In Dune: Spice Wars, the Fremen are best suited to pursuing a Domination victory. Their faction bonuses revolve around their military possessing a far higher capacity for mobility than any other faction. The Fremen can attack enemy cities from unexpected directions and by mounting assaults from a surprising distance. However, their reduced ability to generate influence means they are ill-suited to chasing a Political victory.
Fremen Faction Bonuses in Dune: Spice Wars
Fremen military units lose supply much slower than any other faction. This means they can travel greater distances, even through Deep Desert regions, and operate for longer without needing to return home to resupply. The Fremen can fight wars that other factions cannot, and once engaged; they can continue fighting for longer in Dune: Spice Wars.
By constructing thumpers, they can summon sandworms to carry their units over vast distances. Their Hegemony tier bonuses increase the distance over which sandworms will transport them and eventually allow them to take over Deep Deserts, eliminating any supply required to travel through these otherwise treacherous regions.
While the Fremen are already more easily able to ally with a Sietch, once they’ve reached the second Hegemony tier, they can also construct buildings in any allied Sietch. This works similarly to the Smugglers’ Underworld HQ, allowing the Fremen to tap into resources produced in regions they don’t control.
Developments
Dune Wanderers is the most important one as it further boosts the capacity of the Fremen military to survive in the field by reducing water upkeep, supply drain and movement penalties in Dune: Spice Wars. Other developments are more situational, and research priorities will depend on whether the strategy involves annexing or liberating villages, allying with lots of Sietches, or going down a pure Domination route.
However, the Spice Market and Spice Hegemony are always useful as their spice production bonuses compensate for the Fremen’s inherently slower rate of spice harvesting.
Councillors
Mother Ramallo is the best all-round pick for councillor. She allows the Shai Hulud Temple, one of the two Fremen unique buildings, to be unlocked from the start, which confers a 20% resource bonus. The second-best councillor is probably Chani, if only for her intel bonus for every neutral region that borders Fremen territory. The Fremen empire should be spread out anyway, with the gaps filled by neutral regions in Dune: Spice Wars.
Stilgar’s bonuses are more situational, relying on access to spice fields, and even in a spice-rich Fremen empire, it is unlikely to match the total output of Chani’s bonuses.
The Fremen should aim to be the first to scout the map and identify the best possible regions to secure for themselves in Dune: Spice Wars. Given their ability to wage war over a great distance and the benefits accrued from nearby neutral villages, they should pick and choose what areas to occupy, even if they’re all spread out.
Unlike other factions, there’s no need to keep home territory adjacent. It’s also vital to push back against the expansion efforts of other factions at every opportunity as the Fremen gain bonuses for liberating previously neutral villages.
