If you enjoy playing smart, staying one step ahead, and using strategy over brute force, the Mentat class in Dune: Awakening might be the perfect fit for you. Mentats are master tacticians who rely on careful planning, clever traps, and battlefield control rather than rushing into combat. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to unlock the Mentat class, explore its unique skill trees, and give you tips on how to play it effectively in both solo and team situations.
How to Unlock the Trainer Mentat Class
Mentats fall under the Recon & Strategy skill focus, and picking this class will automatically unlock the Mentat Skill Tree for your character. You’ll also start with a special ability called The Sentinel, a handy skill for scouting and planning.
To become a Mentat, you’ll need to find the right trainer out in the wilds of Arrakis. Visit a location known as Rift Watch, located in the Haga Rift region on the right side of the Haga Basin. Once you’re there, look for an NPC named Samin Morro.
Samin is the key to starting your journey as a Mentat. Talk to him, and he’ll give you a special contract or quest. Accept his challenge, complete the task he assigns, and once you’re done, you’ll officially unlock the Mentat class and its abilities.
How to Unlock the Advanced Mentat Class
To unlock more advanced Mentat skills in Dune: Awakening, you’ll need to make your way to the city of Arakeen. Once you’re inside Arakeen, head over to the bar you’ll find on the ground floor of the city’s main area. Walk straight through the bar until you reach the back. That’s where you’ll find an NPC named Zayn De Witte. Talk to Zayn and complete the task or requirements he gives you. Once that’s done, you’ll unlock access to advanced Mentat abilities, taking your skills to the next level.
Mentat Class Guide
The Mentat class in Dune: Awakening is all about sharp thinking and smart strategies. You’ll start with The Sentinel ability and a focus on Recon & Strategy, making this class great for players who like to plan ahead and outsmart enemies. The Mentat skill tree includes Mental Calculus, which boosts your ranged damage and adds some useful support tools; Assassination, which is all about poison and striking from the perfect spot; and Tactician, which gives you an edge in large-scale battles. Mentats belong to a secretive group known as the Order of Mentats, trained to store and process massive amounts of information faster than any normal human.
Mentat Mental Calculus Skill
The Mental Calculus skill tree in Dune: Awakening is perfect for Mentats who prefer to fight smart from a distance. It starts with The Sentinel, which lets you set up a floating dart projector that detects motion and covers an area with fire trigger it again to activate. With Garment Keeper, you learn to spot weak points in clothing, letting you reinforce your gear and keep it from wearing out quickly. Ranged Damage (Mentat) boosts your overall damage with ranged weapons by helping you calculate the most effective angles and shots.
If you’re into crafting, Tailoring improves your garment repairs, making them more efficient and less damaging to overall durability. Marksman increases your headshot damage but slightly reduces body shot damage, reflecting your precision training. For those who prefer pistols, Pistol Damage enhances your effectiveness with weapons like the Maula Pistol and Rafiq Subnose.
As you progress, Exploit Weakness allows you to spot and target enemy vulnerabilities when you hit an unshielded opponent, that spot becomes a weak point, boosting damage if you hit it again. Rifle Damage improves your long-range shots with rifles like the Karpov 38 and JABAL Spitdart, letting you deal more consistent damage over distance. Finally, Shield Overcharge gives you a tactical edge: when you’re dosed up on spice, repeated ranged hits against shields can overload them, draining your enemy’s power faster.
Mentat Assassination Skill
The Assassination skill tree in Dune: Awakening is perfect for players who prefer a stealthy, deadly approach to combat. It starts with Poison Capsule, which lets you fire a hidden dart that bursts into a poisonous cloud, stacking damage on anyone who stays in it. You can also set traps with Poison Mine, a remotely triggered device that releases a similar toxic cloud when activated. As you sharpen your aim, Headshot Damage increases the damage you deal when landing shots to the head.
With Assassin’s Shot, you gain bonus damage when shooting enemies from behind perfect for ambushes. Poison Tooth is a risky but powerful ability that releases a cloud of poison when you’re downed, hurting nearby enemies but also damaging you. Stunner gives you a dart with a sedative tip that stuns enemies on impact, stopping them in their tracks.
One of the deadliest skills, Hunter-Seeker, lets you control a tiny, flying assassination device that can quietly kill enemies with a single strike by entering their bloodstream. It’s highly effective but leaves you vulnerable while you’re using it.
Mentat Tactician Skill
The Tactician skill tree in Dune: Awakening is all about battlefield control, support, and clever tricks to outmaneuver your enemies. It kicks off with Shield Wall, which lets you deploy a waist-high Holtzman shield. This gives you and your allies cover while slowing down any enemies who try to pass through it, giving you the perfect window to strike. Then there’s the Gravity Mine, which creates a field that slows enemies and drains their power, or even slows down incoming projectiles, making it a great defensive tool.
With Solido Decoy, you can project a convincing hologram of yourself on the battlefield. Trigger it again, and the decoy will move forward, drawing enemy fire and confusing your opponents. The Anti-Gravity Mine works in the opposite way, negating gravity in a small area. It can lift enemies off the ground or help you avoid fall damage while exploring tough terrain.
Iron Will is a powerful mental defense that lets you resist manipulation from Bene Gesserit Voice users, though it does cost stamina. Finally, Source of Power allows you to place a small but powerful energy generator that recharges the power of nearby allies, great for supporting your team during long fights.
Mentat Class Playstyle
The Mentat class in Dune: Awakening plays like a smart, strategic battlefield tactician. You’re not the one charging in first you’re the one scouting ahead, setting traps, and using your tools to control space and gain the upper hand. You’ll weaken enemies, support allies, and punish anyone who makes a wrong move. It’s a class that requires good timing, smart positioning, and careful cooldown management.
Mentats really shine in team play, where their utility and battlefield awareness can turn the tide of a fight. But even solo, they can hold their own, just expect a more patient, methodical approach. Instead of brawling, you’re setting up the fight before it begins.
In PvP, Mentats can be tough opponents. You can track enemy movement, deny vision, and disrupt abilities at just the right moment. If you like outsmarting others and staying two steps ahead, this class is for you.
Strengths include excellent vision, strong utility, and useful debuffs, especially in team settings. You’re great at scouting and setting up ambushes. On the flip side, Mentats don’t deal high damage, struggle in direct fights, and rely heavily on good gear and smart positioning. They’re also a bit trickier to learn compared to other classes.
To get the most out of this class:
- Use cover and high ground for better ranged attacks.
- Focus on high-value targets first.
- Work closely with your team to control the battlefield.
- Be ready to switch between skill trees depending on the fight.
The Mentat class might feel a bit limited in utility during the early game, but don’t overlook its starting ability, The Sentinel. It deals solid damage right from the beginning and is especially useful when dealing with groups of enemies rushing toward you.
However, if you’re after more mobility or support options early on, you might want to consider starting with another class like the Swordmaster or Bene Gesserit, which come with movement-focused abilities that can help you stay agile.
Each class brings something unique to the table. Bene Gesserit skills are great for crowd control and manipulation, offering a different style from the Mentat’s precise and strategic gameplay. Troopers are all about aggressive, explosive combat, more brute force than brains. Planetologists are focused on surviving harsh environments, but they don’t offer the same combat and support flexibility as the Mentat. And Swordmasters thrive in close combat, to the Mentat’s long-range tactics.
