Ouze wrote:Darkvoidof40k wrote:Is that so, eh? Fancy a match later on then, Ouze? Or I could just post/PM you some tactics for Chaos if you want.
Absolutely (on both counts). I could use the help.
I'm afraid that I have little knowledge of Noise Marines, so I won't be able to give you much insight on them.
Okay, lets start from the beginning. Basic Dawn of War II multiplayer guidelines:
1) Map control: it is
very important to get a good amount (about 40-50%) of map control early on. That means get your Requisition points and power nodes and get them fast! Make sure to upgrade your safest node with three generators fairly soon, as you'll want to have a constant supply of power to get top-end Tier 1 units and equipment and eventually reach Tier 2.
2) Play it safe - try to avoid unnecessary attrition: losing any unit in Tier 1 is a serious blow to an elite army like Chaos Space Marines. Obviously, this means that it is very beneficial to you to take out enemy units at this early stage.
3) Don't get left behind in the Tech race. You need to make sure you upgrade your base soon enough, preferably before your opponent (unless, perhaps, you're going for an early win against an inexperienced player) but not too early as that could leave you lacking in resources; hence units, and result in you suffering detrimental map control loss.
Dawn of War II Multiplayer Tactica - Chaos Space Marines
Heroes
The Chaos Lord is the standard choice, and is easy to use because he is a resilient choice and grants you a strong melee unit right from the start.
The Plague Champion is probably best off used in a ranged capacity, as he won't last in melee against other close-combat orientated Heroes and a fair few of his abilities are range-based. He is a good supportive leader if you enjoy having your entire force together all the time ( - which is inadvisable).
The Chaos Sorcerer, like the Plague Champion, lack in melee ability in comparison to the Chaos Lord. However, with upgrades, again like the Plague Champion, the Sorcerer can increase his melee capacity, however I wouldn't advise throwing him at dedicated melee units. Ranged units would be reasonably easy targets in melee for the Sorceror, but he has quite strong ranged attacks in the forms of several destructive spells.
It is important to pick a hero that works well for you. The Chaos Lord works best for me, so we'll continue this tactica based on that choice.
Tier I
Immediately, send one of your starting units to the nearest Victory Point (if playing
VP control mission) or one of the second most furthest resource points - and your other starting unit can also do the latter. The next unit that you bring out, which should be the Chaos Space Marine squad, can capture the resource point(s) that you missed out, whilst your first two units continue to expand your map control quickly. Make sure to upgrade your safest (ie closest) Power Node with three generators as soon as possible, and you should also upgrade any other nearby Power Nodes you capture with the first upgrade - but not generators as they are a bit too costly at this stage.
Once you have a decent amount of map control, try and take a second
VP if you haven't already done so. If not playing
VP control, then just regroup your units at a point relatively equidistant to all of your furthermost points, so that they can react to any threats as a cohesive group and use overwhelming tactics.
Whilst you're waiting to get enough resources to reach Tier 2, you may want to try and resource harass by destroying enemy generators. This is more effective than stealing power nodes because your opponent will either have to do without them or expend more resources to just replace them. If you're feeling a bit more adventurous then stealing nodes is fine, although I wouldn't suggest trying to capture any that aren't close to the edges of your map control zone. Stealing Requisition points is always fine as they are quite quick to capture.
An effective way of stealing resource points is to engage in a fight, drawing your opponents full attention, and use an unimportant unit - ie cultists - to sneak a resource point while your opponent is busy. If they do notice, then they will probably either retreat or if they're less experienced or capable at gaming, this could present an easy chance to kill a unit or two - especially a hero who at this point in the game would be quite easy to kill, and expensive for your opponent to revive.
Make sure to also upgrade your Chaos Space Marine unit with the first available upgrade that increases their damage (and health?) in all areas - but not in a combat situation as upgrading makes them temporarily useless. A Havoc squad will also be very useful if you feel like it, but against some opponents it may not be necessary; however more often than not the ability to suppress a large enemy force and then destroy it is a powerful ability, and one that you want to have. Noise Marines fulfill a similar role and are worth considering, however in most cases you won't really need them unless facing a heavily melee orientated force, and they will only slow down your aim of reaching Tier II.
Note that you do not need to upgrade your hero at this stage.
Tier II
At this point, you really want to be thinking about upgrading your hero at this point in a way that benefits the role you are using them in. As we are using the Chaos Lord as an example for this tactica, then obviously you'll want to make him more killy in close combat. The best way to do this is to give him Lightning Claws and some better armor. Which armor doesn't really matter and it's up to the player, but try and use the one that will be the most effective for you.
A Dreadnought is always a good choice at this stage, although you will rarely be able to get one immediately, so a Bloodcrusher will more often than not be a more than [cost] effective alternative. Perhaps the greatest ability of the Bloodcrusher is its powers of deception. Many players either do not realize or forget that it is actually a
vehicle unit, and at this early point in Tier 2 your opponent probably won't have any, or at the maximum very few anti-vehicle weapons. Because of this, the Bloodcrusher may seem absolutely invincible, and is a brilliant little distraction and army-slaughterer, and because of the usual lack of anti-vehicle weaponry, it may actually be as good as invincible. Often, Heroes or squad leaders can get anti-vehicle weapons that will cause the Bloodcrusher serious problems, however, such as a Space Marine Force Commander with a Powerfist. If used correctly, a single Bloodcrusher can be devastatingly game winning units, especially if your opponent is still on Tier I or hasn't managed to get any anti-vehicle weapons out.
While your opponent attempts to deal with your Bloodcrusher (who is even MORE deadly when supported by your upgraded Chaos Lord and some suppressing Havoc's) your other units can steal resource points. It is often a good idea to support your Bloodcrusher, so that your non-vehicle units can deal with any Powerfists/Missile Launchers/Bright Lances etc. Eventually, if things are going well, you can bring out a few more units including a Dreadnought who has the potential to destroy an opponents base single-handedly if you manage to kill their entire force with your other units.
If things are going really well, you might find it possible to gain total or almost total map control. If this happens, you've pretty much won the match in any kind of game.
In Tier 2, you will also want to throw a few Chaos Marks around, for example making another strong ranged or melee unit out of the
CSM and Cultist squads, and it may also be a good idea to get a Havoc squad armed with a Lascannon to take out any inevitable vehicles.
Tier III
If Tier 3 is reached, then your first priority should be getting a Lascannon-armed Predator to steamroll into your opponents base with the rest of your army. If, somehow, the game continues to drag on, the Great Unclean One can be fun and useful if you have the resources, but generally is unnecessary.
Many small games will end in Tier I or more likely Tier II, or if both players are highly competent or reserved, then Tier III can easily become an option. For 1 on 1 battles, there are general time limits for a match that correspond with how long it should probably take you to reach each Tier, as shown below:
0-10 Minutes - Tier I
11-25 Minutes - Tier II
26 Minutes and over - Tier III
In larger battles, teamwork and communication are vital to success. If a team is lacking in either of these areas, then it is almost certainly doomed. Work together and mix your units to make it harder for your opponents to cope; gang up on individual enemies and help out your allies: one lost player is a serious loss for the entire team.
In team FFA more or less the same applies as above. However, in standard FFA, all I can really say is learn how to play your race and try and kill your neighbors to get land as soon as possible. Forming devious truces with a few other places will be frowned upon, but is a sneaky way of improving the odds.
In ANY type of game with any number of players, always, always, ALWAYS remember to utilize your global and unit level abilities.
That's all I have to say on Chaos and Multiplayer.. hopefully there's some decent info there as it took quite a bit of writing.. hey, perhaps I should make this into an article..
Just go and watch the video! 
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