Dawn of War 2: Retribution

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**Retrias**

well In knowledge at least,although mind is also correct since knowledge would also be in behaviour and equipment

**Melissia**

They posted a clarification to make absolutely sure noone's confused. Not that it will help everyone, as some people are always confused.

We're happy to announce that registered users of our community site will be getting access to our Dawn of War II: Retribution beta. Below are the dates and details on who gets granted access to the beta:

January 31 – Beta access granted to select members of press, key community managers, and the THQ team.

February 1 – Access given to all DOW II Community site members that registered on our site before January 25 and to users who have pre-ordered the game on Steam.

February 8 – Access given to all Steam users who have bought a Dawn of War game through Steam.

We hope this clears up any confusion, and we look forward to your feedback during our beta.

**Darkvoidof40k**

Aaah! Must join community website!

**Melissia**

Or at least pre-order it. I mean I'm going to preorder anyway, as soon as I figure out how much money I have left after buying my last book for this semester.

**Darkvoidof40k**

I'm ordering the Collector's Edition with £5 off, so it stands at £29.99 with free postage - the same as buying one of the race-specific packs!

Naturally, this means I'm not buying it through steam.

**blood reaper**

Darkvoidof40k wrote:I'm ordering the Collector's Edition with £5 off, so it stands at £29.99 with free postage - the same as buying one of the race-specific packs!

Naturally, this means I'm not buying it through steam.

Where from? I did plan to get The Chaos Race pack but if its only 29.99 I might aswell get that.

**Darkvoidof40k**

blood reaper wrote:
Darkvoidof40k wrote:I'm ordering the Collector's Edition with £5 off, so it stands at £29.99 with free postage - the same as buying one of the race-specific packs!

Naturally, this means I'm not buying it through steam.

Where from? I did plan to get The Chaos Race pack but if its only 29.99 I might aswell get that.

Play.com

**blood reaper**

Thanks Darkvoidof40k

**DickBandit**

*sigh* I won't be able to play this game until April. Army says I have to go play GI Joe in the woods for a month. T_T I don't wanna...

**M0rdain**

I got a GAME voucher for Christmas so that i can get this when it comes out.

**Melissia**

New video up on IGN. Guard is starting to look rather interesting.

Of note, you upgrade your squads with squad leaders-- sergeants, commissars, etc-- and every time you do, the squad gets bigger and bigger. Each one has a special ability. Commissars can execute a squad member to get them to stop retreating.

**Slarg232**

Guess buying it through Steam is finally going to get me something, huh?

**Melissia**

Imperial Guard forces:

Heroes:

Inquistor

This offensive focused hero uses fire and guile to destroy the enemies of man.

Commissar Lord

The Commissar Lord is an inspiring support hero who leads from the frontlines. He excels at melee combat and empowering infantry with various buffs.

Lord General

The Lord General is a master tactician who takes defensive control of the battlefield with massive turrets and off map artillery. His personal retinue keeps him safe from harm.

Infantry:

Catatchan Devils

A squad of seasoned Catachan jungle fighters. Devils are effective in close combat and take advantage of several different types of weapons for every occasion.

Infantry Squad

Basic ranged combat unit effective against other ranged forces but weak in melee. Can be upgraded with a Sergeant and a Commissar which increases the squad size.

Heavy Weapons Squad

Equipped with a Heavy Bolter that suppresses large groups of infantry, has a limited firing arc and requires set-up time. Can be upgraded to a Lascannon or Autocannon.

Ogryn squad

Ogryns are tough ogre-like brutes who excel in close combat and are excellent at disrupting enemy ranged units. Can be upgraded with a Bone Head.

Stormtrooper Squad

Elite ranged infantry equipped with hot shot lasguns. Storm Troopers can be upgraded to fulfill different roles.

Vehicles:

Baneblade

Super heavy battle tank armed with numerous weapons. Autofire is disabled. Use its abilities to fire from the main gun.

Banewolf

A light tank that uses toxic chemical weapons designed to complete [sic] eradicate the enemy.

Chimera

Transports infantry units across the battlefield and allows nearby squads to reinforce. Loaded troops add to the Chimera's firepower.

Leman Russ Battle Tank

A multi-purpose battle tank. Can be upgraded with weapons more effective versus infantry or vehicles.

Manticore

Mobile artillery unit that fires missile barrages.

Sentinel

Fast and maneuverable vehicle that is fragile and vulnerable to small arms fire. Ideal for contributing to ranged fire fights or kiting melee units.

**Darkvoidof40k**

light on the infantry, it would seem, even though they have roughly as many choices as other races.. I'd still have liked to see more, like maybe a special weapons squad as strong anti-anything. But Relic don't like more than one special weapon in a squad. Ever.

**Melissia**

Darkvoidof40k wrote:lBut Relic don't like more than one special weapon in a squad. Ever.

Except the entirety of DoW1, and chaos heretics in DoW2 (the grenade launcher upgrade gave them two GLs).

Darkvoidof40k wrote:like maybe a special weapons squad as strong anti-anything.

And that is exactly the reason why they didn't do it. That would have been stupid game design.

**THQInsider**

We're currently at THQ UK HQ along with selected members of the Warhammer 40,000 community for an exclusive hands-on event for Retribution.

Relic's Producer Jeff Lydell is going to be with us throughout the day and we want your questions that we can put to him. If you've got anything you want to ask him then submit your questions here and we hope to get them answered for you!

**Melissia**

Bah, the Lord General is the hero for TLS?

Goddamnit, I wanted to play the Inquisitor.

**VenerableBrotherPelinore**

Darkvoidof40k wrote:light on the infantry, it would seem, even though they have roughly as many choices as other races.. I'd still have liked to see more, like maybe a special weapons squad as strong anti-anything. But Relic don't like more than one special weapon in a squad. Ever.

The Dawn of War 2 system exists on hard counters, designed to punish those who don't stay alert, keep up-to-date knowledge of their enemy, as well as constantly adapting and keeping a heavy 'micro' during battle. It's very rare a unit will beat it's hard counter, and then it's really only if it can gain a significant advantage in some way. This is one of the primary reasons that some who liked DoW1 didn't like DoW2, because there's less room for mistakes, especially when it comes to vehicles. That big pretty Fire Prism may have cost you 450 req and 100 or so power, but a lascannon getting rear armor on it will drag it down in a shot or two.

Buidling a single squad as strong anti-anything would be detrimental to this system. They have units that are rather strong against pretty much everything, but they're considered the units that if your opponent gets them onto the field, they have a huge advantage that would give them victory anyway (Avatar, Greater Unclean One, to a lesser extent Assault Terminators). If you could build one squad, say Stormtroopers, and put it up against anything bar the big units and come out on top, there'd be no reason to build anything else once you had access to them, ruining the frantic line of counter and counter, in battle and build.

The two units I can think of they've tried to build as 'versatile, jack-of-all-trades' units, being Chaos Space Marines (With the Marks of Khorne, Tzeentch and Nurgle) and the Space Marine Tactical Squad (With the ability to take Plasma, Flamer and Missile Launcher), both still have their hard counters, and aren't truly anti-everything, but anti-some infantry, and anti-some vehicles... in some situations. Tactical Squads also have to repay the upgrade cost everytime they switch weapons, thus, on a per battle basis, are really anti-infantry or anti-vehicle, but can be switched later (Really, the only reason you'd switch when I last played was from your original flamer to gen harrass to a Missile Launcher/Plasma to actually be useful in a fight), and Chaos Space Marines can't switch at all once they've been dedicated to a god (This may have been changed since I last played however, it's been a few months).

**Slarg232**

Melissia wrote:Bah, the Lord General is the hero for TLS?

Goddamnit, I wanted to play the Inquisitor.

Same. Though hopefully they will add in another Hero per race later (Doubtful) or add in the Sisters later?

**Melissia**

Probably not. This AFAIK is likely going to be the last DoW2 expansion before DoW3.

Though if its successful enough they might add in another faction to milk the franchise one last time, but it's probably not gonna be Sisters.

**Slarg232**

Melissia wrote:Probably not. This AFAIK is likely going to be the last DoW2 expansion before DoW3.

Though if its successful enough they might add in another faction to milk the franchise one last time, but it's probably not gonna be Sisters.

True, it would probably be Tau or Necrons again.

**VenerableBrotherPelinore**

Slarg232 wrote:
Melissia wrote:Probably not. This AFAIK is likely going to be the last DoW2 expansion before DoW3.

Though if its successful enough they might add in another faction to milk the franchise one last time, but it's probably not gonna be Sisters.

True, it would probably be Tau or Necrons again.

Be rather hard to fit in Necrons, without seeming stupid 'We've slumbered underneath this recruiting world for eons, you never found us, now we are awake...and WE ARE LEGION!' (Couldn't resist), and they are in the right general area of space for the Tau. I wouldn't mind seeing Sisters, but I see it as unlikely as well, the other two races having a bigger fanbase (At least to my knowledge), and the game already featuring two Imperial factions.

At least the Inquisitor should feature in the campaign quite heavily.

**Melissia**

Yep, the Inquisitor is the only one who can stop the exterminatus. Even the Eldar intend to save the Inquisitor long enough for her to do so.

**Darkvoidof40k**

You guys have taken my comment the wrong way. I know the game mechanics, but Guard are relatively squishy. So it'd be perfectly balanced to have, say, a special weapons squad with multiple plasma guns because one assault squad would mince them in seconds.

Anti-Everything was possibly the wrong term. I meant a unit that had strong ranged power, such as aforementioned multiple plasma guns, but they still wouldn't be too good against vehicles.

Nonetheless, I can't wait for this game! I'm totally playing Guard as soon as the Beta comes out for me.

Melissia wrote:This AFAIK is likely going to be the last DoW2 expansion before DoW3.

I had come to the same conclusion rather awhile ago.

**Kanluwen**

Results of the Q&A Session THQ Insider did with THQ UK today:

THQ Insider wrote:Q: Will there be more x-pac's or DLC's for DOW II? I would love to see Tau?
- gogators

A: There will be DLC around the special edition wargear, and then patches following the beta.

Q: Have there been any more changes to Last Stand?
- Metroid2k (via Twitter)

A: We have a new hero, the Lord General. A new map has also been added, with an increased difficulty level. The existing map can still be selected, with the difficulty level remaining the same. At this time there are no plans to change the number of players in Last Stand from three.

Q: For the Tyranid co-op campaign would second players get a Hive Tyrant?
- ntrisley (via Twitter)

A: When you join the campaign, you will be able to choose a squad from the selection screen, or build one of your own.

Q: Is it possible to save and restore your progress in Retribution, in other ways than quitting?
- Shadur (via Twitter)

A: Yes; you can save and continue.

Q: What can we expect from the multiplayer competitiveness in vs1 vs2 vs3?
- vpatchnotes (via Twitter)

A: This time round we have a new matchmaking system and leaderboards. Your first multiplayer games will be placement matches, and the results of these will be used to determine your rank. After this, players are ranked using an ELO ranking system, with involvement of a rest system - a pool of points applied when you win.
For leaderboards, this will work so that a player who wins many games and then stops playing will eventually be eclipsed by players who are still active and winning.

Q: In Retribution, can we kill our own units once they are useless?
- Samuel (via Facebook)

A: You can delete structures, but not units.

Q: Are we going to see the Imperial Guard working with other SM chapters like the Ultramarines in Dawn of War Winter Assault?
- KyotouYasuri (via Twitter)

A: No - the only chapter in the campaign will be the Blood Ravens.

Q: Will this be the final expansion pack in DOW2 or can we expect a 3rd like the original?
- chris2pher93

A: That's a really good question!

Q: In retribution is there a campaign for each Race, or one campaign that we can play with the race we want?
- R�my (Facebook)

A: Each race has it's own campaign, from the viewpoint of that race. You can play as each race, too.

Q: Is there going to be a mode similar to DoTA?
- Destabilizator

A: No, sorry.

Q: Is there going to be better in-game support for modding in Retribution?
- Metroid2k

A: There may be the possibility of tools such as map-editors, but we're not able to talk about that yet.

Q: Will there be more weapons to collect in Retribution?
- KyotouYasuri (via Twitter)

A: There are more weapon types in the campaign. Things have been changed around in multiplayer, with new gear and weapons having been changed around.

Q: Will each race's campaign be as long as the SM campaign in Chaos Rising?
- rap_train (via Twitter)

A: There will be around the same number of missions in each race's campaign, around the same as in Chaos Rising.

Q: Now that every race has a super unit, will existing ones be buffed up?
- kraken

A: All new units will be balanced with the old ones during the upcoming beta.

Q: Will there be any other SM chapters?
- Grey_Slayer (via Twitter)

A: Deathwatch colours are now available.

Q: What about other companies of the Blood Ravens?
- Grey_Slayer (via Twitter)

A: No.

Q: What regiment of IG are involved?
- Grey_Slayer (via Twitter)

A: Two of the regiments available are the 39th Cadian Xenobane and the 110th Cadian Shadow Corps.

Q: Can we transfer save games from DOW 2 and CR? If not, what ending is canon?
- Grey_Slayer (via Twitter)

A: No, you can't transfer your save game. You will find out which ending is canon at the end of the campaign in Retribution.

Q: What about the primarch of the Blood Ravens? Will be get an answer for that question?
- Grey_Slayer (via Twitter)

A: There are certain mysteries that remain within the Blood Raven Chapter.

Q: Any news on a new 3rd tier unit for SM, in addition to tanks?
- Metroid2k (via Twitter)

A: The Land Raider Redeemer is the only new 3rd tier unit for SM.

Q: Will wargear be handed out for completing co-op missions as a guest?
- Undoer

A: Yes.

Q: Will there be any DLC providing new skins for the different armies
- Christen (via Facebook)

A: There is nothing planned at present, but you never know for the future.

Q: Will there be multiple endings depending on your actions like in Chaos Rising?
- Chris (via Facebook)

A: There are six endings, depending on your race.

Q: Will the Inquisitor be calling in Inquisitorial stormtroopers or just regular ones.
- Christen (via Facebook)

A: They call in regular stormtroopers.

**Darkvoidof40k**

Asides from the new Last Stand map, that unforunately doesn't tell us much we didn't know.. but ah well. Better than nothing, of course.

**legoburner**

I just spent the day playing DoW 2 retribution - ask away! I've got some images that I'll put up later (same as all the other people got, nothing exclusive though).

I'll do a proper review later, but I spent about 4 hours playing last stand (and the new map is hard - starts off at equivalent to level 8 or 9 in the old map and goes from there). It is called the anvil of blood (or something like that) and has much less space to escape using the warp/teleport trick, but still 4 entry points, but on the left and right edges more than the last map which was N/S/E/W. The second wave has wraithguard that are really horrible, and the fire prism wave is very tough too. Dopplegangers and dreadnoughts are the way forward.

Played the first 3 single player maps and last level in single player for nids and guard. Great cinematics (saw the intro movie), but the end sequence is the best video

Nids are narrated by angelos of the blood ravens, but there is also hive mind whispering with commands like: go.... devour...

**Soladrin**

Maybe they will do Grey knights to further GW's purposes...

**kirsanth**

legoburner FTW!!

I await your review. Tyranid campaign and TLS are about 90% of my focus and you already covered some questions.

Thank you.

**legoburner**

oh one other cool thing is that the army painter shows far more units now, basically anything that will fit in the frame (up to a dreadnought in size).

Automatically Appended Next Post:
I've now put up all the semi-exclusive screenshots here in full detail (zoom in a long way if you want):
http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/images-4786-13518_Dawn%20Of%20War%202%20Retribution%20Screenshots.html

This is everything I've been given, but I saw much much more.

Also if you wonder what the nid superheavy is:

Spoiler: