Dawn of War: Soulstorm

[Hawk Thanatos]

Not sure if anyone other than eXistence of Fly and myself will care about this game but I just found out about this new expansion for Dawn of War. :)

I never played the tabletop game so I don't know a whole lot about the lore etc behind the two new factions, Dark Eldar and Sisters of Battle (female Space Marines I guess) but they don't excite me too much from what I've seen so far. Still, I'll definitely be picking this expansion up when it's released (sometime in the first half of 2008) since they're using the same campaign mode from Dark Crusade except it'll be bigger, taking place on four planets and three moons, and they'll be introducing aircraft to the series. The interesting thing about this expansion is that Relic aren't doing the developing, or at least aren't the main company doing it, a company called Iron Lore is doing it instead. There'll be a lot of pressure on them to make it a good game I think, one because Dawn of War is already an established, successful series and also because the addition of aircraft into RTS games can be particularly risky since it can cause series balance issues.

Here's hoping for a game that will top Dark Crusade.

EDIT: Added a poll.

[Camillus]

Well, I played DoW, without add-ons because ...well, my comp won't be able to move more than that. But it's good to hear they are expanding the game.

Those two new factions are interesting lore-wise but... I don't know how will they make them different from their counterparts (Eldar, Space Marines). Dark Eldar are some sort of space pirates and use hit and run tactics so i guess there will be a lot of mobile, hard-hitting but fragille units. Sisters of Battle, they aren't really very different form Space Marines, a little weaker but using some weird tools of war. For example inquisitorial stormtroopers, witch hunters, penitent engines, etc. I think they should be even more zealots than Space Marines so it would be more morale or even some units immune to morale brake. I wonder if their ulitimate unit will be throne of judgment. Oh and Sitsers Repentia should look cool if included. :)

I'm looking forward to seeing how will it look.
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[Hawk Thanatos]

[Timbo]

I hope they get the balance down for this game. It's cool to play as the Necrons and Tau from Dark Crusade, but Relic has really been slow to get a good balance patch out for the game. Imperial Guard are way underpowered and Necrons are still too overpowered. Tau are overpowered, but not to the degree that the Necrons are.

It's going to be really hard to balance nine races in this new expansion. I think it's going to be fun to go against computers, but I am skeptical of the multiplayer ladder.

That being said, I think the Dark Eldar are really cool and I can't wait to play as them. I think their gameplay mechanic sounds awesome.

[eXistence of Fly]

[Tullaryx]

I guessed right on what the second new faction would be. Everyone seems fixated on getting the Tyranids released. I, for one, would rather they kept the 'nids chained up until they announce Dawn of War 2. As for lore on the two new factions. I have a few more tidbits to add to what fly has already mentioned.

The Dark Eldar do act piratical. Most of the reavers and pirates which attack and raid Imperial trade routes and worlds come from the Dark Eldar race, though some are Eldar as well. Dark Eldar's city of Commoragh is also located somewhere within the Eldar's Web Way system. These pathways and tunnels exist between the Material world and the Immaterium. The part about enemy units killed by Dark Eldar in the game leaving behind soul essences makes sense since the Dark Eldar pretty much feed on the souls of their slaves and captives.

The Adepta Sororitas is not as bad as fly would make them out to be. In game terms they're actually as hard-hitting as the Space Marines. I like the fact that they don't use psychic attacks to make up the magic part of their arsenal. The Acts of Faith, if followed just like how they're used in the tabletop game, should really hit hard and kick ass if a player is careful of how they use their units. I think people who have a tendency to send out units on suicide missions won't get the full benefit of Acts of Faith. In the tabletop game the more units having Imagifiers with them and their vehicles remain intact the more Acts of Faith can be used. The Adepta Sororitas is also the military arm of the Ordo Hereticus of the Holy Order of the Inquisition so that means they may just get access to some cool special units like Arco-Flagellants, Assassins, and Penitent Engines.

As to the factions themselves I know that the Dark Eldar will probably be the one that will take some skill to play. They shouldn't be too hard to kill since of all the factions in the tabletop game they're the ones who have the weakest armor. They're all about speed, speed and even more speed. Their weapons should be a tad more powerful than the Eldar. Those splinter rifles and dark lances should balance out their low armour rating with a higher attack profile. I'm glad that the screenshots I've seen so far shows the faction having tha Talos as one of the units. The Talos is not as fast a unit but in game terms it should make for one of the more powerful advance units of any faction in the game outside the Baneblade.

The Sisters of Battle will probably have a choice as to which super-unit they will have. I will guess it's going to come down between two choices. The Sisters of Battle can either have a Living Saint as their top super-unit or one of the Ordo Hereticus' Penitent Engines. I'm hoping it's the latter since it would make for a better image in the game. A Living Saint is pretty much just a Battle Sister imbued with powers to make her on the same level as a Greater Daemon.
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[Hawk Thanatos]

[Yvl]

7 way.

I play Dark Eldar IRL, so this is good news for me.
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[SolemnSound]

oh really? I have yet to see someone play as the Dark Eldar army IRL. I play Space Wolves myself.

I have always like the Tau and how well they work together and run themselves. pretty neat
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[Tullaryx]

[Hawk Thanatos]

[Tullaryx]

Assault Marines have to be used properly. I think players see the Assault Marines as some sort of shock troop that will destroy all in their path. Assault Space Marines should always be used to either scout ahead to see if there's enemy turrets and defenses already built or quickly capture check points. But again like the armor spearhead distraction, these assault jump-packing Marines should be used while the opponent is concentrating on the bulk of your army. I've had people tell me they totally forgot about the squads of Assault Marines because they were so worried about trying to take out the pair of Land Raider, Predators, Terminators and Dreadnaught that was bearing down on his center.
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[Yvl]

Wait, wait... you mean that I'm actually supposed to be USING the fire warriors? I just put a bunch of Kroot and a Greater Gnarlox up front and hammerheads and Crisis teams in back. Good luck getting close enough to those to do close combat damage.
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[Tullaryx]

As much as some Tau players live by the Kroots and Gnarlox as something great I've never been too worried about them. I've taken out whole packs with a Baneblade and two Leman Russ tanks in addition to a Basilisk providing fire support from the back. If there's ever an overpowered unit it's the Baneblade. It's not indestructible but the amount of firepower it seems to draw to try and take it out distracts most players from the smaller, faster units that's about to hit them at the sides. I've seen a Chaos Marine player actually send out his Bloodthirster and Defiler in addition to his Berserkers to try and tek it out. They sure took it out but wasted his Berserkers and Defiler and had his Bloodthirster vulnerable to being taken out with just normal units.

The Tau in DoW is pretty much how they are in the table top game. A lot of shooty units and fancy long-range weaponry with token close-combat Kroot units. Any good player should be able to counter the Kroots and take advantage of the Tau's lack of melee units. I think this is why Space Marines are favored by many. They're the most balanced faction. Now, if they can just add armor customization to the game. Space Marines should be able to change the look of their armor depending on the Chapter. I play Dark Angel on DoW but I miss seeing the hooded robes on the veteran sergeants and commanders.
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[Timbo]