Dawn of War 2 Beta Preview

You got RPG in my RTS

Unit variety is always something that Dawn of War has had in spades, and with every add-on pack came a new well-crafted new army that brought something unique to the franchise. Dawn of War continues this tradition, with the four included armies each having a unique approach and style, especially the frankly awesome Tyranids, long term fan favourites which finally make their gaming debut.

The Space Marines, around whom the full game’s single player campaign is based, are the most conventional of the four, but that also means they’re the most familiar too, with many units making the transition from the original Dawn of War.

Tier one units consist of a basic three man squad adapted for specific tasks, with a general purpose tactical marine unit, a heavy bolter unit that’s used for laying down suppressing fire (another inclusion passed over from CoH), a stealth recon squad used for getting behind enemy lines and causing trouble and finally a jump-jet squad, able to leap high into the air and then come smashing back down to earth, Chain-swords a’buzzin.

Teching to Tier two unlocks the fan favourite Dreadnought, as well as an infantry support tank and an anti-tank squad, and the final tier unlocks the space marine super tank, the Predator - a vehicle that packs more guns than the population of Texas.


Once purchased, each unit in the game can then be upgraded incrementally with extra equipment. The recon team get shotguns or sniper rifles to make them better infiltration units, Space Marines upgrade to fulfil a variety of tasks from clearing out buildings with a flame thrower to taking on armour with a TAC-Missile launcher, and armoured units like the Dreadnought learn to specialise in infantry mincing or tank smashing.

While all this is very reminiscent of the original Dawn of War, units can now gain experience in the course of slaughtering your opponents, levelling up as the game progresses in the same way that units would gain veterancy. In the late stages of a game a highly experienced squad can become incredibly valuable, and losing it can turn the tide of battle.

There’s one unit that you can’t lose no matter how much you suck though and that’s your team’s Commander unit. Each race is able to pick one of three commanders before the match starts, and this choice will affect how you might approach the game. With the Space Marines you’re able to choose between the offensive based Force Commander, able to inflict huge melee damage and inspire troops, the Apothecary, who specialises in healing and buffing your squads, and the Tech Marine, who’s able to construct turrets to deny areas of the map and buff vehicles.


The other races field equally varied commander units - our particular favourites are the Ork War Boss, a deliciously brutal melee specialist that literally rips enemy troops apart, and the Lictor Alpha, a Tyranid commander able to become invisible, stalking other commander units before appearing in a flash of chitinous limbs and flesh hooks.

While formidable and highly useful units from the very start, these special units can also be granted multiple upgrades as they and your HQ level up. A Force Commander upgraded to tier 3 gets Terminator armour and is able to tear through squads like a fat bloke through a pack of crisps. If, however, your Commander units falls foul of the enemy and buys the farm, he can be resurrected at your HQ for a price that decreases the longer he’s dead. While it’s not a king’s ransom, it’s enough to heavily inconvenience your strategy as well as gifting a ton of experience to the opposing team’s units, so it makes sense to use your your Commander units wisely.

This sort of levelling up and equipment upgrading is, of course, nothing new. Warcraft 3 used an almost identical element with its hero units, a part of that particular game that has since spawned into its own following with hero wars mods like Defence of the Ancients, but it certainly feels at home in Dawn of War 2, and the sight of a Space Marine Force Commander or Tyranid Hive Tyrant smashing the oppositions faces in with some awesome special moves is a glorious sight to behold.