The grim darkness of the far future is heading back to one of its most famous battlegrounds. Deep Silver and developer KING Art Games shared a lengthy overview trailer for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV yesterday, and it gives Warhammer 40,000 fans their clearest look yet at the story waiting on the planet Kronus.
A Black Library Author Behind The Campaign
The new game's story was crafted with John French, a veteran Black Library author known for his Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40,000 novels. That should be a good sign for anyone who cares about the setting as much as the strategy.
Instead of a single storyline, Dawn of War IV tells the war for Kronus from every side. It has four fully playable campaigns covering the Orks, the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Necrons, and the Space Marines, with more than 70 missions in total. Each side is led by Commanders the trailer calls "legendary figures who drive the story," and players will have to decide where to strike, what to defend, and what to sacrifice.
Back To Kronus, Centuries Later
Longtime fans know Kronus well. It was the setting of Dawn of War: Dark Crusade, the 2006 expansion where several factions fought for control of the entire planet. Dawn of War IV picks up centuries after "the fires of Dark Crusade," and the trailer shows that the planet has not found peace in that time.
The Orks are fighting among themselves. Gorgutz, the series' longtime Ork Warboss, leads his Bad Moons against Beastboss Guzcutta and his Snakebite Beastsnaggas. The Beastsnaggas are one of the newer Ork groups from the tabletop game, known for riding into battle on squigs and hunting big monsters.
Meanwhile, the Adeptus Mechanicus awaken "a secret buried for millennia," and the Necrons rise from beneath the surface. For fans of the lore, that pairing makes a lot of sense, as the Mechanicus' obsession with ancient technology has a habit of waking up things that should have stayed asleep.
The Blood Ravens, The Dark Angels, And A Primarch
The Imperium's story centers on two Space Marine Chapters. The Blood Ravens, the Chapter most closely tied to the Dawn of War series, are "outnumbered and outgunned" and making their final stand. Then the Dark Angels descend from the void to help.
The biggest reveal is that Lion El'Jonson, the Primarch of the Dark Angels, joins the battle himself as the war reaches its climax. The Lion returned to the setting in recent years after spending ten thousand years missing, and seeing him take the field in an RTS is a big moment for fans.
On the battlefield, the two Chapters play very differently. The Dark Angels deliver shock and awe to the front lines, while the Blood Ravens excel in smaller skirmishes and covert operations behind enemy lines.
Four Factions With Their Own Identities
The trailer also shows how each faction's lore shapes how it plays. The Orks overwhelm enemies with cheap units and the WAAAGH!. The Adeptus Mechanicus "fuse flesh and machine," using the Noosphere to link their base together, while the Knights of House Raven can drop from orbit. The Necrons spread a Power Matrix from their Tomb Citadel and keep coming back from resurrection galleries. As the trailer puts it, "Kill them... and they return."
Outside the campaign, the game also includes Skirmish, the Last Stand co-op mode, online multiplayer, and an Advanced Painter for customizing armies down to individual pieces of armor.
Dawn of War IV launches on PC on December 3rd, with Commander Edition owners getting early access from November 30th.
Are you more excited to see Lion El'Jonson in action, or to finally learn what the Adeptus Mechanicus woke up on Kronus?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.