That was quick! Funcom just patched Dune: Awakening to make the Deep Desert only 50% PvP

Ornithopters flying toward spice in the desert.

Update: Surprise! Rather than making that big change to Deep Desert PvP "in a few weeks," as Funcom originally said, the update went live to all servers today. The Deep Desert is now evenly split, with full PvP only enabled on the northern 50% of the map. The southern half of the map is now PvE, with "pockets of PvP" only at control points and shipwrecks.

Funcom also says it has "rebalanced resources" so spice, minerals, and more valuable loot can be found in increased density the further north players travel.