It's used to create or upgrade units and buildings that rely heavily on technology. Another type of resource is power, produced using generators. Every strategic point under your control, along with your HQ, relics and critical points generate requisition, which is the main resource in the game, allowing you to build new structures and train more units. The main focus is on tactical combat, base-building, capturing strategic points and researching. The gameplay here is identical to the original. The pieces you choose will add specific bonuses or abilities for the force commander on the battlefield.Īfter attacking a province or when defending one the game switches to the usual Dawn of War battle map where you control different units and structures directly. It is a sort of achievement system that rewards additional pieces to the commander's suit for reaching different milestones, such as conquering your first province or getting 2000 kills.
Another innovation for the series is the force commander's wargear. By reinforcing a province during your turn you make sure that it already has the trained unit or the selected building at the very start of a defensive battle.
Honor Guards are unlocked as a bonus when conquering a specific region. This can be used to either train available Honor Guards or reinforce a province of your choice.
If your army is in a nearby province when this happens then you will start the battle with the force commander and the Honor Guards already present.Įvery province held generates planetary requisition at the end of your turn. From time to time you will be forced to defend a region against attacks during the opponents' turn. To defeat a faction you must conquer their stronghold province and the ultimate goal is to crush all enemies. The army moves around the global map as a single entity represented by the force commander and it cannot be divided. It's also possible for them to reinforce any of the territories already under their control or recruit Honor Guards, but this doesn't waste their turn. During their turn, the factions can attack a bordering enemy province, move to a friendly region or do nothing. Every one of the seven races controls a number of these provinces at the beginning and the gameplay follows mechanics similar to a game of Risk, albeit without any dice rolls. The main campaign introduces a novelty for the franchise-a global map depicting the planet Kronus divided into 25 provinces.
Along with the campaign Dark Crusade adds some new maps for skirmish, and online play. Each race has its own story and reason for being on Kronus adding motivation for players to play the campaign with each race at least once. Dark Crusade also features a new campaign mode where you choose one of the five past races, or two new ones and compete with the other six for domination of a planet called Kronus. Being made of living metal their units are capable of regeneration and can reassemble themselves after death.īesides that each of the existing races have received an additional unit: the daemon prince (Chaos Space Marines), harlequin (Eldar), heavy weapons team (Imperial Guard), flash gitz (Orks) and the grey knights (Space Marines). This faction is special because they don't rely on requisition to acquire troops or to build structures. Their ultimate goal is to obliterate all living beings so that their master gods can feast on the souls of the slain.