind power.
3. Build an early Research Hub to accelerate future development.
4. Assign your first two agents to Arrakis infiltration for additional Authority.
5. Assign the next two agents to Landsraad, enhancing your ability to win political votes.

Mid-Game – Expanding Diplomatically and Economically

Step 4: Strategic Village Selection

Your third village should expand toward a second spice field, ensuring continued economic growth. Since peaceful annexation is slow early on, capture it by force to avoid falling behind. If possible, position your Spice Silo to cover multiple spice fields for optimal production bonuses.

Step 5: Landsraad Strategy and Headquarters Upgrades

• When voting in the Landsraad, commit your votes to a single resolution to maximize influence.
• After delivering your first spice tax, you should have enough Hegemony to construct buildings in your headquarters.
• Prioritize building:
  1. Research Center (in a single-building district for maximum efficiency).
  2. Administrative Hall (to improve resource collection and expansion).
• Utilize trades to obtain missing resources as needed.

Step 6: Military and Expansion Adjustments

1. Train additional melee units for defense.
2. Capture your second spice field and build another Refinery.
3. Focus research on Cultural Assimilation (to enhance peaceful annexation and income).
4. Unlock Outpost Logistics for expansion efficiency.

By this stage, you should switch from aggressive expansion to peaceful annexation. Choosing central locations for new expansions allows you to maximize cost reductions across multiple zones.

Late Game – Securing Victory

Step 7: Scaling Influence and Defenses

• Shift fully to peaceful annexation to stack the Loyalty bonus from Duncan Idaho.
• Continue leveraging the Landsraad to dominate political resolutions.
• Maintain a strong defensive military to deter enemy aggression.

Your focus should now be on expanding without warfare while building toward a Diplomatic, Hegemony, or CHOAM Shares Victory:

• Diplomatic Victory – Requires 500 Landsraad standing, but due to the fast rate of Hegemony accumulation, this may not always be practical.
• Hegemony Victory – Likely the fastest route to success due to your strong economy and influence.
• CHOAM Shares Victory – Buying out shares in the stock market can be a viable option if you maintain a robust Solari income.

Step 8: Finalizing Defenses

• Construct Airfields to allow rapid troop movement and defensive positioning.
• Use Jessica’s special ability to force truces when necessary.
• Build the Kraken Transport Unit, which doubles as both a transport and a powerful combat unit.
• Deploy Wardens for strong defensive capabilities.

Conclusion: House Atreides’ Path to Victory

House Atreides provides a relaxed yet strategic playstyle focused on diplomacy, economy, and influence rather than raw military power. By managing resources efficiently, expanding through annexation, and leveraging political advantages, you can quietly build a powerful empire while your opponents exhaust themselves in conflict.

While this makes for a relatively peaceful playthrough, PvP opponents will recognize your passive dominance and may target you early, so ensure you are prepared for defensive engagements. In AI games, however, House Atreides can often dictate the game’s direction without opposition, leading to a satisfying and calculated victory.

By following this guide, you’ll be well-positioned to claim victory on Arrakis as House Atreides. Keep the spice flowing, and may your diplomacy rule supreme!