Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III (Video Game)
Ted Hentschke
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Developed by Relic Entertainment
Published by SEGA
Available on PC through Steam
Rated M for Mature
When Dawn of War 3 was announced back in 2016, I just about shat my pants. After the collapse of THQ and Dawn of War 2’s status as a “cult hit,” it seemed unlikely that anyone would actually do something with the IP. For seven years it lay dormant, until in a fashion befitting the good people at Relic it rose from the ashes with an epic CG trailer. For those unfamiliar, Dawn of War has a history of epic CG openings, and Dawn of War 3 carried the torch like a champion.
I got a chance to talk to the devs at E3 after the announcement, and the nerd in me could hardly be contained. I have about 1000+ combined hours in the franchise, with a lion’s share of those in Dawn of War 2. For me, this was like Christ returning to lead us to the strategy game promised land. What I saw of the closed doors gameplay trailer was slightly concerning. The game promised to return to a much grander scale, but a lot of the combat seemed frantic and unfocused. There were a lot of explosions on screen, but I wondered how realistically manageable that would all be on the fly. Still, the game had a lot of time before launch, and I was eager to see what more was in store for us.
I have to say, seeing the final package, I’m stunned that not that much has changed. At three teams, a single multiplayer game type, and 17 campaign levels, this is the smallest Dawn of War package to date. Fans of the franchise will find this to be incredibly disappointing. The previous Dawn of War games launched with four teams (Tyranids and Chaos being semi-”secret”), at least two multiplayer map types, and in Dawn of War 2’s case one of the most robust and interesting strategy game campaigns I’ve ever played. Everyone was expecting some kind of fourth team twist (fan money was on Necrons), but nope, what you see with Dawn of War 3 is what you get.
The vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate of the Warhammer 40k universe.
I don’t want to write this entire review as a disgruntled fan, angry that my favorite team wasn’t included or that the game didn’t live up to my overhyped expectations. The reality is, they scaled back on the teams so that they could focus on quality and balance. As much as I love Dawn of War 2, heavens knows the amount of patches it took to get the game in working multiplayer order. So taking a step back, is Dawn of War 3 worth the $60 of strategy game fans?
I’ll break this review down into two sections, as the single and multiplayer are really two completely different experiences. I’ll start with the campaign, as it’s much smaller and easier to talk about. You’ll spend your time equally between the Space Marines, Eldar, and Orks (five levels each, with two end levels where you play as all three). Gabriel Angelos of the Space Marine’s Blood Ravens chapter arrives to assist the Imperial House Varlock, which is besieged by an army of Orks. The Eldar’s Farseer Macha comes in aid of her Craftworld and the Autarch Kyre, who is in search of a powerful artifact he believes will restore their status as leaders of the galaxy. The Ork Warboss Gorgutz is aware that other people want something shiny, and wants it for himself. Very Orky.
He’s gonna take yo stuff wif ‘is fing!
It’s soon revealed that the MacGuffin is the fabled Spear of Khaine, which is trapped on the warp wandering world of Acheron. The Space Marines actually take the backseat this time, as the Eldar and Orks show up with rivaling legions. Kyre has brought an entire Craftworld to bear, a rare occurrence for the dwindling Eldar race. The Orks always have the numbers advantage, but the Eldar in their arrogance underestimate Gorgutz’s cunning brutality and soon find themselves in a pitched battle. The Inquisition, outnumbered and outgunned as usual, does what it does best and just blows the ever living shit out of everything. In the middle are the Blood Ravens, valiantly playing the role of the galaxy’s bitch as usual.
To Dawn of War 3’s credit, it does a good job of making you care equally for each of the characters and doesn’t bring them into direct conflict often. Each are dealing with problems within their own faction or grander threats, making their eventual cooperation feel less jarring. I can’t really reveal how they work together or why, but I will say it feels about as smooth as an Eldar Farseer, a Space Marine Chapter Master, and an Ork Warboss working together can feel.
Most of the campaign’s narrative is explored in these between mission dialogues, because they wanted to see just how far they could get away from the motto, “show, don’t tell.”
One of the things that made Dawn of War 2 so fantastic was that the campaign was a completely unique experience from the multiplayer. It was more of an RPG, with heroes to level and gear to collect. At the hardest difficulties, properly using your abilities became absolutely crucial for victory. It frankly did the whole hero combat thing a hell of a lot better than Dawn of War 3.
I know, here I go again comparing it to Dawn of War 2. On it’s own, Dawn of War 3’s campaign is quite good, with faint echos of what made Dawn of War 2 so fantastic. It once again focuses on the hero combat aspect, with at least one level for each team that entirely relied on your heroes for victory. These levels are easily the best, with a great variety of challenges and interesting encounters that would both test you and show off your elite unit’s power. Even the levels that are more of the standard base building all have some kind of element that makes them interesting, with expanding maps and unique objectives that help you learn the various teams while not feeling like a tutorial. The final level is also awesome, and I hope is used as a template for future game types and DLC level additions. Once again without spoiling anything, you use the three main heroes to beat a big bad thing, chaining together their unique defensive and offensive skills to overcome a monumental foe. It felt like Dawn of War 2’s Last Stand mode, which is a good thing.
Smashing Orks is now fun AND educational!
Overall, the campaign is a fun and effective way to introduce you to the mechanics. As a story, there are a lot of plot points that just don’t feel satisfying. The whole Eldar prophecy of the “Wayfarers” just plot twists out of nowhere, and I found it impossible to care about. There are great moments, like when Taldeer and Ronahn restore the Wraithknight. And in what should be an equally epic moment, Lady Solaria just kind of predictably shows up. It’s never bad, just a bit predictable and hard to really care about. As a package, the campaign doesn’t justify a purchase.
But strategy game campaigns rarely do. No one really bought Starcraft 2 to see if Jim and Sarah finally wind up happily ever after. You buy strategy games for pitched online battles. On that front, Dawn of War 3 delivers significantly better. As evidenced by the user review section of the Steam page, this is a controversial opinion. I think that Relic doomed themselves in marketing, billing the game as a mix between Dawn of War’s massive battles and Dawn of War 2’s hero combat. In reality, those two games were completely different. Calling Dawn of War 3 a combination is rudimentary and inaccurate.
With maybe 70 multiplayer matches under my belt, I can safely say that Dawn of War 3 is entirely its own beast. If you have to compare it to something, it’s more Starcraft 2 than anything, and only because of the amount of micro. Fair warning, I am about to get into some pretty hypernerd minutia here. Before I go any further, I’m just going to say upfront that the Dawn of War 3 multiplayer experience is good. I have not had nearly enough time to delve into all the metadata, but from what I can tell the game manages its asymmetrical balance well. The more you get into it, the more you will understand how these three different teams have very different plans to deal with different threats. I recommend Eldar for noobs, Space Marines for experienced players, and weirdly enough Orks for experts. This is a very basic assessment, as each team has a significant amount of depth to master before you can consider yourself competitive. Most importantly, each team is very fun to play.
If this all looks overwhelming, don’t worry. After 100 games, maybe you’ll figure out what all the units are doing.
Okay, that’s the basics. Now to get into the hypernerd minutia. The initial hero selection of Dawn of War 2 has been replaced with a group of three Elite units and three Doctrines pre-match. The Doctrines will always be active and offer some alteration to a unit, such as Space Marine Listening Posts being slightly upgraded or the Eldar Howling Banshees silencing on a charge. Most of these upgrades are specifically useful at a certain stage of the game, giving you the option to either spec heavily into a certain tier or diversify.
Your three champions are just as important, as each has their own power level and point cost. There’s a command resource you have to accumulate before they can be deployed, which you acquire over time by controlling specialized command points. The strongest of these units costs 10, the weakest 2, though most are between 3 and 7. These units range from a squad of specialists to powerful heroes to giant hulking juggernauts. None of these units are just universally good, with the towering Wraithknight being countered by a few Lascannon Predators. Still, even the 4 cost Gabriel Angelos can easily tip the scale of a battle in your favor. On top of that, each champion has their own doctrine that is active while deployed. There are two to choose from, and can significantly alter the effectiveness of your units.
Those are some nice infantry squads you got there. Would be a real shame if you forgot to buy anti-armor. A real shame.
New players will likely gravitate toward the default Space Marines, but I’d actually advise against this. The Space Marine playstyle requires a good amount of early game micro to be effective, as their units in general are easily countered. The early game Howling Banshees of the Eldar and enough Ork Boyz can tear apart your Assault Marines, requiring clever Blind Grenade placement from your Scout Marines and some Devastators to take the field. The team is relatively straightforward mechanically—plasma is plasma, bolters are bolters, Dreadnaughts have come to destroy you—but the early game will be tough for new players.
Instead, I’d go for the Eldar first. While you might think that the Orks would be the most mechanically straightforward, there’s a scrap mechanic I’ll get into later that complicates their metagame significantly. For the Eldar, most of their units perform a single function with great efficacy. They have the most diverse light unit roster, starting off with the Dire Avenger. The Dire Avenger is a relatively weak ranged DPS unit that is bolstered significantly by their cheap cost and a grenade ability. They won’t hold up in a firefight with other ranged units, but the grenades can tip the scales. From there you have the choice between the melee specialist Howling Banshees, the heavy ranged dps Dark Reapers, the stealth sniper Rangers, and the single target beam damage Shadow Specters. This infantry diversity gives them a significant edge in the early game, allowing them to take the field while your opponents are still trying to build their buildings.
The Heavy infantry for the Eldar are strong, but incredibly expensive. There are only two, Wraithguards and Wraithblades, each causing either incredibly high ranged or melee DPS respectively. They are incredibly slow moving without the Fleet of Foot buff from the Webway Gate (more on that in a second), but can wreck armored units when properly supported. From there you have the Eldar vehicle roster, which other than the Fire Prism is kind of lackluster. There’s the skirmishing Viper and transport Falcon, but I found these all far too vulnerable to anti-vehicle units. They benefit from being hover units, allowing them to pass over otherwise impassable terrain. Which is nice, but no amount of flying over gaps makes up for being deleted by a Lascannon.
Although I will admit, shooting giant lasers while floating over a pit of lava is pretty cool.
What makes the Eldar unique is their ability to teleport their base. This is not a game where you can turtle at your main base, meaning that most teams have to weigh the security of their outposts with their expanding map presence. The Eldar can just warp to where they need to be, decreasing their overall expansion cost. Which is great, since a key component to Eldar combat might is the Webway Gates. Webway Gates provide the Fleet of Foot buff and shield regeneration to nearby units. Since the Eldar are relatively fragile, your mobility is key. Lumbering Wraithblades close the distance much faster when they are sprinting. Eldar can also establish teleportation networks between their buildings. Linking your outposts to quickly relocate your limited forces is key.
Next up you should try the Space Marines, the “good guys” of the Warhammer 40k universe. Playing Space Marines is far less straightforward than it seems. This is all a game of knowing what counters to build and when. The invisible Scouts are great for reconnaissance and disruption with their blind grenades, but their weak ranged attack makes them a serious pick decision when compared to the far more robust Tactical Marine Squads. Tactical Marines are the strongest and most expensive basic ranged infantry, and can be upgraded with either an AOE flamer or burst damage plasma guns. Both options are viable, but cancel the other out. You’ll have to assess the situation and build the correct option, often before even engaging your opponent. Scout Snipers and Assault Marines round out your roster, countering ranged units effectively.
The big infantry punch for the Space Marines comes from their deployable Devastator squads, which come in Heavy Bolter and Lascannon variety. Lascannons are a simple anti-vehicle long ranged beam infantry, while the Heavy Bolters slow and deal massive dps to infantry. Each has a setup and teardown time, meaning they are countered by any kind of assault infantry. Still, the damage they deal can give you a serious tactical advantage.
Setting up oppressive ranged dominance while your Assault Marines gum up their counter units is basically the Space Marine’s bread and butter.
The Space Marine vehicle roster is pretty cut-and-dried, but effective at what it does. The Whirlwind artillery is probably the most interesting, with serious ranged damage capabilities on a very fragile frame. The Land Speeder is a quick and mobile strike unit, offering decent anti-infantry damage and good anti-vehicle when equipped with a melta. Dreadnaughts have come to destroy you, and are super good at it. There are two Predator variants—Lascannon and regular—which deal heavy damage to vehicles and infantry respectively. They are all pretty simple, but incredibly good at fulfilling their roles.
The Space Marine’s main utility comes from the ability to queue up to three drop pod units to deploy on the map. Their entire roster can be dropped in, from the basic Scouts to a Dreadnaught. The ability to strategically drop a counter unit exactly when needed is extremely valuable. It’s a good idea to keep a Lascannon Devastator in your back pocket in case an unexpected Fire Prism rears its ugly head.
Now “Orks” and “highest complexity team” don’t sound like they fit together in a sentence without a “not” between them. In terms of actual late game micro, the teams are all about the same. What makes the Orks complicated is their unique Scrap mechanic. In order to tech up, the Orks need to maintain a Waaagh! level, which is achieved by building Waaagh! Towers. You need a certain level of Waaagh! before you build certain units and upgrades. In addition, Waaagh! Towers also drop Scrap, which Ork units use to upgrade their abilities. For example, Shoota Boyz can grab a pile of Scrap to upgrade themselves with Stikkbombs. Every unit—including Elites—can upgrade themselves with Scrap, making accumulating scrap a high priority. Furthermore, high quantities of Scrap can be turned into vehicles at a reduced cost.
And then, once you’ve made sure you equip all your Boyz with the best bits, you can attack move to victory.
However, the Waaagh! Towers that make the scrap require a heavy power investment. These towers can also be activated with the massive AoE buff, also called Waaagh!, meaning it isn’t always wise to hide these valuable resources away in a safe base. You’ll want Waaagh! Towers at your outposts for the quick cheap vehicles, upgrades, and buffs. But the towers themselves are fragile. While the Eldar and Space marines are safe to tech up their stronghold without fearing losing the resources, the Ork game is significantly more of a calculated risk.
As for the actual Ork roster, it’s actually lacking a lot of the more iconic Ork Boyz. Some of these, like the Stormboyz, are now part of the Elite roster. But my favorite Flash Gitz and Painboy aren’t anywhere to be found. It makes me a sad git. But the staple Choppas, Shootas, and Nobz is all here. Ya also got da Defgun Lootaz to bring da dakka dakka, and some Tankbustaz to make their shiny metal boxes inta Scrap. Da biggest and baddest of da Orkz bring some nasty scrap heaps to da fight, wif nasty Killa Kans shootin’ rockets and Deff Dreads makin’ ‘em dead wif some right nasty claws. An’ if dat ain’t enuf’ to do da trick, brin in da Big Trakk wif a Supa Kannon. Dat’ll teach em not to mess wif Gorgutz and ‘is WAAAGH!
Ork war machines are surprisingly effective, despite being literally just giant piles of scrap powered entirely by the power of positive thinking. That’s canon.
Ugh, sorry, got all Orky there for a second. It’s hard not to, those little green murder machines are adorable.
Right, so those are the three teams you’ll be playing in the multiplayer. Even knowing how the teams play differently, this is a significantly different game from the other Dawn of War titles. I was very good at Dawn of War 2. I am not very good yet at Dawn of War 3. This game is way more micro intensive and fast paced. Be prepared to get stomped by more experienced players.
One of the biggest changes is that losing squads isn’t as punishing as it used to be. In Dawn of War 2, you could practically call a match if a Tactical Marine squad got wiped out. In DoW 3, I’ve lost my entire army a few times and still came back for a victory. A lot of this has to do with the new Escalation Phase system. Every ten minutes, the game proceeds to the next escalation phase. Earlier levels of escalation refund a percentage of unit cost on death while resource nodes produce only the base amount. This promotes early level skirmishes, as lost units and territory aren’t as costly. As you advance to further stages, the value of the territory you’ve managed to hold increases dramatically. So don’t be afraid to make some daring moves to try to take out an outpost while you still have the chance.
The game’s specialized unit roster also allows for much greater combat swings. You might have all of your Tactical Marines wiped out by a surprise Dreadnaught drop, but Lascannon Devastators will make quick work of that Dreadnaught in return. The ultimate abilities, like the Eldar Eldrich Storm, are designed to wipe out vast swaths of dudes for just a couple of command points. Units also no longer level up, so don’t be discouraged if your few squads of Assault Marines get countered by a wave of Howling Banshees. Just build some Heavy Bolter Devastators and get even.
You might think that the giant blue death storm means a sure loss for the Space Marines, but those Whirlwinds have a rather important message for those clumped up Wraithguard.
One thing that feels similar to Dawn of War 2 is that early game base rushing just isn’t possible. While Dawn of War 2 focused on victory points to end the game, Dawn of War 3 has you attacking a power core defended by a massive turret. Before you even fight the turret, you have to first take out a shield generator that provides heavy cover for your opponent’s ranged units. The turret itself is a giant death laser that can delete your army if you don’t spread it out. After that, the power core can lock itself down for a period of time, giving your opponent time to counterattack. It’s quite the investment, and a half-baked assault is a sure death sentence.
All of these factors put together make for a much more active, chaotic experience. Elite units are the stars here, with massive abilities that can quickly make several squads into a spray of red mist. Relic has stated that they wanted the game to break down into pushes based on the deaths of these Elites, and it shows. Death for an Elite isn’t permanent, but a redeploy timer increases with each death. For the most expensive units, this can get up to 7 minutes. It’s a big loss when one goes down, but their power is so great that holding them back just isn’t an option. Your best bet is to try to counter your Elite’s weakness with your army and micro the shit out of them.
A few other miscellaneous points of data you should know: you can’t retreat anymore, and not all control points are created equal. No more can you push the retreat command and wait as your units scurry back to your base to tend to their wounds. If you want to run back to base, you have to hoof it. Control points also now come loaded with a certain number of nodes, of either the requisition, power, or command resource variety. You’ll learn quickly per map where the most valuable points are, but it took me a few games to learn this subtle difference.
The mini-map shows you what points have what kind of resources, so it’s up to you to prioritize while your noob teammate just rushes the center.
So, does this all equate to good changes or bad changes? I’ll start by saying you have to approach Dawn of War 3 with a different kind of mentality. This is a very intense, micro heavy game that at the same time offers you a cushion for fucking up. The best advice I can give is to get out there and get your dudes deleted. You will lose whole armies, and learn how to not let that happen again. Keep at it, and soon you’ll be the guy deleting the armies of dudes.
What I miss most in Dawn of War 3 is the stuff that made the Dawn of War games unique. Gone are the brutal synch-kills, spectacle showcases of goor that solidified these games as the king of the grimdark. They were abandoned for faster and more fluid combat, but come on. I want to watch my assault marines eviscerate some Orks, not just have them fall down. They also have done away with the cover and directional combat. Instead of the various levels of light and heavy cover, there are now just heavy cover points. These points can only be attacked by melee assault units, and just block the ranged damage for units inside. It’s disappointingly basic when compared to the complicated heavy cover flanks and firing zones of Dawn of War 2.
I will conclude in two parts. For fans of the franchise, I do not see Dawn of War 3 pleasing you. On just a sheer comparison of tone and content, it doesn’t stand up to the staggering value you can get now with Dawn of War/2 and their various expansions. The previous games aren’t cheap (especially for how old they are), but have aged incredibly well. Now looking at it objectively with fresh eyes on the franchise, Dawn of War 3 is an incredibly deep strategy game with a lot to master. The variety of Elite units and Doctrines makes this game far more than just a three-way battle for supremacy. There’s so much exploration to do in different loadouts that I can see this game lasting you dozens of hours. But is it the hundreds of hours I got out of the previous two games? I’m not sure yet. It’s a good game, but a solid star below the rating I’d give its predecessors.
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