Soulstorm

[Sideshow]

Reports in that Relic are working on a new expansion for Dawn of War called Soulstorm, with Dark Eldar as a new playable faction.

[TK-Maximus]

Tyranids. Tyranids tyranids tyranids...

Where are the Tyranids I ask you?????

[Sideshow]

As Relic have stated multiple times, there will never be Tyranids in DoW. If DoW 2 happens then you'll get them.

[DesPunk]

That's not fair!

Tyranids are practically the only ones left, Dark Eldar are just gonna be Spiky Eldar just like chaos are spiky SM's

:(

Maybe they'll bring out black templar or demonhunters for the good side :P?

[--Mogwai--]

besides tyranids i suppose dark eldar are the only 'proper' race not yet covered, even if their fluff sucks and they have about 0.2 different unit types. hopefully as with previous expansions each existing army will get a new unit which would be nice, but most important of all, - balance changes!!! here's hoping chaos (and to a lesser extent tau) get nerfed to hell and back!!!

[Sideshow]

You forgot cron in your imba list. You fanny.

[YcMing]

:O, another one :).. would be cool to see, any trailers or anything like that ??

Just play starcraft if u want a balance game :P :P joke ;)

[Sideshow]

Official announcement (http://investor.thq.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=96376&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1055637&highlight=)

I'll post more once I've listened to the podcast.

TLDR: Dark Eldar, Another new race (likely Sisters of Battle), A new unit for all existing races, and flyers.

[--Mogwai--]

NICE. although, air units in 40K are all... absolutely (http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/thunder1.htm) massive (http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/vampirh.htm).
i guess if they can fit a baneblade in...

[Sideshow]

I'd guess it'll be more like speeder bikes, swooping hawks, etc. Don't think we'll see a thunderhawk gunship... :)

[gor]

I simply cannot wait (honestly). Any hints on this second new race?

[Ru]

2 more races AND flyers AND more units for the other races?!

it'll be years before they balance it now!

[--Mogwai--]

swooping hawks would be pretty good actually. maybe they will re-work landspeeders?
i still think taus relic unit should be one of these (http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/40kmanta2.htm)...

[Bluepixie]

Wooooo! screenshots and info (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/warhammer40000dawnofwarsoulstorm/images.html?tag=tabs;images) Dark Eldar look great but Sisters of Battle take the biscuit!

"They're basically the Spanish Inquisition in space."

oh lolz!

[Fyndir]

Want: This expansion.

NEED: Mod of expansion that replaces Sisters Of Battle sounds with Monty Python Spanish Inquisition Clips. ;)

[--Mogwai--]

demo (http://www.fileplanet.com/183627/180000/fileinfo/Warhammer-40K:-Dawn-of-War---Soulstorm-Demo) is out it seems

[Sid]

demo (http://www.fileplanet.com/183627/180000/fileinfo/Warhammer-40K:-Dawn-of-War---Soulstorm-Demo) is out it seems
Nice! I'll leave this downloading tomorrow and have a shot when I get in from uni tomorrow afternoon.

Do we know if balance issues are going to be addressed with the release of this or is this simply an add-on of more races and units?

[neogramps]

I find Gamershell is always faster that fp, and has no sign-in - http://www.gamershell.com/download_22778.shtml cheers for the shout though

[gor]

the dark eldar seem to have quite a bit of depth, lots of units and powers to familiarise with. I can see them turning into a race for the pros/ ex-starcraft players (a few qualities reminded me of starcraft).

The air units seem really clumsy at the moment, Im not convinced they fit with the dow scale yet.

[Uuurrahh]

What's with the voice acting? holy shit :D

Good fun otherwise.

[Octavion]

I'm loving the dark eldar, in particular the Scourges. They look badass and once upgraded can make light work of most vehicles.

The Dais of Destruction is pretty uber. I managed to wipe out 5 full marine squads with one use of its special ability.

[Sideshow]

Scourge = Fire Dragons with jump packs...

[Bluepixie]

Scourge = Fire Dragons with jump packs...

Ohhh shiiitt.

[gor]

The Dais of Destruction is pretty uber. I managed to wipe out 5 full marine squads with one use of its special ability.

I cant believe the relic unit has been made playable in the demo - surely you save such an uber unit for the full release.

According to sanctuary and some detective work on the SS profiles we are looking at some interesting new units. Theres some debate over whether or not these hotkeys mean there inclusion in SS, so don't hold your breath just yet.

The ones that stood out:

marine_techmarine = "T",
marine_tempest = "E",
chaos_dreadnought = "E",
chaos_hell_talon = "H",
ork_gun_wagon = "G",
ork_fighta_bomma = "F",
eldar_wraithguard = "G",
eldar_nightwing = "N",
tau_piranha = "P",
tau_barracuda
necron_deceiver = "D",
guard_demolisher = "D",
guard_marauder = "M",

Complete list of troops for sisters of battle is also in there.

Seems rather slack to include these hotkeys in the demo. Whatcha think? deliberately misleading us or just plain old incompetence?

[Sideshow]

The deceiver supposedly has an ability whereby you can temporarily take control of all nearby infantry...

[Octavion]

Leman Russ Demolisher would be totally bad ass.

The techmarine will have to be pretty nails if it's meant to be equivalent to the rest of those units.

[Sid]

Full game was released today in the US!

I'll post comments soon once my import arrives.

Rough Changelog:

GLOBAL:
All transports now only have 2 slots.
Teching universally slowed. These numbers are available elsewhere, but the defaults are:
Tier2 from 250/105/80s -> 300/125/90s
Tier3 from 300/300/90s -> 340/340/100s
Tier4 from 400/400/96s -> 450/450/100s



SPACE MARINES:
Scout flamer cost reduced from 40/10 -> 30/10.
Scout infiltration research now requires T2
Scout squad cost increased from 90 -> 100. Reinforce cost untouched.
Battlecry research cost reduces from 150/75/80s to 100/50/60s
Skull Probe cost reduced from 75 -> 65.
Skull Probe hp increased from 200 -> 225.
Grey Knights now require the Sacred Artifact to build
Now take up two trans slots: Grey Knights
Decreased regen of Chaplain inner healing aura from x2 -> x1.5
Reduced Tac Missile Launcher cost by 25%.
Increased Tac Missile Launcher reload by 15%.
Bionics and Range Finders split into two upgrades. The first set is available at tier2, the second at tier2. Generally, this improves SM tier1 and puts them on the same footing in T2.
SM tac squads now max out at 4 heavy weapons
Reduced Whirlwind damage by 15%.
Reduced Whirlwind support cap cost to 4.
Grey Knight pierce vs commander armor reduced from 45 -> 30
Force Commander cost decreased from 260/50 -> 220/50
Word of the Emperor research cost reduced from 75/40 -> 50/40



CHAOS:
Berserk Fury ability moved to T2.
Purge the Weak hp bonus increased from 100 -> 125.
Purge the Weak now provides a +1 regen bonus
Tac Plasma Gun damage reduced by 10%
Cultist Grenade Launcher piece vs inf_high increased from 23 -> 30
Chains of Torment now has an initial casting delay of 2 seconds.
Chains of Torment ranged reduced from 40 -> 25.
Raptor flamer cost reduced from 50/10 -> 35/10
Frag Grenade range increased to 25 to match SM nades
Chaos Armory cost reduced tfrom 200/75 o 175/50.
Now take up two trans slots: PSM
Increased Daemon Pit unload time from 5 -> 15 seconds.
Increased Horror piece vs vehicle_high from 25 -> 32
Oblit cost increased from 80/25 -> 100/35
PSM cost increased from 55/25 -> 65/30



ELDAR:
Reduced research time by 15%: Fortune, Eldritch Storm, Commander upgrades, Call of War
Additional decrease of Eldritch Storm research time from 60 -> 50 secs
Additional decrease of 2nd Commander Upg research time from 60 -> 50 secs
Increased Eldritch Storm damage by 10%.
Eldritch Storm pierce vs buildings decreased by 25%
Removed squad cap bonus from Eldar Exarchs.
Warlocks now require the Aspect Portal.
Warlock +20% leader damage bonus now requires the Mysticism upgrade.
Mysticism cost decreased to 125/65
Now take up two trans slots: Warp Spiders, Seer Council
Increased Farseer mass (don't have numbers) to prevent easy ability disruption
Increased Warshout morale damage from 50 -> 65.
Increased Warshout cooldown from 75 -> 90
Eldritch Storm research cost reduced from 150/50 -> 125/40
Fortune research cost reduced from 100/50 -> 75/35
Ranger infiltration research cost increased from 50/50 -> 75/75



ORKS:
Burna Bomb model scaled up 25% to make it easier to notice/target.
Burna Bomb damage decreased from 1200-4000 -> 1200-1800.
Burna Bomb HP increased from 400 -> 600.
Removed Big Mek build time penalty from Kustom Gadjitz research
Big Shoota fotm penalty increased from 0.25 -> 0.27
Big Shoota damage decreased from 35-44 -> 31-40
Reduced upgraded Waaagh Banner damage by 10%.
First Waaagh Banner upgrade now requires 45 pop
Now take up two trans slots: Nobs, Flash Gitz
Free Sluggas research now requires T4



IG:
Grenade Launchers decreased to 40 range.
Grenade Launcher build time decreased from 20 -> 14.
Sentinel sight radius increased from 25 -> 30
Turret build time increased by 20%
HWT cost reduced from 250/50/45s -> 225/50/40s
HWT lascannon damage increased from 110-137 -> 126-158
Execute damage bonus reduced from 3x -> 2.5x
Tactica Control cost increased from 150/50 -> 175/50
Increased Sentinel damage vs vehicle_high from 15 -> 25.
Tightened up Guardsman/Kasrkin formation to improve pathing
Command Squad General now does a small amount of damage with his special attacks.
Kasrkin reinforce cost increased from 40/10 to 50/10
Ogryn reinforce cost increased from 50/15 to 55/15
Basilisk cost reduced from 150/300 to 150/250
Telepathica Temple add-on cost reduced from 75/25 -> 50/25
Hellhound accuracy increased to 80%, damage reduced to maintain DPS.
Hellhound fotm accuracy increased from to 65%
Starting support cap increased from 0 -> 4. (I don't remember doing this and can't find the change, but Maktata found it in the demo. Weird.)



TAU:
Reduced Vespid ranged damage from 22-25 -> 15-17
Increased initial activation delay on snare traps from 8 -> 10 sec
Snare trap slowing duration decreased from 15 -> 12 seconds.
Snare trap armor type changed to building_low from tp_armour. Increased HP from 20 -> 50 to compensate for the new armor type.
Sonic Pulse damage removed
Stealthsuit reinforce cost reduced from 85 -> 65. Initial squad cost unchanged.
Reduced Stealthsuit Fusion Gun damage by 10%
Reduced Stealthsuit EMP grenade duration from 20 -> 15. Increased cooldown from 90 -> 110 secs.
Broadside build time reduced from 45 -> 30.
Broadside movement speed increased from 10 -> 12
Broadside reload time decreased from 4 -> 3, reduced damage by ~25% to compensate.
Decreased cost of Burst Cannon Enhancement research from 75/5060s -> 50/50/45s
Increased Skyray barrage delay by 0.5 seconds.
Reduced Skyray barrage damage by 5%
Increased Skyray standard attack damage by 5%
Drone Squad cost reduced from 40/70 -> 35/65
Increased Kroot Shaper damage (both weapons) by 15%
Increased Kroot Shaper hp from 800 -> 850
Crisis Suit cost increased from 180/40 -> 200/40
Kroot Carnivore squad cost increased from 180 -> 200.
Tau Commander missile pod reload and damage doubled. (Same DPS, but less disruption overall.)
Crisis Suit missile reload reduced from 6 -> 4.5
Tau Commander flamer changed from circle to cone arc.
For the Greater Good no longer boosts the health of Snare Traps or Harbinger Drones.
I believe Harbinger Drone cost was raised slightly, but I can't find it in any changelog.



NECRONS:
Increased Lord Destroyer hp from 1250 -> 1750
Reduced Lord Destroy possess time from 8 -> 6 sec.
Reduced Flayed One teleport recharge from 120 -> 75 sec
Necron econ upg #1 bonus reduced from +33% -> +25%
Lightning Field now charges 25% slower
Damage boost from first NW upgrade reduced from 35 -> 30%.
HP bonus from first NW upgrade reduced from 90 -> 50
HP bonus from second NW upg reduced from x1.6 -> 1.5
Increased research time of first NW upg from 30 -> 80 sec.
Increased research time of second NW upg to 55 (don't have orig value)
NL jumps reduced from 2 -> 1.75
Phylactery ranged damage reduced reduced from 50 -> 40%
Monolith power cost increased from 175 -> 225
LP3 now requires T2
Random Attack Scarab changes to change them for their new role as an air unit. Not terribly meaningful in their old context, though.
Increased scaling cost on power gens from 20 -> 25.
Decreased Flayed One aura morale damage from 3 -> 1.5 per “hit”
Added 30 morale damage to Flayed One melee attack
Flayed One starting HP decreased to 550.
Flayed Ones now gain 150hp each tier (550 to 700 to 850).
Reduced Necron time bonus provided by Crit Locations (no numbers)
Increased Tomb Spyder HP by 300.
Decreased Tomb Spyder damage “a little”. (?!)
Decreased Tomb Spyder pierce vs building_high “significantly”
Reduced Immortal damage by 15%.
Increased Immortal hp by 10%.
Immortals now have the Summon ability.
Pariahs special attack damage increased from 0 -> 20-25 (100% pierce)
Increased Pariah hp from 1000 -> 1100
Reduced Pariah reinforce time by 20%
Reduced Nightmare Shroud duration from 10 -> 8.
Increased Nightmare Shroud cooldown from 80 -> 95.
Increased Heavy Destroyer pierce vs buildings from 35/20/20 -> 50/35/20 (low/med/high)
Wraith damage reduced from 45-50 -> 33-35
Flayed One Special Attack 2 piece vs building_low reduced from 91 -> 40
Tomb Spyder now requires 4 bodies for NW, 5 for FO, and 6 for Immortals
Tomb Spyder hp increased from 2700 -> 3000
Tomb Spyder damage creased from 540-670 -> 500-610
Necron 1st power upgrade cost increased to 400
Necron 2nd power upgrade cost increased to 600
Wailing Terror (LP ability) damage reduced from 200-250 -> 170/210. Morale damage reduced from 100 -> 85.

[gor]

Necron are completely fruited - so overnerfed its unreal. Eldar and IG >>> the rest. Tau look quite strong also, and who knows where SoB and DE will fit in.

Overall the changelog is decent. Its addressed all my main concerns (SM dealing with infiltrated, big shoota damage, waagh banner damage, snare traps, chains, flayed etc) - chaos fast tech remains strong, and reaper mass hasn't really taken a hit. Hopefully these will follow.

[Bluepixie]

"Flyer units need to use bridges and follow ground troop paths." (http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?t=183923)

Is this true? The more I read about SS, the less I wanna play it. Sounds like a total sell out. :(