Survival in Arrakis is just the beginning in Dune: Awakening. Playing through the “Find the Fremen” questline, players will be invited to complete the eight Trials of Aql — a series of spice-crafted challenges designed to demonstrate their skill with stealth, combat, and platforming.
- All Trials of AQL Locations
- 1. Mihna Cavern – The First Trial of Aql
- 2. The Deep Struggle – The Second Trial of Aql
- 3. Cave of the Lost Pilgrim – Third Trial of Aql
- 4. The Hollow Hammer – The Fourth Trial of Aql
- 5. The Hidden Test – Aql’s Fifth Test
- 6. Devil’s Eye Cavern – The Sixth Test of Aql
- 7. The Red Maw – The Seventh Trial of Aql
- 8. Sietch Ta’lab – Eighth Trial of Aql
To players who were patient enough in the early tutorials of the game, these trials may not be that daunting. Nevertheless, discovering their secret locations all over Arrakis is a test of patience and discovery. In the following section, we present the locations of all eight Trials of Aql so you do not get lost in this expansive desert world.
All Trials of AQL Locations
1. Mihna Cavern – The First Trial of Aql
Hagga Basin South
The first trial waits in the Mihna Cavern, buried deep within the southern edge of Hagga Basin. The first test is a warm-up to the trials that follow it, giving the player a fair challenge to which they are already adapted from the early game mechanics.
2. The Deep Struggle – The Second Trial of Aql
Eastern Vermillius Gap
To find the third trial, players must go east of Lost Pilgrim Cave from Western Vermillius Gap. The area turns up the difficulty a bit, combining traversal moves with emerging threats that demand quick reflexes and precision.
3. Cave of the Lost Pilgrim – Third Trial of Aql
Western Vermillius Gap
The third trial occurs in the Cave of the Lost Pilgrim, located in Western Vermillius Gap. This test is highly atmosphere and navigation-oriented, requiring players to enter its dark interior and maintain their sanity and sense of direction.
4. The Hollow Hammer – The Fourth Trial of Aql
Eastern Vermillius Gap
Player must navigate through to the gigantic, hammer-shaped rock outcropping near the west side of Eastern Vermillius Gap. To access this test, they’ll need to ascend the exterior walls of the rock — a first taste of the vertical platforming barriers that become progressively more challenging in subsequent tests.
5. The Hidden Test – Aql’s Fifth Test
Hagga Rift
Situated on the east edge of Hagga Basin, the Hidden Test Cave houses the fifth test. Situated deep within the Hagga Rift, this area is suited to players who do things slowly and at times must think beyond the box in order to find the entrance and defeat the challenges inside.
6. Devil’s Eye Cavern – The Sixth Test of Aql
Jabal Eifrit Al-Sharq
The sixth trial takes players to Devil’s Eye Cavern in Jabal Eifrit Al-Sharq, a region in the northeast tip of Hagga Basin. The trial introduces more hostile environmental hazards and demands better understanding of the game’s survival and combat systems.
7. The Red Maw – The Seventh Trial of Aql
Hagga Rift
Back to Hagga Rift, the Red Maw is where players will be finishing the seventh trial. Being one of the final trials, it incorporates difficult level design and adaptive enemies that will test combat proficiency and situational awareness.
8. Sietch Ta’lab – Eighth Trial of Aql
Eastern Shield Wall
The last test is in Sietch Ta’lab near the border between Eastern Shield Wall and Mysa Tarill. As the culmination of the Aql Trials, the last test is mechanical and thematic significance, encapsulating the end of the questline with a presentation of all that the player has learned.
