Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II

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An icon will fall. A God will awaken. A Primarch will rise. The galaxy will burn...

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II is the sequel to Battlefleet Gothic Armada and is the first 40k game to be set during the Gathering Storm, an event in which Geedubs finally decided to advance the storyline of 40k in a mostly positive way (to the shock of everyone).

The game was again developed by Tindalos Studios and published by Focus Home Interactive, and was released on January 24th, 2019. It is a decent game compared to Dawn of War III.

Anyone who disagrees with the fact 40k wins against almost every single sci-fi universe, show them this game's cinematic trailer. That'll shut 'em up.

Setting

As mentioned above, the game is set during the Gathering Storm event. To summarize: The armless crybaby known as Abaddon the Despoiler launched his 13th Black Crusade which ended with him rage quitting and dropping a Blackstone Fortress upon the planet of Cadia, destroying the planet (though it broke before the guard did) and it's pylons resulting in a chain reaction of warp-storms that created the Great Rift and divided the galaxy in half. It was also on a Monday which makes it double Heresy.

During this time, Ynnead awakened (thanks to the machinations of a certain Dick) and chose the craftworlder-turned-corsair-turned-wych Yvraine as its emissary. Yvraine saved the survivors from Cadia's destruction and traveled to the Ultramarine's homeworld of Macragge where they woke up Roboute Guilliman from his ten millennia long coma.

With more factions likely being made available after release, existing factions are having their ship rosters expanded tremendously, including the addition of various super-ships like the Phalanx, Macragge's Honour, Vengeful Spirit, and the like. Which is nice since it's easy to see what all these damn vessels and weapons look like in motion instead of using our imaginations or viewing smudged over concept art.

Plot

Written by none other than our SPIRITUAL LIEGE, the game has three campaigns at launch: the Imperium, the Tyranids and the Necrons. The voice acting and plot actually look like more than five minutes were spent on them (sorry glares at Dawn of War III). Which is nice since Nids and Neckrons usually get the short end of the stick when it comes to being shown in space battles. Said battles also look really, really good, funnily enough the following lines have no anti-Ward comments, which may mean either he has truly improved to awesome levels after his hiatus or no one bothered watching the credits, which also got some Lelith Hesperax fanservice but who cares about her if there is no Dark Eldar campaign yet. Go ahead, we are checking the page history to see how you react to this tip of information.

Prologue/Tutorial

The Fall of Cadia serves as the game's Prologue/Tutorial. You get to command the Phalanx, so that's awesome. Also a Navy Captain gets *BLAMMED* so Naval Commissars may not be as incompetent as we previously thought. You get to see CREED, which is great.

For those who are too lazy to play / Don't have the monies to buy said game/ already seen stuff about the Campaign on the Youtube, please be aware that the rest contains spoilers, including the rest of this thread so no problems there.

This article contains spoilers! You have been warned.

You learn the ins and outs of the game by first commanding a Battle Barge, belonging to Space Wolf Commander Sven Bloodhowl. After destroying a few fodder Chaos ships, the Battle Barge unexpectedly meets the Blackstone Fortress and a sizable Chaos fleet escorting it. Sven's ship is then expectantly and completely fucking annihilated In the ensuing battle, but not before Sven and some of his brothers board the Fortress and presumably become fur-rugs. Following this, the Battle of Cadia is underway, where Trazyn the Infinite shows us that he can outdick Tzeentch by helping the Imperials defend their world from a beam of doom. Continuing on, they give you control over a few fodder ships before they locate the Deaths-*BLAM* Blackstone Fortress pops in unexpectedly, again, and is very prepared to rip your fleet apart.

But then, The Phalanx arrives with reinforcements to blast the heretics to pieces. As you approach the Fortress, it turns out the Spehss Corgis are still alive, and managed to destroy the shields of the fortress, leaving it open to be destroyed by the Phalanx. A cutscene plays after the Blackstone's defeat which involves said fortress getting rammed into Cadia and the prologue ending.

Imperial Campaign

Players will again take control of Admiral Spire from the first game. Spire returns from warp travel, but due to the timey-wimey effects of the Warp, he discovers he has been transported several centuries after the Gothic War. He's now tasked with retaking the ruins of Cadia and safeguarding Imperial worlds from the Forces of Chaos and marauding Xenos.

The Campaign will have you liberate the Cadian sector and its surrounding territories from xenos and chaos. Killing off the major races requires going against their Titan-ship or destroying a massive structure in a special quest battle. There are a few branching paths, like trying to form an alliance with Eldar or destroying them on the orders of Darkhammer, or... "drama" with the Dark Angels, but functionally you’ll get virtually identical outcomes, just make sure your fleet isn't next to whoever your new enemy is. The Eldar drag you into drama involving a craftworld and a powerful artefact called the Spirit Gate, and what you do with it next determines your future relations with the Eldar. Aside from that there's Chaos, Orks, Necrons and Tyranids you also have to deal with. Get ready to fight the Ancient One after killing enough Tyranids to track it down, a World Engine under construction capable of pre-sighted bombardments (and needs the contributions of the Blood Angels and Raven Guard!), Ork pirates obsessed with space whales and general pirate business (with TWO SPACE HULKS!), and Abaddon's forces who have floating chaotic structures ready to fuck your shit. At some point in time you will track a destroyed supply convoy and get ambushed by the Iron Warriors, bringing Failbaddon's old flagship the Planet Killer in tow. Surviving this ambush without retreating will be hard, but persevering allows the MACRAGGE’S HONOUR to arrive and fuck the enemy to death until the end of the campaign, so winning the battle is highly advisable. Of course, the final stage in the game involves fighting the Vengeful Spirit. Bring the Macragge's Honour for maximum AWESOME.

For a more descriptive campaign, continue reading:

Following the battle of Cadia, the Hero of the Gothic War a.k.a: the 12 Black Crusade, Admiral Spire, finds himself lost in the warp for the guts of almost a thousand years. He returns to the Cadian Sector, learning of the planet's fate and receives a fuckload of distress signals across the sector. Moments later, he delves deeper into the conflict, and secures the Cadian sector after taking a Mechanicus fleet and an Imperial Fist fleet under his command. You go through the campaign tutorial during the reconquest. Spire meets Lord Admiral Drang, who is pretty much the guy who gives him missions, informing him of an upcoming attack on the Cadian system itself, then ordering him to reinforce the Agrippina Sector, which is under assault by the Aeldari, an alliance of multiple Eldar factions headed by Ynnead to get shit done.

After some time, the Lord Inquisitor Darkhammer graces you with his presence by revealing that Drang was a traitor, which was appropriately blammed. Darkhammer then gives Spire new missions involving xenos and heretics. These include: dealing with Lord Trazyn the Infinite, brawling with some of Abaddon's champions from the first game, deciding whether or not to kill of the Aeldari because of the Inquistion and killing off the latest Tyranid incursion that happened to spring up out of nowhere as always. All the while you try to hunt down and finish off the fight at Cadia by destroying the recuperating remants of the Black Crusade and the Warmaster himself.

Imperial Characters:

• Admiral Venesca Catallia: Leader of Battlegroup Silver Dawn. She is also one of the dumbest motherfuckers in any sci-fi, giving Admiral Holdo a run for her money. Her stupid acts include but are not limited to: using her flagship (a Battlecruiser at best) and a bunch of escorts to take on the VENGEFUL FUCKING SPIRIT, insta-killing tens of thousands, and attacking an Aeldari Craftworld for no reason in the middle of the 13th Black Crusade, while they and the Imperium were allies.

• Inquisitor Darkhammer: A living caricature of the Imperial Inquisition (he's a retarded asshole), famous for his rivalry with Inquisitor Valeria. A PROUD AND LOYAL SERVANT OF THE IMPERIUM! You can choose between siding with the Eldar to help fight Chaos or siding with Darkhammer to purge the xenos and their Craftworld. You will have to destroy him if you wish to ally with the Eldar, and if you side with him he will valiantly lead a charge to cyclonic torpedo the entire craftworld, purging the sector of Eldar. Ties with the said Eldar in an arrogance contest.

• Lord High Admiral Drang: Initially an ally and one of your commanders, until he gets Blammed by Darkhammer for heresy.

• Commodore Kage: Your hypeman from the first game, and an all around bro.

• Magos Crawn: Space Tech-support.

• Commodore-Captain Trevaux: One of the head personnel on the Phalanx.

• Captain Tor Garadon: Head commander of the Phalanx.

Necron Campaign

Players will take control of a Necron Overlord of the Nepheru Dynasty named "Amarkun the Gatherer", who awakens after several millennia of slumber and is ordered by his Phaeron, Kephrekh the Unbroken, to reawaken the nearby tomb worlds. Amarkun will come into conflict with several factions and eventually come across Trazyn the Infinite. You’ll have to kill the Tyranids and the Ancient One to get another dynasty on your side. At some point you will have to face the FUCKING PHALANX in order to get a Trionic Activator promised by Trazyn, and that will require your best gameplay. While it can’t be confirmed yet, multiple videos are showing an insta-fail if at least a third of your fleet is even turned to drifting hulks. If you know how to board and properly time the solar storms, Trazyn will become the ultimate troll and destroy the Phalanx from the inside via Tyranid swarms. Trazyn will also convince you to use the Dark Throne for a better purpose than what Kephrekh wants.

Kephrekh becomes suspicious of you for having knowledge of the Dark Throne, doubly so for questioning his plans, and demands you submit yourself to his judgement. Cryptek Zaa tells you that the only choice now is to usurp Kephrekh as Phaeron, which you do. To aid in defending the Dark Throne, a webway gate defended by Voidstinger must be destroyed or captured. Then you’ll need to use the power of the C’Tan to destroy Craftworld Os’tara. You’ll also have to kill the Ork pirates, just like every campaign. Unless you’re feeling ballsy and want to make things interesting, taking on the space hulks at full health is inadvisable. Wait until one of them dies and the remaining one is critically damaged (boring and time consuming, but easy).

Trollzyn will also leak the Dark Throne’s position to none other than Lord High Admiral Spire and his Astartes allies, and you must defend it with the help of Tremor Cannon bombardments. Protect the capture zones. Trazyn says this scheme was so easy since humans trust too easily (ironic given the Imperial Creed...). For those who hate the Ultrasmurfs, you’ll also have a chance to stick it to Big Smurf himself. Just be careful of the Maccragge’s Honour. Trazyn keeps a few things of value from the wreckage, and it’s suggested it could be Guilliman (although unconfirmed). In an effort to counter Thousand Sons meddling with the webway, you’ll also fight Abaddon and the Vengeful Spirit. Interestingly this isn’t the final boss, but instead is Huron fucking Blackheart of the Red Corsairs! Should you win and destroy the Blackstone Fortress, you will see the Dark Throne activate for its true purpose, which is forever closing the Eye of Terror.

Necron Characters:

• Trazyn the Infinite: The most famous collector in 40K and a lulzy figure who’s great at trolling. Easily the best Necron in existence.

• Amarkun the Gatherer: A new character, and the one you play as that must unite the Necron dynasties. His character is that of a reluctant warrior, who doesn’t want unnecessary bloodshed. Even outright states he will accept surrenders and vassalage from other races. A rare quality in the 40K universe. Also a bit of a troll, goading his enemies to stupid moves. Overall, a bit of a bro.

• Cryptek Zaa of Tomorrow: While he fills the obligatory ‘right hand man’ role, he and Trazyn also goad you into overthrowing Kephrekh. Pretty wise guy. Obligatory deadpan snarker, eventually prompting Amarkun to start responding the same.

• Phaeron Kephrekh the Unbroken: The Head Necron who orders you around. Wants to shut off the rest of the galaxy from the dynasty using the Dark Throne. You will overthrow him later on, and use the Dark Throne for a much better purpose.

• Commander Vorekh: Kephrekh’s lapdog, and another guy to kill.

• Lord Cleorekh: A Necron Lord who aids you in the destruction of an Aeldari Craftworld. You will have to escort his ship to the Craftworld itself.

• Anakaleth the Wise: Member of a rival dynasty, becomes loyal to Amarkun if the latter saves his metal butt from Tyranids.

Tyranid Campaign

Just eat the whole galaxy. By this point you should know the drill. You have access to the Ancient One at some point, a ship with Psychic Scream and boarding actions on SUPER STEROIDS. Since the Tyranids came a long way from the Dawn of War series and forgot how to talk, all narration comes from the perspective of your future lunch.

The Eldar and Iron Hands try to form an alliance with each other to stop the tyranids, but this goes about as badly as you could predict since the Tyranids are the ones kicking ass. Imperial forces try and fail to defend the Eldar craftworld (the hardest part of the mission) but are ultimately swept aside as Eldrathan and his allies run around in their frail ships and become Tyranid food. The Eldar craftworld cannons are pre-sighted and capable of friendly fire, so lure the Imperials into that for extra lulz. The Orks on the other hand want space titans and to eventually make a big WAAAGGHHH! to krump da Tyranidz, and this will predictably fail as well. It goes just like the other campaigns when you’re fighting the Orks. However, it appears these space hulks now have Orky nova kannons that FOLLOW YOU, so be careful. Later on you’ll once again encounter Admiral Catallia as she tries to escort refugees from the Scarus Sector, but that effort will be in vain as she’s nommed and her fleet gets more panicked. Perhaps cruel karma for her actions against an Eldar Craftowrld and getting her fleet wiped against Abaddon (which is possible since one Fabricator Cambrius broke his promise for aid).

There comes a point where you must fight Abaddon. First, you must deal with his chaos-god aligned lackeys and their respective unique abilities. After that, face down the Vengeful Spirit and destroy the forces of Chaos once and for all.

The Necrons under Kephrekh will at first delegate their vassals and then their main forces to defend their holdings across the map. When they are unable to hold out, Amarkun and Zaa will fall back to the region of the Dark Throne, and they will try to defend it with a tremor cannon capable of pre-sighted bombardments and defense platforms. Similar to the Aeldari Craftworld, a skilled hive mind will try to trick the Necrons into moving into the radius of these attacks for max lulz. Then you’ll have to fight through more vassals as you capture random zones to destroy the tremor cannon, and send Tyranids to the surface. Not even Trollzyn’s aid can save the Necrons and their outraged leader as Amarkun lets Kephrekh know that their Dynasty has met its end.

In a rather lulzy sequence, you’ll then to take on the 2 biggest assholes in the Imperium: Fabricator Cambrius and Inquisitor Darkhammer. This is an escort mission where you must break through the enemy blockade while protecting drone Tyranids (that you can't control for some reason). To speed this mission up, destroy Darkhammer and Cambrius’ flagships. The Imperials will mount a full retreat, and you get to hear Guilliman whine some more about how the Tyranids are kicking serious ass and more gene-stealer invasions. Lord Admiral Spire is tasked by Guilliman to hold the line, and the Blood Angels answer the call for aid. Of course, this only delays the inevitable as you destroy Captain Donatos’ fleet. His last words apparently are to bring him in closer. The navigator for Spire’s fleet is incapacitated, which means no Imperial Navy aid for the Astartes in another region. This leaves the Space Wolves, Dark Angels, and Raven Guard to converse amongst themselves when the Space Wolf makes the lulziest roast of the Dark Angels in 40K history. Of course, this coalition of Space Marines is no match for the Tyranid hivemind, and you get to hear Guilliman consoling a grieving Admiral Spire as he beats himself up over not being present to aid the Astartes. Lord High Admiral Spire then pledges his forces to defend the entranceway to Cadia with the help of a space station. The mission tells you to board the station, but outright destroying it will deprive you of dialogue. The crew offers to cover a retreat for the outmatched Imperials, but that isn’t in Spire’s DNA (most of the time).From there, destroy Spire’s fleet and hear the man try desperately to escape as his reactors begin to fail. After that mission you hear Guilliman realize only he stands between Terra and absolute destruction. He’ll make a pretty nice speech to the Imperials who are present to defend Cadia. The speech did not help. After fighting your way to the Cadian Gate itself, you hear Guilliman and his forces try to make a strategy over the asteroid fields and lack of sensory capabilities. From there you fight through a bunch of lightly armored ships, then the Macragge’s Honour itself. Simply destroy that ship to win. Inflicting enough damage sees massive space marine reinforcements so work fast. However, you also gain access to The Ancient One. Guilliman stubbornly refuses to retreat despite the increasing levels of damage to his ship, and when he’s about to die he apologizes to the Emperor for failing him and his Imperium. After destroying the ship, everyone retreats as they state that Guilliman is lost. You’re greeted with a cutscene showing the Tyranids on the march towards Terra itself.

You strangely hear from Guilliman when the enemy races become Tyranid food. For the Orks, he laments that mankind is screwed if even a hardy and kunning race like them is killed. For the Eldar, he’s sad that NO BIG TIDDY ELDAR GF the Eldar died in such a horrible way and that the galaxy will be worse off without them despite their sneaky ways. He gets pissed off that the Tyranids cockblocked him from the glory of killing Abaddon, and fears humanity is next. When the Necrons die, he’s worried that not even the ancient superpower that were the Necrons could stop the Tyranids, but vows to learn from recent defeats to defend humanity and emerge stronger.

Chaos Campaign

You play as Word Bearer Thanos Malos Vrykan, a particular follower of the Dark Gods who is chosen by a Daemon through a Daemonhost to command the Word Bearers during the 13th Black Crusade. He becomes a Chaos Lord and begins a conquest of the stars to further the plans of the Warmaster.

Malos' first major engagement sees you fighting the Ultrasmurfs as you escort your transports through the sector of space you do battle in. After this and conducting sacrifices to Chaos to the suggestions of your subordinate, Malos hatches a plan to engage Imperial forces at Dorsia. The campaign also reveals that Drang really was a traitor, and is serving as a mole for Chaos. Malos highlights how the Imperials will try to hide amongst gas clouds and wreckage to form an ambush. After unfounded doubts by your underlings, you vow to lead the assault personally. You’ll locate and destroy some Imperial ships before the closeted heretics Dark Angels show up. They’re led by Korahael, master of the fleet. Their flagship is the Vengeful Justice, and upon IDing this ship an Alpha Legionnaire named Arban Talas offers to capture the ship for you. After your character tries to act as naysayer, he’s convinced to let the Sons of Alpharius Omegon show their magic. Reducing the enemy troop count will get the ship captured, but don’t wait too long to destroy it or damage the ship too much. With the enemy crew of the Strike Cruiser killed, the ship is yours (after compartments are vented into space and shit) and you go on to win the battle. Unfortunately, Talas finishes his purge of the enemy crew only to tell you many Imperial vessels escaped the battle and fled to Admiral Spire’s fleet. You’re fine with this since you want them to spread a message to the wider Imperium of your power. Talas offers his services to you, but Dark Apostle Arkrist Vane (your Lieutenant practically speaking) points out this is the Alpha Legion and are masters of deception. Fully trusting them is unwise, so keep eyes on them.

You’re then suggested to ‘Enlighten’ (read: kill) Admiral Spire at Agripinaa. A pleasant fellow named Threxos Hellbreed berates you for not totally wiping out the Imperials last engagement. You inform him that Lord Admiral Spire is rallying these highly determined defenders, while Inquisitor Darkhammer is getting gud at purging your heretical spies. Hellbreed gives no shits, and demands you to fight Spire ASAP. Vane tells you Hellbreed thinks you’re a potential rival/threat, but to play your cards carefully to overcome Hellbreed. Vane wants you to use Admiral Drang to lure the Inquisitor Darkhammer into a trap. Lord High Admiral Drang says this will be easy, as Darkhammer goes into a frenzy when he smells heresy (so every Inquisitor ever?). He offers to put some expendable spies into the Baleful Night fortress and help ensure word reaches Darkhammer of HERETICS in their midst. This will be in the Ulthor system, where gas clouds can lead to a proper ambush. The ambush goes swimmingly, as Fabricator Cambrius and Darkhammer take the bait as intended when you attack a space station nearby. Their fates are left unknown by the Imperium, and Darkhammer’s soul is ‘sweetmeat’ for Daemons. Serves that dickhead Inquisitor right...

Get to the Scarus Sector to have an audience with a Khornate Berserker named Jasul Barass. He’ll scream about how effective his men are as they fight an Ork Warboss named Blitzrippa, but still needs your help. He DEMANDS your assistance, and you reluctantly agree at the suggestion of Vane. This is to get Khorne’s favor and demonstrate your power against these barbaric creatures (pot calling the kettle black). Heretek Heregon is also an new figure. He wants you to complete secondary objectives for a strategic goal. Assassinations and killing troops earlier in the campaign satisfied said strategic goal by weakening the enemy, while destroying orbital platforms under the guise of a siege during a mission against the Eldar will help loosen the enemy grip in the quadrant you’re in. Marines dedicated to a Chaos God will similarly want you to kill troops, spread plagues, or other vile deeds to satisfy the Gods and get rewards. This will occur throughout the campaign.

Later on, Vane expresses his concerns of a potential Ork WAAAGH! and the awakening of Ynnead (which could kill Slaanesh and increase the Eldar threat). He wants you to dispose of these threats immediately. The Gods will put your character in brief but brutal agony if you waste your time in stopping these threats. You reach Belis Corona at the request of Vane, who wants to create a dark ritual in near the Ancient One’s corpse for the nefarious purposes of Chaos. You’ll have to fight Captain Tellemark, leader of a Mechanicus fleet who also wants the Ancient One’s corpse. Once the sorcerers complete their ritual, the Ancient One wakes up with a roar. Unfortunately for you, your fleet is completely revealed to the enemy since your souls are like fires in the dark. You’ll have to engage the outskirts of the Tyranid fleet, but your character correctly points out time is running out for his fleet if the Imperials and Tyranids can surround him. Vane claims it’s a test that’ll reward you if you’re worthy. Wolf Lord Engir Krakendoom shows up and is delighted to see both you and the Tyranids are there, since it’ll be a fight worthy of song. Your character has a similar outlook, as such a fight can please the Gods. The plan looks to be working, but Vane’s sorcerers need you to protect the Ancient One so the Tyranid fleet will show up in full. Eventually the Tyranid fleet does arrive. You and Vane are impressed by the Tyranid fleet, but leave so the Imperials and Tyranids will kill each other. You briefly lament about the lives lost but claim those lives have bought you something far greater: potential victory and an edge in the Long War.

Shortly after, Drang requests an immediate audience. Vane briefly hypes you up as he threatens Drang before he can send his message. He says that Spire is setting up a refugee fleet in Phonosar response to the new chaos in Belis Corona. He wants to retreat to Nemesis Tessera. Your character is greatly annoyed at Spire’s presence, but Vane sees the chance to seize the refugee ships. Unfortunately, the explanation of his plan is interrupted by a hail for reinforcements from Huron Blackheart. Tyranids are attacking his Blackstone Fortress at the Pallatinos Fault, no thanks to your efforts in Belis Corona. Vane wants you to help Huron, as the Red Corsairs would be in your debt and be a powerful ally. Eventually you do reach him. After a brief exchange of ‘pleasantries’, you get to work fighting the ‘nids.

In the time it takes to kill the first wave of ‘nids, Huron successfully scares his warpsmiths into readying the Fortress’ cannon. Unfortunately, the massive beam is not as rape-tastic as advertised. It can’t even one-shot an escort! Luckily, it doesn’t take long to recharge so it’ll still do decently, especially at range. In the time it takes to kill the second wave, the Fortress’ motive power is restored. You’ll need to move it to a specified point with escort. Luckily, your fortress can fire on the move. The Fortress will make a warp jump once reaching this point, and Huron will tank you for helping him. Your character says Huron yet has a role to play in taking the Aegis Ocularis by word of the Dark Gods. Huron complains about Abaddon keeping him at arm’s length and how bad things would be if the Fortress was destroyed. He also pledges aid to your fleet, so long as his men get good loot.

After some time, you will reach the refugee fleet. Vane wants you to only kill some vessels while letting the rest escape, so that ‘you will convince the other crews of their fortunate escape, not knowing it was your design’. Weave through massive asteroids to reach the enemy. You’ll need to destroy 5 imperial transports, then infiltrate 3 of them and let them escape. This way, the survivors will think the attack was repelled thanks to the grace of the Emperor. The seeds of a heretical uprising have been planted. After the battle is over, Vane warns that many fleets have died near the Chinchare sector. It’s also mentioned by Vane that the Imperium has deployed the Phalanx. Hellbreed will also continue to berate you for not having killed Spire yet and demand you join him, while Vane whispers that it may be time for someone else besides Spire to get their skull cleaved (hint hint). Finally, a Champion of Nurgle named Maltrius warns you that the Nepheru Dynasty is a threat in the Sentinel Worlds. Aiding him in stopping them requires finding the artifact ‘Chalice of Entropy’, which will help kill the Necrons and get Grand daddy Nurgle’s favor. You’ll have to go to the Nefera system to steal it back from none other than Trollzyn the Infinite.

Oh yeah, it's a fucking STEALTH MISSION in this large scale naval game. YES. A FUCKING STEALTH SECTION IN A SPACE NAVY GAME. It is more horrific than you could possibly imagine.

Eventually, you make your way to Nemesis Tessera, facing Spire himself. When you encounter him, your character thinks his crews are tired and still haven’t got reinforcements. Needless to say, you’re eager to take Spire’s corpse as a trophy. Unfortunately, adverse solar activity makes this mission more challenging. Spire realizes he’s outmatched and seeks to fall back to a rally point, but you’re determined to prevent his escape. To make matters even worse for you, Tor Garadon of the Imperial Fists will reinforce Spire with none other than the Phalanx. Hellbreed, who was overly eager to fight Spire, still hasn’t arrived and it’s wondered if he’s leaving you to die. Keep in mind the inherent nature of ships like the Phalanx means the solar flare will not set it on fire, only kill its shields. Aside from the fact you have to fight the Phalanx, you also have to be careful when the storm comes in. This is because the Phalanx could move near a gas cloud you’re hiding in, and you DO NOT want to be close to the Phalanx. Hellbreed finally gets his lazy ass into the battle. His excuse is teaching an Imperial whelp a lesson in slaughter and belittles you for your difficulty against a ‘gilded relic’ like the Phalanx. After calling him out on his bullshit, Hellbreed gets pissed and demands you help him to claim ‘his’ prize that you fought and bled to claim yourself. Vane asks if you’ll let this rather pussified servant of Khorne get away with such bullshit, but before you can act on such desire the Phalanx is saved by plot armor and warp jumps to safety. You tell your ‘allies’ to look upon what your character rightfully calls Hellbreed’s failure. Hellbreed becomes enraged and begins bitching about it's YOUR fault that the Phalanx escaped. Not wanting to hear this insolence, you decide to offer his skull to Khorne and destroy him, which you do. Any of Hellbreed's surviving ships will be subsumed into your own fleet after his death, so focus everything on Hellbreed's ship.

Vane mentions yet again how this was all a test by the Gods (that Spire is somehow unknowingly serving) while Hellbreed was found wanting. Your character laments at this defeat and wonders how your disarrayed forces will retake the initiative. Vane points out that great hopes lead to greater despairs, and wants you to wipe out this Imperial and Eldar alliance to show you’re still worthy of the Gods’ blessings. Your character agrees, saying that there is no hope or truth, only the will of Chaos. He also wants to answer the hails of High Visionary Antharek of the Thousand Sons, knowing that servants of Mr. Just as Planned never seek counsel unless there’s something in it for them. Lord High Admiral Drang meanwhile reports that the Eldar and Imperials are threatening your holdings in Scelus, and gathering their strength in Kholan of the Medusa sector. Drang and Vane recommend you strike while the Iron Hands aren’t yet at full strength. You eventually meet Sorcerer Antharek. He states that while Tzeentch is impressed by your manipulation of the Tyranid and Imperial threat in the Aegis Ocularis, the Ancient One’s resurrection could help lead the ‘nids to nom the whole sector. Vane wants another ritual, but Tzeentch has sent Antharek dire omens and says this will only draw more ‘nids. Instead, he wants you to make a big brain gamer move and lure the refugees from earlier to Belial IV where you can ambush the Ancient One and kill the Tyranids in the sector for good.

Meanwhile, Barass from earlier will be pleased that you killed the Orks at Harvest. However, the WAAAGH! Isn’t dead yet and killing it requires Barass’ aid, who thinks you should be grateful since he’s sharing ‘his’ victory with you (what is it with the Khornates taking undue credit???). He replies with ‘BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!’ Which probably means yes. To help take down this WAAAGH!, Vane’s agents have convinced Goresputta, Blitzrippa’s second in command, to turn on him for the right price. Barass, with no knowledge or desire to negotiate, asks why he can’t just take their skulls instead. Knowing this approach didn’t work very well, your character agrees to get lots of Space Titan flesh. To the Nerevian Expanse you go...

Meanwhile at Kholan, you finally reach the area where the Imperium and Eldar are cooperating. To your surprise there’s a webway gate unmentioned by Drang, which makes Vane question his loyalty. It’s imperative that you take the control points quickly in this mission, or else you’ll be overwhelmed by the constant stream of Eldar ships coming via the webway gate. The Eldar counter attack will be weak, and simply kill the other ships to win. Cue the victory hype speeches. However, you quickly realize the Eldar must be completely destroyed at the Caliban sector, the very refuge for ‘inconstant and shiftless souls’. At some point you speak to Slaaneshi Warlord Demaroz, dedicated to hunting for Eldar souls. Realizing Slaanesh’s favor is hard to get, you decide to rush to the Medusa sector to help Demaroz stop the alliance before it weakens Slaanesh. You go to Terraq and kill some Eldar, but Demaroz only wants more Eldar kills to save Slaanesh and please him. After this, you learn the Ynnari are going to the Sanctuary system. It’s a dangerous system since many ships have disappeared there, but the fear of the Eldar is too enticing. At Sanctuary, you are tasked with killing the Eldar and getting their souls to Slaanesh. Voidstinger and Irusith of the Dark Eldar still are distrustful, but Yvraine wants all quarrel to cease if they want to win. Spoiler: they won’t. The various Eldar grow increasingly frantic at their losses, while you revel in such slaughter. You’re now tasked with bringing your demon crucible over the Craftworld to let it do its magic (read: murderfucking the Eldar). A pink beam of death does just that, but the pleasure overwhelms your character briefly. Vane expresses concern that you haven't moved ever since the destruction of the craftworld, but you state that you tasted a portion of Slaanesh’s feast. Such memory is fading and you need that sensation again (addiction). You’re blessed by the Dark Prince, and Demaroz pledges his aid to you.

Elsewhere, Vane’s agents reveal the Necrons are trying to activate a long buried dolmen gate for reinforcements somewhere. After getting Space Titan flesh in the Neveran Expanse, Gorespitta wants to kill Blitzrippa himself to ensure the loyalty of his boyz. For obvious reasons, you and your subordinates will ensure Gorespitta’s time on top is very short. The battle will take place at Thracian Primaris. The battle starts, and has you fighting Blitzrippa’s various lieutenants as they realize in horror you’re too strong. After killing enough Orks, Blitzrippa summons a now traitorous Gorespitta to attack. The two space hulks start killing each other. You hear the Gorespitta’s reasons for betrayal and angry insults from Blitzrippa, which is mildly entertaining. Gorespitta’s hulk is temporarily allied until Blitzrippa is killed, then you betray an angry Gorespitta as well. Kill him and Khorne will be pleased; your character comments on how he feels Khorne's fury. Jarass also pledges his aid to you. Blood for the Blood God!

In the Elorde system, Antharek senses his scheme coming together and a shadow in the warp via genestealer infiltrating the refugees. This is actually good since said shadow will draw the Ancient One in. The Sorcerer also thinks he got a vision where you make a great triumph. Go prove him right in the Tempest of Sorrow. Upon arriving, you hear Admiral Malicor on Mankind’s Valor desperately request reinforcements. Vane relishes in the man’s fear, and you hope for either converts or bounty. You offer Malicor aid in exchange for his loyalty. He initially refuses, but relents after showing that he, not the Corpse-Emperor, can let him live another day. When tyranids come, you remind Malicor that only Chaos can protect him. He eventually starts fully questioning his faith in Big E when he sees your fleet’s power. Eventually Antharek comes to your aid to help face the Ancient One. He puts the pressure on you to win since Tzeentch is watching, and failure would end all his schemes. Be wary of the Psychic Scream, however. With the death of the Ancient One, the shadow in the warp will go away and the ‘nids will go feral. Malicor is swayed to Chaos after seeing your power. Vane senses that Tzeentch favors you. Indeed, you start seeing a glimpse of what Tzeentch sees. Even though Malicor swears loyalty to you (his portrait gets modified slightly to reflect that), your character is caught up in all sorts of alternate futures regarding Malicor. Vane says to trust Tzeentch, and you do just that by accepting Malicor’s service.

You finally reach Nefera and fight Trazyn’s forces. The station is heavily guarded which means you’ll need to use local gas clouds to hide. Stay stealthy. Cryptek Sekhnet detects heat signatures so Trazyn deploys probes. Play your cards right and solar interference will be the only thing detected. Next, you’ll need to distract the probes while Maltrius’ ships get the Chalice of Entropy, since only Nurgulite ships can endure the coming battle. The increasing distance of the clouds mean you’ll need a radiation wave to keep you stealthy. The diversion begins as you taunt the necrons while Maltrius’ blightlords get the artifact. Board the space station and then disengage your ships to end the mission. No collection or artifact for Trollzyn. Maltrius feels Nurgle’s blessings, while Vane denounces the soulless Necrons as blasphemous. This Chalice will help you destroy the Dark Throne and the Necron threat in the Lone Star system, and take Maltrius’ spot as Nurgle’s champion. When you get to the Dark Throne, your forces relish at the chances for Nurgle to contaminate many Necrons. However, you’ll need to destroy the defense platforms first. Amarkun the Gatherer spots your attack, and demands Cleorekh deal with you. You must prevent the Necrons from closing the Eye of Terror, a thing Vane deems highly heretical. The size of your fleet convinces Amarkun to break out the tremor cannon, so avoid its pre-sighted bombardments. Once the stations are destroyed, Maltrius begins his assault while his Lieutenant takes command in his absence, named Verinox. Plague Marines will destroy the Tremor Cannon if you can send reinforcements. It goes the same way as any mission against the Dark Throne. Capture zones and deploy reinforcement. Amarkun states that you won’t win since they’re eternal, but you’re here to show Chaos is truly eternal. Maltrius sacrifices his life to complete the ritual and destroy the Dark Throne. Vane remarks how he was true to the last, and that his soul will be reborn by Nurgle as a Daemon Prince (one could safely assume that dying in order for Nurgle’s Chalice of Entropy to corrupt a DARK THRONE would lead to Daemonhood. If that’s not enough to win Nurgle’s ultimate reward, then he’s not a god worth following!). Hopefully, because that guy was quite a lad. Your character predicts that such an award will happen too if you complete your conquest. Vane detects Nurgle’s blessings within you, and remarks how Nurgle’s plagues will go about killing the supposedly immortal Necrons. You feel Nurgle’s decay on your very breath, which actually sounds gross.

In Xersia, Drang has been uncovered by the Imperials and is being hunted. Vane wishes to extract him to uncover any intel he has. Drang is reluctant to leave his ship and he quickly realizes his life is forfeit. 'Rescue' Drang by boarding it until it is an empty hulk, then destroy the pursuing astartes. After the battle, An interrogator from the Emperor’s Children is placed in charge of getting Drang to talk through... certain methods.

Drang’s interrogation reveals the existence of a large Ultramarines fleet seeking to fight Abaddon at the Obsidian Depths. You and Vane soon figure out that Roboute Gulliman himself is leading the fleet, and seeks to deliver a decisive blow to Abaddon. You join Abaddon in the middle of battle in order to prove your worth to him. Abaddon wants to keep fighting after the first vanguard fleet is destroyed, but your character wants to deliver vengeance to the Ultrasmurfs on behalf of Lorgar. Abaddon accepts, and promises great rewards if he sees the sons of Lorgar aren't. Guilliman soon arrives and condemns Abaddon as he seeks to have his head. Abaddon in turn curses Guilliman as a relic of a feeble age and wants you to bring Guilliman to him in chains (before withdrawing). In order to win You need to turn the Macragge’s Honor into a drifting hulk. Use Khornate ships and his blessing to make emptying the Ultrasmurf crammed flagship easier. Guilliman is a prisoner and the Macragge’s Honour is a drifting hulk. Guilliman predictably vows vengeance on you once he breaks out, but it won’t change his situation. Abaddon vows to make Guilliman live in agony until pain offers only solace, where Roboute will then be killed. As a reward, Abaddon gives you the Vengeful Spirit, the title ‘Harbinger of the True Faith’, and master of the Aegis Ocularis system. You’re tasked with slaughtering the corpse god’s servants.

You’re also ordered by Abaddon to get to the Eidolon sector to fix Hellbreed’s embarrassing mistakes. Abaddon also highlights Astartes sieges in the Sortiarus system, Eldar fuckery in the Drakassi system, and Imperial retribution in the Sicarus system. Saving the Sortiarus system will bring out a grateful Sorcerer Sarnoth, relieved this system won’t suffer like Prospero did. They will make passage through the warp easier for your ships. When you save the Drakassi sector, Berzerker Ghulrak is pissed you stole his kills and potential tributes to Khorne. You claim responsibility, and promise him endless war in exchange for his loyalty. When you save Eidolon, Abaddon congratulates you but advises that Spire is leading a massive force in the Cadian sector, the likes of which has never been seen since the Great Crusade. (Honestly, Roboute should’ve been the final boss but whatever) Killing Spire will let you into Abaddon’s inner circle. You tell Vane to go to Hedax so that the warpsmiths can bring out their finest ships. Go to the Cadian sector to win one final glory for the Warmaster.

You remark that only the weak and worthless remain since all the competent Imperials died by your hand. Iron Hands Captain Sind Grolvoch replies that your humiliation will be even greater when you die, while Catallia proclaims the Imperials are the Emperor’s Fury and won’t be denied. Magos Numerian notes your victory chances are highly miscalculated and unlikely. After slaughtering a good portion of their fleet, Spire arrives. Malos wonders if Spire sees how futile his cause is, but Spire doubles down and renews his blood oaths. Captain Tor Garadon brings the Phalanx again, but you taunt the Son of Dorn as he fled last time they met. Conversely, Spire wants all the help he can get, as he only wants your character killed, never mind who does the deed. Grolvoch points out the death of Numerian and the thinning of their ranks. Catallia doesn’t care, and both Grolvoch and Catallia recite their respective war chants. Vrykan notes that the Phalanx is hurting, but Garadon will be ok if the Phalanx dies as a warrior while Vrykan dies a failed traitor. In quite possibly the biggest cucking moment in 40K video games history, he then reveals a massive surprise: a ship named Monarchia Redeemed, a chaotic debasement of the Macragge’s Honour. Even Garadon is filled with sheer horror and dismay, betraying the steely demeanor of the Imperial Fists. Vane leads the Monarchia Redeemed. Spire laments at the death of the Phalanx and Garadon, but stands defiant and wants his fleet to die fighting for the Emperor. Die they do, for when Spire is finally killed, your character claims the spoils of war and the Aegis Occularis. In your moment of triumph, Vane then reveals he always intended to usurp you, and turns the Monarchia Redeemed on your entire fleet.

This goes as well as you expect when facing a fleet that bested Admiral Spire and Gulliman. When things go south, Vane blames this sudden betrayal on the whispers of promises by Daemons. He wants forgiveness and vows to serve Malos, but he wisely calls bullshit and tells him he should’ve found another person to use as a catspaw. Before long, Vane and his vessel is wiped out.

In the end cutscene, while eating Gulliman, Vrykan notes that after all his arduous service to Abaddon he notes that the Warmaster is a relic of the past that became too prideful, a far cry from the champion of chaos he once was (just like Horus). At the very end, Vrykan challenges Abaddon himself for the title of the Warmaster.

Gameplay

Aside from some balance changes, gameplay will feel extremely similar (read: almost the exactly the same, but hey don't fix what ain't broke) to BFGA1, so go read that page if you want a breakdown of the gameplay. The new factions will of course be a new experience, as with some new additions gameplay wise. Titan-class ships are playable in campaign and are available in battle mode if Massive Fleets are enabled.

In the Campaign, each faction starts with one sector and proceeds to go liberate/awaken/OMNOMNOM their way around the Cadian Gate along with other sectors. Players can now create new fleets to defend or add to their armada since the Imperial Navy/Nepheru/Leviathan could not do it alone.

Each Sector contains a variety of worlds that benefit and/or harm you. Some of these worlds, or the bonuses they grant, are:

Agri-Worlds: These make upgrading planets cheaper.

Forge Worlds: These grant tons of resources and usually unlock items in your Tech Tree.

Mining Worlds: These add a multiplier to your income.

Hive Worlds: These increase resource generation and crew regeneration.

Civilized Worlds: These add money to your turns' income.

Industrial Worlds: These are the same as Civilized Worlds, but with Hive Worlds income.

Crone Worlds: These tend to be the haunts of daemons and other Warp Oddities.

Daemon Worlds: These worlds tend to require you to leave a fleet behind and keep an eye on them, or they spawn hostile fleets.

Penal Worlds: These allow you to increase troop regen with press-gangs.

Outposts: These worlds add tiny bonuses to your income.

Training Posts: These worlds increase the assault critical chance of your boarding parties.

Archaeological Sites: These grant one-off bonuses to your total income.

Pirate Worlds: These have a 15% chance to spawn NPC attack fleets that will try to conquer your system if you don't leave a peacekeeper fleet behind.

Unique Worlds: Each of these confers a bonus, like nullifying enemy spawn rates, allowing you to sortie fighters faster, or giving Nova Cannons wider AOEs.

Plasma Storms: These tend to decrease the cost of operating your ships.

Listening Posts: Give you bonus Battleplans, an in-game resource required to attack certain systems, lower the threat meter, and delay/cancel invasions.

This game has a threat meter that increases the chances of retaliation and attacks at random per enemy turn, as well making AI payback assaults against your territory more likely. This threat meter is reduced to 0 every time you complete a mission, so you can spend some time dealing with the AI or gathering resources. Try not to go too many turns without completing a mission, because the campaign is lost if the meter fills all the way.

Should you capture a world, you have the option on most worlds to build defenses such as mines, defensive platforms, or a space station. In combat, mines slow enemy arrivals by one turn, defensive platforms add 4 ships with cheap guns and sensors to aid in system defense, and space stations are large, stationary capital vessels, usually with huge fighter bays.

A new thing called 'battleplans' was added as well. These open up Warp Routes on the strategic map, delay enemy actions, cancel hostile invasion plans, clear away hostile minefields, and reset the Threat Meter. While playing as the Tyranids, each world per sector you take is being consumed over time to produce the resources needed to expand the Hive Fleet which is unique to those playing as said Space Locusts. So instead of a constant flow of resources in small amounts, you get ECKSBAWKS HEUG amount of them in a short time.

In a grand act of Awesome, the devs have made the space titans playable. The titans from campaign are playable in massive fleet battles against the AI, including space hulks.

The game is also noteworthy for having completely customized campaign modes. Except for the tutorial levels, all of the campaigns allow you to modify nearly every factor, from income rates to fleet sizes to AI aggressiveness, all the way up to the rate at which your fleet levels up and unlocks bigger hull sizes.

Factions and Tactics

So far, the developers have confirmed all the factions from the original are making a comeback, but also Tyranid hive fleets, Necron fleets, dark Eldar, Mechanicum forge fleets and others are coming too. The following subfactions are based on the most famous and powerful elements of the main factions. For example, the AdMech subfactions are based on forge worlds while the Space Marine subfactions are based on the 1st Founding Legions. Gameplay is still a mix of direct and indirect attacks and abilities from your various warships, with proper positioning, upgrading, resource management being key to victory.

Imperial Navy

The well rounded jack-of-all-trades fleet with a good number of ships on each weight class, capable of filling out most tactics and strategies. They have a nice selection of cruisers and battle cruisers which allow for tons different combos, although they are usually better in brawls, with the Overlord Battle Cruiser and the Tyrant Cruiser having the benefit of the plasma macro-cannon batteries. On the other hand, if you feel like you want a challenge or are finding Ork and SM and Tyranid ships hard to deal with you can go for Gothic and Dictator cruisers and Mars Battlecruisers, as their respective lances and ordinance bays allow you to stay relatively out of danger.

Imperial Navy Fleets

Gothic: Known from the first game for kicking Chaos ass in space and stopping the armless failure we all know and love.

Solar: A proud and storied fleet that is also Terra’s last line of defense.

Armageddon: A fleet in the Armageddon system that’s rather good at Ork killing.

Bakka: A fleet known for the first Tyrannic War and the Battle for Macragge. Admiral Rath of the Dominus Astra is a fine addition to this fleet’s badass history.

Bastion: The biggest permanently stationed fleet after Battlefleet Solar, thanks to their recruitment from multiple sectors. Will definitely need those numbers since they’re tasked with patrolling the newly expanded Eye of Terror.

Imperial Marauders: Just some schmucks who betrayed the Imperium but haven't joined chaos yet.

Koronus: Busy keeping out the worst the Halo Stars have to offer. Operates between Port Wander and Drusus Marches.

Adeptus Mechanicus Fleets

Nova Cannons, Nova Cannons everywhere! New fleet introduced for the sequel. Largely similar to the Imperial Navy except with fewer ship. Use the slowly charging Nova Cannon and win at long range. Not advisable against the Eldar for obvious reasons. Some fleet admirals of these toaster bangers even get the ability for unlimited Nova Cannon rounds, so yeah that's a thing.

The AdMech plays as a sort of hybrid between Imperial and Chaos: They have the long range lances and cannons of Chaos but similar armour and speed to Imperial. The key difference is that all of their ships have the "exceptional accuracy" attribute which makes them more accurate at long range and better technical skills for repairing their ships. Also got a buff in the second patch where all of their Nova Cannons have access to one shot of a skill called "Eye of the Omnissiah" that slows any ships hit by a massive amount for a whole 30 seconds, which can be game changing if you use it right. Another thing is a RadTempest, which utilizes Spess radiation to do damage over time to anyone waltzing into it.

AdMech Fleets

Agripinaa: A world near the Cadian Gate that suffered many raids. Luckily for them, they give as good as they get. The eponymous sector and planet are present in the game.

Graia: A mobile forge world capable of warp travel. Its Battlefleet was made to escort this FUCKHUEG spaceship/forge world.

Lucius: Your run of the mill forge world known for supplying shit to many other battle groups. Has an artificial sun in its planetary core, which is why it’s so powerful.

Mars: The home of the AdMech and the forge world we all know and love. As such it’s the greatest and most advanced of all the forge worlds. Has a rich history and dark secrets under the surface.

Metalica: Not so subtly named after the famous metal band, this forge world has no life at all but a shitload of natural resources. Has been able to produce shit for many campaigns, including the one on Armageddon.

Ryza: Many Ork WAAAGHS! seem to have a fetish for this forge world. Is known for its great plasma weaponry and the genesis of the Stormblade tank. The dark days of the 41st Milennium will make this forge world and its stores and abilities especially valuable.

Stygies VIII: A forge world that would’ve fell to Horus if not for the Eldar. The High Lords are worried this new bond will lead to Xeno corruption and HERESY, even though this is a stupid line of logic since that would make the Tallarn Desert Raiders regiment questionable as well.

Space Marines

Get up close and tear your enemy a new one with massed boarding actions and lightning strikes. SM ships have very strong armor, can take the punishment, and have decent guns for their weight classes. Their ships are also the fastest among the Imperial factions, having 40 more speed units than everyone else in each ship type. They are however, also the most expensive to deploy, usually costing around 20-25% more points than the Imperium's and AdMech's ships on each weight class, and their armament selection is much lower.

Use this technique against the biggest enemy ships first, making the enemy flagships into drifting hulks. Your battle barge and 3 strike cruisers (or fleet made up of strike cruisers only) should be able to deal with whatever is left of the enemy fleet. Beware of scuttling actions by the enemy, as this can fuck up your fleet. Also, make sure your enemy doesn't retake their ships. Your goal as a space marine fleet is to turn the enemy fleet into a bunch of drifting hulks, because that is what your fleet is best at. They also do not have morale penalties, so the crew will never mutiny against you, regardless of how bad the situation is getting.

Also, remember every single one of your ships has Honor the Chapter, which gives you a free short-ranged boarding action that ignores Shields and has a high critical rate. That includes Escorts Not as of the second patch. Use them. You also have torpedoes with zero spread, which means that at long range they'll do more damage than other torpedo-equipped ships. Their HP is low but their armor makes up for it.

Chapters of the Space Marines

Salamanders: Burner bois and absolute bros.

Ultramarines - you know them, you love to...Well, up to you. Either way, you get a Gloriana class Battleship ready to broadside the shit out of anything nearby. Have fun.

White Scars- Speedy bois

Iron Hands- The flesh is WEAK! Medusa appears in the game and is arguably the most useful planet.

Dark Angels- Definitely not traitors.

Imperial Fists - Good news, you get the Phalanx and by the Emperor does it wreck shit for Chaos. You can tank ramming a Blackstone Fortress to death and look cooler on the other side. Bad news, you don't get to use it after. Boo!

Blood Angels- Fabulous and furious.

Space Wolves- FURRIES!

Raven Guard- Sneaky bois

Fleets of Chaos

Your typical spiky Space Marines. Ships aren't as tough as their Imperial counterparts but are faster, have longer range, and more powerful lances. Standard tactics basically involve playing keep-away with every single faction. Bombers/carrier spam in general are great for dealing extensive damage, and against dedicated close combat factions such as the Orks and the Eldar refractor fields are life-savers. Ideally you want to hit enemy ships from outside their sensor range, this can be tricky as you will need to get the enemy ships revealed, a work your escorts can do decently.

They also still have their marks from the first game. Nurgle is still a powerful one although not quite as amazing as BGA1's Nurgle mark. Khorne too gives some big buffs to your boarding defenses and a bonus action when using lightning strikes and assaults, also horns, like a lot of them, your ships become quite spiky, as a simple advice it may be a good idea to take some Carnage cruisers as they are the main brawlers of the chaos fleets and upgrade them with Khorne's mark. Slaanesh's mark is very useful now as it increases your speed (6x Slaanesh Slaughter cruisers = Eldar tears) and is powerful against slower fleets like Orks. Tzeentch mark is good for being sneaky with long ranged attacks and for getting spiffy castles on your ships.

Factions of the Forces of Chaos

Alpha Legion: Don’t exist

Lost and the Damned: Run of the mill heretics

World Eaters: KILL. EVERYTHING.

Emperor’s Children: Some of the sickest fucks in the galaxy.

Thousand Sons - did nothing wrong.

Iron Warriors - Somehow got the Planet Killer from the Black Legion. Edgy Manchildren. (Don't say that to their faces.)

Death Guard: Never took a shower for 10 thousand years.

Red Corsairs: The deadliest pirates in the galaxy.

Night Lords: Spooky.

Word Bearers: The ones who started it all... Oh yeah, and the Chaos protagonist hails from these guys.

Black Legion - do you like killing whole squadrons with one broadside? Love cutscene power to the max? Well,you've got the Vengeful Spirit on your side and she's ready to strut.

Sons of Malice - Happy that they are canon again, but not their BLAM NOT THIS TIME, HERETIC

Aeldari

In campaign, they will have a damaged Craftworld whose gimmick is pre-sighted bombardments that enemy ships DO NOT want to be in. Like the first game, they can be your friends or enemies. Despite being three separate factions in the multiplayer, in the campaign all three are treated as one faction. In fact most battles against them while compose of mixed fleets with ships from all the factions.

The factions are:

• Corsairs
  • The Corsairs are the Aeldari from the first game lead by Eldrathan. They can be your friends or enemies too, although their aid is relatively minimal compared to the effort you as a player have to put in. Plays basically the same as they did in the first game for better or worse, with the major difference being that Shadowfields at max strength will block Lightning Strikes.

Aeldari Corsair Fleets

Sky Raiders: Notoriously vicious attackers mistaken for Dark Eldar. Are Bro-Tier enough to assist Eldar Craftworlds.

Eldritch Raiders: They follow Prince Yriel. Abandoned Craftworld Iyanden and harassed Imperial shipping for decades, but shrugged off this streak of dickishness to save their former Craftworld from being nommed by Tyranids.

Steeleye Reavers: Originated from Craftworld Ulthwe. Nothing else is known about them.

Sun Blitz: Believed to be aligned with Craftworld Alaitoc by the Ordo Xenos, but are also bitter rivals with other corsair fleets. The cause of such a rivalry is unknown.

Twilight Sword: Love being pirates, and are supposedly honorable in battle (if this doesn’t put them at a disadvantage).

Void Dragon: A big and aggressive pirate fleet that operates across the galaxy. Infamous for being unpredictable and having enough balls to engage significantly stronger foes (unlike their other knife-eared pansy brothers and sisters).

Ynnari: Worshippers of Ynnead because it will supposedly free them from the strict lifestyle the Eldar force themselves to follow after the Fall of the Eldar. Can’t blame them for it either, not many people want to be celibate and boring for the rest of their lives (and Eldar have VERY VERY long lifespans...) They also play exactly like the first game minus a few minor changes, which can be said for the entire eldar races in the game. Really fast glass cannons that can only fire from the front.

• Craftworlders
  • Craftworld Eldar play a bit like Eldar-Light: Not quite as fast as the Dark Eldar or Corsairs and don't do quite as much damage but nowhere near as squishy. Still cant compete with any Imperial or even Chaos ships of the same weight class in a fair one-on-one fight so you still need to micro them to get the job done.

Aeldari Craftworlds

Ynnari: So good they got included twice. Lots of Eldar seem to love this guy. Can't imagine why... (hint: life is a lot more interesting under his lead) This movement however is currently underground thanks to distrust and fear by more traditional Eldar.

Alaitoc: Is always fighting the Necrons. They were the only ones among the Eldar who knew they'd come back (every faction's gotta have ignorance in some fashion it seems).

Biel-Tan: Militaristic and as Xenophobic and arrogant as the Imperium, despite being almost as badly fucked up as Iyanden due to recent events. Highly territorial of Maiden Worlds, willing to RIP AND TEAR any invaders of such worlds. One could wonder how they and the Imperium have so much in common. Still salty after losing their Craftworld to Skarbrand.

Iyanden: Used to be populous, but is now full of dead Eldar in Wraithbone constructs. The dead souls have extra huge balls (a trait unusual amongst the rest of their kin) by risking the damnation of their souls to defend their Craftworld.

Saim-Hann: Is willing to follow the Eldar path with "flexibility", and is considered the more wild and dangerous of their fellow Craftworlds. They're very forthright and borderline reckless in war.

Ulthwé: Famous for its Seers and endless war against whatever the Eye of Terror feels like shitting out. Formerly led by one of the biggest dicks of them all: Eldrad Ulthran. Currently looking for the best timeline to strive towards.

Os'Tara: Home! I'll go home. And I'll think of some way to get Ynnead back. After all, tomorrow is another day. Big worshippers of Ynnead. Has strong ties with the Ynnari and Yvraine.

• Drukhari Pirate Fleets
  • Everyone's favorite emo-elves are back as one of the new factions for BGA2. Essentially their fleet can be described as the most glass-cannoney of the glass cannons. They share the same speed and powerful weaponry as their Craftworld cousins, but they have WAAAY better boarding/crew abilities and complete stealth at the expense of even worse armour and defenses (they don't have holofields or shields). Overall the Elder from BGAI with a dose of even more micro.

• • Also, dark matter cannons with no wind-up, huge AOE, slows 50%, and eats through shields. Use it whenever possible to kite. Be extremely cautious around Tau; they can easily ping you, have lots of fighters to deploy, and then spam guided torps on the fighter-marked target. Quite good at knocking out opponents troops and ships can actually replenish their own troop count if the turn a ship into a hulk. hilariously though they have poor moral. Also if your stealth gets knocked out you're fucked with a capital F as DElder ships melt under coordinated fire. Don't let yourself get caught or you are done, if one of your ships get tagged with a probe turn tail and get it out of range of the enemy.

Drukhari Pirate Fleets

Black Heart: Biggest and strongest Cabal in Commoragh. Encourages strife between the smaller Cabals.

Broken Sigil: Loves confusion and anarchy. Terrorizes countless worlds because they can. Seen as predictable by their peers, and hated for it.

Dying Sun: Hates anything non-traditional or steeped in it. Can destroy stars. Its leader is obsessed with the metaphor of despair that destroying light can bring.

Flayed Skull: Closest to rivaling the Black Heart. Its Archon Lord Vraesque attracts the most ambitious pilots and therefore makes their fleet quite skilled.

Iron Thorn: A force to be reckoned with even after Vect's rise to power. Pride themselves on being "True Blood".

Last Hatred: Want to transcend death itself. To do this, they need many experimental subjects, who they get from undefended areas.

The Severed: Completely space-bound after a failed coup. Collect severed hands to pledge allegiance to their Archon, who's also missing a hand.

Ork Clanz

Basically like the orks from the first game. Ram everything, lots of dakka, no accuracy, and shit morale. In campaign, they are obsessed with space whales and you have 2 space hulks to fight against! WE'S ALSO PROVING DAT DA ORKS KAN KRUZADE TOO!!! TRY AND STOP US NOW 'UMIES!! AND GIVES US A KAMPAIGN ALREADY!!!!

Da Ork Clanz

Goffs - Do you like hitting things with a massive rubbish pile and walking away just fine? go for these guys. Also... RIP AND TEAR!

Evil Suns - RED MAKES IT GO FASTA!

Bad Moons - the 1% of ork kultur. Their teef grow da fastist, and thus have the most teef to spend. This means they have da best dakka and equipmint!

Freebootas (Ork Pirate) - YAR HAR FIDDLE DE DE Being a pirate is alright to be do what you want cause a pirate is free you are a pirate! It's a wonder why more orks don't join these guys. DA REAL BOYZ GOTS NO TOME TO BE SPEISS THINGS, DA BEST LOOT ALWAYS ON DA PLANETS ANYWAYS

Blood Axes - Seen as un-orky even by other orks for their long-running history with mankind. This history involves being mercenaries for humanity in exchange for human guns and equipment, which always ends up being turned against the blood axe employers anyway.

Deathskulls - if the ultramarine's were orks (and massive looters).

Necron Fleets

In one of the most particularly hilarious/infuriating twists from Tindalos, the Necrons are NO LONGER SUPER OVERPOWERED NOW! Also, they're the slowest ships in the game by a huge margin and have some of the weakest, slow-firing weapons too. They also don't have shields, which leaves them really open to ordinance skills and critical hits more than any other fleet, with intense fighter management needed to prevent boarding spam. Overall one of the more underpowered factions, unlike the fluff.

THAT SAID... there are ways to make them work to a degree.

Most Necron abilities are better defensively. Starpulse can knock out fighters, torpedoes, bombers, assault boats, anything small. Stagger it out so that between your ships you always have at least one Starpulse available to wreck their fighters. The dispersed lightning arc has great utility. You need hit only three ships with it for it to be more effective than reload stance. But your ships default to 13500 range, not the 9000 needed to make use of it. Always set your engagement distance. When your lightning arcs are upgraded to drop armor by 25, set your engagement range to the required 4500. Also, the pull ability for lightning arcs can keep opposing ships in range for the armor pen effect. Don't forget Transdimensional Bolt. It has unlimited uses, it has an extremely fast Cooldown, you can aim it to hit the enemies whole fleet if lined up properly, and it does as much damage as a starpulse wave while ignoring armor and shields. Scarab Swarm nets you the largest overall benefit to any of the Necron abilities, with the catch being that it's pretty easy to see coming. The game hands you Mass Recall+Scarab Swarm at the beginning though, so that ones easy. You really want to put out hurt though, warp into the center of an enemy fleet, mass recall, and then scarab swarm. Let's just hope they get buffed in a later update, they're really need it.

Don't forget that Necrons actually do not suck at boarding. Even before upgrading it they have pretty decent troop efficiency. They also have two leader upgrades that make it stronger and cause fires, and four upgrades to make it stronger in your tech. Also, avoid asteroid fields like the plague unless you have a leader cutting out their damage.

Necron Dynasties

Charnovokh- A dynasty that had most of its planets either consumed by Tyranid Hive Fleet Behemoth or unknowingly destroyed by the Imperium in the crossfire of killing said Hive Fleet. As such, while they still have many systems, their Dynasty's region is filled with more holes than a block of Swiss Cheese after a full magazine from an assault rifle was shot at it by a lactose-intolerant extremist.

Mephrit- A dynasty that woke up to the galactic shitstorm we all know and love. Its Phaeron was lost during the great sleep. Because it has access to the best Necron equipment, unity of this dynasty would mean the galaxy has to bite the pillow.

Nepheru- Just like other dynasties, they found primitives living in what was once their turf. This has led to predictable rage and a desire to rip and tear the inhabitants. These guys get their own little plot with the Dark Throne.

Nephrekh- This dynasty has an expansive territory near the galactic core, centered around the ancient crownworld of Aryand. Their worlds are rich in resources and make this dynasty fleet especially dangerous.

Nihilakh- A bunch of isolationists who want to maintain their holdings rather than expand, and home to the lovable and loathable Troll Trayzn. This is good for the galaxy at large. Their military might isn't weakened by petty wars, but would-be invaders would be all the more unwise to face them.

Novokh- Aggressive and expansionist. Other Necrons think this dynasty's actions are unfocused and lack restraint, but this dynasty's blood-red ships don't give a fuck.

Sautekh- This dynasty survived the great sleep the most intact out of all its rivals. This dynasty took advantage of that and expanded its borders while taking over lesser dynasties.

Temeryn- This dynasty woke up to find its domains mostly destroyed by the eye of terror. With much rage, they now have to be the Nepheru's bitch.

Thokt- The vessels of this dynasty are very radioactive since their coreworlds are in the Hyrakii Deeps. This means that this dynasty is seen as the bringers of plagues and sicknesses (though these sicknesses are radioactive).

T'au Fleets

The T'au are back, but this time split into two factions: The Protector Fleet and the T'au Merchant Fleet. They were never at Cadia, HOW DID THEY EVEN GET INTO THIS GAME!!!??? I SMELL HERETICS!!!! Went from being one of the strongest factions in the previous games to now low tier, ram and board them to your pleasure. This is hilariously more honest to the tabletop Battlefleet Gothic and lore (prior to the sudden surge of GW’s Tau wank boner). The nerf bat is well deserved for the metric ton of BS that was T'au balance in the previous game.

• The Protector Fleet are the returning fleet from the first game and play basicly the same: extremely long range and the deadly seeker missiles, but are fragile and weak in CQC engagements, like the rest of their race. They are also fucking slow.

Protector Septs

Sa’cea- A harsh world that produces a predictably determined people. They contributed more colonization fleets to the 2nd sphere expansion than any other Sept World, and became a big contributor in the eyes of the Tau.

Dal'yth- Heavily buttfucked in the Damocles Crusade, whose people have PTSD from the massive buttfucking despite the planet being rebuilt. To the Dal'yth citizens, serving in the protector fleets is a huge duty.

D'yanoi- Its isolation from the Tau Empire set this place back technologically, but its protector fleet was still technologically on par. Knowing their isolation, the Sept fleet spared no expense in their fleet.

Farsight Enclaves- Led by the most popular weeaboo space communist who realized the ethereals were evil. As such, they don't have as many resources as the rest of the Tau septs but still have a mighty fleet to protect against humans, orks, tyranids, and other shit.

T'au- The capital of the Tau empire made of harsh deserts and huge spire cities. As such it has the largest fleet for its defense. No human has ever set foot on the planet, and the fleet wants to keep it that way (though this will actually depend on whether Shadowsun and the 5th sphere expansion can do their job, given the Death Guard's current incursions).

T'aun- The Tau's first off-world colony that remains a haven for space-farers even today. This Sept never lacks enthusiastic recruits, and lends vessels to other Septs found lacking in protection.

• The T'au Merchant Fleets are a sorta new addition (they were mentioned in the old Battlefleet Gothic rulebooks), this fleet is more carrier based than anything. Otherwise, it shares the same strengths and weaknesses as the rest of the Tau. Also, this fleet is the definition of spam.

Merchant Septs

Sa'cea- A merchant fleet less numerous than other Sept worlds but no less active. Their world apparently has hardships so deadly that traveling in the unknown reaches of the void matters little in comparison.

Dal'yth- Is one of the 19 wonders of the Tau Empire, and is a steady trade hub for the Empire (with an equally steady flow of ships to defend it). Is a beacon of Tau superiority since its has the largest amount of aliens trading in its starports than anywhere else.

D'yanoi- Upon renewing contact with the Tau Empire, numerous trade opportunities opened up which lead to this Sept's merchant fleets expanding greatly. Which of course, was for the Greater Good.

Farsight Enclaves- The value of trade for this breakaway Sept cannot be understated given its current circumstances, so its merchant fleets have fearsome weaponry and engage in many one-sided trade deals.

T'au- Is the Tau capital, and is at the heart of Tau trading and commerce. As always, that means its merchant fleets are the strongest.

T'aun- Another hub of trade with a powerful merchant fleet, whose fleet is said to travel further beyond the Tau reaches than any other. If you see a Tau merchant fleet trying to spread the Greater Good, there's a good chance it's them.

Tyranid Hive Fleets

The Tyranid Hive Fleets are a bit unusual. Basically every other ship from ever other faction is basied off the models present in the tabletop game to a really faithful degree. These guys? Not so much. The old models for Tyranid Hive were, in a word, hideous so Tindalos went ahead and created entirely new ships from scratch. They still look hideous mind you, but they look like the type of hideous a Tyranid ship should be, so it all works out.

Gameplay-wise the Tyranids are, as you'd expect, a short-ranged and assault-oriented faction. Though their ranged capabilities are generally unimpressive, their lance-equivalents uniquely ignore shields, allowing them to reliably chip away at enemy hulls, while their own shields inflict damage-over-time to nearby enemy vessels so long as they're active; some of their escorts also hit extremely hard for cost. Finally, their prow weapons include a tentacle tongue which can latch on to enemy ships either to deliver an assault action or pull the two ships closer together, or a pair of colossal devouring jaws which not only increase ramming damage while negating the damage suffered in return, but then continue to inflict a respectable amount of damage over time to any vessel in contact.

Tyranids have a few more unique features. Firstly, ALL non-titan ships - from lowly tiny escorts to might battleships - begin the battle stealthed, and can regain that stealth just by entering a nebula or asteroid field. This stealth is only broken by active scans or wandering into the very close sight detection range, allowing you to easily get on top of enemy vessels. Next, though you lack engines for a sustained forward boost or high-energy turn, these are instead combined into a single 'rush' action, allowing you to reorient and move at terrifyingly high speed a moderate distance in ANY direction, on a surprisingly short cooldown. Finally, when escort-class ships are destroyed they leave behind a spore cloud which damages and slows non-Tyranid vessels moving through them, allowing them to form literal tarpits.

Of course, while the Tyranids are undeniably masters of ramming, their true value lies in their boarding actions. Tyranids are THE deadliest assault faction in the game, capable of quite literally chewing through the entirety of a ship's crew at terrifying speed. Though they lack lightning strikes their speed, stealth and ability to control enemy vessel positions via spore fields, ramming and tentacles mean they'll seldom have trouble getting into assault range, and they can launch them in front as well as to the sides of their vessels. The only faction that can even come close to matching them for the sheer, brutal violence of their assaults are the Space Marines, but even then their assault actions are notably more expensive per point.

As of the second patch they are able to eat some of their own troops to replenish the amount of times you can use skills, but they also have a skill that replenishes troops. Infinite boarding charges HOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Tyranid Hive Fleets

Kraken: As typical of any Tyranid Fleet lucky enough to get away, they adapted and learned from their mistakes. This trait (along with many others) almost led them to omnom Craftworld Iyanden.

Leviathan: Out of all the fuckhueg Tyranid Fleets, this one is the most ECKSBAWKS HUEG of them all. Currently one of the galaxy’s biggest threats.

Ouroboris: Origins unknown, and Imperial records suggest sightings of this fleet alongside Chaos incursions (although unconfirmed). Is also rumored to have arrived at the Cadian Gate as early (or earlier) than M36.

Tiamet: One of the earliest “Forgotten Fleets” (fleets suppressed or misanalyzed thanks to the Imperial bureaucracy we all know and love). Is harder to kill than a roach infestation, and survived their original worlds being fusion-bombed.

Hydra: Awakened thanks to the pointy-eared emo faggots. More Om-Nom-Nommy than your average Tyranid Fleet, because they breed like rabbits (relatively speaking in Tyranid terms, anyway.) For some reason, they team-kill and om-nom older Tyranid fleets.

Gorgon: A Hive Fleet so adaptive it made the Tau and Imperium do a temporary alliance (which lasted a predictably short time, I might add).

Links

• Announcement Trailer
• Faction Trailer narrated by everyone's favorite collector of the strange
• The game's excellent soundtrack