Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Complete Guide (79 Sections) | Ludo.guide

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Welcome to the grim darkness of the 41st Millennium! Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, developed by Relic Entertainment, throws you into brutal real-time strategy battles across the galaxy. You'll command iconic Space Marine chapters, brutal Orks, cunning Eldar, and more, managing your forces and crushing your enemies in desperate campaigns and skirmishes.

This guide will help you conquer the game's challenges, from mastering crucial micro-management strategies to understanding unit strengths and weaknesses. We'll cover detailed mission walkthroughs and help you overcome tough opponents, including formidable Ork Warbosses like 'Eadcrumpa and Arbuttz, ensuring you can dominate the battlefield and achieve victory in this classic RTS.

FAQ/Walkthrough

This guide provides a complete walkthrough for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. It details the missions, units, buildings, and strategies for each faction.

Original Dawn of War Campaign

The original campaign features 11 missions where you control Space Marines of the Blood Ravens Chapter, sometimes with Imperial Guard support, against Orks, Eldar, and Chaos forces. It includes three difficulty levels: Normal, Hard, and Nightmare.

Missions:

Planet Fall
Infiltration
Under Siege
Destroy the Xenos
A New Lead
Into the Maw
Sacrifice
The Chapel
Unholy Ceremony
Old Friend
All Out War

Winter Assault Expansion Campaign

The Winter Assault expansion includes two campaigns: Order and Disorder.

Order Campaign

No Retreat!
Hold the Line!
Between a Stone and an Axe
Final Journey
Ancestral Powers (Eldar)
Titan of the Emperor (Guard)

Disorder Campaign

Gather the Clans
Hunter!
Blood for the Blood God!
Keep Your Enemies Closer
Titan of Khorne (Chaos)
Trophies (Orks)

Dark Crusade Expansion Campaign

The Dark Crusade expansion introduces new factions and a new campaign. Details on its walkthrough can be found separately.

Soulstorm Expansion Campaign

The Soulstorm expansion adds further factions and campaign content. Details on its walkthrough can be found separately.

- VERSION HISTORY - DOW-VERS

Walkthrough

1
The initial content completed includes the Introduction, Contents, System Requirements, Armies, Single Player Campaign, FAQs, E-mail Policy, Thanks, and Copyright Information.
2
Updates were released on 5/01/07.
3
Further updates were released on 8/01/07.
4
A final set of updates was released between 12/01/07 and 18/01/07.

Tips

This information pertains to the original release of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War.
Specific patch notes for each update are not detailed in this section.

- INTRODUCTION - DOW-INTR (2)

Enter the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Space Marine combat guide. This guide aims to equip you with the knowledge to defeat both the challenging AI and human opponents online. Unlike other guides that focus heavily on late-game units, this walkthrough unpacks into clutch early-game strategies, build orders, and defense against harassment, ensuring you can succeed even if you don't reach Tier 3.

Key concepts such as micromanagement (optimizing individual unit performance) and macromanagement (economy, long-term planning, and army coordination) are explained. The guide assumes a basic understanding of the game, including having played the tutorial or campaign, and a general knowledge of the tech tree. It also covers the importance of hotkeying units for efficient control and focuses on standard game modes, not quick start.

The Space Marines offer significant advantages including versatility, powerful commander units, strong walker vehicles like Dreadnoughts, durable buildings, and a potent Tier 3 army with proper strategy. However, they also present challenges such as a complex tech tree, weaker melee/jump pack squads compared to other races, and a lack of a single

- CONTENTS - DOW-CONT

Alright, let's dive into the core of what makes Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War tick. This section is all about the game's structure and what you'll be getting into. ### Gameplay Think of Dawn of War as a focused real-time strategy (RTS) experience. You'll be commanding squads of infantry and ground vehicles, aiming to outmaneuver and defeat your opponents. To build up your forces, you'll need two key resources: Requisition and Power. * Requisition: You get this by capturing and holding 'Strategic Points' scattered across the map. Keep an eye on these – your opponent will definitely try to snag them back! * Power: This is generated by building special generator structures, which themselves cost Requisition. Combat is a mix of ranged and close-quarters fighting. Remember, not all units are created equal for every situation. A basic infantry squad might be great against other troops but will struggle against an armored transport. Conversely, a missile launcher is perfect for taking down vehicles but won't do much against a swarm of infantry. Don't forget to use your units' special abilities, like stealth, grenades, or even short-range teleports! Usually, you'll win by either destroying the enemy's main base or by controlling most of the strategic points on the map. Sometimes, especially in the single-player campaign, your objective might be to take down a specific enemy character. ### Factions Dawn of War gives you four distinct factions to play as: * Space Marines: The classic poster boys of Warhammer 40,000. * Orks: Green, brutal, and surprisingly effective. * Eldar: An ancient and technologically advanced alien race. * Chaos Space Marines: The corrupted brethren of the Space Marines. In certain single-player missions, you'll also get to command a small number of Imperial Guard units. ### Modes * Single-Player Campaign: This is a linear story that spans 11 missions. You'll be playing as the Space Marines in this mode. * Multiplayer: Up to eight players can battle it out, either individually or in teams. Here, you can choose any of the main factions: Orks, Eldar, or Chaos Space Marines, in addition to the Space Marines. ### Plot The campaign kicks off on the planet Tartarus, which is under heavy attack by Orks. You'll start with Colonel Brom and his 37th Tartarus Planetary Defense Force Regiment facing overwhelming odds. Luckily, the Blood Ravens 3rd Company, led by Captain Gabriel Angelos, arrives to help. They push back the Ork forces, and Gabriel is joined by Librarian Isador Akios. Brom seems a bit uneasy when the planet Cyrene is mentioned, but Isador quickly shuts that down, especially with Angelos around. The Blood Ravens then prepare to defend evacuation craft from the remaining Orks. Isador senses Gabriel's troubled mind and tries to comfort him about the loss of his home planet, Cyrene, but Gabriel doesn't want to talk about it, feeling it was his responsibility. After clearing out the Orks, scouts report Chaos activity on the planet. Inquisitor Mordecai Toth shows up and orders everyone to leave immediately, warning of an approaching Warp Storm that will hit in 3 days. Gabriel, however, wants to investigate the Chaos threat, which Toth dismisses as Gabriel's judgment being clouded by his past experiences on Cyrene. Further investigation reveals the Eldar are also present. The Blood Ravens find a Chaos altar, confirming Gabriel's suspicions. They decide to fight the traitors, unaware that Isador is already being manipulated by Sindri Myr, a Chaos Sorcerer from the Alpha Legion. The Blood Ravens track the Eldar to the ruined city of Loovre Marr. After a big fight, the Eldar leader, Farseer Macha, tries to warn Gabriel. During this moment, Sindri steals an artifact that Macha reveals is key to the planet's destruction. When Gabriel asks for more details, Macha is surprised by his ignorance and hints that Inquisitor Toth knows more than he's letting on. She suggests Gabriel and Isador ask Toth directly and then points the Blood Ravens towards the main Chaos forces, as the Eldar are too weakened to deal with them. After a tough battle against the Alpha Legion and some corrupted Imperial Guard regiments, Gabriel and Isador confront Toth in a ruined Imperial Temple. Toth reveals the planet is cursed and holds a Chaos artifact called the Maledictum, which contains a daemon's essence. The Chaos forces are close to unearthing it. Toth also explains that the Eldar were trying to protect the stone...