Dawn of War 2: There Is Only War Update

[TerranUp16]

Beta for the Update is Coming

Probably, most of you are like, "Meh, DoW 2 was rather meh so updates for DoW 2 are meh".

Well, un-meh yourselves. Watch this and this and ignore the fact that the formats of both vids are like Blizzard's StarCraft 2 Battle Reports but with vastly worse production values (though the graphics look prettier so console yourself with that). There is Only War is quite the game-changer for Dawn of War 2 and on paper it seems like it will bring DoW 2 much closer to where it needed to be.

What this should do is finally, really cement the role of melee combat in DoW 2. Melee is the greatest addition that DoW 2 makes to CoH's formula (and it's important because DoW 2 steps back from some other parts of CoH's formula though There is Only War restores some of them such as much more effective set-up weapons and better vehicle movement).

Also upgrades a ton more than the balance between melee and ranged- one of the other very nice improvements (among tons of nice improvements) is the extension of Tier 1 (which is my favorite part of DoW 2 games as it plays to the game's strengths) as they have increased the cost and time of reaching Tier 2 (Tier 2 brings in vehicles which changes the gameplay dynamic a fair bit) and have also buffed the ability of Tier 1 units to deal with vehicles so even if you want to stay in Tier 1 even longer... you can =)

The gameplay modifications are sizable enough that Relic is actually holding a beta for the patch to try and make sure they get it as correct as possible. For anyone who bought DoW 2 and has let it drop to the wayside, this would be a good time to pick it back up. For anyone who hasn't yet bought DoW 2 but who is interested- either 'cause of the universe, DoW 1, Relic, etc... stay tuned.

The update also adds more maps, new wargear for SP, etc etc...

[~VanMavus]

Still a meh RTS in my opinion though, I find base building much more fun, along with clearly defined territory. That's why I really like CoH. And maps with like, one bridge for to cross. I totally can't think of the word, the umm.. blergh... no idea.

[TerranUp16]

DoW 2 isn't an RTS, it's an RTTS (that is, an RTT with small amounts of RTS functionality mixed-in)

As far as base-building goes, imo DoW 2 really has no less than CoH unless we start talking about field defenses and then no, you can't build trenches in DoW 2. But you're not supposed to as it's a much more freeflow game than Company of Heroes was. Depth-wise, the "lack of basebuilding" hurts it not at all and the unit upgrades and etc work quite well.

Not having as many chokepoints (well, actually, it does, but the point is that you can't take such chokepoints and hole-up in them as well as you can in CoH though There is Only War will alter that slightly as well) so that the gameplay is more fluent and faster-paced is ofc a matter of preference. I like both types personally despite that one of the things I really like about CoH is that much of the game is spent figuring out how to crack the enemy's entrenched positions and then going and doing that and etc- but I do find that in DoW 2 as well except instead of fortifications there are "just" units.

[TerranUp16]

Last Day for 50% Off on Steam

(And it uses Steamworks)

Was playing a fair bit today 'cause tomorrow is going to be a long day at work...

Anyway, the There is Only War update has really succeeded in deepening the gameplay and bringing it to where it really should have been all-along. Until this update, I could only give a tepid recommendation for DoW 2. With the update- I can give an enthusiastic one.

Ranged and melee are now rather completely different classes of units (as different as air and ground in StarCraft) and the full potential of the dynamic of having both has finally kicked-in. This means battles have a lot more variables now and there is a ton more skill involved and it really just makes the experience flat-out better.

Also, the update indirectly has made enemy squads easier to eradicate. This is huge (as it is in Company of Heroes) because as I've mentioned numerous times, DoW 2 does not screw-over macro in favor of micro, but rather it reallocates it and shovels it more heavily on the units themselves. Veterancy, squad leaders, weapon upgrades, armor upgrades, etc... Losing an entire squad before you can retreat it or while it's retreating can be absolutely devastating on the macro side of things. Numerous times now I have managed to use my ranged units to suppress enemy melee or ranged and then pincer or flank those enemies with my upgraded melee troops to eradicate whole squads and it becomes extremely evident that I gain the edge the entire game at that point.

For example, (btw, I have taken a huge liking to Orks now) I was playing a mirror match of Orks v Orks against a Mech Boy (I use Kommando for my hero). I used the maneuver mentioned above to take-out two of his Slugga Boy squads early game. First thing this did was free my forces up to capture more of the map and to start bleeding his victory points very rapidly. I managed to essentially keep the battle in the Tier 1 phase for probably 80% of the game and in there I held the edge from having veteran squads with full upgrades. I continued to fend him off but eventually he pulled out a Dethdred on me and I had no direct AT. I saw it come out of his base area though so I had plenty of time to shove my resources into Tier 3 and also to purchase the Rokkit Launcher weapon for my Kommando. I managed to use the Rokkit Launcher to defeat his vehicle and meanwhile brought a Looted Tank out and he apparently had the same idea with the Looted Tank but hadn't had enough funds to get the armor upgrade for it so the combo of my Looted Tank and my Kommando's Rokkit Launcher took it down easily and from there my infantry dominated his and I won the battle about thirty seconds later from Victory Point bleed. Pretty much, the entire game was played on my terms because of my early moves to cripple my opponent's macro and bolster my own.

[TerranUp16]

Speaking of Orkz, got a Flawless Victory against a Space Marine Force Commander on Leviathan Hive 1v1. Pushed the south part of the map early and managed to get my Kommando, a Slugga Boy squad, and a Shoota Boy squad up against his Force Commander and Scout Marines. Managed to keep the Scout Marines out of the fight while cutting off the Force Commander's escape and killing him. I then proceeded to control the entire map for the entire rest of the game and won 500-0 (you start with 500 Victory Points and the point is to bleed your opponent's Victory Points to zero so 500-0 is a perfect match)- he didn't revive his Force Commander until 10 seconds before the game ended because of the sizable economic cost and his Tactical Space Marine squads (expensive to begin with) were having tons of issues dealing with my micromanagement of my Kommando and Slugga Boys.

[TerranUp16]

TerranUp16 v yeperooo Flawless Victory

On Leviathan Hive (2p), TerranUp16 = Red Orks and yeperooo = Blue Space Marines.

Very good example of macro in DoW 2.

[TerranUp16]

The Last Stand

Free DoW 2 DLC. Basically, survival mode. Could be interesting. CoH: Tales of Valor's similar mode was and is pretty good because while there are a lot of survival modes out there, few have the tactical combat depth of CoH and you really had to use that as opposed to good starting positioning and etc to do well in it and it looks like The Last Stand will be similar in that respect (with the combat depth focus shifting more to combined usage of ranged and melee units as opposed to infantry and vehicles, so a different flare). And it's free, xD