Longstanding RTS series Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War has been around for over twenty years now, and with the next edition, Dawn of War IV, coming soon we’re really excited to see how it keeps evolving and moving forward. It’s a series known for featuring much loved and battle hardened characters from the various factions of the 40k world – however details on which factions would be included in Dawn of War IV were really light on the ground until lately. The newest Battlefield Report, however, features information on new gameplay mechanics, combat breakdowns and a detailed look at some of the new factions included.
Dawn of War IV marks the first time that an entry in the series has been developed by a team other than Relic Entertainment. This time King Art Games, the studio behind Iron Harvest, are at the helm and it’s clear they are bringing a lot of their recent experiences to the table, aiming to take the series in a new modern direction from that of Relic’s previous entries. With the new Combat Director taking over from Dawn of War III’s Sync Kill system, as well as a new setting 200 years in the future, it’ll be a clean slate for them to try something new and set the stage for a great story.
Dawn of War IV is releasing with a total of four new factions: The Adeptus Mechanicus, Necrons, Orcs and Space Marines (although this appears to be just the Blood Ravens with a sprinkling of Dark Angel). With each faction being carefully balanced to be able to combat one another while still being distinctive enough that they’re stuffed with unique skills, ability and tech.
One of the key focuses featured in the new battlefield video is on the Necron faction and the Adeptus Mechanicus; with it featuring a whole host of new units, structures and some impressive abilities and leaders. What with the amount of chaos and combat happening it really does seem that the battles will be monumental and visually stunning with a mix of fast paced combat and decisive tactical moves.
One slightly more negative note would be the unit and the terrain for the Necrons do seem to look very similar, with the territory lit up with a green glow while a lot of the lighting and weapon effects share the colour – it does seem like you could lose some of your units in the haze of war. It comes across as a little overwhelming visually. For what the Necrons lack in visual separation they clearly make up with heavy firepower and beefy units make them a faction to be reckoned with.
With the combat from Dawn of War IV being based on both its tabletop origins, as well as previous instalments of the series, the development team have tried to balance the factions through giving the Space Marines specialised units that are stronger but fewer in numbers and countering that by giving the Necrons capabilities to slowly heal over time.
Da Orc Boyz will be a much faster faction overall with each unit being able to create structures on the move as well as build up the WAAAAGH!!! meter to unleash their rage and gain significant buffs to their combat capabilities. While this is very similar to the Orcs in Dawn of War III there’s much more emphasis on creating a truly overwhelming force to crush the humies for da boss. Power in numbers is the name of the game here.
Space Marines will feature more specialised infantry and vehicles with the likes of Intercessors and infiltration teams, as well as utilising stratagems like drop pods to give troops an advantage on the battlefield. Some of these abilities are linked to key characters in the campaign but can be used in multiplayer as well, giving a diverse platter of carnage to choose from as you tear through xenos like a hot knife through butter.
Finally the last faction available on release is the Adeptus Mechanicus. Deep Silver have mentioned that they wanted to choose a faction that was not featured in the series beforehand and wants it to remain as faithful to the lore as possible. Fielding units such as Ruststalkers to lure enemies in close and engage in deadly melee combat and then pairing them with the precise Skitarii Rangers are exactly what this faction is about. Tactics, precision, efficiency, all are delivered in the name of the machine god onto the Adeptus Mechanicus’ enemies in a flurry of blades and laz’ fire.
Dawn of War IV is already shaping up to be a truly grand scale RTS experience and with the continuation of the story with characters such as Cyrus and Gorgutz it’ll be interesting to see exactly where we end up at the end of the main campaign.
With the success of a number of Warhammer titles recently such as Warhammer 40,000 Darktide and Total War: Warhammer III it’s clear there’s a thriving demographic for the fantasy and futuristic worlds of 40k and Old World.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV is officially set to release on the 17th of September and will be available on PC.
