DoW3 PCgamer

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--Dawn of War III announced: base-building returns with large scale battles and "biggest units ever"--
Say it with me: finally. After more than seven years of quiet, Dawn of War 3 is definitely, actually happening. Announced by Sega today, it’s pushing back towards the original game’s larger battles and bigger armies, expanding the suite of units from men and their tanks into massive walkers capable of standing toe-to-toe with armies.
Eldar, Orks and Space Marines will be doing battle according to the first, oddly melancholy but plenty bloody trailer, which you can see below.
Want to know more? All the latest rumours and details on Dawn of War 3’s release date, features, trailers and more in our dedicated post.
Sadly not a lick of gameplay within, but a good look at the armies of each of the three factions that have been announced:
It seems unlikely that the roster will halt at three races. Dawn of War shipped with four, adding Chaos to this mix, with the campaign-only Imperial Guard quickly showing up in the first expansion, Winter Assault. They were followed by Tau, Necrons, Dark Eldar and Sisters of Battle in Dark Crusade and Soulstorm respectively. Chaos is likely a shoo-in, though they weren’t added until an expansion in Dawn of War 2.
As for how it will play, predictions of inspiration being taken from Warcraft III, with the first game’s huge armies being lead by the sequel’s highly customisable and massively powerful heroes, seem to be on point. Here’s the official description:
“Building on 12 years of explosive gameplay, Dawn of War III combines the epic scale of Dawn of War, with the customization and elite heroes of Dawn of War II. Dawn of War III immerses players in the escalating brutality of galactic warfare, where they will lead elite hero units and colossal armies to victory, or oblivion. Powerful super-walkers will tower over the front lines as screen-shaking assaults blister the battlefield in an all-out, over-the-top spectacle worthy.”
The message is bigger, better and exploding more. “This is the Dawn of War that fans have been waiting for” explains executive producer Stephen MacDonald in a statement, “Our biggest units ever? Check. Giant orbital lasers? Check. Base-building, epic heroes, huge battles, it’s all in there.”
Marketing hype aside, humongous death-balls are a bit more in-theme with the universe than the direction DoW2 took things. The question now is if they can make a satisfying campaign that doesn’t devolve into a series of skirmishes as Dark Crusade did, and manages to remain balanced under the weight of dozens of units for an expanding number of factions. There’s not a peep from Sega or Relic about what their plans are in that area, if there’s going to be a single-player at all - we’d hope so - or what the business model will be.
However, it’s happening, which is enough to get me excited, and it’s a return to dropping titanic shells of unimaginable power on unsuspecting armies, rather than frag grenades to clear cover. Both have their merits, but the first game holds a firmer grip on my heart. Let us know in the comments if you’re happy with this direction, and we’ll bring you more on Dawn of War III as soon as possible.

--Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III - everything you need to know--
Dawn of War 3 is happening, over a decade after the original. While we sit tapping power-armoured feet in anticipation of the release date for Relic Entertainment’s next game, allow us to bring you everything we know about the third iteration in the Warhammer 40,000 strategy series. Despite the relatively early age of the announcement, there’s quite a bit of information out there already.
Dawn of War 3 release date
2017's your year, but we know nothing beyond that There was a certain amount of design work done in the past, with the dying days of THQ revealing that Relic were already working on the game as early as 2011. They didn’t just kick development off this last week, and based on Sega’s release schedule for this year, they are in need of games for the Christmas rush.
However, given we haven’t seen so much as a screenshot yet the 2017 date mentioned in the first press release shouldn't come as a surprise. It's a shame to wait, but given 2016 is already packed with great games - and great 40k games - it's nice to know there'll be something left for later on.

Dawn of War 3 gameplay
This was the first big question coming into the announcement - would a third Dawn of War follow the model of the first’s large armies and control-point capture, the second’s hands-on tactics at squad-level, or reinvent itself once again? The answer is a little of all three.
In the initial press release, Relic/Sega say that DoW3 will have “the epic scale of Dawn of War” combined with “the customization and elite heroes of Dawn of War II.” They also mention larger units (“super-walkers”) and weaponry (“giant orbital lasers”) than we’ve seen in the games before, suggesting it’s doubling down on the increased scale. If you’re looking for a simple answer as to whether the game is closer to DoW1 or 2, the original is the answer, but it’s certainly shaping up as its own thing.

Dawn of War 3 campaign
Again, no official information here yet. We’re assuming there will be one but exactly what form it will take is up for debate. Relic have used such varied formula over the years it’s anyone’s guess what we’ll get this time. Dawn of War 2’s expansion, Chaos Rising, was choice-heavy and had multiple paths through its story of corruption and redemption. Dawn of War had narrative campaigns for its base and first expansion, but non-linear strategic battle maps after that where a series of skirmishes against a faction would eventually build to their core province for a special, one-off battle. It let each race have their own story but could get highly repetitive. Homeworld famously uses a consistent army setup through a series of story missions, letting you build and customise your force and then carry it between encounters.
Assuming Relic want to take a narrative bent once again, and the series’ home-grown faction of Space Marines, the Blood Ravens, showing up in the trailer would suggest so, a combination of the first game’s two playstyles sprinkled with DoW2’s decision making to keep the larger-than-life hero characters front and center would seem likely. Of course, they also have to contend with the work other companies have done in the genre since their first games, with StarCraft II pushing how varied RTS mission design can be much further forward - a few too many death-ball marches or skirmish-likes will be disappointing in the modern era.

Dawn of War 3 multiplayer
We can definitely make some more assumptions here - like that a modern, big-budget RTS will have a multiplayer component. However, beyond 1v1 and team modes, there are a lot of options for Relic. Will they want to provide a co-op version of whatever campaign structure they go with, or some separate missions ala SC2’s Allied Commanders? Will a unique mode like Last Stand return, as hugely popular as it was? How well will the inevitable competitive community be supported, and how much effort do a company that isn’t Blizzard want to put into trying to revive strategy eSports?
Perhaps most importantly, how will it expand? This moves into business model questions, and while we’re assuming that the base game will be a full-price all-in-one, Warhammer is so ripe for addons that DLC is inevitable. The Company of Heroes 2 model seems most likely, with factions added as paid upgrades every so often, letting anyone face against them in multiplayer without paying, but to play as them you cough up the cash. On the previous topic, the Ardennes Assault expansion also added a new campaign, so DLC in that area is possible as well.
A lot of this could also depend on how successful the game is in its first year. A Dawn of War 3 that sells a couple of million copies is a far steadier base on which to build a constantly expanding service model than one that limps its way to a couple of hundred thousand, getting a single expansion before being shelved for the next big game.

Dawn of War 3 modding
What is more ripe for modding than a Warhammer 40,000 game? No matter how long Relic spend building a base version, within three months Games Workshop will have released some new army, unit or special character that someone would want to use. Even if GW gave up on the franchise tomorrow, Relic aren’t going to cram everything that currently exists within the massive universe into the game - the community will gather up their favourite factions and get them working, if allowed.
Such it was for the first two games, with mods like Ultimate Apocalypse[http://www.moddb.com/mods/ultimate-apocalypse-mod] still being regularly updated by committed development teams. While neither ever had the legacy of something like Skyrim or the long-running map-making pedigree of Blizzard's games, there was a tonne of interest there and will undoubtedly be for the third iteration. The previous versions didn't have the support structure of the Steam workshop, nor the modern internet speeds and level of modder capability that's pushed mods into such a mainstream area of gaming.
It's up to Relic if it's even possible of course, but there's always been a vein of customisation, from getting to choose army colour schemes in DoW 1 to picking out equipment and abilities in the sequel. It would be out of character to not see some amount of support for it and, given how much value it adds to a game like this, a fairly poor move from a purely mercenary standpoint to. If players know that modders will be developing for it over the next 10 years, they're far more likely to buy.
Dawn of War 3 units and races

Here’s our rundown of everything we’ve seen so far. We’ll expand this as often as we see something new in trailers, screenshots and interviews. Most notable at this early stage is the addition of larger walker units to Dawn of War 3’s arsenal.

Space Marines
Reflecting the tabletop, there's to be various kinds of Space Marine trooper. Expect assault units wielding chainblades and bolt pistols, heavy units with rocket launchers and the happy middle ground of man-with-bolter.
Imperial Knights, massive single-person walkers that operate as mini-titans and mega-dreadnoughts. Expect these to be towards the top of the tech tree, dueling it out with Wraithlords and Deth Dredds as seen in the cinematic trailer.

Eldar
[Howling Banshees], the sword-wielding, screaming Eldar shock troops. They're assault specialists and terrifying, able to take on multiple enemy combatants from either of the other factions with ease.
Wraithlord, the Eldar's own massive walker unit, also wielding swords as seen in the trailer. Likely to be more expensive, harder to take down and dish out more punishment than their equivelants elsewhere.

Orks
Boyz of all shapes and sizes, likely including your standard, dumb-but-swarming Ork all the way up to powerful Warbosses with masses of wargear.
Gretchin/Grots, 40k's answer to the goblin and little more than nuisances on the battlefield - but likely serving great roles as builders and scouts.
Deff Dreads and Killa Kans, the stitched together masses of metal that are Ork walkers. They're unrefined but deadly, armoured to hell and back and unlikely to ever stop charging.