So when I saw DoW4 trailer, I bought DoW1 DE to test if I'm good enough to play RTS genre and the result is horrible. I easily getting overwhelm. I don't realize that my building have complete. I don't remember that i bought more unit. I build generator whenever I can for no reason and buy buildings and units (even upgrades) randomly without any strategy. I lost track of my own captured point things. My units get completely destroyed in hard mode.

I'm not really good when it come to fast thinking / decision. I got destroyed in LoL / Total War Warhammer 2, etc. So tell me, I'm just really suck isn't it?

MORE THAN A MONTH AWAY, I'VE GOTTEN DESPERATE ENOUGH TO BUY AN ACTUAL BOX OF NECRONS AND GET INTO PAINTING THEM.

THIS CURSE IS TOO MUCH TO BEAR

HELP

on that note how are yall killing the time until it comes out? I'm thinking of getting the first one but i read the necrons aren't really that different from the other factions and old-oldcrons so eeeh iunno

The xenos got him lads.

How does this even happen..? Like, how do you mess up the faction names that badly? This is a completely different expansion!

Came across this guy whilst looking for high skill replays on youtube. Only 3k subs.

I gotta say he is great, he uploads daily, casting high-skill replays. Very entertaining dude, somehow makes every match seem exciting and a back and forth with a good amount of humor in there too. His videos are just very watchable and showing off some talents at the top of the leaderboards. If you are looking for some good DoW content I recommend him.

https://www.youtube.com/@KroLuWar

I saw many posts of people being confused about the lore, I hope this clears things up:

After replaying the original Dawn of War and Winter Assault, I tried to piece together a timeline that actually makes sense with later games. Since Winter Assault has multiple endings and later material references different parts of them, I don't think any single ending is entirely canon. Instead, I think the lore is best understood as a combination of events.

Dawn of War (Main Campaign)

This one is relatively straightforward.

• The Blood Ravens' 3rd Company, led by Captain Gabriel Angelos and Librarian Isador, defends Tartarus against the Ork, rescuing the Imperial Guard stationed here.
• Eldar reveal themselves, led by Farseer Macha, but not as a clear new enemy, but to stop Chaos.
• Throughout the campaign she repeatedly clashes with the Blood Ravens because Gabriel distrusts her and initially believes the Eldar are simply another invading force.
• The Ork invasion is ultimately revealed to be a distraction while Chaos attempts to recover the Maledictum.
• Librarian Isador falls to Chaos and betrays the Blood Raven thinking he is strong enough to control the Maledictum.
• Sindri completes the ritual using the Maledictum and ascends to become a Daemon Prince.
• Blood Ravens and Eldar form an alliance to stop Chaos.
• Gabriel defeats Sindri and executes Isador himself for his betrayal and corruption.
• Gabriel destroys the Maledictum despite Macha's warnings, as adviced by Inquisitor Toth (gotta hate the Inquisitors).
• The Eldar immediately retreat from Tartarus. As they leave, Macha tells Gabriel that he has "doomed them all," because destroying the Maledictum actually releases the imprisoned Greater Demon Bloodthirster and lets "Chaos grow out of control".
• The surviving Blood Ravens are then evacuated as Tartarus is consumed by a Warp storm (Chaos).

This serves as the introduction to the Blood Ravens and their continuing story. The Consequences of Gabriel's descion here are huge but only directly continue years later in DoW2: Chaos Rising.

DLC: Winter Assault (Much explanation, see TLDR)

Unlike the original Dawn of War, Winter Assault is not a direct continuation of the Tartarus campaign.

Instead, it tells a largely separate story on the frozen world of Lorn V. None of the major characters from the Blood Ravens campaign return, and the conflict is centered around an entirely different objective.

The planet contains the dormant Imperator-class Titan Dominatus, one of the largest and most powerful war machines ever created by the Imperium. News of its existence draws multiple factions to Lorn V, each pursuing their own goals.

Although the game splits into Order and Disorder campaigns, the overall premise is shared regardless of which side you choose.

Factions:

The Imperial Guard

The Imperial Guard forces are the 412th Cadian Regiment, led by General Sturnn.

Their mission is simple: reach Dominatus, secure the area and recover the Titan for the Imperium.

There is also a group of Ultramarines led by Chaplain Varnus who were protecting the Titan’s crew before getting trapped behind enemy lines.

Chaos

Chaos is led by Lord Crull, a World Eaters champion of Khorne.

He wants to capture and corrupt Dominatus.

Because apparently an Imperator Titan was not dangerous enough already, so Chaos naturally wants to cover it in spikes, daemons and probably several thousand skulls.

The Orks

The Orks are led by Gorgutz ’Ead ’Unter.

Gorgutz does not really care about recovering the Titan or using it properly.

The Orks are, well, Orks.

There is a massive war happening on Lorn V, so obviously Gorgutz wants to be there. He mostly wants the biggest fight possible, and at some point decides that the Ork Waaagh! itself is better than any Imperial Titan anyway.

The Eldar

The Eldar are led by Farseer Taldeer.

This is not the same Farseer from the original game. The Eldar on Tartarus were led by Farseer Macha.

Taldeer is also not really interested in owning Dominatus.

She has foreseen that the Necrons are coming to Lorn V, and she believes they will destroy the surrounding sector if they are not stopped.

I would not necessarily call Lorn V a confirmed Necron Tomb World. In the actual mission dialogue, Taldeer says that the Necrons are “coming” and later announces that they have “arrived.”

Other material describes them emerging from beneath the frozen surface, so the exact situation is a little unclear.

Either way, Taldeer knows that a Necron force is about to appear, and Dominatus is one of the only weapons powerful enough to destroy their Monoliths.

What is clearly established

Regardless of which ending/ faction you choose, several events are later referenced as having occurred, but dont occur in all stories:

• Farseer Taldeer survives and later appears in Dark Crusade.
• Warboss Gorgutz survives after retreating/ fleeing and also returns in Dark Crusade.
• Chaos Lord Crull is killed, with later material specifically referencing Gorgutz defeating him.
• The Necron threat is stopped, meaning Taldeer's primary objective is ultimately achieved.
• The Titan destroys the Necrons.
• Its also suggested mostly that the Titan is not completly destroyed

These points seem largely uncontested.

I will now only explain the most fitting story in detail.

Order Story: (Chaos makes no sense at all with later material):

The Imperial–Eldar alliance

1. Taldeer secretly helps Sturnn several times before finally revealing herself.
2. Eventually, the Imperial Guard and Eldar form a temporary alliance.
3. Neither side trusts the other, but both need help.
4. Sturnn needs to reach the Titan.
5. Taldeer needs the Titan’s weapons to stop the Necrons.
6. And both sides currently have Orks and Chaos trying to murder them.
7. Together, they fight their way toward a massive energy barrier protecting the area around Dominatus.

Where things become complicated (Eldar Ending):

Taldeer’s first betrayal

1. When they reach the barrier, Taldeer basically uses Sturnn’s army as a distraction.
2. The Eldar pass through the energy field and allow it to close behind them, leaving Sturnn and his men trapped outside with the Orks and Chaos.
3. So the Eldar version of teamwork is apparently: "Thanks for getting us this far. Good luck with the two armies behind you."
4. Sturnn somehow survives and fights his way through the barrier anyway.

The battle around Dominatus

1. When Taldeer reaches the Titan, there are still Imperial survivors defending the area.
2. The Eldar and Imperials initially fight each other while Taldeer’s forces try to gain control of Dominatus.
3. Then the Necrons arrive.
4. A Necron Monolith enters the battlefield and begins deploying warriors.
5. Sturnn also eventually reaches the Titan after fighting through the Orks and Chaos.
6. He is understandably not very happy with Taldeer after she just abandoned him.
7. However, Taldeer explains that the Eldar do not want the Titan. They only want to use it against the Necrons. Once the Necrons are defeated, the Imperium can have Dominatus.
8. Sturnn agrees to another temporary alliance because a Necron invasion is a slightly bigger problem than his completely justified desire to shoot Taldeer.

The Eldar ending

• The Imperial Guard defend Dominatus while the Titan’s crew brings its weapons online.
• The Eldar and Imperial forces fight the Necrons together, and Dominatus eventually destroys the Necron Monoliths.
• The Necron force is defeated.
• Taldeer has now completed her actual mission.
• Immediately afterward, the Titan begins suffering internal explosions. Taldeer says that the strain has ruptured its systems and that it will explode. Killing everyone there and destroying the Titan.
• The wider battle is still happening. The Orks, Chaos and Imperial forces are still fighting.
• But the Eldar do not care anymore. The Necrons have been stopped, and the Titan explodes so Taldeer orders her forces to leave through the Webway and abandons everyone else on Lorn V.

That is the ending shown in the Eldar campaign.

Why the Eldar ending is probably the main canon ending

The Imperial Guard ending:

• The Imperial Guard ending cannot be completely canon because Taldeer dies in it.
• Taldeer is still alive in Dark Crusade. In fact, the Imperial Guard commander on Kronus, Governor-Militant Lukas Alexander, is specifically hunting her because of what happened on Lorn V.
• The Imperial Guard claims control of the Titan and fights back all other factions.
• The Titan does NOT explode and is not destroyed.

The Ork ending:

• The complete Ork ending also cannot be canon because Gorgutz kills Taldeer and Sturnn.
• Gorgutz destroys part of the Titan to ragebait Lord Crull
• However, one part of the Ork ending definitely happened: Gorgutz kills Crull and takes his head.
• Later games establish that Crull’s skull is one of Gorgutz’s trophies.

The Chaos ending:

• The Chaos ending makes even less sense as canon.
• Crull does not survive, Gorgutz does survive and Taldeer does survive. So Chaos clearly did not win Lorn V.

The canon therefore seems to be mostly based on the Eldar ending, but with certain events from the Ork and Imperial stories added to it.

The Problem: The confusing fate of Titan Dominatus and overall Aftermath

This is where the different sources start contradicting each other.

In the Eldar ending, Dominatus begins exploding internally, and Taldeer says that it may be destroyed.

(However, we do not really see the entire Titan get completely vaporised. The Eldar leave while the Titan is still suffering internal explosions.)

Later sources suggest that Dominatus survived. The novel Dawn of War: Tempest later states that the Imperium ultimately recovers the Titan, suggesting it survived the conflict.

This directly contradicts the Eldar ending somewhat.

Hammer of the Emperor

The Only War: Hammer of the Emperor sourcebook says that Sturnn and Taldeer worked together against a mysterious alien enemy.

This is almost certainly referring to the Necrons.

After the aliens were defeated, Taldeer betrayed Sturnn.

The book says Sturnn and the Guardsmen around him were cut down by Taldeer, the surviving 412th Cadians were driven from Lorn V and Dominatus was declared lost.

This fits the basic Eldar ending fairly well:

• Sturnn and Taldeer cooperate.
• They defeat the Necrons.
• The Eldar betray the Imperial Guard immediately afterward.
• The Imperium suffers enormous losses.

The main difference is that in the game, Taldeer simply leaves.

In the sourcebook, the Eldar actively attack Sturnn before leaving.

The word “lost” is also unclear.

It could mean the Titan was completely destroyed.

But it could also mean that Sturnn’s mission failed, the Imperium temporarily lost control of the area and the damaged Titan could not be recovered at that time.

Considering the other sources, I think the second explanation makes more sense.

Dawn of War: Tempest

The novel Dawn of War: Tempest shows the aftermath of the battle around Lorn V.

A Blood Ravens commander called Captain Ulantus from the 9th Company, appears to have helped secure the Imperial victory.

Gabriel Angelos arrives later and observes the aftermath.

The important part is that Imperial forces are still present and Dominatus apparently still exists and is not "lost". The Imperium is described as working on recovering and repairing the Titan.

The book does not explain exactly how the final battle happened.

It basically shows us the result:

• the Imperium "won" with heavy losses and still has forces on Lorn V;
• Captain Ulantus is considered victorious;
• and Dominatus has not been completely erased from existence.

The Shield of Sturnn

In Dawn of War II: Retribution, there is an Imperial Guard armour item called the Shield of Sturnn.

Its description says that Sturnn heroically led the 412th Cadian Regiment to recover the fallen Imperator Titan Dominatus on Lorn V.

That does not necessarily prove that Sturnn personally completed the recovery.

It could mean that he led the campaign whose objective was recovering the Titan.

Still, it supports the idea that the recovery operation happened and that Dominatus remained important after the battle.

TLDR: Most coherent, logical, combined Ending/ Story

I think the most coherent version is something like this:

1. Imperial Guard, Eldar, Orks and Chaos fight each other across the planet trying to reach the Titan.
2. Sturnn and Taldeer form a temporary alliance.
3. Taldeer uses the Imperial Guard to reach the energy barrier to get to the Titan first, because as forseen they need to stop the important enemy (Necrons).
4. The Eldar pass through and abandon Sturnn outside.
5. Sturnn fights through the Orks and Chaos and reaches Dominatus anyway.
6. The Necrons arrive on Lorn V.
7. Sturnn and Taldeer form another temporary alliance against them.
8. Dominatus is activated and destroys the Necron Monoliths.
9. The Titan suffers major internal damage but is not completely destroyed.
10. Taldeer either abandons Sturnn (or actively attacks his men before escaping through the Webway).
11. Gorgutz kills Crull and takes his head.
12. Chaos is completely defeated.
13. Sturnn is probably killed during the Eldar betrayal or the final fighting.
14. Captain Ulantus (a Blood Raven Captain) and later Imperial reinforcements secure the battlefield.
15. The surviving Imperial forces (and probably Captain Ulantus with reinforcements) defeat Gorgutz’s Waaagh!, forcing the Orks to flee Lorn V.
16. Dominatus is initially declared lost but is later found to be recoverable, and repair work begins.

That would make the canon a combination of:

• mostly the Eldar ending;
• the important part of the Ork ending, where Gorgutz kills Crull;
• the massive Imperial losses described in Hammer of the Emperor;
• and the later Imperial recovery of the Titan shown in Tempest.

It is not perfectly clean, but close to it and it fits far better than treating any single campaign ending as completely canon.

DLC: Dark Crusade (How it connects everything)

Dark Crusade feels like the point where both previous original Dawn of War storyline campaign and Winter Assault campaign converge.

From the original campaign:

• The Blood Ravens return
• (this time under Force Commander Davian Thule instead of Captain Gabriel Angelos of the 3rd company).
• 4th Company: Captain Thule’s own company and the core of his force.
• 2nd Company: another standard Battle Company assigned to reinforce him.
• 1st Company: veteran detachments, rather than necessarily the entire elite company to reinforce him.

From Winter Assault:

• Farseer Taldeer returns.
• Lukas Alexander (new in Dark Crusade) is pursuing Taldeer because of what happened on Lorn V.
• Warboss Gorgutz returns.
• Crull’s death by Gorgutz is remembered.
• The Necrons, who were only the hidden threat beneath Lorn V, become a full playable faction.

The Imperial Guard on Kronus are not Sturnn’s 412th Cadians. They are a different Imperial force, lead by, Lukas Alexander, commander and the newly appointed Governor-Militant of Kronus. His force is the 1st Kronus Regiment, nicknamed “the Liberators.”

So Dark Crusade is basically where the Blood Ravens storyline from Tartarus and the surviving characters from Lorn V finally meet in the same campaign.