Dawn of War 2 Single Player Walkthrough

One of the components that interested me in getting Dawn of War 2 was the fact that it had a new and innovative single player campaign. After playing the game for several hours I thought that it would be a great idea to put together a walkthrough for all the main missions.

I am still in the process of enjoying my first run through the campaign mode, but I am anticipating getting through that in the next week or too. Once I have done that I plan on going back through the campaign and taking a much slower approach where I explore aspects of different parts of the game.

I hope to include different loot that is available in each match as well as the best way to quickly complete the mission with your squad intact and the greatest number of enemies destroyed.

Main Mission Walkthrough
... coming soon ...

Optional Mission Walkthrough
... coming soon ...

If you have any specific comments on a mission, please don't hesitate to leave a comment and I can try and answer it for you as quickly as possible.

Dawn Of War 2 Is In Stores

So yesterday I took a little ol' drive down to my nearest Game Stop store and I bought myself a brand new copy of Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War 2. The reason that I went with Game Stop is that I had close to $200 in unused gift cards from several Christmases past. If I didn't have the the gift cards, I would probably have bought it somewhere else. But I did have the gift cards, so I went with Game Stop.

I was really excited to check out the Dawn of War 2 single player campaign, so that is the first thing that I was going to do once I got it out of the box. I was a little nervous about ripping open the packaging because the store clerk made a point that I should make sure my computer meets the system requirements for the game; the won't take back an opened game.

I had played the beta, so I was pretty sure that it was going to work on my Dell laptop, but I just wanted to make extra sure so I wouldn't be down $50.

Once I got the disk into my DVD player the game loaded relatively quickly, except that the loading screen was extremely unhelpful. I felt like I had to wait F.O.R.E.V.E.R to get past this screen that told me I was waiting for the system to install necessary components. It was taking so long that I thought the install had gotten stuck and was about to do some dangerous ctrl+alt+delete to quit the process when it suddenly jumped to the next screen.

After the game was loaded and all the business with Steam and Windows Live was sorted out (which wasn't very much business because I already had a Steam and Windows Live account from playing the DOW 2 beta), the never ending (it felt that way) patch process began. Granted that it was the first day that the game was released for play, it still took a long time for me to download the patch that I had known and forgot about.

By the time I started playing it was already well past 10 PM and very near 11PM. I played for a total of 2 hours. During this time I mostly played the single player campaign, but I did dabble in some 3v3 action before the evening ended.

Here are some of the things that I learned from my single evening of play:

• I needed to turn my graphic settings all the way down to be able to enjoy the thrill of multiplayer. For me, this isn't a big deal because I care more about the competition, strategy and tactics of games than I do about the graphics. But I did not expect that I would have to turn down my graphics for single player as well. I had the quit the very first mission because my machine was lagging so horribly. I guess I just barely meet the requirements for Dawn of War 2.
• Other people need to turn their graphics setting down all the way. There is nothing worse than lagging like the dickens because others haven't turned down their graphic settings. Sometimes this is an internet provider problem, but 9 times out of 10 it is going to be a settings issue.
• I really like multiplayer better than single player. But is not to say that I don't like the single player. I found the story interesting and the action lively. Its just that no amount of computer stomping can compare to matching wits and skills against a real human opponent.

I think that I am going to be taking this Warhammer 4000 Dawn of War 2 blog in a new direction since the game has been released.

I want to do some in depth walk-throughs of the various missions in the single player campaign and I want to give some of my strategy and build order for multiplayer.

Now I am by no means a tactics or strategy expert, but I do like thinking about these things and I do decently enough in multiplayer games without resorting to cheap exploits or abusing overpowered units. So you will probably have to take all that I have to say about Dawn of War 2 strategies with a grain of salt.

In the end, I hope I provide something useful and entertaining to the Dawn of War 2 playing public!

Dawn of War 2 Beta Is Over

According to sources at the Dawn of War 2 community website, "On February 18th, 12:01am GMT, the Beta will officially come to an end."

This is a sad day for free, awesome RTS gaming - but it means that the game is going live and I can go out to the store and buy me a copy of Dawn of War 2! I don't think I will be able to go out and buy it today, but I hope that stores in my area will have a copy of it for me to pick up tomorrow after I get home from work. I have $150 worth of gift cards at Game Stop that I think will be perfect for buying DOW 2.

More Beta News
In addition to announcing the beta ending, the DOW 2 community site also released some very interesting tidbits about statistics from the beta.

The first was a graphic about game lengths. According to this source, ranked games lasted an average of 9.73 minutes for 1v1 games and 12.16 minutes for 3v3 games. Custom games were considerably longer, taking an average of 18.57 minutes for 1v1 and 18.03 minutes for 3v3. What is most interesting about this statistic is the incredible discrepancy between custom and ranked games at the 1v1 level.

This could be a result of a bug that has been fixed in the first retail patch for Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War 2 where the TrueSkill ranking wasn't being properly implemented to match players with each other.

I also found it really interesting that the 3v3 ranked games were the most popular of all multiplayer game types. Personally, the ranked 3v3 was my favorite - but the dropping was so prolific that it often skewed match results dramatically. There were plenty of matches that should have been way more competitive than they were because somebody had their settings too high and crashed the game.

Playing a 2v3 is not easy, especially for people just starting out (which I assumed many beta players were).

Finally, the thing that surprised me the most was the total suckfest that the Space Marines appear to be in this game. I love playing them and will continue to do so, but they ranked lowest on almost every single metric that compared the four races from the Warhammer universe. While having the most played commanders, they also had the some of the lowest win/loss ratios for these commanders. The Space Marines also had the lowest win/loss ration in high level 3v3 games.

To me, this means that the Space Marines are in general the worst of the factions or they suffer from a disproportionate number of noobs playing with them. I hope that this doesn't continue because having a noob multiplayer partner is extremely bad for the stats. I hope TrueSkill works as planned.

I'm sad to see the Dawn of War 2 beta end, but I am excited to buy the game and check out how awesome the single player campaign is going to be.

Dawn of War 2 Single Player

When thinking about whether or not to buy DOW 2 there are two main considerations: the quality and balance of the multiplayer and the story and depth of the single player aspect of the game. Personally, I am probably going to get this game because of the multiplayer experience, but I do want to give the Dawn of War 2 single player campaign my consideration too.

Since the Dawn of War 2 beta is exclusively mutliplayer, I am going to have to rely almost entirely on information I have found from secondary sources (i.e. not actual gameplay).

According to sources, the Dawn of War 2 single player is much more than a simple real time strategy game. For starters, this games does away completely with the construction of base elements. You won't have a headquarters in this version of DOW.

Thoughtful gamers might now ask, "But how do I build forces if I don't have an HQ?" The simple answer is that you don't build forces in this game.

To find the reasoning behind this, I really think that we need to look to the tabletop version of Warhammer 40000. I think I read somewhere the the developers tried to incorporate elements from this popular board game for this installment of Dawn of War and if it is true it makes a lot of sense why you don't build units or have an HQ in this game.

In Warhammer 40000 you start each battle with a set number of points which you can buy units for your battle. You start with these units in your deployment zone and your enemy starts with his units in his deployment zone. You then square off in your battle of strategy and tactics - loosing units as you inflict loses on your enemies units.

You never build more units (unless of course you have agreed with your opponent to have a certain number of "reinforcements" come into the game) and you certainly don't have an HQ.

You might have certain objectives that you are trying to accomplish in the tabletop version of Warhammer 40000; you might want to take a hill, or inhabit a couple buildings, or defend a particularly valuable location. But in most cases all you are really concerned about is inflicting the greatest amount of damage on your opponent that you possibly can while avoiding losses to your own squads of Space Marines, Orks, Tryanids, etc.

So, the Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War 2 single player campagin appears to be an attempt by Relic, THQ, and the Warhammer franchise at porting the tabletop version of the game into a computer. You won't have an HQ but instead will get to choose which units you will take into combat at the beginning of each battle. It does appear like you will be able to reinforce your units, but only if you have captured certain objectives in the specific engagement you are on.

Fortunately, the units that you have access to throughout the campaign persist - meaning that the unit of Tactical Marines you used in the first battle are going to be the same unit of Tactical Marines available in the second battle. This is great because it allows players to experience an element of role playing and character attachment in the game. Initially, there are four units/leaders that you have to choose from. They are:

Tarkus - Tactical Marines
Avitus - Devestator Marines
Cyrus - Scouts
Thaddeus - Assault Marines

Each leader can be equipped with unique armor and weapons in addition to gaining experience and more advanced abilities. As the single player campaign progresses, players will be forced to make choices about which units to bring into battle, how to equip them, and what mix of tactical options they want on the battle field to face certain threats.

This type of system I think will add the following elements to DOW 2 single player:

• Increased knowledge of units and their special abilities
• Better use of tactics and more "advanced" style of play (as opposed to the "immature" blob style)
• More interesting strategic decisions concerning which units to give experience
• More immersive game experience

If I you have not caught on yet, the single player version of Dawn of War II is going to be playable as the Space Marine faction. This will be good for some players, but probably not for others who dislike the Space Marines.

Overall, I think that these characteristics will make playing this version of the game very, very enjoyable. I want to be able to build up one unit and to become a master at how to use it. I want to be able to customize squads for the needs at hand.

For example, a squad of Tactical Marines with a flamer is going to be a must when facing the swarming Tryanids, but maybe I want to also include a Devestator squad as well to suppress the swarm. These types of decisions are going to be what make this version of the game fun.

Again, I will probably be going to make my purchase based solely upon the Dawn of War 2 multiplayer, but it is good to know that if ever I grew tired of slaying other players I could always get my Ork and Eldar slaying fix in the DOW 2 single player campaign.

Dawn of War 2 Multiplayer

Dawn of War 2 is T Minus 9 Days

It is less than 9 days to the release of Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War 2 and I am getting pretty excited. I got to play several multiplayer games over the weekend and must say that I am pretty impressed with the feel of the game. It is really cool, futuristic, and provides an ample supply of realism to get my motor running.

There are a couple of elements that make the game good in my eyes. I really like the territory system in Dawn of War 2 multiplayer. It is a lot like Company of Heroes in that there are three main objects that need to be captured. In Dawn of War these are "Requisition," "Energy," and Victory Points. Requisition is what you need to buy basic units and is generally the most used resource of the game. If you don't have enough of these points you are going to be quickly outnumbered by your opponent who will take over the rest of the map, further increasing the resource gap between you and your opponent.

Energy is necessary to upgrade your base to purchase better units as well as upgrade your units and heroes with better equipment. This process is called "teching" and is incredibly important at higher levels of play. If you tech faster than your opponent you can unleash more power units on him quicker, forcing him from the field of battle and entrenching your force's advantage on the battlefield.

The last objectives that you need to be aware of in this real time strategy game is the Victory points. These points determine the who wins and who looses more than any other objective in the game. If you control these and loose in every other respect, you will be counted the winner as your opponents points are quickly drained away.

This territory system of requisition, energy, and victory points provides very interesting strategic and tactical game play which sets this game high up on the RTS genre. Do you focus on destroying units and gaining a numerical superiority by driving his forces from the field and capturing his economy? Do you go for a balanced approach where you take and hold victory, requisition, and energy points? Do you set up static defensive lines with fall back points or do you keep the game fluid, decapping enemy points in an effort to harass your opponent into a weak position? The answer will depend on your choice of army, commander, and your own style of play.

This leads to the second reason why I am so excited about this game and am thinking I might actually buy Dawn of War 2 - the immense variability of game play available to players.

With four playable factions in the multiplayer, Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War 2 multiplayer appears to be a very well balanced RTS game - much better than Company of Heroes (in my humble opinion). While I play almost exclusively the Space Marines with an Apothecary Commander, I still see a lot of value in the other races. They all have their own advantages and disadvantages.

The Tryanids are a quick and powerful faction that can easily overwhelm forces of smaller numbers. The Orks are a hardy race that has powerful melee forces and relies on effective fighting groups that disrupt and close in on enemy positions. The Eldar are a race that I have yet to nail down on what they are best at - but speed is an incredibly important factor in playing the Eldar along with their massively powerful Tier 3 units. And finally, the Space Marines rely on their powerful unit to deal with overwhelming enemy forces - suppression and knock-back are your friends with the Space Marines more than any other race.

Ahh suppression and knock back, these are two great realism features of Dawn of War 2 multiplayer. It is really fun to sneak a cloaked scout unit that has shotguns equipped up behind an enemy machine gun, lob a grenade, and then watch your squad totally mess with the machine gun as the rest of your Space Marines press the attack. Another equally impressive site is to see a horde of Tryanid Hormagaunts become suppressed by a well placed Devastator team and see all those experience points start jumping up all over your screen. It is simply awesome.

In addition to these great realism effects you have destructible buildings, cover for troops behind walls and rocks, line of sight considerations, grenade lobbing, big vehicles create craters when they fire their weapons, and many more details that create a realistic and authentic gaming experience. It is about as realistic as it can be for a game that has little green men and crazy looking bug-like creatures running around.

These three features (awesome territory system, well balanced factions, and cool realism) make the Dawn of War 2 multiplayer something that you will definitely want to check out if you are interested in that characteristic of RTS games.

But there are a few issues with the multiplayer that I really hope there is a solution for.

The first issue is that dropping is a very common occurrence in the Dawn of War 2 multiplayer beta. A lot of times when you are playing 3v3 games at least one person from either team will drop or will be kicked by the players because their connection is too slow, thier machine is too underpowered, or they have their graphic and audio settings set too high. When players drop, it makes the game very, very difficult for the team that is left with 2 or even 1 player. The AI is not that effective versus human players in multiplayer games, so the game quickly becomes dominated by the other team. This can make games terribly unfun and frustrating.

Another problem that I experience in 3v3 matches is a complete imbalance between the caliber of players on either team. I played in a game last night where the three players on the opposite team had ranks of 23, 21, and 18. My rank was 8 and both of my teammates had a rank of 1. Suffice it to say, we got pwned. This massive imbalance in the Dawn of War 2 multiplayer automatch system can make games very unfun and unfulfilling for those of us trying to check out this feature of the game. How hard would it be to set up a system where very skilled players play other skilled players while novice players play other novice players? Apparently it is impossible because this is an issue in about every single RTS game with multiplayer known to man.

I won't let these problems deter me from buying Dawn of War 2 though - it seems way too fun right now to give up. Besides, I bet a lot of these issues will get cleared up once they release the game for reals in T minus 9 days.

Buy Dawn of War 2

If you are looking to buy Dawn of War 2, then look no further. This post is going to be the place where I list the latest deals from different retailers on this game.

Update 02-20-2009: I have added new prices for all the retailers on the original list who are selling Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War 2. As of this check little has changed in many of the retailers. Amazon has definitely seen the most fluctuation in price, breaking $50 near the release of the game. Now it rests at the lowest price for Dawn of War 2 I have seen yet - $46. If you can wait to play the game to get it shipped to you, then going with Amazon might be the way to go - otherwise hit up Steam or a local retailer

Get the lowest price at Amazon for Warhammer Dawn of War II

Amazon.com
Dawn of war is available on Amazon. Amazon is a pretty reliable online retailer of games, electronics, dvds, and pretty much anything worth buying. They should definitely be one of the first place you go if you want to buy something. They also have lots of reviews from different types of people since they are such a well known and respected retailer. If you end up buying Dawn of War 2 from them, expect to spend around $50.

Current Best Price: $45.97 [2-20-2009]

Buy it From Amazon: Warhammer Dawn of War II


Best Buy
Right now, a little under 2 weeks before the game's release, I could not find any copies of Dawn of War 2 on BestBuy.com. This was a little surprising at first - so I dug a little deeper. Sure enough, I found it when I searched for "Dawn of War II." Silly Best Buy not being able to tell the difference between "2" and "II." They had the same price as most of the other retailers - about $50.

Current Best Price: $49.99 [2-20-2009]

Game Stop (Electronics Boutique)
Game Stop is offer a special incentive right now to pre-order Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War II from them. They are offering Chapter Command Wargear Set. This includes:

• 6 Exclusive Items:
• “Cuirass of Azariah” Armor
• “Pistol of Baal” Bolt Pistol
• “Gauntlet of Blood” Power Fist
• “Mantle of the Great Father” Armor
• “Fearsome Light of Faith” Plasma Gun
• “Laurels of Hadrian” Iron Halo
• 2 unique Chapters: “Revilers” and “Angels Sanguine”
• 8 exclusive metallic colors to customize your units (Shining Gold, Mithril Silver, Abyss Purple, Insect Green, Iron, Abyss Orange, Brazen Brass, Metallic Blue)

It is unclear if this is for a pewter models (like the board game Warhammer 40000) or if it is for Dawn of War 2 the video game. Prices here are around $50.

Current Best Price: $49.99 [2-20-2009]

Buy.com
Buy.com is a massive online retailer that provides many different products, including video games. The release date on Buy.com is 2/24/2009 which is a whole 6 days behind the release date of Amazon.com. The base price point is definitely better than some of the other retailers on this list, but the late release date is definitely going to hurt those hardcore games who want this title ASAP after release.

Current Best Price: $48.99 [2-20-2009]

Walmart
No list of video game retailers would be complete without Walmart on the list. They consistently offer low prices on games, but often times by only a few cents. Their version of Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War 2 is no different.

Current Best Price: $49.82 [2-20-2009]

Target
I could not find any trace of this game at Target. I found a novel by the same name, but no video game. This was very disappointing, but I am sure that once the game is officially released it will make its way into this store as well.

Current Best Price: N/A [2-20-2009]

Steam
Steam is an authentication client that also doubles as an online store for games. When went to download Dawn of War 2 demo I did so by using the steam client. It is fairly easy to do, but it does require that you download the game directly to your hard drive. Since it is often much, much faster to download a game from a disc to your hard drive than it is to download it off the internet I often prefer to buy hard copies of my games. The one advantage of downloading the game is that you won't have to wait for it to be shipped to you nor do you have to go to a store to buy it. If you have a lightening fast internet connection then this may be the avenue for you.

Current Best Price: $49.99 [2-20-2009]

~o0o~

With all these different choices I would probably go with Amazon (best price) or Game Stop (best perks) when going to buy Dawn of War 2. Go with Amazon if you just want the cheapest and go with Game Stop if you like the perk that they are throwing in for the pre-order.

Buy It From Amazon: Warhammer Dawn of War II

~o0o~

Price History
2/6/2009
Amazon - $46.99
Best Buy - $49.99
Game Stop - $49.99
Buy.com - $48.99
Walmart - $49.82
Target - N/A
Steam - $49.99

Dawn of War 2 Beta Patch Notes From Feb 5, 2008

Here is a listing of the most recent patch to the Dawn of War 2 beta. It has some interesting changes that you should definitely take a look at. In general, it seems like this patch is going to change the gameplay significantly - and hopefully for the better.

Current Change List

• Increased the chances for melee sync-kills to occur.
• Fixed an issue with all units gaining experience from kills. Only units that fight will gain experience. Heroes will still gain experience just by being near the fighting.
• All infantry weapon damage reduced by 15% with the exception of anti-vehicle, sniper and artillery weapons.
• All heroes health reduced by 10% to reflect global damage change.
• Some melee units reduced in health by 10%.
• Suppression units' damage at long range reduced, suppression against cover reduced a little.
• melee_heavy damage to vehicle reduced to 0.5, from 1. Damage against building reduced to 0.5, from 1.
• power_weapons_pvp damage to vehicle reduced to 0.15, from 0.25.
• Plasma damage vs vehicles increased to .2 from .15
• Flamer damage vs garrison increased to 3.5 from 2.5, vs heavy cover to 2.5 from 2.
• Increased grenade damage modifier to garrison cover to 1.25 from 1.
• Reduced grenade pvp damage modifier against generators to 1 from 1.5.
• All vehicle deaths now generate heavy cover.
• Melee special attacks no longer knockdown retreating units.
• Increased uncapture time for requisition and power points to 15 seconds, from 10.
• HQ health decreased to 10,000, from 15,000.
• Requisition points are now updated to use a new system. Points are worth +10 upon capture, but this value now increases by +5 every 15 seconds up to a maximum of +35. When uncaptured, this value resets to +10.
• Requisition points will no longer be reduced in resource rate in larger games.

Here we have some nice global changes that will add some interesting flavor the game. In all my multiplayer games I have never seen the bases of the teams get attacked - ever. Maybe now with the change of health of the HQs it will be a much more common occurrence than before.

I also like the change in the requisition capturing and production system. This means that the longer you hold resource points in Dawn of War 2 the more you will benefit from holding them. I envision that this will increase a players desire to protect their points while at the same time harassing and decapping their opponents points in order to prevent them from receiving the same type of benefit.

The reduction in overall damage does raise a few concerns for me, but I have yet to test out these changes in the actual games to figure out if this is going to hurt Dawn of War 2 in the long run.

Space Marines

• Avatar and Carnifex are no longer instantly killed by drop pods.
• Fixed an issue with space marine base turrets being able to rotate 360 degrees.

Tactical Squad

• Missile Launcher reload time reduced to 6 seconds, from 8. Accuracy against large targets increased to 1, from 0.75. Damage reduced to 160, from 175.
• Sergeant cost increased to 75/25 from 50/25.
• Fixed an issue the with tactical marine sergeant having a shorter range than the rest of the squad which would cause him to run up to the enemy.
• Plasma gun damage increased from 65 to 90.
• Flamer damage increased from 12 to 14.
• Tactical Marine HP increased from 300 to 350.
• And They Shall Know No Fear damage reduction modifier reduced to 0.6, from 0.5. Knockback chance decreased to 50%, from 100%. Damage price increased to 1800, from 1200.

Dreadnought

• Dreadnought assault cannon upgrade requisition cost increased to 100, from 45

Terminators

• Terminator zeal cost reduced to 700, from 900.
• Assault terminator zeal cost reduced to 700, from 900.

Scout Squad

• Sniper rifle cost changed to 150/35 from 100/60, damage increased to 170 from 150.
• Shotgun knockdown chance reduced to 15%, from 25%.
• Infiltrate energy drain increased to 1.5/sec, from 1/sec.
• Scout Sergeant detection radius set to 30.
• Fixed a bug that was causing Frag Grenades to deal far less damage than intended.
• Leader cost increased to 60/25 from 50/25
• Fixed an issue with Scouts dealing more melee damage than they should have been.

Techmarine

• Techmarine Heavy Bolter turret damage reduced to match the other turrets.

Assault Marines

• Melta bomb fixed to affect Carnifex mobility.
• Fixed an issue that caused Meltabombs to have a chance to miss their target.
• Assault Marine Sergeant cost increased to 100/25 from 50/25
• Assault Marine Sergeant health increased to 440, from 320.
• Jump energy cost increased to 70, from 55.

Force Commander

• Force commander teleporter pack armor req cost increased to 100.
• Force commander 2 handed hammer special attack damage reduced to 30, from 50.
• Force commander Flesh Over Steel stun duration reduced to 8 seconds, from 10.

Apothecary

• Fixed an issue with the Heal ability not being able to target Terminators.
• Apothecary Armor of Purity health increase reduced to 100.
• Apothecary Armor of Purity heal cooldown reduction bonus reduced to 0.65, from 0.5.
• Apothecary heal tuned to heal heroes more, heal over time effect reduced
• Apothecary chainsword damage reduced to 33 from 38.
• Apothecary Sanguine Chainsword damage reduced to 50, from 65.
• Apothecary power axe damage reduced to 85, from 100.
• Angels of death cost increased to 500 from 400, cooldown increased to 3 minutes from 1 minute.

Techmarine

• Techmarine mine cost increased to 65 energy from 50.
• Blessing of the Omnissiah recharge time increased to 150, from 50.

Predator

• Predator Autocannon now has a 100% chance to generate cover when it hits the ground, up from 50%.

Space Marines are the faction that I have logged the most time on in Dawn of War 2 and I am pretty pumped to check out how these changes affect my ability to play the other races. I am a little saddened to see Scouts get a reduction in damage, but I will save my final judgments until I get to test things out some more.

Eldar

• Falcon and Fire Prism can now reverse.
• Webway gate psychic might cost increased to 125 from 90.
• Fixed an issue with the Fleet of Foot tool tip not saying that it causes a damage reduction.
• Eldritch storm crater now generates light cover.

Guardians

• Shuriken Catapult damage decreased to 12, from 14.
• Warlock Leader cost increased to 65/15, from 50/15.

Howling Banshees

• Banshee War Shout radius reduced to 8, from 15 and will no longer affect retreating units.
• Banshee charge speed bonus reduced to 2 meters/s from 3 meters/s
• Banshee Exarch leap damage reduced to 20 from 40.
• Knockdown from Banshee leap removed.
• Banshee Exarch gains knockdown on leap with Executioner upgrade.
• Executioner special attack no longer affects allies.
• Aspect of Banshee changed to provide Warshout and Exarch Executioner.
• Exarch upgrade changed to provide squad speed increase.
• Exarch upgrade cost increased to 85/15 from 50/15.

Rangers

• Detection radius set to 30.
• Long Rifle damage increased to 180, from 160.
• Ranger cost decreased to 360/25.

Farseer

• Farseer Armor of Asuryan requsition cost increased to 200 from 150.
• Farseer Rune Armor health regeneration reduced.

Seer Council

• Seer council zeal cost reduced to 600.
• Seer council req cost reduced to 700.
• Seer Council Singing spear damage reduced to 80 from 100.

Warlock

• Warlock providence now affects Ethereal Slash cooldown.
• Warlock energy drain on Merciless Witchblade reduced to 30 per hit, from 60.
• Warlock Witchblade of Kurnous cost increased to 125/30.
• Warlock Warp Throw power cost increased to 45.
• Warlock Warp Throw recharge time increased to 45 seconds.

Warp Spiders

• Fixed an issue that caused Haywire Grenades to have a chance to miss their target.
• Warp Spider Deathspinner damage reduced to 21, from 25.
• Warp Spider Exarch damage reduced to 34, from 37.
• Warp spider Exarch damage modifier removed.
• Exarch upgrade cost increased to 85/15.
• Aspect of Warp Spider cost increased to 50/20.
• Jump cost increased to 30 energy.

Warp Spider Exarch

• Warpspider Exarch Phase Shift duration reduced to 10 seconds.
• Warpspider Exarch Entangle duration reduced to 5 seconds.
• Warpspider Heavy Gauge Filament energy drain increased to 4.5 per second from 3.5.
• Spider's Brood cost increased to 350 requisition, from 125.
• Jump cost increased to 30 energy.
• Group Teleport cooldown increased to 90 seconds.

D-Cannon

• Singularity ability on D-cannon fixed to deal damage at correct time.
• D-cannon damage increased to 220 from 120, damage table changed.

Wraithlord

• Wraithlord Shuriken Cannon damage reduced from 300 to 200.
• Wraithlord Brightlance damage reduced to 100, from 170.
• Wraithlord Brightlance upgrade requisition cost increased to 100, from 60. Power cost reduced to 40, from 60.
• Wraithlord Shuriken Cannon upgrade requisition cost increased to 100, from 40.

Fire Prism

• Dispersed beam area reduced to 10 meters, Focused beam damage increased to 200, reload decreased to 7 seconds from 8
• Fire Prism shot now generates light cover instead of heavy cover.

Avatar

• Avatar cost increased to 1000/250, hp increased to 7000 from 6000, leveling curve on hp decreased to 10% per level from 15%, build time increased to 90 seconds

Orks

Slugga Boyz

• Slugga Nob cost increased to 75/25, from 50/25.

Mekboy

• Mekboy Dakka Deffgun power cost increased to 30, from 20.
• Mekboy Dakka Deffgun damage reduced to 350, from 450. Damage tuned such that the Mekboy's Deffgun does not ramp up as highly in damage at close range.
• Banner Aura speed bonus reduced to .25, from .45
• Banner Aura received damage modifier reduced to .94 from .91
• Banner Aura received courage damage modifier reduced to .94 from .91
• Banner Aura damage modifier reduced to 1.06 from 1.09
• Supa Tuff Beam energy drain reduced to 3.5/sec from 7/sec.
• Electric Shock energy drain reduced to 4/sec from 5/sec.

Warboss

• Warboss Kustom Shoota changed to light weapon knockback.
• Warboss Kustom Shoota knockback chance reduced to 10%.
• Warboss Huge Choppa special attack changed to affect only enemy troops.
• Warboss Boss Pole received courage damage modifier reduced to 0.5, from 0.25.

Stikkbommas

• Stikkbomb damage reduced to 175, from 260.
• Fixed a bug that was causing Stikkbombs to do far less damage than intended.
• Stikkbomb explosions now generate light cover.

Stormboys

• Stormboy Suicide attack now generates light cover.
• Stormboy Nob cost increased to 75/25, from 50/25.

Kommando Nob

• Kommando Camo Armor requisition cost increased to 100.
• Kommando Kaboom recharge time increased to 20 seconds from 10.
• Kommando Extra Equipment energy bonus reduced to 75, from 235.
• Kommando Remote Detonation now generates light cover.
• Boomtime explosion now generates light cover.

Kommandos

• Kommando ambush ability range reduced to 35 meters from 50
• Kommando shoota range reduced to 25, from 29, damage increased to 30, from 25.
• Burna Bomb damage increased from 10 to 20, damage over time increased to 20 from 15.
• Kommando Nob Leader detection radius set to 30.
• Kommando Nob cost increased to 75/25, from 50/25.

Ork Waaagh shout ability

• Waaagh shout speed bonus reduced to .07 from .1
• Waaagh shout damage bonus reduced to 1.015 from 1.02.
• Waaagh shout received damage reduction decreased to 0.985, from 0.98.
• Waaagh shout received courage damage decreased to 0.996 from 0.985
• Waaagh shout cooldown increased to 90 seconds from 60.

Wartrukk

• Detection radius set to 30.

Looted Tank

• Ork tank shot now has a 100% chance to generate cover, up from 50%.
• Ork tank Boomgun now always generates cover.

Tyranids

• Fixed a bug where the death of synapse creatures hurt the Tyranids around them twice instead of once.
• Tyrannoformation tendrils now all generate light cover.
• Fixed an issue with all Warrior and Zoanthrope synapse auras not increasing in effect with level. Additionally, the bonuses gained from leveling will stack with other synapse creatures.

Hive Tyrant

• Brood Nest biomass cost increased to 225 from 175.
• Hive Tyrant charge range increased from 10 to 15 meters, cooldown of charge decreased to 4 seconds from 6, speed increased to 4.5 from 4.
• Health increased by 200.

Spore Mines

• Spore mine explosion radius reduced to 8, from 15.

Lictor

• Detection radius set to 30.
• Flesh hook damage reduced to 180 from 230, can no longer target platforms.
• HP increased to 600 from 500.
• Damage decreased to 34, from 51.

Ravener

• Ravener Devourer damage increased to 85 from 68, cooldown reduced to 1.4 from 1.8.
• Fleet of Claw removed from Ravener squad.
• Ravener Burrow now generates light cover.

Ravener Alpha

• Ravener Toxic Miasma damage reduced to 15 per tick, from 20.
• Catalyst damage taken reduced to 50% over 10 seconds, damage multiplier increased to 2.25, from 2.

Warriors

• Increased damage of warrior melee with adrenal glands to 60, from 42.
• Increased cost of warrior adrenal glands to 100/30, from 50/15.

Termagant

• Termagant knockdown chance while under ranged synapse reduced to 25%, from 35%.

Zoanthrope

• Zoanthrope reload reduced to 8 seconds, from 10.3
• Fixed an issue with the Zoanthrope losing energy when leveling.

Carnifex

• Increased cost of Venom Cannon to 100/30, from 30/10.
• Increased cost of Barbed Strangler to 100/30, from 30/10.

Foot Notes

• Grenade Spiking, where your squad can drop a grenade at their feet to kill enemy melee units and your squad doesn't take any damage, is an issue we're aware of and will be addressed for the first retail patch.

Luckily, I have only been playing the Dawn of War 2 beta for a few days so I don't think that these extensive changes are going to affect me too much - but we shall see. I hope to get some time this weekend to figure things out and test the new changes in 1v1 and 3v3 battles. Will I buy Dawn of War 2? I think that how this patch works itself out will determine what happens.

Dawn of War 2 Beta Open For Free

The Dawn of War 2 Beta, once costing $7 to join, is now free and available for download at Steam.

I have checked it out and am getting pretty excited about this game. The beta is for multiplayer only, so if you don't like the excitement of online gaming then you might want to skip the 5GB download. But for those that do, you will get a pretty solid gaming experience for free.

Dawn of War 2 is touted to have all the best features of the original Dawn of War and the much more recent Company of Heroes. Being a big fan of Company of Heroes, I wanted to check this out for myself. I absolutely loved the way the AI worked and the realistic way that your units would move and react in this World War II epic. I wanted to see how this AI would work with in the world of Warhammer 40,000.

I must say, it works great. Cover is directional in Dawn of War 2, just like in Company of Heroes, and it is really fun to stick a company of Space Marines with a heavy bolter behind a wall and watch a horde of Tyranids get mowed down as they approach your troops.

Another key benefit that the team at Relic and THQ have brought over was the AI. Troops will actually seek cover when attacked by an enemy instead of just standing out in the open. This is great for any player who is not superb at micromanaging his large forces across the map.

But most importantly, I think Dawn of War II avoids some of the major problems inherent in Company of Heroes game play. These problems are static game play, overpowered factions/units, and uncounterable meta strategies.

Static gameplay, while existing at some points of the game (like when a machine gun is placed in a building that you really wish it wasn't), almost never exists for very long. There are simply too many different strategies and counters to this across all factions and across all tiers. A machine gun holding a key position can be flanked, rushed with speedy hand-to-hand combat units, attached with jumpers, assaulted with a vehicle, or taken out with a hero. Even the more difficult machine gun in a building can be removed by a well placed grenade, a sniper, or a unit with a flamer thrower.

The only point at which the game truly becomes static is when your opponent has completely overwhelmed you, destroying most of your forces and pinning you in a small portion of your territory or base. But this has nothing to do with the design of Dawn of War 2 and everything to do with you loosing the game badly.

Another key feature of this game is the ability to reinforce units. This makes the game more and fun and more realistic in my opinion. It also introduces a new strategy element that increases user involvement in game decision making that rewards skill and wisdom over simple button mashing.

You also won't be finding any buildings that you will have to build in order to create some of the more powerful units. In fact, there are no building units in this game and I think that this is a big, big plus. You can truly focus on the best parts now - capturing territory and fighting your opponent. You also won't find your starting zone so cramped that you have to be a master city planner if you are going to be able to get the building that you want in there.

And finally, the hero system is a nice touch. I like how each hero has its own strategy and can impact the overall course of the game.

There are obviously some balancing issues that need to be taken care of, but the game is still in beta and I am hopeful that the developers will be able to work a lot of the kinks out of the game in time for its February 19 release date.