Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War

System requirements 1 GHz Pentium III or equivalent AMD Athlon XP processor, 256 MB
RAM, 1.8 GB free hard drive space, 4x CD-ROM, 32 MB DirectX(R) 9.0b compatible AGP
video card with Hardware Transform and Lighting, DirectX 9.0b compatible 16-bit sound card
Input methods Keyboard, Mouse

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Relic
Entertainment based on Games Workshop's popular tabletop wargame, Warhammer 40,000. It
was released by THQ on September 20, 2004 in North America. Since its release, three
expansion packs have been released: Winter Assault in 2005, Dark Crusade in 2006 and
Soulstorm in 2008. The sequel, Dawn of War II was released in February 2009.

The Game of the Year edition was released on September 21, 2005 in the USA and on September
23 in Europe, containing 4 exclusive maps. Later, the Game of the Year edition and Winter
Assault were bundled in the Gold Edition in the USA, released in March 2006. In November
2006, Dawn of War and its first two expansions were released together as The Platinum
Collection in the USA or as the Dawn of War Anthology in the PAL regions. More recently, in
March 2008, all three expansions along with Dawn of War have been released as The Complete
Collection.
Contents

Gameplay

Gameplay is initially focused on capturing and holding strategic locations on the battlefield.
These control points are captured by infantry squads and provide resources to construct
additional units and buildings or unlock certain units in an army's tech tree. Battles are won
either by holding a certain number of control points for a period of time or by destroying all of
the opposing armies' HQ structures.

Resource management
A squad of Space Marines engage a group of Orks next to a Strategic Point.
Two primary resources exist: requisition and power. These resources are not harvested or
otherwise gathered by the player's units. Instead, requisition is generated constantly by the army
headquarters. The player can increase the rate at which requisition is acquired by using infantry
squads to capture and control "Strategic Points", "Critical Locations" and "Relics" on the
battlefield. These points, with the exception of the "Critical Location", can be reinforced with
defensive structures that also increase the rate of requisition accumulation. Though resources are
unlimited, all sources of requisition will eventually decay, dramatically decreasing their supply
rate.

Power is gathered by building generators, with each headquarters supporting up to six

generators. Additionally, some maps have "slag deposits", upon which more powerful generators
can be constructed to produce power faster. As the player progresses up the tech tree, reliance on
power increases.

In addition to these primary resources, the Orks also have Ork resource. Ork resource is
generated continuously by Waaagh! banners and is used up when creating Ork troops and
vehicles. The number of banners and the size of the Ork population determines the Ork's
Waaagh! level which in turn determines the technology level the player has access to.

Warfare

Infantry units are given orders as squads rather than as individuals. Most fully reinforced squads
consist of about 10 units, and move and attack as a single entity. Squads can produce and replace
their own units anywhere in the field. They can be equipped with special weapons and have
heroes or special units attached to them. For example, a Space Marine squad starts with 4
marines, but can be expanded up to 8 standard marines plus a Sergeant, and up to four individual
marines can replace their standard boltguns with various heavy weapons. A Force Commander,
Librarian, Apothecary, or a Skull Probe can also be added, bringing the total number to 10. The
player is also free to choose particular upgrades and can specialize each squad for a specific
purpose.

Infantry units can fight in both ranged and hand-to-hand combat, and most units will have
weapons for both types of combat, and if attacked in close combat will have to respond in kind.
Hand-to-hand combat is played out as a series of synchronized attack animations between
combatants. When one combatant defeats the other, a Finishing move known in Dawn of War as
Sync Kill plays out as the victorious fighter finishes his opponent off in a dramatic and violent
manner. More powerful units, such as Heroes, Walkers, and monstrous Super Units, may have
personalized Sync Kills against each other.

Vehicles are highly resistant to most standard infantry weaponry, so they must be targeted with
specific heavy weapons (e.g. anti-tank rockets) to be destroyed. Vehicles can also be upgraded
with multiple weapon systems, usually forcing a choice between either anti-infantry or anti-
vehicle armaments. Walkers are a type of vehicle often armed with powerful heavy melee
weapons, causing devastating damage in close combat.

In addition to a typical hitpoint system, infantry units also have morale. Morale applies to a
squad as a whole. When morale drops to zero, the squad "breaks"; at this point the squad's
ranged accuracy, damage dealt in mêlée, and defensive capability while using cover are
significantly reduced. However the squads movement speed is slightly increased to allow it to
flee. That said, the unit must still be ordered away from the combat for it to escape. The squad's
morale will regenerate on its own while the squad is not in combat, and the squad will "regroup"
and regain combat effectiveness once it reaches a certain threshold. Just as with hitpoints,
different types of units have different amounts of morale to resist breaking under duress, and
adding the leadership of a commander unit will also significantly increase their morale. Some
weapon types, such as flamethrowers, sniper rifles and artillery bombardment, are especially
effective at demoralizing the enemy. Favorable terrain such as craters, ruins or thick jungle give
units a defensive cover bonus against both hitpoint and morale damage, while water and swamps
will decrease their defensive ability.

Units

The number of units a player may field at one time is determined by population and vehicle
'squad caps'; these limit the number of infantry troops and vehicles a player may have on the
battlefield. Squad caps may be increased using methods differing between races. Most units have
a melee attack and a ranged attack. Units are often specialized to be better using one attack type.
Certain units are "hard capped", meaning a player may only have a certain amount of them, such
as Skull probes and Apothecaries (both of the Space marine faction) being limited to 4, and
commanders and ultimate units being limited to 1. All units also have stances; these affect how
the units respond to enemies. There are three types of units: commanders, infantry, and vehicles.

Commanders are hero units, and each commander can only be fielded one at a time. If they
perish, they may be rebuilt. A sub-class is the semi-commander unit, which has many abilities
like the commander unit but several may be fielded at once. Infantry are foot soldiers, and may
either be regular or heavy, with heavy infantry being much tougher than normal infantry.
Vehicles serve as heavy weapon platforms and/or transports, and include tanks, artillery, troop
carriers and walkers.

All units, aside from most heroes and vehicles, come in squads. These are groups of infantry that
are commanded as a single entity. They may be reinforced with additional members, equipped
with special weapons, or be attached to hero units. Some squads have special abilities, such as
grenades, teleportation, and stealth, unlocked with research or leader units. Unit longevity is
determined by their health and morale points, which govern a squad's fighting effectiveness.
Both are reduced by weaponry; morale recharges independently or due to unit abilities, while
health is increased by natural regeneration, healer units, or repair.

Buildings

Aside from their initial headquarters, races may build research and resource centers, unit-
producing facilities, and defensive fortifications. Research buildings may research special
upgrades that increase the abilities of that race's units, while resource buildings produce
resources. Unit facilities produce infantry and vehicles. In order to access their next tier, a race
must build certain buildings to unlock new technologies and buildings.

Setting
The planet Tarturus as shown from high orbit.
Main article: Warhammer 40,000

The game is set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, a dystopian vision of the future. Humanity
has forged a galaxy-spanning empire, The Imperium, with the Immortal Emperor as humanity's
leader and a living god. The Imperium is in a state of constant war with the Orks, Eldar, and the
human servants of Chaos, desperately fighting to preserve the human race from extinction. The
single player campaign is set on the planet Tartarus.
Factions
Main articles: Space Marines (Warhammer 40,000), Chaos Space Marines, Eldar (Warhammer
40,000), and Ork (Warhammer 40,000)

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War features four playable armies.

The Space Marines are the elite, highly skilled and genetically modified superhuman soldiers of
the Imperium. Inducted at a young age, each Space Marine receives biological modifications, a
lifetime of rigorous training, and lives to experience centuries of endless battle in the defense of
humanity. Space Marines have the highest morale in the game. Their troops and vehicles are
more expensive, however, reflecting their limited numbers. The Space Marines are the only
playable race in the single player section of the game, and the 11-mission campaign features the
3rd Company of the Blood Ravens chapter as the protagonists, led by Captain Gabriel Angelos
and Librarian Isador Akios.

The Chaos Marines are traitors that, ten thousand years ago, chose to abandon their duties to
humanity, betray the Immortal Emperor of Mankind and the Imperium, and instead worship the
Gods of Chaos, accepting promises of power and immortality. In Dawn of War, they use troops
that are corrupted mirrors of their loyal Imperial counterparts. In addition, they employ morale-
draining daemons and psykers. The campaign features the Alpha Legion, with their leaders,
Sindri Myr and Lord Bale.

The Eldar are a sophisticated psychic race, ancient and technologically advanced, that have
fought the fell powers of Chaos for millions of years before mankind's birth. Eldar in Dawn of
War are fast and agile. Swift both on foot and in their hovering grav-vehicles, they are also able
to move quickly around the map via webway gates. The campaign features a warhost hailing
from the craftworld Biel-Tan, led their leader, Farseer Macha.

The Orks are a savage, brutal and warlike species who exist to seek the thrilling challenge of
battle. While generally lacking in sophisticated technology, they are physically powerful, using
brute force and crude weapons that well complement their tendency to attack in massive hordes.
In large enough numbers, they gain morale immunity. The tech tree for Orks differs from the
other races in that it depends on the amount of orks currently in your army and the number of
erected WAAAGH!! banners. Several clans are featured in the campaign, as is the hulking Ork
Warboss, Orkamungus.

In addition to the four fully playable races, the Imperial Guard also make appearances in the
single player campaign as allies of the Space Marines, led by Colonel Brom. They would later be
made into the featured playable race in the first expansion pack, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of
War: Winter Assault.

In the second Dawn of War expansion pack, Dark Crusade, there are an additional 2 races to be
played online and solo, Tau and the Necrons. Note: to play as Space Marines, Chaos, Eldar, Orks
or Imperial Guard online you must have the original DoW game installed.

The third and last Dawn of War expansion pack, Soulstorm, adds another two playable armies:
Sisters of Battle and Dark Eldar.

Plot
The Blood Ravens make planetfall.
See also: List of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War characters
The Single player campaign is set on the planet Tartarus, an Imperial planet that is currently
being besieged by a large Ork. The campaign begins with Colonel Brom and his 37th Tartarus
Planetary Defense Force Regiment under attack by a large group of Orks. The Blood Ravens 3rd
company, led by Captain Gabriel Angelos makes planet fall and saves Brom and his remaining
men and then proceed to exterminate the remaining Orks in the vicinity. In the aftermath of the
battle, Gabriel is joined by the Librarian Isador Akios. Brom asks Isador about the recent
sterilization of the planet Cyrene; however Isador makes it clear he is not to bring it up again.
The Blood Ravens then prepare to attack the Orks surrounding the port, in order to protect the
evacuation craft.

Isador, sensing that the Captain's mind is troubled, realises why, and tells him that there was
nothing he could have done to save his home planet of Cyrene. However, Gabriel tells him not to
mention it again, stating that his homeworld was his responsibility. After the extermination of the
Orks, scouts reveal to Gabriel that Chaos forces are operating on the planet. Soon after this they
are joined by an Inquisitor, Mordecai Toth, who orders them to leave the planet, warning that a
Warp Storm is approaching the planet and will consume the planet in 3 days time. Toth orders a
complete evacuation of the planet, but Gabriel refuses, stating his desire to investigate the
possible threat of Chaos. Toth then implies that Gabriel's actions on Cyrene have clouded his
judgement, making him 'see Chaos where it doesn't exist'. On further investigation, it is revealed
that the Eldar are also operating on the planet. The Blood Ravens find an altar dedicated to
Chaos, confirming Gabriel's suspicions, and resolves to destroy the traitors, unknowing that
Isador is already under the influence of Sindri Myr, the Chaos Sorcerer of the Alpha Legion.
Gabriel executes the Traitor Isador.

Upon destruction of most of the remaining Eldar by Gabriel's forces, their leader, Farseer Macha
pleads with Gabriel to heed her words; however during their moment of distraction, Sindri steals
an artifact, which Macha reveals to be a key to "the undoing of this world". When Gabriel tries to
inquire for more information, the Farseer shows surprise at his ignorance, commenting that the
Inquisitor 'keeps them on a short leash'. Macha implies that Toth knows more than he is telling,
and advises Gabriel and Isador to ask him, before telling the Blood Ravens where to find the
entrenched Chaos forces.

After a pitched battle with Alpha Legion forces, (including traitorous Imperial Guard regiments
who have been corrupted by Chaos) Gabriel and Isador confront Toth in the ruins of an Imperial
Temple. He reveals that the world is cursed, and bears an artifact of Chaos: the Maledictum, a
stone that contains the essence of a daemon. The forces of Chaos now bear all that they need to
unearth it. Toth also explains that the Eldar were fighting to protect the stone, as it was they who
imprisoned the daemon in the stone originally. As he puts it 'as Chaos's oldest enemy, the Eldar
see themselves as the only capable defence against its influence. And we have paid for their
arrogance'. Toth also says that the power of the Maledictum is enough 'to turn the faithful and
drive men mad', having already corrupted much of the population of Tartarus and the Imperial
Guard, as well as affecting the Blood Ravens somewhat. Gabriel and Toth form an alliance and
make plans to find and destroy the Maledictum; however, Isador is then completely overcome by
the temptations of Sindri and Chaos, and resolves to steal the Maledictum for himself.

The Blood Ravens and remaining loyal guardsmen destroy the army of Lord Bale, who was
betrayed by Sindri, during which time Isador seizes his chance and steals the Maledictum.
Inquisitor Toth then reveals that he had known that Chaos was corrupting one of the Space
Marine commanders, but he had suspected Gabriel and they had paid the price for his error. In
the face of Isador's betrayal, Gabriel pursues him in an effort to bring him to justice. The Blood
Raven forces are successful in destroying Isador’s troops and Gabriel defeats Isador in single
combat. Isador pleads Gabriel for forgiveness and a chance to redeem himself. Gabriel tells him,
"If redemption is what you seek, then that is what I will give you" before shooting him in the
head with his bolt pistol, using him as an example to his men about the dangers of Chaos.

Meanwhile Sindri had attempted to use the power of the Maledictum for his own ends,
transforming himself into a Daemon Prince with the stone's power. Inquisitor Toth bequeaths the
Daemon Hammer, God-Splitter, to Gabriel since he feels that it is Gabriel that will end this battle
and not him. They then, with the Blood Ravens and the aid of the remaining Eldar forces of
Farseer Macha, attack the Chaos forces, eventually killing Sindri. The final scene sees the Eldar
and Blood Ravens standing around the Maledictum. Despite the warnings of Farseer Macha, who
begs them not to destroy the stone, Gabriel obeys Inquisitor Toth and his own judgement, and
destroys the Maledictum with God-Splitter. The Eldar forces then retreat after Macha
prophetically warns Gabriel that he has doomed them all. Inquisitor Toth and the Blood Ravens
leave to be evacuated. However, Gabriel stays behind, and encounters the Daemon of Khorne
which he unwittingly released from the Maledictum. The daemon lets Gabriel and his men leave
safely as thanks for its release, but tells Gabriel that he will soon come to claim him and his men.
Gabriel vows to destroy the daemon, before following after his departing men.

Reception
Review scores
Publication Score
Game Informer 9.25/10[3]
GamePro 5/5[4]
GameSpot 8.8/10[5]
GameSpy 4.5/5 stars[6]
IGN 8.8/10[7]
PC Gamer UK 91%[8]
Computer Gaming
World 4.5 out of 5[8]
Aggregate scores
Aggregator Score
GameRankings 87% (based on 65 reviews)[8]
Metacritic 86% (based on 51 reviews)[9]

Upon release, the critical response to Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War was on the whole
positive. It was congratulated most frequently for its varied and balanced factions and units, its
polished presentation, in particular the high quality of unit animations, and the user interface.

One of the first reviews was by IGN, who awarded the game 8.8/10, in particular praising the
large level of graphical and animation detail.[10] They also cited the skirmish and multiplayer as
one of the game's strongest points.[7] Gamespot came to similar conclusions, in particular
praising the game's presentation and audio.[5]

Conversely, an area of the game that drew criticism was the single player campaign, which many
reviewers found to be too short and unchallenging.[11][12] Another area of weakness identified
was a lack of originality in the gameplay. However, these weaknesses were considered to be
minor, IGN summarising "Nothing about the gameplay will really surprise anyone (though the
addition of reinforceable squads is pretty neat) but it doesn't particularly matter...Relic kicked ass
creating a great piece of entertainment."[7] The French website Jeux PC (lit. "PC Games")
awarded the game 16 out of 20, in particular praising the simplicity of the user interface and the
intensity of the battles.[13] German reviewer Daniel Matschijewsky awarded the game 83 out of
100, in particular praising the user interface and the sound, but identified the campaign and the
AI as weaker areas.[14]

Overall Dawn of War was well received by critics, earning aggregate scores of 86/100 from
Metacritic[9] and 87/100 from Game Rankings[8].

References

1. ^ "PC release dates". GameSpot.

http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/wh40kdawnofwar/similar.html?mode=versions. Retrieved on
2007-10-17.
2. ^ "Release dates". GameFAQs.
http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/data/919355.html. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
3. ^ Biessener, Adam. "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War review at Game Informer". Game
Informer. http://www.gameinformer.com/Games/Review/200411/R04.1119.1239.41106.htm.
Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
4. ^ "Review: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War for PC on GamePro.com". GamePro.
http://www.gamepro.com/computer/pc/games/reviews/38766.shtml. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
5. ^ a b Kasavin, Greg. "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War for PC Review". GameSpot.
http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/wh40kdawnofwar/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gs
summary&tag=summary%3Breview&page=3. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
6. ^ "GameSpy: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Review". Gamespy.
http://uk.pc.gamespy.com/pc/warhammer-40000-dawn-of-war/548862p1.html. Retrieved on
2007-10-17.
7. ^ a b c "IGN: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Review". IGN.
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/549/549795p3.html. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
8. ^ a b c d "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Reviews". Game Rankings.
http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages4/919355.asp. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
9. ^ a b "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (pc: 2004): Reviews". Metacritic.
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/warhammer40000dawnofwar?q=dawn%20of%2
0war%20warhammer. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
10. ^ "IGN: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Review". IGN.
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/549/549795p2.html. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
11. ^ "PC Zone: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War". PC Zone.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=109512. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
12. ^ Kasavin, Greg. "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War for PC Review". GameSpot.
http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/wh40kdawnofwar/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gs
summary&tag=summary%3Breview&page=1. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
13. ^ "Test Warhammer 40 000 : Dawn of war" (in French). Jeux PC.
http://www.jeuxvideopc.com/test/7733-warhammer-40-000-dawn-of-war.php. Retrieved on
2007-10-17.
14. ^ "Titelstory: Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War" (in German). Gamestar.
http://www.gamestar.de/magazin/titelstorys/warhammer_40k_dawn_of_war/1348922/warhamme
r_40k_dawn_of_war_p_wertung.html. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.

Further reading

* Expansion packs:
o Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Winter Assault
o Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Dark Crusade
o Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Soulstorm
 * "Index Astartes – Blood Ravens". White Dwarf: Australian Edition (298). November 2004.
ISSN 0265-8712.
o The same information can be found in "Index Astartes – Blood Ravens". White Dwarf:
UK Edition (305). ISSN 0265-8712.
* Goto, Cassern (2004). Dawn of War. Nottingham: Black Library. ISBN 1-84416-152-8.
* Goto, Cassern (2005). Dawn of War: Ascension. Nottingham: Black Library. ISBN 1-84416-
285-0.
* Goto, Cassern (2006). Dawn of War: Tempest. Nottingham: Black Library. ISBN 1-84416-
399-7.

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