Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3 is the latest evolution of Relic’s sci-fi RTS series, based in the Games Workshop world of Warhammer 40K. During the recent closed and open beta weekends for the game, I was able to take part in a number of; 1v1, 2v2 and 3v3 games, unfortunately none of the campaign or the single player skirmish mode was made available during that time. Also, it’s possible that feedback from the weekend will changed some aspects of multiplayer mechanics, so this preview is limited to the broad strokes of multiplayer only.

You might have already heard that DoW 3 is using some MOBA mechanics. This is true, but don’t be put off by this, it’s clear that the designers have their eyes firmly fixed on improving the MP experience all round. It’s also important to remember that the game is still an RTS; you keep control of all of your units for the entire game. Hero units play an important role, but Dawn of War 3 also allows you to have a larger army size than in any of the previous games.

There are three factions available in DoW 3; Space Marine, Eldar and Ork. Some fans are a little upset over the absence of the Chaos faction, but to be fair, three factions is about the norm for a standard RTS game, plus SEGA do need something substantial to hold onto for future DLCs. DoW 3 makes limited use of base building, if you’re expecting something like Command & Conquer where you can build defensive towers right across a map to attack the enemy base, then forget it (unless you play Ork…then exploits). Buildings are limited to three or four unit producers and a tech building each, as well as the usual Listening Post – resource capping structures.

It is possible to place buildings in advance positions, but that’s a risky tactic without any large gains. Orks technology works differently to the Space Marines and Eldar tech, instead of purchasing an expensive tier upgrade from their base, Orks can build Waaagh towers around the map. These towers have various functions, from buffing units to giving lite map control, but their main functions are unlocking the Ork tech tiers (when you’ve built enough of them) and calling down junk asteroids, which Ork units then use to upgrade their stuff.

Heros (Elites) play an important role in Dawn of War 3, like Dawn of War 2, you can select your preferred hero before the game begins, however unlike DoW 2, you get to pick three heroes from a selection of five (with more available later through unlocks), and you get to pick their abilities too (more also available through unlocks). It also allows you to pick Army Doctrines before a game starts, Doctrines are sometimes abilities for your Elites and sometimes separate global buffs for your army, and like Elites, more can be unlocked as you level up and spend Skull Points (rewarded for every game you play).

Once a game starts, you still need to purchase your Elites with special resources (the pink diamond resource points), whichever resource points you win control of can be a deciding factor on how you play. All these Doctrines, Abilities, Elites and Unlocks definitely smack of the kind of features seen in Free-to-Play games, and are used to keep people hooked on an otherwise mundane grinding exercise. However, the “grinding” in Dawn of War 3 is anything but boring. The game’s multiplayer is fun, and there are enough units and tactics to keep you coming back for more, even without the locked ones. Currently, all these extras are available to everyone…if they play long enough and save up Skull Points, and as long as SEGA isn’t  tempted into monetizing this feature, then I’m all for it.

The early game in Dawn of War 3 is the deciding factor for strategies, and ultimately, who will win. In nearly all 1v1 games I played, the player who won the first skirmish went on to win the match. Consequently I saw some ingenious and exploitative (because Orks) tactics being employed, even during the short beta test. 2v2 and 3v3 games played a lot smoother, with more room for error and more room for comebacks, but I’ll be keeping a close eye to see if Relic will address this problem before release.

Tank and Titan class Elites are more than capable of taking on whole armies on their own, and how you deploy them will often decide the outcome of the game. Not only do Titan units dwarf everything else on the map, but their weapons and abilities are just as spectacular to use, whether it’s an Ork Gorkanaut firing its fist at another Titan, or an Eldar Wraithknight jumping into the middle of an enemy formation, these giant walkers are as impressive to look at, as they are fun to use.

Elites can work a little like the units in a MOBA game, you can do a lot by just micromanaging your most powerful units, although, you cannot win with them alone, you will need to manage your army, your resources and your base too. Squads make a return, just as in DoW 1 and 2, are made of multiple units, and can be given upgrades and use special abilities when you manage them. Armies are generally larger here, so a single squad is less important than it is in DoW 2, but reinforcing and keeping squads alive, still makes a difference. Squads and Elites have fewer special abilities than in the previous game, but they can still make a difference, even in big battles.

Many maps in Dawn of War 2 showed a parallel with MOBA maps, with having lanes, and often being mirrored as well. With Dawn of War 3, the MOBA influence is stronger still, only three maps were made available during the beta, but they all had clearly defined lanes (top, middle, and bottom) and were generally symmetrical with two clearly defined sides. 2v2 and 3v3 match modes may be more limited than in DoW 2; bigger matches have to be arranged into two teams because of the use of Towers and Generators controlling Victory conditions.

A new mechanic that made a bigger difference though is stealth, there are many points around every map that provide stealth cover to units within them, and there are various units and abilities that complement the stealth mechanic too. I was very impressed with how stealth worked as a whole, if you look for it, stealth adds a needed strategic depth to every game. One more feature that’s absorbed a lot of my time, was the army painter. Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3 offers a number of improvements in this area; for starters, each faction has a long list of “official” army colours; every paint scheme from the Hawk Lords to the Bad Moons are covered, and as expected, you can create your own colour schemes, with the bonus that they will be available for each faction too.

There were no bugs visible throughout the Beta weekend but whether this was because of the huge number of testers, or because of DoW 3’s addictiveness, one cannot say. What I can say though is that playing Dawn of War 3 was fun, and that I can’t wait for the game to come out. See you on the battlefield.