Dunebound Tactics

Dunebound Tactics is a strategy game about leading a crew across Imperial-controlled territory in search of Haven, a place said to offer a new life. You follow Elios leylines aboard a fragile ship, navigating an unforgiving, ever-changing desert where risk and reward shape the journey. The Imperials and the Arcanists stand between your party and a better tomorrow.

The caravan and its crew

You power the ship’s engine by gathering Elios through narrative-driven quests or from fallen enemies. When resources run short, you can also take Elios from your own crew. After battle, you must choose whether to treat the wounded in the infirmary or extract Elios from their bodies, leaving them husks to fuel your ambitions or the caravan’s engine.

You can rescue and recruit survivors found wandering the desert or free them from the Imperials. Caravan seats are limited, and narrative events shape both the survivors’ futures and your own. Each survivor receives a randomly rolled class and traits: there are 15 classes and 16 traits that alter skills, stats and abilities. As characters grow, you can equip each with three modules from a pool of more than 50, multiplying the possible combinations.

Tactical battles

Combat is turn-based, and understanding the abilities of 38 enemy classes helps you plan your approach. You can reshape the battlefield with Elios: destroy or reposition cover, or create defenses such as ice pillars that hinder enemy movement and explosive pillars that trap and damage foes. Mines and traps let you set ambushes, while a forceful shove can send enemies into carefully placed pitfalls.

Caravan skills support your party in close-quarters fights by buffing allies, destroying cover or attacking enemies before they can inflict permanent damage on your crew. Special events include last stands, while missions along the way can call for assassinating elite enemies.

A changing journey

The landscape, battlefields, locations and quests change between runs, bringing new challenges as you travel or fight. Defeats and victories can carry over, contributing modules or potentially survivors to a later run when you find the wreck of a previous caravan. The sands eventually claim everyone, and you decide who remains aboard when you reach Haven.