Dawn of War 2

ChrisGrenard · Post by **ChrisGrenard** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 3:04 am

A really particularly funny end to a terrible game.

Jow · Post by **Jow** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 3:28 pm

Wow, talk about dropping the ball. Did they say anything post-game?

Turtle · Post by **Turtle** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 5:37 pm

Ouch, you guys sucked that game.

Their strategy was typical SM, not much skill needed to point and click, and maybe once and a while tell the assault marines to jump on something. But it's effective with the way SM works.

On that map though, take and hold the middle power ASAP. Not only does that position have the second VP, but control over it gives you more direct paths to all key parts of the map. I've been noticing that in the pro replays two teammates will rush that position first.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 8:07 pm

We didn’t suck; we won! It was all part of my grand strategy to let them kill my base while my valiant troops hid in the building and slaughtered them! And Chris used his Lictor brilliantly to hide from everything that moved and slowly cap the map and win the game!

See, foolproof.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 6:00 pm

1.8 Release Notes are live

For once I agree with almost everything.

Turtle · Post by **Turtle** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 6:20 pm

You should hear the other forums I'm on. The whining is immense and annoying. Certain high level players just can't see past 1-2 entries on that list to see the whole picture.

SM seems like they got a huge nerf, but in reality the only nerfs they got was to plasma, which was needed, and to the HP scaling up, which was also needed. Tac and Assault Marines are still some of the highest HP units in the game. This HP change acknowledges that it's very easy for a SM player, since he gets in his groove, to rapidly level up his marines, making it much harder to kill them.

To counterbalance that, they have scouts shotguns with suppression on demand, even better flamethrowers to wipe out those now suppressed melee units. There's a bunch of other balance changes I've identified that help SM that aren't direct changes to SM. Things like the warlock Warp Throw being moved to T2 (aka the marine launcher since it was really only used against slow moving marines), gaunts being toned down, and more.

Admittedly, things are still up in the air whether it really fixes things, it's taken this long since the last big patch to really settle into it, and this patch is about just as big.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 2:59 pm

The Last Stand Feature Released

Jow · Post by **Jow** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 6:44 pm

Once I found out this is entirely hero-based and not what I expected out of a "survival" mode I started getting interested. I'll be looking for y'all on Steam to mess with this.

whispa · Post by **whispa** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 7:09 pm

Looks fun to me!

Kelric · Post by **Kelric** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 4:04 pm

Worth $20 on the Steam sale?

Two Sheds · Post by **Two Sheds** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 4:23 pm

A hundred times yes.

Lee · Post by **Lee** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 6:18 pm

Kelric wrote:Worth $20 on the Steam sale?

Easily if you like single player. The multi people don't seem too happy with it, but I really enjoyed the single player campaign.

Natus · Post by **Natus** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 7:26 pm

Kelric wrote:Worth $20 on the Steam sale?

People need to convince me while it's still $20...

I LOVED DoW and got all of the expansions. Didn't play a hell of a lot online, but played the crap out of skirmish.

I respected CoH, but it never quite clicked with me like DoW did. Still need to play it further and see what I'm missing.

The demo of Dow2 I played did not move me. It seemed to be all maneuver and fiddly tactics without any of the raw, bloody DoW-ness of the original. But for $20...

Jow · Post by **Jow** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 7:52 pm

if the game being about maneuver and fiddly tactics was what initially turned you off I doubt it's suddenly going to win you over now. Other than occasional mind-blowingly sized hordes of hormagaunts, this game definitely doesn't have the scale of the original. I actually prefer the maneuver/tactics approach on paper so I was stoked for the game but the game is so fast that you rarely get the opportunity to pull off the really clever stuff (via ability combinations) you might be able to otherwise. It's not bad, but I definitely think, considering how different this game is from anything else out there, that it's got the feel of a "first effort", especially when you consider the growing pains they've had in terms of feeling their way through the GFWL patching environment.

Natus · Post by **Natus** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 8:29 pm

Jow wrote:if the game being about maneuver and fiddly tactics was what initially turned you off I doubt it's suddenly going to win you over now. Other than occasional mind-blowingly sized hordes of hormagaunts, this game definitely doesn't have the scale of the original. I actually prefer the maneuver/tactics approach on paper so I was stoked for the game but the game is so fast that you rarely get the opportunity to pull off the really clever stuff (via ability combinations) you might be able to otherwise. It's not bad, but I definitely think, considering how different this game is from anything else out there, that it's got the feel of a "first effort", especially when you consider the growing pains they've had in terms of feeling their way through the GFWL patching environment.

Thanks, Jow! I was hoping that the game had been patched closer to my liking, especially since the patches have been so huge and game-changing. But there's no way of demoing it MP, sadly.

Maybe I should just wait until it hits $10, if it ever does...

Jow · Post by **Jow** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 8:52 pm

Naw, Relic's stuck to their guns with regard to the scale, but balance is another matter entirely and there have been a bunch of those game-changing updates since release. Personally, it's gotten pretty draining/tiring putting in the effort to learn the game's intracacies only to have to relearn it all repeatedly (with 1.8 I think that makes like 3 or 4 really heavy balance updates). After a while it just starts not being worth the effort, ya know?

Again, though, if you like a vaguely Diabloesque single-player sort of experience it's certainly worth 20 bucks just for that.

andon · Post by **andon** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 11:07 pm

Bought this on the steam sale this weekend. Anyone else new to the game wanna play some Co-op through the campaign missions?

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 2:28 am

Co-op is highly recommended. Voice chat is almost mandatory though. I would join you myself but I am currently playing through with someone else and I think I need a break from it after that.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 2:34 pm

Since unreleased games seem to have vanished I guess I’ll put this here.
IGN has a slightly longer trailer for chaos rising that shows off some of the new units in action.

And from the preview

The librarian unit will be added to multiplayer, while two new heroes will be added to The Last Stand mode: a Chaos Marine hero and a Tyranid Hero will be packed in for players to fight with.

ALSO, while not official…Wraithguard!

whispa · Post by **whispa** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 6:00 pm

Lordnine wrote:Since unreleased games seem to have vanished I guess I’ll put this here.
IGN has a slightly longer trailer for chaos rising that shows off some of the new units in action.

And from the preview

The librarian unit will be added to multiplayer, while two new heroes will be added to The Last Stand mode: a Chaos Marine hero and a Tyranid Hero will be packed in for players to fight with.
ALSO, while not official…Wraithguard!

Hope the Wraithguard are in it!!

Turtle · Post by **Turtle** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 9:35 pm

They'll be in it. It was confirmed that every army is getting a new unit. Wraithguard seem appropriate since it fits and Eldar currently don't have a heavy infantry unit that can directly take on other heavy infantry and vehicles in a firefight (wraithguard did anti MEQ and vehicles on the tabletop). This does also mean there will be some rebalancing of current options though as the expansion will fill gaps in each army.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 2:30 am

Wow new patch with no fanfare.
It's short so I’ll just post.

Multiplayer Balance Updates
General
Sniper Damage no longer does 125% damage to heavy armour
Predator Extra Armour upgrade no longer increases its speed
Kommando Nob’s Rokkit Launcha damage has been reduced to 65 from 72
Balance Bug Fixes
Hive Tyrant’s improved synapse no longer applies to the Carnifex or Screamer Killer
Ranger’s kinetic shot now does weapon knock back instead of medium weapon knockback
Lictor damage increased from 51 to 75
Scout Sergeant’s melee skill has been increased to 71 (Same as scouts)
Warlock commander’s melee skill leveling table has been fixed and properly increases his skill when he levels
Warlock commander leap knockback distance has been changed to 3.5m from 8m and now does weapon knockback with a domino strength of 35 instead of 50
Seer Council can now be affected by debuffs using ‘wargear equips’
Warrior barbed strangler radius properly reduced to 6m
Hormagaunts and Termagants grant 55 XP per entity down from 75 and 70 respectively
Scout knockback ability now suppresses consistently against units in light and heavy cover
Lictor Alpha’s Leap ability no longer knocks back retreating units
The Fire Prism’s Focused Blast ability no longer knocks back retreating units
The Hive Tyrant’s Seismic Roar ability no longer knocks back retreating units
==============================
/ end of notes for 1.9 hotfix
==============================

Very happy with these. Warlock is finally getting his nerfs!

Jow · Post by **Jow** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 10:37 am

and the kommando nob RL has finally been knocked down, something i was screaming for a long time ago (and getting mocked on the official forums about).

Turtle · Post by **Turtle** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 3:14 pm

Others will say the Knob launcher wasn't knocked down enough, but considering that T3 takes a lot longer to get to now just that bit should be enough.

Other things that help eldar in this regard is rangers have a larger detection radius. If you can detect the nob and attack him in melee, that rokkit launcher is useless.

I'm also liking how the simple .5 speed increase to walker speed from the previous patch is making walkers a lot better to use. They can actually chase infantry.

Although, the Wraithlord has had its main benefit, its speed, gone since every walker is now at the same speed. They'll have to do something to bring it back. But, on the other hand, people don't realize that the wraithlord's mounted guns are pretty powerful as of two patches ago.

Jow · Post by **Jow** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 3:34 pm

yeh, i haven't seen the game in action since they brought all the other walkers up to speed but I can't imagine the WL needs another buff considering the dimension the guns add to it.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 5:08 pm

More good news.

Quote:
By popular demand, we are adding vehicle wrecks, so tanks and other vehicles will now leave a carcass when they get killed. We’ve also added a melee/ranged stance button. These will be shipping to Dawn of War 2 when Chaos Rising ships.

Turtle · Post by **Turtle** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 5:35 am

Bah, I still say we don't need stances, but whatever. Vehicle wrecks are a good thing as it makes even a dead vehicle useful for its cover. Even live vehicles are useful for cover, but a bit hard to navigate.

From a recently released video it looks like we're finally getting a predator tank with twin linked las cannons, making predators much better able to kill other vehicles now. They'll probably retune the default cannon now to further the difference.

Jow · Post by **Jow** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 7:11 pm

I don't feel like the game is really going to benefit from stances either, honestly. I suspect most players have gone so long without them that trying to incorporate them again when the current system works pretty well... shrug.

Developer diary for Chaos Rising here, nearly 5-minute video. I'm downloading something else and my connection is saturated so I can't comment on exactly what's in it, but... check it out.

http://www.actiontrip.com/rei/video.phtml?id=5894" target="_blank

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 11:41 pm

Stances are really only an issue for a few key units. Anyone who has ever put a ranged weapon on a wraithlord will attest to the frustration of having it try to shoot an AV squad. Also all setup weapons would benefit from having the units NOT try to chase a unit to shoot it.

ydejin · Post by **ydejin** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 5:40 am

Jow wrote:Developer diary for Chaos Rising here, nearly 5-minute video. I'm downloading something else and my connection is saturated so I can't comment on exactly what's in it, but... check it out.

No multiplayer information at all. It did say that there are two new environments -- the ice planet and space hulks. I'm psyched about the space hulks.

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 11:18 am

I saw genestealers in that video!!! Yay!!

Turtle · Post by **Turtle** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:11 pm

Yeah, I was pretty sure that Nids were going to get genestealers in the expansion. It's likely that their next commander is the brood lord, basically an Alpha Genestealer, but much worse.

Jow · Post by **Jow** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:17 pm

or better, depending on your perspective.

Jow · Post by **Jow** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 2:59 pm

Anyone else think it's a little odd that DoW2 is barely 10 months old but already found its way into a bundle (the THQ pack sold on Steam as part of the weekend Steam sale)?

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 3:18 pm

Not really. Except for Red Faction every other game in that package has been on sale for $10 or less in the last 6 months. Many for $5.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 3:50 am

Chaos Greater Demon Revealed!

Happy Holidays from Relic!

whispa · Post by **whispa** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 8:53 am

Lordnine wrote:Chaos Greater Demon Revealed!

Happy Holidays from Relic!

Awesome! Nurgle would be happy!

Jow · Post by **Jow** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 4:32 pm

no shit, that's a Great Unclean One (recognized due to playing Chaos in the Old World, a boardgame). How funny.

Turtle · Post by **Turtle** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 9:46 pm

Task3r talking about listening to feedback in Chaos Rising:

A lot of less popular Globals have been addressed in Chaos Rising. For example the cost of the nukes have been brought down to a level equivalent to their effectiveness.

Terminators have been made cheaper, will be more effective than they are now and have a new upgrade.

Webways have some new tricks up their sleeve.

... needless to say, there is a lot to look forward to in Chaos Rising other than Chaos. We've taken a lot of feedback from the community over the last year and especially after 1.5 and tried to address any complaints. Issues like the homogenization of the races post-1.5, units that never seem to come out and also wargear that seemed over powered or under powered.

So it looks like we'll be getting a lot of pleasant surprises in CR, and not just Chaos, or the new units.

The main reason why I switched to playing space marines, and now trying to learn the force commander is I want to call in Terminators, which right now are useful in some ways, but can really just suck at times.

For ChrisGrenard and Lordnine, webways getting new functionality should be fun, since both of you liked using them, but they weren't cost effective.

There's also some side talk about how cost effective certain units are, especially in relation to blobbing.

There's other things like big tweaks to the way auto-cover seeking works, including trying to give the player a way to disable it. And they still plan further tweaks after CR launches.

whispa · Post by **whispa** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 10:09 am

I'd like to start playing this multiplayer again but have to first get my feet wet by playing vs the AI..Hope you guys have some room soon!