Dawn of War 2 - [beta impressions included]

[Turtle]

I've been working on my Kommando Nob Orks and having a lot of fun with them, even though I'm really, really behind the learning curve with them.  I think I need more games against normal AI to get an idea of all their abilites.  I haven't been used to using lone Hero units so I often don't upgrade or utlize my Kommando Nob to the fullest.

But, I have done some fun things while playing against Jow from OO, we're both experienced CoH players so our matches get really intense.

Orks have a unit called Stikkbommas that are basically grenade throwers.  They're a decently tough 3 Ork unit, melee and grenade focused.  They do okay in melee, but their strength is being able to throw 3 grenades at the same time for the energy cost of one grenade from other units.  That's just crazy and will often obliterate whatever target it hits.  In melee they sometimes jump up in the air and throw down a grenade at their feet, although I think that's only if they have an upgrade.  Well, with the Kommando Commander, I can make any infantry unit infiltrate, a feature I'm still experimenting with, but infiltrating a unit of Stikkbommas, throwing 3 grenades right into the middle of a pack of enemy units, then sending in my own horde is a sight to behold.  Their upgrade gives them another grenade type, I think a stun grenade that does less damage but makes units stand around stunned, well they do throw 3 of them at a time as well.

Oh and Orks have a lot of grenades.  Their force seems reliant on grenade or grenade like effects along with stat upping auras like WAAAGH.  The Kommando Ork unit is especially fun as they have a burna grenade that causes massive damage over time.  They can infiltrate on their own which leads to a lot of fun using them to dampen an incoming attack (enemies really don't want to walk through a burna grenade effect) or to start an attack by killing off some important defensive unit.

[baelthazar]

Oh, I know that the Tyranids came first. I actually loved Rites of War (but maybe that post-dates Starcraft... hmmm... no idea). But REAL-TIME Zerg have definitely pre-dated real-time Tyranids. And these Tyranids are not exactly the same Tyranids in the table-top, I would say.

And Ripley says that they all come from Alien.

[Turtle]

I'd have to say they all came from Heinlein at its core.  Space Marines in power suits, space bugs, the even the Eldar could be seen as skinnies.

Anyway, still having fun.  Check out the developer multiplayer video with two groups of 3 testers playing, Orks vs. Eldar.  Really intense game.

[Jeff]

I grabbed Soulstorm on Steam last night. Can anyone point me to some good sites for learning Dawn of War in general? tactics, build orders, etc. Good general guides.

I'm experienced with CoH, but there's obviously a lot of differences in DoW.

[Turtle]

Eh... I'm not the one to give tips on DoW1, I was kind of bad at the game.  I'd win all my early encounters via tactics, then lose it due to the strategies and base building.

However, as a tip for DoW2 players for playing the Tyrannids, those Ripper Swarms cost nothing to reinforce.  While they're in Synapse, they cannot be suppressed.  Lastly, they're small targets, and thus are hard to hit, although they can't take much damage.  As such, they're perfect for charging headlong towards Ranged Units or Suppression Guns like the Devastator Squad or Shiruken platform, tying them up in melee as the rest of your army goes in.

[Punisher]

Apparently gamestop is no longer selling DoW2 because they are mad it's also available on Steam, what with the digital license and all.  Too lazy to link, but most gaming news sites have a story on it.

here you go.

From article

Steam will be a required install for all Dawn of War 2 users and the game will run through Valve's distribution platform, but it seems that Gamestop may feel a bit threatened by introducing so many customers to the online alternative of Steam and has decided to pull Dawn of War 2 from shelves as a result.

Now, it's a rumor, but if it's true...

1) I didn't know Steam would be required for the retail game. Seems odd...
2) I don't think that the best way to "hide" Steam from their customers is to force them to buy the game on Steam. Even if Steam was required to install the game, some people may not realize exactly what Steam was (This is for those Gamestop customers that never used Steam). They may just think it's for updating the game.
3) Has anyone tried pre-ordering at GS recently?
4) Why would it require Steam when it obviously requires Windows Live?
5) Perhaps GS is referring to the Beta that requires Steam?

[Daehawk]

I was price matching yesterday. Wal-mart was $50 so I went to Gamestop's site to compare prices and its not even listed on their site.

[Daehawk]

Aww man the open beta is downloadable now on steam but I dont have a key for it. Do you need a key or just download and go? I mean how can you call it an OPEN beta if you need a key from Soulstorm?

[RedJak]

You shouldn't need a key. That was just for the week headstart.

[Daehawk]

I hope so. It says for owners of Soulstorm but maybe once its done I can play anyways.

[Turtle]

It should just be in your games list, you'll have to install it separately.

[Jeff]

It should just be in your games list, you'll have to install it separately.

Yeah, mine was "just there". I downloaded Soulstorm from Steam, and Dow 2 beta appeared in my "not installed" section automatically.

[Daehawk]

Ya I found the old beta impressions thread from last year thnx. i like the shiny way a new thread looks...

Could of videos. One is an old APC turned into a Empire Rhino Transport APC in real life and the other is Tyranid trailer ..#2 btw.

APC

Tyranids

[Jeff]

Ya I found the old beta impressions thread from last year thnx. i like the shiny way a new thread looks...

I have no doubt that you do

[ydejin]

Ya I found the old beta impressions thread from last year thnx. i like the shiny way a new thread looks...

Could of videos. One is an old APC turned into a Empire Rhino Transport APC in real life and the other is Tyranid trailer ..#2 btw.

APC

Tyranids

Nice, I hadn't seen that Tyranid trailer before.

[Turtle]

The Rhino thing was just weird.  Would have been better just having a CG thing, instead of putting paneling over an old tank.