Dawn Of War

Well... I don't really have anything to blog about, on accounts of never really doing anything... So I have decided to do a write-up on Dawn Of War 1. The Wrhammer 40,000 RTS for PC. Specifically, its Third Add-On, and in more specifics, the Single-Player Campaign, and those three races I have completed it with, and the Fourth I am working on at the moment.

Now, the campaign is set in the Kaurava system, which contains 4 Habitable worlds, labelled Kaurava 1 through 4, and three habited moons, Irridene and Nan Yanoi, orbiting 2, and Lacunae orbiting 4. Anyway, the campaign starts shortly after the arrival in-system of a Warp Storm, which Delivers and or Traps nine feuding Armies in the system, all of whom have their own Nefarious reasons for wanting control of it. (It's what I love about the 40K universe. Not one of the Factions is out and out good. In fact there are good reasons to avoid all of them)

Anyway, seeing as how they didn't bring the 'Nids in till Dawn of War 2 I started out playing the Space Marines. Doing it on Normal difficulty. And rapidly discovered that few things can chew through two squads of Heavy Bolter armed marines backed up by one with Missile Launchers. Which will hold your base whilst you land drops pods or teleport in your Commander. And your Librarian. And your Chaplain. and A Dreadnought. And two squads (Minimum) of Terminatours. and a squad of Grey Knights. right into the enemy base. or you can build a few sets of Marine detachments and leapfrog them up. Or a Land Raider paired with two Predator Annihilators can smash right through most fixed defenses. True, the Dark Eldar HQ posed a problem, and the Battle Sisters HQ, but slight adaptation of tactics got me round that.

I played the Tau next. I favoured advances of my Commander supported only by my Hammerheads and Sky Rays (Missile Barrage is broken. Especially when dealing with infiltrators) I'd use Barracuda's for surgical strikes on specific targets, and got the Orc HQ that way. The Tau don't get any fixed defenses, but the XV-88 Broadside is a deployable infantry unit that does one hell of a Job. Twin-Linked heavy railguns. Fell most things with ease. A fact which makes fighting the Tau a bugger (I favour Terminatours or Dreadnoughts with Assault Cannons, or fast melee troops. Or the Bloodthirster.) Also, Kroot Carnivore squads equipped with a shaper will chew through most infantry. Throwing Kroot Hounds at Gretchen is amusing, although I've never really found much use for the Krootox.

Now, as can be seen, I like swift, hard-hitting strikes, or deep-strike deployments. Something that posed me problems playing as the Imperial Guard. I wound up having to play them like their fluff demands. Human Wave attacks backed up by Basilisks. At times I tried wave attacks of Hellhounds or Sentinels, or even both. The Guard campaign was, for me at least, a long boring slog. Never do it again. But that's probably just me. I never did like the Imperial Guard.

And that bring us neatly to the fourth and final race I be going over here. Chaos Undivided. I never thought I'd hear myself say this, having tried them a few times before, and never enjoyed it, but I like the play style I've developed for them. I tend to use Mostly Chaos Marines. With Bolters. I'll pair my Commander with a squad of Possessed (At least I would. He's a full-blooded Daemon Prince now, so the Sorceror goes with the Possessed.) Stick four defilers at his heels. And a Sorceror. 5 Squads of Bolter armed marines will guard my base, backed up by a pair of predators. Normally Annihilators. As soon as my Commander, his Possessed, and the Defilers hit the enemy base, they tend to get a squad of Obliterators and a few of Horrors dropped on them. And as soon as I have a relic the Bloodthirster joins them. The Chaos forces start sharing Kaurave IV with the Dark Eldar. I've ignored the Dark Eldar, fortified my HQ to The Warp and Gone. I started by moving in on Kaurava II and wiped out the Space Marines. The battle was mostly a straight up rush by Hell Talon fighters to get close enough to bombard their HQ while I dropped Obliterators and Horrors on it. Took two attempts to get it right, but get it right I did. The Orcs fell next, as I gradually secured most of the planet. That battle we systematically slaughtered them. There was not a single, living Ork or Gretchen in the Rokclaw mountains when I destroyed their Settlement and won the mission. After that it was a simple matter of regrouping, reinforcing and launching an attack on the Tau HQ of Nan Yanoi, where I did basically the same. I then moved onto Kaurava I. I started by seizing every territory bar the Battle Sisters and Imperial Guard HQ's. I then moved in on the Sisters. Systematically destroyed everything bar their final base, which by a fluke of chance I left mostly intact. (Their forces had effectively wiped out my assault force whilst the Living Saint, Anais, went toe-to-toe with a Bloodthirster of Khorne. When the Living Saint decided to flee, the Bloodthirster decided to destroy their HQ)

Am even now (Or at least I will be when I load the game again) reducing the Guard HQ, which has basically been reduced to a few scattered, ineffective bases, and their main HQ. But I have a Daemon Prince, and free access to a relic, and thus they will soon be in reciept of a major incursion (A Bloodthirster, a Daemon Prince, a squad of Obliterators, and whatever supports I feel like rustling up. Probably Horrors and Hell Talons, its what I've been going with so far...)

Anyway, When I complete a campaign, I may give a rundown of tactics used, and how it went...
Assuming people are interested...