Dune Master

What it is

The Dune Master fights like a sandstorm. First a lane of sand runs at you, then a storm hits everywhere except where the sand has already passed. Its strikes are slow and deliberate. Each one winds up for about 0.6 to 0.7 seconds, and it stays open for 0.7 to 0.8 seconds after a chain. It has 22 named techniques and raises its guard after every third attack.

At the start of the trial it tells you its lesson: sidestep its sand lane, then step back into it before the storm.

How to get it

Sneak and use a wandering duelist who breathes Dune, or type /master challenge dune. A Dune duelist always calls the Dune Master. You need Aura Form or Heart Circle VIII. See Sword Masters for the full trial rules.

To train for it, look for a Sundial Court in the desert. Its Dune shrine is sealed with earth: hit every seal block with an earth spell within 10 seconds. See Masters’ sites. Deserts also hide a Dune Temple with Dune manual pages. See wild places.

Shifting Sands

The banner reads “Sidestep the lane, then step back into the pale sand!”

1. The lane. The Master aims a lane at you, 7 blocks long and 2.2 blocks wide. The aim follows you until 0.3 seconds before the sand runs. At 0.65 seconds the sand runs, dealing 26 damage and blinding you for 1 second. Sidestep it.
2. The storm. The used lane turns pale. At 1.35 seconds a storm hits everywhere within 5.5 blocks of the Master except the pale lane, dealing 26 damage. Step back into the pale sand, or get more than 5.5 blocks away.

Solid cover blocks it. After the storm the Master is open for about 0.8 seconds.

The Master uses Shifting Sands when you are 1.5 to 6 blocks away and roughly level with it. It comes as the second move of a four-move phrase, at most once every 7.5 seconds.

Other moves

• Techniques: chains of two to four strikes. Read each strike’s shape. See Reading a Master.
• Pursuit dash: if you hold a spell too long, it may dash up to 4.8 blocks at you, at most once every 7 seconds.
• Crescent volley: flying blades if you stay far away or high up.

Rewards for a clear

• Your first Dune clear teaches the Bind technique part.
• The win goes into your lore journal. Type /master victories to see which Masters you have beaten.

The Dune breathing method

Dune is the Sand method. Its passive gives your blows a chance to blind. Its arts unlock as your aura grows:

Art	Opens at	Input
Grit Flick	Glow	swing, swing, low swing
Quicksand	Flow	leaping swing, then low swing
Sandveil	Edge	first swing after a perfect Aura Guard
Dune Runner	Form	first swing after an Aura Step
Sea of Sand	Sovereign	three full swings, then low swing

Sandveil hits the foe whose blow you guarded first, then the others nearby. See Breathing Methods for the full numbers. A Sundial Court’s Dune chest can hold Dust Devil, Geode and Brace runes.

Tips and counterplay

• Sidestep just far enough to clear the lane, because you need to step straight back into it.
• The pale lane is the only safe ground inside the storm. Check where it lies before you move.
• If the lane blinds you, remember where the Master was and step back the way you came.
• The Dune Master guards after every third attack. Flank it or use an axe.