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<div>{{Awesome}}<br />
{{Heresy}}<br />
[[File:Necrons.jpg|500px|thumb|right|Space zombie terminator egyptians. That was Space Zombie Terminator Egyptians. [[Awesome|Yeah]].]]<br />
{{Topquote|That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may... oh, wait.|[[H.P. Lovecraft]]}}<br />
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{{Topquote|1=Finally. After our Thousand Year Old Slumber, WE ARE FINALLY ALIVE. For eons I have awaited this day. Warriors. Our time to conquer this planet and THE NEXT begins todeeeeeyy. The world shall tremble at our war cry. AND OUR WAR CRY IS SOI SOI SOI SOIIIIIIII SWEY<br>*Entire legion of Necron Warriors chanting SOI SOI SOI*|2=''[[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device]]'' [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yzsmxugmB0 Unnamed Necron Lord]}}<br />
{{Topquote|Necrons?! Hide the tanks!|Any Strategist Who Knows About What Necrons Do To Armor.}}<br />
'''Necrons''' (Robo-Zombie Aegyptons in SPEHSS)(Totally Not Knock-offs Of The Terminator. In SPEHSS) are one of the main factions in [[Warhammer 40,000]]. Basically, they're a bunch of soulless, skeletal, alien killing machines led by a robot aristocracy of angry murder machines and bound together by space-technology-magic (like atom-flaying weapons that strip their targets down into their constituent atoms). <br />
<br />
Although they have been around since [[Rogue Trader (sourcebook)|Rogue Trader]] (albeit only as a single picture categorized as an "unknown xenos species"), they have seen great change in almost every edition. In second edition, they were a mysterious faction with essentially zero fluff and only a few models, all of which looked incredibly silly, and [[Space Crusade]] introduced them as [[Chaos]] Androids (oh, the [[Cadia|''irony'']]...). However, with third edition they got their own [[Codex]] and a bunch of models fleshing them out as an army and introducing their rulers, and the [[C'tan]] (who were subsequently shoehorned into every major event in the 40k universe). [[Games Workshop]] then promptly forgot they existed and did not update them again until the closing days of fifth edition. [[Skub|This was a controversial move]] as the Codex was written by [[Matt Ward]], who significantly changed the fluff, making them Newcrons. In short, they became [[Tomb Kings]] IN SPESS and the C'tan were demoted to being their bitches. And that's about it. Do note that although they are space Tomb Kings, they are not necessarily space Egyptians.<br />
<br />
Gameplay-wise, some used to consider the Necrons to have been unduly OP during their introduction. A respectable amount of evidence can be gathered to grant credence to this viewpoint based on the ease with which they can blow up vehicles using the basic Warrior's Gauss Flayer. The rapid change in fluff between the 5th edition codex and its predecessor is [[skub|controversial]], to put it lightly. While both versions of the Necrons' background have their fans, many would agree that the retconning was drastic and heavy-handed (Pariahs were awesome, until they were scrapped by [[Matt Ward|our spiritual liege]] completely, probably because he realised how awesome they were and couldn't stand the idea of some of the lime-light being stolen from his precious [[Ultramarine|Ultrasmurfs]]). On one hand, the Necrons' theme used to be that they were emotionless, implacable alien killers led by Cthulhu-ish star gods that fed on people's souls. Their background was very sparse and included all sorts of mysterious things about the Necrons and the C'tan that had implications for the whole setting of Warhammer 40,000. The new codex however gets rid of all that mystery and removes the dangerous feel the Necrons used to have in exchange for [[your dudes|giving the individual Necron leaders and armies individual personality, which in turn allowed players to make their armies different]]. Whether you're a fan of this or not is up to you; there are pros and cons to both. This was different from the previous situation where [[Grey Knights|basically everyone had an army of similar silver (or blue, for that matter) OP doom warriors wielding guns that could rip through tanks as well as infantry and had over the top fluff that made them out to be the baddest sons of bitches in the galaxy.]] <br />
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The 7E Fluff in the codex is actually a lot more complex than those of prior codices, with complete sections dedicated to paint schemes and analyses on the markings on them (Where the last edition only barely even begins with that) while also beginning to fluff out some of the more prominent dynasties. However, not much of it actually changed from the last codex, so the C'tan are still a thing (but now they're treated with even less respect than a warrior, rather than leading the dudes), and the Newcrons as a simplified whole are still eccentric, megalomaniacal undead robots.<br />
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[[Meme|Good news, everyone!]] With the Necrons now being somewhat popular, they are about to get a new slew of Forgeworld loving, thanks to the announcement that they are scheduled to be featured in Imperial Armor 12 along with the Minotaurs Chapter Space Marines (meaning we may finally get Medusa V Tomb Stalkers and Megaliths, so we don't have to rely on Pylon, Scarab, Barge, Warscythe, and Heat-ray spam to down Titans).<br />
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Apparently, 'Necron' is also the title of a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necron bizarre and retarded fetish comic] of some sort.<br />
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== The Old Fluff - Angry Space [[Wikipedia:Terminator (character concept)|Terminators]] ==<br />
[[File:Tumblr nj3ldcWQe51tvfheeo1 1280.jpg|500px|left]] <br />
The Necrons were introduced, as mentioned before, in Space Crusade as a type of enemy to fight in the form of "Chaos Androids". Really, the only thing to describe about them here is that they're pretty derpy. Oh, and 2E had a model used for [[Assholetep]].<br />
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A long time ago (even before the [[Eldar]]) the Necrontyr [[Grimdark|lived on a planet blasted by radiation from their sun. Their short lives were filled from beginning to end with cancer]], [[AIDS]], and [[Grimdark|pain]]. The only reason the Necrontyr formed an empire beyond their planet at all was because they put their people in stasis pods and made extremely long journeys across interstellar distances. But the damage their sun did to their genes was permanent, so they still had short, cancer-prone lives. <br />
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While all this sun-rape was going on a race of psychically-attuned space precursors called the [[Old Ones]] had already built a vast civilization throughout the galaxy. They created many races or augmented many existing ones (leaving [[human|humanity]] alone) and generally showed off. Oh yeah, and they are speculated to have been immortal [[lizardmen|lizards]] (Or the Eldar gods. It's quite confusing in all honesty).<br />
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[[Grimdark|The Necrontyr met the Old Ones and quickly grew to resent their neighbors, loathing how long their lifespans were by comparison. Resentment grew into bitter jealousy and finally all-consuming hatred. The Old Ones were indeed much stronger and repelled Necrontyr assault after assault until the race was clinging to the edge of the galaxy and their lives]].<br />
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The Necrontyr finally encountered and allied with a force known as the C'tan who were beings with immense power over the corporeal world. The realm of the Warp, which the Old Ones used extensively, was anathema to them, and they sought nothing less than the total separation of the real world from the Maelstrom. <br />
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The Necrontyr bargained with the C'tan known as the Deceiver (but only the other C'tan called it that) for eternal life. [[Just As Planned|The Necrontyr knew him as Mephet'ran ("The Messenger")]] because no one in their right mind would actually trust a guy named the Deceiver. The Deceiver promised the living Necrontyr race immortality and fun times if they would sacrifice their bodies to the gods to be replaced with metallic goodness, made from a very durable and self-repairing material called [[Necrodermis]]. Some of the Necrontyr agreed to the Deceiver's terms, but most of them doubted it was a good idea. Using its talent for trickery, [[Grimdark|the Deceiver lured the doubters into the clutches of its followers and forced them to become Necrons before roboticizing its followers]]. The race had their souls ripped out of their collective urethrae, replacing the Necrontyr with the skeletal bodies of the Necrons.<br />
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War breaks out between the Necrons and the Old Ones, this war being named [[War in Heaven|the War in Heaven]] since all of the awesome shit that went down was akin to the gods themselves fighting. The Old Ones get their asses soundly beat over and over again and created new races (lol, [[Ork|Krork]]) to defend themselves with. Oh, and by using the Warp as a weapon they turned it into the [[warp|fun place we all know and love]] (which essentially means that the Old Ones are responsible for all the Chaos-infested shit that goes down these days). At this point, the old Necron fluff and new stuff begins to diverge a bit. Old fluff says the [[Eldar]] were created by the old Ones directly but new fluff simply says that the Eldar and Old Ones were allies in the war against the Necrons. It doesn't specifically say the Eldar were created by the Old Ones although the new background is worded in such a way as to make both interpretations plausible. In Eldar culture, there's another great conflict also known as the [[War in Heaven]]. This is primarily where the theory that the Old Ones and the Eldar Pantheon are potentially the same thing comes from (if true, that means some Old Ones are still alive, namely [[Isha]], [[Cegorach]], and [[Khaine]], though Khaine is split into a bajillion pieces so truly ''alive'' is debatable for him). But the most likely explanation for this is that GeeDubs' writers never talk to each other about the intricacies of this stuff and ended up giving two different conflicts the same damn name. However, the Eldar ''were'' present in both wars, so... eh?<br />
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Anyway, after the Old Ones' strategy of cranking out race after race to be used as cannon fodder backfires when an Enslaver Plague rolls around, the C'tan go on a feast of galactic proportions. During this time they even start killing and eating each other until there are only four left (The Void Dragon, The Outsider, The Nightbringer and The Deceiver). It's as this point that they realize that their excessive OMNOMNOM habits are causing their own food (essentially EVERYTHING) to die out. So, they and their Necron slaves decide to go to sleep for 60 million years 'till the scrumptious morsels known as EVERYTHING regrow. <br />
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In present time, the Necrons spend most of their time killing anything with a pulse and generally hating anything living, including bacteria. Their main objective was to use their advanced technology to close or seal off the Eye of Terror, drive back the 'Nids, and turn the living races into a never-ending all-you-can-eat buffet for the remaining C'tan. They are the goth craze if you dipped them in liquid hate and injected them with 400% of your daily allotment of cheese/awesome-sauce (depending on your viewpoint).<br />
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In essence, OldCron fluff basically makes them "Evil Order" as opposed to the "Evil Chaos" of, well, Chaos Or "Metal Tyranids" because of the emotionless mass of silver that represents their armies (with guys like [[Dawn of War|Thomas Macabee]] being more of an exception than a rule).<br />
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==The New Fluff - Space Egyptians/Tomb Kings In Space==<br />
[[File:Necron reboot.jpg|300px|right|thumb|"Dude, what did we ''do'' last aeon?"]]<br />
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===Summary===<br />
This new incarnation, love it or hate it, gives the Necrons a whole wide array of personality and every single Necron dynasty now has different goals and motives, not to mention paint schemes, markings, etc. Basically, the original fluff was changed in order to make them more like an actual empire with unique sub-factions and [[Trazyn the Infinite|interesting characters]] as opposed to another [[Tyranid|faceless blob of monsters]] out to [[Chaos|DESTROY ALL LIFE IN THE GALAXY IN THE NAME OF DARK GODS]] - which, due to poor writing, works just like any other empire made out of meat, instead of [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Unimatrix_Zero reflecting the narrative opportunities available to a race of robots]. For a far, far better game-based exploration of how to introduce individualized personalities in a race of A.I.s, play the Mass Effect series of games and explore the Geth/Quarian storylines in full (Geth aren't in Mass Effect: Andromeda, so focus on the Shepard/Reaper Wars Mass Effect trilogy). The crazy fun part of this is if you still want to play a silent legion of implacable, unfathomable terror-bots in the thrall of an insane god, you totally can. The new fluff allows for players to [[your dudes|fluff their army as they see fit]] as anything from a [[Nemesor Zandrekh|noble, honorable warrior kingdom]] open to trade and diplomacy with other species to unthinking hordes of omnicidal machines in the thrall of a malevolent computer system. You can even have a legion of the old-school C'tan-worshipping harvestcrons that have either been enslaved or have willingly taken to worshipping an awakened C'tan Shard. Shit, for all the new fluff cares your army can be a horde of Necrons afflicted with the Flayer Curse who long to have their [[brundlepenis|dicks]] back and run around [[/d/|stealing the dongs of the lesser races]] so they can [[rule 34|hump each other]] whilst their Lord sheds manly tears as he beholds the terrible plight of his people. This is of no help, however, if you enjoyed the absolute supremacy of the C'Tan as literal immortal gods of the materium, and the stories that unfold thereby, who were at least capable of going toe-to-toe with The Ruinous Powers themselves, [[Khaine|rather than being just another punchbag that GW puts on display in order to show how badass somebody else is, whose figurines they hope you'll purchase.]]<br />
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[[Forge World]] created the [[Maynarkh Dynasty]] to give an example of a perfectly fluff-valid dynasty that was culturally similar to Oldcrons (well, the "kill everything!" and "dark horror from the deep past" aspects of them, at least).<br />
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And as for totally destroying the background of the C'Tan, the codex does allude to the fact that there are lots of unaccounted for C'Tan shards (or maybe even yet unshattered C'tan?) still allegedly scattered around the galaxy. The Necron are always trying to hunt them down and imprison them (in pocket dimension prisons), but this does still leave the door totally wide open for a shard of 'The Dragon' to be on Mars and for shards of 'The Deceiver' to have done all the crazy things that have been written about him in novels. Essentially, the full C'Tan were massively, massively powerful and the 'shard' versions of them are now a lot more manageable. And of course, as everyone knows, the Outsider is still on his extra-galactic camping trip, totally whole and crying over [[meme|WHAAAAAT HEEE'S DOOONNE!!!]].<br />
<br />
===Beginning===<br />
Same as the original lore, the necrontyr were an alien race that [[Grimdark|lived extremely short, painful lives since their sun caused them to be riddled with cancer and other defects, and the tomb complexes they built were much larger than their towns, constantly reminding of their inevitable deaths.]] They focused their short lives on science in a desperate attempt to find a way to increase their lifespans, [[Fail|but they never managed to]]. They encountered the [[Old Ones]], who offered to help them but wouldn't or couldn't make the Necrontyr immortal. Thus grew their [[RAGE|collective hate]] towards the near-immortal Old Ones.<br />
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The Necrontyr's empire was massive at one point, but the different Lords in the galaxy-wide dominion started to turn against each other in civil war. To prevent this from happening, the overall ruler of the Necrontyr, the Silent King, started the war against the Old Ones specifically to give them a common enemy to fight against and [[Drow|prevent his people from destroying themselves in their own general stupidity]], with the Old Ones' refusal to share immortality as an excuse for war rather than the war being motivated by jealousy borne of this.<br />
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Of course, the Old Ones ended up kicking their butts and in desperation the Silent King allied with the C'tan (who had been attracted to the pure hate and rage the Necrontyr held for the Old Ones, a common enemy of the C'tan) and agreed to the Deceiver's pact to give them shiny new immortal bodies without realizing what he was doing. The devious Star God had in fact tricked the Necrontyr into giving up their mortal bodies and souls so that he and his god friends could gorge themselves on their tasty ass-meats. After consuming THE ENTIRE Necrontyr race the C'tan were pretty much the equivalent of Superman crossed with a level 9001 Super Sayian Goku and so were basically able to hand the Old Ones their collective asses. <br />
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However, after the Necrons helped the C'tan kill off the last Old Ones and while the C'tan were recuperating, the Silent King then ordered the Necrons to turn on the C'tan in vengeance. Caught by surprise,the C'tan were defeated and shattered into thousands of shards which the Necrons imprisoned for [[rape|later use]]. At this point the galaxy was basically a smoldering ruin, the Necrons were severely depleted from their endless wars, and the Eldar were reaching the height of their power. The Silent King ordered the Necrons to sleep for millions of years in order to hide from the Eldar and re-awaken at a time when the galaxy had both recovered and forgotten about them. The Silent King's final order to his people was that following the Great Sleep they must reclaim their old empire and return it to its former glory (A role he left his Triarch Praetorians to cover later). Following this, he freed the Necrons from his control and left the galaxy in shame for failing his people.<br />
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===Present Warhammer 40k===<br />
[[File:Necrons-eldar.png|300px|right|thumb|This is literally what the Necrons have become.]]<br />
Now that the Necrons have reawakened in the 41st millennium their goal is no longer to 'harvest' souls for the C'tan (the C'tan shards are now their slaves) as it was in the old book, but rather to reestablish the great Necron empire that spanned the galaxy before the war with the Old Ones began. What this exactly means is left to the interpretation of each Overlord. The overall unity of the Necron people is gone for the most part leaving each individual Dynasties to once again rule for themselves. While Necron warriors are pretty much just automatons and Immortals are not much better, the majority of the upper echelon of Necron society retain some degree of personality.<br />
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So there is lots of crazy nuance to Necron culture that was never present before. There are now lots of memorable quotes from Necron Lords. There are Necron Lords who honor valor in battle, Necron Lords who are obsessed with finding the perfect flesh bodies to transfer their sentience back into, and a Necron Lord who acts and commands its people like true robots due to damage to their Tomb World among others. The Silent King, who left the galaxy after defeating the C'tan (basically exiling himself for the unforgivable crime of allowing the C'tan to remove the souls of his people), encountered the Tyranids in the void between galaxies and has returned to spur the Necrons into action against the Bugs. The Silent King realized that if the Tyranids wipe the galaxy clean of biological matter then the Necrons will never find a form to transfer their minds back into. There are even a few Necron Lords who even work or trade with other races. However, such as with all the factions of 40k this is rare. (Yes, Necrons led by [[Anrakyr]] and Blood Angels did end up fighting against a Tyranid Hive Fleet together. Twice. And then [[Trazyn]] decides to give the Imperium a hand at Cadia and see if he could get Abaddon as part of his collection). Really, every dynasty can be different, so just have fun coming up with your own. <br />
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Oh, and there is definitely plenty of reason to have Necron vs. Necron action now (as the old feuds between competing Necron Lords flare back up again). To make matters more complicated though, if [[Battlefleet Gothic: Armada]] is to be believed, it was [[The Deceiver]] who handed over the [[Blackstone Fortress]]es to [[Abbadon]], thereby allowing him to destroy the Necron Pylons and overrun Cadia. Was it an act to spite the Necrons by aiding Chaos, or does he have a doublecross in the works?<br />
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===Regarding Fluff Change - Sore Butts Everywhere.===<br />
[[File:Releasethectan.jpg|200px|thumb|left|[[Pokemon|Deceiver, I choose you!]]]]<br />
It is widely conceded that the worst loss was the removal of Pariahs which were universally agreed to be one of the coolest and scariest aspects of the Necrons, something that really made them stand out (even if they weren't that great on the tabletop (they were badass on the table top, but over-priced and no We'll Be Back roll)). The Pariahs' origins were a great way to show an outsider's perspective of the Necrons (they're humans or other meatbags with the Pariah Gene who get forcibly turned into Necrons) and something that Thomas Macabee in Dark Crusade just made so incredibly badass. It would also fit perfectly into the new fluff showcasing success in combining the Necrons and the living to create a new life form. But there is good news: Hammer & Anvil more or less confirmed that Pariahs are still canon in a way. They are just experiments done by bored Crypteks, and the 7E 'dex in particular has a story where [[Illuminor Szeras]] decides to kidnap an[[Culexus]] Assassin and use it to research the Pariah Gene. And really this loss was by no means required for this change in fluff. In fact, Pariahs make even more sense with this version of the fluff than they did in the old. <br />
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<strike>In any case, the Warhammer 40k galaxy already has a pantheon of four asshole gods, plus 'two other asshole gods, {{BLAM|KRUMP!}} <span style='color:green;font-size:100%'>'''ZOG YERSELF, GROT!'''</span> so who gives a shit if the C'tan wannabes got turned into legendary pokemon?</strike> {{BLAM|SNICK!}} <span style='color:darkblue;font-size:100%'>'''The dead claim you all, fleshlings!'''</span><br />
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There was also the matter of their alliance with the [[Blood Angels]] that made everyone break into sperglord rage. See, Matt Ward was trying to ready the Necrons for their soon-to-come fluff revision where they went from a mindless army to a proper empire with actual politics. If Ward had actually written the Angel/Cron alliance ''properly'', i.e. making it clear the alliance was one made of desperation than any really attempts to be friendly, and the Silent King really just wanted to play [[Dante]] as a fool and leave him for dead after the battle (as was made clear in later Black Library publications, see list below), it would have passed quietly and we wouldn't have /tg/ being drama queens as usual.<br />
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There's also the "Shield of Baal" campaign where [[Anrakyr the Traveller]] decides to assist the Blood Angels, their successors, and some other Imperials with their Tyranid infestation by using a strange piece of Necron Archaeotech that got powered by a C'tan shard to the point of overloading so hard that the resulting radiation nearly killed everyone present.<br />
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So really, now the Necrons have become their playstyle: An army of metallic trolls.<br />
<br />
== Game Play ==<br />
[[File:Lord.jpg|300px|right|thumb|A mountain of metal, green glow and rape.]]<br />
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Necrons have strong weaponry, high toughness, but generally very little mobility. They're also expensive as hell in points.<br />
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=== Pre 5th edition Codex ===<br />
Pre-5th edition, the Necrons competitively were monobuilt to all hell. Depending on what they were up against they would be THE virtually unstoppable shooty army, or easily countered. Essentially this came down to whether or not you had enough hard counters to heavy infantry. If you didn't, you'd get the infamous "March of Doom", which was basically a non-stop forward march of Necron Warriors, Immortals, and Destroyers to flatten the table. The Necrons' innate WBB (We'll Be Back) rolls ensured that the March was fuckhard to stop, especially in tandem with Resurrection Orbs, Pylons, Monoliths, and some of the cheesier Necron formations, since the tin-men had a very good chance of getting back up after being downed. <br />
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If you did have a counter to Heavy Infantry, you'd quickly crush the Necron infantry while ignoring the extremely resilient units like Monoliths and cause the Necron survivors to Phase Out, which means the Necron Player will auto-lose should their forces go down to 25% of the starting numbers. <br />
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Necron were also severely nerfed in the start of ''5th Edition'', due to vehicles being a bit more sturdy. In the previous edition, they could potentially destroy any enemy (including heavy vehicles) with just their default troops choice - Gauss weaponry inflicts glancing hits against vehicles on a roll of 6. Necron Warriors dispatching [[Land Raider]]s or [[Leman Russ Battle Tank|Leman Russ Tanks]] with these glancing hits was ''not'' unheard of, causing many veterans of 40K tabletop to rightly declare the Necrons to be [[Cheese]].<br />
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=== 5th and 6th Edition ===<br />
[[File:Black crusade by yogh art-d5bqzc8.jpg|thumb|400px|left|Egyptians vs Egyptians: One are slaves to an [[Tzeentch|evil God]], other are [[C'tan|slaving evil Gods]].]]<br />
In 5th Edition, due to the new Armour Penetration rules, Necron Warriors could still harass, stun-lock, and annoy all vehicles, but were much less able to gun down a heavy like a Predator Tank or [[Vindicator]] with simple massed Warrior fire, to the delight of non-Necron players everywhere. Massed fire from Necron Warriors ''can'' still kill a heavy vehicle, but it will take a veritable barrage of shots to do so now, making it a bit less likely that players can spam the shit out of warrior squads and come away triumphant. A smart NewCron player learns to not over-rely on Warriors now, using backup from a mix of Scarabs, Doomsday Arks, Barge Lords, Wraiths, and Harbingers of Destruction in order to pack quality anti-vehicle options.<br />
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However in 6th (due to 6th Edition's change with rapid fire rule and vehicle hull points), Necrons are back to fucking tanks in the junk. Yes, a block of 20 Necron Warriors will wreck a Land Raider in one turn, hands down, every day of the week, though they need to be within 12" for that to happen so they can rapid fire it (otherwise it only loses 2 Hull Points), and if you are that fucking stupid (12" is melta range for everyone else) you are going to lose your Raider regardless of who you are playing against.<br />
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[[Image:1227797058418.jpg|thumb|right|''5th Edition'' wrecked their shit.]]<br />
The Necrons in 6th are still a very powerful and dangerous force. Due to VERY limited flyer defense and being able to take fliers as dedicated transports, their fliers ended up being insanely overpowered (though once everyone got reasonable AA defense that wasn't an issue) and thanks to the overall buff to shooting, the Necrons are very high tier in codex power.<br />
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Now the Necron army is all about synergy, with Overlords, Lords and Crypteks strategically placed in shooty units, and melee options like Lychguard and the infuriatingly tough-to-kill Wraiths. They also have somewhat useful Monstrous Creatures of sorts in the form of Canoptek Spyders and C'tan Shards.<br />
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Necron warriors are fairly reliable troops with near-Marine stats and a 4+ save, though they essentially have a delayed 5+ Feel No Pain Save with their "'''Reanimation Protocols'''" rule (4+ with a Resurrection Orb in the unit). Immortals are pretty much Space Marine equivalents. <br />
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The infamous [[Monolith]] is easily the most recognizable unit that the Necrons possess. It has 14 armour on each side (and thus no vulnerable spots), a main weapon that cannot be disabled with a "weapon destroyed" result and the ability to teleport your troops out of harm's way (or into it if you're badass). The Monolith is no longer the nigh invulnerable mountain of rape it used to be, as it can no longer ignore the Melta special rule, and the Monolith's combat performance is outstripped by several of their new vehicles. This means the once proud 'Lith has been relegated to Apocalypse battles. Good job, [[Matt Ward]].<br />
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Necron infantry are generally slow moving, hard hitting, much like the Space Marines, if the Space Marine infantry units had Feel No Pain as part of their base rules and they forgot to take drop pods or transport vehicles. The Necrons back this with annoying deep-strikers and fast-moving units that are designed to support the main advance. There is nothing - I repeat - NOTHING, scarier than a Necron player with almost-cheating luck. But they all look like skellingtons and some of them wear the meat of their victims, they're MEANT to be scary.<br />
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===7th Edition===<br />
The first thing people noticed about 7E is the Necrons got back their amazing glancing powers with Gauss. This causes squees among the playerbase. Seriously, if gauss weapons were this effective in [[X-COM]]: Terror From the Deep, players would be tugging themselves off about them.<br />
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The other big change to their army is the changes made to the Reanimation Protocols (RP). Now instead of being a means of bringing everything back from the dead, it's reduced to a FNP-alike that comes after all armor saves, except it can be used against ID (Though at -1 penalty). Resurrection Orbs now give you a turn's worth of rerolls for RP. Taking a postmark identity from a once cool army a revealing the Inquisitions plan all along to destroy the necrons by giving them a personality, destroying the Star Gods and when nobody is looking taking away the we'll be back. There are some other changes (MSS now useless, Wraiths now Beasts,<s> Crypteks losing everything fun</s>, Destroyers are Jetpack Infantry), but these are the ones that changed the most.<br />
<br />
But the single most trolltastic weapon the Necron player has on hand is the one that doesn't even involve buying a central unit: The Decurion FOC. Simply put, this is an entire formation made of Formations, with a central one giving room for warriors, Immortals, Tomb Blades, Monolith, and a central Overlord, while giving options like the good ol' Royal Court, a formation for Canoptek-flavored cheese, a formation for Triarchs, and all be counted as Battle-Forged. The biggest change this brought was that, due to each individual component being technically a formation in it's own right, this lets you field some hilariously broken shit and still counts as battleforged; want to take nothing but wraiths and spyders backed by doomscythes? now you can and watch your opponent tears flow like the nile.<br />
<br />
===8th Edition===<br />
The gauss flayers are 24" rapid fire at ap-1, and the blaster is ap-2. Living metal is also an automatic wound recovery. Monoliths have 20 wounds, and can once again suck people into its gaping maw. Reanimation Protocols are now taken at the beginning of the user turn, and on a 5+ a model that has died is returned... no matter how long ago it got offed, no matter how many previous times you've rolled for it, as long as the unit isn't wiped out you can roll for it. Mortal Wounds can kiss Necron's collective shiny metal asses. So far, Cronz are gonna be just as durable and scary as they once were. <br />
<br />
Reanimation Protocols: Roll a D6 for each slain model from this unit (unless the whole unit has been completely destroyed) at the beginning of your turn. On a 5+ return the model to the unit. This can happen in EVERY subsequent phase. So if a warrior dies turn 1, you roll turn 2,3,4,5 and so on until its back or the unit is destroyed.<br />
<br />
Living Metal: At the beginning of your turn, this model recovers 1 Wound lost earlier in battle. Characters and Vehicles benefit from this rule.<br />
<br />
Powers of the C'Tan: Before the battle begins, generate the Powers of the C'tan for each C'tan Shard using the following table. You can either roll a D3 to generate their powers randomly (re-rolling duplicates) or you can select the powers you with the C'tan shard to have. -(Why they have both options is beyond me)<br />
<br />
-1: Antimatter Meteor: Roll a D6; on a 2+ the closest enemy unit within 24" of the C'tan Shard suffers D3 mortal wounds<br />
<br />
-2: Time's Arrow: Pick a visible enemy unit within 24" of the C'tan Shard and roll a D6. If the result is higher than that unit's Wounds <br />
characteristic, one model from that unit is slain.<br />
<br />
-3: Seismic Assault: Roll a D6 for each model in the closest enemy unit within 24" of the C'tan Shard. For each roll of 6, that unit suffers <br />
a mortal wound.<br />
<br />
HQ's<br />
Common Abilities:<br />
ResOrb: If this Model has a ResOrb, once per battle, immediately after you have made your RP rolls, you can make RP rolls for models from a friendly <Dynasty> Infantry unit within 3" of this model.<br />
Phase Shifter: 4+ Invuln<br />
[[Tomb Kings|My Will Be Done]] (either GW is throwing Tomb Kings fans a bone or making a jab at us/them): At the beginning of each of your turns, choose a friendly <Dynasty> Infantry unit within 6" of this model. You can add 1 to the Advance, charge and hit rolls of that unit until the beginning of your next turn. A unit can only be affected by this ability once in each turn.<br />
<br />
Imotekh the Stormlord:<br />
<br />
Overlord: 7 Points<br />
M 5"/ WS 2+/ BS 2+/ S5/ T5/ W5/ A3/ Ld10/ Sv3+<br />
Equipped with Staff of Light, Living Metal, Phase Shifter<br />
Can take any Melee<br />
May take ResOrb<br />
My Will Be Done<br />
<br />
8th edition necrons are also almost impossible to shift from morale with army wide Ld10. The changes to vehicles have nerfed Gauss weapons into oblivion though, as although absolutely everything is now capable of wounding vehicles, the amount of wounds needed plus the low chance of wounding at all results in you needing hundreds of shots to destroy them.<br />
<br />
== How to Fight (and play) the Necrons ==<br />
[[File:Hitler hates the Necrons.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Hitler doesn't know how to counter his ol' pal Churchill's Necrons with his Imperial Guard. Maybe because he insists on using tanks.]]<br />
If you want real in-depth strategies, take a gander at [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Necrons|the Tactica]]. This is just an overview about some of the ways Trollcrons can be cheese.<br />
<br />
Too many people whine about how broken this faction is, so I'm just going to leave this here.<br />
<br />
Necron troops tend to be effective engaging from maximum range. Deployed in large hordes Necron Warriors are perhaps the single hardest basic troops to shift in the entire game. Only the heaviest fusillades or the very worst luck can wipe them out. Hearing such squads survive round after round after round of small arms fire is far from unusual. When you find yourself facing such a gunline, focus your fire to bring down a group at a time, ensuring it's completely gone, or close to melee range. Immortals are more expensive, but less numerous: focus your fire on their smaller squads, making sure to finish the squad. Pay careful attention to which weapon they're carrying: Gauss Blasters are AP4 Rapid Fire (better at medium range and against vehicles or your 4+ infantry), while Tesla Carbines are AP- assault (better at further range against blobs where the AP- doesn't mean shit when you're chaining up Tesla hits).<br />
<br />
[[File:A Silent King.jpg|300px|thumb|left|Quick, pretend to be a statue and he might just think you're a suit of armor. If that doesn't work, <s>run like hell</s> just outwalk it. But don't let him shank your chaos-worshipping ass with his Staff O'Doom.]]<br />
<br />
The HQs on this faction tend to be bad news up close (Overlords, Trazyn), support engines (Imotekh, Zahndrekk, Szeras, the crypteks), or both (Anrakyr, Obyron, Orikan). They're quite strong, and often pack S7 AP2 Armorbane weapons called Warscythes. If your idea of winning melee is hitting a group with a bunch of cultists and one CSM lord, you might want to reconsider it, as a Necron Overlord with just a warscythe has decent odds of killing your warlord and mopping up the melee. Instead, target the unescorted units with no HQs, crypteks, or regular lords. Necron Warriors and Immortals usually won't charge out to meet you, so don't worry too much about their counter-charge unless you see Wraiths, Lychguard, Praetorians, or Anrakyr across the field, in which case stay the '''hell''' out of the way unless you're sure you want that fight. When you see a Cryptek in a group of warriors, assume he's got something nasty, and ask what it is. He's likely a high-priority target, but only if you can pick him out from his escort (precision shots are your friends here). Don't be afraid to get into melee with a Cryptek, as most of them are meat there. Challenge them out and go to town.<br />
<br />
Necron Elites are a mixed bag, typically filling gaps in the primary lineup. Triarch Stalkers are high-priority targets, as they support and amplify the already formidible Necron shooting phase. [[Tarpit]] them, or employ maximum-power weapons to take advantage of their open-topped stat-line. Deathmarks drop onto the field and annihilate singular targets or pick off specialists with sniper salvos that wound on a 2+ when they arrive. Spread your squads out to make deep-striking hazardous, and be prepared to charge into melee with the deathmarks when they arrive. Better yet, try to refrain from reserves and make their purchase useless. Lychguard aren't all they're cracked up to be: they're melee killers with T5, AP 2 or 3 weapons, and two attacks base. Combat them with overwhelming numbers, or AP3 blast weapons (a Leman Russ Battle Tank can recoup its cost in one shot against a group of Lychguard). C'tan shards are very expensive Pokemon with a few randomized powers; yeah, where most races have psykers to waste cards on, you waste cards on C'tan powers you roll each turn you fire. You'll rarely see a Praetorian on the tabletop, but they're jump-assaulting elite fighters held back by the same terrible initiative all the Necrons have. Don't be too worried, they're easily swarmed or shot down by AP3 or better weapons. Their incredibly specific niche is 2+ troops with unwieldy weapons and no invulnerable saves, which they'll roll pretty easily. Sadly for you, Flayed Ones are now not shit, especially against 5+ stuff like guard. Target them just like you do Necron Warriors, and try not to enter melee until you're sure you'll win.<br />
<br />
Most of the really scary toys in the Necron lineup come from Fast Attack. Scarabs are swarms of T3 monsters that turn vehicles into mulch. If you have vehicles, these are priority one targets, even over things like Lychguard or Heavy Destroyers. They're swift and will routinely kill a Leman Russ in one round with only one or two bases. Utilize high-strength and/or blast weapons (if you've got both, even better). Destroyers are quick elite-infantry or vehicle killers. Both kinds have Preferred Enemy (everything!), so they're great at fighting marines (for the regular destroyers) or terminators/vehicles (for the heavy type). Their weakness is small squads: prioritize these with autocannons or other moderate-strength weapons. Tomb Blades aren't particularly worrying for their cost: engage with small arms and prioritize them below most other targets. Wraiths are fearsome fighters: as Beasts with two wounds, and 3++ makes them hard to stop while S6, A3, and rending mean you cannot afford to ignore them. Try to stall their approach, and overwhelm them with a hail of lighter gunfire. Don't try to flatten the whole group with a battle cannon shot the way you do Necron Warriors, as they'll save out and keep moving (fearless). Unlike most Necron units these can't reanimate unless in a Canoptek Harvest Formation, so you can safely grind them down with bolters, lasguns, or other light weapons.<br />
<br />
Necron heavy supports are tenacious, but most follow the 'shielded, open-topped AV11' archetype, like the Annihilation Barge and the Ghost Ark. Target vehicles like this by focusing high-strength weapons on them to crack their shields. Don't screw around here: if you don't have S8+ weapons, don't even bother. Autocannons would be better spent putting down more vulnerable targets. Once their shields are down bring out the rest of your more moderate weapons to finish the job. Shields don't grow back, but Necron units can shrug off shaken and stunned results, so just like you'd finish off warrior groups make sure you finish off Barges and Arks. These things come in several flavors: Ghost Arks rebuild Warriors (and only warriors, not Immortals), Doomsday Arks fire S10 AP1 large blasts if still, or S8 AP3 small blasts if they moved, Annihilation Barges spew autocannon-esque lightning, and Catacomb Command Barges fly a Lord around the battle cutting people up. Canoptek Spyders are tough, cheap monstrous critters with T6, 3+, and W3. If your foe fields a set of scarabs look for the spyders behind them: those spyders can build more scarabs as long as you haven't wiped out the whole scarab swarm. They're tough to crack: at T6 they're extremely hard to swarm down. Try to keep them at range and leverage your best anti-tank weapons. The Monolith deserves special mention, with all-round AV14. If you don't have meltas, lances, or other really good anti-armor weapons just ignore them: they hardly care about any vehicle damage table results except Explodes, and their offense isn't impressive for their cost. Try to spread out to make their teleportation fail, as for no adequately-explained reason they are completely susceptible to deep-strike failures.<br />
<br />
Necron fliers were the shit just after 6th edition came out. All of a sudden their reasonably effective fast skimmers became seriously difficult to slay, and kept all of their abilities. As it stands today most serious armies bring anti-air as a matter of course, and if you do as well you should be in good shape to hold off the <s>Croissants</s> Scythes. Both Night <s>Croissants</s> Scythes (a flying dedicated transport) and Death <s>Croissants</s> Scythes (a tank-shredding air-to-ground fighter) are very fairly cost-effective for their weapons and have AV 11. Neither one should be ignored: a Night Scythe can deposit its infantry payload without slowing to a hover, the twin tesla-destructors on either aircraft are excellent at anti-air and anti-ground alike, and the Death Scythe's Death Ray ([[awesome|yes, that's what it's called]]) is one of the most effective tank-killers outside of Apocalypse. If you find yourself facing a large group of these without solid anti-air you may be in serious trouble: run for cover and turn everything S6+ you've got skyward. Part of the controversy about these fliers seems to be the cash-grab surrounding their concept, as all the best anti-air weapons are new models or fliers themselves (or both). In all fairness, if your opponent does field six or eight scythes in a regular army without warning you beforehand... he'll probably win. Please don't be [[that guy]]. If you do find yourself playing against [[that guy]], prioritize the Doom Scythes first and fire everything you've got. They're much more dangerous to your ground-based anti-air, and if you can't suppress them with vehicle damage table results you're likely to lose the ability to retaliate within a round or two.<br />
<br />
Thanks to IA12 and the recent 7th Ed Flyer rules, Necrons have the most broken aerial assault units in the fucking game. Enter the Nightshroud Bomber. This bastard can drop a Strength 10 AP 1 pie plate on whatever you don't like, and it's a goddamn ''bomber''. So that shit happens before your opponent even gets a chance to intercept. And with 12/12/12 armour and 4 fucking hull points, it is very unlikely that they will even be able to do that.<br />
<br />
Hey Space Marines players, you call those Terminators? Let's take them to school (one bomb later) there they go, motherfuckers! Send it in with a couple (of dozen) Doom Scythes and let the rape begin!<br />
<br />
==In Battlefleet Gothic==<br />
[[File:Tomb Forever.jpg|370px|right|thumb|The egyptians build the pyramids to get closer to the gods. The Necrons already got to their gods, used them to their own advantage and killed them. They build their pyramids because why not.]]<br />
They are still totally fucking overpowered in [[Battlefleet Gothic]] though; their cruisers can crush many other race's battleships without much trouble. Although with the discontinuation of BFG by GW, the number of Necron fleets available for sale is now finite and thus the number of assholes who play them. Unless you find a [https://www.shapeways.com/marketplace/?tag=battlefleet%2Bgothic company] that can use 3D printers to make any model you want for [http://games-workshop.com/ too much]. [[Just As Planned]]<br />
<br />
==In Roleplay==<br />
Necrons are the ultimate Bad News, any Master can (and would) drop on his party if they get overconfident, forcing even high level Deathwatch and Chaos Marines to shit their power pants, as 'Crons combine near-marine power level with numbers and determination.<br />
<br />
==Reasons to be a Necron==<br />
* You look like fabulously gaudy gilded Space Egyptian Robot.<br />
* You are already dead and nigh-indestructible, so only entertainment matters.<br />
* You have lots of dakka. Still doesn't match Imperial Artillery and [[Tau|Happy Campers]] though.<br />
* You have lots of cheese and quirky rules with which to infuriate your opponent. Praise the [[Spiritual Liege]]!<br />
* [[Cronssant]]s, bitches! Between this and all the teleporting units, you can be more mobile than the fucking Dark Eldar.<br />
* You are <strike>arguably</strike> the most technologically advanced race in the history of 40K, and you did it all without use of the warp for cheats. Give yourself a pat on the back.<br />
* You have one of the [[Trazyn| best canonical trolls]] of the whole 40k franchise.<br />
* Egyptian mummy robots playing space chess: Minimum [[Grimdark]], maximum fun!<br />
* Your color scheme is Black and Green, and we know [[Ork| how awesome those color schemes are]].<br />
* The new canon gives you virtually limitless chances to create your own [[Phaeron]] and give it [[Your dudes|whatever kind of quirks you may like]].<br />
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIj7gIDFDe4 Remember how awesome General Grievous was the first time he appeared?] That's how Necron Overlords fight in fluff, up to the point they could bring low heavyweights like [[Cato Sicarius]], or 2 CSM Lords in Terminator Armour and their retinue at ''the same time'' if "Fall of Damnos" or the [[Word Bearers]] novels are any indication.<br />
* Remember when Bender from ''Futurama'' was a Pharaoh, yep that's pretty much how Overlords are now.<br />
* You have literal star gods as pets. STAR GODS. Praise the [[Spiritual Liege]]!<br />
<br />
==Reasons to NOT be a Necron==<br />
* You have no soul.<br />
* You're not Grimdark Machine Death March of Doom anymore.<br />
** Well, maybe you are, depending on what Phaeron you serve. The Silent King's wimpy "let's all turn back into squishy mortals" whining only affects about half the Necrons.<br />
* You will be highly hated due to the amount of cheese in your units. Though this does [[Grey Knights|have]] [[Eldar|an]] [[Tau|allure]] of its own.<br />
* [[Matt Ward|The Unholy Beast]] has handled your race with his touch. Although to your credit, the fluff isn't [[Grey Knights|Ward Knights]]-tier terrible. At least we got Pokémon out of the deal. Right, guys? ... Guys?<br />
* You cannot differentiate the wimminz and the manz, so you will accept the risks.<br />
** Unless you want to bang your leaders. [[Kor Phaeron|Phaeron]] is the title for male Necrons, Phaerakh is the title for female Necrons.<br />
*Thanks to [[Matt Ward|The Great Beast]] you can't be friends with Thomas Macabee anymore.<br />
* If you're an Oldcrons fan, you're never quite going to get the army you want because the C'tan have been glorified Pokémon for two whole editions and there's no signs of going back to the old fluff ([[Your Dudes|Though that's not to say there aren't any, and Skynet-stlye Necrons still canonically exist as well, so there's hope.]])<br />
* You have no penis <strike>/vagina</strike>- Lets be honest, if you're on this page you don't have a vagina. At least until [[Slaanesh]] finds you.<br />
<br />
==Novels and stories featuring the Necrons==<br />
Here is a list with a small synopsis of publications by [[Black Library]] and GeeDubs which feature them, '''before you start adding, remember, Necrons must not only be mentioned, but actually appear in the story,''' feel free to add new items and follow the alphabetic order:<br />
*'''Ambition Knows No Bounds:''' Rogue Trader trying to plunder a Necron Tomb World.<br />
*'''But Dust in the Wind:''' Imperial Fists vs Necrons, enuff said!<br />
*'''Cain's Last Stand:''' Chronologically the last novel of Commissar [[Ciaphas Cain]], the Necrons appear later in the novel.<br />
*'''Caves of Ice:''' Cain and the Valhallan 597th are sent to an ice planet to defend a refinery from an ork horde, but an ugly surprise awaits below the installations.<br />
*'''Cold Steel:''' renegade imperial guard attempts to escape penal moon while there is a three-side war between the 'crons, space marines and khornates, featuring a [[Tesseract Vault]].<br />
*'''Damnos:''' Ultramarines vs Necrons, features some Necrons POV, as well as the Ultramarines commanded by Cato Sicarius, if you don't like the Ultramarines, this may be the novel for you!<br />
*'''Dark Creed:''' Word Bearers vs Astartes Praeses, the Necrons come in the later part of the novel, a great portrayal of how they are actually totally scary and overpowered.<br />
*'''Dead Men Walking:''' Death-korps of Krieg vs Necrons, the novel has an extremely grim tone as it puts a lot of focus on the civilians caught in the campaign, and shows a lot of Krieg jerkassery, don't get too attached to any of the main characters and no Krieg-chan for you!<br />
*'''Echoes of the Tomb''': One of the earliest novels of Ciaphas Cain, and the origin of his fear of the Necrons.<br />
*'''Fabius Bile- Clone Lord:''' Sequel to the first novel focusing on everyone's favorite clone fetishist [[Fabius Bile]], this one has him continuing his search for a way to cure himself. Specifically involving him going to a forgotten planet in the eastern fringe called [[Trazyn the Infinite|Solemence]]... <br />
*'''Flayed:''' [[Death Spectres]] evacuate civilians from a world that gets attacked by Flayed Ones every few years. Not what you expect going in.<br />
*'''Hammer & Anvil:''' Sisters of Battle get slaughtered by the necrons and... wait! Are they fighting back? And they are actually competent? quite a nice read and gives the Sisters a lot of street cred back.<br />
*'''Hellforged:''' 5th novel in the Soul Drinkers series by Ben Counter, a very good take on OldCrons that makes them genuinely terrifying, also includes awesome Mechanicus and Space Marines action.<br />
*'''Imperial Armour Volume Twelve - The Fall of Orpheus:''' a Forgeworld book about the totally badass and horrifying [[Maynarkh Dynasty]] vs the Minotaurs and the Death-Korps of Krieg, overall an extremely cool, if expensive, book.<br />
*'''Infinite Circuit:''' A small story about a Cult Mechanicus procession getting their hands on a C'tan shard and the Deathwatch paying a visit to see what's going on.<br />
*'''Nightbringer:''' Ultramarines vs Dark Eldar and Human traitors rushing to get to the crypt of the [[Nightbringer]], or perhaps it's just a shard. And let's be honest, it being a shard makes anyone in that room surviving a possibility.<br />
*'''Shield of Baal: Devourer:''' Necrons POV! Featuring Anrakyr the Traveler trying to seize a tomb-world and some Necron dynasty nobles trying to flee a Flayed-Ones overran crypt-complex, also, Blood Angels and Tyranids.<br />
*'''Shield of Baal: Exterminatus:''' campaign book featuring Anrakyr and the Mephrit Dynasty, teaming up with the Imperium to contain Hivefleet Leviathan, minimun oldcrons, maximun newcrons acting like Tomb Kings in space.<br />
*'''Spear of Macragge:''' Ultramarines tanks vs Necrons, as well as some Ultramarines internal politicking.<br />
*'''The Gathering Storm: Fall of Cadia:''' Trazyn decides to play the hero and help the imperials fend off Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade assault on Cadia.<br />
*'''The Lords of Borsis:''' The preview for the World-Engine novel, featuring a Necron coup d'etat.<br />
*'''The Word of the Silent King:''' The Silent King himself dealing with the Blood Angels, it seems the old Necron monarch has been acquaintances with Sanguinius himself.<br />
*'''The World Engine:''' also known as <s>one of</s> the coolest Space Marines novel ever, it narrates the fight between the Astral Knights and the Necron dynasty from Borsis, if you liked the entry in the Codex, go for it!<br />
*'''The Infinite Tableau:''' A trio of Deathwatch lead a team of Inquisitorial troopers to an ice-bound moon in search of missing Adeptus Mechanicus explorators. Following their trail into ancient caverns, the Deathwatch find a bunch of necrons waiting to kill them all!<br />
*'''Warhammer Adventures: Attack of the Necron:''' Small children without guns versus the Necrons. We all know how this is going to [[rape|end.]]<br />
<br />
==See Also==<br />
* [[Tomb Kings]] and [[Vampire Counts]] for their [[Warhammer Fantasy]] equivalents (fun fact: both armies used to be one single Undead army full of mysterious motives and EVULZ, and as such the current state of Necrons is more of a step back to roots than being outright "new". Also oldcrons, minus Vampire dickery, are pretty much just Vampire Counts like Newcrons are basically just Tomb kings).<br />
* [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Necrons(8E)|Their tactics]] - Someone forgot to add that shit<br />
* [[Assholetep]] - A Necron Overlord of insufferable dickheadedness<br />
* Lolcron, a popular Necron [[drawfag]].<br />
* [[False Immortality]]<br />
* [[Heavy-chan]]<br />
* [[Lolicron]]<br />
* [[Lovecron]]<br />
* [[Papalith]]<br />
* [[Shanako]]<br />
* [[Imotekh the Stormlord]] - The de facto most powerful Necron ever.<br />
* [[Silent King]] - THE most powerful Necron ever.<br />
* [[Nemesor Zandrekh]], known for being both a total bro and completely senile.<br />
* [[Thri-Kreen Erotica|Trazyn the--]] Goddamn it! That link was a fake! Curse you [[Trazyn the Infinite|Trollzyn]]!!!!<br />
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q2e8lnqwwk Their theme from Dawn of War].<br />
* [[Æonic Orb]]<br />
<br />
==Gallery==<br />
<center><gallery><br />
Image:1228731983317.jpg|Suddenly, [[dreadknight|Monoliths just got even more]] awesome.<br />
Image:1204274003601.jpg|[[Angry Marines]] can really fuck your shit up.<br />
Image:1208121844297.jpg|Necron players are well-known for their carefully planned tactics of "[[Wallhammer|move-shoot-move-shoot]]".<br />
Image:1208122137113.jpg|Thanks to Matt Ward this is now canon. Give thanks to our spiritual liege for Thaszar the Invincible!<br />
Image:274.jpg|IN THE GRIM DARKNESS OF THE 41ST MILLENNIUM, THE ARGUMENT STILL RAGES<br />
Image:1208122702531.jpg|Here we see the humble [[Drawfag|Lolcron]], irritably drawing away.<br />
Image:1229675685738.jpg|<br />
Image:Lolicron05.jpg|Lolcron and lolicron - know the difference! Ya, ones a sex doll... Still tap dat ass though!<br />
Image:Necron_by_Android_Arts.jpg|No.<br />
Image:591.jpg|<br />
Image:Thrillercrons.jpg|''The funk of 40,000 years.''<br />
Image:Nodrawtoday.jpg|[[Drawfag|Lolcron]] is a lazy bum these days.<br />
Image:lolcrontroll.jpg|Necron update 2011 in a nutshell. <br />
File:Pariah Lee.jpg|The Necron's ace in the hole.<br />
Image:Lolcron1.jpg|Damn space commies.<br />
Image:Lolcron2.jpg|''Goddamnit.''<br />
File:1304191380926.jpg|Ah, the early weakling 5th-ed + OP 7th-ed buddies.<br />
Image:Taucronxeno .jpg|This is what we call a xeno double-down.<br />
Image:Monolith song.jpg|Monoliths are known to inspire great songs.<br />
Image:StupidSexyFlayed.jpg|Flayed Ones are adept at finding ways to maintain a nice figure.<br />
File:Stormlord.jpg|Phaeron Imotekh in all his egotistic glory.<br />
File:Cult2.jpg<br />
Image:Necron_motivator.JPG<br />
File:Shenanigans.jpg<br />
File:Necron skeleton.PNG| [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2rwxs1gH9w Spooky Scary Necrons, send shivers down your spine]<br />
File:Rising.jpg| Hmmmm....What is taking Ol'Zandrekh so them long for our Necron flaying party?<br />
File:245433.jpg|C'tan-chan will suck your soul out through your urethra and she won't even touch your dick.<br />
File:Female necron by lutherniel-dbhnh4t.jpg|A more realistic looking female Necron. Considering that only nobility could have their bodies shaped into how they were in life, she's definitively at least a Necron Lord/Lady.<br />
File:Necron-characters.jpg|Go, Go, Necron Rangers...<br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy.PNG| Necrons in the galaxy<br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy segmentum solar.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Segmentum_Solar|Segmentum Solar]]<br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy segmentum obscurus.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Segmentum_Obscurus|Segmentum Obscurus]]<br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy segmentum tempestus.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Segmentum_Tempestus|Segmentum Tempestus]] <br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy ultima segmentum.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Ultima_Segmentum|Northern Ultima Segmentum]] <br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy ultima segmentum 2.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Ultima_Segmentum|Southern Ultima Segmentum]] <br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy segmentum pacificus.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Segmentum_Pacificus|Segmentum Pacificus]]<br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy sautekh.PNG| Territory of the [[Imotekh the Stormlord|Sautekh Dynasty]]<br />
File:Necron_with_booty_by_S_Socrates.jpg|With booty<br />
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==Navigation==<br />
{{Necrons-Forces}}<br />
{{WH40k-Factions}}<br />
{{Template:Important Species in 40k}}<br />
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[[Category:Xenos]]</div>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBDhttp://2d4chan.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Necron&diff=354640Necron2019-10-23T00:06:35Z<p>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBD: </p>
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<div>{{Awesome}}<br />
{{Heresy}}<br />
[[File:Necrons.jpg|500px|thumb|right|Space zombie terminator egyptians. That was Space Zombie Terminator Egyptians. [[Awesome|Yeah]].]]<br />
{{Topquote|That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may... oh, wait.|[[H.P. Lovecraft]]}}<br />
{{Topquote|Death is frightening, and so is eternal life.|Mason Cooley}}<br />
{{Topquote|My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:<br>Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!<br>Nothing beside remains. Round the decay<br>Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare<br>The lone and level sands stretch far away.|Percy Bysshe Shelley, "Ozymandias"}}<br />
{{Topquote|What is dead may never die, but rises again, stronger and harder.|Prayer to the [[A Song of Ice and Fire|Drowned God]]}}<br />
{{Topquote|1=Finally. After our Thousand Year Old Slumber, WE ARE FINALLY ALIVE. For eons I have awaited this day. Warriors. Our time to conquer this planet and THE NEXT begins todeeeeeyy. The world shall tremble at our war cry. AND OUR WAR CRY IS SOI SOI SOI SOIIIIIIII SWEY<br>*Entire legion of Necron Warriors chanting SOI SOI SOI*|2=''[[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device]]'' [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yzsmxugmB0 Unnamed Necron Lord]}}<br />
{{Topquote|Necrons?! Hide the tanks!|Any Strategist Who Knows About What Necrons Do To Armor.}}<br />
'''Necrons''' (Robo-Zombie Aegyptons in SPEHSS)(Totally Not Knock-offs Of The Terminator. In SPEHSS) are one of the main factions in [[Warhammer 40,000]]. Basically, they're a bunch of soulless, skeletal, alien killing machines led by a robot aristocracy of angry murder machines and bound together by space-technology-magic (like atom-flaying weapons that strip their targets down into their constituent atoms). <br />
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Although they have been around since [[Rogue Trader (sourcebook)|Rogue Trader]] (albeit only as a single picture categorized as an "unknown xenos species"), they have seen great change in almost every edition. In second edition, they were a mysterious faction with essentially zero fluff and only a few models, all of which looked incredibly silly, and [[Space Crusade]] introduced them as [[Chaos]] Androids (oh, the [[Cadia|''irony'']]...). However, with third edition they got their own [[Codex]] and a bunch of models fleshing them out as an army and introducing their rulers, and the [[C'tan]] (who were subsequently shoehorned into every major event in the 40k universe). [[Games Workshop]] then promptly forgot they existed and did not update them again until the closing days of fifth edition. [[Skub|This was a controversial move]] as the Codex was written by [[Matt Ward]], who significantly changed the fluff, making them Newcrons. In short, they became [[Tomb Kings]] IN SPESS and the C'tan were demoted to being their bitches. And that's about it. Do note that although they are space Tomb Kings, they are not necessarily space Egyptians.<br />
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Gameplay-wise, some used to consider the Necrons to have been unduly OP during their introduction. A respectable amount of evidence can be gathered to grant credence to this viewpoint based on the ease with which they can blow up vehicles using the basic Warrior's Gauss Flayer. The rapid change in fluff between the 5th edition codex and its predecessor is [[skub|controversial]], to put it lightly. While both versions of the Necrons' background have their fans, many would agree that the retconning was drastic and heavy-handed (Pariahs were awesome, until they were scrapped by [[Matt Ward|our spiritual liege]] completely, probably because he realised how awesome they were and couldn't stand the idea of some of the lime-light being stolen from his precious [[Ultramarine|Ultrasmurfs]]). On one hand, the Necrons' theme used to be that they were emotionless, implacable alien killers led by Cthulhu-ish star gods that fed on people's souls. Their background was very sparse and included all sorts of mysterious things about the Necrons and the C'tan that had implications for the whole setting of Warhammer 40,000. The new codex however gets rid of all that mystery and removes the dangerous feel the Necrons used to have in exchange for [[your dudes|giving the individual Necron leaders and armies individual personality, which in turn allowed players to make their armies different]]. Whether you're a fan of this or not is up to you; there are pros and cons to both. This was different from the previous situation where [[Grey Knights|basically everyone had an army of similar silver (or blue, for that matter) OP doom warriors wielding guns that could rip through tanks as well as infantry and had over the top fluff that made them out to be the baddest sons of bitches in the galaxy.]] <br />
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The 7E Fluff in the codex is actually a lot more complex than those of prior codices, with complete sections dedicated to paint schemes and analyses on the markings on them (Where the last edition only barely even begins with that) while also beginning to fluff out some of the more prominent dynasties. However, not much of it actually changed from the last codex, so the C'tan are still a thing (but now they're treated with even less respect than a warrior, rather than leading the dudes), and the Newcrons as a simplified whole are still eccentric, megalomaniacal undead robots.<br />
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[[Meme|Good news, everyone!]] With the Necrons now being somewhat popular, they are about to get a new slew of Forgeworld loving, thanks to the announcement that they are scheduled to be featured in Imperial Armor 12 along with the Minotaurs Chapter Space Marines (meaning we may finally get Medusa V Tomb Stalkers and Megaliths, so we don't have to rely on Pylon, Scarab, Barge, Warscythe, and Heat-ray spam to down Titans).<br />
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Apparently, 'Necron' is also the title of a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necron bizarre and retarded fetish comic] of some sort.<br />
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== The Old Fluff - Angry Space [[Wikipedia:Terminator (character concept)|Terminators]] ==<br />
[[File:Tumblr nj3ldcWQe51tvfheeo1 1280.jpg|500px|left]] <br />
The Necrons were introduced, as mentioned before, in Space Crusade as a type of enemy to fight in the form of "Chaos Androids". Really, the only thing to describe about them here is that they're pretty derpy. Oh, and 2E had a model used for [[Assholetep]].<br />
<br />
A long time ago (even before the [[Eldar]]) the Necrontyr [[Grimdark|lived on a planet blasted by radiation from their sun. Their short lives were filled from beginning to end with cancer]], [[AIDS]], and [[Grimdark|pain]]. The only reason the Necrontyr formed an empire beyond their planet at all was because they put their people in stasis pods and made extremely long journeys across interstellar distances. But the damage their sun did to their genes was permanent, so they still had short, cancer-prone lives. <br />
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While all this sun-rape was going on a race of psychically-attuned space precursors called the [[Old Ones]] had already built a vast civilization throughout the galaxy. They created many races or augmented many existing ones (leaving [[human|humanity]] alone) and generally showed off. Oh yeah, and they are speculated to have been immortal [[lizardmen|lizards]] (Or the Eldar gods. It's quite confusing in all honesty).<br />
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[[Grimdark|The Necrontyr met the Old Ones and quickly grew to resent their neighbors, loathing how long their lifespans were by comparison. Resentment grew into bitter jealousy and finally all-consuming hatred. The Old Ones were indeed much stronger and repelled Necrontyr assault after assault until the race was clinging to the edge of the galaxy and their lives]].<br />
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The Necrontyr finally encountered and allied with a force known as the C'tan who were beings with immense power over the corporeal world. The realm of the Warp, which the Old Ones used extensively, was anathema to them, and they sought nothing less than the total separation of the real world from the Maelstrom. <br />
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The Necrontyr bargained with the C'tan known as the Deceiver (but only the other C'tan called it that) for eternal life. [[Just As Planned|The Necrontyr knew him as Mephet'ran ("The Messenger")]] because no one in their right mind would actually trust a guy named the Deceiver. The Deceiver promised the living Necrontyr race immortality and fun times if they would sacrifice their bodies to the gods to be replaced with metallic goodness, made from a very durable and self-repairing material called [[Necrodermis]]. Some of the Necrontyr agreed to the Deceiver's terms, but most of them doubted it was a good idea. Using its talent for trickery, [[Grimdark|the Deceiver lured the doubters into the clutches of its followers and forced them to become Necrons before roboticizing its followers]]. The race had their souls ripped out of their collective urethrae, replacing the Necrontyr with the skeletal bodies of the Necrons.<br />
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War breaks out between the Necrons and the Old Ones, this war being named [[War in Heaven|the War in Heaven]] since all of the awesome shit that went down was akin to the gods themselves fighting. The Old Ones get their asses soundly beat over and over again and created new races (lol, [[Ork|Krork]]) to defend themselves with. Oh, and by using the Warp as a weapon they turned it into the [[warp|fun place we all know and love]] (which essentially means that the Old Ones are responsible for all the Chaos-infested shit that goes down these days). At this point, the old Necron fluff and new stuff begins to diverge a bit. Old fluff says the [[Eldar]] were created by the old Ones directly but new fluff simply says that the Eldar and Old Ones were allies in the war against the Necrons. It doesn't specifically say the Eldar were created by the Old Ones although the new background is worded in such a way as to make both interpretations plausible. In Eldar culture, there's another great conflict also known as the [[War in Heaven]]. This is primarily where the theory that the Old Ones and the Eldar Pantheon are potentially the same thing comes from (if true, that means some Old Ones are still alive, namely [[Isha]], [[Cegorach]], and [[Khaine]], though Khaine is split into a bajillion pieces so truly ''alive'' is debatable for him). But the most likely explanation for this is that GeeDubs' writers never talk to each other about the intricacies of this stuff and ended up giving two different conflicts the same damn name. However, the Eldar ''were'' present in both wars, so... eh?<br />
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Anyway, after the Old Ones' strategy of cranking out race after race to be used as cannon fodder backfires when an Enslaver Plague rolls around, the C'tan go on a feast of galactic proportions. During this time they even start killing and eating each other until there are only four left (The Void Dragon, The Outsider, The Nightbringer and The Deceiver). It's as this point that they realize that their excessive OMNOMNOM habits are causing their own food (essentially EVERYTHING) to die out. So, they and their Necron slaves decide to go to sleep for 60 million years 'till the scrumptious morsels known as EVERYTHING regrow. <br />
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In present time, the Necrons spend most of their time killing anything with a pulse and generally hating anything living, including bacteria. Their main objective was to use their advanced technology to close or seal off the Eye of Terror, drive back the 'Nids, and turn the living races into a never-ending all-you-can-eat buffet for the remaining C'tan. They are the goth craze if you dipped them in liquid hate and injected them with 400% of your daily allotment of cheese/awesome-sauce (depending on your viewpoint).<br />
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In essence, OldCron fluff basically makes them "Evil Order" as opposed to the "Evil Chaos" of, well, Chaos Or "Metal Tyranids" because of the emotionless mass of silver that represents their armies (with guys like [[Dawn of War|Thomas Macabee]] being more of an exception than a rule).<br />
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==The New Fluff - Space Egyptians/Tomb Kings In Space==<br />
[[File:Necron reboot.jpg|300px|right|thumb|"Dude, what did we ''do'' last aeon?"]]<br />
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===Summary===<br />
This new incarnation, love it or hate it, gives the Necrons a whole wide array of personality and every single Necron dynasty now has different goals and motives, not to mention paint schemes, markings, etc. Basically, the original fluff was changed in order to make them more like an actual empire with unique sub-factions and [[Trazyn the Infinite|interesting characters]] as opposed to another [[Tyranid|faceless blob of monsters]] out to [[Chaos|DESTROY ALL LIFE IN THE GALAXY IN THE NAME OF DARK GODS]] - which, due to poor writing, works just like any other empire made out of meat, instead of [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Unimatrix_Zero reflecting the narrative opportunities available to a race of robots]. For a far, far better game-based exploration of how to introduce individualized personalities in a race of A.I.s, play the Mass Effect series of games and explore the Geth/Quarian storylines in full (Geth aren't in Mass Effect: Andromeda, so focus on the Shepard/Reaper Wars Mass Effect trilogy). The crazy fun part of this is if you still want to play a silent legion of implacable, unfathomable terror-bots in the thrall of an insane god, you totally can. The new fluff allows for players to [[your dudes|fluff their army as they see fit]] as anything from a [[Nemesor Zandrekh|noble, honorable warrior kingdom]] open to trade and diplomacy with other species to unthinking hordes of omnicidal machines in the thrall of a malevolent computer system. You can even have a legion of the old-school C'tan-worshipping harvestcrons that have either been enslaved or have willingly taken to worshipping an awakened C'tan Shard. Shit, for all the new fluff cares your army can be a horde of Necrons afflicted with the Flayer Curse who long to have their [[brundlepenis|dicks]] back and run around [[/d/|stealing the dongs of the lesser races]] so they can [[rule 34|hump each other]] whilst their Lord sheds manly tears as he beholds the terrible plight of his people. This is of no help, however, if you enjoyed the absolute supremacy of the C'Tan as literal immortal gods of the materium, and the stories that unfold thereby, who were at least capable of going toe-to-toe with The Ruinous Powers themselves, [[Khaine|rather than being just another punchbag that GW puts on display in order to show how badass somebody else is, whose figurines they hope you'll purchase.]]<br />
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[[Forge World]] created the [[Maynarkh Dynasty]] to give an example of a perfectly fluff-valid dynasty that was culturally similar to Oldcrons (well, the "kill everything!" and "dark horror from the deep past" aspects of them, at least).<br />
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And as for totally destroying the background of the C'Tan, the codex does allude to the fact that there are lots of unaccounted for C'Tan shards (or maybe even yet unshattered C'tan?) still allegedly scattered around the galaxy. The Necron are always trying to hunt them down and imprison them (in pocket dimension prisons), but this does still leave the door totally wide open for a shard of 'The Dragon' to be on Mars and for shards of 'The Deceiver' to have done all the crazy things that have been written about him in novels. Essentially, the full C'Tan were massively, massively powerful and the 'shard' versions of them are now a lot more manageable. And of course, as everyone knows, the Outsider is still on his extra-galactic camping trip, totally whole and crying over [[meme|WHAAAAAT HEEE'S DOOONNE!!!]].<br />
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===Beginning===<br />
Same as the original lore, the necrontyr were an alien race that [[Grimdark|lived extremely short, painful lives since their sun caused them to be riddled with cancer and other defects, and the tomb complexes they built were much larger than their towns, constantly reminding of their inevitable deaths.]] They focused their short lives on science in a desperate attempt to find a way to increase their lifespans, [[Fail|but they never managed to]]. They encountered the [[Old Ones]], who offered to help them but wouldn't or couldn't make the Necrontyr immortal. Thus grew their [[RAGE|collective hate]] towards the near-immortal Old Ones.<br />
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The Necrontyr's empire was massive at one point, but the different Lords in the galaxy-wide dominion started to turn against each other in civil war. To prevent this from happening, the overall ruler of the Necrontyr, the Silent King, started the war against the Old Ones specifically to give them a common enemy to fight against and [[Drow|prevent his people from destroying themselves in their own general stupidity]], with the Old Ones' refusal to share immortality as an excuse for war rather than the war being motivated by jealousy borne of this.<br />
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Of course, the Old Ones ended up kicking their butts and in desperation the Silent King allied with the C'tan (who had been attracted to the pure hate and rage the Necrontyr held for the Old Ones, a common enemy of the C'tan) and agreed to the Deceiver's pact to give them shiny new immortal bodies without realizing what he was doing. The devious Star God had in fact tricked the Necrontyr into giving up their mortal bodies and souls so that he and his god friends could gorge themselves on their tasty ass-meats. After consuming THE ENTIRE Necrontyr race the C'tan were pretty much the equivalent of Superman crossed with a level 9001 Super Sayian Goku and so were basically able to hand the Old Ones their collective asses. <br />
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However, after the Necrons helped the C'tan kill off the last Old Ones and while the C'tan were recuperating, the Silent King then ordered the Necrons to turn on the C'tan in vengeance. Caught by surprise,the C'tan were defeated and shattered into thousands of shards which the Necrons imprisoned for [[rape|later use]]. At this point the galaxy was basically a smoldering ruin, the Necrons were severely depleted from their endless wars, and the Eldar were reaching the height of their power. The Silent King ordered the Necrons to sleep for millions of years in order to hide from the Eldar and re-awaken at a time when the galaxy had both recovered and forgotten about them. The Silent King's final order to his people was that following the Great Sleep they must reclaim their old empire and return it to its former glory (A role he left his Triarch Praetorians to cover later). Following this, he freed the Necrons from his control and left the galaxy in shame for failing his people.<br />
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===Present Warhammer 40k===<br />
[[File:Necrons-eldar.png|300px|right|thumb|This is literally what the Necrons have become.]]<br />
Now that the Necrons have reawakened in the 41st millennium their goal is no longer to 'harvest' souls for the C'tan (the C'tan shards are now their slaves) as it was in the old book, but rather to reestablish the great Necron empire that spanned the galaxy before the war with the Old Ones began. What this exactly means is left to the interpretation of each Overlord. The overall unity of the Necron people is gone for the most part leaving each individual Dynasties to once again rule for themselves. While Necron warriors are pretty much just automatons and Immortals are not much better, the majority of the upper echelon of Necron society retain some degree of personality.<br />
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So there is lots of crazy nuance to Necron culture that was never present before. There are now lots of memorable quotes from Necron Lords. There are Necron Lords who honor valor in battle, Necron Lords who are obsessed with finding the perfect flesh bodies to transfer their sentience back into, and a Necron Lord who acts and commands its people like true robots due to damage to their Tomb World among others. The Silent King, who left the galaxy after defeating the C'tan (basically exiling himself for the unforgivable crime of allowing the C'tan to remove the souls of his people), encountered the Tyranids in the void between galaxies and has returned to spur the Necrons into action against the Bugs. The Silent King realized that if the Tyranids wipe the galaxy clean of biological matter then the Necrons will never find a form to transfer their minds back into. There are even a few Necron Lords who even work or trade with other races. However, such as with all the factions of 40k this is rare. (Yes, Necrons led by [[Anrakyr]] and Blood Angels did end up fighting against a Tyranid Hive Fleet together. Twice. And then [[Trazyn]] decides to give the Imperium a hand at Cadia and see if he could get Abaddon as part of his collection). Really, every dynasty can be different, so just have fun coming up with your own. <br />
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Oh, and there is definitely plenty of reason to have Necron vs. Necron action now (as the old feuds between competing Necron Lords flare back up again). To make matters more complicated though, if [[Battlefleet Gothic: Armada]] is to be believed, it was [[The Deceiver]] who handed over the [[Blackstone Fortress]]es to [[Abbadon]], thereby allowing him to destroy the Necron Pylons and overrun Cadia. Was it an act to spite the Necrons by aiding Chaos, or does he have a doublecross in the works?<br />
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===Regarding Fluff Change - Sore Butts Everywhere.===<br />
[[File:Releasethectan.jpg|200px|thumb|left|[[Pokemon|Deceiver, I choose you!]]]]<br />
It is widely conceded that the worst loss was the removal of Pariahs which were universally agreed to be one of the coolest and scariest aspects of the Necrons, something that really made them stand out (even if they weren't that great on the tabletop (they were badass on the table top, but over-priced and no We'll Be Back roll)). The Pariahs' origins were a great way to show an outsider's perspective of the Necrons (they're humans or other meatbags with the Pariah Gene who get forcibly turned into Necrons) and something that Thomas Macabee in Dark Crusade just made so incredibly badass. It would also fit perfectly into the new fluff showcasing success in combining the Necrons and the living to create a new life form. But there is good news: Hammer & Anvil more or less confirmed that Pariahs are still canon in a way. They are just experiments done by bored Crypteks, and the 7E 'dex in particular has a story where [[Illuminor Szeras]] decides to kidnap an[[Culexus]] Assassin and use it to research the Pariah Gene. And really this loss was by no means required for this change in fluff. In fact, Pariahs make even more sense with this version of the fluff than they did in the old. <br />
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<strike>In any case, the Warhammer 40k galaxy already has a pantheon of four asshole gods, plus 'two other asshole gods, {{BLAM|KRUMP!}} <span style='color:green;font-size:100%'>'''ZOG YERSELF, GROT!'''</span> so who gives a shit if the C'tan wannabes got turned into legendary pokemon?</strike> {{BLAM|SNICK!}} <span style='color:darkblue;font-size:100%'>'''The dead claim you all, fleshlings!'''</span><br />
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There was also the matter of their alliance with the [[Blood Angels]] that made everyone break into sperglord rage. See, Matt Ward was trying to ready the Necrons for their soon-to-come fluff revision where they went from a mindless army to a proper empire with actual politics. If Ward had actually written the Angel/Cron alliance ''properly'', i.e. making it clear the alliance was one made of desperation than any really attempts to be friendly, and the Silent King really just wanted to play [[Dante]] as a fool and leave him for dead after the battle (as was made clear in later Black Library publications, see list below), it would have passed quietly and we wouldn't have /tg/ being drama queens as usual.<br />
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There's also the "Shield of Baal" campaign where [[Anrakyr the Traveller]] decides to assist the Blood Angels, their successors, and some other Imperials with their Tyranid infestation by using a strange piece of Necron Archaeotech that got powered by a C'tan shard to the point of overloading so hard that the resulting radiation nearly killed everyone present.<br />
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So really, now the Necrons have become their playstyle: An army of metallic trolls.<br />
<br />
== Game Play ==<br />
[[File:Lord.jpg|300px|right|thumb|A mountain of metal, green glow and rape.]]<br />
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Necrons have strong weaponry, high toughness, but generally very little mobility. They're also expensive as hell in points.<br />
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=== Pre 5th edition Codex ===<br />
Pre-5th edition, the Necrons competitively were monobuilt to all hell. Depending on what they were up against they would be THE virtually unstoppable shooty army, or easily countered. Essentially this came down to whether or not you had enough hard counters to heavy infantry. If you didn't, you'd get the infamous "March of Doom", which was basically a non-stop forward march of Necron Warriors, Immortals, and Destroyers to flatten the table. The Necrons' innate WBB (We'll Be Back) rolls ensured that the March was fuckhard to stop, especially in tandem with Resurrection Orbs, Pylons, Monoliths, and some of the cheesier Necron formations, since the tin-men had a very good chance of getting back up after being downed. <br />
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If you did have a counter to Heavy Infantry, you'd quickly crush the Necron infantry while ignoring the extremely resilient units like Monoliths and cause the Necron survivors to Phase Out, which means the Necron Player will auto-lose should their forces go down to 25% of the starting numbers. <br />
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Necron were also severely nerfed in the start of ''5th Edition'', due to vehicles being a bit more sturdy. In the previous edition, they could potentially destroy any enemy (including heavy vehicles) with just their default troops choice - Gauss weaponry inflicts glancing hits against vehicles on a roll of 6. Necron Warriors dispatching [[Land Raider]]s or [[Leman Russ Battle Tank|Leman Russ Tanks]] with these glancing hits was ''not'' unheard of, causing many veterans of 40K tabletop to rightly declare the Necrons to be [[Cheese]].<br />
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=== 5th and 6th Edition ===<br />
[[File:Black crusade by yogh art-d5bqzc8.jpg|thumb|400px|left|Egyptians vs Egyptians: One are slaves to an [[Tzeentch|evil God]], other are [[C'tan|slaving evil Gods]].]]<br />
In 5th Edition, due to the new Armour Penetration rules, Necron Warriors could still harass, stun-lock, and annoy all vehicles, but were much less able to gun down a heavy like a Predator Tank or [[Vindicator]] with simple massed Warrior fire, to the delight of non-Necron players everywhere. Massed fire from Necron Warriors ''can'' still kill a heavy vehicle, but it will take a veritable barrage of shots to do so now, making it a bit less likely that players can spam the shit out of warrior squads and come away triumphant. A smart NewCron player learns to not over-rely on Warriors now, using backup from a mix of Scarabs, Doomsday Arks, Barge Lords, Wraiths, and Harbingers of Destruction in order to pack quality anti-vehicle options.<br />
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However in 6th (due to 6th Edition's change with rapid fire rule and vehicle hull points), Necrons are back to fucking tanks in the junk. Yes, a block of 20 Necron Warriors will wreck a Land Raider in one turn, hands down, every day of the week, though they need to be within 12" for that to happen so they can rapid fire it (otherwise it only loses 2 Hull Points), and if you are that fucking stupid (12" is melta range for everyone else) you are going to lose your Raider regardless of who you are playing against.<br />
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[[Image:1227797058418.jpg|thumb|right|''5th Edition'' wrecked their shit.]]<br />
The Necrons in 6th are still a very powerful and dangerous force. Due to VERY limited flyer defense and being able to take fliers as dedicated transports, their fliers ended up being insanely overpowered (though once everyone got reasonable AA defense that wasn't an issue) and thanks to the overall buff to shooting, the Necrons are very high tier in codex power.<br />
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Now the Necron army is all about synergy, with Overlords, Lords and Crypteks strategically placed in shooty units, and melee options like Lychguard and the infuriatingly tough-to-kill Wraiths. They also have somewhat useful Monstrous Creatures of sorts in the form of Canoptek Spyders and C'tan Shards.<br />
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Necron warriors are fairly reliable troops with near-Marine stats and a 4+ save, though they essentially have a delayed 5+ Feel No Pain Save with their "'''Reanimation Protocols'''" rule (4+ with a Resurrection Orb in the unit). Immortals are pretty much Space Marine equivalents. <br />
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The infamous [[Monolith]] is easily the most recognizable unit that the Necrons possess. It has 14 armour on each side (and thus no vulnerable spots), a main weapon that cannot be disabled with a "weapon destroyed" result and the ability to teleport your troops out of harm's way (or into it if you're badass). The Monolith is no longer the nigh invulnerable mountain of rape it used to be, as it can no longer ignore the Melta special rule, and the Monolith's combat performance is outstripped by several of their new vehicles. This means the once proud 'Lith has been relegated to Apocalypse battles. Good job, [[Matt Ward]].<br />
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Necron infantry are generally slow moving, hard hitting, much like the Space Marines, if the Space Marine infantry units had Feel No Pain as part of their base rules and they forgot to take drop pods or transport vehicles. The Necrons back this with annoying deep-strikers and fast-moving units that are designed to support the main advance. There is nothing - I repeat - NOTHING, scarier than a Necron player with almost-cheating luck. But they all look like skellingtons and some of them wear the meat of their victims, they're MEANT to be scary.<br />
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===7th Edition===<br />
The first thing people noticed about 7E is the Necrons got back their amazing glancing powers with Gauss. This causes squees among the playerbase. Seriously, if gauss weapons were this effective in [[X-COM]]: Terror From the Deep, players would be tugging themselves off about them.<br />
<br />
The other big change to their army is the changes made to the Reanimation Protocols (RP). Now instead of being a means of bringing everything back from the dead, it's reduced to a FNP-alike that comes after all armor saves, except it can be used against ID (Though at -1 penalty). Resurrection Orbs now give you a turn's worth of rerolls for RP. Taking a postmark identity from a once cool army a revealing the Inquisitions plan all along to destroy the necrons by giving them a personality, destroying the Star Gods and when nobody is looking taking away the we'll be back. There are some other changes (MSS now useless, Wraiths now Beasts,<s> Crypteks losing everything fun</s>, Destroyers are Jetpack Infantry), but these are the ones that changed the most.<br />
<br />
But the single most trolltastic weapon the Necron player has on hand is the one that doesn't even involve buying a central unit: The Decurion FOC. Simply put, this is an entire formation made of Formations, with a central one giving room for warriors, Immortals, Tomb Blades, Monolith, and a central Overlord, while giving options like the good ol' Royal Court, a formation for Canoptek-flavored cheese, a formation for Triarchs, and all be counted as Battle-Forged. The biggest change this brought was that, due to each individual component being technically a formation in it's own right, this lets you field some hilariously broken shit and still counts as battleforged; want to take nothing but wraiths and spyders backed by doomscythes? now you can and watch your opponent tears flow like the nile.<br />
<br />
===8th Edition===<br />
The gauss flayers are 24" rapid fire at ap-1, and the blaster is ap-2. Living metal is also an automatic wound recovery. Monoliths have 20 wounds, and can once again suck people into its gaping maw. Reanimation Protocols are now taken at the beginning of the user turn, and on a 5+ a model that has died is returned... no matter how long ago it got offed, no matter how many previous times you've rolled for it, as long as the unit isn't wiped out you can roll for it. Mortal Wounds can kiss Necron's collective shiny metal asses. So far, Cronz are gonna be just as durable and scary as they once were. <br />
<br />
Reanimation Protocols: Roll a D6 for each slain model from this unit (unless the whole unit has been completely destroyed) at the beginning of your turn. On a 5+ return the model to the unit. This can happen in EVERY subsequent phase. So if a warrior dies turn 1, you roll turn 2,3,4,5 and so on until its back or the unit is destroyed.<br />
<br />
Living Metal: At the beginning of your turn, this model recovers 1 Wound lost earlier in battle. Characters and Vehicles benefit from this rule.<br />
<br />
Powers of the C'Tan: Before the battle begins, generate the Powers of the C'tan for each C'tan Shard using the following table. You can either roll a D3 to generate their powers randomly (re-rolling duplicates) or you can select the powers you with the C'tan shard to have. -(Why they have both options is beyond me)<br />
<br />
-1: Antimatter Meteor: Roll a D6; on a 2+ the closest enemy unit within 24" of the C'tan Shard suffers D3 mortal wounds<br />
<br />
-2: Time's Arrow: Pick a visible enemy unit within 24" of the C'tan Shard and roll a D6. If the result is higher than that unit's Wounds <br />
characteristic, one model from that unit is slain.<br />
<br />
-3: Seismic Assault: Roll a D6 for each model in the closest enemy unit within 24" of the C'tan Shard. For each roll of 6, that unit suffers <br />
a mortal wound.<br />
<br />
HQ's<br />
Common Abilities:<br />
ResOrb: If this Model has a ResOrb, once per battle, immediately after you have made your RP rolls, you can make RP rolls for models from a friendly <Dynasty> Infantry unit within 3" of this model.<br />
Phase Shifter: 4+ Invuln<br />
[[Tomb Kings|My Will Be Done]] (either GW is throwing Tomb Kings fans a bone or making a jab at us/them): At the beginning of each of your turns, choose a friendly <Dynasty> Infantry unit within 6" of this model. You can add 1 to the Advance, charge and hit rolls of that unit until the beginning of your next turn. A unit can only be affected by this ability once in each turn.<br />
<br />
Imotekh the Stormlord:<br />
<br />
Overlord: 7 Points<br />
M 5"/ WS 2+/ BS 2+/ S5/ T5/ W5/ A3/ Ld10/ Sv3+<br />
Equipped with Staff of Light, Living Metal, Phase Shifter<br />
Can take any Melee<br />
May take ResOrb<br />
My Will Be Done<br />
<br />
8th edition necrons are also almost impossible to shift from morale with army wide Ld10. The changes to vehicles have nerfed Gauss weapons into oblivion though, as although absolutely everything is now capable of wounding vehicles, the amount of wounds needed plus the low chance of wounding at all results in you needing hundreds of shots to destroy them.<br />
<br />
== How to Fight (and play) the Necrons ==<br />
[[File:Hitler hates the Necrons.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Hitler doesn't know how to counter his ol' pal Churchill's Necrons with his Imperial Guard. Maybe because he insists on using tanks.]]<br />
If you want real in-depth strategies, take a gander at [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Necrons|the Tactica]]. This is just an overview about some of the ways Trollcrons can be cheese.<br />
<br />
Too many people whine about how broken this faction is, so I'm just going to leave this here.<br />
<br />
Necron troops tend to be effective engaging from maximum range. Deployed in large hordes Necron Warriors are perhaps the single hardest basic troops to shift in the entire game. Only the heaviest fusillades or the very worst luck can wipe them out. Hearing such squads survive round after round after round of small arms fire is far from unusual. When you find yourself facing such a gunline, focus your fire to bring down a group at a time, ensuring it's completely gone, or close to melee range. Immortals are more expensive, but less numerous: focus your fire on their smaller squads, making sure to finish the squad. Pay careful attention to which weapon they're carrying: Gauss Blasters are AP4 Rapid Fire (better at medium range and against vehicles or your 4+ infantry), while Tesla Carbines are AP- assault (better at further range against blobs where the AP- doesn't mean shit when you're chaining up Tesla hits).<br />
<br />
[[File:A Silent King.jpg|300px|thumb|left|Quick, pretend to be a statue and he might just think you're a suit of armor. If that doesn't work, <s>run like hell</s> just outwalk it. But don't let him shank your chaos-worshipping ass with his Staff O'Doom.]]<br />
<br />
The HQs on this faction tend to be bad news up close (Overlords, Trazyn), support engines (Imotekh, Zahndrekk, Szeras, the crypteks), or both (Anrakyr, Obyron, Orikan). They're quite strong, and often pack S7 AP2 Armorbane weapons called Warscythes. If your idea of winning melee is hitting a group with a bunch of cultists and one CSM lord, you might want to reconsider it, as a Necron Overlord with just a warscythe has decent odds of killing your warlord and mopping up the melee. Instead, target the unescorted units with no HQs, crypteks, or regular lords. Necron Warriors and Immortals usually won't charge out to meet you, so don't worry too much about their counter-charge unless you see Wraiths, Lychguard, Praetorians, or Anrakyr across the field, in which case stay the '''hell''' out of the way unless you're sure you want that fight. When you see a Cryptek in a group of warriors, assume he's got something nasty, and ask what it is. He's likely a high-priority target, but only if you can pick him out from his escort (precision shots are your friends here). Don't be afraid to get into melee with a Cryptek, as most of them are meat there. Challenge them out and go to town.<br />
<br />
Necron Elites are a mixed bag, typically filling gaps in the primary lineup. Triarch Stalkers are high-priority targets, as they support and amplify the already formidible Necron shooting phase. [[Tarpit]] them, or employ maximum-power weapons to take advantage of their open-topped stat-line. Deathmarks drop onto the field and annihilate singular targets or pick off specialists with sniper salvos that wound on a 2+ when they arrive. Spread your squads out to make deep-striking hazardous, and be prepared to charge into melee with the deathmarks when they arrive. Better yet, try to refrain from reserves and make their purchase useless. Lychguard aren't all they're cracked up to be: they're melee killers with T5, AP 2 or 3 weapons, and two attacks base. Combat them with overwhelming numbers, or AP3 blast weapons (a Leman Russ Battle Tank can recoup its cost in one shot against a group of Lychguard). C'tan shards are very expensive Pokemon with a few randomized powers; yeah, where most races have psykers to waste cards on, you waste cards on C'tan powers you roll each turn you fire. You'll rarely see a Praetorian on the tabletop, but they're jump-assaulting elite fighters held back by the same terrible initiative all the Necrons have. Don't be too worried, they're easily swarmed or shot down by AP3 or better weapons. Their incredibly specific niche is 2+ troops with unwieldy weapons and no invulnerable saves, which they'll roll pretty easily. Sadly for you, Flayed Ones are now not shit, especially against 5+ stuff like guard. Target them just like you do Necron Warriors, and try not to enter melee until you're sure you'll win.<br />
<br />
Most of the really scary toys in the Necron lineup come from Fast Attack. Scarabs are swarms of T3 monsters that turn vehicles into mulch. If you have vehicles, these are priority one targets, even over things like Lychguard or Heavy Destroyers. They're swift and will routinely kill a Leman Russ in one round with only one or two bases. Utilize high-strength and/or blast weapons (if you've got both, even better). Destroyers are quick elite-infantry or vehicle killers. Both kinds have Preferred Enemy (everything!), so they're great at fighting marines (for the regular destroyers) or terminators/vehicles (for the heavy type). Their weakness is small squads: prioritize these with autocannons or other moderate-strength weapons. Tomb Blades aren't particularly worrying for their cost: engage with small arms and prioritize them below most other targets. Wraiths are fearsome fighters: as Beasts with two wounds, and 3++ makes them hard to stop while S6, A3, and rending mean you cannot afford to ignore them. Try to stall their approach, and overwhelm them with a hail of lighter gunfire. Don't try to flatten the whole group with a battle cannon shot the way you do Necron Warriors, as they'll save out and keep moving (fearless). Unlike most Necron units these can't reanimate unless in a Canoptek Harvest Formation, so you can safely grind them down with bolters, lasguns, or other light weapons.<br />
<br />
Necron heavy supports are tenacious, but most follow the 'shielded, open-topped AV11' archetype, like the Annihilation Barge and the Ghost Ark. Target vehicles like this by focusing high-strength weapons on them to crack their shields. Don't screw around here: if you don't have S8+ weapons, don't even bother. Autocannons would be better spent putting down more vulnerable targets. Once their shields are down bring out the rest of your more moderate weapons to finish the job. Shields don't grow back, but Necron units can shrug off shaken and stunned results, so just like you'd finish off warrior groups make sure you finish off Barges and Arks. These things come in several flavors: Ghost Arks rebuild Warriors (and only warriors, not Immortals), Doomsday Arks fire S10 AP1 large blasts if still, or S8 AP3 small blasts if they moved, Annihilation Barges spew autocannon-esque lightning, and Catacomb Command Barges fly a Lord around the battle cutting people up. Canoptek Spyders are tough, cheap monstrous critters with T6, 3+, and W3. If your foe fields a set of scarabs look for the spyders behind them: those spyders can build more scarabs as long as you haven't wiped out the whole scarab swarm. They're tough to crack: at T6 they're extremely hard to swarm down. Try to keep them at range and leverage your best anti-tank weapons. The Monolith deserves special mention, with all-round AV14. If you don't have meltas, lances, or other really good anti-armor weapons just ignore them: they hardly care about any vehicle damage table results except Explodes, and their offense isn't impressive for their cost. Try to spread out to make their teleportation fail, as for no adequately-explained reason they are completely susceptible to deep-strike failures.<br />
<br />
Necron fliers were the shit just after 6th edition came out. All of a sudden their reasonably effective fast skimmers became seriously difficult to slay, and kept all of their abilities. As it stands today most serious armies bring anti-air as a matter of course, and if you do as well you should be in good shape to hold off the <s>Croissants</s> Scythes. Both Night <s>Croissants</s> Scythes (a flying dedicated transport) and Death <s>Croissants</s> Scythes (a tank-shredding air-to-ground fighter) are very fairly cost-effective for their weapons and have AV 11. Neither one should be ignored: a Night Scythe can deposit its infantry payload without slowing to a hover, the twin tesla-destructors on either aircraft are excellent at anti-air and anti-ground alike, and the Death Scythe's Death Ray ([[awesome|yes, that's what it's called]]) is one of the most effective tank-killers outside of Apocalypse. If you find yourself facing a large group of these without solid anti-air you may be in serious trouble: run for cover and turn everything S6+ you've got skyward. Part of the controversy about these fliers seems to be the cash-grab surrounding their concept, as all the best anti-air weapons are new models or fliers themselves (or both). In all fairness, if your opponent does field six or eight scythes in a regular army without warning you beforehand... he'll probably win. Please don't be [[that guy]]. If you do find yourself playing against [[that guy]], prioritize the Doom Scythes first and fire everything you've got. They're much more dangerous to your ground-based anti-air, and if you can't suppress them with vehicle damage table results you're likely to lose the ability to retaliate within a round or two.<br />
<br />
Thanks to IA12 and the recent 7th Ed Flyer rules, Necrons have the most broken aerial assault units in the fucking game. Enter the Nightshroud Bomber. This bastard can drop a Strength 10 AP 1 pie plate on whatever you don't like, and it's a goddamn ''bomber''. So that shit happens before your opponent even gets a chance to intercept. And with 12/12/12 armour and 4 fucking hull points, it is very unlikely that they will even be able to do that.<br />
<br />
Hey Space Marines players, you call those Terminators? Let's take them to school (one bomb later) there they go, motherfuckers! Send it in with a couple (of dozen) Doom Scythes and let the rape begin!<br />
<br />
==In Battlefleet Gothic==<br />
[[File:Tomb Forever.jpg|370px|right|thumb|The egyptians build the pyramids to get closer to the gods. The Necrons already got to their gods, used them to their own advantage and killed them. They build their pyramids because why not.]]<br />
They are still totally fucking overpowered in [[Battlefleet Gothic]] though; their cruisers can crush many other race's battleships without much trouble. Although with the discontinuation of BFG by GW, the number of Necron fleets available for sale is now finite and thus the number of assholes who play them. Unless you find a [https://www.shapeways.com/marketplace/?tag=battlefleet%2Bgothic company] that can use 3D printers to make any model you want for [http://games-workshop.com/ too much]. [[Just As Planned]]<br />
<br />
==In Roleplay==<br />
Necrons are the ultimate Bad News, any Master can (and would) drop on his party if they get overconfident, forcing even high level Deathwatch and Chaos Marines to shit their power pants, as 'Crons combine near-marine power level with numbers and determination.<br />
<br />
==Reasons to be a Necron==<br />
* You look like fabulously gaudy gilded Space Egyptian Robot.<br />
* You are already dead and nigh-indestructible, so only entertainment matters.<br />
* You have lots of dakka. Still doesn't match Imperial Artillery and [[Tau|Happy Campers]] though.<br />
* You have lots of cheese and quirky rules with which to infuriate your opponent. Praise the [[Spiritual Liege]]!<br />
* [[Cronssant]]s, bitches! Between this and all the teleporting units, you can be more mobile than the fucking Dark Eldar.<br />
* You are <strike>arguably</strike> the most technologically advanced race in the history of 40K, and you did it all without use of the warp for cheats. Give yourself a pat on the back.<br />
* You have one of the [[Trazyn| best canonical trolls]] of the whole 40k franchise.<br />
* Egyptian mummy robots playing space chess: Minimum [[Grimdark]], maximum fun!<br />
* Your color scheme is Black and Green, and we know [[Ork| how awesome those color schemes are]].<br />
* The new canon gives you virtually limitless chances to create your own [[Phaeron]] and give it [[Your dudes|whatever kind of quirks you may like]].<br />
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIj7gIDFDe4 Remember how awesome General Grievous was the first time he appeared?] That's how Necron Overlords fight in fluff, up to the point they could bring low heavyweights like [[Cato Sicarius]], or 2 CSM Lords in Terminator Armour and their retinue at ''the same time'' if "Fall of Damnos" or the [[Word Bearers]] novels are any indication.<br />
* Remember when Bender from ''Futurama'' was a Pharaoh, yep that's pretty much how Overlords are now.<br />
* You have literal star gods as pets. STAR GODS. Praise the [[Spiritual Liege]]!<br />
<br />
==Reasons to NOT be a Necron==<br />
* You have no soul.<br />
* You're not Grimdark Machine Death March of Doom anymore.<br />
** Well, maybe you are, depending on what Phaeron you serve. The Silent King's wimpy "let's all turn back into squishy mortals" whining only affects about half the Necrons.<br />
* You will be highly hated due to the amount of cheese in your units. Though this does [[Grey Knights|have]] [[Eldar|an]] [[Tau|allure]] of its own.<br />
* [[Matt Ward|The Unholy Beast]] has handled your race with his touch. Although to your credit, the fluff isn't [[Grey Knights|Ward Knights]]-tier terrible. At least we got Pokémon out of the deal. Right, guys? ... Guys?<br />
* You cannot differentiate the wimminz and the manz, so you will accept the risks.<br />
** Unless you want to bang your leaders. [[Kor Phaeron|Phaeron]] is the title for male Necrons, Phaerakh is the title for female Necrons.<br />
*Thanks to [[Matt Ward|The Great Beast]] you can't be friends with Thomas Macabee anymore.<br />
* If you're an Oldcrons fan, you're never quite going to get the army you want because the C'tan have been glorified Pokémon for two whole editions and there's no signs of going back to the old fluff ([[Your Dudes|Though that's not to say there aren't any, and Skynet-stlye Necrons still canonically exist as well, so there's hope.]])<br />
* You have no penis <strike>/vagina</strike>- Lets be honest, if you're on this page you don't have a vagina. At least until [[Slaanesh]] finds you.<br />
<br />
==Novels and stories featuring the Necrons==<br />
Here is a list with a small synopsis of publications by [[Black Library]] and GeeDubs which feature them, '''before you start adding, remember, Necrons must not only be mentioned, but actually appear in the story,''' feel free to add new items and follow the alphabetic order:<br />
*'''Ambition Knows No Bounds:''' Rogue Trader trying to plunder a Necron Tomb World.<br />
*'''But Dust in the Wind:''' Imperial Fists vs Necrons, enuff said!<br />
*'''Cain's Last Stand:''' Chronologically the last novel of Commissar [[Ciaphas Cain]], the Necrons appear later in the novel.<br />
*'''Caves of Ice:''' Cain and the Valhallan 597th are sent to an ice planet to defend a refinery from an ork horde, but an ugly surprise awaits below the installations.<br />
*'''Cold Steel:''' renegade imperial guard attempts to escape penal moon while there is a three-side war between the 'crons, space marines and khornates, featuring a [[Tesseract Vault]].<br />
*'''Damnos:''' Ultramarines vs Necrons, features some Necrons POV, as well as the Ultramarines commanded by Cato Sicarius, if you don't like the Ultramarines, this may be the novel for you!<br />
*'''Dark Creed:''' Word Bearers vs Astartes Praeses, the Necrons come in the later part of the novel, a great portrayal of how they are actually totally scary and overpowered.<br />
*'''Dead Men Walking:''' Death-korps of Krieg vs Necrons, the novel has an extremely grim tone as it puts a lot of focus on the civilians caught in the campaign, and shows a lot of Krieg jerkassery, don't get too attached to any of the main characters and no Krieg-chan for you!<br />
*'''Echoes of the Tomb''': One of the earliest novels of Ciaphas Cain, and the origin of his fear of the Necrons.<br />
*'''Fabius Bile- Clone Lord:''' Sequel to the first novel focusing on everyone's favorite clone fetishist [[Fabius Bile]], this one has him continuing his search for a way to cure himself. Specifically involving him going to a forgotten planet in the eastern fringe called [[Trazyn the Infinite|Solemence]]... <br />
*'''Flayed:''' [[Death Spectres]] evacuate civilians from a world that gets attacked by Flayed Ones every few years. Not what you expect going in.<br />
*'''Hammer & Anvil:''' Sisters of Battle get slaughtered by the necrons and... wait! Are they fighting back? And they are actually competent? quite a nice read and gives the Sisters a lot of street cred back.<br />
*'''Hellforged:''' 5th novel in the Soul Drinkers series by Ben Counter, a very good take on OldCrons that makes them genuinely terrifying, also includes awesome Mechanicus and Space Marines action.<br />
*'''Imperial Armour Volume Twelve - The Fall of Orpheus:''' a Forgeworld book about the totally badass and horrifying [[Maynarkh Dynasty]] vs the Minotaurs and the Death-Korps of Krieg, overall an extremely cool, if expensive, book.<br />
*'''Infinite Circuit:''' A small story about a Cult Mechanicus procession getting their hands on a C'tan shard and the Deathwatch paying a visit to see what's going on.<br />
*'''Nightbringer:''' Ultramarines vs Dark Eldar and Human traitors rushing to get to the crypt of the [[Nightbringer]], or perhaps it's just a shard. And let's be honest, it being a shard makes anyone in that room surviving a possibility.<br />
*'''Shield of Baal: Devourer:''' Necrons POV! Featuring Anrakyr the Traveler trying to seize a tomb-world and some Necron dynasty nobles trying to flee a Flayed-Ones overran crypt-complex, also, Blood Angels and Tyranids.<br />
*'''Shield of Baal: Exterminatus:''' campaign book featuring Anrakyr and the Mephrit Dynasty, teaming up with the Imperium to contain Hivefleet Leviathan, minimun oldcrons, maximun newcrons acting like Tomb Kings in space.<br />
*'''Spear of Macragge:''' Ultramarines tanks vs Necrons, as well as some Ultramarines internal politicking.<br />
*'''The Gathering Storm: Fall of Cadia:''' Trazyn decides to play the hero and help the imperials fend off Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade assault on Cadia.<br />
*'''The Lords of Borsis:''' The preview for the World-Engine novel, featuring a Necron coup d'etat.<br />
*'''The Word of the Silent King:''' The Silent King himself dealing with the Blood Angels, it seems the old Necron monarch has been acquaintances with Sanguinius himself.<br />
*'''The World Engine:''' also known as <s>one of</s> the coolest Space Marines novel ever, it narrates the fight between the Astral Knights and the Necron dynasty from Borsis, if you liked the entry in the Codex, go for it!<br />
*'''The Infinite Tableau:''' A trio of Deathwatch lead a team of Inquisitorial troopers to an ice-bound moon in search of missing Adeptus Mechanicus explorators. Following their trail into ancient caverns, the Deathwatch find a bunch of necrons waiting to kill them all!<br />
*'''Warhammer Adventures: Attack of the Necron:''' Small children without guns versus the Necrons. We all know how this is going to [[rape|end.]]<br />
<br />
==See Also==<br />
* [[Tomb Kings]] and [[Vampire Counts]] for their [[Warhammer Fantasy]] equivalents (fun fact: both armies used to be one single Undead army full of mysterious motives and EVULZ, and as such the current state of Necrons is more of a step back to roots than being outright "new". Also oldcrons, minus Vampire dickery, are pretty much just Vampire Counts like Newcrons are basically just Tomb kings).<br />
* [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Necrons(8E)|Their tactics]] - Someone forgot to add that shit<br />
* [[Assholetep]] - A Necron Overlord of insufferable dickheadedness<br />
* Lolcron, a popular Necron [[drawfag]].<br />
* [[False Immortality]]<br />
* [[Heavy-chan]]<br />
* [[Lolicron]]<br />
* [[Lovecron]]<br />
* [[Papalith]]<br />
* [[Shanako]]<br />
* [[Imotekh the Stormlord]] - The de facto most powerful Necron ever.<br />
* [[Silent King]] - THE most powerful Necron ever.<br />
* [[Nemesor Zandrekh]], known for being both a total bro and completely senile.<br />
* [[Thri-Kreen Erotica|Trazyn the--]] Goddamn it! That link was a fake! Curse you [[Trazyn the Infinite|Trollzyn]]!!!!<br />
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q2e8lnqwwk Their theme from Dawn of War].<br />
* [[Æonic Orb]]<br />
<br />
==Gallery==<br />
<center><gallery><br />
Image:1228731983317.jpg|Suddenly, [[dreadknight|Monoliths just got even more]] awesome.<br />
Image:1204274003601.jpg|[[Angry Marines]] can really fuck your shit up.<br />
Image:1208121844297.jpg|Necron players are well-known for their carefully planned tactics of "[[Wallhammer|move-shoot-move-shoot]]".<br />
Image:1208122137113.jpg|Thanks to Matt Ward this is now canon. Give thanks to our spiritual liege for Thaszar the Invincible!<br />
Image:274.jpg|IN THE GRIM DARKNESS OF THE 41ST MILLENNIUM, THE ARGUMENT STILL RAGES<br />
Image:1208122702531.jpg|Here we see the humble [[Drawfag|Lolcron]], irritably drawing away.<br />
Image:1229675685738.jpg|<br />
Image:Lolicron05.jpg|Lolcron and lolicron - know the difference! Ya, ones a sex doll... Still tap dat ass though!<br />
Image:Necron_by_Android_Arts.jpg|No.<br />
Image:591.jpg|<br />
Image:Thrillercrons.jpg|''The funk of 40,000 years.''<br />
Image:Nodrawtoday.jpg|[[Drawfag|Lolcron]] is a lazy bum these days.<br />
Image:lolcrontroll.jpg|Necron update 2011 in a nutshell. <br />
File:Pariah Lee.jpg|The Necron's ace in the hole.<br />
Image:Lolcron1.jpg|Damn space commies.<br />
Image:Lolcron2.jpg|''Goddamnit.''<br />
File:1304191380926.jpg|Ah, the early weakling 5th-ed + OP 7th-ed buddies.<br />
Image:Taucronxeno .jpg|This is what we call a xeno double-down.<br />
Image:Monolith song.jpg|Monoliths are known to inspire great songs.<br />
Image:StupidSexyFlayed.jpg|Flayed Ones are adept at finding ways to maintain a nice figure.<br />
File:Stormlord.jpg|Phaeron Imotekh in all his egotistic glory.<br />
File:Cult2.jpg<br />
Image:Necron_motivator.JPG<br />
File:Shenanigans.jpg<br />
File:Necron skeleton.PNG| [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2rwxs1gH9w Spooky Scary Necrons, send shivers down your spine]<br />
File:Rising.jpg| Hmmmm....What is taking Ol'Zandrekh so them long for our Necron flaying party?<br />
File:245433.jpg|C'tan-chan will suck your soul out through your urethra and she won't even touch your dick.<br />
File:Female necron by lutherniel-dbhnh4t.jpg|A more realistic looking female Necron. Considering that only nobility could have their bodies shaped into how they were in life, she's definitively at least a Necron Lord/Lady.<br />
File:Necron-characters.jpg|Go, Go, Necron Rangers...<br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy.PNG| Necrons in the galaxy<br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy segmentum solar.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Segmentum_Solar|Segmentum Solar]]<br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy segmentum obscurus.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Segmentum_Obscurus|Segmentum Obscurus]]<br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy segmentum tempestus.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Segmentum_Tempestus|Segmentum Tempestus]] <br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy ultima segmentum.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Ultima_Segmentum|Northern Ultima Segmentum]] <br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy ultima segmentum 2.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Ultima_Segmentum|Southern Ultima Segmentum]] <br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy segmentum pacificus.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Segmentum_Pacificus|Segmentum Pacificus]]<br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy sautekh.PNG| Territory of the [[Imotekh the Stormlord|Sautekh Dynasty]]<br />
File:Necron_with_booty_by_S_Socrates.jpg|With booty<br />
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==Navigation==<br />
{{Necrons-Forces}}<br />
{{WH40k-Factions}}<br />
{{Template:Important Species in 40k}}<br />
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[[Category:Xenos]]</div>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBDhttp://2d4chan.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Necron&diff=354639Necron2019-10-23T00:05:11Z<p>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBD: /* Novels and stories featuring the Necrons */</p>
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<div>{{Awesome}}<br />
{{Heresy}}<br />
[[File:Necrons.jpg|500px|thumb|right|Space zombie terminator egyptians. That was Space Zombie Terminator Egyptians. [[Awesome|Yeah]].]]<br />
{{Topquote|That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die.|[[H.P. Lovecraft]]}}<br />
{{Topquote|Death is frightening, and so is eternal life.|Mason Cooley}}<br />
{{Topquote|My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:<br>Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!<br>Nothing beside remains. Round the decay<br>Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare<br>The lone and level sands stretch far away.|Percy Bysshe Shelley, "Ozymandias"}}<br />
{{Topquote|What is dead may never die, but rises again, stronger and harder.|Prayer to the [[A Song of Ice and Fire|Drowned God]]}}<br />
{{Topquote|1=Finally. After our Thousand Year Old Slumber, WE ARE FINALLY ALIVE. For eons I have awaited this day. Warriors. Our time to conquer this planet and THE NEXT begins todeeeeeyy. The world shall tremble at our war cry. AND OUR WAR CRY IS SOI SOI SOI SOIIIIIIII SWEY<br>*Entire legion of Necron Warriors chanting SOI SOI SOI*|2=''[[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device]]'' [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yzsmxugmB0 Unnamed Necron Lord]}}<br />
{{Topquote|Necrons?! Hide the tanks!|Any Strategist Who Knows About What Necrons Do To Armor.}}<br />
'''Necrons''' (Robo-Zombie Aegyptons in SPEHSS)(Totally Not Knock-offs Of The Terminator. In SPEHSS) are one of the main factions in [[Warhammer 40,000]]. Basically, they're a bunch of soulless, skeletal, alien killing machines led by a robot aristocracy of angry murder machines and bound together by space-technology-magic (like atom-flaying weapons that strip their targets down into their constituent atoms). <br />
<br />
Although they have been around since [[Rogue Trader (sourcebook)|Rogue Trader]] (albeit only as a single picture categorized as an "unknown xenos species"), they have seen great change in almost every edition. In second edition, they were a mysterious faction with essentially zero fluff and only a few models, all of which looked incredibly silly, and [[Space Crusade]] introduced them as [[Chaos]] Androids (oh, the [[Cadia|''irony'']]...). However, with third edition they got their own [[Codex]] and a bunch of models fleshing them out as an army and introducing their rulers, and the [[C'tan]] (who were subsequently shoehorned into every major event in the 40k universe). [[Games Workshop]] then promptly forgot they existed and did not update them again until the closing days of fifth edition. [[Skub|This was a controversial move]] as the Codex was written by [[Matt Ward]], who significantly changed the fluff, making them Newcrons. In short, they became [[Tomb Kings]] IN SPESS and the C'tan were demoted to being their bitches. And that's about it. Do note that although they are space Tomb Kings, they are not necessarily space Egyptians.<br />
<br />
Gameplay-wise, some used to consider the Necrons to have been unduly OP during their introduction. A respectable amount of evidence can be gathered to grant credence to this viewpoint based on the ease with which they can blow up vehicles using the basic Warrior's Gauss Flayer. The rapid change in fluff between the 5th edition codex and its predecessor is [[skub|controversial]], to put it lightly. While both versions of the Necrons' background have their fans, many would agree that the retconning was drastic and heavy-handed (Pariahs were awesome, until they were scrapped by [[Matt Ward|our spiritual liege]] completely, probably because he realised how awesome they were and couldn't stand the idea of some of the lime-light being stolen from his precious [[Ultramarine|Ultrasmurfs]]). On one hand, the Necrons' theme used to be that they were emotionless, implacable alien killers led by Cthulhu-ish star gods that fed on people's souls. Their background was very sparse and included all sorts of mysterious things about the Necrons and the C'tan that had implications for the whole setting of Warhammer 40,000. The new codex however gets rid of all that mystery and removes the dangerous feel the Necrons used to have in exchange for [[your dudes|giving the individual Necron leaders and armies individual personality, which in turn allowed players to make their armies different]]. Whether you're a fan of this or not is up to you; there are pros and cons to both. This was different from the previous situation where [[Grey Knights|basically everyone had an army of similar silver (or blue, for that matter) OP doom warriors wielding guns that could rip through tanks as well as infantry and had over the top fluff that made them out to be the baddest sons of bitches in the galaxy.]] <br />
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The 7E Fluff in the codex is actually a lot more complex than those of prior codices, with complete sections dedicated to paint schemes and analyses on the markings on them (Where the last edition only barely even begins with that) while also beginning to fluff out some of the more prominent dynasties. However, not much of it actually changed from the last codex, so the C'tan are still a thing (but now they're treated with even less respect than a warrior, rather than leading the dudes), and the Newcrons as a simplified whole are still eccentric, megalomaniacal undead robots.<br />
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[[Meme|Good news, everyone!]] With the Necrons now being somewhat popular, they are about to get a new slew of Forgeworld loving, thanks to the announcement that they are scheduled to be featured in Imperial Armor 12 along with the Minotaurs Chapter Space Marines (meaning we may finally get Medusa V Tomb Stalkers and Megaliths, so we don't have to rely on Pylon, Scarab, Barge, Warscythe, and Heat-ray spam to down Titans).<br />
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Apparently, 'Necron' is also the title of a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necron bizarre and retarded fetish comic] of some sort.<br />
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== The Old Fluff - Angry Space [[Wikipedia:Terminator (character concept)|Terminators]] ==<br />
[[File:Tumblr nj3ldcWQe51tvfheeo1 1280.jpg|500px|left]] <br />
The Necrons were introduced, as mentioned before, in Space Crusade as a type of enemy to fight in the form of "Chaos Androids". Really, the only thing to describe about them here is that they're pretty derpy. Oh, and 2E had a model used for [[Assholetep]].<br />
<br />
A long time ago (even before the [[Eldar]]) the Necrontyr [[Grimdark|lived on a planet blasted by radiation from their sun. Their short lives were filled from beginning to end with cancer]], [[AIDS]], and [[Grimdark|pain]]. The only reason the Necrontyr formed an empire beyond their planet at all was because they put their people in stasis pods and made extremely long journeys across interstellar distances. But the damage their sun did to their genes was permanent, so they still had short, cancer-prone lives. <br />
<br />
While all this sun-rape was going on a race of psychically-attuned space precursors called the [[Old Ones]] had already built a vast civilization throughout the galaxy. They created many races or augmented many existing ones (leaving [[human|humanity]] alone) and generally showed off. Oh yeah, and they are speculated to have been immortal [[lizardmen|lizards]] (Or the Eldar gods. It's quite confusing in all honesty).<br />
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[[Grimdark|The Necrontyr met the Old Ones and quickly grew to resent their neighbors, loathing how long their lifespans were by comparison. Resentment grew into bitter jealousy and finally all-consuming hatred. The Old Ones were indeed much stronger and repelled Necrontyr assault after assault until the race was clinging to the edge of the galaxy and their lives]].<br />
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The Necrontyr finally encountered and allied with a force known as the C'tan who were beings with immense power over the corporeal world. The realm of the Warp, which the Old Ones used extensively, was anathema to them, and they sought nothing less than the total separation of the real world from the Maelstrom. <br />
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The Necrontyr bargained with the C'tan known as the Deceiver (but only the other C'tan called it that) for eternal life. [[Just As Planned|The Necrontyr knew him as Mephet'ran ("The Messenger")]] because no one in their right mind would actually trust a guy named the Deceiver. The Deceiver promised the living Necrontyr race immortality and fun times if they would sacrifice their bodies to the gods to be replaced with metallic goodness, made from a very durable and self-repairing material called [[Necrodermis]]. Some of the Necrontyr agreed to the Deceiver's terms, but most of them doubted it was a good idea. Using its talent for trickery, [[Grimdark|the Deceiver lured the doubters into the clutches of its followers and forced them to become Necrons before roboticizing its followers]]. The race had their souls ripped out of their collective urethrae, replacing the Necrontyr with the skeletal bodies of the Necrons.<br />
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War breaks out between the Necrons and the Old Ones, this war being named [[War in Heaven|the War in Heaven]] since all of the awesome shit that went down was akin to the gods themselves fighting. The Old Ones get their asses soundly beat over and over again and created new races (lol, [[Ork|Krork]]) to defend themselves with. Oh, and by using the Warp as a weapon they turned it into the [[warp|fun place we all know and love]] (which essentially means that the Old Ones are responsible for all the Chaos-infested shit that goes down these days). At this point, the old Necron fluff and new stuff begins to diverge a bit. Old fluff says the [[Eldar]] were created by the old Ones directly but new fluff simply says that the Eldar and Old Ones were allies in the war against the Necrons. It doesn't specifically say the Eldar were created by the Old Ones although the new background is worded in such a way as to make both interpretations plausible. In Eldar culture, there's another great conflict also known as the [[War in Heaven]]. This is primarily where the theory that the Old Ones and the Eldar Pantheon are potentially the same thing comes from (if true, that means some Old Ones are still alive, namely [[Isha]], [[Cegorach]], and [[Khaine]], though Khaine is split into a bajillion pieces so truly ''alive'' is debatable for him). But the most likely explanation for this is that GeeDubs' writers never talk to each other about the intricacies of this stuff and ended up giving two different conflicts the same damn name. However, the Eldar ''were'' present in both wars, so... eh?<br />
<br />
Anyway, after the Old Ones' strategy of cranking out race after race to be used as cannon fodder backfires when an Enslaver Plague rolls around, the C'tan go on a feast of galactic proportions. During this time they even start killing and eating each other until there are only four left (The Void Dragon, The Outsider, The Nightbringer and The Deceiver). It's as this point that they realize that their excessive OMNOMNOM habits are causing their own food (essentially EVERYTHING) to die out. So, they and their Necron slaves decide to go to sleep for 60 million years 'till the scrumptious morsels known as EVERYTHING regrow. <br />
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In present time, the Necrons spend most of their time killing anything with a pulse and generally hating anything living, including bacteria. Their main objective was to use their advanced technology to close or seal off the Eye of Terror, drive back the 'Nids, and turn the living races into a never-ending all-you-can-eat buffet for the remaining C'tan. They are the goth craze if you dipped them in liquid hate and injected them with 400% of your daily allotment of cheese/awesome-sauce (depending on your viewpoint).<br />
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In essence, OldCron fluff basically makes them "Evil Order" as opposed to the "Evil Chaos" of, well, Chaos Or "Metal Tyranids" because of the emotionless mass of silver that represents their armies (with guys like [[Dawn of War|Thomas Macabee]] being more of an exception than a rule).<br />
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==The New Fluff - Space Egyptians/Tomb Kings In Space==<br />
[[File:Necron reboot.jpg|300px|right|thumb|"Dude, what did we ''do'' last aeon?"]]<br />
<br />
===Summary===<br />
This new incarnation, love it or hate it, gives the Necrons a whole wide array of personality and every single Necron dynasty now has different goals and motives, not to mention paint schemes, markings, etc. Basically, the original fluff was changed in order to make them more like an actual empire with unique sub-factions and [[Trazyn the Infinite|interesting characters]] as opposed to another [[Tyranid|faceless blob of monsters]] out to [[Chaos|DESTROY ALL LIFE IN THE GALAXY IN THE NAME OF DARK GODS]] - which, due to poor writing, works just like any other empire made out of meat, instead of [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Unimatrix_Zero reflecting the narrative opportunities available to a race of robots]. For a far, far better game-based exploration of how to introduce individualized personalities in a race of A.I.s, play the Mass Effect series of games and explore the Geth/Quarian storylines in full (Geth aren't in Mass Effect: Andromeda, so focus on the Shepard/Reaper Wars Mass Effect trilogy). The crazy fun part of this is if you still want to play a silent legion of implacable, unfathomable terror-bots in the thrall of an insane god, you totally can. The new fluff allows for players to [[your dudes|fluff their army as they see fit]] as anything from a [[Nemesor Zandrekh|noble, honorable warrior kingdom]] open to trade and diplomacy with other species to unthinking hordes of omnicidal machines in the thrall of a malevolent computer system. You can even have a legion of the old-school C'tan-worshipping harvestcrons that have either been enslaved or have willingly taken to worshipping an awakened C'tan Shard. Shit, for all the new fluff cares your army can be a horde of Necrons afflicted with the Flayer Curse who long to have their [[brundlepenis|dicks]] back and run around [[/d/|stealing the dongs of the lesser races]] so they can [[rule 34|hump each other]] whilst their Lord sheds manly tears as he beholds the terrible plight of his people. This is of no help, however, if you enjoyed the absolute supremacy of the C'Tan as literal immortal gods of the materium, and the stories that unfold thereby, who were at least capable of going toe-to-toe with The Ruinous Powers themselves, [[Khaine|rather than being just another punchbag that GW puts on display in order to show how badass somebody else is, whose figurines they hope you'll purchase.]]<br />
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[[Forge World]] created the [[Maynarkh Dynasty]] to give an example of a perfectly fluff-valid dynasty that was culturally similar to Oldcrons (well, the "kill everything!" and "dark horror from the deep past" aspects of them, at least).<br />
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And as for totally destroying the background of the C'Tan, the codex does allude to the fact that there are lots of unaccounted for C'Tan shards (or maybe even yet unshattered C'tan?) still allegedly scattered around the galaxy. The Necron are always trying to hunt them down and imprison them (in pocket dimension prisons), but this does still leave the door totally wide open for a shard of 'The Dragon' to be on Mars and for shards of 'The Deceiver' to have done all the crazy things that have been written about him in novels. Essentially, the full C'Tan were massively, massively powerful and the 'shard' versions of them are now a lot more manageable. And of course, as everyone knows, the Outsider is still on his extra-galactic camping trip, totally whole and crying over [[meme|WHAAAAAT HEEE'S DOOONNE!!!]].<br />
<br />
===Beginning===<br />
Same as the original lore, the necrontyr were an alien race that [[Grimdark|lived extremely short, painful lives since their sun caused them to be riddled with cancer and other defects, and the tomb complexes they built were much larger than their towns, constantly reminding of their inevitable deaths.]] They focused their short lives on science in a desperate attempt to find a way to increase their lifespans, [[Fail|but they never managed to]]. They encountered the [[Old Ones]], who offered to help them but wouldn't or couldn't make the Necrontyr immortal. Thus grew their [[RAGE|collective hate]] towards the near-immortal Old Ones.<br />
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The Necrontyr's empire was massive at one point, but the different Lords in the galaxy-wide dominion started to turn against each other in civil war. To prevent this from happening, the overall ruler of the Necrontyr, the Silent King, started the war against the Old Ones specifically to give them a common enemy to fight against and [[Drow|prevent his people from destroying themselves in their own general stupidity]], with the Old Ones' refusal to share immortality as an excuse for war rather than the war being motivated by jealousy borne of this.<br />
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Of course, the Old Ones ended up kicking their butts and in desperation the Silent King allied with the C'tan (who had been attracted to the pure hate and rage the Necrontyr held for the Old Ones, a common enemy of the C'tan) and agreed to the Deceiver's pact to give them shiny new immortal bodies without realizing what he was doing. The devious Star God had in fact tricked the Necrontyr into giving up their mortal bodies and souls so that he and his god friends could gorge themselves on their tasty ass-meats. After consuming THE ENTIRE Necrontyr race the C'tan were pretty much the equivalent of Superman crossed with a level 9001 Super Sayian Goku and so were basically able to hand the Old Ones their collective asses. <br />
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However, after the Necrons helped the C'tan kill off the last Old Ones and while the C'tan were recuperating, the Silent King then ordered the Necrons to turn on the C'tan in vengeance. Caught by surprise,the C'tan were defeated and shattered into thousands of shards which the Necrons imprisoned for [[rape|later use]]. At this point the galaxy was basically a smoldering ruin, the Necrons were severely depleted from their endless wars, and the Eldar were reaching the height of their power. The Silent King ordered the Necrons to sleep for millions of years in order to hide from the Eldar and re-awaken at a time when the galaxy had both recovered and forgotten about them. The Silent King's final order to his people was that following the Great Sleep they must reclaim their old empire and return it to its former glory (A role he left his Triarch Praetorians to cover later). Following this, he freed the Necrons from his control and left the galaxy in shame for failing his people.<br />
<br />
===Present Warhammer 40k===<br />
[[File:Necrons-eldar.png|300px|right|thumb|This is literally what the Necrons have become.]]<br />
Now that the Necrons have reawakened in the 41st millennium their goal is no longer to 'harvest' souls for the C'tan (the C'tan shards are now their slaves) as it was in the old book, but rather to reestablish the great Necron empire that spanned the galaxy before the war with the Old Ones began. What this exactly means is left to the interpretation of each Overlord. The overall unity of the Necron people is gone for the most part leaving each individual Dynasties to once again rule for themselves. While Necron warriors are pretty much just automatons and Immortals are not much better, the majority of the upper echelon of Necron society retain some degree of personality.<br />
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So there is lots of crazy nuance to Necron culture that was never present before. There are now lots of memorable quotes from Necron Lords. There are Necron Lords who honor valor in battle, Necron Lords who are obsessed with finding the perfect flesh bodies to transfer their sentience back into, and a Necron Lord who acts and commands its people like true robots due to damage to their Tomb World among others. The Silent King, who left the galaxy after defeating the C'tan (basically exiling himself for the unforgivable crime of allowing the C'tan to remove the souls of his people), encountered the Tyranids in the void between galaxies and has returned to spur the Necrons into action against the Bugs. The Silent King realized that if the Tyranids wipe the galaxy clean of biological matter then the Necrons will never find a form to transfer their minds back into. There are even a few Necron Lords who even work or trade with other races. However, such as with all the factions of 40k this is rare. (Yes, Necrons led by [[Anrakyr]] and Blood Angels did end up fighting against a Tyranid Hive Fleet together. Twice. And then [[Trazyn]] decides to give the Imperium a hand at Cadia and see if he could get Abaddon as part of his collection). Really, every dynasty can be different, so just have fun coming up with your own. <br />
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Oh, and there is definitely plenty of reason to have Necron vs. Necron action now (as the old feuds between competing Necron Lords flare back up again). To make matters more complicated though, if [[Battlefleet Gothic: Armada]] is to be believed, it was [[The Deceiver]] who handed over the [[Blackstone Fortress]]es to [[Abbadon]], thereby allowing him to destroy the Necron Pylons and overrun Cadia. Was it an act to spite the Necrons by aiding Chaos, or does he have a doublecross in the works?<br />
<br />
===Regarding Fluff Change - Sore Butts Everywhere.===<br />
[[File:Releasethectan.jpg|200px|thumb|left|[[Pokemon|Deceiver, I choose you!]]]]<br />
It is widely conceded that the worst loss was the removal of Pariahs which were universally agreed to be one of the coolest and scariest aspects of the Necrons, something that really made them stand out (even if they weren't that great on the tabletop (they were badass on the table top, but over-priced and no We'll Be Back roll)). The Pariahs' origins were a great way to show an outsider's perspective of the Necrons (they're humans or other meatbags with the Pariah Gene who get forcibly turned into Necrons) and something that Thomas Macabee in Dark Crusade just made so incredibly badass. It would also fit perfectly into the new fluff showcasing success in combining the Necrons and the living to create a new life form. But there is good news: Hammer & Anvil more or less confirmed that Pariahs are still canon in a way. They are just experiments done by bored Crypteks, and the 7E 'dex in particular has a story where [[Illuminor Szeras]] decides to kidnap an[[Culexus]] Assassin and use it to research the Pariah Gene. And really this loss was by no means required for this change in fluff. In fact, Pariahs make even more sense with this version of the fluff than they did in the old. <br />
<br />
<strike>In any case, the Warhammer 40k galaxy already has a pantheon of four asshole gods, plus 'two other asshole gods, {{BLAM|KRUMP!}} <span style='color:green;font-size:100%'>'''ZOG YERSELF, GROT!'''</span> so who gives a shit if the C'tan wannabes got turned into legendary pokemon?</strike> {{BLAM|SNICK!}} <span style='color:darkblue;font-size:100%'>'''The dead claim you all, fleshlings!'''</span><br />
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There was also the matter of their alliance with the [[Blood Angels]] that made everyone break into sperglord rage. See, Matt Ward was trying to ready the Necrons for their soon-to-come fluff revision where they went from a mindless army to a proper empire with actual politics. If Ward had actually written the Angel/Cron alliance ''properly'', i.e. making it clear the alliance was one made of desperation than any really attempts to be friendly, and the Silent King really just wanted to play [[Dante]] as a fool and leave him for dead after the battle (as was made clear in later Black Library publications, see list below), it would have passed quietly and we wouldn't have /tg/ being drama queens as usual.<br />
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There's also the "Shield of Baal" campaign where [[Anrakyr the Traveller]] decides to assist the Blood Angels, their successors, and some other Imperials with their Tyranid infestation by using a strange piece of Necron Archaeotech that got powered by a C'tan shard to the point of overloading so hard that the resulting radiation nearly killed everyone present.<br />
<br />
So really, now the Necrons have become their playstyle: An army of metallic trolls.<br />
<br />
== Game Play ==<br />
[[File:Lord.jpg|300px|right|thumb|A mountain of metal, green glow and rape.]]<br />
<br />
Necrons have strong weaponry, high toughness, but generally very little mobility. They're also expensive as hell in points.<br />
<br />
=== Pre 5th edition Codex ===<br />
Pre-5th edition, the Necrons competitively were monobuilt to all hell. Depending on what they were up against they would be THE virtually unstoppable shooty army, or easily countered. Essentially this came down to whether or not you had enough hard counters to heavy infantry. If you didn't, you'd get the infamous "March of Doom", which was basically a non-stop forward march of Necron Warriors, Immortals, and Destroyers to flatten the table. The Necrons' innate WBB (We'll Be Back) rolls ensured that the March was fuckhard to stop, especially in tandem with Resurrection Orbs, Pylons, Monoliths, and some of the cheesier Necron formations, since the tin-men had a very good chance of getting back up after being downed. <br />
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If you did have a counter to Heavy Infantry, you'd quickly crush the Necron infantry while ignoring the extremely resilient units like Monoliths and cause the Necron survivors to Phase Out, which means the Necron Player will auto-lose should their forces go down to 25% of the starting numbers. <br />
<br />
Necron were also severely nerfed in the start of ''5th Edition'', due to vehicles being a bit more sturdy. In the previous edition, they could potentially destroy any enemy (including heavy vehicles) with just their default troops choice - Gauss weaponry inflicts glancing hits against vehicles on a roll of 6. Necron Warriors dispatching [[Land Raider]]s or [[Leman Russ Battle Tank|Leman Russ Tanks]] with these glancing hits was ''not'' unheard of, causing many veterans of 40K tabletop to rightly declare the Necrons to be [[Cheese]].<br />
<br />
=== 5th and 6th Edition ===<br />
[[File:Black crusade by yogh art-d5bqzc8.jpg|thumb|400px|left|Egyptians vs Egyptians: One are slaves to an [[Tzeentch|evil God]], other are [[C'tan|slaving evil Gods]].]]<br />
In 5th Edition, due to the new Armour Penetration rules, Necron Warriors could still harass, stun-lock, and annoy all vehicles, but were much less able to gun down a heavy like a Predator Tank or [[Vindicator]] with simple massed Warrior fire, to the delight of non-Necron players everywhere. Massed fire from Necron Warriors ''can'' still kill a heavy vehicle, but it will take a veritable barrage of shots to do so now, making it a bit less likely that players can spam the shit out of warrior squads and come away triumphant. A smart NewCron player learns to not over-rely on Warriors now, using backup from a mix of Scarabs, Doomsday Arks, Barge Lords, Wraiths, and Harbingers of Destruction in order to pack quality anti-vehicle options.<br />
<br />
However in 6th (due to 6th Edition's change with rapid fire rule and vehicle hull points), Necrons are back to fucking tanks in the junk. Yes, a block of 20 Necron Warriors will wreck a Land Raider in one turn, hands down, every day of the week, though they need to be within 12" for that to happen so they can rapid fire it (otherwise it only loses 2 Hull Points), and if you are that fucking stupid (12" is melta range for everyone else) you are going to lose your Raider regardless of who you are playing against.<br />
<br />
[[Image:1227797058418.jpg|thumb|right|''5th Edition'' wrecked their shit.]]<br />
The Necrons in 6th are still a very powerful and dangerous force. Due to VERY limited flyer defense and being able to take fliers as dedicated transports, their fliers ended up being insanely overpowered (though once everyone got reasonable AA defense that wasn't an issue) and thanks to the overall buff to shooting, the Necrons are very high tier in codex power.<br />
<br />
Now the Necron army is all about synergy, with Overlords, Lords and Crypteks strategically placed in shooty units, and melee options like Lychguard and the infuriatingly tough-to-kill Wraiths. They also have somewhat useful Monstrous Creatures of sorts in the form of Canoptek Spyders and C'tan Shards.<br />
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Necron warriors are fairly reliable troops with near-Marine stats and a 4+ save, though they essentially have a delayed 5+ Feel No Pain Save with their "'''Reanimation Protocols'''" rule (4+ with a Resurrection Orb in the unit). Immortals are pretty much Space Marine equivalents. <br />
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The infamous [[Monolith]] is easily the most recognizable unit that the Necrons possess. It has 14 armour on each side (and thus no vulnerable spots), a main weapon that cannot be disabled with a "weapon destroyed" result and the ability to teleport your troops out of harm's way (or into it if you're badass). The Monolith is no longer the nigh invulnerable mountain of rape it used to be, as it can no longer ignore the Melta special rule, and the Monolith's combat performance is outstripped by several of their new vehicles. This means the once proud 'Lith has been relegated to Apocalypse battles. Good job, [[Matt Ward]].<br />
<br />
Necron infantry are generally slow moving, hard hitting, much like the Space Marines, if the Space Marine infantry units had Feel No Pain as part of their base rules and they forgot to take drop pods or transport vehicles. The Necrons back this with annoying deep-strikers and fast-moving units that are designed to support the main advance. There is nothing - I repeat - NOTHING, scarier than a Necron player with almost-cheating luck. But they all look like skellingtons and some of them wear the meat of their victims, they're MEANT to be scary.<br />
<br />
===7th Edition===<br />
The first thing people noticed about 7E is the Necrons got back their amazing glancing powers with Gauss. This causes squees among the playerbase. Seriously, if gauss weapons were this effective in [[X-COM]]: Terror From the Deep, players would be tugging themselves off about them.<br />
<br />
The other big change to their army is the changes made to the Reanimation Protocols (RP). Now instead of being a means of bringing everything back from the dead, it's reduced to a FNP-alike that comes after all armor saves, except it can be used against ID (Though at -1 penalty). Resurrection Orbs now give you a turn's worth of rerolls for RP. Taking a postmark identity from a once cool army a revealing the Inquisitions plan all along to destroy the necrons by giving them a personality, destroying the Star Gods and when nobody is looking taking away the we'll be back. There are some other changes (MSS now useless, Wraiths now Beasts,<s> Crypteks losing everything fun</s>, Destroyers are Jetpack Infantry), but these are the ones that changed the most.<br />
<br />
But the single most trolltastic weapon the Necron player has on hand is the one that doesn't even involve buying a central unit: The Decurion FOC. Simply put, this is an entire formation made of Formations, with a central one giving room for warriors, Immortals, Tomb Blades, Monolith, and a central Overlord, while giving options like the good ol' Royal Court, a formation for Canoptek-flavored cheese, a formation for Triarchs, and all be counted as Battle-Forged. The biggest change this brought was that, due to each individual component being technically a formation in it's own right, this lets you field some hilariously broken shit and still counts as battleforged; want to take nothing but wraiths and spyders backed by doomscythes? now you can and watch your opponent tears flow like the nile.<br />
<br />
===8th Edition===<br />
The gauss flayers are 24" rapid fire at ap-1, and the blaster is ap-2. Living metal is also an automatic wound recovery. Monoliths have 20 wounds, and can once again suck people into its gaping maw. Reanimation Protocols are now taken at the beginning of the user turn, and on a 5+ a model that has died is returned... no matter how long ago it got offed, no matter how many previous times you've rolled for it, as long as the unit isn't wiped out you can roll for it. Mortal Wounds can kiss Necron's collective shiny metal asses. So far, Cronz are gonna be just as durable and scary as they once were. <br />
<br />
Reanimation Protocols: Roll a D6 for each slain model from this unit (unless the whole unit has been completely destroyed) at the beginning of your turn. On a 5+ return the model to the unit. This can happen in EVERY subsequent phase. So if a warrior dies turn 1, you roll turn 2,3,4,5 and so on until its back or the unit is destroyed.<br />
<br />
Living Metal: At the beginning of your turn, this model recovers 1 Wound lost earlier in battle. Characters and Vehicles benefit from this rule.<br />
<br />
Powers of the C'Tan: Before the battle begins, generate the Powers of the C'tan for each C'tan Shard using the following table. You can either roll a D3 to generate their powers randomly (re-rolling duplicates) or you can select the powers you with the C'tan shard to have. -(Why they have both options is beyond me)<br />
<br />
-1: Antimatter Meteor: Roll a D6; on a 2+ the closest enemy unit within 24" of the C'tan Shard suffers D3 mortal wounds<br />
<br />
-2: Time's Arrow: Pick a visible enemy unit within 24" of the C'tan Shard and roll a D6. If the result is higher than that unit's Wounds <br />
characteristic, one model from that unit is slain.<br />
<br />
-3: Seismic Assault: Roll a D6 for each model in the closest enemy unit within 24" of the C'tan Shard. For each roll of 6, that unit suffers <br />
a mortal wound.<br />
<br />
HQ's<br />
Common Abilities:<br />
ResOrb: If this Model has a ResOrb, once per battle, immediately after you have made your RP rolls, you can make RP rolls for models from a friendly <Dynasty> Infantry unit within 3" of this model.<br />
Phase Shifter: 4+ Invuln<br />
[[Tomb Kings|My Will Be Done]] (either GW is throwing Tomb Kings fans a bone or making a jab at us/them): At the beginning of each of your turns, choose a friendly <Dynasty> Infantry unit within 6" of this model. You can add 1 to the Advance, charge and hit rolls of that unit until the beginning of your next turn. A unit can only be affected by this ability once in each turn.<br />
<br />
Imotekh the Stormlord:<br />
<br />
Overlord: 7 Points<br />
M 5"/ WS 2+/ BS 2+/ S5/ T5/ W5/ A3/ Ld10/ Sv3+<br />
Equipped with Staff of Light, Living Metal, Phase Shifter<br />
Can take any Melee<br />
May take ResOrb<br />
My Will Be Done<br />
<br />
8th edition necrons are also almost impossible to shift from morale with army wide Ld10. The changes to vehicles have nerfed Gauss weapons into oblivion though, as although absolutely everything is now capable of wounding vehicles, the amount of wounds needed plus the low chance of wounding at all results in you needing hundreds of shots to destroy them.<br />
<br />
== How to Fight (and play) the Necrons ==<br />
[[File:Hitler hates the Necrons.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Hitler doesn't know how to counter his ol' pal Churchill's Necrons with his Imperial Guard. Maybe because he insists on using tanks.]]<br />
If you want real in-depth strategies, take a gander at [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Necrons|the Tactica]]. This is just an overview about some of the ways Trollcrons can be cheese.<br />
<br />
Too many people whine about how broken this faction is, so I'm just going to leave this here.<br />
<br />
Necron troops tend to be effective engaging from maximum range. Deployed in large hordes Necron Warriors are perhaps the single hardest basic troops to shift in the entire game. Only the heaviest fusillades or the very worst luck can wipe them out. Hearing such squads survive round after round after round of small arms fire is far from unusual. When you find yourself facing such a gunline, focus your fire to bring down a group at a time, ensuring it's completely gone, or close to melee range. Immortals are more expensive, but less numerous: focus your fire on their smaller squads, making sure to finish the squad. Pay careful attention to which weapon they're carrying: Gauss Blasters are AP4 Rapid Fire (better at medium range and against vehicles or your 4+ infantry), while Tesla Carbines are AP- assault (better at further range against blobs where the AP- doesn't mean shit when you're chaining up Tesla hits).<br />
<br />
[[File:A Silent King.jpg|300px|thumb|left|Quick, pretend to be a statue and he might just think you're a suit of armor. If that doesn't work, <s>run like hell</s> just outwalk it. But don't let him shank your chaos-worshipping ass with his Staff O'Doom.]]<br />
<br />
The HQs on this faction tend to be bad news up close (Overlords, Trazyn), support engines (Imotekh, Zahndrekk, Szeras, the crypteks), or both (Anrakyr, Obyron, Orikan). They're quite strong, and often pack S7 AP2 Armorbane weapons called Warscythes. If your idea of winning melee is hitting a group with a bunch of cultists and one CSM lord, you might want to reconsider it, as a Necron Overlord with just a warscythe has decent odds of killing your warlord and mopping up the melee. Instead, target the unescorted units with no HQs, crypteks, or regular lords. Necron Warriors and Immortals usually won't charge out to meet you, so don't worry too much about their counter-charge unless you see Wraiths, Lychguard, Praetorians, or Anrakyr across the field, in which case stay the '''hell''' out of the way unless you're sure you want that fight. When you see a Cryptek in a group of warriors, assume he's got something nasty, and ask what it is. He's likely a high-priority target, but only if you can pick him out from his escort (precision shots are your friends here). Don't be afraid to get into melee with a Cryptek, as most of them are meat there. Challenge them out and go to town.<br />
<br />
Necron Elites are a mixed bag, typically filling gaps in the primary lineup. Triarch Stalkers are high-priority targets, as they support and amplify the already formidible Necron shooting phase. [[Tarpit]] them, or employ maximum-power weapons to take advantage of their open-topped stat-line. Deathmarks drop onto the field and annihilate singular targets or pick off specialists with sniper salvos that wound on a 2+ when they arrive. Spread your squads out to make deep-striking hazardous, and be prepared to charge into melee with the deathmarks when they arrive. Better yet, try to refrain from reserves and make their purchase useless. Lychguard aren't all they're cracked up to be: they're melee killers with T5, AP 2 or 3 weapons, and two attacks base. Combat them with overwhelming numbers, or AP3 blast weapons (a Leman Russ Battle Tank can recoup its cost in one shot against a group of Lychguard). C'tan shards are very expensive Pokemon with a few randomized powers; yeah, where most races have psykers to waste cards on, you waste cards on C'tan powers you roll each turn you fire. You'll rarely see a Praetorian on the tabletop, but they're jump-assaulting elite fighters held back by the same terrible initiative all the Necrons have. Don't be too worried, they're easily swarmed or shot down by AP3 or better weapons. Their incredibly specific niche is 2+ troops with unwieldy weapons and no invulnerable saves, which they'll roll pretty easily. Sadly for you, Flayed Ones are now not shit, especially against 5+ stuff like guard. Target them just like you do Necron Warriors, and try not to enter melee until you're sure you'll win.<br />
<br />
Most of the really scary toys in the Necron lineup come from Fast Attack. Scarabs are swarms of T3 monsters that turn vehicles into mulch. If you have vehicles, these are priority one targets, even over things like Lychguard or Heavy Destroyers. They're swift and will routinely kill a Leman Russ in one round with only one or two bases. Utilize high-strength and/or blast weapons (if you've got both, even better). Destroyers are quick elite-infantry or vehicle killers. Both kinds have Preferred Enemy (everything!), so they're great at fighting marines (for the regular destroyers) or terminators/vehicles (for the heavy type). Their weakness is small squads: prioritize these with autocannons or other moderate-strength weapons. Tomb Blades aren't particularly worrying for their cost: engage with small arms and prioritize them below most other targets. Wraiths are fearsome fighters: as Beasts with two wounds, and 3++ makes them hard to stop while S6, A3, and rending mean you cannot afford to ignore them. Try to stall their approach, and overwhelm them with a hail of lighter gunfire. Don't try to flatten the whole group with a battle cannon shot the way you do Necron Warriors, as they'll save out and keep moving (fearless). Unlike most Necron units these can't reanimate unless in a Canoptek Harvest Formation, so you can safely grind them down with bolters, lasguns, or other light weapons.<br />
<br />
Necron heavy supports are tenacious, but most follow the 'shielded, open-topped AV11' archetype, like the Annihilation Barge and the Ghost Ark. Target vehicles like this by focusing high-strength weapons on them to crack their shields. Don't screw around here: if you don't have S8+ weapons, don't even bother. Autocannons would be better spent putting down more vulnerable targets. Once their shields are down bring out the rest of your more moderate weapons to finish the job. Shields don't grow back, but Necron units can shrug off shaken and stunned results, so just like you'd finish off warrior groups make sure you finish off Barges and Arks. These things come in several flavors: Ghost Arks rebuild Warriors (and only warriors, not Immortals), Doomsday Arks fire S10 AP1 large blasts if still, or S8 AP3 small blasts if they moved, Annihilation Barges spew autocannon-esque lightning, and Catacomb Command Barges fly a Lord around the battle cutting people up. Canoptek Spyders are tough, cheap monstrous critters with T6, 3+, and W3. If your foe fields a set of scarabs look for the spyders behind them: those spyders can build more scarabs as long as you haven't wiped out the whole scarab swarm. They're tough to crack: at T6 they're extremely hard to swarm down. Try to keep them at range and leverage your best anti-tank weapons. The Monolith deserves special mention, with all-round AV14. If you don't have meltas, lances, or other really good anti-armor weapons just ignore them: they hardly care about any vehicle damage table results except Explodes, and their offense isn't impressive for their cost. Try to spread out to make their teleportation fail, as for no adequately-explained reason they are completely susceptible to deep-strike failures.<br />
<br />
Necron fliers were the shit just after 6th edition came out. All of a sudden their reasonably effective fast skimmers became seriously difficult to slay, and kept all of their abilities. As it stands today most serious armies bring anti-air as a matter of course, and if you do as well you should be in good shape to hold off the <s>Croissants</s> Scythes. Both Night <s>Croissants</s> Scythes (a flying dedicated transport) and Death <s>Croissants</s> Scythes (a tank-shredding air-to-ground fighter) are very fairly cost-effective for their weapons and have AV 11. Neither one should be ignored: a Night Scythe can deposit its infantry payload without slowing to a hover, the twin tesla-destructors on either aircraft are excellent at anti-air and anti-ground alike, and the Death Scythe's Death Ray ([[awesome|yes, that's what it's called]]) is one of the most effective tank-killers outside of Apocalypse. If you find yourself facing a large group of these without solid anti-air you may be in serious trouble: run for cover and turn everything S6+ you've got skyward. Part of the controversy about these fliers seems to be the cash-grab surrounding their concept, as all the best anti-air weapons are new models or fliers themselves (or both). In all fairness, if your opponent does field six or eight scythes in a regular army without warning you beforehand... he'll probably win. Please don't be [[that guy]]. If you do find yourself playing against [[that guy]], prioritize the Doom Scythes first and fire everything you've got. They're much more dangerous to your ground-based anti-air, and if you can't suppress them with vehicle damage table results you're likely to lose the ability to retaliate within a round or two.<br />
<br />
Thanks to IA12 and the recent 7th Ed Flyer rules, Necrons have the most broken aerial assault units in the fucking game. Enter the Nightshroud Bomber. This bastard can drop a Strength 10 AP 1 pie plate on whatever you don't like, and it's a goddamn ''bomber''. So that shit happens before your opponent even gets a chance to intercept. And with 12/12/12 armour and 4 fucking hull points, it is very unlikely that they will even be able to do that.<br />
<br />
Hey Space Marines players, you call those Terminators? Let's take them to school (one bomb later) there they go, motherfuckers! Send it in with a couple (of dozen) Doom Scythes and let the rape begin!<br />
<br />
==In Battlefleet Gothic==<br />
[[File:Tomb Forever.jpg|370px|right|thumb|The egyptians build the pyramids to get closer to the gods. The Necrons already got to their gods, used them to their own advantage and killed them. They build their pyramids because why not.]]<br />
They are still totally fucking overpowered in [[Battlefleet Gothic]] though; their cruisers can crush many other race's battleships without much trouble. Although with the discontinuation of BFG by GW, the number of Necron fleets available for sale is now finite and thus the number of assholes who play them. Unless you find a [https://www.shapeways.com/marketplace/?tag=battlefleet%2Bgothic company] that can use 3D printers to make any model you want for [http://games-workshop.com/ too much]. [[Just As Planned]]<br />
<br />
==In Roleplay==<br />
Necrons are the ultimate Bad News, any Master can (and would) drop on his party if they get overconfident, forcing even high level Deathwatch and Chaos Marines to shit their power pants, as 'Crons combine near-marine power level with numbers and determination.<br />
<br />
==Reasons to be a Necron==<br />
* You look like fabulously gaudy gilded Space Egyptian Robot.<br />
* You are already dead and nigh-indestructible, so only entertainment matters.<br />
* You have lots of dakka. Still doesn't match Imperial Artillery and [[Tau|Happy Campers]] though.<br />
* You have lots of cheese and quirky rules with which to infuriate your opponent. Praise the [[Spiritual Liege]]!<br />
* [[Cronssant]]s, bitches! Between this and all the teleporting units, you can be more mobile than the fucking Dark Eldar.<br />
* You are <strike>arguably</strike> the most technologically advanced race in the history of 40K, and you did it all without use of the warp for cheats. Give yourself a pat on the back.<br />
* You have one of the [[Trazyn| best canonical trolls]] of the whole 40k franchise.<br />
* Egyptian mummy robots playing space chess: Minimum [[Grimdark]], maximum fun!<br />
* Your color scheme is Black and Green, and we know [[Ork| how awesome those color schemes are]].<br />
* The new canon gives you virtually limitless chances to create your own [[Phaeron]] and give it [[Your dudes|whatever kind of quirks you may like]].<br />
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIj7gIDFDe4 Remember how awesome General Grievous was the first time he appeared?] That's how Necron Overlords fight in fluff, up to the point they could bring low heavyweights like [[Cato Sicarius]], or 2 CSM Lords in Terminator Armour and their retinue at ''the same time'' if "Fall of Damnos" or the [[Word Bearers]] novels are any indication.<br />
* Remember when Bender from ''Futurama'' was a Pharaoh, yep that's pretty much how Overlords are now.<br />
* You have literal star gods as pets. STAR GODS. Praise the [[Spiritual Liege]]!<br />
<br />
==Reasons to NOT be a Necron==<br />
* You have no soul.<br />
* You're not Grimdark Machine Death March of Doom anymore.<br />
** Well, maybe you are, depending on what Phaeron you serve. The Silent King's wimpy "let's all turn back into squishy mortals" whining only affects about half the Necrons.<br />
* You will be highly hated due to the amount of cheese in your units. Though this does [[Grey Knights|have]] [[Eldar|an]] [[Tau|allure]] of its own.<br />
* [[Matt Ward|The Unholy Beast]] has handled your race with his touch. Although to your credit, the fluff isn't [[Grey Knights|Ward Knights]]-tier terrible. At least we got Pokémon out of the deal. Right, guys? ... Guys?<br />
* You cannot differentiate the wimminz and the manz, so you will accept the risks.<br />
** Unless you want to bang your leaders. [[Kor Phaeron|Phaeron]] is the title for male Necrons, Phaerakh is the title for female Necrons.<br />
*Thanks to [[Matt Ward|The Great Beast]] you can't be friends with Thomas Macabee anymore.<br />
* If you're an Oldcrons fan, you're never quite going to get the army you want because the C'tan have been glorified Pokémon for two whole editions and there's no signs of going back to the old fluff ([[Your Dudes|Though that's not to say there aren't any, and Skynet-stlye Necrons still canonically exist as well, so there's hope.]])<br />
* You have no penis <strike>/vagina</strike>- Lets be honest, if you're on this page you don't have a vagina. At least until [[Slaanesh]] finds you.<br />
<br />
==Novels and stories featuring the Necrons==<br />
Here is a list with a small synopsis of publications by [[Black Library]] and GeeDubs which feature them, '''before you start adding, remember, Necrons must not only be mentioned, but actually appear in the story,''' feel free to add new items and follow the alphabetic order:<br />
*'''Ambition Knows No Bounds:''' Rogue Trader trying to plunder a Necron Tomb World.<br />
*'''But Dust in the Wind:''' Imperial Fists vs Necrons, enuff said!<br />
*'''Cain's Last Stand:''' Chronologically the last novel of Commissar [[Ciaphas Cain]], the Necrons appear later in the novel.<br />
*'''Caves of Ice:''' Cain and the Valhallan 597th are sent to an ice planet to defend a refinery from an ork horde, but an ugly surprise awaits below the installations.<br />
*'''Cold Steel:''' renegade imperial guard attempts to escape penal moon while there is a three-side war between the 'crons, space marines and khornates, featuring a [[Tesseract Vault]].<br />
*'''Damnos:''' Ultramarines vs Necrons, features some Necrons POV, as well as the Ultramarines commanded by Cato Sicarius, if you don't like the Ultramarines, this may be the novel for you!<br />
*'''Dark Creed:''' Word Bearers vs Astartes Praeses, the Necrons come in the later part of the novel, a great portrayal of how they are actually totally scary and overpowered.<br />
*'''Dead Men Walking:''' Death-korps of Krieg vs Necrons, the novel has an extremely grim tone as it puts a lot of focus on the civilians caught in the campaign, and shows a lot of Krieg jerkassery, don't get too attached to any of the main characters and no Krieg-chan for you!<br />
*'''Echoes of the Tomb''': One of the earliest novels of Ciaphas Cain, and the origin of his fear of the Necrons.<br />
*'''Fabius Bile- Clone Lord:''' Sequel to the first novel focusing on everyone's favorite clone fetishist [[Fabius Bile]], this one has him continuing his search for a way to cure himself. Specifically involving him going to a forgotten planet in the eastern fringe called [[Trazyn the Infinite|Solemence]]... <br />
*'''Flayed:''' [[Death Spectres]] evacuate civilians from a world that gets attacked by Flayed Ones every few years. Not what you expect going in.<br />
*'''Hammer & Anvil:''' Sisters of Battle get slaughtered by the necrons and... wait! Are they fighting back? And they are actually competent? quite a nice read and gives the Sisters a lot of street cred back.<br />
*'''Hellforged:''' 5th novel in the Soul Drinkers series by Ben Counter, a very good take on OldCrons that makes them genuinely terrifying, also includes awesome Mechanicus and Space Marines action.<br />
*'''Imperial Armour Volume Twelve - The Fall of Orpheus:''' a Forgeworld book about the totally badass and horrifying [[Maynarkh Dynasty]] vs the Minotaurs and the Death-Korps of Krieg, overall an extremely cool, if expensive, book.<br />
*'''Infinite Circuit:''' A small story about a Cult Mechanicus procession getting their hands on a C'tan shard and the Deathwatch paying a visit to see what's going on.<br />
*'''Nightbringer:''' Ultramarines vs Dark Eldar and Human traitors rushing to get to the crypt of the [[Nightbringer]], or perhaps it's just a shard. And let's be honest, it being a shard makes anyone in that room surviving a possibility.<br />
*'''Shield of Baal: Devourer:''' Necrons POV! Featuring Anrakyr the Traveler trying to seize a tomb-world and some Necron dynasty nobles trying to flee a Flayed-Ones overran crypt-complex, also, Blood Angels and Tyranids.<br />
*'''Shield of Baal: Exterminatus:''' campaign book featuring Anrakyr and the Mephrit Dynasty, teaming up with the Imperium to contain Hivefleet Leviathan, minimun oldcrons, maximun newcrons acting like Tomb Kings in space.<br />
*'''Spear of Macragge:''' Ultramarines tanks vs Necrons, as well as some Ultramarines internal politicking.<br />
*'''The Gathering Storm: Fall of Cadia:''' Trazyn decides to play the hero and help the imperials fend off Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade assault on Cadia.<br />
*'''The Lords of Borsis:''' The preview for the World-Engine novel, featuring a Necron coup d'etat.<br />
*'''The Word of the Silent King:''' The Silent King himself dealing with the Blood Angels, it seems the old Necron monarch has been acquaintances with Sanguinius himself.<br />
*'''The World Engine:''' also known as <s>one of</s> the coolest Space Marines novel ever, it narrates the fight between the Astral Knights and the Necron dynasty from Borsis, if you liked the entry in the Codex, go for it!<br />
*'''The Infinite Tableau:''' A trio of Deathwatch lead a team of Inquisitorial troopers to an ice-bound moon in search of missing Adeptus Mechanicus explorators. Following their trail into ancient caverns, the Deathwatch find a bunch of necrons waiting to kill them all!<br />
*'''Warhammer Adventures: Attack of the Necron:''' Small children without guns versus the Necrons. We all know how this is going to [[rape|end.]]<br />
<br />
==See Also==<br />
* [[Tomb Kings]] and [[Vampire Counts]] for their [[Warhammer Fantasy]] equivalents (fun fact: both armies used to be one single Undead army full of mysterious motives and EVULZ, and as such the current state of Necrons is more of a step back to roots than being outright "new". Also oldcrons, minus Vampire dickery, are pretty much just Vampire Counts like Newcrons are basically just Tomb kings).<br />
* [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Necrons(8E)|Their tactics]] - Someone forgot to add that shit<br />
* [[Assholetep]] - A Necron Overlord of insufferable dickheadedness<br />
* Lolcron, a popular Necron [[drawfag]].<br />
* [[False Immortality]]<br />
* [[Heavy-chan]]<br />
* [[Lolicron]]<br />
* [[Lovecron]]<br />
* [[Papalith]]<br />
* [[Shanako]]<br />
* [[Imotekh the Stormlord]] - The de facto most powerful Necron ever.<br />
* [[Silent King]] - THE most powerful Necron ever.<br />
* [[Nemesor Zandrekh]], known for being both a total bro and completely senile.<br />
* [[Thri-Kreen Erotica|Trazyn the--]] Goddamn it! That link was a fake! Curse you [[Trazyn the Infinite|Trollzyn]]!!!!<br />
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q2e8lnqwwk Their theme from Dawn of War].<br />
* [[Æonic Orb]]<br />
<br />
==Gallery==<br />
<center><gallery><br />
Image:1228731983317.jpg|Suddenly, [[dreadknight|Monoliths just got even more]] awesome.<br />
Image:1204274003601.jpg|[[Angry Marines]] can really fuck your shit up.<br />
Image:1208121844297.jpg|Necron players are well-known for their carefully planned tactics of "[[Wallhammer|move-shoot-move-shoot]]".<br />
Image:1208122137113.jpg|Thanks to Matt Ward this is now canon. Give thanks to our spiritual liege for Thaszar the Invincible!<br />
Image:274.jpg|IN THE GRIM DARKNESS OF THE 41ST MILLENNIUM, THE ARGUMENT STILL RAGES<br />
Image:1208122702531.jpg|Here we see the humble [[Drawfag|Lolcron]], irritably drawing away.<br />
Image:1229675685738.jpg|<br />
Image:Lolicron05.jpg|Lolcron and lolicron - know the difference! Ya, ones a sex doll... Still tap dat ass though!<br />
Image:Necron_by_Android_Arts.jpg|No.<br />
Image:591.jpg|<br />
Image:Thrillercrons.jpg|''The funk of 40,000 years.''<br />
Image:Nodrawtoday.jpg|[[Drawfag|Lolcron]] is a lazy bum these days.<br />
Image:lolcrontroll.jpg|Necron update 2011 in a nutshell. <br />
File:Pariah Lee.jpg|The Necron's ace in the hole.<br />
Image:Lolcron1.jpg|Damn space commies.<br />
Image:Lolcron2.jpg|''Goddamnit.''<br />
File:1304191380926.jpg|Ah, the early weakling 5th-ed + OP 7th-ed buddies.<br />
Image:Taucronxeno .jpg|This is what we call a xeno double-down.<br />
Image:Monolith song.jpg|Monoliths are known to inspire great songs.<br />
Image:StupidSexyFlayed.jpg|Flayed Ones are adept at finding ways to maintain a nice figure.<br />
File:Stormlord.jpg|Phaeron Imotekh in all his egotistic glory.<br />
File:Cult2.jpg<br />
Image:Necron_motivator.JPG<br />
File:Shenanigans.jpg<br />
File:Necron skeleton.PNG| [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2rwxs1gH9w Spooky Scary Necrons, send shivers down your spine]<br />
File:Rising.jpg| Hmmmm....What is taking Ol'Zandrekh so them long for our Necron flaying party?<br />
File:245433.jpg|C'tan-chan will suck your soul out through your urethra and she won't even touch your dick.<br />
File:Female necron by lutherniel-dbhnh4t.jpg|A more realistic looking female Necron. Considering that only nobility could have their bodies shaped into how they were in life, she's definitively at least a Necron Lord/Lady.<br />
File:Necron-characters.jpg|Go, Go, Necron Rangers...<br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy.PNG| Necrons in the galaxy<br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy segmentum solar.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Segmentum_Solar|Segmentum Solar]]<br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy segmentum obscurus.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Segmentum_Obscurus|Segmentum Obscurus]]<br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy segmentum tempestus.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Segmentum_Tempestus|Segmentum Tempestus]] <br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy ultima segmentum.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Ultima_Segmentum|Northern Ultima Segmentum]] <br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy ultima segmentum 2.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Ultima_Segmentum|Southern Ultima Segmentum]] <br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy segmentum pacificus.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Segmentum_Pacificus|Segmentum Pacificus]]<br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy sautekh.PNG| Territory of the [[Imotekh the Stormlord|Sautekh Dynasty]]<br />
File:Necron_with_booty_by_S_Socrates.jpg|With booty<br />
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==Navigation==<br />
{{Necrons-Forces}}<br />
{{WH40k-Factions}}<br />
{{Template:Important Species in 40k}}<br />
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[[Category:Xenos]]</div>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBDhttp://2d4chan.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Necron&diff=354638Necron2019-10-23T00:03:05Z<p>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBD: /* Reasons to NOT be a Necron */</p>
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<div>{{Awesome}}<br />
{{Heresy}}<br />
[[File:Necrons.jpg|500px|thumb|right|Space zombie terminator egyptians. That was Space Zombie Terminator Egyptians. [[Awesome|Yeah]].]]<br />
{{Topquote|That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die.|[[H.P. Lovecraft]]}}<br />
{{Topquote|Death is frightening, and so is eternal life.|Mason Cooley}}<br />
{{Topquote|My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:<br>Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!<br>Nothing beside remains. Round the decay<br>Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare<br>The lone and level sands stretch far away.|Percy Bysshe Shelley, "Ozymandias"}}<br />
{{Topquote|What is dead may never die, but rises again, stronger and harder.|Prayer to the [[A Song of Ice and Fire|Drowned God]]}}<br />
{{Topquote|1=Finally. After our Thousand Year Old Slumber, WE ARE FINALLY ALIVE. For eons I have awaited this day. Warriors. Our time to conquer this planet and THE NEXT begins todeeeeeyy. The world shall tremble at our war cry. AND OUR WAR CRY IS SOI SOI SOI SOIIIIIIII SWEY<br>*Entire legion of Necron Warriors chanting SOI SOI SOI*|2=''[[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device]]'' [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yzsmxugmB0 Unnamed Necron Lord]}}<br />
{{Topquote|Necrons?! Hide the tanks!|Any Strategist Who Knows About What Necrons Do To Armor.}}<br />
'''Necrons''' (Robo-Zombie Aegyptons in SPEHSS)(Totally Not Knock-offs Of The Terminator. In SPEHSS) are one of the main factions in [[Warhammer 40,000]]. Basically, they're a bunch of soulless, skeletal, alien killing machines led by a robot aristocracy of angry murder machines and bound together by space-technology-magic (like atom-flaying weapons that strip their targets down into their constituent atoms). <br />
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Although they have been around since [[Rogue Trader (sourcebook)|Rogue Trader]] (albeit only as a single picture categorized as an "unknown xenos species"), they have seen great change in almost every edition. In second edition, they were a mysterious faction with essentially zero fluff and only a few models, all of which looked incredibly silly, and [[Space Crusade]] introduced them as [[Chaos]] Androids (oh, the [[Cadia|''irony'']]...). However, with third edition they got their own [[Codex]] and a bunch of models fleshing them out as an army and introducing their rulers, and the [[C'tan]] (who were subsequently shoehorned into every major event in the 40k universe). [[Games Workshop]] then promptly forgot they existed and did not update them again until the closing days of fifth edition. [[Skub|This was a controversial move]] as the Codex was written by [[Matt Ward]], who significantly changed the fluff, making them Newcrons. In short, they became [[Tomb Kings]] IN SPESS and the C'tan were demoted to being their bitches. And that's about it. Do note that although they are space Tomb Kings, they are not necessarily space Egyptians.<br />
<br />
Gameplay-wise, some used to consider the Necrons to have been unduly OP during their introduction. A respectable amount of evidence can be gathered to grant credence to this viewpoint based on the ease with which they can blow up vehicles using the basic Warrior's Gauss Flayer. The rapid change in fluff between the 5th edition codex and its predecessor is [[skub|controversial]], to put it lightly. While both versions of the Necrons' background have their fans, many would agree that the retconning was drastic and heavy-handed (Pariahs were awesome, until they were scrapped by [[Matt Ward|our spiritual liege]] completely, probably because he realised how awesome they were and couldn't stand the idea of some of the lime-light being stolen from his precious [[Ultramarine|Ultrasmurfs]]). On one hand, the Necrons' theme used to be that they were emotionless, implacable alien killers led by Cthulhu-ish star gods that fed on people's souls. Their background was very sparse and included all sorts of mysterious things about the Necrons and the C'tan that had implications for the whole setting of Warhammer 40,000. The new codex however gets rid of all that mystery and removes the dangerous feel the Necrons used to have in exchange for [[your dudes|giving the individual Necron leaders and armies individual personality, which in turn allowed players to make their armies different]]. Whether you're a fan of this or not is up to you; there are pros and cons to both. This was different from the previous situation where [[Grey Knights|basically everyone had an army of similar silver (or blue, for that matter) OP doom warriors wielding guns that could rip through tanks as well as infantry and had over the top fluff that made them out to be the baddest sons of bitches in the galaxy.]] <br />
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The 7E Fluff in the codex is actually a lot more complex than those of prior codices, with complete sections dedicated to paint schemes and analyses on the markings on them (Where the last edition only barely even begins with that) while also beginning to fluff out some of the more prominent dynasties. However, not much of it actually changed from the last codex, so the C'tan are still a thing (but now they're treated with even less respect than a warrior, rather than leading the dudes), and the Newcrons as a simplified whole are still eccentric, megalomaniacal undead robots.<br />
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[[Meme|Good news, everyone!]] With the Necrons now being somewhat popular, they are about to get a new slew of Forgeworld loving, thanks to the announcement that they are scheduled to be featured in Imperial Armor 12 along with the Minotaurs Chapter Space Marines (meaning we may finally get Medusa V Tomb Stalkers and Megaliths, so we don't have to rely on Pylon, Scarab, Barge, Warscythe, and Heat-ray spam to down Titans).<br />
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Apparently, 'Necron' is also the title of a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necron bizarre and retarded fetish comic] of some sort.<br />
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== The Old Fluff - Angry Space [[Wikipedia:Terminator (character concept)|Terminators]] ==<br />
[[File:Tumblr nj3ldcWQe51tvfheeo1 1280.jpg|500px|left]] <br />
The Necrons were introduced, as mentioned before, in Space Crusade as a type of enemy to fight in the form of "Chaos Androids". Really, the only thing to describe about them here is that they're pretty derpy. Oh, and 2E had a model used for [[Assholetep]].<br />
<br />
A long time ago (even before the [[Eldar]]) the Necrontyr [[Grimdark|lived on a planet blasted by radiation from their sun. Their short lives were filled from beginning to end with cancer]], [[AIDS]], and [[Grimdark|pain]]. The only reason the Necrontyr formed an empire beyond their planet at all was because they put their people in stasis pods and made extremely long journeys across interstellar distances. But the damage their sun did to their genes was permanent, so they still had short, cancer-prone lives. <br />
<br />
While all this sun-rape was going on a race of psychically-attuned space precursors called the [[Old Ones]] had already built a vast civilization throughout the galaxy. They created many races or augmented many existing ones (leaving [[human|humanity]] alone) and generally showed off. Oh yeah, and they are speculated to have been immortal [[lizardmen|lizards]] (Or the Eldar gods. It's quite confusing in all honesty).<br />
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[[Grimdark|The Necrontyr met the Old Ones and quickly grew to resent their neighbors, loathing how long their lifespans were by comparison. Resentment grew into bitter jealousy and finally all-consuming hatred. The Old Ones were indeed much stronger and repelled Necrontyr assault after assault until the race was clinging to the edge of the galaxy and their lives]].<br />
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The Necrontyr finally encountered and allied with a force known as the C'tan who were beings with immense power over the corporeal world. The realm of the Warp, which the Old Ones used extensively, was anathema to them, and they sought nothing less than the total separation of the real world from the Maelstrom. <br />
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The Necrontyr bargained with the C'tan known as the Deceiver (but only the other C'tan called it that) for eternal life. [[Just As Planned|The Necrontyr knew him as Mephet'ran ("The Messenger")]] because no one in their right mind would actually trust a guy named the Deceiver. The Deceiver promised the living Necrontyr race immortality and fun times if they would sacrifice their bodies to the gods to be replaced with metallic goodness, made from a very durable and self-repairing material called [[Necrodermis]]. Some of the Necrontyr agreed to the Deceiver's terms, but most of them doubted it was a good idea. Using its talent for trickery, [[Grimdark|the Deceiver lured the doubters into the clutches of its followers and forced them to become Necrons before roboticizing its followers]]. The race had their souls ripped out of their collective urethrae, replacing the Necrontyr with the skeletal bodies of the Necrons.<br />
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War breaks out between the Necrons and the Old Ones, this war being named [[War in Heaven|the War in Heaven]] since all of the awesome shit that went down was akin to the gods themselves fighting. The Old Ones get their asses soundly beat over and over again and created new races (lol, [[Ork|Krork]]) to defend themselves with. Oh, and by using the Warp as a weapon they turned it into the [[warp|fun place we all know and love]] (which essentially means that the Old Ones are responsible for all the Chaos-infested shit that goes down these days). At this point, the old Necron fluff and new stuff begins to diverge a bit. Old fluff says the [[Eldar]] were created by the old Ones directly but new fluff simply says that the Eldar and Old Ones were allies in the war against the Necrons. It doesn't specifically say the Eldar were created by the Old Ones although the new background is worded in such a way as to make both interpretations plausible. In Eldar culture, there's another great conflict also known as the [[War in Heaven]]. This is primarily where the theory that the Old Ones and the Eldar Pantheon are potentially the same thing comes from (if true, that means some Old Ones are still alive, namely [[Isha]], [[Cegorach]], and [[Khaine]], though Khaine is split into a bajillion pieces so truly ''alive'' is debatable for him). But the most likely explanation for this is that GeeDubs' writers never talk to each other about the intricacies of this stuff and ended up giving two different conflicts the same damn name. However, the Eldar ''were'' present in both wars, so... eh?<br />
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Anyway, after the Old Ones' strategy of cranking out race after race to be used as cannon fodder backfires when an Enslaver Plague rolls around, the C'tan go on a feast of galactic proportions. During this time they even start killing and eating each other until there are only four left (The Void Dragon, The Outsider, The Nightbringer and The Deceiver). It's as this point that they realize that their excessive OMNOMNOM habits are causing their own food (essentially EVERYTHING) to die out. So, they and their Necron slaves decide to go to sleep for 60 million years 'till the scrumptious morsels known as EVERYTHING regrow. <br />
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In present time, the Necrons spend most of their time killing anything with a pulse and generally hating anything living, including bacteria. Their main objective was to use their advanced technology to close or seal off the Eye of Terror, drive back the 'Nids, and turn the living races into a never-ending all-you-can-eat buffet for the remaining C'tan. They are the goth craze if you dipped them in liquid hate and injected them with 400% of your daily allotment of cheese/awesome-sauce (depending on your viewpoint).<br />
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In essence, OldCron fluff basically makes them "Evil Order" as opposed to the "Evil Chaos" of, well, Chaos Or "Metal Tyranids" because of the emotionless mass of silver that represents their armies (with guys like [[Dawn of War|Thomas Macabee]] being more of an exception than a rule).<br />
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==The New Fluff - Space Egyptians/Tomb Kings In Space==<br />
[[File:Necron reboot.jpg|300px|right|thumb|"Dude, what did we ''do'' last aeon?"]]<br />
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===Summary===<br />
This new incarnation, love it or hate it, gives the Necrons a whole wide array of personality and every single Necron dynasty now has different goals and motives, not to mention paint schemes, markings, etc. Basically, the original fluff was changed in order to make them more like an actual empire with unique sub-factions and [[Trazyn the Infinite|interesting characters]] as opposed to another [[Tyranid|faceless blob of monsters]] out to [[Chaos|DESTROY ALL LIFE IN THE GALAXY IN THE NAME OF DARK GODS]] - which, due to poor writing, works just like any other empire made out of meat, instead of [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Unimatrix_Zero reflecting the narrative opportunities available to a race of robots]. For a far, far better game-based exploration of how to introduce individualized personalities in a race of A.I.s, play the Mass Effect series of games and explore the Geth/Quarian storylines in full (Geth aren't in Mass Effect: Andromeda, so focus on the Shepard/Reaper Wars Mass Effect trilogy). The crazy fun part of this is if you still want to play a silent legion of implacable, unfathomable terror-bots in the thrall of an insane god, you totally can. The new fluff allows for players to [[your dudes|fluff their army as they see fit]] as anything from a [[Nemesor Zandrekh|noble, honorable warrior kingdom]] open to trade and diplomacy with other species to unthinking hordes of omnicidal machines in the thrall of a malevolent computer system. You can even have a legion of the old-school C'tan-worshipping harvestcrons that have either been enslaved or have willingly taken to worshipping an awakened C'tan Shard. Shit, for all the new fluff cares your army can be a horde of Necrons afflicted with the Flayer Curse who long to have their [[brundlepenis|dicks]] back and run around [[/d/|stealing the dongs of the lesser races]] so they can [[rule 34|hump each other]] whilst their Lord sheds manly tears as he beholds the terrible plight of his people. This is of no help, however, if you enjoyed the absolute supremacy of the C'Tan as literal immortal gods of the materium, and the stories that unfold thereby, who were at least capable of going toe-to-toe with The Ruinous Powers themselves, [[Khaine|rather than being just another punchbag that GW puts on display in order to show how badass somebody else is, whose figurines they hope you'll purchase.]]<br />
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[[Forge World]] created the [[Maynarkh Dynasty]] to give an example of a perfectly fluff-valid dynasty that was culturally similar to Oldcrons (well, the "kill everything!" and "dark horror from the deep past" aspects of them, at least).<br />
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And as for totally destroying the background of the C'Tan, the codex does allude to the fact that there are lots of unaccounted for C'Tan shards (or maybe even yet unshattered C'tan?) still allegedly scattered around the galaxy. The Necron are always trying to hunt them down and imprison them (in pocket dimension prisons), but this does still leave the door totally wide open for a shard of 'The Dragon' to be on Mars and for shards of 'The Deceiver' to have done all the crazy things that have been written about him in novels. Essentially, the full C'Tan were massively, massively powerful and the 'shard' versions of them are now a lot more manageable. And of course, as everyone knows, the Outsider is still on his extra-galactic camping trip, totally whole and crying over [[meme|WHAAAAAT HEEE'S DOOONNE!!!]].<br />
<br />
===Beginning===<br />
Same as the original lore, the necrontyr were an alien race that [[Grimdark|lived extremely short, painful lives since their sun caused them to be riddled with cancer and other defects, and the tomb complexes they built were much larger than their towns, constantly reminding of their inevitable deaths.]] They focused their short lives on science in a desperate attempt to find a way to increase their lifespans, [[Fail|but they never managed to]]. They encountered the [[Old Ones]], who offered to help them but wouldn't or couldn't make the Necrontyr immortal. Thus grew their [[RAGE|collective hate]] towards the near-immortal Old Ones.<br />
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The Necrontyr's empire was massive at one point, but the different Lords in the galaxy-wide dominion started to turn against each other in civil war. To prevent this from happening, the overall ruler of the Necrontyr, the Silent King, started the war against the Old Ones specifically to give them a common enemy to fight against and [[Drow|prevent his people from destroying themselves in their own general stupidity]], with the Old Ones' refusal to share immortality as an excuse for war rather than the war being motivated by jealousy borne of this.<br />
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Of course, the Old Ones ended up kicking their butts and in desperation the Silent King allied with the C'tan (who had been attracted to the pure hate and rage the Necrontyr held for the Old Ones, a common enemy of the C'tan) and agreed to the Deceiver's pact to give them shiny new immortal bodies without realizing what he was doing. The devious Star God had in fact tricked the Necrontyr into giving up their mortal bodies and souls so that he and his god friends could gorge themselves on their tasty ass-meats. After consuming THE ENTIRE Necrontyr race the C'tan were pretty much the equivalent of Superman crossed with a level 9001 Super Sayian Goku and so were basically able to hand the Old Ones their collective asses. <br />
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However, after the Necrons helped the C'tan kill off the last Old Ones and while the C'tan were recuperating, the Silent King then ordered the Necrons to turn on the C'tan in vengeance. Caught by surprise,the C'tan were defeated and shattered into thousands of shards which the Necrons imprisoned for [[rape|later use]]. At this point the galaxy was basically a smoldering ruin, the Necrons were severely depleted from their endless wars, and the Eldar were reaching the height of their power. The Silent King ordered the Necrons to sleep for millions of years in order to hide from the Eldar and re-awaken at a time when the galaxy had both recovered and forgotten about them. The Silent King's final order to his people was that following the Great Sleep they must reclaim their old empire and return it to its former glory (A role he left his Triarch Praetorians to cover later). Following this, he freed the Necrons from his control and left the galaxy in shame for failing his people.<br />
<br />
===Present Warhammer 40k===<br />
[[File:Necrons-eldar.png|300px|right|thumb|This is literally what the Necrons have become.]]<br />
Now that the Necrons have reawakened in the 41st millennium their goal is no longer to 'harvest' souls for the C'tan (the C'tan shards are now their slaves) as it was in the old book, but rather to reestablish the great Necron empire that spanned the galaxy before the war with the Old Ones began. What this exactly means is left to the interpretation of each Overlord. The overall unity of the Necron people is gone for the most part leaving each individual Dynasties to once again rule for themselves. While Necron warriors are pretty much just automatons and Immortals are not much better, the majority of the upper echelon of Necron society retain some degree of personality.<br />
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So there is lots of crazy nuance to Necron culture that was never present before. There are now lots of memorable quotes from Necron Lords. There are Necron Lords who honor valor in battle, Necron Lords who are obsessed with finding the perfect flesh bodies to transfer their sentience back into, and a Necron Lord who acts and commands its people like true robots due to damage to their Tomb World among others. The Silent King, who left the galaxy after defeating the C'tan (basically exiling himself for the unforgivable crime of allowing the C'tan to remove the souls of his people), encountered the Tyranids in the void between galaxies and has returned to spur the Necrons into action against the Bugs. The Silent King realized that if the Tyranids wipe the galaxy clean of biological matter then the Necrons will never find a form to transfer their minds back into. There are even a few Necron Lords who even work or trade with other races. However, such as with all the factions of 40k this is rare. (Yes, Necrons led by [[Anrakyr]] and Blood Angels did end up fighting against a Tyranid Hive Fleet together. Twice. And then [[Trazyn]] decides to give the Imperium a hand at Cadia and see if he could get Abaddon as part of his collection). Really, every dynasty can be different, so just have fun coming up with your own. <br />
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Oh, and there is definitely plenty of reason to have Necron vs. Necron action now (as the old feuds between competing Necron Lords flare back up again). To make matters more complicated though, if [[Battlefleet Gothic: Armada]] is to be believed, it was [[The Deceiver]] who handed over the [[Blackstone Fortress]]es to [[Abbadon]], thereby allowing him to destroy the Necron Pylons and overrun Cadia. Was it an act to spite the Necrons by aiding Chaos, or does he have a doublecross in the works?<br />
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===Regarding Fluff Change - Sore Butts Everywhere.===<br />
[[File:Releasethectan.jpg|200px|thumb|left|[[Pokemon|Deceiver, I choose you!]]]]<br />
It is widely conceded that the worst loss was the removal of Pariahs which were universally agreed to be one of the coolest and scariest aspects of the Necrons, something that really made them stand out (even if they weren't that great on the tabletop (they were badass on the table top, but over-priced and no We'll Be Back roll)). The Pariahs' origins were a great way to show an outsider's perspective of the Necrons (they're humans or other meatbags with the Pariah Gene who get forcibly turned into Necrons) and something that Thomas Macabee in Dark Crusade just made so incredibly badass. It would also fit perfectly into the new fluff showcasing success in combining the Necrons and the living to create a new life form. But there is good news: Hammer & Anvil more or less confirmed that Pariahs are still canon in a way. They are just experiments done by bored Crypteks, and the 7E 'dex in particular has a story where [[Illuminor Szeras]] decides to kidnap an[[Culexus]] Assassin and use it to research the Pariah Gene. And really this loss was by no means required for this change in fluff. In fact, Pariahs make even more sense with this version of the fluff than they did in the old. <br />
<br />
<strike>In any case, the Warhammer 40k galaxy already has a pantheon of four asshole gods, plus 'two other asshole gods, {{BLAM|KRUMP!}} <span style='color:green;font-size:100%'>'''ZOG YERSELF, GROT!'''</span> so who gives a shit if the C'tan wannabes got turned into legendary pokemon?</strike> {{BLAM|SNICK!}} <span style='color:darkblue;font-size:100%'>'''The dead claim you all, fleshlings!'''</span><br />
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There was also the matter of their alliance with the [[Blood Angels]] that made everyone break into sperglord rage. See, Matt Ward was trying to ready the Necrons for their soon-to-come fluff revision where they went from a mindless army to a proper empire with actual politics. If Ward had actually written the Angel/Cron alliance ''properly'', i.e. making it clear the alliance was one made of desperation than any really attempts to be friendly, and the Silent King really just wanted to play [[Dante]] as a fool and leave him for dead after the battle (as was made clear in later Black Library publications, see list below), it would have passed quietly and we wouldn't have /tg/ being drama queens as usual.<br />
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There's also the "Shield of Baal" campaign where [[Anrakyr the Traveller]] decides to assist the Blood Angels, their successors, and some other Imperials with their Tyranid infestation by using a strange piece of Necron Archaeotech that got powered by a C'tan shard to the point of overloading so hard that the resulting radiation nearly killed everyone present.<br />
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So really, now the Necrons have become their playstyle: An army of metallic trolls.<br />
<br />
== Game Play ==<br />
[[File:Lord.jpg|300px|right|thumb|A mountain of metal, green glow and rape.]]<br />
<br />
Necrons have strong weaponry, high toughness, but generally very little mobility. They're also expensive as hell in points.<br />
<br />
=== Pre 5th edition Codex ===<br />
Pre-5th edition, the Necrons competitively were monobuilt to all hell. Depending on what they were up against they would be THE virtually unstoppable shooty army, or easily countered. Essentially this came down to whether or not you had enough hard counters to heavy infantry. If you didn't, you'd get the infamous "March of Doom", which was basically a non-stop forward march of Necron Warriors, Immortals, and Destroyers to flatten the table. The Necrons' innate WBB (We'll Be Back) rolls ensured that the March was fuckhard to stop, especially in tandem with Resurrection Orbs, Pylons, Monoliths, and some of the cheesier Necron formations, since the tin-men had a very good chance of getting back up after being downed. <br />
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If you did have a counter to Heavy Infantry, you'd quickly crush the Necron infantry while ignoring the extremely resilient units like Monoliths and cause the Necron survivors to Phase Out, which means the Necron Player will auto-lose should their forces go down to 25% of the starting numbers. <br />
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Necron were also severely nerfed in the start of ''5th Edition'', due to vehicles being a bit more sturdy. In the previous edition, they could potentially destroy any enemy (including heavy vehicles) with just their default troops choice - Gauss weaponry inflicts glancing hits against vehicles on a roll of 6. Necron Warriors dispatching [[Land Raider]]s or [[Leman Russ Battle Tank|Leman Russ Tanks]] with these glancing hits was ''not'' unheard of, causing many veterans of 40K tabletop to rightly declare the Necrons to be [[Cheese]].<br />
<br />
=== 5th and 6th Edition ===<br />
[[File:Black crusade by yogh art-d5bqzc8.jpg|thumb|400px|left|Egyptians vs Egyptians: One are slaves to an [[Tzeentch|evil God]], other are [[C'tan|slaving evil Gods]].]]<br />
In 5th Edition, due to the new Armour Penetration rules, Necron Warriors could still harass, stun-lock, and annoy all vehicles, but were much less able to gun down a heavy like a Predator Tank or [[Vindicator]] with simple massed Warrior fire, to the delight of non-Necron players everywhere. Massed fire from Necron Warriors ''can'' still kill a heavy vehicle, but it will take a veritable barrage of shots to do so now, making it a bit less likely that players can spam the shit out of warrior squads and come away triumphant. A smart NewCron player learns to not over-rely on Warriors now, using backup from a mix of Scarabs, Doomsday Arks, Barge Lords, Wraiths, and Harbingers of Destruction in order to pack quality anti-vehicle options.<br />
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However in 6th (due to 6th Edition's change with rapid fire rule and vehicle hull points), Necrons are back to fucking tanks in the junk. Yes, a block of 20 Necron Warriors will wreck a Land Raider in one turn, hands down, every day of the week, though they need to be within 12" for that to happen so they can rapid fire it (otherwise it only loses 2 Hull Points), and if you are that fucking stupid (12" is melta range for everyone else) you are going to lose your Raider regardless of who you are playing against.<br />
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[[Image:1227797058418.jpg|thumb|right|''5th Edition'' wrecked their shit.]]<br />
The Necrons in 6th are still a very powerful and dangerous force. Due to VERY limited flyer defense and being able to take fliers as dedicated transports, their fliers ended up being insanely overpowered (though once everyone got reasonable AA defense that wasn't an issue) and thanks to the overall buff to shooting, the Necrons are very high tier in codex power.<br />
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Now the Necron army is all about synergy, with Overlords, Lords and Crypteks strategically placed in shooty units, and melee options like Lychguard and the infuriatingly tough-to-kill Wraiths. They also have somewhat useful Monstrous Creatures of sorts in the form of Canoptek Spyders and C'tan Shards.<br />
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Necron warriors are fairly reliable troops with near-Marine stats and a 4+ save, though they essentially have a delayed 5+ Feel No Pain Save with their "'''Reanimation Protocols'''" rule (4+ with a Resurrection Orb in the unit). Immortals are pretty much Space Marine equivalents. <br />
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The infamous [[Monolith]] is easily the most recognizable unit that the Necrons possess. It has 14 armour on each side (and thus no vulnerable spots), a main weapon that cannot be disabled with a "weapon destroyed" result and the ability to teleport your troops out of harm's way (or into it if you're badass). The Monolith is no longer the nigh invulnerable mountain of rape it used to be, as it can no longer ignore the Melta special rule, and the Monolith's combat performance is outstripped by several of their new vehicles. This means the once proud 'Lith has been relegated to Apocalypse battles. Good job, [[Matt Ward]].<br />
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Necron infantry are generally slow moving, hard hitting, much like the Space Marines, if the Space Marine infantry units had Feel No Pain as part of their base rules and they forgot to take drop pods or transport vehicles. The Necrons back this with annoying deep-strikers and fast-moving units that are designed to support the main advance. There is nothing - I repeat - NOTHING, scarier than a Necron player with almost-cheating luck. But they all look like skellingtons and some of them wear the meat of their victims, they're MEANT to be scary.<br />
<br />
===7th Edition===<br />
The first thing people noticed about 7E is the Necrons got back their amazing glancing powers with Gauss. This causes squees among the playerbase. Seriously, if gauss weapons were this effective in [[X-COM]]: Terror From the Deep, players would be tugging themselves off about them.<br />
<br />
The other big change to their army is the changes made to the Reanimation Protocols (RP). Now instead of being a means of bringing everything back from the dead, it's reduced to a FNP-alike that comes after all armor saves, except it can be used against ID (Though at -1 penalty). Resurrection Orbs now give you a turn's worth of rerolls for RP. Taking a postmark identity from a once cool army a revealing the Inquisitions plan all along to destroy the necrons by giving them a personality, destroying the Star Gods and when nobody is looking taking away the we'll be back. There are some other changes (MSS now useless, Wraiths now Beasts,<s> Crypteks losing everything fun</s>, Destroyers are Jetpack Infantry), but these are the ones that changed the most.<br />
<br />
But the single most trolltastic weapon the Necron player has on hand is the one that doesn't even involve buying a central unit: The Decurion FOC. Simply put, this is an entire formation made of Formations, with a central one giving room for warriors, Immortals, Tomb Blades, Monolith, and a central Overlord, while giving options like the good ol' Royal Court, a formation for Canoptek-flavored cheese, a formation for Triarchs, and all be counted as Battle-Forged. The biggest change this brought was that, due to each individual component being technically a formation in it's own right, this lets you field some hilariously broken shit and still counts as battleforged; want to take nothing but wraiths and spyders backed by doomscythes? now you can and watch your opponent tears flow like the nile.<br />
<br />
===8th Edition===<br />
The gauss flayers are 24" rapid fire at ap-1, and the blaster is ap-2. Living metal is also an automatic wound recovery. Monoliths have 20 wounds, and can once again suck people into its gaping maw. Reanimation Protocols are now taken at the beginning of the user turn, and on a 5+ a model that has died is returned... no matter how long ago it got offed, no matter how many previous times you've rolled for it, as long as the unit isn't wiped out you can roll for it. Mortal Wounds can kiss Necron's collective shiny metal asses. So far, Cronz are gonna be just as durable and scary as they once were. <br />
<br />
Reanimation Protocols: Roll a D6 for each slain model from this unit (unless the whole unit has been completely destroyed) at the beginning of your turn. On a 5+ return the model to the unit. This can happen in EVERY subsequent phase. So if a warrior dies turn 1, you roll turn 2,3,4,5 and so on until its back or the unit is destroyed.<br />
<br />
Living Metal: At the beginning of your turn, this model recovers 1 Wound lost earlier in battle. Characters and Vehicles benefit from this rule.<br />
<br />
Powers of the C'Tan: Before the battle begins, generate the Powers of the C'tan for each C'tan Shard using the following table. You can either roll a D3 to generate their powers randomly (re-rolling duplicates) or you can select the powers you with the C'tan shard to have. -(Why they have both options is beyond me)<br />
<br />
-1: Antimatter Meteor: Roll a D6; on a 2+ the closest enemy unit within 24" of the C'tan Shard suffers D3 mortal wounds<br />
<br />
-2: Time's Arrow: Pick a visible enemy unit within 24" of the C'tan Shard and roll a D6. If the result is higher than that unit's Wounds <br />
characteristic, one model from that unit is slain.<br />
<br />
-3: Seismic Assault: Roll a D6 for each model in the closest enemy unit within 24" of the C'tan Shard. For each roll of 6, that unit suffers <br />
a mortal wound.<br />
<br />
HQ's<br />
Common Abilities:<br />
ResOrb: If this Model has a ResOrb, once per battle, immediately after you have made your RP rolls, you can make RP rolls for models from a friendly <Dynasty> Infantry unit within 3" of this model.<br />
Phase Shifter: 4+ Invuln<br />
[[Tomb Kings|My Will Be Done]] (either GW is throwing Tomb Kings fans a bone or making a jab at us/them): At the beginning of each of your turns, choose a friendly <Dynasty> Infantry unit within 6" of this model. You can add 1 to the Advance, charge and hit rolls of that unit until the beginning of your next turn. A unit can only be affected by this ability once in each turn.<br />
<br />
Imotekh the Stormlord:<br />
<br />
Overlord: 7 Points<br />
M 5"/ WS 2+/ BS 2+/ S5/ T5/ W5/ A3/ Ld10/ Sv3+<br />
Equipped with Staff of Light, Living Metal, Phase Shifter<br />
Can take any Melee<br />
May take ResOrb<br />
My Will Be Done<br />
<br />
8th edition necrons are also almost impossible to shift from morale with army wide Ld10. The changes to vehicles have nerfed Gauss weapons into oblivion though, as although absolutely everything is now capable of wounding vehicles, the amount of wounds needed plus the low chance of wounding at all results in you needing hundreds of shots to destroy them.<br />
<br />
== How to Fight (and play) the Necrons ==<br />
[[File:Hitler hates the Necrons.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Hitler doesn't know how to counter his ol' pal Churchill's Necrons with his Imperial Guard. Maybe because he insists on using tanks.]]<br />
If you want real in-depth strategies, take a gander at [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Necrons|the Tactica]]. This is just an overview about some of the ways Trollcrons can be cheese.<br />
<br />
Too many people whine about how broken this faction is, so I'm just going to leave this here.<br />
<br />
Necron troops tend to be effective engaging from maximum range. Deployed in large hordes Necron Warriors are perhaps the single hardest basic troops to shift in the entire game. Only the heaviest fusillades or the very worst luck can wipe them out. Hearing such squads survive round after round after round of small arms fire is far from unusual. When you find yourself facing such a gunline, focus your fire to bring down a group at a time, ensuring it's completely gone, or close to melee range. Immortals are more expensive, but less numerous: focus your fire on their smaller squads, making sure to finish the squad. Pay careful attention to which weapon they're carrying: Gauss Blasters are AP4 Rapid Fire (better at medium range and against vehicles or your 4+ infantry), while Tesla Carbines are AP- assault (better at further range against blobs where the AP- doesn't mean shit when you're chaining up Tesla hits).<br />
<br />
[[File:A Silent King.jpg|300px|thumb|left|Quick, pretend to be a statue and he might just think you're a suit of armor. If that doesn't work, <s>run like hell</s> just outwalk it. But don't let him shank your chaos-worshipping ass with his Staff O'Doom.]]<br />
<br />
The HQs on this faction tend to be bad news up close (Overlords, Trazyn), support engines (Imotekh, Zahndrekk, Szeras, the crypteks), or both (Anrakyr, Obyron, Orikan). They're quite strong, and often pack S7 AP2 Armorbane weapons called Warscythes. If your idea of winning melee is hitting a group with a bunch of cultists and one CSM lord, you might want to reconsider it, as a Necron Overlord with just a warscythe has decent odds of killing your warlord and mopping up the melee. Instead, target the unescorted units with no HQs, crypteks, or regular lords. Necron Warriors and Immortals usually won't charge out to meet you, so don't worry too much about their counter-charge unless you see Wraiths, Lychguard, Praetorians, or Anrakyr across the field, in which case stay the '''hell''' out of the way unless you're sure you want that fight. When you see a Cryptek in a group of warriors, assume he's got something nasty, and ask what it is. He's likely a high-priority target, but only if you can pick him out from his escort (precision shots are your friends here). Don't be afraid to get into melee with a Cryptek, as most of them are meat there. Challenge them out and go to town.<br />
<br />
Necron Elites are a mixed bag, typically filling gaps in the primary lineup. Triarch Stalkers are high-priority targets, as they support and amplify the already formidible Necron shooting phase. [[Tarpit]] them, or employ maximum-power weapons to take advantage of their open-topped stat-line. Deathmarks drop onto the field and annihilate singular targets or pick off specialists with sniper salvos that wound on a 2+ when they arrive. Spread your squads out to make deep-striking hazardous, and be prepared to charge into melee with the deathmarks when they arrive. Better yet, try to refrain from reserves and make their purchase useless. Lychguard aren't all they're cracked up to be: they're melee killers with T5, AP 2 or 3 weapons, and two attacks base. Combat them with overwhelming numbers, or AP3 blast weapons (a Leman Russ Battle Tank can recoup its cost in one shot against a group of Lychguard). C'tan shards are very expensive Pokemon with a few randomized powers; yeah, where most races have psykers to waste cards on, you waste cards on C'tan powers you roll each turn you fire. You'll rarely see a Praetorian on the tabletop, but they're jump-assaulting elite fighters held back by the same terrible initiative all the Necrons have. Don't be too worried, they're easily swarmed or shot down by AP3 or better weapons. Their incredibly specific niche is 2+ troops with unwieldy weapons and no invulnerable saves, which they'll roll pretty easily. Sadly for you, Flayed Ones are now not shit, especially against 5+ stuff like guard. Target them just like you do Necron Warriors, and try not to enter melee until you're sure you'll win.<br />
<br />
Most of the really scary toys in the Necron lineup come from Fast Attack. Scarabs are swarms of T3 monsters that turn vehicles into mulch. If you have vehicles, these are priority one targets, even over things like Lychguard or Heavy Destroyers. They're swift and will routinely kill a Leman Russ in one round with only one or two bases. Utilize high-strength and/or blast weapons (if you've got both, even better). Destroyers are quick elite-infantry or vehicle killers. Both kinds have Preferred Enemy (everything!), so they're great at fighting marines (for the regular destroyers) or terminators/vehicles (for the heavy type). Their weakness is small squads: prioritize these with autocannons or other moderate-strength weapons. Tomb Blades aren't particularly worrying for their cost: engage with small arms and prioritize them below most other targets. Wraiths are fearsome fighters: as Beasts with two wounds, and 3++ makes them hard to stop while S6, A3, and rending mean you cannot afford to ignore them. Try to stall their approach, and overwhelm them with a hail of lighter gunfire. Don't try to flatten the whole group with a battle cannon shot the way you do Necron Warriors, as they'll save out and keep moving (fearless). Unlike most Necron units these can't reanimate unless in a Canoptek Harvest Formation, so you can safely grind them down with bolters, lasguns, or other light weapons.<br />
<br />
Necron heavy supports are tenacious, but most follow the 'shielded, open-topped AV11' archetype, like the Annihilation Barge and the Ghost Ark. Target vehicles like this by focusing high-strength weapons on them to crack their shields. Don't screw around here: if you don't have S8+ weapons, don't even bother. Autocannons would be better spent putting down more vulnerable targets. Once their shields are down bring out the rest of your more moderate weapons to finish the job. Shields don't grow back, but Necron units can shrug off shaken and stunned results, so just like you'd finish off warrior groups make sure you finish off Barges and Arks. These things come in several flavors: Ghost Arks rebuild Warriors (and only warriors, not Immortals), Doomsday Arks fire S10 AP1 large blasts if still, or S8 AP3 small blasts if they moved, Annihilation Barges spew autocannon-esque lightning, and Catacomb Command Barges fly a Lord around the battle cutting people up. Canoptek Spyders are tough, cheap monstrous critters with T6, 3+, and W3. If your foe fields a set of scarabs look for the spyders behind them: those spyders can build more scarabs as long as you haven't wiped out the whole scarab swarm. They're tough to crack: at T6 they're extremely hard to swarm down. Try to keep them at range and leverage your best anti-tank weapons. The Monolith deserves special mention, with all-round AV14. If you don't have meltas, lances, or other really good anti-armor weapons just ignore them: they hardly care about any vehicle damage table results except Explodes, and their offense isn't impressive for their cost. Try to spread out to make their teleportation fail, as for no adequately-explained reason they are completely susceptible to deep-strike failures.<br />
<br />
Necron fliers were the shit just after 6th edition came out. All of a sudden their reasonably effective fast skimmers became seriously difficult to slay, and kept all of their abilities. As it stands today most serious armies bring anti-air as a matter of course, and if you do as well you should be in good shape to hold off the <s>Croissants</s> Scythes. Both Night <s>Croissants</s> Scythes (a flying dedicated transport) and Death <s>Croissants</s> Scythes (a tank-shredding air-to-ground fighter) are very fairly cost-effective for their weapons and have AV 11. Neither one should be ignored: a Night Scythe can deposit its infantry payload without slowing to a hover, the twin tesla-destructors on either aircraft are excellent at anti-air and anti-ground alike, and the Death Scythe's Death Ray ([[awesome|yes, that's what it's called]]) is one of the most effective tank-killers outside of Apocalypse. If you find yourself facing a large group of these without solid anti-air you may be in serious trouble: run for cover and turn everything S6+ you've got skyward. Part of the controversy about these fliers seems to be the cash-grab surrounding their concept, as all the best anti-air weapons are new models or fliers themselves (or both). In all fairness, if your opponent does field six or eight scythes in a regular army without warning you beforehand... he'll probably win. Please don't be [[that guy]]. If you do find yourself playing against [[that guy]], prioritize the Doom Scythes first and fire everything you've got. They're much more dangerous to your ground-based anti-air, and if you can't suppress them with vehicle damage table results you're likely to lose the ability to retaliate within a round or two.<br />
<br />
Thanks to IA12 and the recent 7th Ed Flyer rules, Necrons have the most broken aerial assault units in the fucking game. Enter the Nightshroud Bomber. This bastard can drop a Strength 10 AP 1 pie plate on whatever you don't like, and it's a goddamn ''bomber''. So that shit happens before your opponent even gets a chance to intercept. And with 12/12/12 armour and 4 fucking hull points, it is very unlikely that they will even be able to do that.<br />
<br />
Hey Space Marines players, you call those Terminators? Let's take them to school (one bomb later) there they go, motherfuckers! Send it in with a couple (of dozen) Doom Scythes and let the rape begin!<br />
<br />
==In Battlefleet Gothic==<br />
[[File:Tomb Forever.jpg|370px|right|thumb|The egyptians build the pyramids to get closer to the gods. The Necrons already got to their gods, used them to their own advantage and killed them. They build their pyramids because why not.]]<br />
They are still totally fucking overpowered in [[Battlefleet Gothic]] though; their cruisers can crush many other race's battleships without much trouble. Although with the discontinuation of BFG by GW, the number of Necron fleets available for sale is now finite and thus the number of assholes who play them. Unless you find a [https://www.shapeways.com/marketplace/?tag=battlefleet%2Bgothic company] that can use 3D printers to make any model you want for [http://games-workshop.com/ too much]. [[Just As Planned]]<br />
<br />
==In Roleplay==<br />
Necrons are the ultimate Bad News, any Master can (and would) drop on his party if they get overconfident, forcing even high level Deathwatch and Chaos Marines to shit their power pants, as 'Crons combine near-marine power level with numbers and determination.<br />
<br />
==Reasons to be a Necron==<br />
* You look like fabulously gaudy gilded Space Egyptian Robot.<br />
* You are already dead and nigh-indestructible, so only entertainment matters.<br />
* You have lots of dakka. Still doesn't match Imperial Artillery and [[Tau|Happy Campers]] though.<br />
* You have lots of cheese and quirky rules with which to infuriate your opponent. Praise the [[Spiritual Liege]]!<br />
* [[Cronssant]]s, bitches! Between this and all the teleporting units, you can be more mobile than the fucking Dark Eldar.<br />
* You are <strike>arguably</strike> the most technologically advanced race in the history of 40K, and you did it all without use of the warp for cheats. Give yourself a pat on the back.<br />
* You have one of the [[Trazyn| best canonical trolls]] of the whole 40k franchise.<br />
* Egyptian mummy robots playing space chess: Minimum [[Grimdark]], maximum fun!<br />
* Your color scheme is Black and Green, and we know [[Ork| how awesome those color schemes are]].<br />
* The new canon gives you virtually limitless chances to create your own [[Phaeron]] and give it [[Your dudes|whatever kind of quirks you may like]].<br />
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIj7gIDFDe4 Remember how awesome General Grievous was the first time he appeared?] That's how Necron Overlords fight in fluff, up to the point they could bring low heavyweights like [[Cato Sicarius]], or 2 CSM Lords in Terminator Armour and their retinue at ''the same time'' if "Fall of Damnos" or the [[Word Bearers]] novels are any indication.<br />
* Remember when Bender from ''Futurama'' was a Pharaoh, yep that's pretty much how Overlords are now.<br />
* You have literal star gods as pets. STAR GODS. Praise the [[Spiritual Liege]]!<br />
<br />
==Reasons to NOT be a Necron==<br />
* You have no soul.<br />
* You're not Grimdark Machine Death March of Doom anymore.<br />
** Well, maybe you are, depending on what Phaeron you serve. The Silent King's wimpy "let's all turn back into squishy mortals" whining only affects about half the Necrons.<br />
* You will be highly hated due to the amount of cheese in your units. Though this does [[Grey Knights|have]] [[Eldar|an]] [[Tau|allure]] of its own.<br />
* [[Matt Ward|The Unholy Beast]] has handled your race with his touch. Although to your credit, the fluff isn't [[Grey Knights|Ward Knights]]-tier terrible. At least we got Pokémon out of the deal. Right, guys? ... Guys?<br />
* You cannot differentiate the wimminz and the manz, so you will accept the risks.<br />
** Unless you want to bang your leaders. [[Kor Phaeron|Phaeron]] is the title for male Necrons, Phaerakh is the title for female Necrons.<br />
*Thanks to [[Matt Ward|The Great Beast]] you can't be friends with Thomas Macabee anymore.<br />
* If you're an Oldcrons fan, you're never quite going to get the army you want because the C'tan have been glorified Pokémon for two whole editions and there's no signs of going back to the old fluff ([[Your Dudes|Though that's not to say there aren't any, and Skynet-stlye Necrons still canonically exist as well, so there's hope.]])<br />
* You have no penis <strike>/vagina</strike>- Lets be honest, if you're on this page you don't have a vagina. At least until [[Slaanesh]] finds you.<br />
<br />
==Novels and stories featuring the Necrons==<br />
Here is a list with a small synopsis of publications by [[Black Library]] and GeeDubs which feature them, '''before you start adding, remember, Necrons must not only be mentioned, but actually appear in the story,''' feel free to add new items and follow the alphabetic order:<br />
*'''Ambition Knows No Bounds:''' Rogue Trader trying to plunder a Necron Tomb World.<br />
*'''But Dust in the Wind:''' Imperial Fists vs Necrons, enuff said!<br />
*'''Cain's Last Stand:''' Chronologically the last novel of Commissar [[Ciaphas Cain]], the Necrons appear later in the novel.<br />
*'''Caves of Ice:''' Cain and the Valhallan 597th are sent to an ice planet to defend a refinery from an ork horde, but an ugly surprise awaits below the installations.<br />
*'''Cold Steel:''' renegade imperial guard attempts to escape penal moon while there is a three-side war between the 'crons, space marines and khornates, featuring a [[Tesseract Vault]].<br />
*'''Damnos:''' Ultramarines vs Necrons, features some Necrons POV, as well as the Ultramarines commanded by Cato Sicarius, if you don't like the Ultramarines, this may be the novel for you!<br />
*'''Dark Creed:''' Word Bearers vs Astartes Praeses, the Necrons come in the later part of the novel, a great portrayal of how they are actually totally scary and overpowered.<br />
*'''Dead Men Walking:''' Death-korps of Krieg vs Necrons, the novel has an extremely grim tone as it puts a lot of focus on the civilians caught in the campaign, and shows a lot of Krieg jerkassery, don't get too attached to any of the main characters and no Krieg-chan for you!<br />
*'''Echoes of the Tomb''': One of the earliest novels of Ciaphas Cain, and the origin of his fear of the Necrons.<br />
*'''Fabius Bile- Clone Lord:''' Sequel to the first novel focusing on everyone's favorite clone fetishist [[Fabius Bile]], this one has him continuing his search for a way to cure himself. Specifically involving him going to a forgotten planet in the eastern fringe called [[Trazyn the Infinite|Solemence]]... <br />
*'''Flayed:''' [[Death Spectres]] evacuate civilians from a world that gets attacked by Flayed Ones every few years. Not what you expect going in.<br />
*'''Hammer & Anvil:''' Sisters of Battle get slaughtered by the necrons and... wait! Are they fighting back? And they are actually competent? quite a nice read and gives the Sisters a lot of street cred back.<br />
*'''Hellforged:''' 5th novel in the Soul Drinkers series by Ben Counter, a very good take on OldCrons that makes them genuinely terrifying, also includes awesome Mechanicus and Space Marines action.<br />
*'''Imperial Armour Volume Twelve - The Fall of Orpheus:''' a Forgeworld book about the totally badass and horrifying [[Maynarkh Dynasty]] vs the Minotaurs and the Death-Korps of Krieg, overall an extremely cool, if expensive, book.<br />
*'''Infinite Circuit:''' A small story about a Cult Mechanicus procession getting their hands on a C'tan shard and the Deathwatch paying a visit to see what's going on.<br />
*'''Nightbringer:''' Ultramarines vs Dark Eldar and Human traitors rushing to get to the crypt of the [[Nightbringer]], or perhaps it's just a shard.<br />
*'''Shield of Baal: Devourer:''' Necrons POV! Featuring Anrakyr the Traveler trying to seize a tomb-world and some Necron dynasty nobles trying to flee a Flayed-Ones overran crypt-complex, also, Blood Angels and Tyranids.<br />
*'''Shield of Baal: Exterminatus:''' campaign book featuring Anrakyr and the Mephrit Dynasty, teaming up with the Imperium to contain Hivefleet Leviathan, minimun oldcrons, maximun newcrons acting like Tomb Kings in space.<br />
*'''Spear of Macragge:''' Ultramarines tanks vs Necrons, as well as some Ultramarines internal politicking.<br />
*'''The Gathering Storm: Fall of Cadia:''' Trazyn decides to play the hero and help the imperials fend off Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade assault on Cadia.<br />
*'''The Lords of Borsis:''' The preview for the World-Engine novel, featuring a Necron coup d'etat.<br />
*'''The Word of the Silent King:''' The Silent King himself dealing with the Blood Angels, it seems the old Necron monarch has been acquaintances with Sanguinius himself.<br />
*'''The World Engine:''' also known as <s>one of</s> the coolest Space Marines novel ever, it narrates the fight between the Astral Knights and the Necron dynasty from Borsis, if you liked the entry in the Codex, go for it!<br />
*'''The Infinite Tableau:''' A trio of Deathwatch lead a team of Inquisitorial troopers to an ice-bound moon in search of missing Adeptus Mechanicus explorators. Following their trail into ancient caverns, the Deathwatch find a bunch of necrons waiting to kill them all!<br />
*'''Warhammer Adventures: Attack of the Necron:''' Small children without guns versus the Necrons. We all know how this is going to [[rape|end.]] <br />
<br />
==See Also==<br />
* [[Tomb Kings]] and [[Vampire Counts]] for their [[Warhammer Fantasy]] equivalents (fun fact: both armies used to be one single Undead army full of mysterious motives and EVULZ, and as such the current state of Necrons is more of a step back to roots than being outright "new". Also oldcrons, minus Vampire dickery, are pretty much just Vampire Counts like Newcrons are basically just Tomb kings).<br />
* [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Necrons(8E)|Their tactics]] - Someone forgot to add that shit<br />
* [[Assholetep]] - A Necron Overlord of insufferable dickheadedness<br />
* Lolcron, a popular Necron [[drawfag]].<br />
* [[False Immortality]]<br />
* [[Heavy-chan]]<br />
* [[Lolicron]]<br />
* [[Lovecron]]<br />
* [[Papalith]]<br />
* [[Shanako]]<br />
* [[Imotekh the Stormlord]] - The de facto most powerful Necron ever.<br />
* [[Silent King]] - THE most powerful Necron ever.<br />
* [[Nemesor Zandrekh]], known for being both a total bro and completely senile.<br />
* [[Thri-Kreen Erotica|Trazyn the--]] Goddamn it! That link was a fake! Curse you [[Trazyn the Infinite|Trollzyn]]!!!!<br />
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q2e8lnqwwk Their theme from Dawn of War].<br />
* [[Æonic Orb]]<br />
<br />
==Gallery==<br />
<center><gallery><br />
Image:1228731983317.jpg|Suddenly, [[dreadknight|Monoliths just got even more]] awesome.<br />
Image:1204274003601.jpg|[[Angry Marines]] can really fuck your shit up.<br />
Image:1208121844297.jpg|Necron players are well-known for their carefully planned tactics of "[[Wallhammer|move-shoot-move-shoot]]".<br />
Image:1208122137113.jpg|Thanks to Matt Ward this is now canon. Give thanks to our spiritual liege for Thaszar the Invincible!<br />
Image:274.jpg|IN THE GRIM DARKNESS OF THE 41ST MILLENNIUM, THE ARGUMENT STILL RAGES<br />
Image:1208122702531.jpg|Here we see the humble [[Drawfag|Lolcron]], irritably drawing away.<br />
Image:1229675685738.jpg|<br />
Image:Lolicron05.jpg|Lolcron and lolicron - know the difference! Ya, ones a sex doll... Still tap dat ass though!<br />
Image:Necron_by_Android_Arts.jpg|No.<br />
Image:591.jpg|<br />
Image:Thrillercrons.jpg|''The funk of 40,000 years.''<br />
Image:Nodrawtoday.jpg|[[Drawfag|Lolcron]] is a lazy bum these days.<br />
Image:lolcrontroll.jpg|Necron update 2011 in a nutshell. <br />
File:Pariah Lee.jpg|The Necron's ace in the hole.<br />
Image:Lolcron1.jpg|Damn space commies.<br />
Image:Lolcron2.jpg|''Goddamnit.''<br />
File:1304191380926.jpg|Ah, the early weakling 5th-ed + OP 7th-ed buddies.<br />
Image:Taucronxeno .jpg|This is what we call a xeno double-down.<br />
Image:Monolith song.jpg|Monoliths are known to inspire great songs.<br />
Image:StupidSexyFlayed.jpg|Flayed Ones are adept at finding ways to maintain a nice figure.<br />
File:Stormlord.jpg|Phaeron Imotekh in all his egotistic glory.<br />
File:Cult2.jpg<br />
Image:Necron_motivator.JPG<br />
File:Shenanigans.jpg<br />
File:Necron skeleton.PNG| [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2rwxs1gH9w Spooky Scary Necrons, send shivers down your spine]<br />
File:Rising.jpg| Hmmmm....What is taking Ol'Zandrekh so them long for our Necron flaying party?<br />
File:245433.jpg|C'tan-chan will suck your soul out through your urethra and she won't even touch your dick.<br />
File:Female necron by lutherniel-dbhnh4t.jpg|A more realistic looking female Necron. Considering that only nobility could have their bodies shaped into how they were in life, she's definitively at least a Necron Lord/Lady.<br />
File:Necron-characters.jpg|Go, Go, Necron Rangers...<br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy.PNG| Necrons in the galaxy<br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy segmentum solar.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Segmentum_Solar|Segmentum Solar]]<br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy segmentum obscurus.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Segmentum_Obscurus|Segmentum Obscurus]]<br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy segmentum tempestus.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Segmentum_Tempestus|Segmentum Tempestus]] <br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy ultima segmentum.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Ultima_Segmentum|Northern Ultima Segmentum]] <br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy ultima segmentum 2.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Ultima_Segmentum|Southern Ultima Segmentum]] <br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy segmentum pacificus.PNG| Necrons in the [[Segmentum#Segmentum_Pacificus|Segmentum Pacificus]]<br />
File:Necron dynasty map galaxy sautekh.PNG| Territory of the [[Imotekh the Stormlord|Sautekh Dynasty]]<br />
File:Necron_with_booty_by_S_Socrates.jpg|With booty<br />
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==Navigation==<br />
{{Necrons-Forces}}<br />
{{WH40k-Factions}}<br />
{{Template:Important Species in 40k}}<br />
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[[Category:Xenos]]</div>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBDhttp://2d4chan.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Cronssant&diff=154945Cronssant2019-10-23T00:00:12Z<p>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBD: </p>
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<div>{{Wh40k-stub}}<br />
[[File:Necron Night Scythe Cronssant.jpg|300px|thumb|Silly? Yes. But then so was [[Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader|Rogue Trader]], in an [[Awesome]] way.]]<br />
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'''Cronssant''' is a colloquial name for the [[Necron]] flyers introduced in [[Matt Ward]]'s 5th edition [[Codex]] for [[Warhammer 40,000]], the [[Night Scythe]] and [[Doom Scythe]]. They are referred thusly because they look like giant, flying, metal croissants (the delicious French pastry!) and they were overpowered enough to be considered [[cheese]], making the nickname even more fitting. <br />
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<strike>Yes, we agree it's a stupid name.</strike> {{BLAM|BLAM!}} We all agree it's a great name.<br />
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[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]<br />
[[Category:Necrons]]<br />
[[Category:Meme]]</div>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBDhttp://2d4chan.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Cronssant&diff=154944Cronssant2019-10-23T00:00:00Z<p>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBD: </p>
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<div>{{Wh40k-stub}}<br />
[[File:Necron Night Scythe Cronssant.jpg|300px|thumb|Silly? Yes. But then so was [[Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader|Rogue Trader]], in an [[Awesome]] way.]]<br />
<br />
'''Cronssant''' is a colloquial name for the [[Necron]] flyers introduced in [[Matt Ward]]'s 5th edition [[Codex]] for [[Warhammer 40,000]], the [[Night Scythe]] and [[Doom Scythe]]. They are referred thusly because they look like giant, flying, metal croissants (the delicious French pastry!) and they were overpowered enough to be considered [[cheese]], making the nickname even more fitting. <br />
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<strike>Yes, we agree it's a stupid name.</strike> {{BLAM|BLAM!}} We all agree it's a great name.<br />
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Which, you have to agree, is [[Awesome]] in a distinctly [[Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader|Rogue Trader]]-y way.<br />
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[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]<br />
[[Category:Necrons]]<br />
[[Category:Meme]]</div>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBDhttp://2d4chan.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=40K_Rules_Blooper_Reel&diff=426240K Rules Blooper Reel2019-10-22T22:26:59Z<p>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBD: /* 3nd Edition */</p>
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<div>{{Fail}}<br />
<br />
GW has a history of failing to make rules that work, whether intentional or otherwise. This page is meant to compile all the classic examples of...[[derp|unintended]] [[fail|hilarity]] of GW ruleswriting throughout 40k. The worst offenses, of course, became tactics like [[Screamerstar]] or [[Fish of Fury]].<br />
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==2nd Edition==<br />
*'''Derp From Above:''' Ramming rules for vehicles were the 2nd ed predecessor to Tank Shock. Units in the vehicle's direct path had to take Initiative tests to avoid being damaged, before being displaced the shortest possible distance. When a vehicle Rammed another vehicle, it came to a halt. The real comedy was dealing with the Lifta Droppa or D-Cannons, which could lift or teleport enemy units respectively. [[Derp|2nd ed had no resolution for what happened after one vehicle rammed another vehicle below it]]. [[Skub|While some players would displace the smaller vehicle as though it were a non-vehicle, others might keep the two vehicles joined together like an improvised Voltron]].<br />
*'''Polymorphine:''' This little wargear card was not restricted to [[Callidus]] [[Assassin]]s at first, any Imperial character with a free wargear slot could take it. It allowed said character to start the game disguised as a member of a troop squad. Queue endless instances of severe [[rape]] when what looked like a mere [[Imperial Guard|guardsman]] with a [[Lasgun|flashlight]] actually turned out to be a Terminator-armour clad [[Space Marine]] hero (for instance). Fun times.<br />
*'''Mask of Jain Zar:''' Similar to the Polymorphine problem, the second edition Eldar codex printed wargear cards for Eldar Phoenix Lords that simply read "Eldar Only," meaning any Eldar character could borrow Jain Zar's outfit and gain a Howling Banshee's ability to paralyze an opponent on the charge. Commonly used by Swooping Hawk Exarchs to insta-kill any target on the board.<br />
*'''Virus Outbreak''': A stratagem card from the Dark Millenium box that was... interesting, to say the least. Basically you threw down a 2" pie anywhere on the table, with anything beneath it not explicitly stated to be immune dying on a 3+. That was already pretty good, but worse when a model was killed, every other model not immune that was within d6 inches would have to test, dying on a 4+ and recursively requiring every other model within d6 inches to test not to die on a 4+. [[Rape|Guess it sucks]] to play [[Imperial Guard]], [[Ork]]s or [[Tyranids]], huh? (Hint: it sucked so hard the writers went so far as to recommend players tear up their Virus Outbreak cards since they hadn't intended on it being so grossly overpowered.)<br />
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==3nd Edition==<br />
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3rd edition was the shining peak of 40k, combining maximum [[grimdark]] with a sensible, diverse ruleset. Do yourself a favor and buy yourself a 3rd ed rulebook and codex instead of supporting the current, broken game.<br />
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==4th Edition==<br />
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*'''Snikrot Shuffle:''' Boss Snikrot was made a unit upgrade for Kommandos, giving his unit the ability to appear from any table edge through "Behind Enemy Lines." However, due to the way Behind Enemy Lines was worded, Snikrot was granting the unit the ability, rather than the unit itself being upgraded to have the ability. Thus, although arguably unintentional, it became legal to use Snikrot to "smuggle" decidedly unsneaky Ork Characters alongside him; one must imagine they were carrying the Boss's Bike Fred Flintstone-style.<br />
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*'''Squad Broken!''': Units stopped scoring if they were below half strength. While this made little difference on 10 or 20-man infantry units, it made quite a bit of difference if you were taking vehicle squads. Players would deliberately take odd-numbered squad sizes to increase the threshold for half.<br />
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*'''Tau Piñata:''' The Tau Orca was billed as being a super-heavy flyer that specialized in deploying most of an army anywhere across the board, due to a special rule that allowed it to disembark multiple squads at any point in its move (drop some off, move to the next point, repeat). The problem was that it could hold units so huge and had only one access point (its rear ramp) that if the units it carried were at their maximum size, they were too large to be deployed normally since all the models could not all be placed within 2" of the access point. This in turn meant the only way for the Tau player to get their troops on the board was to [[derp|hope the enemy player blew up the Orca in midair, and hope the troops inside landed on their feet and didn't face-plant and burst on the ground like the blueberries they were.]] Given the armour value of the vehicle (Rhino armour) and how easy it was to destroy, this ended up happening more often than not, and started the trend of the Orca being a useless piece of shit that was a flying deathtrap to anyone inside of it. Funnily enough this issue with the Orca remained unfixed all the way through 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th edition.<br />
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==5th Edition==<br />
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*'''Musical Wounds:''' 5th edition wound allocation stated that you had to distribute wounds as evenly as possible between all models in a unit before it rolled for saves. In theory this meant that if you did a lot of wounds at once, you could force your opponent to risk losing Sergeants or hidden Special Weapons. In practice, Musical Wounds combined with multi-wound units led to a phenomenon where players would give each model a unique loadout, so that you effectively had to deal the model's unit worth of unsaved wounds before said unit removed any casualties. The two most notable example units that abused this mechanic were Nob Bikers and Grey Knight Paladins, though Thunderwolves and even Dark Eldar Grotesques could join in the fun.<br />
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*'''You won't need Eyes When You're Raging:''' 5th Edition introduced True Line of Sight, with the stipulation that infantry models had to measure Line of Sight "from the eyes." Tyrant Guard had a special rule that they would suffer from Rage if the Hive Tyrant they were protecting died. Unfortunately, Rage as written stated you had to move towards the closest "visible" enemy unit, which RAW was impossible for Tyrant Guard since they don't actually have eyes.<br />
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*'''Selective Warp Field:''' This one was a formatting goof, but when Codex Tyranids came out, the rules for Warp Fields stated that "A Zoanthrope with a Warp Field has a 3+ Invulnerable Save." The Doom of Malan'tai had a Warp Field but was not explicitly stated to be a Zoanthrope (this is one area where Keywords would have helped). Thus, until GW actually FAQ'd it, people could argue that the Doom didn't actually get an Invulnerable Save (and INAT ruled as such until the GW FAQ overturned it).<br />
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*'''Crouching Wraithlord, Leaping Ork Boy''': Since True Line of Sight also did not come with any real restrictions against "modelling for advantage," players initially sought to exploit this by heavily modding or basing figures. Comedically, Canis Wolfborn gained an extra attack for each model in base-to-base with him, and the rules stated "if you're thinking of modelling Canis on a really large base to take advantage of this, don't." This wasn't a formal restriction against basing however. In the meantime, legs were snipped to give upright poses and models raised high overhead to give the best lines of fire. The Eldar Wraithlord became one of the most notable offenders, being popularly modded into a crouching or "prone" position to lower its height and make it easier to acquire 50% cover (It did deliver some pretty boss looking conversions, though, so it wasn't all bad).<br />
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*'''By Any Means, Indeed:''' Inquisitor Lord Karamazov came back with a vengeance in Codex: Grey Knights. Although his statline was reduced from Strength/Toughness 6 to Strength/Toughness 5, he became an Independent Character and thus could be hidden in a unit. However, his main abilities were that he granted a bubble of morale/pinning rerolls, while having an Orbital Strike Relay and the ability '''By Any Means Necessary:''' Karamazov could center an Orbital Strike over any friendly model, even one engaged in melee, and it would not Scatter. Although fluffed as an "in extremis" ability to prevent the Grey Knights from being overrun by offensive hordes, a more amusing trick came into play when comboed with Grey Knight Interceptors: Interceptors had the ability to Shunt, letting them move 30" in exchange for not being able to assault. A Lance had a blast radius of 1.5 inches, and squad coherency was two inches. [[derp|However, in 5th, it explicitly operated at full strength even with partials. Thus, a common trick was to Shunt Interceptors so one sacrificial Grey Knight could tag two enemy tanks]]; [[Tallarn|for fun, model said Interceptor with a suicide vest going "Emprah Akbar!"]]<br />
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==6th Edition==<br />
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*'''Grumblegrumble Stupid Chariot:''' The 6th edition Burning Chariot of Tzeentch was introduced as a Skimmer Chariot, fast and fragile and meant to act akin to a Daemon Land Speeder of a sort. Unfortunately, the actual ranged weapons were on the Exalted Flamer atop the whole Chariot, which was not Relentless. Thus, the Chariot had to move or shoot, which was a death sentence for such a fragile ride (7th fortunately made them Relentless).<br />
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*'''Dude, Where's My Bomb?:''' The 6th ed Sunshark Bomber had a Pulse Bomb Generator: Whenever the Sunshark successfully makes a Bombing Run, you could roll a D6, and on a 2+, you got a bomb back. [[Derp|Unfortunately, the Sunshark as written didn't actually start with a Pulse Bomb]].[[Fail|This issue remained unfixed in the 7th edition reprint]] until being FAQed.<br />
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*'''Interceptor Drones Don't:''' Adding further insult to injury, the Sunshark Bomber came with two Interceptor Drones, that had Skyfire and the Interceptor rule. However, the way Intercept was worded, [[derp|it only worked if the weapon itself had Intercept; there was no wording for the model itself having Intercept.]] [[wat|The Early Warning Override was specifically worded that "all weapons on a model with an Early Warning Override have the Intercept special rule" to avoid this]], [[fail| so any Crisis Suit could be upgraded to intercept, but an Interceptor Drone RAW could not Intercept.]] [[RAGE|This was un-FAQed throughout both 6th and 7th]].<br />
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*'''Thermonuclear Pyrovores:''' The Pyrovore in 5th-7th was memetically known as a super-useless unit, but the 6th edition Tyranid Codex was known for a hilariously misworded Volatile rule: Whenever a Pyrovore died to Instant Death, ''"Every unit suffers a S3 hit for each model (excluding other Pyrovores) within d6 inches of the Pyrovore."'' Read that rule, and comprehend what "every unit" means.<br />
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*'''Lookout, Wez Ork Snipers!''': 6th edition introduced "Character" as a subtype for models; Characters could accept and issue Challenges to other Characters, and benefit from "Look Out Sir," which let other models take wounds on their behalf; furthermore, Characters in 6th ed had the Precision Shot rule, meaning that on 6s to hit, the attacker could allocate hits instead of the defender. When the 6th ed FAQs first rolled out, Ork Nobs were indexed to be Characters. However, the index didn't distinguish between Nobs leading Boys or units of Nobs; not only could Nobz play Musical Wound Games where they could pawn off wounds to each other on a 4+, but that a unit of Nob Bikerz (each Biker fires 3 shots, hitting on 5s and rerolling misses, and choosing the model affected on a 6) [[wat|was generally better at sniping out troublesome targets than many dedicated snipers]]. GW did eventually FAQ their FAQ to state that only ''one'' Nob in each unit of Nobz/Meganobz got the Character distinction, while 7th ed made Precision Shot a USR that Characters did not innately receive.<br />
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*'''Legion of the Dammit:''' Codex Legion of the Damned was touted as a standalone supplement that was meant to let players field them as a standalone force. The rules required the Legion of the Damned to start with their entire army in Reserves. Unfortunately in 6th, [[derp|you automatically lost if you didn't actually have any units on the table]]. GW would later apologize in an FAQ for the standalone touting and confirmed the rules were intended for Legion of the Damned to support another army rather than act on their own.<br />
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*'''Asses of Fire:''' Heldrakes' Baleflamer during its inception counted as being turret-mounted, allowing the Hellturkey to Vector Strike and then hose the same unit with hellfire from its, errm... eye of terror. It was quickly errata'd, but, while not exactly game-breaking, it still lead to horrifying implications, given the damn things were everywhere back then.<br />
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==7th Edition==<br />
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*'''Nobz In A 'Naut:''' This may have arguably just been insidious GW marketing instead of them failing to understand their own game, but Gorkanauts/Morkanauts were touted as "nearly indestructible" and reliably able to transport Nobz or other elite units into the fray, despite the fact that they were not Superheavy Vehicles. While you could one-shot them with a lucky Melta or Lascannon shot, a more common outcome was for one to be Immobilized by a Grav Cannon rolling a 6. As for serving as an assault transport, GW forgot to give the 'Nauts the Assault Ramp rule, and thus [[Fail|you couldn't actually assault from one]]. To add insult to injury, these vehicles cost ''more'' than a Land Raider while moving slower. <br />
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*'''Knight Rider Chronus:''' In 7th edition, Ultramarines could purchase Chronus as an upgrade to Tanks. Unlike Longstrike or Pask, Chronus was an Infantry Character, that would turn the tank he was riding into a Character, only to emerge from said Tank like a passenger should it be destroyed. However, RAW, Chronus was a Character and so was the Tank that Chronus was riding in, but neither were the same Character. Thus, you could either make Chronus your Warlord and wait before his tank was destroyed before you could use his Warlord Trait (assuming it required being on-table), or make his Tank your Warlord. Thus, it's more funny to imagine Chronus's tank as KITT from Knight Rider. (As an amusing bonus, he also had a Servo-Arm but not Blessing of the Omnissiah, so he could punch stuff but couldn't fix it).<br />
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*'''Khornedogs of Slaanesh:''' Daemons in Khorne Daemonkin had Fearless instead of Daemonic Instability. Thus, Battle Brothers from Chaos Space Marines could join Daemon units from Khorne Daemonkin. Although an Independent Character with a Mark could not join a unit with a different Mark, having the Mark of a Chaos God and being a Daemon of a Chaos God were two different things. Thus, Daemonkin meant you could have a Sorcerer of Slaanesh use Flesh Hounds of Khorne as bodyguards. <br />
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*'''Shred this Worthless Supplement:''' The Farsight Enclaves Supplement has the Warlord Trait '''Through Surety, Destruction.''' Once per game, the Warlord's unit gains Shred for a single Shooting Phase. Sounds good right? Who doesn't like rerolling to wound? Unfortunately, as worded, [[fail|Shred only works in close combat unless applied specifically to the weapon, meaning this Warlord Trait as written does nothing whatsoever]].<br />
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*'''Dastardly DJ Roombas:''' The '''Drone-Net VX1-0''' Formation required you to take at least four units of Drones, and granted them several bonuses: First of all, they got '''Collective Targeting Data''' which granted all Drones (including Drones that were not part of the Formation) +1 Ballistic Skill "In the Shooting Phase" as long as at least two Drones "from this Formation" were on the Battlefield. [[skub|It was never FAQed whether "from this Formation" allowed for the bonus to stack if you took multiple copies of the Formation, nor whether you applied it before or after a Drone Controller]]. Additionally, the Formation had the bonus '''Enhanced Tactical Responses:''' All Drones in the Formation had Jink, Split Fire, Precision Shots, and Interceptor. Similar to the Sunshark's Drones, [[fail|Interceptor as worded would be useless for the Gun Drones RAW]], [[derp|while GW had to FAQ that Gun Drones could not both Jink and Go to Ground]] [[wat|like sneaky DJ Roombas]].<br />
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*'''Ordo Xenos or Ordo Xerox?:''' Codex Deathwatch had generally sloppy rules, copypaste formations ("Reroll to-wound vs X"), and odd examples of GW being arbitrarily restrictive in unit loadouts (notably, Deathwatch couldn't take Rifleman Dreads or Strontos Razorbacks). However the most amusing example of this was how the Bane Bolts relic had a profile for being used by a Stalker Boltgun, despite Deathwatch HQs not having the option for a Stalker Boltgun.<br />
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*'''Siphon Magic, Period:''' Siphon Magic may easily be the worst-written power of 7th edition. ''"Siphon Magic is a'' '''Blessing''' ''that targets the Psyker. For the rest of the phase, each time a friendly model successfully manifests a psychic power within 18" of them, place a dice next to this model. Any dice accrued in this manner can be used by the Psyker as bonus Warp Charge points."'' This power itself was problematic for several reasons: Does "a friendly model" include the Psyker that cast Siphon Magic? Did casting Siphon Magic actually grant the Psyker an immediate bonus die? It was noted that Deny the Witch did not turn a Success into a Failure, but simply cancelled the power's effect, and so Siphon Magic still granted a bonus die. However, the real RAW kerfluffle was the fact that since [[derp|Siphon Magic did not grant bonus Warp Charge, but "dice that could be spent as additional Warp Charge,"]] [[skub|you could argue that it was possible to store dice from Siphon Magic across turns]]. You could even state that this was "intentional," since the Tyranid Neurothrope had a similar ability that let it gain additional Warp Charge that could only be used by its unit. Hilariously though, Siphon Magic was otherwise useless for ML 1 Psykers since if it was the only power that could be cast that turn, then it would mean storing up dice that could not be used. Oops.<br />
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*'''No Death Guard Zombies:''' Typhus let you nominate any Chaos Cultists as Plague Zombies at army creation, giving them Fearless, Feel No Pain, and Slow and Purposeful. They however could not purchase any other options besides increasing their unit size. When Traitor Legions came out, it added rules for different Legion Tactics; notably, Death Guard detachments required all units with the option to purchase the Mark of Nurgle. Due to ambiguous order of operations, it was entirely possible that the Cultists having to purchase the Mark of Nurgle precluded Typhus being able to nominate said Cultists as Zombies. However, Typhus let you nominate any Cultists in your army, and not necessarily the Detachment he was in, so if you took an allied Alpha Legion detachment, you could have Infiltrating ninja-zombies. Let that image sink in.<br />
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*'''Soul Pain:''' The Ynnari Psychic Power Unbind Souls targeted an enemy unit, and made a number of Strength 4 attacks equal to the number of models in the target unit. It was supposed to be used to cut large hordes down to size. However, the rulewriter forgot that only models in range and line of sight could be removed as casualties, and Unbind Souls only had 12 inches of range. The result would be a few unlucky Orks or Tyranids being struck down with extreme overkill, to the confusion of the rest of the unit.<br />
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*'''Revenge is Sweet:''' In what may be the best bit of poetic irony of 7th Edition, the Avatar of Khaine was completely immune to Guilliman, since all of Guilliman's close combat attacks had Soul Blaze. Feels good to be immune after being used as a punching bag in all of Matt Ward's old fluff...<br />
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*'''Ceremonial Daggers:''' In Forgeworld's Horus Heresy series, the vast majority of Horus Heresy Custodes came equipped with Misericordias, daggers that had use in the 40k incarnation of the Custodes. It didn't take long for people to notice that there were no rules at all in the Horus Heresy book, and given how different the rules were already for the two incarnations people were iffy on whether or not they should use the daggers as they are in the 40k book, or just as another close combat weapon. An entire year would go by before Forgeworld finally released a FAQ, where it was revealed that this whole time the daggers were just meant to be badges of office, had no effect whatsoever in game and was included in their wargear by mistake.<br />
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*'''Stormsurge Fell and Can't Get Up!:''' When the Stormsurge battlesuit came out, it had a nice little rule that allowed it to fire twice at the expense of not being able to move. The problem? If it was tank shocked by anything (and this was confirmed in the FAQ) it would instantly die if it had ts anchors deployed, presumably because it would be tipped over and without arms (and thanks to being a super-heavy) it would be impossible to stand back up again.<br />
<br />
==8th Edition==<br />
Strap yourself in, son, this is gonna be a long one.<br />
<br />
*'''And They Shall Know Fear:''' As written, 40k uses a system where you roll dice (d3s, d6s, 2d6s, etc.) and add modifiers to the roll to get the result. If you have any ability to re-roll, those are applied before any modifiers. Space Marines have '''And They Shall Know No Fear''' which lets them re-roll failed Morale Tests. However, a Morale Test is resolved by rolling a D6 and adding the number of casualties the unit has suffered to obtain the result, before comparing against the unit's base leadership. [[Skub|Differring arguments exist as to whether adding a number to get a result is considered a modifier, vs a modifier being for a basic roll otherwise]], but the end result would be that through a literal interpretation, [[Fail|Marines by default could never reroll morale, since they would compare the d6 against their highest Ld (8 for the Sergeant), then modify the roll with the casualties]]. [[Wat|Ironically, this means abilities that lower the Marine unit's Ld would make it more likely for the Marines to actually use ATSKNF]]. [[Skub|You can argue if this is intentional or not too]], [[That Guy|stating "ATSKNF only kicks in when facing true fear."]]<br />
*'''I'm Celestine! No, I'm Celestine!''': When a new edition is released there's bound to be one or two things that GW forgets to mention or include, in this case GW forgot to make Saint Celestine ''unique'' when they released her rules, which opened the way for Imperium players to field 5 (or more) of her. This might not be all that bad on its own, if it wasn't for the fact that each Celestine boosted the '''Shield of Faith''' rule that the Sisters of Battle possessed. Normally it gave them a 6+ invulnerable save and for every Celestine on the tabletop this increased by +1, meaning that it was very easy to give your entire army a 2+ Invulnerable save and steamroll the opposing army, while remaining entirely tournament legal (although don't expect any TO to allow you to use this technically-legal list).<br />
*'''Holy Artillery:''' Compounding the Celestine shenanigans, thanks to how it was written the Sisters of Battle could use Acts of Faith on any unit in their army of the same order, even if they didn't have Acts of Faith. This was done by using an Imagifier or Celestine to grant the act on either a 4+ or automatically, which led to players using them to fire Exorcists twice per turn and just erase most armoured units/vehicles/monsters from the tabletop. This was later errata'd so that you can only use this power on units that can actually use Acts of Faith.<br />
*'''Were we hunting somebody?:''' Another thing GW forgot at the start of 8th was double-checking army restrictions, specifically who could be allowed to fight beside who. This led to shenanigans like Fallen and Dark Angels fighting alongside each other without issue because they both had the Imperium keyword.<br />
*'''Technically Correct: The Best Kind of Correct:''' The big FAQ introduced new suggested rules for Tournament play to prevent spam by introducing a hard limit to the same Datasheet to 3 ''per army'' in a 2k point game. On Paper this means you will see at most 3 Flyrants, 3 Units of Dark Reapers, 3 Fire Raptors etc. Sounds good on paper and limits MSU and Spam, right? Well they forgot about the Daemon Prince and the Leman Russ. [[Derp|First off, the Daemon Prince! You can still bring a Battalion of Chaos Marines, Battalion of Daemons, and then a Supreme Command Detachment of Thousand Sons or Death guard because it is a separate Datasheet for each army]] (FAQ has since rendered this variant of the cheese irrelevant). [[Derp|Second, the Leman Russ is limited to 3 Squads of Leman Russ tanks, so you can bring 3 Squads of 3 in a Spearhead and 3 Tank Commanders in a Supreme Command if you want, then have the 12 Leman Russ Tanks all break unit during the game, giving you 12. 13 if you also take Pask. And then you could keep going with all the forge world variants...]] This works with anything that can Combat Squad or has similar abilities as well.<br />
**Even better with Forge World and the Russes. The Death Korps Mars Alpha Russ is a separate datasheet, as is the Conqueror, Stygies Vanquisher and the Annihilator. So you can have [[Wat|48 units of Russes when there is meant to be a cap of three.]] This would cost far more than 2000 points, though.<br />
**With the new Knights codex, there are new type of mini-knight called Armigers, which are split into 2 datasheets and can be taken in 3 man squads like the Russes. So have fun with 18 Lords of War when the limit should be 3.<br />
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*'''What Role Am I Anyway?:''' The rules to the aforementioned hard limit says "this rule does not apply to units with the Troops or Dedicated Transport Battlefield Role." [[Fail|However, this does not account for the fact that the same Datasheet can be taken for multiple Battlefield Roles]]. For example, Khorne Berzerkers are Troops in a World Eaters Detachment and Elites otherwise. [[Skub|Depending on your interpretation, this can either mean "ignore Troops and Dedicated Transports when determining your total," that units cannot be exempt unless they can only ever be taken as Troops or Dedicated Transports, or they can so long as the potential to take them as Troops exists]].<br />
**The reasonable interpretation would be that, using Berzerkers as an example, you can have unlimited Troops Berzerker datasheets and a cap on Elites Berzerker datasheets. Why GW couldn't make this clearer is anyone's guess.<br />
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*'''Does anyone actually playtest this anymore?''' FAQ again! So the character targettng rules changed to prevent cheese. before you could only target a character with less than 10 wounds if they were the closest ''visible'' unit. This lead to [[cheese]] like surrounding squads with their own tanks and transports, leaving a small hole so a unit could only see a character, or attempting to snipe characters with Mortars and Basilisks. Instead of fixing this by saying something like "You can see through friendly units for the purposes of targeting (and only targeting) but cannot shoot through them", GW tried to patch this out. [[What|Now you can't target the character if there is a unit between the shooter and character '''even if that closer unit isn't in LoS'''.]] This has lead to characters like Archons and [[Smashfucker]] becoming the best objective holders and deep strike denial units in the entire game. Now imagine what a Reaper Launcher Autarch with Mark of the Incomparable Hunter can do with this...<br />
::Note that as of the 2nd big FAQ this remains not only unchained, but now made into an official rule. If a character is in clear view and the only enemy units that are closer to your unit than them are completely out of Line of Sight, [[FAIL|then you still cannot shoot that character.]] The FAQ also specified that you ignore other characters for the purposes of 'closest enemy unit', but only if they have less than 10 wounds.<br />
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*'''GRAMMAR IS FOR THE WEAK!:''' The Chaos Daemon Codex has the rule '''Daemonic Ritual:''' Instead of moving in their Movement Phase, any CHAOS CHARACTER may, at the end of their Movement Phase, attempt to summon a DAEMON unit ''with this ability'' by performing a Daemonic Ritual. The key is the "with this ability," since this can form an ambiguous lexical construct. "I found you with my flashlight" can either mean subject A found Predicate B in the possession of A's Flashlight, or that A used A's Flashlight to find B. Only by noticing that non-character Daemon Units have Daemonic Ritual will a player infer that [[wat|having Daemonic Ritual does not let you perform a Daemonic Ritual]], [[derp|but lets any Chaos Character that doesn't necessarily have Daemonic Ritual perform a Daemonic Ritual]], [[FAIL| and the clause "By performing a Daemonic Ritual" is just flavor-text with no actual relevance to Daemonic Ritual]]. [[Skub|Feel free to attempt to summon a Heldrake]] [[That_Guy|on account of ambiguous ruling though]].<br />
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*'''Lesser Keyword of Solomon:''' The Daemon Codex came with many Stratagems, which people immediately started thinking of ways to apply to [[Cheese|Magnus and Mortarion]]. To curb this, GW released a FAQ stating that Daemon Stratagems and Relics only work on Faction Keyword Daemons. The problem? The Warhammer Designer Commentary FAQ (the same one preventing Sept<Craftworld<Wu'Tang Clan>>) states that [[derp|once the battle is begun, there is no functional difference between a Keyword and a Faction Keyword]], [[Fail|so the errata as written doesn't work]].<br />
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*'''Plasma is Hotter At Night:''' When you Overcharge Plasma weaponry, it explodes on a 1. Not a "natural" one but a "modified one." This means any penalties to-hit also increase the odds of Plasma exploding. The Machine Spirits are afraid of the dark. Note that supercharged Plasma Guns "slay the bearer on a hit roll of 1". Everything in the book draws gear from one list. Yes, including vehicles. Yes, that 371pts Land Raider with 16 wounds just spontaneously evaporated itself with its own pintle-mounted combi-plasma. Don't press that, brother!<br />
**To add insult to injury, there is even a situation where you can make an Overcharged Plasma Cannon explode on any result to hit, thanks to GW giving -1 to hit effects to the Craftworld Eldar like it's going out of style. All you need to do is overcharge and shoot a Plasma Cannon at night (-1 to hit) after moving (-1 to hit) at some knife eared assholes painted blue (Alaitoc Attribute, -1 to hit at +12") with fancy armour (Warp Spider's Flickerjump ability, -1 to hit) who are pulling some Matrix shit (Lightning-Fast Reactions Stratagem, -1 to hit). So that's a total of -5 to hit, meaning any result you roll to hit will be modified down to a 1. I guess the Machine Spirits are also scared of Eldar too?<br />
**On a more positive note, you can (almost always) fire the gun on regular mode at no risk. As hilariously bad as this rule is, you at least don't ''need'' to commit suicide or do nothing.<br />
**Some models have special rules on their guns to "fix" this, mostly characters with big expensive minis and guns that only cause a mortal wound on a 1.<br />
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*'''Anti-Air Flamethrowers:''' Flamethrowers in 8th edition no longer use an AoE "teardrop" template, but instead inflict a random number of automatic hits on a unit. For example, a Hellhound's Inferno Cannon inflicts D6 automatic hits. Due to these changes, regular flamers are less important as a crowd control weapon, and more as an anti-hitmod (and [[derp|anti-aircraft]]) weapon; this is especially true of weapons that have a multi-damage value like the aforementioned Inferno Cannon. Where it gets silly though is how Flamers interact with "ambush/deepstrike" abilities. See, regular flamers have an effective range of 8 inches, but most "strike from Reserve" powers require you to set up more than 9 inches away. This means that flamers are useless when you appear from Reserves, but it also means they're useless for defending against units Charging from Reserves, since the flamers are [[fail|out of range and thus unable to actually lay down a Wall of Death like in 6th-7th Edition, or interrupt movement like in 2nd Edition]].<br />
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*'''All is Atomized Dust:''' The rules for Psykers in 8th are copied from Age of Sigmar: Roll 2d6 against the Psychic Power's difficulty, suffering Perils if you roll double 1s or double 6s. Perils means you suffer D3 Mortal Wounds, and inflict another D3 Mortal Wounds to all units within 6" should the Psyker be slain as a result. Unfortunately, the Aspiring Sorcerer in a unit of Rubric Marines...has 1 wound, while having a weaker version of Smite. Because Mortal Wounds spillover, this means you lose 2d3 models to Perils, the Sorcerer among them. Don't even think about trying to cast powers against Hive Fleet Kronos, lest your [[fail|expensive Rubric Marines go up in a blaze of Chaos is Fickle!]]. Although the entire 1K Sons unit is a PSYKER, the rules for Perils state that the psyker (not keyworded) suffers the Mortal wounds, and the Rubric Marine datasheet mentions that the Aspiring Sorcerer is the model doing the casting. <br />
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*'''Just Another Bugged Hunt:''' Genestealer Cults have a special rule called Brood Brothers: For each Genestealer Cult detachment in your army, you may take one Guard detachment, ignoring said Guard Detachment's Faction Keywords when determining if your army is Battle-Forged. The Guard Detachment cannot benefit from any Regiment-specific Stratagems, Doctrines, or Relics. However, a separate Forgeworld FAQ ruling states that Elysian and Krieg bonuses are not considered Regiment bonuses but their own "bespoke" rules. Combine with the fact that Brood Brothers has no restriction on being triggered by an Auxiliary Detachment, and you can have a Battalion of Tyranids fighting alongside a Battalion of Elysians, [[wat|with a single Cult Acolyte in an Auxiliary Detachment making the list Battle-Forged]].<br />
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*'''Unfocused Fire:''' Due to wonky RAW, the Tau Stratagem Focused Fire (hopefully to be FAQd) works best by splitting fire across the entire enemy army. Say the opponent has a unit. You shoot that unit, it fails its save, and you then activate Focus Fire. For the rest of that phase, any T'au Sept ''unit'' of yours that ''targets'' that unit gets +1 to wound. However, selecting targets and resolving shooting are separate steps; this means that RAW, a Hammerhead could allocate Smart Missiles against the unit that Focus Fire was activated against, allocate its Railgun against another unit, and get +1 to wound both units. <br />
**The Big FAQ errata'd Focus Fire so that you get +1 to wound with attacks that are made by T'au Sept units from your army that target the enemy unit. [[Skub|Although some will argue that "that target unit" refers to the attacks]], even if that were the case, [[Derp|RAW units Choose Targets, and then after allocating weapons, you Resolve Attacks]], [[Fail|and therefore this errata effectively changes nothing]].<br />
**'''Sidenote:''' 8th renames Tau to T'au, while adding bonuses for Sept T'au. Thus, there was a joke due to the Faction and Sept having the same name. [[derp|"All T'au are T'au but not all T'au are necessarily from T'au."]]<br />
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*'''Really Hot-Blooded:''' Normally, the shooting sequence is: Select a unit to shoot, Declare targets, allocate weapons, then resolve attacks. Certain Stratagems or abilities may allow a unit to "fire its weapons twice" or "shoot an additional time at the end of the Shooting Phase." However, the Vior'la Stratagem '''Hot-Blooded''' is worded that at the start of the Shooting Phase, you may pick an INFANTRY unit from your army, and it may be "chosen to shoot twice this phase." The key is that normally, the rules state that you may not select a unit to shoot if it Fell Back, Advanced, or is engaged, [[derp|yet this Stratagem as written overrides those restrictions]]. [[Skub|Unlike other RAW screwups, it is unknown if this was intentional or just GW flubbing standardizing their rules]].<br />
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*'''Supreme Lack of Fire Discipline:''' The T'au Sept Sa'cea has the Tenet '''Calm Discipline''', which at first looks similar to the Salamander Chapter Tactic '''Master Artisans''', in that it lets each Sa'cea unit reroll a single to-hit roll. However, while the Salamanders Chapter Tactic is worded that you "you can reroll a single failed hit roll and a single failed wound roll made for a SALAMANDERS unit with this Tactic each time it shoots or fights," the Sa'caea Tenet is written that "In the Shooting phase you can re-roll a single failed hit roll when a unit with this tenet shoots." [[Fail|As written, the Tenet gives you one reroll to-hit for the entire shooting phase, and not one per unit.]]<br />
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*'''Ork Snipers are totally a thing:''' Again with GW forgetting that -1 to hit is actually powerful and handing it out everywhere, this means that Orks are literally incapable of hitting anything with a -2 to hit, since there is no "6 always hits" rule (until the Orks' codex) the way there is a "1 always fails" rule.<br />
** This can be exploited by a Tyranid list with [[Biovore]]s. The Spore Mine Launcher, on a miss, allows you to put a Spore Mine on the table for free, even in Matched Play. Tired of to-hit penalty cheese making all your guns hit on a 6+ or 7+? Have your Biovores shoot at them and they can literally cover the table in Spore Mines, because they'll always miss.<br />
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*'''Thermonuclear Spore Mines:''' The wording of the '''Floating Death''' ability states that a Spore Mine explodes if it is within 3" of any enemy units at the end of any Charge phase; whenever it explodes, it inflicts Mortal Wounds on the "nearest" enemy unit except on a 1. [[wat|The issue is that multiple Spore Mines in range of the same unit explode simultaneously, and thus their wounds must be sequentially resolved]]. Suppose I have three Spore Mines, each in range of a squad of 2 Space Marines. All three explode. The first one wipes out the Space Marine Squad, [[derp|while the second and third one each inflict Mortal Wounds on the "next" nearest unit]], [[Fail|even if on the opposite side of the game board and out of Line of Sight]].<br />
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*'''Sonic the Genestealer:''' Tyranids have a Stratagem called '''Metabolic Overdrive''' that lets a unit move a second time in the Movement Phase in exchange for not being able to Charge that turn. Hive Fleet Kraken Tyranids roll 3d6 and pick the highest roll for determining their Advance move, while their '''Opportunistic Advance''' Stratagem lets them double their Advance distance for that movement phase. The initial issue was that RaW, [[derp|Advance added to your Move Characteristic for that phase, instead of increasing your characteristic for that specific move.]] [[wat|Thus, a unit of Kraken Genestealers could move not 8 + 12 + 8 + 12 inches in the Move Phase, but 8 + 12 + 8 + 12 + 12]]. [[derp|Combine with a Swarmlord's Hive Commander abilty for an effective top speed of 66", and a unit of Kraken Genestealers could outrun a supersonic aircraft on foot]]. [[Meme|Gotta go fast]]!<br />
** GW FAQed this [[fail|not by stating that Advancing only applies to a specific move, but by stating that you can only advance once in a phase and it applies to all moves made that phase]]. This did make the initial Sonic the Genestealer option slower, with a top speed of [[derp|only]] 54". However, GW also clarified that Opportunistic Advance could be used with Hive Commander, Overrun, Mind Eater, or any other ability that lets a unit "move as though it were the Movement Phase." [[wat|Aside from giving a unit of Kraken Genestealers a theoretical top speed of 101" (8+12 from Move & Opportunistic Advance, 8+12 from Hive Commander and Opportunistic Advance, 12 from Charge, 3 from Piling In, 3 from Consolidate, 3 from Piling in and again with the Adrenaline Surge stratagem, 8 + 12 from Overrun (replacing Consolidate from the Adrenaline Surge) and Opportunistic Advance, and another 8 + 12 from Mind Eater and Advance)]], [[fail|it sets a messy precedent for Dark Eldar due to GW not strictly defining what "as if in another phase" actually means]].<br />
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*'''What Phase is It Anyway?:''' The Dark Eldar Wych Cult of Red Grief has the Stratagem '''No Method of Death Beneath our Grasp''' which can be used immediately upon destroying an enemy unit in the Shooting or Fight Phase. If you destroy an enemy unit in the Shooting Phase, you get a second round of shooting. If you destroy an enemy unit in the Fight Phase, you get to (after Consolidation) Fight a second time in the Fight Phase. By itself, this is remarkably innocent. [[Derp|However, GW forgot that Ynnari are capable of "out-of-phase" actions, and confirmed that Dark Eldar Ynnari still have access to Dark Eldar Stratagems]]. [[Skub|You can have a unit of Ynnari Red Grief Reavers destroy an enemy unit in the Fight Phase, use Soulburst to "shoot as if it were the Shooting Phase" to destroy another unit, pop the Stratagem, and then cause the game to break under at least three separate interpretations over what phase you are actually in.]] [[Fail|The fact there is no "Else" clause in the ability means that you can argue that if the Stratagem works as if in both phases, you can Consolidate, shoot and fight with this Stratagem]]. <br />
**The Big FAQ clarified that Soulburst takes place after you Consolidate despite triggering immediately, giving potential weight to the theory that you get both effects.<br />
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*'''The Howling Banshees got into the cookie-dough again:''' Howling Banshees get +3" to the distance they roll for charges, and are also supposed to be able to charge units 15" away. However due to how the rule is written, all it does is let them charge after advancing if a unit is 15" away, not that they get to ignore the 12" limit from the main Rulebook. I guess Jain Zar has some coupons for Ben and Jerry's or something?<br />
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*'''"We forgot the difference between Unit and Model" for 500, Alex:''' The rules for Advancing say that the unit may not be selected to shoot if it does so. The rules for Assault weapons say a model with an Assault weapon may shoot it if it advanced, but at -1 to hit. The problem is that you can never select the unit the model with an Assault weapon is in as a unit you want to shoot with, due to the rules for advancing. The same applies for Pistols with a unit within 1" of an enemy.<br />
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*'''Stop Betraying Yourself! Stop Betraying Yourself!''': [[Khârn]] the Betrayer has the rule '''Kill! Maim! Burn!''' which lets him (any friendly World Eaters within 1", so really just himself) reroll all hits in the Fight Subphase, and he hits on a 2+. Sounds good so far, right? However, his rule '''The Betrayer''' means he cannot reroll 1s (so he cannot reroll any hits), each 1 hitting a friendly unit instead. You would think this would mean that you should run him solo, for "If there are no friendly models within 1 inch of Khârn, the hits are discarded." Unfortunately, a model is always treated as being in range of itself for auras or other special rules, meaning [[Fail|a bunch of 1s (or modified rolls) will result in Khârn hitting himself instead of the enemy]].<br />
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*'''Dakkaskull of Dakka:''' The Admech Stratagem '''Scryerskull''' can for the measly cost of 1 Command Point be used "at any time" to do one of several things: Reveal D3 Hidden Setup Markers, reveal a Mysterious Objective, or shoot with an ADEPTUS MECHANICUS unit while ignoring penalties from Dawn Raid, Low Visibility or Cover of Darknes. The "At any time", a lack of a requirement that the mission being played is using special rules or a 'shooting phase only' limitation results in game-breaking issues.<br />
**Stratagems used before a battle are exempt from the once per phase rule. So feel free to use Scryerskull "at any time" during your deployment phase until you run out of CP or enemies to shoot. If you don't feel like winning the game during deployment, you can still use Scryerskull once in every phase for both players, means that RAW [[derp|, you can use it once in every Movement, Psychic, Shooting, Charge, Fight & Morale phases, and then again in the next players turn.]] Combine with Kastellans for almost enough dakka or a neutron laser Dunecrawler to wipe out every vehicle in the opposing army.<br />
**This Blooper has been fixed in the Admech FAQ.<br />
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*'''Trash Can Lid of Faith:''' Seraphim have a 6++ save, and a rule forcing them (if it were optional this wouldn't be a problem) to re-roll failed results when using this save. Celestine gives a +1 modifier to those invulnerable saves. However, because of the totally fun and not at all stupid system where re-rolls must happens before modifiers, if a Seraphim rolls a 5 for their save, they are forced to re-roll it even though it would pass after modifiers.<br />
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*'''White Autarchs can't Jump:''' While it was fixed in the Codex for Warp Spiders (due to horrible wording in the Index, RAW said that Warp Spiders couldn't teleport out of combat in the Index), an Autarch using a Warp Spider Jump Pack can't use said Jump Pack to teleport out of Combat due to no current rules existing for the Autarch's version of it.<br />
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*'''Remote Serjery:''' Because the Painboy's healing ability works on models and not units, it's entirely possible for a Painboy to save an Ork in combat on the other end of the table if you conga-line a maxed out squad of Boys. While less of a blooper and more a silly rules interaction, there is something hilariously Orky about the Painboy being able to save something locked in combat several feet away just because it's in the same mob.<br />
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*'''High Speed Dirt:''' Deliberately crashing your own Flyers sounds dumb, right? Well if you read the rules for a lot of Kill Point missions (thankfully GW's No Quarter Given Objective is clear. Objectives written by Third Party groups are sometimes not so clear), or Tactical Objectives for Maelstrom Missions, deliberately crashing your own near-death flyer (by intentionally moving them for less than their minimum movement distance) means that your opponent doesn't get the kill credit as nobody actually destroyed it. This also leads too...<br />
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*'''Ynnari did 9/11:''' While there are many strange Soulburst interactions, it's entirely possible to deliberately crash your own Flyers by intentionally not moving them their minimum movement distance, something clearly unintended. This can result in some ridiculous [[Tzeentch |Rube Goldberg-esque chain reactions]] where a Soulbursting Warlock can Quicken a Flyer on 1-2 Wounds left and have them crash within 7" of [[Just As Planned|a bunch of Dark Reapers that nuke something across the map for free, which in turn triggers a bunch of Howling Banshees to slice up a unit, which lets the Shining Spears charge in and murder the unit that caused the Warlock to Soulburst to begin with]]. <br />
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*'''Strength From Horrible Rape:''' Ynnari again, and while this one makes sense RAW it's horribly unfluffy. Yvraine and The Visarch are healed on a 4+ by friendly Eldar exploding near them. Yvraine also benefits if it just happens to be a Psyker exploding, as it gives her more powers. Warlocks are very spammable. Put it together and it's not unheard of for Ynnari players to use a Command Point Re-roll to deliberately Perils of the Warp so that Yvraine gets a benefit from a [[Rape| Warlock being sucked into the Warp, likely taking even more Eldar with them if you get really unlucky]]. Yes, Eldar being introduced to Slaanesh's personal Bad Dragon collection actually heals and benefits the Ynnari, but they still swear it's entirely unrelated. Uh-huh... <br />
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*'''"Drive me closer, I wish to hit them with my Agonizer!"''': [[What|Ramming is always better for Dark Eldar Vehicles]]. Because of a hilariously badly worded FAQ: everything has a Close Combat Weapon, even units that can't physically carry one (like Vehicles). [[Fail |Before this Dark Eldar vehicles were forced to Ram thier giant pirate ships into people at the same Strength of a Space Marine punching someone, because Bladevanes were the only weapon choice for Vehicles]]. Post FAQ they can declare they are using their Close Combat Weapon and attack at full strength.<br />
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*'''"We found a bigger boat, Archon!"''': Dark Eldar and terrible FAQs again! The FAQ for Index: Xenos 1 ruled that Scourges and Hellions can't fit into Raiders or Venoms [[Derp| after an oversight in the Index allowed them to ride them]]. Well they never bothered to apply this FAQ to the Tantalus, [[What| so yes, Scourges and Hellions can still fit in there with their massive wings and giant blades hoverboards]] while still having space for loot, slaves, medical supplies, spare ammo, spare slaves, and someone to fetch the drinks. What else could a self respecting Space Pirate Vampire Elf want? (Hilariously ''still'' not fixed as of the 16/04/2018 Forgeworld FAQ update)<br />
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*'''Cruddex in a Box?''': Dark Eldar again, [[Robin_Cruddace|and White Dwarf April 2018 confirmed who is responsible for this shitshow of a decision]]. [[Fail| The Crucible of Malediction is available as both an overcosted stratagem, and Wargear option for the Haemonculus meaning there so no reason to ever use the Stratagem and the Dark Eldar have lost out on a another Stratagem because of this...]]<br />
** Ironically enough, GW did FAQ this for the T'au Stimulant Injectors, stating " No. You cannot purchase Stimulant Injectors anymore and the rules for Stimulant Injectors as presented in Codex: T’au Empire (i.e. the Stratagem) take precedence." Sadly due to the bespoke nature of 8th edition, this applies only to Stimulant Injectors and nothing else.<br />
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*'''Abaddonify''': More Eldar rules breaking something! Jain Zar can [[Abaddon|disarm]] models she is fighting in close combat, rendering them unable to use one of their weapons. Well things get strange if you disarm something carrying the basic Close Combat Weapon. RAW says that the unit can't use that weapon, but the Rulebook states that you are to always assume that they have that weapon. There hasn't been a clear FAQ on this either which makes things more complicated.<br />
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*'''Space Elf Pirate Ninja?:''' Eldar yet again. This time the Corsairs. [[What| Because the Corsair Prince has vanished from the Index]], [[Fail |it's impossible to field a legal army if you go pure Corsairs]]. It's also impossible to bring Corsairs along with you as an Eldar army without taking an Auxiliary Detachment and losing CP, or going Ynnari and having your opponent flip the table.<br />
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*'''Plague Zombie Cloning:''' If a Poxwalker kills a Necron and turns it into an additional Poxwalker model, you can still re-animate that Necron. The same goes for any model that can "die" and then return to the table in some fashion. Don't think about that one too hard, [[Matt Ward |I don't think the person who wrote it did either]]. [[Derp|Amusingly, this means that one Pink Horror can turn into seven Poxwalker Zombies]]; a notable LVO list by a tournament-goer named [[Awesome|Joshua Death]] [[Peasant Railgun| ran a bunch of Horrors as a screen to "walk up" a bunch of Poxwalkers up the board like a Zombie Railgun]], through the '''Cloud of Flies''' and '''Poxwalker Hive''' Stratagems. <br />
**Note that the Plague Zombie Cloning was supposedly fixed by the '''Curse of the Walking Pox''' ability being FAQ'd so that you have to pay Reinforcement Points to increase the unit beyond its starting size. However, the '''Poxwolker Hive''' Stratagem technically replaced '''Curse of the Walking Pox''' for the turn, [[Derp|while not being errata'd with the same Reinforcement Point clause.]]<br />
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*'''Scunthorpe Weapon Profiles:''' The Scunthorpe Problem is a classic problem with word-search algorithms that censored for filtered out "dirty" words. The problem lay in the fact that certain innocent words would yield "false positives"; the problem was named after users from the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire were unable to create AOL accounts, [[Not As Planned|since "Scunthorpe" has the word "cunt" in it]]. How does this relate to 8th edition? In order to deal with the prior problem of weapon classification, many abilities and stratagems in 8th edition will state that a "X" weapon is defined as any weapon whose weapon profile has "Y" in its name (ex. blahblahblah). Aside from being a futureproofing timebomb waiting to happen, the rules for 8th edition have a messy definition for what exactly is a weapon profile: Is a weapon with multiple attack modes itself a weapon profile, or are the individual attack modes themselves profiles? [[Rules Lawyer |This may seem like pedantic semantics]], [[Tzeentch|but either interpretation will result in bloopers]]. <br />
**'''Prometheium is Heresy:''' Chapter Approved 2017 introduced Cities of Death Stratagems, including Siphon Promethium. Siphon Promethium lets an infantry unit double the range of its flamer weapons, including Skorchas, Burnas, and any weapon profile with 'flame' in its name. This particular wording hurts Orks in particular, since depending on the interpretation, this prevents Kombi-Skorchas from benefitting. The real comedy however comes from the fact that Horrors of Tzeentch use 'Coruscating Flames', which can now shoot out to 36" on account of a false positive.<br />
**'''Holy Duality?:''' The Sisters of Battle beta codex had a stratagem '''Holy Trinity''', which granted bonuses when a unit used a flamer, bolter, and meltagun on the same target. The definition for each component was for any weapon profile with 'bolt', 'melta', or 'flame' in its name, while explicitly treating Inferno Pistols as Melta weapons. If the interpretation that the weapon profile itself encompasses all the attack modes available, the end result would be Sisters using Combi-Flamers and Combi-Meltas to trigger the Stratagem at a distance, for superior dakka. <br />
**'''Weapons of the Derp Age:''' The '''Weapons of the Dark Age''' stratagem gives Dark Angel plasma weapons +1 damage, defining a plasma weapon as any weapon whose weapon profile includes plasma in its name. This means that it also accidentally applies to other weapons, like the bolter part of a combi-plasma, since it forgets to exclude them the same way the Beta Bolter rules exclude the non-bolter weapon profile of any combi-weapon.<br />
**'''"How do you fix this:''' Although it would take time to implement, the "ideal" fix would add rules for giving keywords to weapon profiles (similar to 7th edition). A weapon profile would inherit the keywords of the model wielding it. So rather than "'''INFANTRY''' firing flamer weapons. A flamer as defined as a ...", you have "firing '''INFANTRY FLAMER''' weapons". This would also allow for handling false positives, including ensuring that a Baleflamer is not a Flamer...ahem.<br />
*'''I Like my Genestealers Scrambled:''' Genestealer Cultists have the Cult Ambush ability, where they set up ambush markers, and reveal themselves on the first turn, appearing within 1" of the marker as if arriving from Reinforcements. Enemy units cannot move within 9" of said markers. The problem is certain units can project a 12" aura preventing enemy units from arriving from Reinforcements. Thus, some Primaris Infiltrators could walk 9.1" away from Ambush Markers, and unless the GSC player used Stratagems to relocate/hide undercover...[[fail|the units tied to those Ambush markers would automatically be destroyed]]. FAQed so GSC units using Cult Ambush Blips don't count as coming in from reserves.<br />
*'''46 shots, 1 kill:''' The current character targeting rules exist to stop people from [[cheese]] such as parking two Rhinos so your Devastator Squad with 4 Lascannons can only draw Line of Sight to your enemy's Warlord. As the Rules are written right now, you can't do this as they need to be both the closest unit, and closest visible unit. This is very important when it comes to "Mortar" and "Sniper" units, as they don't overwrite these requirements: a Mortar can't just declare it's shooting at the character behind a wall because they can't see it, even if it's the closest unit, and they can't shell the Character at the back even if they can somehow draw LoS if there is just one intervening model. Why mention this? [[Fail| The new Space Marine unit: Primaris Eliminators simply don't function if you go by RAW]]. The new weapon profile is functionally a Sniper and Mortar unit combined, but the Rules don't actually allow this: They need both LoS on a Character and the Character to be the closest unit to take the shot. If you fail to meet any of these qualifiers then you can't target the character. They can, however, target regular units as normal but at that point why not just take an allied Heavy Weapons Team?<br />
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[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]] [[Category:Gamebreaking]] [[Category:Warhammer 40000 Tactics]]</div>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBDhttp://2d4chan.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=40K_Rules_Blooper_Reel&diff=426140K Rules Blooper Reel2019-10-22T22:26:50Z<p>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBD: /* 3nd Edition */</p>
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<div>{{Fail}}<br />
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GW has a history of failing to make rules that work, whether intentional or otherwise. This page is meant to compile all the classic examples of...[[derp|unintended]] [[fail|hilarity]] of GW ruleswriting throughout 40k. The worst offenses, of course, became tactics like [[Screamerstar]] or [[Fish of Fury]].<br />
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==2nd Edition==<br />
*'''Derp From Above:''' Ramming rules for vehicles were the 2nd ed predecessor to Tank Shock. Units in the vehicle's direct path had to take Initiative tests to avoid being damaged, before being displaced the shortest possible distance. When a vehicle Rammed another vehicle, it came to a halt. The real comedy was dealing with the Lifta Droppa or D-Cannons, which could lift or teleport enemy units respectively. [[Derp|2nd ed had no resolution for what happened after one vehicle rammed another vehicle below it]]. [[Skub|While some players would displace the smaller vehicle as though it were a non-vehicle, others might keep the two vehicles joined together like an improvised Voltron]].<br />
*'''Polymorphine:''' This little wargear card was not restricted to [[Callidus]] [[Assassin]]s at first, any Imperial character with a free wargear slot could take it. It allowed said character to start the game disguised as a member of a troop squad. Queue endless instances of severe [[rape]] when what looked like a mere [[Imperial Guard|guardsman]] with a [[Lasgun|flashlight]] actually turned out to be a Terminator-armour clad [[Space Marine]] hero (for instance). Fun times.<br />
*'''Mask of Jain Zar:''' Similar to the Polymorphine problem, the second edition Eldar codex printed wargear cards for Eldar Phoenix Lords that simply read "Eldar Only," meaning any Eldar character could borrow Jain Zar's outfit and gain a Howling Banshee's ability to paralyze an opponent on the charge. Commonly used by Swooping Hawk Exarchs to insta-kill any target on the board.<br />
*'''Virus Outbreak''': A stratagem card from the Dark Millenium box that was... interesting, to say the least. Basically you threw down a 2" pie anywhere on the table, with anything beneath it not explicitly stated to be immune dying on a 3+. That was already pretty good, but worse when a model was killed, every other model not immune that was within d6 inches would have to test, dying on a 4+ and recursively requiring every other model within d6 inches to test not to die on a 4+. [[Rape|Guess it sucks]] to play [[Imperial Guard]], [[Ork]]s or [[Tyranids]], huh? (Hint: it sucked so hard the writers went so far as to recommend players tear up their Virus Outbreak cards since they hadn't intended on it being so grossly overpowered.)<br />
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==3nd Edition==<br />
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3rd edition was the shining peak of 40k, combining maximum [[grimdark]] with a sensible, diverse ruleset. Do yourself a favor and buy yourself a 3rd ed rulebook and codex instead of supporting the current, broken game.<br />
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That said, it wasn't perfect;<br />
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*'''Scourges Don't Lift:''' Back then Scourges were Jump Pack Infantry with no ability to move and shoot their Heavy Weapons (unless they took Splinter Cannons, which were decent but not stellar). To add insult to injury GW gave them a warrior statline (they were literally BS3 Imperial Guardsmen stat-wise), and ridiculously expensive weapons that don't come standard. They were also among the more fiddly of the metal models to assemble as well with casts that rarely came out right (Right up there with the metal Wraithlord, and metal Daemon Prince in terms of outright defective models that you had to fix yourself with Green Stuff). Accordingly, they were seen as a joke unit in an already difficult to pilot army.<br />
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==4th Edition==<br />
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*'''Snikrot Shuffle:''' Boss Snikrot was made a unit upgrade for Kommandos, giving his unit the ability to appear from any table edge through "Behind Enemy Lines." However, due to the way Behind Enemy Lines was worded, Snikrot was granting the unit the ability, rather than the unit itself being upgraded to have the ability. Thus, although arguably unintentional, it became legal to use Snikrot to "smuggle" decidedly unsneaky Ork Characters alongside him; one must imagine they were carrying the Boss's Bike Fred Flintstone-style.<br />
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*'''Squad Broken!''': Units stopped scoring if they were below half strength. While this made little difference on 10 or 20-man infantry units, it made quite a bit of difference if you were taking vehicle squads. Players would deliberately take odd-numbered squad sizes to increase the threshold for half.<br />
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*'''Tau Piñata:''' The Tau Orca was billed as being a super-heavy flyer that specialized in deploying most of an army anywhere across the board, due to a special rule that allowed it to disembark multiple squads at any point in its move (drop some off, move to the next point, repeat). The problem was that it could hold units so huge and had only one access point (its rear ramp) that if the units it carried were at their maximum size, they were too large to be deployed normally since all the models could not all be placed within 2" of the access point. This in turn meant the only way for the Tau player to get their troops on the board was to [[derp|hope the enemy player blew up the Orca in midair, and hope the troops inside landed on their feet and didn't face-plant and burst on the ground like the blueberries they were.]] Given the armour value of the vehicle (Rhino armour) and how easy it was to destroy, this ended up happening more often than not, and started the trend of the Orca being a useless piece of shit that was a flying deathtrap to anyone inside of it. Funnily enough this issue with the Orca remained unfixed all the way through 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th edition.<br />
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==5th Edition==<br />
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*'''Musical Wounds:''' 5th edition wound allocation stated that you had to distribute wounds as evenly as possible between all models in a unit before it rolled for saves. In theory this meant that if you did a lot of wounds at once, you could force your opponent to risk losing Sergeants or hidden Special Weapons. In practice, Musical Wounds combined with multi-wound units led to a phenomenon where players would give each model a unique loadout, so that you effectively had to deal the model's unit worth of unsaved wounds before said unit removed any casualties. The two most notable example units that abused this mechanic were Nob Bikers and Grey Knight Paladins, though Thunderwolves and even Dark Eldar Grotesques could join in the fun.<br />
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*'''You won't need Eyes When You're Raging:''' 5th Edition introduced True Line of Sight, with the stipulation that infantry models had to measure Line of Sight "from the eyes." Tyrant Guard had a special rule that they would suffer from Rage if the Hive Tyrant they were protecting died. Unfortunately, Rage as written stated you had to move towards the closest "visible" enemy unit, which RAW was impossible for Tyrant Guard since they don't actually have eyes.<br />
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*'''Selective Warp Field:''' This one was a formatting goof, but when Codex Tyranids came out, the rules for Warp Fields stated that "A Zoanthrope with a Warp Field has a 3+ Invulnerable Save." The Doom of Malan'tai had a Warp Field but was not explicitly stated to be a Zoanthrope (this is one area where Keywords would have helped). Thus, until GW actually FAQ'd it, people could argue that the Doom didn't actually get an Invulnerable Save (and INAT ruled as such until the GW FAQ overturned it).<br />
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*'''Crouching Wraithlord, Leaping Ork Boy''': Since True Line of Sight also did not come with any real restrictions against "modelling for advantage," players initially sought to exploit this by heavily modding or basing figures. Comedically, Canis Wolfborn gained an extra attack for each model in base-to-base with him, and the rules stated "if you're thinking of modelling Canis on a really large base to take advantage of this, don't." This wasn't a formal restriction against basing however. In the meantime, legs were snipped to give upright poses and models raised high overhead to give the best lines of fire. The Eldar Wraithlord became one of the most notable offenders, being popularly modded into a crouching or "prone" position to lower its height and make it easier to acquire 50% cover (It did deliver some pretty boss looking conversions, though, so it wasn't all bad).<br />
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*'''By Any Means, Indeed:''' Inquisitor Lord Karamazov came back with a vengeance in Codex: Grey Knights. Although his statline was reduced from Strength/Toughness 6 to Strength/Toughness 5, he became an Independent Character and thus could be hidden in a unit. However, his main abilities were that he granted a bubble of morale/pinning rerolls, while having an Orbital Strike Relay and the ability '''By Any Means Necessary:''' Karamazov could center an Orbital Strike over any friendly model, even one engaged in melee, and it would not Scatter. Although fluffed as an "in extremis" ability to prevent the Grey Knights from being overrun by offensive hordes, a more amusing trick came into play when comboed with Grey Knight Interceptors: Interceptors had the ability to Shunt, letting them move 30" in exchange for not being able to assault. A Lance had a blast radius of 1.5 inches, and squad coherency was two inches. [[derp|However, in 5th, it explicitly operated at full strength even with partials. Thus, a common trick was to Shunt Interceptors so one sacrificial Grey Knight could tag two enemy tanks]]; [[Tallarn|for fun, model said Interceptor with a suicide vest going "Emprah Akbar!"]]<br />
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==6th Edition==<br />
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*'''Grumblegrumble Stupid Chariot:''' The 6th edition Burning Chariot of Tzeentch was introduced as a Skimmer Chariot, fast and fragile and meant to act akin to a Daemon Land Speeder of a sort. Unfortunately, the actual ranged weapons were on the Exalted Flamer atop the whole Chariot, which was not Relentless. Thus, the Chariot had to move or shoot, which was a death sentence for such a fragile ride (7th fortunately made them Relentless).<br />
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*'''Dude, Where's My Bomb?:''' The 6th ed Sunshark Bomber had a Pulse Bomb Generator: Whenever the Sunshark successfully makes a Bombing Run, you could roll a D6, and on a 2+, you got a bomb back. [[Derp|Unfortunately, the Sunshark as written didn't actually start with a Pulse Bomb]].[[Fail|This issue remained unfixed in the 7th edition reprint]] until being FAQed.<br />
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*'''Interceptor Drones Don't:''' Adding further insult to injury, the Sunshark Bomber came with two Interceptor Drones, that had Skyfire and the Interceptor rule. However, the way Intercept was worded, [[derp|it only worked if the weapon itself had Intercept; there was no wording for the model itself having Intercept.]] [[wat|The Early Warning Override was specifically worded that "all weapons on a model with an Early Warning Override have the Intercept special rule" to avoid this]], [[fail| so any Crisis Suit could be upgraded to intercept, but an Interceptor Drone RAW could not Intercept.]] [[RAGE|This was un-FAQed throughout both 6th and 7th]].<br />
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*'''Thermonuclear Pyrovores:''' The Pyrovore in 5th-7th was memetically known as a super-useless unit, but the 6th edition Tyranid Codex was known for a hilariously misworded Volatile rule: Whenever a Pyrovore died to Instant Death, ''"Every unit suffers a S3 hit for each model (excluding other Pyrovores) within d6 inches of the Pyrovore."'' Read that rule, and comprehend what "every unit" means.<br />
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*'''Lookout, Wez Ork Snipers!''': 6th edition introduced "Character" as a subtype for models; Characters could accept and issue Challenges to other Characters, and benefit from "Look Out Sir," which let other models take wounds on their behalf; furthermore, Characters in 6th ed had the Precision Shot rule, meaning that on 6s to hit, the attacker could allocate hits instead of the defender. When the 6th ed FAQs first rolled out, Ork Nobs were indexed to be Characters. However, the index didn't distinguish between Nobs leading Boys or units of Nobs; not only could Nobz play Musical Wound Games where they could pawn off wounds to each other on a 4+, but that a unit of Nob Bikerz (each Biker fires 3 shots, hitting on 5s and rerolling misses, and choosing the model affected on a 6) [[wat|was generally better at sniping out troublesome targets than many dedicated snipers]]. GW did eventually FAQ their FAQ to state that only ''one'' Nob in each unit of Nobz/Meganobz got the Character distinction, while 7th ed made Precision Shot a USR that Characters did not innately receive.<br />
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*'''Legion of the Dammit:''' Codex Legion of the Damned was touted as a standalone supplement that was meant to let players field them as a standalone force. The rules required the Legion of the Damned to start with their entire army in Reserves. Unfortunately in 6th, [[derp|you automatically lost if you didn't actually have any units on the table]]. GW would later apologize in an FAQ for the standalone touting and confirmed the rules were intended for Legion of the Damned to support another army rather than act on their own.<br />
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*'''Asses of Fire:''' Heldrakes' Baleflamer during its inception counted as being turret-mounted, allowing the Hellturkey to Vector Strike and then hose the same unit with hellfire from its, errm... eye of terror. It was quickly errata'd, but, while not exactly game-breaking, it still lead to horrifying implications, given the damn things were everywhere back then.<br />
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==7th Edition==<br />
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*'''Nobz In A 'Naut:''' This may have arguably just been insidious GW marketing instead of them failing to understand their own game, but Gorkanauts/Morkanauts were touted as "nearly indestructible" and reliably able to transport Nobz or other elite units into the fray, despite the fact that they were not Superheavy Vehicles. While you could one-shot them with a lucky Melta or Lascannon shot, a more common outcome was for one to be Immobilized by a Grav Cannon rolling a 6. As for serving as an assault transport, GW forgot to give the 'Nauts the Assault Ramp rule, and thus [[Fail|you couldn't actually assault from one]]. To add insult to injury, these vehicles cost ''more'' than a Land Raider while moving slower. <br />
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*'''Knight Rider Chronus:''' In 7th edition, Ultramarines could purchase Chronus as an upgrade to Tanks. Unlike Longstrike or Pask, Chronus was an Infantry Character, that would turn the tank he was riding into a Character, only to emerge from said Tank like a passenger should it be destroyed. However, RAW, Chronus was a Character and so was the Tank that Chronus was riding in, but neither were the same Character. Thus, you could either make Chronus your Warlord and wait before his tank was destroyed before you could use his Warlord Trait (assuming it required being on-table), or make his Tank your Warlord. Thus, it's more funny to imagine Chronus's tank as KITT from Knight Rider. (As an amusing bonus, he also had a Servo-Arm but not Blessing of the Omnissiah, so he could punch stuff but couldn't fix it).<br />
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*'''Khornedogs of Slaanesh:''' Daemons in Khorne Daemonkin had Fearless instead of Daemonic Instability. Thus, Battle Brothers from Chaos Space Marines could join Daemon units from Khorne Daemonkin. Although an Independent Character with a Mark could not join a unit with a different Mark, having the Mark of a Chaos God and being a Daemon of a Chaos God were two different things. Thus, Daemonkin meant you could have a Sorcerer of Slaanesh use Flesh Hounds of Khorne as bodyguards. <br />
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*'''Shred this Worthless Supplement:''' The Farsight Enclaves Supplement has the Warlord Trait '''Through Surety, Destruction.''' Once per game, the Warlord's unit gains Shred for a single Shooting Phase. Sounds good right? Who doesn't like rerolling to wound? Unfortunately, as worded, [[fail|Shred only works in close combat unless applied specifically to the weapon, meaning this Warlord Trait as written does nothing whatsoever]].<br />
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*'''Dastardly DJ Roombas:''' The '''Drone-Net VX1-0''' Formation required you to take at least four units of Drones, and granted them several bonuses: First of all, they got '''Collective Targeting Data''' which granted all Drones (including Drones that were not part of the Formation) +1 Ballistic Skill "In the Shooting Phase" as long as at least two Drones "from this Formation" were on the Battlefield. [[skub|It was never FAQed whether "from this Formation" allowed for the bonus to stack if you took multiple copies of the Formation, nor whether you applied it before or after a Drone Controller]]. Additionally, the Formation had the bonus '''Enhanced Tactical Responses:''' All Drones in the Formation had Jink, Split Fire, Precision Shots, and Interceptor. Similar to the Sunshark's Drones, [[fail|Interceptor as worded would be useless for the Gun Drones RAW]], [[derp|while GW had to FAQ that Gun Drones could not both Jink and Go to Ground]] [[wat|like sneaky DJ Roombas]].<br />
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*'''Ordo Xenos or Ordo Xerox?:''' Codex Deathwatch had generally sloppy rules, copypaste formations ("Reroll to-wound vs X"), and odd examples of GW being arbitrarily restrictive in unit loadouts (notably, Deathwatch couldn't take Rifleman Dreads or Strontos Razorbacks). However the most amusing example of this was how the Bane Bolts relic had a profile for being used by a Stalker Boltgun, despite Deathwatch HQs not having the option for a Stalker Boltgun.<br />
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*'''Siphon Magic, Period:''' Siphon Magic may easily be the worst-written power of 7th edition. ''"Siphon Magic is a'' '''Blessing''' ''that targets the Psyker. For the rest of the phase, each time a friendly model successfully manifests a psychic power within 18" of them, place a dice next to this model. Any dice accrued in this manner can be used by the Psyker as bonus Warp Charge points."'' This power itself was problematic for several reasons: Does "a friendly model" include the Psyker that cast Siphon Magic? Did casting Siphon Magic actually grant the Psyker an immediate bonus die? It was noted that Deny the Witch did not turn a Success into a Failure, but simply cancelled the power's effect, and so Siphon Magic still granted a bonus die. However, the real RAW kerfluffle was the fact that since [[derp|Siphon Magic did not grant bonus Warp Charge, but "dice that could be spent as additional Warp Charge,"]] [[skub|you could argue that it was possible to store dice from Siphon Magic across turns]]. You could even state that this was "intentional," since the Tyranid Neurothrope had a similar ability that let it gain additional Warp Charge that could only be used by its unit. Hilariously though, Siphon Magic was otherwise useless for ML 1 Psykers since if it was the only power that could be cast that turn, then it would mean storing up dice that could not be used. Oops.<br />
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*'''No Death Guard Zombies:''' Typhus let you nominate any Chaos Cultists as Plague Zombies at army creation, giving them Fearless, Feel No Pain, and Slow and Purposeful. They however could not purchase any other options besides increasing their unit size. When Traitor Legions came out, it added rules for different Legion Tactics; notably, Death Guard detachments required all units with the option to purchase the Mark of Nurgle. Due to ambiguous order of operations, it was entirely possible that the Cultists having to purchase the Mark of Nurgle precluded Typhus being able to nominate said Cultists as Zombies. However, Typhus let you nominate any Cultists in your army, and not necessarily the Detachment he was in, so if you took an allied Alpha Legion detachment, you could have Infiltrating ninja-zombies. Let that image sink in.<br />
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*'''Soul Pain:''' The Ynnari Psychic Power Unbind Souls targeted an enemy unit, and made a number of Strength 4 attacks equal to the number of models in the target unit. It was supposed to be used to cut large hordes down to size. However, the rulewriter forgot that only models in range and line of sight could be removed as casualties, and Unbind Souls only had 12 inches of range. The result would be a few unlucky Orks or Tyranids being struck down with extreme overkill, to the confusion of the rest of the unit.<br />
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*'''Revenge is Sweet:''' In what may be the best bit of poetic irony of 7th Edition, the Avatar of Khaine was completely immune to Guilliman, since all of Guilliman's close combat attacks had Soul Blaze. Feels good to be immune after being used as a punching bag in all of Matt Ward's old fluff...<br />
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*'''Ceremonial Daggers:''' In Forgeworld's Horus Heresy series, the vast majority of Horus Heresy Custodes came equipped with Misericordias, daggers that had use in the 40k incarnation of the Custodes. It didn't take long for people to notice that there were no rules at all in the Horus Heresy book, and given how different the rules were already for the two incarnations people were iffy on whether or not they should use the daggers as they are in the 40k book, or just as another close combat weapon. An entire year would go by before Forgeworld finally released a FAQ, where it was revealed that this whole time the daggers were just meant to be badges of office, had no effect whatsoever in game and was included in their wargear by mistake.<br />
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*'''Stormsurge Fell and Can't Get Up!:''' When the Stormsurge battlesuit came out, it had a nice little rule that allowed it to fire twice at the expense of not being able to move. The problem? If it was tank shocked by anything (and this was confirmed in the FAQ) it would instantly die if it had ts anchors deployed, presumably because it would be tipped over and without arms (and thanks to being a super-heavy) it would be impossible to stand back up again.<br />
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==8th Edition==<br />
Strap yourself in, son, this is gonna be a long one.<br />
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*'''And They Shall Know Fear:''' As written, 40k uses a system where you roll dice (d3s, d6s, 2d6s, etc.) and add modifiers to the roll to get the result. If you have any ability to re-roll, those are applied before any modifiers. Space Marines have '''And They Shall Know No Fear''' which lets them re-roll failed Morale Tests. However, a Morale Test is resolved by rolling a D6 and adding the number of casualties the unit has suffered to obtain the result, before comparing against the unit's base leadership. [[Skub|Differring arguments exist as to whether adding a number to get a result is considered a modifier, vs a modifier being for a basic roll otherwise]], but the end result would be that through a literal interpretation, [[Fail|Marines by default could never reroll morale, since they would compare the d6 against their highest Ld (8 for the Sergeant), then modify the roll with the casualties]]. [[Wat|Ironically, this means abilities that lower the Marine unit's Ld would make it more likely for the Marines to actually use ATSKNF]]. [[Skub|You can argue if this is intentional or not too]], [[That Guy|stating "ATSKNF only kicks in when facing true fear."]]<br />
*'''I'm Celestine! No, I'm Celestine!''': When a new edition is released there's bound to be one or two things that GW forgets to mention or include, in this case GW forgot to make Saint Celestine ''unique'' when they released her rules, which opened the way for Imperium players to field 5 (or more) of her. This might not be all that bad on its own, if it wasn't for the fact that each Celestine boosted the '''Shield of Faith''' rule that the Sisters of Battle possessed. Normally it gave them a 6+ invulnerable save and for every Celestine on the tabletop this increased by +1, meaning that it was very easy to give your entire army a 2+ Invulnerable save and steamroll the opposing army, while remaining entirely tournament legal (although don't expect any TO to allow you to use this technically-legal list).<br />
*'''Holy Artillery:''' Compounding the Celestine shenanigans, thanks to how it was written the Sisters of Battle could use Acts of Faith on any unit in their army of the same order, even if they didn't have Acts of Faith. This was done by using an Imagifier or Celestine to grant the act on either a 4+ or automatically, which led to players using them to fire Exorcists twice per turn and just erase most armoured units/vehicles/monsters from the tabletop. This was later errata'd so that you can only use this power on units that can actually use Acts of Faith.<br />
*'''Were we hunting somebody?:''' Another thing GW forgot at the start of 8th was double-checking army restrictions, specifically who could be allowed to fight beside who. This led to shenanigans like Fallen and Dark Angels fighting alongside each other without issue because they both had the Imperium keyword.<br />
*'''Technically Correct: The Best Kind of Correct:''' The big FAQ introduced new suggested rules for Tournament play to prevent spam by introducing a hard limit to the same Datasheet to 3 ''per army'' in a 2k point game. On Paper this means you will see at most 3 Flyrants, 3 Units of Dark Reapers, 3 Fire Raptors etc. Sounds good on paper and limits MSU and Spam, right? Well they forgot about the Daemon Prince and the Leman Russ. [[Derp|First off, the Daemon Prince! You can still bring a Battalion of Chaos Marines, Battalion of Daemons, and then a Supreme Command Detachment of Thousand Sons or Death guard because it is a separate Datasheet for each army]] (FAQ has since rendered this variant of the cheese irrelevant). [[Derp|Second, the Leman Russ is limited to 3 Squads of Leman Russ tanks, so you can bring 3 Squads of 3 in a Spearhead and 3 Tank Commanders in a Supreme Command if you want, then have the 12 Leman Russ Tanks all break unit during the game, giving you 12. 13 if you also take Pask. And then you could keep going with all the forge world variants...]] This works with anything that can Combat Squad or has similar abilities as well.<br />
**Even better with Forge World and the Russes. The Death Korps Mars Alpha Russ is a separate datasheet, as is the Conqueror, Stygies Vanquisher and the Annihilator. So you can have [[Wat|48 units of Russes when there is meant to be a cap of three.]] This would cost far more than 2000 points, though.<br />
**With the new Knights codex, there are new type of mini-knight called Armigers, which are split into 2 datasheets and can be taken in 3 man squads like the Russes. So have fun with 18 Lords of War when the limit should be 3.<br />
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*'''What Role Am I Anyway?:''' The rules to the aforementioned hard limit says "this rule does not apply to units with the Troops or Dedicated Transport Battlefield Role." [[Fail|However, this does not account for the fact that the same Datasheet can be taken for multiple Battlefield Roles]]. For example, Khorne Berzerkers are Troops in a World Eaters Detachment and Elites otherwise. [[Skub|Depending on your interpretation, this can either mean "ignore Troops and Dedicated Transports when determining your total," that units cannot be exempt unless they can only ever be taken as Troops or Dedicated Transports, or they can so long as the potential to take them as Troops exists]].<br />
**The reasonable interpretation would be that, using Berzerkers as an example, you can have unlimited Troops Berzerker datasheets and a cap on Elites Berzerker datasheets. Why GW couldn't make this clearer is anyone's guess.<br />
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*'''Does anyone actually playtest this anymore?''' FAQ again! So the character targettng rules changed to prevent cheese. before you could only target a character with less than 10 wounds if they were the closest ''visible'' unit. This lead to [[cheese]] like surrounding squads with their own tanks and transports, leaving a small hole so a unit could only see a character, or attempting to snipe characters with Mortars and Basilisks. Instead of fixing this by saying something like "You can see through friendly units for the purposes of targeting (and only targeting) but cannot shoot through them", GW tried to patch this out. [[What|Now you can't target the character if there is a unit between the shooter and character '''even if that closer unit isn't in LoS'''.]] This has lead to characters like Archons and [[Smashfucker]] becoming the best objective holders and deep strike denial units in the entire game. Now imagine what a Reaper Launcher Autarch with Mark of the Incomparable Hunter can do with this...<br />
::Note that as of the 2nd big FAQ this remains not only unchained, but now made into an official rule. If a character is in clear view and the only enemy units that are closer to your unit than them are completely out of Line of Sight, [[FAIL|then you still cannot shoot that character.]] The FAQ also specified that you ignore other characters for the purposes of 'closest enemy unit', but only if they have less than 10 wounds.<br />
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*'''GRAMMAR IS FOR THE WEAK!:''' The Chaos Daemon Codex has the rule '''Daemonic Ritual:''' Instead of moving in their Movement Phase, any CHAOS CHARACTER may, at the end of their Movement Phase, attempt to summon a DAEMON unit ''with this ability'' by performing a Daemonic Ritual. The key is the "with this ability," since this can form an ambiguous lexical construct. "I found you with my flashlight" can either mean subject A found Predicate B in the possession of A's Flashlight, or that A used A's Flashlight to find B. Only by noticing that non-character Daemon Units have Daemonic Ritual will a player infer that [[wat|having Daemonic Ritual does not let you perform a Daemonic Ritual]], [[derp|but lets any Chaos Character that doesn't necessarily have Daemonic Ritual perform a Daemonic Ritual]], [[FAIL| and the clause "By performing a Daemonic Ritual" is just flavor-text with no actual relevance to Daemonic Ritual]]. [[Skub|Feel free to attempt to summon a Heldrake]] [[That_Guy|on account of ambiguous ruling though]].<br />
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*'''Lesser Keyword of Solomon:''' The Daemon Codex came with many Stratagems, which people immediately started thinking of ways to apply to [[Cheese|Magnus and Mortarion]]. To curb this, GW released a FAQ stating that Daemon Stratagems and Relics only work on Faction Keyword Daemons. The problem? The Warhammer Designer Commentary FAQ (the same one preventing Sept<Craftworld<Wu'Tang Clan>>) states that [[derp|once the battle is begun, there is no functional difference between a Keyword and a Faction Keyword]], [[Fail|so the errata as written doesn't work]].<br />
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*'''Plasma is Hotter At Night:''' When you Overcharge Plasma weaponry, it explodes on a 1. Not a "natural" one but a "modified one." This means any penalties to-hit also increase the odds of Plasma exploding. The Machine Spirits are afraid of the dark. Note that supercharged Plasma Guns "slay the bearer on a hit roll of 1". Everything in the book draws gear from one list. Yes, including vehicles. Yes, that 371pts Land Raider with 16 wounds just spontaneously evaporated itself with its own pintle-mounted combi-plasma. Don't press that, brother!<br />
**To add insult to injury, there is even a situation where you can make an Overcharged Plasma Cannon explode on any result to hit, thanks to GW giving -1 to hit effects to the Craftworld Eldar like it's going out of style. All you need to do is overcharge and shoot a Plasma Cannon at night (-1 to hit) after moving (-1 to hit) at some knife eared assholes painted blue (Alaitoc Attribute, -1 to hit at +12") with fancy armour (Warp Spider's Flickerjump ability, -1 to hit) who are pulling some Matrix shit (Lightning-Fast Reactions Stratagem, -1 to hit). So that's a total of -5 to hit, meaning any result you roll to hit will be modified down to a 1. I guess the Machine Spirits are also scared of Eldar too?<br />
**On a more positive note, you can (almost always) fire the gun on regular mode at no risk. As hilariously bad as this rule is, you at least don't ''need'' to commit suicide or do nothing.<br />
**Some models have special rules on their guns to "fix" this, mostly characters with big expensive minis and guns that only cause a mortal wound on a 1.<br />
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*'''Anti-Air Flamethrowers:''' Flamethrowers in 8th edition no longer use an AoE "teardrop" template, but instead inflict a random number of automatic hits on a unit. For example, a Hellhound's Inferno Cannon inflicts D6 automatic hits. Due to these changes, regular flamers are less important as a crowd control weapon, and more as an anti-hitmod (and [[derp|anti-aircraft]]) weapon; this is especially true of weapons that have a multi-damage value like the aforementioned Inferno Cannon. Where it gets silly though is how Flamers interact with "ambush/deepstrike" abilities. See, regular flamers have an effective range of 8 inches, but most "strike from Reserve" powers require you to set up more than 9 inches away. This means that flamers are useless when you appear from Reserves, but it also means they're useless for defending against units Charging from Reserves, since the flamers are [[fail|out of range and thus unable to actually lay down a Wall of Death like in 6th-7th Edition, or interrupt movement like in 2nd Edition]].<br />
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*'''All is Atomized Dust:''' The rules for Psykers in 8th are copied from Age of Sigmar: Roll 2d6 against the Psychic Power's difficulty, suffering Perils if you roll double 1s or double 6s. Perils means you suffer D3 Mortal Wounds, and inflict another D3 Mortal Wounds to all units within 6" should the Psyker be slain as a result. Unfortunately, the Aspiring Sorcerer in a unit of Rubric Marines...has 1 wound, while having a weaker version of Smite. Because Mortal Wounds spillover, this means you lose 2d3 models to Perils, the Sorcerer among them. Don't even think about trying to cast powers against Hive Fleet Kronos, lest your [[fail|expensive Rubric Marines go up in a blaze of Chaos is Fickle!]]. Although the entire 1K Sons unit is a PSYKER, the rules for Perils state that the psyker (not keyworded) suffers the Mortal wounds, and the Rubric Marine datasheet mentions that the Aspiring Sorcerer is the model doing the casting. <br />
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*'''Just Another Bugged Hunt:''' Genestealer Cults have a special rule called Brood Brothers: For each Genestealer Cult detachment in your army, you may take one Guard detachment, ignoring said Guard Detachment's Faction Keywords when determining if your army is Battle-Forged. The Guard Detachment cannot benefit from any Regiment-specific Stratagems, Doctrines, or Relics. However, a separate Forgeworld FAQ ruling states that Elysian and Krieg bonuses are not considered Regiment bonuses but their own "bespoke" rules. Combine with the fact that Brood Brothers has no restriction on being triggered by an Auxiliary Detachment, and you can have a Battalion of Tyranids fighting alongside a Battalion of Elysians, [[wat|with a single Cult Acolyte in an Auxiliary Detachment making the list Battle-Forged]].<br />
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*'''Unfocused Fire:''' Due to wonky RAW, the Tau Stratagem Focused Fire (hopefully to be FAQd) works best by splitting fire across the entire enemy army. Say the opponent has a unit. You shoot that unit, it fails its save, and you then activate Focus Fire. For the rest of that phase, any T'au Sept ''unit'' of yours that ''targets'' that unit gets +1 to wound. However, selecting targets and resolving shooting are separate steps; this means that RAW, a Hammerhead could allocate Smart Missiles against the unit that Focus Fire was activated against, allocate its Railgun against another unit, and get +1 to wound both units. <br />
**The Big FAQ errata'd Focus Fire so that you get +1 to wound with attacks that are made by T'au Sept units from your army that target the enemy unit. [[Skub|Although some will argue that "that target unit" refers to the attacks]], even if that were the case, [[Derp|RAW units Choose Targets, and then after allocating weapons, you Resolve Attacks]], [[Fail|and therefore this errata effectively changes nothing]].<br />
**'''Sidenote:''' 8th renames Tau to T'au, while adding bonuses for Sept T'au. Thus, there was a joke due to the Faction and Sept having the same name. [[derp|"All T'au are T'au but not all T'au are necessarily from T'au."]]<br />
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*'''Really Hot-Blooded:''' Normally, the shooting sequence is: Select a unit to shoot, Declare targets, allocate weapons, then resolve attacks. Certain Stratagems or abilities may allow a unit to "fire its weapons twice" or "shoot an additional time at the end of the Shooting Phase." However, the Vior'la Stratagem '''Hot-Blooded''' is worded that at the start of the Shooting Phase, you may pick an INFANTRY unit from your army, and it may be "chosen to shoot twice this phase." The key is that normally, the rules state that you may not select a unit to shoot if it Fell Back, Advanced, or is engaged, [[derp|yet this Stratagem as written overrides those restrictions]]. [[Skub|Unlike other RAW screwups, it is unknown if this was intentional or just GW flubbing standardizing their rules]].<br />
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*'''Supreme Lack of Fire Discipline:''' The T'au Sept Sa'cea has the Tenet '''Calm Discipline''', which at first looks similar to the Salamander Chapter Tactic '''Master Artisans''', in that it lets each Sa'cea unit reroll a single to-hit roll. However, while the Salamanders Chapter Tactic is worded that you "you can reroll a single failed hit roll and a single failed wound roll made for a SALAMANDERS unit with this Tactic each time it shoots or fights," the Sa'caea Tenet is written that "In the Shooting phase you can re-roll a single failed hit roll when a unit with this tenet shoots." [[Fail|As written, the Tenet gives you one reroll to-hit for the entire shooting phase, and not one per unit.]]<br />
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*'''Ork Snipers are totally a thing:''' Again with GW forgetting that -1 to hit is actually powerful and handing it out everywhere, this means that Orks are literally incapable of hitting anything with a -2 to hit, since there is no "6 always hits" rule (until the Orks' codex) the way there is a "1 always fails" rule.<br />
** This can be exploited by a Tyranid list with [[Biovore]]s. The Spore Mine Launcher, on a miss, allows you to put a Spore Mine on the table for free, even in Matched Play. Tired of to-hit penalty cheese making all your guns hit on a 6+ or 7+? Have your Biovores shoot at them and they can literally cover the table in Spore Mines, because they'll always miss.<br />
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*'''Thermonuclear Spore Mines:''' The wording of the '''Floating Death''' ability states that a Spore Mine explodes if it is within 3" of any enemy units at the end of any Charge phase; whenever it explodes, it inflicts Mortal Wounds on the "nearest" enemy unit except on a 1. [[wat|The issue is that multiple Spore Mines in range of the same unit explode simultaneously, and thus their wounds must be sequentially resolved]]. Suppose I have three Spore Mines, each in range of a squad of 2 Space Marines. All three explode. The first one wipes out the Space Marine Squad, [[derp|while the second and third one each inflict Mortal Wounds on the "next" nearest unit]], [[Fail|even if on the opposite side of the game board and out of Line of Sight]].<br />
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*'''Sonic the Genestealer:''' Tyranids have a Stratagem called '''Metabolic Overdrive''' that lets a unit move a second time in the Movement Phase in exchange for not being able to Charge that turn. Hive Fleet Kraken Tyranids roll 3d6 and pick the highest roll for determining their Advance move, while their '''Opportunistic Advance''' Stratagem lets them double their Advance distance for that movement phase. The initial issue was that RaW, [[derp|Advance added to your Move Characteristic for that phase, instead of increasing your characteristic for that specific move.]] [[wat|Thus, a unit of Kraken Genestealers could move not 8 + 12 + 8 + 12 inches in the Move Phase, but 8 + 12 + 8 + 12 + 12]]. [[derp|Combine with a Swarmlord's Hive Commander abilty for an effective top speed of 66", and a unit of Kraken Genestealers could outrun a supersonic aircraft on foot]]. [[Meme|Gotta go fast]]!<br />
** GW FAQed this [[fail|not by stating that Advancing only applies to a specific move, but by stating that you can only advance once in a phase and it applies to all moves made that phase]]. This did make the initial Sonic the Genestealer option slower, with a top speed of [[derp|only]] 54". However, GW also clarified that Opportunistic Advance could be used with Hive Commander, Overrun, Mind Eater, or any other ability that lets a unit "move as though it were the Movement Phase." [[wat|Aside from giving a unit of Kraken Genestealers a theoretical top speed of 101" (8+12 from Move & Opportunistic Advance, 8+12 from Hive Commander and Opportunistic Advance, 12 from Charge, 3 from Piling In, 3 from Consolidate, 3 from Piling in and again with the Adrenaline Surge stratagem, 8 + 12 from Overrun (replacing Consolidate from the Adrenaline Surge) and Opportunistic Advance, and another 8 + 12 from Mind Eater and Advance)]], [[fail|it sets a messy precedent for Dark Eldar due to GW not strictly defining what "as if in another phase" actually means]].<br />
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*'''What Phase is It Anyway?:''' The Dark Eldar Wych Cult of Red Grief has the Stratagem '''No Method of Death Beneath our Grasp''' which can be used immediately upon destroying an enemy unit in the Shooting or Fight Phase. If you destroy an enemy unit in the Shooting Phase, you get a second round of shooting. If you destroy an enemy unit in the Fight Phase, you get to (after Consolidation) Fight a second time in the Fight Phase. By itself, this is remarkably innocent. [[Derp|However, GW forgot that Ynnari are capable of "out-of-phase" actions, and confirmed that Dark Eldar Ynnari still have access to Dark Eldar Stratagems]]. [[Skub|You can have a unit of Ynnari Red Grief Reavers destroy an enemy unit in the Fight Phase, use Soulburst to "shoot as if it were the Shooting Phase" to destroy another unit, pop the Stratagem, and then cause the game to break under at least three separate interpretations over what phase you are actually in.]] [[Fail|The fact there is no "Else" clause in the ability means that you can argue that if the Stratagem works as if in both phases, you can Consolidate, shoot and fight with this Stratagem]]. <br />
**The Big FAQ clarified that Soulburst takes place after you Consolidate despite triggering immediately, giving potential weight to the theory that you get both effects.<br />
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*'''The Howling Banshees got into the cookie-dough again:''' Howling Banshees get +3" to the distance they roll for charges, and are also supposed to be able to charge units 15" away. However due to how the rule is written, all it does is let them charge after advancing if a unit is 15" away, not that they get to ignore the 12" limit from the main Rulebook. I guess Jain Zar has some coupons for Ben and Jerry's or something?<br />
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*'''"We forgot the difference between Unit and Model" for 500, Alex:''' The rules for Advancing say that the unit may not be selected to shoot if it does so. The rules for Assault weapons say a model with an Assault weapon may shoot it if it advanced, but at -1 to hit. The problem is that you can never select the unit the model with an Assault weapon is in as a unit you want to shoot with, due to the rules for advancing. The same applies for Pistols with a unit within 1" of an enemy.<br />
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*'''Stop Betraying Yourself! Stop Betraying Yourself!''': [[Khârn]] the Betrayer has the rule '''Kill! Maim! Burn!''' which lets him (any friendly World Eaters within 1", so really just himself) reroll all hits in the Fight Subphase, and he hits on a 2+. Sounds good so far, right? However, his rule '''The Betrayer''' means he cannot reroll 1s (so he cannot reroll any hits), each 1 hitting a friendly unit instead. You would think this would mean that you should run him solo, for "If there are no friendly models within 1 inch of Khârn, the hits are discarded." Unfortunately, a model is always treated as being in range of itself for auras or other special rules, meaning [[Fail|a bunch of 1s (or modified rolls) will result in Khârn hitting himself instead of the enemy]].<br />
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*'''Dakkaskull of Dakka:''' The Admech Stratagem '''Scryerskull''' can for the measly cost of 1 Command Point be used "at any time" to do one of several things: Reveal D3 Hidden Setup Markers, reveal a Mysterious Objective, or shoot with an ADEPTUS MECHANICUS unit while ignoring penalties from Dawn Raid, Low Visibility or Cover of Darknes. The "At any time", a lack of a requirement that the mission being played is using special rules or a 'shooting phase only' limitation results in game-breaking issues.<br />
**Stratagems used before a battle are exempt from the once per phase rule. So feel free to use Scryerskull "at any time" during your deployment phase until you run out of CP or enemies to shoot. If you don't feel like winning the game during deployment, you can still use Scryerskull once in every phase for both players, means that RAW [[derp|, you can use it once in every Movement, Psychic, Shooting, Charge, Fight & Morale phases, and then again in the next players turn.]] Combine with Kastellans for almost enough dakka or a neutron laser Dunecrawler to wipe out every vehicle in the opposing army.<br />
**This Blooper has been fixed in the Admech FAQ.<br />
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*'''Trash Can Lid of Faith:''' Seraphim have a 6++ save, and a rule forcing them (if it were optional this wouldn't be a problem) to re-roll failed results when using this save. Celestine gives a +1 modifier to those invulnerable saves. However, because of the totally fun and not at all stupid system where re-rolls must happens before modifiers, if a Seraphim rolls a 5 for their save, they are forced to re-roll it even though it would pass after modifiers.<br />
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*'''White Autarchs can't Jump:''' While it was fixed in the Codex for Warp Spiders (due to horrible wording in the Index, RAW said that Warp Spiders couldn't teleport out of combat in the Index), an Autarch using a Warp Spider Jump Pack can't use said Jump Pack to teleport out of Combat due to no current rules existing for the Autarch's version of it.<br />
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*'''Remote Serjery:''' Because the Painboy's healing ability works on models and not units, it's entirely possible for a Painboy to save an Ork in combat on the other end of the table if you conga-line a maxed out squad of Boys. While less of a blooper and more a silly rules interaction, there is something hilariously Orky about the Painboy being able to save something locked in combat several feet away just because it's in the same mob.<br />
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*'''High Speed Dirt:''' Deliberately crashing your own Flyers sounds dumb, right? Well if you read the rules for a lot of Kill Point missions (thankfully GW's No Quarter Given Objective is clear. Objectives written by Third Party groups are sometimes not so clear), or Tactical Objectives for Maelstrom Missions, deliberately crashing your own near-death flyer (by intentionally moving them for less than their minimum movement distance) means that your opponent doesn't get the kill credit as nobody actually destroyed it. This also leads too...<br />
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*'''Ynnari did 9/11:''' While there are many strange Soulburst interactions, it's entirely possible to deliberately crash your own Flyers by intentionally not moving them their minimum movement distance, something clearly unintended. This can result in some ridiculous [[Tzeentch |Rube Goldberg-esque chain reactions]] where a Soulbursting Warlock can Quicken a Flyer on 1-2 Wounds left and have them crash within 7" of [[Just As Planned|a bunch of Dark Reapers that nuke something across the map for free, which in turn triggers a bunch of Howling Banshees to slice up a unit, which lets the Shining Spears charge in and murder the unit that caused the Warlock to Soulburst to begin with]]. <br />
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*'''Strength From Horrible Rape:''' Ynnari again, and while this one makes sense RAW it's horribly unfluffy. Yvraine and The Visarch are healed on a 4+ by friendly Eldar exploding near them. Yvraine also benefits if it just happens to be a Psyker exploding, as it gives her more powers. Warlocks are very spammable. Put it together and it's not unheard of for Ynnari players to use a Command Point Re-roll to deliberately Perils of the Warp so that Yvraine gets a benefit from a [[Rape| Warlock being sucked into the Warp, likely taking even more Eldar with them if you get really unlucky]]. Yes, Eldar being introduced to Slaanesh's personal Bad Dragon collection actually heals and benefits the Ynnari, but they still swear it's entirely unrelated. Uh-huh... <br />
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*'''"Drive me closer, I wish to hit them with my Agonizer!"''': [[What|Ramming is always better for Dark Eldar Vehicles]]. Because of a hilariously badly worded FAQ: everything has a Close Combat Weapon, even units that can't physically carry one (like Vehicles). [[Fail |Before this Dark Eldar vehicles were forced to Ram thier giant pirate ships into people at the same Strength of a Space Marine punching someone, because Bladevanes were the only weapon choice for Vehicles]]. Post FAQ they can declare they are using their Close Combat Weapon and attack at full strength.<br />
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*'''"We found a bigger boat, Archon!"''': Dark Eldar and terrible FAQs again! The FAQ for Index: Xenos 1 ruled that Scourges and Hellions can't fit into Raiders or Venoms [[Derp| after an oversight in the Index allowed them to ride them]]. Well they never bothered to apply this FAQ to the Tantalus, [[What| so yes, Scourges and Hellions can still fit in there with their massive wings and giant blades hoverboards]] while still having space for loot, slaves, medical supplies, spare ammo, spare slaves, and someone to fetch the drinks. What else could a self respecting Space Pirate Vampire Elf want? (Hilariously ''still'' not fixed as of the 16/04/2018 Forgeworld FAQ update)<br />
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*'''Cruddex in a Box?''': Dark Eldar again, [[Robin_Cruddace|and White Dwarf April 2018 confirmed who is responsible for this shitshow of a decision]]. [[Fail| The Crucible of Malediction is available as both an overcosted stratagem, and Wargear option for the Haemonculus meaning there so no reason to ever use the Stratagem and the Dark Eldar have lost out on a another Stratagem because of this...]]<br />
** Ironically enough, GW did FAQ this for the T'au Stimulant Injectors, stating " No. You cannot purchase Stimulant Injectors anymore and the rules for Stimulant Injectors as presented in Codex: T’au Empire (i.e. the Stratagem) take precedence." Sadly due to the bespoke nature of 8th edition, this applies only to Stimulant Injectors and nothing else.<br />
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*'''Abaddonify''': More Eldar rules breaking something! Jain Zar can [[Abaddon|disarm]] models she is fighting in close combat, rendering them unable to use one of their weapons. Well things get strange if you disarm something carrying the basic Close Combat Weapon. RAW says that the unit can't use that weapon, but the Rulebook states that you are to always assume that they have that weapon. There hasn't been a clear FAQ on this either which makes things more complicated.<br />
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*'''Space Elf Pirate Ninja?:''' Eldar yet again. This time the Corsairs. [[What| Because the Corsair Prince has vanished from the Index]], [[Fail |it's impossible to field a legal army if you go pure Corsairs]]. It's also impossible to bring Corsairs along with you as an Eldar army without taking an Auxiliary Detachment and losing CP, or going Ynnari and having your opponent flip the table.<br />
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*'''Plague Zombie Cloning:''' If a Poxwalker kills a Necron and turns it into an additional Poxwalker model, you can still re-animate that Necron. The same goes for any model that can "die" and then return to the table in some fashion. Don't think about that one too hard, [[Matt Ward |I don't think the person who wrote it did either]]. [[Derp|Amusingly, this means that one Pink Horror can turn into seven Poxwalker Zombies]]; a notable LVO list by a tournament-goer named [[Awesome|Joshua Death]] [[Peasant Railgun| ran a bunch of Horrors as a screen to "walk up" a bunch of Poxwalkers up the board like a Zombie Railgun]], through the '''Cloud of Flies''' and '''Poxwalker Hive''' Stratagems. <br />
**Note that the Plague Zombie Cloning was supposedly fixed by the '''Curse of the Walking Pox''' ability being FAQ'd so that you have to pay Reinforcement Points to increase the unit beyond its starting size. However, the '''Poxwolker Hive''' Stratagem technically replaced '''Curse of the Walking Pox''' for the turn, [[Derp|while not being errata'd with the same Reinforcement Point clause.]]<br />
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*'''Scunthorpe Weapon Profiles:''' The Scunthorpe Problem is a classic problem with word-search algorithms that censored for filtered out "dirty" words. The problem lay in the fact that certain innocent words would yield "false positives"; the problem was named after users from the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire were unable to create AOL accounts, [[Not As Planned|since "Scunthorpe" has the word "cunt" in it]]. How does this relate to 8th edition? In order to deal with the prior problem of weapon classification, many abilities and stratagems in 8th edition will state that a "X" weapon is defined as any weapon whose weapon profile has "Y" in its name (ex. blahblahblah). Aside from being a futureproofing timebomb waiting to happen, the rules for 8th edition have a messy definition for what exactly is a weapon profile: Is a weapon with multiple attack modes itself a weapon profile, or are the individual attack modes themselves profiles? [[Rules Lawyer |This may seem like pedantic semantics]], [[Tzeentch|but either interpretation will result in bloopers]]. <br />
**'''Prometheium is Heresy:''' Chapter Approved 2017 introduced Cities of Death Stratagems, including Siphon Promethium. Siphon Promethium lets an infantry unit double the range of its flamer weapons, including Skorchas, Burnas, and any weapon profile with 'flame' in its name. This particular wording hurts Orks in particular, since depending on the interpretation, this prevents Kombi-Skorchas from benefitting. The real comedy however comes from the fact that Horrors of Tzeentch use 'Coruscating Flames', which can now shoot out to 36" on account of a false positive.<br />
**'''Holy Duality?:''' The Sisters of Battle beta codex had a stratagem '''Holy Trinity''', which granted bonuses when a unit used a flamer, bolter, and meltagun on the same target. The definition for each component was for any weapon profile with 'bolt', 'melta', or 'flame' in its name, while explicitly treating Inferno Pistols as Melta weapons. If the interpretation that the weapon profile itself encompasses all the attack modes available, the end result would be Sisters using Combi-Flamers and Combi-Meltas to trigger the Stratagem at a distance, for superior dakka. <br />
**'''Weapons of the Derp Age:''' The '''Weapons of the Dark Age''' stratagem gives Dark Angel plasma weapons +1 damage, defining a plasma weapon as any weapon whose weapon profile includes plasma in its name. This means that it also accidentally applies to other weapons, like the bolter part of a combi-plasma, since it forgets to exclude them the same way the Beta Bolter rules exclude the non-bolter weapon profile of any combi-weapon.<br />
**'''"How do you fix this:''' Although it would take time to implement, the "ideal" fix would add rules for giving keywords to weapon profiles (similar to 7th edition). A weapon profile would inherit the keywords of the model wielding it. So rather than "'''INFANTRY''' firing flamer weapons. A flamer as defined as a ...", you have "firing '''INFANTRY FLAMER''' weapons". This would also allow for handling false positives, including ensuring that a Baleflamer is not a Flamer...ahem.<br />
*'''I Like my Genestealers Scrambled:''' Genestealer Cultists have the Cult Ambush ability, where they set up ambush markers, and reveal themselves on the first turn, appearing within 1" of the marker as if arriving from Reinforcements. Enemy units cannot move within 9" of said markers. The problem is certain units can project a 12" aura preventing enemy units from arriving from Reinforcements. Thus, some Primaris Infiltrators could walk 9.1" away from Ambush Markers, and unless the GSC player used Stratagems to relocate/hide undercover...[[fail|the units tied to those Ambush markers would automatically be destroyed]]. FAQed so GSC units using Cult Ambush Blips don't count as coming in from reserves.<br />
*'''46 shots, 1 kill:''' The current character targeting rules exist to stop people from [[cheese]] such as parking two Rhinos so your Devastator Squad with 4 Lascannons can only draw Line of Sight to your enemy's Warlord. As the Rules are written right now, you can't do this as they need to be both the closest unit, and closest visible unit. This is very important when it comes to "Mortar" and "Sniper" units, as they don't overwrite these requirements: a Mortar can't just declare it's shooting at the character behind a wall because they can't see it, even if it's the closest unit, and they can't shell the Character at the back even if they can somehow draw LoS if there is just one intervening model. Why mention this? [[Fail| The new Space Marine unit: Primaris Eliminators simply don't function if you go by RAW]]. The new weapon profile is functionally a Sniper and Mortar unit combined, but the Rules don't actually allow this: They need both LoS on a Character and the Character to be the closest unit to take the shot. If you fail to meet any of these qualifiers then you can't target the character. They can, however, target regular units as normal but at that point why not just take an allied Heavy Weapons Team?<br />
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[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]] [[Category:Gamebreaking]] [[Category:Warhammer 40000 Tactics]]</div>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBDhttp://2d4chan.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Dawn_of_War_III&diff=169574Dawn of War III2019-10-22T22:17:08Z<p>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBD: /* Dawn of War III Is Dead! */</p>
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''"In darkness'', ''I shall be light''<br><br />
''In times of doubt'', ''I shall keep faith''<br><br />
''In throes of rage'', ''I shall hone my craft''<br><br />
''In vengeance'', ''I shall have no mercy''<br><br />
''In the midst of battle'', ''I shall have no fear''<br><br />
''In the face of death'', ''I shall have no remorse"''<br><br />
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_ZgyNoHtjw| The voice in the trailer.]<br />
[[File:DoWIII.jpg|thumbnail|right|500px|Skulls for the skull throne!]]<br />
Announced on 3rd of May 2016 and released on April 27nd 2017, '''''Dawn of War III''''' is the third entry in the Dawn of War series.<br />
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The game features [[Space Marines]], [[Orks]], and [[Eldar]], along with [[Imperial Guard]] as an NPC race allied with Space Marines and [[Imperial Knight|Imperial Knights]] as playable allied units to the Space Marines. The campaign features all three factions, rotating which faction you're playing every mission [[Dawn of War II#Retribution|rather than having every faction play the same shortened campaign]]. The story features [[Gabriel Angelos]] (sadly with a different voice actor), [[Macha]], and [[Gorgutz]] as they all race to an ancient planet called Acheron which emerges from the warp every couple thousand years and holds an artifact called the Spear of [[Khaine]].<br />
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==Plot==<br />
{{spoilers}}<br />
Coming back with a new look and much closer to the first game while having elements from the second, the third installment sees the return of some of the more popular characters. Among them [[Gabriel Angelos]], [[Farseer Macha]] and [[Warboss Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter]] will battle for the planet of Acheron for a powerful weapon known as the Spear of Khaine. Whilst the Eldar and Orks seek to obtain it for its tremendous power, Gabriel seeks to prevent anyone from using it, as it apparently reeks of deceit. More of the plot can be read below.<br />
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<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"><br />
===Part 1: Verlock Keep and Cyprus Ultima===<br />
Long story short, it begins on the Knight World of Cyprus Ultima being overrun by [[Orks]] led by [[Warboss]] Gitsompa with Varlock Keep being on its last toes against the green tide. [[Heresy|For some reason,]] Inquisitor Holt has prevented further reinforcements from assisting the local Knight house from being overwhelmed. Thankfully for Lady Solaria (The Matriarch of Verlock Keep), <s>Captain</s> [[Chapter Master]] [[Gabriel Angelos]] of the [[Blood Ravens]] ignored the [[Inquisitor|Inquisitor's]] decree and came to assist Lady Solaria's forces. During the fighting, Warboss [[Gorgutz]] led a counter attack to prove that he is the better overall leader then Gitstompa. Unfortunately the [[Eldar]] led by [[Autarch]] Kyre, came on Cyprus to mess everything up which forced Gorgutz to think of some [[Tactical genius|Tactical Genius]] which involves building a giant cannon, sabotage and [[Sindri|Sindri'ing Warboss Gitstompa]] so that Gorgutz would become defacto leader. Meanwhile, the breach in the decree led to Inquisitor Holt feeling all [[Butthurt|butthurt]] about this and tasked Ol'Gabe to defend Starfort Helios which has been overrun by Orks now led by Gorgutz. Both Holt and Gabe talked about the reason behind the starforts, in which they were designed as a barricade against the legendary planet Acheron which houses the legendary 'Spear of [[Khaine]]' in which Holt took great interests in attaining it for himself. As you can imagine, Gabe was quite suspicious over the Inquisitor's ambition and was even more suspicious over the Spear of Khaine whose intuition led Gabe to suspect of it as a [[Chaos|Chaotic corruption]] (Oh, how right he was).<br />
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On the other hand of the spectrum, [[Farseer]] [[Macha]] led an Eldar warhost to aid Kyre who he himself is also after the Spear of Khaine. However, Macha is suspicious about Kyre's prophecy as it did not add up to Macha's own divination on what lies beyond Acheron. Macha was tasked by Kyre to kill Gabriel Angelos as he sees the Chapter Master as an obstacle to Kyre's own ambition, however Macha's relationship with Gabriel stretched all the way back [[Tartarus]]. Before she could accomplish this, [[Jonah Orion]] stood in Macha's way. Macha promptly kicked Jonah's ass and threaten to kill him if he did not tell her where <s>Macha's husbando</s> Gabriel Angelos is. However, being the shining beacon of bromance that is Gabe, the Chapter Master came to Macha's location to prevent her from killing his [[Gay|<s>boyfriend</s>]] most trusted [[Librarian]] butt budy. Macha attempted to throw her singing spear, Gabriel remembered that he was wearing terminator armour and singing spears are AP- and so managed to catch the damned weapon with his hands. Macha blasted him with Psychic shenanigans, took a thunder hammer to the face and either passed her Invuln save or benefited from the Eternal Warrior rule. Before they could end their little 'reunion' however, the planet Acheron arrived on the Cyprus system and shattered Starfort Helios, reigning space debris on where they fought (Seriously, Acheron is ECKS BAWKS HUEG, like Gas Giant size). Macha escaped whilst Gabe was left horrified over the fate of [[Chaplain]] [[Apollo Diomedes]] as it was Gabriel who ordered Diomedes to assist the resistance on Helios. <br />
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Meanwhile, Gorgutz promptly [[PROMOTIONS|jizzed himself]] with all the loot being crash landed around him due to Helios' demise. Unfortunately, other gitz such as [[Weirdboy]] Zappnoggin and [[Big Mek]] Wazzmakka are fighting over the loot. After Gorgutz promptly bash their heads in and forced them to comply under his leadership, Gorgutz then led on a joyride to Starfort Charon so he could find out what the hell is going on in Acheron. Apparently ''how'' he managed to get onto the Starfort without getting shot down isn't worth worrying about (seriously, he's just there and hopping off a crashed craft without any further explanation). After blowing up the defenses of Charon with nothing more than a bunch of [[Gretchin]] with explosive grenades (seriously, you would think that the defenses of an Imperial Starfort would be a bit more secure), Gorgutz then used the opportunity of the disabled Starfort to land on Acheron without the worry of being blown up. On the other hand, Macha met with [[Ronahn]] to discuss on the potential craziness that is Kyre. Apparently, the reason why Ronahn was here and acting as a secret spy for Kyre was because Kyre [[Derp|somehow got his hands on]] [[Taldeer|Taldeer's]] soulstone due to some altercation with Ronahn. Apparently, Kyre is using Taldeer's prophecy as not only as to stroke Kyre's fragile ego but to also keep his legitimacy stable. Despite the fact that using another [[Craftworld|Craftworld's]] soulstone for nefarious purposes, especially one from [[Ulthwé]] should be enough to send half of the Craftworld's forces to shank Kyre's ass for [[Heresy]], this did not come to pass. After some discussions, Macha, Ronahn and [[Jain Zar]] (Who came to Macha's assistance to stop Kyre's foolish action that would further weakened the Biel-Tan craftworld) all agreed that Kyre's prophecy is nothing more than a steaming pile of [[Bullshit]] and will lead their people to ruin. Unfortunately Jain Zar didn't just tell everyone to stop follow Kyre because she didn't feel like it (yes seriously, she'd rather kill Eldar than that and there's a weak explanation on her trying to get Macha to realize her potential through the conflict) which would have ended the conflict immediately and stopped Eldar from killing each other. So Macha and Ronahn devise a plan to distract Kyre's forces with the aid of Gorgutz so they could sneak around and steal back Taldeer's soulstone instead. Macha and Ronahn also managed to convince Gorgutz to aid them by essentially waving the Spear of Khaine all over Gorgutz like he is some sort of attack dog. So with Gorgutz now in the race to get his 'Super Pointy Stikk', Dawn of War 3 has essentially turned into a Monty Python sketch with all three races bonking each other's heads so they can leap frog each other to get to the Spear first.<br />
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===Part 2: Acheron===<br />
On the other side of the theater, Gabe discussed with Captain Balthazar on board the Blood Raven's [[Battlebarge]] to retrieve Diomedes' [[Gene Seed|Gene Seed]] for he fears that he is dead. However, Inquisitor Holt being a shady motherfucking dick, threatened Gabriel not to go to the remains of Helios or else he would shoot Gabe's aircraft out of the sky. This understandably twisted Gabe's nipples to no end and secretly arranged Balthazar to [[Just as Planned|teleport]] Gabe on the remains of Starfort Helios. They agreed and Gabe was transported on the destroyed Starfort. What he saw disturbed Gabe as the remains of both the Starfort and its crew members was [[Grimdark|fused with the structures of Acheron]]. Fearing for the worst, Gabriel along with a group of [[Terminator|Terminators]] proceed to cleanse the area of both Orks and Eldar with sufficient [[Dakka]]. Once Gabriel found where Diomedes is located, to everyone's surprise, Apollo Diomedes has indeed survived due to [[Plot Armor|rolling a 1 on his To Wound/Destroyer roll and escaping unscathed]] (or maybe he just passed every Armour/Invuln save, he was wearing termie armour). After hearing the Inquisitor's actions, Diomedes was understandably [[Rage|pissed as fuck.]] Inquisitor Holt himself was displeased, but more pressing matters was at hand due to everyone wanting to get the Spear of Khaine.<br />
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On Acheron, Farseer Macha and her posse sneaked to where Taldeer is resting and proceed to [[Blood Ravens|'borrow it']] for their own uses. However, they were caught and were forced to flee, fortunately they completed their task and Kyre sighed in disappointment. Near the vault shielding the Spear of Khaine, Gabe and friends fought their way to destroy the Eldar. However, Inquisitor Holt decided that if a bunch of enemies are gathered in one spot, you might as well just nuke them and requested an orbital bombardment on the vault. Unfortunately it turns out shooting a door has a chance of blowing it open, which certainly happened and that was near where Gabriel's forces were (though he did at least warn Gabe with more than enough time for the Blood Ravens to flee), so Gabe ordered his brothers to flee and while remaining behind because he knew it would look really cool for the trailer. Apollo Diomedes and even Jonah Orion [[Rage|flipped their shit on the Inquisitor]], with Diomedes swearing he [[RIP AND TEAR|wants to rip Holt's head off and shit down his neck]] and Jonah calling Holt a fucking retard for even requesting orbital bombardment. Holt, feeling the heat of a chapter of pissed off [[Space Marines]] went and plead with Lady Solaria. [[Awesome|Solaria then laid down the sickest burn in the game, calling out Holt's cowardice in not only letting Solaria's house to die by the Ork invasion but also firing orbital bombardment near the position of Gabriel Angelos, she further states that no one would fear the incompetence and idiocy of a 'disgraced Inquisitor' threatening Holt that his ass is grass once she tells Holt's superiors on what he has done.]] Holt later put an ice pack on that burn and cried himself to sleep, but before he did, he told Solaria that Gabe may still be alive and what do you know, Gabriel ''IS'' alive since he watched the bombardment from a distance while taking advantage of that Iron Halo/Cataphractii Terminator re-roll bullshit. Gorgutz was also practically under the blast and he survives due to... [[Plot Armor|he just does.]]<br />
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Inside the vault on the true surface of Acheron, Autarch Kyre used Macha's supporters as leverage to draw her out and force her to comply to his will. Unfortunately for him, they were standing on an icy prison keeping a FUCK HUEG [[Greater Daemon]] of [[Khorne]] from escaping (yes, it is yet ''another'' reveal that [[Chaos]] is the ultimate big bad, [[Skub|Que more moaning and bitching that the plot is uninspired)]] and Macha rightly concluded that fighting would only wake it and that something was wrong with the spear. Naturally Kyre didn't listen and after an intense firefight of elf-on-elf violence, Macha then pleaded to Ronahn to let Taldeer's soulstone to be interned in a motherfucking [[Wraithknight]]. Ronahn as you can imagine, hesitated cause he is a good and dutiful brother and would never put his sister into harms way again; the situation however, was dire, thus Ronahn relented and became the co-driver with his sister. During the infighting, Kyre knew he was distracted and continued his campaign to retrieve the Spear. However, bad luck follows Kyre everywhere, and is forced to butt heads with Gorgutz army. These two both battled each other before Kyre won, grabbed the Spear of Khaine and attempt to slay Gorgutz. His plans were slightly hindered when a part of the blade broke and he was liquefied, as it turns out that the Spear was a [[Trap]] designed to spill the blood of the ambitious and greedy and to act as a blood ritual to release the daemon from its prison. Kyre did the 'Oh Shit!' look before ending up like [[Sindri Myr]] as daemon chow.<br />
<br />
===Part 3: Tartarus 2, Electric Boogaloo===<br />
With the daemon released, everyone promptly shat bricks. Macha and Taldeer then did a quick divination and found out that the only way to victory is get all three races to unite and spank the daemon to oblivion. Macha, somehow managed to convince Gorgutz to join her cause despite being backstabbed by Ronahn (Or as Gorgutz would like to call him, Ronny) whilst Gabriel has a....somewhat [[Love Can Bloom|intimate chat]] before he himself joined her cause. Unfortunately for Gabe, part of the ritual needed to defeat the daemon was [[Exterminatus|to blow up Acheron]]....[[Herp|with his own Battlebarge.]] Captain Balthazar overheard this and eagerly accepted his fate before [[Angry Marines|pile driving a seemingly fully loaded Battlebarge into the planet's crust]] in a spectacular display of [[Warhammer 40,000 8th edition|needless sacrifice'''s''']]. <br />
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Seriously, how many Blood Ravens were on the ship? Anyway, the ship blew up the mantle and hurtled the shrine housing the Spear of Khaine into orbit. You would think that the Battlebarge would have just [[Derp|fired its weapons or even have a Cyclonic Torpedo ready,]] but it seems the Imperium has a knack for [[World Engine|wasting expensive ships by]] [[First Tyrannic War|blowing itself up for myriad of reasons.]] On the other hand, Angelos and Balthazar did mention how the Daemon was shielding Acheron and how it took a trio of listening posts to guide the Battlebarge down to the surface; nevertheless, it still is retarded, because the Inquisition normally issues [[Exterminatus]] device approved for [[Chapter Master (game)|Space Marines]] to use by placing it directly on a planet's surface, or use [[Gabriel Angelos|Nemesis weaponry]] to [[Grey Knight|bannish the daemon]] [[Matt Ward|regardless of]] [[Spiritual Liege|his Wounds stats]]; and while it is possible that the Blood Ravens having [[Celestial Lions|bad relationships with the Inquisitor]] would have prevent them from getting one, they didn't even bother to ask and instead killed dozens or hundreds of battle-brothers wile wasting ressources the Blood Ravens can't afford to lose, proving therefore that the staff [[Games Workshop|didn't even know about it]]. <br />
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All three heroes were teleported onto the shrine (It would be safe to assume that all named elite heroes survived Acheron's destruction) by Macha's help to face the daemon. As explained, the previously seen ECKS BAWKS HUEG daemon the size of a Imperial Cruiser has now shrunk in size to be the same height as any old regular Greater Daemon. In a hilariously bizarre and completely un-Khornate way, the daemon AKA the Storm Prince, [[Wat|spends more time healing itself by literally drinking a fountain of]] [[Lulz|daemon kool-aid]]...[[FAIL|we wish we were joking.]] That and the fact that the daemon used [[Tzeentch|trickery of all things]] to set itself free (Spear of Khaine fiasco, daemonic doppelgangers, etc)...one must wonder how [[Khorne]] might have felt after learning that this jackass along with [[Firaeveus Carron|another failure]] continue to became such staunched followers of the Blood God. During the fight, Gabriel in a completely uncharacteristic way, acknowledged ignoring Macha's warnings back on Tartarus was a mistake which resulted in the devastation of the Blood Ravens in [[Dawn of War 2]], in which Macha in turn, uncharacteristically accepted it; but come on now, we all remember that her warnings were fully aimed at protecting the plot, not making things clear for the Blood Ravens & the Inquisitor on what they ought to do. After kicking the daemon to death, all three heroes departed to go their separate ways with Gorgutz finally getting his 'Super Pointy Stikk'/Spear of Khaine. [[What|Again, this is bizarrely uncharacteristic for all of them as we usually see an Eldar ending up backstabbing the Orks and Space Marines into muderfucking each other instead of simply...you know...keeping their promises. Maybe they decided to wait until their armies could rebuild?]] <br />
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Anyway, with the mission done, it is safe to assume that Inquisitor Holt is going to have his [[Anal Circumference|anus enlarged by fifteen meters]] over the shit he has done to Gabe and friends.<br />
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All in all, the last few missions was vaguely similar to the plot of the original [[Dawn of War]]. As both games ends with a cataclysmic fight against an agent of [[Chaos]] being freed from a millennia long prison that is disguised as an object of immense power, in which a gullible pawn thinks he can take it for his own benefit, only to be used as a sacrifice to free the daemon in a blood ritual. Both artifacts are seen by Gabriel Angelos to be malicious and needs to be destroyed with Macha warning Gabe about the true nature of both artifacts. The only difference is that Gabe actually listened to Macha for once on Acheron, thus making the ending of Dawn of War 3 more [[Noblebright]] than the original Dawn of War. <br />
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Oh yeah, the secret after credits ending depicts none other then the return of the [[Necrons]]. Which would probably be more impressive if the story hadn't pretty much stopped there with no sign of continuing.<br />
</div><br />
<br />
==Returning Characters==<br />
===Imperials (Blood Ravens)===<br />
* '''Chapter Master [[Gabriel Angelos]]:''' Returning with a ornate and badass looking set of Terminator Armor. Would be 100% badass if it weren't for the fact that he was capable of inexplicably jumping ([[C.S. Goto|and flipping!]]) several meters off the ground in said Terminator Armor (And the fact that he's no longer voiced by Paul Dobson *sob*). They try and explain this away by linking this ability to his hammer, but considering that Diomedes can do this too and we're not clear on how the hammer does it, it's still stupid. Spends most time battling with the other two factions to prevent them from obtaining the Spear of Khaine, as he suspects it may be corrupted. Some art has him standing at Primarch-grade height. He is loyal and thoughtful of his chapter to the point that he defended his new librarian buddy Jonah Orion from the [[Macha|jealous yandere-virgin]] as well as went against an inquisitor's order to try and give Diomedes last rites when the starfort Diomedes was on crashed into Acheron. Currently having a harem relationship with his librarian buddy Jonah Orion, Farseer Macha and Lady Solaria of the Varlock Imperial Knight house, probably Diomedes too.<br />
* '''Chief Librarian [[Jonah Orion]]:''' Promoted to Chief Librarian after surviving the battle against the chaos corrupted Chapter Master [[Azariah Kyras]]. Now sports a goatee and wearing fancy new armor. Is currently having a bromance relationship with his Chapter Master.<br />
* '''Chaplain [[Apollo Diomedes]]:'''' Returning as a Chaplain in terminator armor (sadly with a different vox box that actually makes him comprehensible). It was never explained why he became a Chaplain after his previous appearance. Must have felt so ashamed about serving a chaos tainted traitor so much that he couldn't bear the mantle of First Company Captain anymore. So now he's a Chaplain, sniffing out taint and making heretics...[[Asmodai|Repent]]. He is now loyal as ever to his chapter, so loyal that he nearly transforms into an [[Angry Marine]] after the stupid-made-manifest known as Inquisitor Damien Holt bombarded their Chapter Master Angelos. Most likely became a Chaplain because he was the one that took it as a job to cleanse the Chapter honor (by splitting the fucking head of his Chapter Master), and even saying at the end of the Retribution campaing that he cant serve the chapter as he was then.<br />
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===Eldar (Biel-Tan)===<br />
* '''Farseer [[Macha]]:''' Returning for the first time since the original Dawn of War, and looking (almost) exactly as she's been depicted in /tg/ art for years (other than a fancy hair ornament and wearing more clothes than said average depictions). Ostensibly working for Lord Kyre to get the Spear of Khaine for him, but appears to be suspicious of his real motives for doing so. Is somewhat tsundere with Gabriel Angelos and still pissed about the whole Maledictum thing. (Ultimately they're both at fault. She didn't explain to him why he shouldn't do what he did, but that doesn't preclude him from ''asking'', something we know he's good at, and he says himself he should have listened to her.)<br />
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===Eldar (Ulthwe)===<br />
* '''[[Ronahn]]:''' Also reappearing as the leader of a Ranger detachment and Kyre's spymaster, and only marginally less whiny than he was before. After losing Taldeer's soul stone on the way home to Kyre (which he is NOT happy about), he has been trying to recover his <s>waifu's</s> sister's soulstone and bring it back to Ulthwe, and so allies with Macha in a plan to undermine Kyre and get her soul stone back.<br />
* '''[[Taldeer]]:''' Apparently Taldeer's soul stone ended up being salvaged during Retribution, as she reappears as a <s>Wraithseer</s> [[Wraithknight]] with a big fucking sword after said soul stone is taken by Kyre. One of her prophecies as recounted in the trailers seems to refer to the impending conflict over the Spear of Khaine.<br />
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===Orks (Bad Moons)===<br />
* '''Warboss [[Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter]]:''' Returning during his absence after Soulstorm, Gorgutz is back with a bigger and badder power klaw (with a retractable chain, no less). He starts out in the service of another Warboss named Gitstompa, and apparently always planned to Sindri him (though the Eldar unwittingly turn him into the Warboss of the Bad Moons WAAAGH! after they kill Gitstompa, believing that killing him would scatter the Ork horde). He's racing against the other factions for the pointy-stick. At some point gets sort of tricked by Ronahn into fighting a heavily defended Eldar base defending the vaults entrance. Macha told him she wanted the other Eldar dead, and told them they were both trying to get the spear, but Ronahn "forgot" to mention the bit about their entrance being heavily defended, which somewhat makes Gorgutz a dumbass for actually trusting dem sneaky knife ears. In the end Gorgutz is ''technically'' the canon winner because he went away with his "pointy stikk" once the daemon was slain, though they did ''let'' him get away with it and the Spear itself was depowered due to the daemon no longer being inside of it.<br />
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===Others===<br />
* '''Brian Dobson:''' The only VA from the first and second series to return. He voices generic Space Marines, Orks and Eldar.<br />
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==New Characters==<br />
===Imperials (Blood Ravens)===<br />
* '''Captain Balthazar:''' A Captain of the Blood Ravens and serves as the mission briefer.<br />
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===Imperials (Others)===<br />
* '''Lady Rebek Solaria:''' Head of House Varlock of Cyprus Ultima and pilot of the Imperial Knight, Drakaina. Drakaina is equipped with two avenger cannons that'll deal more damage when heated up. Becomes BFFs with Angelos after he saves Varlock Keep from Orks (against Inquisitor Holt's orders).<br />
* '''Inquisitor Damien Holt:''' An Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos that seeks the wandering world, Acheron, for the Spear of Khaine. [[Chenkov|He plays the role of asshole cold blooded strategist that gives little regard to his allies like they were pawns in a chess game]] but without any actual strategy to speak of; apparently Relic decided that [[Mordecai Toth|Inquisitor Toth]] from the first Dawn of War and [[Inquisitor Adrastia]] from the second were too sane and reasonable for gamers to handle. The Imperial forces he's working with, Imperial Knights of House Varlock and The Blood Ravens, both hate his guts. The Varlock House hate him for abandoning them to a massive Ork invasion. The Blood Ravens, wary of his obsession with a Warp-tainted xenos artifact, despised the inquisitor for his willingness to waste their battle-brothers' lives for the Spear, which culminated in launching an orbital bombardment on their chapter master Gabriel Angelos to break into the Spear's complex. [[Rage|This made the Blood Ravens so mad]] that Diomedes, the Chaplain, was going to shove a BAAAANEBLADE up the inqisitor's arse only to be stopped by Jonah Orion, who reminds him that they can let the rest of the Inquisition do so later. No relation to [[Commissar Holt]].<br />
* '''Deathwatch Kill-Team Ironmaw:''' They compose of a Dark Angel, a Blood Angel, a Crimson Fist, a [[Ultramarines|Smurf]] and are led by one of everyone's favourite [[Space Wolves|space vikings]]. In multiplayer, the Ultramarine is replaced by a space marine from the chapter you selected via army painter.<br />
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===Eldar (Biel-Tan)===<br />
* '''Autarch Kyre:''' Leader of the Biel-Tan warhost and seeks to obtain the Spear of Khaine. The asshole that led even more Eldar to die in a pointless campaign for some legendary shiny (not to mention him ignoring the Soulstones of his fallen warriors instead of collecting them, which should tell just how asshole he is), and stole Taldeer's Soulstone for good measure (which Macha and Ronahn both note could very well lead to a war between their Craftworld should Ulthwe learn about it). He hired Ronahn as his spymaster only to be betrayed by him. He still got the spear in the end, after fighting Gorgutz for it and cheated using psyker power. Turns out the spear contained a greater daemon of khorne and was possessed by it, after the spear itself shattered as Kyre tried to strike Gorgutz with it... [[Castellan Crowe|which is just weird]], even for a plot device, because daemon weapons are empowered by the daemon's presence, not structurally weakened by it. So arrogant that even the other Eldar can't stand him. <br />
* '''[[Jain Zar]]:''' Phoenix Lord (Lady?) of the Howling Banshees and the first of the Phoenix Lords to be featured in a video game adaptation (Granted, she's also in Eternal Crusade, but has yet to fully appear in that game). Has seen Acheron before and that Eldar have been fighting over the spear for millennia. None so far has succeeded in recovering it.<br />
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===Orks (Bad Moons)===<br />
* '''Wazzmakka:''' Da most byotiful Big Mek dere is. He dont call her beauty for er' looks! Very fond of tellyportas.<br />
* '''Zappnoggin:''' A Weirdboy who sounds surprisingly sane-ish for an ork whose head can explode at any time. Has rather un-orky ideas about not getting into fights that he can't win, which he says has let him live a long time (by Ork standards, anyway).<br />
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==Differences and New Things==<br />
The game attempts to blend the best parts of the first two, featuring base building and massive armies alongside summonable elite units who can sway the course of battle. The game also features doctrines similar to those from [[/v/|Company of Heroes 2]]. Unlike in Company of Heroes 2, you may take up to three Doctrines, with some being connected to specific elite units. Secondly, the Doctrines do not give bullshit like +4% to ranged damage, but either unlock abilities for specific units or upgrade the existing abilities of others (like upgrading the Dreadnoughts to gain charge attacks and shields after executing slam attacks, giving Dire Avengers Holo-Fields, or giving Deffkoptas Buzzsaws). Relic's aim was to make their latest game the most accessible, including features such as a minimalistic UI, icons to represent effects like suppression, and easy-to-read descriptors for most abilities. It is the first Dawn of War game to only feature three factions at launch rather than four, though the included factions do have more units available at launch than they did in previous titles.<br />
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Another change is the new cast of voice actors (whom according to the developers comprise of VA's from their previous title [[Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine]]). This has been met with some amount of [[rage]] from fans, most notably those who wished for the return of Paul Dobson as Angelos.<br />
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Armies are now divided into standard soldiers (things like [[Tactical Squad|Tactical Marines]], [[Dire Avengers]], and [[Ork Boy|Boyz]] as well as vehicles) and elites (which includes the likes of named characters, [[Terminators]], and Imperial Knights). The former act like standard RTS units, performing most of the legwork as well as adding bulk to your army, while the latter are more powerful units with abilities that can change the tide of battle. <s>In both campaign and multiplayer, players collect said elites by farming skulls (no, we're not kidding. [[RAGE|all three factions are Khornate for some reason]])</s> Not anymore, skulls have been removed. Everyone has access to all Elites and doctrines from the get-go (save for those that are unlocked by leveling up elites). Elite units can level up based on how many enemies they killed during each game, though these level-ups don't improve them in any way, they just unlock exotic paints and new skins. Among them there are really powerful units that are showing up for the first time in the series (such as [[Imperial Knight|Imperial Knights]], [[Wraithknight|Wraithknights]], and [[Gorkanaut|Gorkanauts]]). At the very least, the presence of troop units to back up the elites could mean that the rest of the Blood Ravens 4th Company might actually be getting off their asses and doing something this time around.<br />
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As mentioned previously, the campaign switches between [[Blood Ravens]], [[Orks]], and [[Eldar]] every mission. While the attempt to incorporate all three factions is appreciated, and it is marginally better than Retribution's approach, the constant switching between three vastly different playstyles can be very jarring.<br />
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Markedly absent is a sequel/expansion of Dawn of War II's [[Last Stand]] mode which, given that Last Stand was popular enough to become it's own standalone spinoff product, is likely a deliberate omission. Thus far small fan interest exists in seeing Last Stand return.<br />
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==Pre-Release Reactions==<br />
The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7JNTfrK3Yk 12 minute exclusive gameplay] released shortly after the trailer drew quite a lot of [[Skub|ire.]] With many complaining on the way it looks (having a cleaner, more colorful aesthetic in comparison to previous titles) with rumors that the team developing Dawn of War III was trying to piggyback [[Blizzard|Starcraft]] [[RAGE|of all games]] to the animation lacking the weight and grit of the previous Dawn of War games. Special mentions go to the fighting style animations of [[Gabriel Angelos|old Gabe]] [[What|whose sudden usage of backflips, frontflips and jumping like a 5 ton ballerina on crack]] [[Fail|despite wearing terminator armor]] [[RAGE|drew accusations that one of the lead creators of this game]] [[C.S. Goto|might be a small, black leprechaun with a fetish of Multilasers and backflipping Terminators.]] Hell, the goddamn Lascannons don't fire a [[Indrick Boreale|quick, charged, devastating single shot]] but instead its a [[lance|laser weapon that does more damage the longer it's trained on it's target]]. <br />
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Later interviews and bits of information released did little to ease the [[Skub|ire.]] Including the lead director confirming that sync-kills have been removed, Assault Marines being considered [[What|"light armor"]] units, the dynamic movement system introduced in II being removed, and fall back mechanics are also gone. At this point from a community standpoint, you were either absolutely behind these changes, or were watching something your were previously looking forward to turn into an absolute shitshow; with very little middle ground to be found. And it really doesn't help that their methods of explaining away some of the lore breaking shit seems to come directly from our [[C.S. Goto|good old friend]]. Notably they tried to explain the backflipping Terminator armor by saying that [[What|his hammer has a shard of an Avatar in it]]. This also happened to be an idea made by the Irish leper, and even if it was canon the developers never mentioned what this actually did to give Angelos the ability to backflip, making this move look like a hand-wave to shut the fans up.<br />
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Reactions to the beta did little to assuage the divide in the community. Some, like AngryJoe, thoroughly enjoyed it, while others, like TotalBiscuit, seemed to be completely turned off by it.<br />
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Voice Acting has taken a big change, with Relic opting to go for an all British cast (except for Brian Dobson) rather than using their stable of Ocean Group VAs from previous titles. The rationale behind this is that having British voice actors makes the game more authentic to 40K's British roots, and totally not because of the ongoing voice actors strike against major video game publishers in North America that Sega, and thus Relic, isn't affected by anyway.<br />
<br />
==Post-Release==<br />
{{editwar}}<br />
After the game was released, the reception was [[Skub|mixed]] to say the least. Those who like the game say that the traditional "build and conquer" RTS campaign is a refreshing change for those who didn't like Dawn of War II's [[Diablo]]-style campaign, and while Paul Dobson is sorely missed, the rest of the voice cast isn't too bad. The Elites system is a natural progression from Dawn of War II, and the Ork's [[WAAAGH]]! mechanic is one of the best things ever put into a Dawn of War game. Additionally, they point out that while the power core mode is too simple, it does give a good introduction to the RTS genre for those who are brand new rather than just throwing them to the wolves like other games. <br />
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Those who don't like the game are of the opinion that Relic under Sega gutted what made Dawn of War popular in the first place and turned it into something uninspired and boring by comparison, as it simplified or stripped out many of the iconic elements of the series, such as sync-kills, the cover system and wargear. Many who liked the Dawn of War II campaign aren't fans of a more traditional RTS campaign, and some also feel that the races play too similarly aside from one or two gimmick mechanics. The game also has multiple lore inconsistencies, such as Eldar with shields and [[C.S. Goto|backflipping Terminators]], although to be fair, [[Dawn of War: Soulstorm|it isn't alone]] [[Azariah_Kyras|in this respect]]. Basically, [[Age of Sigmar|Relic significantly altered their popular product to attract a wider audience, and ended up alienating a large portion of their established fanbase.]]<br />
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The decision to focus on simplification and balance in multiplayer was likely an intentional design choice considering the dev teams wanted Dawn of War to develop a competitive scene (seemingly ignoring the fact that people never really picked up Dawn of War for competitive multiplayer). However, unlike good competitive games like Starcraft, Counterstrike, and DOTA, Power Core mode did it in a very simplistic manner that made it feel like the "strategy" part of RTS had been all but sucked out.<br />
<br />
Sales-wise, the game didn't do well in comparison to it's predecessors. While the original [[Dawn of War]] has sold over 6 million copies since 2011 and the was heralded with critical acclaim upon release, and [[Dawn of War II]] took the #1 spot on western sales charts during it's initial release; Dawn of War III didn't raise too much attention apart from standard fanfare, with a [[Skub|mixed response from the community]], and game critics saying it was good, but ultimately [[FAIL|flawed]]. According to [https://steamspy.com/app/285190 Steamspy's estimates], the game's digital sales barely broke a quarter million sales as of July 2017, which is not a good sign for a highly anticipated AAA game series.<br />
<br />
[http://steamcharts.com/app/285190#All It didn't help that the playerbase declined sharply post-release], a clear sign that it just didn't make the impact people expected from the series. [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/1332350869595289198 While Relic seemed to be listening to the community's concerns,] the game was never able to recover from its downward spiral. This being said, they released mod tools, and a small but dedicated group of modders have been working on tweaking the game and adding new units. <br />
<br />
Overall, the game is [[skub]] incarnate, being nearly unrecognizable in comparison to it's predecessors. [[Nurgle|One side hates it for being too overly simple for a strategy game and deviating too far from the things that defined DoW from the beginning,]] [[Tzeentch|while another side is retarded.]]<br />
<br />
[[File:DoW3 Annihilation.jpg|300px|right|thumb]]<br />
===The Annihilation Update===<br />
On June 13th 2017, [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/1332350869595289198 Relic announced the addition of Annihilation mode to the game], along with turrets, a new map, and skins for the super-heavies as Free-LC. On June 20th, [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2663165213085204247 the Annihilation Update dropped] and, it was actually pretty good. The removal of railroady objectives and the addition of a wide open map added a significant amount of depth to the game that was previously lacking, allowing players to take advantage of several mechanics that were previously hamstrung by power core mode. By this point however, too much of the player base had been alienated by power core mode and they weren't willing to come back and give the game another go, so the player count kept declining.<br />
<br />
[[File:DoW3 Endless War.jpg|300px|right|thumb]]<br />
===The Endless War Update===<br />
On October 19th 2017, Relic released the [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2973925069475244397 Endless War Update], which added a bunch of additional content to the game. For starters, each faction has been given an additional Elites choice; the [[Dreadnought#Castraferrum_Pattern|Ironclad Dreadnought]] for Space Marines, the [[Wraithseer]] for Eldar, and the Lifta-Droppa Battlewagon for the Orks, which is basically a [[Awesome|Battlewagon armed with a massive Traktor Kannon]]. We also got three new maps, one themed for each faction, and some more Elites skins, including [[Deathwing]] Terminators, a [[Primaris Chaplain]], and [[Salamanders|Bray'arth Ashmantle]].<br />
<br />
==The End Times Hath Come==<br />
On February 8th 2018, [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-02-08-relic-leaves-dawn-of-war-3-behind-as-it-moves-on-to-new-projects Relic announced they were officially stepping away from Dawn of War III], citing low player counts as the chief reason.<br />
<br />
While Dawn of War 3 has a dedicated player base, it didn't hit the targets we were expecting at launch, and it hasn't performed the way we had hoped since. It's been tough for us as professionals who want to make great games for our players, and for us as people who care a lot about what we do. When a game underperforms, plans need to change. With Dawn of War 3, we simply don't have the foundation we need to produce major content. We're working in close partnership with Sega and Games Workshop to determine the best course of action, while shifting focus to other projects within our portfolio.<br />
<br />
Given this, the [https://community.dawnofwar.com/discussion/15957/patch-upload-as-of-05-feb-2018 February 8th patch] was likely just Relic releasing whatever work they'd finished on the proposed expansion and fixing a couple remaining bugs before bidding the game farewell. With Relic now focusing primarily on Age of Empires IV, Dawn of War III has potentially become a Franchise Killer, though Relic and Sega are apparently in talks with [[Games Workshop|GW]], so time will tell. It should be noted that while Relic has no plans to produce major content, they are still patching and maintaining the game as well as putting out occasional Free-LC skins.<br />
<br />
===Dawn of War III Is Dead!===<br />
A small and dwindling community of fans and modders had tried rallying together in an attempt to resurrect Dawn of War III through Twitch streams, community game nights, and new mods. The goal was to generate enough interest to get Relic to return to the game (lol), or at least release more mod tools so the fans could pick up where they left off. If not that, then at least to keep the community alive. This effort eventually floundered and the game continued its tailspin. The game sees 200 people online in a good day and matchmaking is deader than [[Cadia]].<br />
<br />
== See Also ==<br />
* [https://www.dawnofwar.com/ The Official Dawn of War site]<br />
* [http://store.steampowered.com/app/285190/Warhammer_40000_Dawn_of_War_III/ Dawn of War III on Steam]<br />
* [http://modding.dawnofwar.com/ Want to make a mod for the game? Start here.]<br />
* [[Dawn of War Mods#Dawn of War III Modding|The list of /tg/-approved mods]]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyLLeKcxw24U2fT8iOowRbzBHsulCAizV The game's soundtrack, which also includes a clean version of the trailer theme]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6lUjVLPU04 WAAAAAAAAAGHH!!]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfEp-ZuwiGE&t Totalbiscuit's review of the game, which highlights a number of problems from the perspective of someone who enjoyed the previous two titles.]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OCWQelkjBg ZoranTheBear and ThunderPsyker's overview of the game, offering the opinions of a newcomer to the franchise and a veteran, respectively]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeWRQ2w0cT0 Arch-Warhammer's review of the game]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPDTt_GOdyY Adam Millard's analysis of why the game failed. He does an excellent job discussing the issues of Dawn of War III while remaining fairly neutral and analytical.]<br />
* [https://steamdb.info/app/285190/graphs/ Here are the game sales stats].<br />
<br />
==Gallery==<br />
<center><br />
<gallery><br />
Image:Don'tWorryDieHappy.gif|Don't Worry, Die Happy<br />
Image:DoW3 Menu.jpg|The Main Menu, which shows the elites and paint scheme you currently have equipped.<br />
Image:DoW3 Army Painter.jpg|The Army Painter<br />
Image:DoW3 Elites Menu.jpg|The Elites Menu<br />
Image:This has been dark work.PNG|[https://youtu.be/CjnvZtYl2fA?t=20s One fan's reaction] [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2316393822047631108 to the announcement of incoming modding tools]<br />
Image:PrimarisAngelos.png|The [[Blood_Ravens#Bloody_Magpies|REAL reason]] for Gabriel Angelos' [[Primaris Marines|changes]] (the Godsplitter bullshit is just what they tell other loyalists who [[Inquisition|get too nosy]])<br />
File:RetributionGabriel.JPG | Gabriel's Cut Original Model found Within Dawn of War III World Builder.<br />
File:StandardofKaurava.JPG | Wargear Found in Dawn of War II Chaos Rising showing that relic did indeed plan for Gorgutz to win Soulstorm.<br />
</gallery><br />
</center><br />
<br />
<br />
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Video Games]][[Category:Dawn of War]]</div>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBDhttp://2d4chan.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Dawn_of_War_III&diff=169573Dawn of War III2019-10-22T22:16:23Z<p>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBD: /* The End Times Hath Come */</p>
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<div>{{/vg/}}<br />
''"In darkness'', ''I shall be light''<br><br />
''In times of doubt'', ''I shall keep faith''<br><br />
''In throes of rage'', ''I shall hone my craft''<br><br />
''In vengeance'', ''I shall have no mercy''<br><br />
''In the midst of battle'', ''I shall have no fear''<br><br />
''In the face of death'', ''I shall have no remorse"''<br><br />
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_ZgyNoHtjw| The voice in the trailer.]<br />
[[File:DoWIII.jpg|thumbnail|right|500px|Skulls for the skull throne!]]<br />
Announced on 3rd of May 2016 and released on April 27nd 2017, '''''Dawn of War III''''' is the third entry in the Dawn of War series.<br />
<br />
The game features [[Space Marines]], [[Orks]], and [[Eldar]], along with [[Imperial Guard]] as an NPC race allied with Space Marines and [[Imperial Knight|Imperial Knights]] as playable allied units to the Space Marines. The campaign features all three factions, rotating which faction you're playing every mission [[Dawn of War II#Retribution|rather than having every faction play the same shortened campaign]]. The story features [[Gabriel Angelos]] (sadly with a different voice actor), [[Macha]], and [[Gorgutz]] as they all race to an ancient planet called Acheron which emerges from the warp every couple thousand years and holds an artifact called the Spear of [[Khaine]].<br />
<br />
==Plot==<br />
{{spoilers}}<br />
Coming back with a new look and much closer to the first game while having elements from the second, the third installment sees the return of some of the more popular characters. Among them [[Gabriel Angelos]], [[Farseer Macha]] and [[Warboss Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter]] will battle for the planet of Acheron for a powerful weapon known as the Spear of Khaine. Whilst the Eldar and Orks seek to obtain it for its tremendous power, Gabriel seeks to prevent anyone from using it, as it apparently reeks of deceit. More of the plot can be read below.<br />
<br />
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"><br />
===Part 1: Verlock Keep and Cyprus Ultima===<br />
Long story short, it begins on the Knight World of Cyprus Ultima being overrun by [[Orks]] led by [[Warboss]] Gitsompa with Varlock Keep being on its last toes against the green tide. [[Heresy|For some reason,]] Inquisitor Holt has prevented further reinforcements from assisting the local Knight house from being overwhelmed. Thankfully for Lady Solaria (The Matriarch of Verlock Keep), <s>Captain</s> [[Chapter Master]] [[Gabriel Angelos]] of the [[Blood Ravens]] ignored the [[Inquisitor|Inquisitor's]] decree and came to assist Lady Solaria's forces. During the fighting, Warboss [[Gorgutz]] led a counter attack to prove that he is the better overall leader then Gitstompa. Unfortunately the [[Eldar]] led by [[Autarch]] Kyre, came on Cyprus to mess everything up which forced Gorgutz to think of some [[Tactical genius|Tactical Genius]] which involves building a giant cannon, sabotage and [[Sindri|Sindri'ing Warboss Gitstompa]] so that Gorgutz would become defacto leader. Meanwhile, the breach in the decree led to Inquisitor Holt feeling all [[Butthurt|butthurt]] about this and tasked Ol'Gabe to defend Starfort Helios which has been overrun by Orks now led by Gorgutz. Both Holt and Gabe talked about the reason behind the starforts, in which they were designed as a barricade against the legendary planet Acheron which houses the legendary 'Spear of [[Khaine]]' in which Holt took great interests in attaining it for himself. As you can imagine, Gabe was quite suspicious over the Inquisitor's ambition and was even more suspicious over the Spear of Khaine whose intuition led Gabe to suspect of it as a [[Chaos|Chaotic corruption]] (Oh, how right he was).<br />
<br />
On the other hand of the spectrum, [[Farseer]] [[Macha]] led an Eldar warhost to aid Kyre who he himself is also after the Spear of Khaine. However, Macha is suspicious about Kyre's prophecy as it did not add up to Macha's own divination on what lies beyond Acheron. Macha was tasked by Kyre to kill Gabriel Angelos as he sees the Chapter Master as an obstacle to Kyre's own ambition, however Macha's relationship with Gabriel stretched all the way back [[Tartarus]]. Before she could accomplish this, [[Jonah Orion]] stood in Macha's way. Macha promptly kicked Jonah's ass and threaten to kill him if he did not tell her where <s>Macha's husbando</s> Gabriel Angelos is. However, being the shining beacon of bromance that is Gabe, the Chapter Master came to Macha's location to prevent her from killing his [[Gay|<s>boyfriend</s>]] most trusted [[Librarian]] butt budy. Macha attempted to throw her singing spear, Gabriel remembered that he was wearing terminator armour and singing spears are AP- and so managed to catch the damned weapon with his hands. Macha blasted him with Psychic shenanigans, took a thunder hammer to the face and either passed her Invuln save or benefited from the Eternal Warrior rule. Before they could end their little 'reunion' however, the planet Acheron arrived on the Cyprus system and shattered Starfort Helios, reigning space debris on where they fought (Seriously, Acheron is ECKS BAWKS HUEG, like Gas Giant size). Macha escaped whilst Gabe was left horrified over the fate of [[Chaplain]] [[Apollo Diomedes]] as it was Gabriel who ordered Diomedes to assist the resistance on Helios. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Gorgutz promptly [[PROMOTIONS|jizzed himself]] with all the loot being crash landed around him due to Helios' demise. Unfortunately, other gitz such as [[Weirdboy]] Zappnoggin and [[Big Mek]] Wazzmakka are fighting over the loot. After Gorgutz promptly bash their heads in and forced them to comply under his leadership, Gorgutz then led on a joyride to Starfort Charon so he could find out what the hell is going on in Acheron. Apparently ''how'' he managed to get onto the Starfort without getting shot down isn't worth worrying about (seriously, he's just there and hopping off a crashed craft without any further explanation). After blowing up the defenses of Charon with nothing more than a bunch of [[Gretchin]] with explosive grenades (seriously, you would think that the defenses of an Imperial Starfort would be a bit more secure), Gorgutz then used the opportunity of the disabled Starfort to land on Acheron without the worry of being blown up. On the other hand, Macha met with [[Ronahn]] to discuss on the potential craziness that is Kyre. Apparently, the reason why Ronahn was here and acting as a secret spy for Kyre was because Kyre [[Derp|somehow got his hands on]] [[Taldeer|Taldeer's]] soulstone due to some altercation with Ronahn. Apparently, Kyre is using Taldeer's prophecy as not only as to stroke Kyre's fragile ego but to also keep his legitimacy stable. Despite the fact that using another [[Craftworld|Craftworld's]] soulstone for nefarious purposes, especially one from [[Ulthwé]] should be enough to send half of the Craftworld's forces to shank Kyre's ass for [[Heresy]], this did not come to pass. After some discussions, Macha, Ronahn and [[Jain Zar]] (Who came to Macha's assistance to stop Kyre's foolish action that would further weakened the Biel-Tan craftworld) all agreed that Kyre's prophecy is nothing more than a steaming pile of [[Bullshit]] and will lead their people to ruin. Unfortunately Jain Zar didn't just tell everyone to stop follow Kyre because she didn't feel like it (yes seriously, she'd rather kill Eldar than that and there's a weak explanation on her trying to get Macha to realize her potential through the conflict) which would have ended the conflict immediately and stopped Eldar from killing each other. So Macha and Ronahn devise a plan to distract Kyre's forces with the aid of Gorgutz so they could sneak around and steal back Taldeer's soulstone instead. Macha and Ronahn also managed to convince Gorgutz to aid them by essentially waving the Spear of Khaine all over Gorgutz like he is some sort of attack dog. So with Gorgutz now in the race to get his 'Super Pointy Stikk', Dawn of War 3 has essentially turned into a Monty Python sketch with all three races bonking each other's heads so they can leap frog each other to get to the Spear first.<br />
<br />
===Part 2: Acheron===<br />
On the other side of the theater, Gabe discussed with Captain Balthazar on board the Blood Raven's [[Battlebarge]] to retrieve Diomedes' [[Gene Seed|Gene Seed]] for he fears that he is dead. However, Inquisitor Holt being a shady motherfucking dick, threatened Gabriel not to go to the remains of Helios or else he would shoot Gabe's aircraft out of the sky. This understandably twisted Gabe's nipples to no end and secretly arranged Balthazar to [[Just as Planned|teleport]] Gabe on the remains of Starfort Helios. They agreed and Gabe was transported on the destroyed Starfort. What he saw disturbed Gabe as the remains of both the Starfort and its crew members was [[Grimdark|fused with the structures of Acheron]]. Fearing for the worst, Gabriel along with a group of [[Terminator|Terminators]] proceed to cleanse the area of both Orks and Eldar with sufficient [[Dakka]]. Once Gabriel found where Diomedes is located, to everyone's surprise, Apollo Diomedes has indeed survived due to [[Plot Armor|rolling a 1 on his To Wound/Destroyer roll and escaping unscathed]] (or maybe he just passed every Armour/Invuln save, he was wearing termie armour). After hearing the Inquisitor's actions, Diomedes was understandably [[Rage|pissed as fuck.]] Inquisitor Holt himself was displeased, but more pressing matters was at hand due to everyone wanting to get the Spear of Khaine.<br />
<br />
On Acheron, Farseer Macha and her posse sneaked to where Taldeer is resting and proceed to [[Blood Ravens|'borrow it']] for their own uses. However, they were caught and were forced to flee, fortunately they completed their task and Kyre sighed in disappointment. Near the vault shielding the Spear of Khaine, Gabe and friends fought their way to destroy the Eldar. However, Inquisitor Holt decided that if a bunch of enemies are gathered in one spot, you might as well just nuke them and requested an orbital bombardment on the vault. Unfortunately it turns out shooting a door has a chance of blowing it open, which certainly happened and that was near where Gabriel's forces were (though he did at least warn Gabe with more than enough time for the Blood Ravens to flee), so Gabe ordered his brothers to flee and while remaining behind because he knew it would look really cool for the trailer. Apollo Diomedes and even Jonah Orion [[Rage|flipped their shit on the Inquisitor]], with Diomedes swearing he [[RIP AND TEAR|wants to rip Holt's head off and shit down his neck]] and Jonah calling Holt a fucking retard for even requesting orbital bombardment. Holt, feeling the heat of a chapter of pissed off [[Space Marines]] went and plead with Lady Solaria. [[Awesome|Solaria then laid down the sickest burn in the game, calling out Holt's cowardice in not only letting Solaria's house to die by the Ork invasion but also firing orbital bombardment near the position of Gabriel Angelos, she further states that no one would fear the incompetence and idiocy of a 'disgraced Inquisitor' threatening Holt that his ass is grass once she tells Holt's superiors on what he has done.]] Holt later put an ice pack on that burn and cried himself to sleep, but before he did, he told Solaria that Gabe may still be alive and what do you know, Gabriel ''IS'' alive since he watched the bombardment from a distance while taking advantage of that Iron Halo/Cataphractii Terminator re-roll bullshit. Gorgutz was also practically under the blast and he survives due to... [[Plot Armor|he just does.]]<br />
<br />
Inside the vault on the true surface of Acheron, Autarch Kyre used Macha's supporters as leverage to draw her out and force her to comply to his will. Unfortunately for him, they were standing on an icy prison keeping a FUCK HUEG [[Greater Daemon]] of [[Khorne]] from escaping (yes, it is yet ''another'' reveal that [[Chaos]] is the ultimate big bad, [[Skub|Que more moaning and bitching that the plot is uninspired)]] and Macha rightly concluded that fighting would only wake it and that something was wrong with the spear. Naturally Kyre didn't listen and after an intense firefight of elf-on-elf violence, Macha then pleaded to Ronahn to let Taldeer's soulstone to be interned in a motherfucking [[Wraithknight]]. Ronahn as you can imagine, hesitated cause he is a good and dutiful brother and would never put his sister into harms way again; the situation however, was dire, thus Ronahn relented and became the co-driver with his sister. During the infighting, Kyre knew he was distracted and continued his campaign to retrieve the Spear. However, bad luck follows Kyre everywhere, and is forced to butt heads with Gorgutz army. These two both battled each other before Kyre won, grabbed the Spear of Khaine and attempt to slay Gorgutz. His plans were slightly hindered when a part of the blade broke and he was liquefied, as it turns out that the Spear was a [[Trap]] designed to spill the blood of the ambitious and greedy and to act as a blood ritual to release the daemon from its prison. Kyre did the 'Oh Shit!' look before ending up like [[Sindri Myr]] as daemon chow.<br />
<br />
===Part 3: Tartarus 2, Electric Boogaloo===<br />
With the daemon released, everyone promptly shat bricks. Macha and Taldeer then did a quick divination and found out that the only way to victory is get all three races to unite and spank the daemon to oblivion. Macha, somehow managed to convince Gorgutz to join her cause despite being backstabbed by Ronahn (Or as Gorgutz would like to call him, Ronny) whilst Gabriel has a....somewhat [[Love Can Bloom|intimate chat]] before he himself joined her cause. Unfortunately for Gabe, part of the ritual needed to defeat the daemon was [[Exterminatus|to blow up Acheron]]....[[Herp|with his own Battlebarge.]] Captain Balthazar overheard this and eagerly accepted his fate before [[Angry Marines|pile driving a seemingly fully loaded Battlebarge into the planet's crust]] in a spectacular display of [[Warhammer 40,000 8th edition|needless sacrifice'''s''']]. <br />
<br />
Seriously, how many Blood Ravens were on the ship? Anyway, the ship blew up the mantle and hurtled the shrine housing the Spear of Khaine into orbit. You would think that the Battlebarge would have just [[Derp|fired its weapons or even have a Cyclonic Torpedo ready,]] but it seems the Imperium has a knack for [[World Engine|wasting expensive ships by]] [[First Tyrannic War|blowing itself up for myriad of reasons.]] On the other hand, Angelos and Balthazar did mention how the Daemon was shielding Acheron and how it took a trio of listening posts to guide the Battlebarge down to the surface; nevertheless, it still is retarded, because the Inquisition normally issues [[Exterminatus]] device approved for [[Chapter Master (game)|Space Marines]] to use by placing it directly on a planet's surface, or use [[Gabriel Angelos|Nemesis weaponry]] to [[Grey Knight|bannish the daemon]] [[Matt Ward|regardless of]] [[Spiritual Liege|his Wounds stats]]; and while it is possible that the Blood Ravens having [[Celestial Lions|bad relationships with the Inquisitor]] would have prevent them from getting one, they didn't even bother to ask and instead killed dozens or hundreds of battle-brothers wile wasting ressources the Blood Ravens can't afford to lose, proving therefore that the staff [[Games Workshop|didn't even know about it]]. <br />
<br />
All three heroes were teleported onto the shrine (It would be safe to assume that all named elite heroes survived Acheron's destruction) by Macha's help to face the daemon. As explained, the previously seen ECKS BAWKS HUEG daemon the size of a Imperial Cruiser has now shrunk in size to be the same height as any old regular Greater Daemon. In a hilariously bizarre and completely un-Khornate way, the daemon AKA the Storm Prince, [[Wat|spends more time healing itself by literally drinking a fountain of]] [[Lulz|daemon kool-aid]]...[[FAIL|we wish we were joking.]] That and the fact that the daemon used [[Tzeentch|trickery of all things]] to set itself free (Spear of Khaine fiasco, daemonic doppelgangers, etc)...one must wonder how [[Khorne]] might have felt after learning that this jackass along with [[Firaeveus Carron|another failure]] continue to became such staunched followers of the Blood God. During the fight, Gabriel in a completely uncharacteristic way, acknowledged ignoring Macha's warnings back on Tartarus was a mistake which resulted in the devastation of the Blood Ravens in [[Dawn of War 2]], in which Macha in turn, uncharacteristically accepted it; but come on now, we all remember that her warnings were fully aimed at protecting the plot, not making things clear for the Blood Ravens & the Inquisitor on what they ought to do. After kicking the daemon to death, all three heroes departed to go their separate ways with Gorgutz finally getting his 'Super Pointy Stikk'/Spear of Khaine. [[What|Again, this is bizarrely uncharacteristic for all of them as we usually see an Eldar ending up backstabbing the Orks and Space Marines into muderfucking each other instead of simply...you know...keeping their promises. Maybe they decided to wait until their armies could rebuild?]] <br />
<br />
Anyway, with the mission done, it is safe to assume that Inquisitor Holt is going to have his [[Anal Circumference|anus enlarged by fifteen meters]] over the shit he has done to Gabe and friends.<br />
<br />
All in all, the last few missions was vaguely similar to the plot of the original [[Dawn of War]]. As both games ends with a cataclysmic fight against an agent of [[Chaos]] being freed from a millennia long prison that is disguised as an object of immense power, in which a gullible pawn thinks he can take it for his own benefit, only to be used as a sacrifice to free the daemon in a blood ritual. Both artifacts are seen by Gabriel Angelos to be malicious and needs to be destroyed with Macha warning Gabe about the true nature of both artifacts. The only difference is that Gabe actually listened to Macha for once on Acheron, thus making the ending of Dawn of War 3 more [[Noblebright]] than the original Dawn of War. <br />
<br />
Oh yeah, the secret after credits ending depicts none other then the return of the [[Necrons]]. Which would probably be more impressive if the story hadn't pretty much stopped there with no sign of continuing.<br />
</div><br />
<br />
==Returning Characters==<br />
===Imperials (Blood Ravens)===<br />
* '''Chapter Master [[Gabriel Angelos]]:''' Returning with a ornate and badass looking set of Terminator Armor. Would be 100% badass if it weren't for the fact that he was capable of inexplicably jumping ([[C.S. Goto|and flipping!]]) several meters off the ground in said Terminator Armor (And the fact that he's no longer voiced by Paul Dobson *sob*). They try and explain this away by linking this ability to his hammer, but considering that Diomedes can do this too and we're not clear on how the hammer does it, it's still stupid. Spends most time battling with the other two factions to prevent them from obtaining the Spear of Khaine, as he suspects it may be corrupted. Some art has him standing at Primarch-grade height. He is loyal and thoughtful of his chapter to the point that he defended his new librarian buddy Jonah Orion from the [[Macha|jealous yandere-virgin]] as well as went against an inquisitor's order to try and give Diomedes last rites when the starfort Diomedes was on crashed into Acheron. Currently having a harem relationship with his librarian buddy Jonah Orion, Farseer Macha and Lady Solaria of the Varlock Imperial Knight house, probably Diomedes too.<br />
* '''Chief Librarian [[Jonah Orion]]:''' Promoted to Chief Librarian after surviving the battle against the chaos corrupted Chapter Master [[Azariah Kyras]]. Now sports a goatee and wearing fancy new armor. Is currently having a bromance relationship with his Chapter Master.<br />
* '''Chaplain [[Apollo Diomedes]]:'''' Returning as a Chaplain in terminator armor (sadly with a different vox box that actually makes him comprehensible). It was never explained why he became a Chaplain after his previous appearance. Must have felt so ashamed about serving a chaos tainted traitor so much that he couldn't bear the mantle of First Company Captain anymore. So now he's a Chaplain, sniffing out taint and making heretics...[[Asmodai|Repent]]. He is now loyal as ever to his chapter, so loyal that he nearly transforms into an [[Angry Marine]] after the stupid-made-manifest known as Inquisitor Damien Holt bombarded their Chapter Master Angelos. Most likely became a Chaplain because he was the one that took it as a job to cleanse the Chapter honor (by splitting the fucking head of his Chapter Master), and even saying at the end of the Retribution campaing that he cant serve the chapter as he was then.<br />
<br />
===Eldar (Biel-Tan)===<br />
* '''Farseer [[Macha]]:''' Returning for the first time since the original Dawn of War, and looking (almost) exactly as she's been depicted in /tg/ art for years (other than a fancy hair ornament and wearing more clothes than said average depictions). Ostensibly working for Lord Kyre to get the Spear of Khaine for him, but appears to be suspicious of his real motives for doing so. Is somewhat tsundere with Gabriel Angelos and still pissed about the whole Maledictum thing. (Ultimately they're both at fault. She didn't explain to him why he shouldn't do what he did, but that doesn't preclude him from ''asking'', something we know he's good at, and he says himself he should have listened to her.)<br />
<br />
===Eldar (Ulthwe)===<br />
* '''[[Ronahn]]:''' Also reappearing as the leader of a Ranger detachment and Kyre's spymaster, and only marginally less whiny than he was before. After losing Taldeer's soul stone on the way home to Kyre (which he is NOT happy about), he has been trying to recover his <s>waifu's</s> sister's soulstone and bring it back to Ulthwe, and so allies with Macha in a plan to undermine Kyre and get her soul stone back.<br />
* '''[[Taldeer]]:''' Apparently Taldeer's soul stone ended up being salvaged during Retribution, as she reappears as a <s>Wraithseer</s> [[Wraithknight]] with a big fucking sword after said soul stone is taken by Kyre. One of her prophecies as recounted in the trailers seems to refer to the impending conflict over the Spear of Khaine.<br />
<br />
===Orks (Bad Moons)===<br />
* '''Warboss [[Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter]]:''' Returning during his absence after Soulstorm, Gorgutz is back with a bigger and badder power klaw (with a retractable chain, no less). He starts out in the service of another Warboss named Gitstompa, and apparently always planned to Sindri him (though the Eldar unwittingly turn him into the Warboss of the Bad Moons WAAAGH! after they kill Gitstompa, believing that killing him would scatter the Ork horde). He's racing against the other factions for the pointy-stick. At some point gets sort of tricked by Ronahn into fighting a heavily defended Eldar base defending the vaults entrance. Macha told him she wanted the other Eldar dead, and told them they were both trying to get the spear, but Ronahn "forgot" to mention the bit about their entrance being heavily defended, which somewhat makes Gorgutz a dumbass for actually trusting dem sneaky knife ears. In the end Gorgutz is ''technically'' the canon winner because he went away with his "pointy stikk" once the daemon was slain, though they did ''let'' him get away with it and the Spear itself was depowered due to the daemon no longer being inside of it.<br />
<br />
===Others===<br />
* '''Brian Dobson:''' The only VA from the first and second series to return. He voices generic Space Marines, Orks and Eldar.<br />
<br />
==New Characters==<br />
===Imperials (Blood Ravens)===<br />
* '''Captain Balthazar:''' A Captain of the Blood Ravens and serves as the mission briefer.<br />
<br />
===Imperials (Others)===<br />
* '''Lady Rebek Solaria:''' Head of House Varlock of Cyprus Ultima and pilot of the Imperial Knight, Drakaina. Drakaina is equipped with two avenger cannons that'll deal more damage when heated up. Becomes BFFs with Angelos after he saves Varlock Keep from Orks (against Inquisitor Holt's orders).<br />
* '''Inquisitor Damien Holt:''' An Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos that seeks the wandering world, Acheron, for the Spear of Khaine. [[Chenkov|He plays the role of asshole cold blooded strategist that gives little regard to his allies like they were pawns in a chess game]] but without any actual strategy to speak of; apparently Relic decided that [[Mordecai Toth|Inquisitor Toth]] from the first Dawn of War and [[Inquisitor Adrastia]] from the second were too sane and reasonable for gamers to handle. The Imperial forces he's working with, Imperial Knights of House Varlock and The Blood Ravens, both hate his guts. The Varlock House hate him for abandoning them to a massive Ork invasion. The Blood Ravens, wary of his obsession with a Warp-tainted xenos artifact, despised the inquisitor for his willingness to waste their battle-brothers' lives for the Spear, which culminated in launching an orbital bombardment on their chapter master Gabriel Angelos to break into the Spear's complex. [[Rage|This made the Blood Ravens so mad]] that Diomedes, the Chaplain, was going to shove a BAAAANEBLADE up the inqisitor's arse only to be stopped by Jonah Orion, who reminds him that they can let the rest of the Inquisition do so later. No relation to [[Commissar Holt]].<br />
* '''Deathwatch Kill-Team Ironmaw:''' They compose of a Dark Angel, a Blood Angel, a Crimson Fist, a [[Ultramarines|Smurf]] and are led by one of everyone's favourite [[Space Wolves|space vikings]]. In multiplayer, the Ultramarine is replaced by a space marine from the chapter you selected via army painter.<br />
<br />
===Eldar (Biel-Tan)===<br />
* '''Autarch Kyre:''' Leader of the Biel-Tan warhost and seeks to obtain the Spear of Khaine. The asshole that led even more Eldar to die in a pointless campaign for some legendary shiny (not to mention him ignoring the Soulstones of his fallen warriors instead of collecting them, which should tell just how asshole he is), and stole Taldeer's Soulstone for good measure (which Macha and Ronahn both note could very well lead to a war between their Craftworld should Ulthwe learn about it). He hired Ronahn as his spymaster only to be betrayed by him. He still got the spear in the end, after fighting Gorgutz for it and cheated using psyker power. Turns out the spear contained a greater daemon of khorne and was possessed by it, after the spear itself shattered as Kyre tried to strike Gorgutz with it... [[Castellan Crowe|which is just weird]], even for a plot device, because daemon weapons are empowered by the daemon's presence, not structurally weakened by it. So arrogant that even the other Eldar can't stand him. <br />
* '''[[Jain Zar]]:''' Phoenix Lord (Lady?) of the Howling Banshees and the first of the Phoenix Lords to be featured in a video game adaptation (Granted, she's also in Eternal Crusade, but has yet to fully appear in that game). Has seen Acheron before and that Eldar have been fighting over the spear for millennia. None so far has succeeded in recovering it.<br />
<br />
===Orks (Bad Moons)===<br />
* '''Wazzmakka:''' Da most byotiful Big Mek dere is. He dont call her beauty for er' looks! Very fond of tellyportas.<br />
* '''Zappnoggin:''' A Weirdboy who sounds surprisingly sane-ish for an ork whose head can explode at any time. Has rather un-orky ideas about not getting into fights that he can't win, which he says has let him live a long time (by Ork standards, anyway).<br />
<br />
==Differences and New Things==<br />
The game attempts to blend the best parts of the first two, featuring base building and massive armies alongside summonable elite units who can sway the course of battle. The game also features doctrines similar to those from [[/v/|Company of Heroes 2]]. Unlike in Company of Heroes 2, you may take up to three Doctrines, with some being connected to specific elite units. Secondly, the Doctrines do not give bullshit like +4% to ranged damage, but either unlock abilities for specific units or upgrade the existing abilities of others (like upgrading the Dreadnoughts to gain charge attacks and shields after executing slam attacks, giving Dire Avengers Holo-Fields, or giving Deffkoptas Buzzsaws). Relic's aim was to make their latest game the most accessible, including features such as a minimalistic UI, icons to represent effects like suppression, and easy-to-read descriptors for most abilities. It is the first Dawn of War game to only feature three factions at launch rather than four, though the included factions do have more units available at launch than they did in previous titles.<br />
<br />
Another change is the new cast of voice actors (whom according to the developers comprise of VA's from their previous title [[Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine]]). This has been met with some amount of [[rage]] from fans, most notably those who wished for the return of Paul Dobson as Angelos.<br />
<br />
Armies are now divided into standard soldiers (things like [[Tactical Squad|Tactical Marines]], [[Dire Avengers]], and [[Ork Boy|Boyz]] as well as vehicles) and elites (which includes the likes of named characters, [[Terminators]], and Imperial Knights). The former act like standard RTS units, performing most of the legwork as well as adding bulk to your army, while the latter are more powerful units with abilities that can change the tide of battle. <s>In both campaign and multiplayer, players collect said elites by farming skulls (no, we're not kidding. [[RAGE|all three factions are Khornate for some reason]])</s> Not anymore, skulls have been removed. Everyone has access to all Elites and doctrines from the get-go (save for those that are unlocked by leveling up elites). Elite units can level up based on how many enemies they killed during each game, though these level-ups don't improve them in any way, they just unlock exotic paints and new skins. Among them there are really powerful units that are showing up for the first time in the series (such as [[Imperial Knight|Imperial Knights]], [[Wraithknight|Wraithknights]], and [[Gorkanaut|Gorkanauts]]). At the very least, the presence of troop units to back up the elites could mean that the rest of the Blood Ravens 4th Company might actually be getting off their asses and doing something this time around.<br />
<br />
As mentioned previously, the campaign switches between [[Blood Ravens]], [[Orks]], and [[Eldar]] every mission. While the attempt to incorporate all three factions is appreciated, and it is marginally better than Retribution's approach, the constant switching between three vastly different playstyles can be very jarring.<br />
<br />
Markedly absent is a sequel/expansion of Dawn of War II's [[Last Stand]] mode which, given that Last Stand was popular enough to become it's own standalone spinoff product, is likely a deliberate omission. Thus far small fan interest exists in seeing Last Stand return.<br />
<br />
==Pre-Release Reactions==<br />
The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7JNTfrK3Yk 12 minute exclusive gameplay] released shortly after the trailer drew quite a lot of [[Skub|ire.]] With many complaining on the way it looks (having a cleaner, more colorful aesthetic in comparison to previous titles) with rumors that the team developing Dawn of War III was trying to piggyback [[Blizzard|Starcraft]] [[RAGE|of all games]] to the animation lacking the weight and grit of the previous Dawn of War games. Special mentions go to the fighting style animations of [[Gabriel Angelos|old Gabe]] [[What|whose sudden usage of backflips, frontflips and jumping like a 5 ton ballerina on crack]] [[Fail|despite wearing terminator armor]] [[RAGE|drew accusations that one of the lead creators of this game]] [[C.S. Goto|might be a small, black leprechaun with a fetish of Multilasers and backflipping Terminators.]] Hell, the goddamn Lascannons don't fire a [[Indrick Boreale|quick, charged, devastating single shot]] but instead its a [[lance|laser weapon that does more damage the longer it's trained on it's target]]. <br />
<br />
Later interviews and bits of information released did little to ease the [[Skub|ire.]] Including the lead director confirming that sync-kills have been removed, Assault Marines being considered [[What|"light armor"]] units, the dynamic movement system introduced in II being removed, and fall back mechanics are also gone. At this point from a community standpoint, you were either absolutely behind these changes, or were watching something your were previously looking forward to turn into an absolute shitshow; with very little middle ground to be found. And it really doesn't help that their methods of explaining away some of the lore breaking shit seems to come directly from our [[C.S. Goto|good old friend]]. Notably they tried to explain the backflipping Terminator armor by saying that [[What|his hammer has a shard of an Avatar in it]]. This also happened to be an idea made by the Irish leper, and even if it was canon the developers never mentioned what this actually did to give Angelos the ability to backflip, making this move look like a hand-wave to shut the fans up.<br />
<br />
Reactions to the beta did little to assuage the divide in the community. Some, like AngryJoe, thoroughly enjoyed it, while others, like TotalBiscuit, seemed to be completely turned off by it.<br />
<br />
Voice Acting has taken a big change, with Relic opting to go for an all British cast (except for Brian Dobson) rather than using their stable of Ocean Group VAs from previous titles. The rationale behind this is that having British voice actors makes the game more authentic to 40K's British roots, and totally not because of the ongoing voice actors strike against major video game publishers in North America that Sega, and thus Relic, isn't affected by anyway.<br />
<br />
==Post-Release==<br />
{{editwar}}<br />
After the game was released, the reception was [[Skub|mixed]] to say the least. Those who like the game say that the traditional "build and conquer" RTS campaign is a refreshing change for those who didn't like Dawn of War II's [[Diablo]]-style campaign, and while Paul Dobson is sorely missed, the rest of the voice cast isn't too bad. The Elites system is a natural progression from Dawn of War II, and the Ork's [[WAAAGH]]! mechanic is one of the best things ever put into a Dawn of War game. Additionally, they point out that while the power core mode is too simple, it does give a good introduction to the RTS genre for those who are brand new rather than just throwing them to the wolves like other games. <br />
<br />
Those who don't like the game are of the opinion that Relic under Sega gutted what made Dawn of War popular in the first place and turned it into something uninspired and boring by comparison, as it simplified or stripped out many of the iconic elements of the series, such as sync-kills, the cover system and wargear. Many who liked the Dawn of War II campaign aren't fans of a more traditional RTS campaign, and some also feel that the races play too similarly aside from one or two gimmick mechanics. The game also has multiple lore inconsistencies, such as Eldar with shields and [[C.S. Goto|backflipping Terminators]], although to be fair, [[Dawn of War: Soulstorm|it isn't alone]] [[Azariah_Kyras|in this respect]]. Basically, [[Age of Sigmar|Relic significantly altered their popular product to attract a wider audience, and ended up alienating a large portion of their established fanbase.]]<br />
<br />
The decision to focus on simplification and balance in multiplayer was likely an intentional design choice considering the dev teams wanted Dawn of War to develop a competitive scene (seemingly ignoring the fact that people never really picked up Dawn of War for competitive multiplayer). However, unlike good competitive games like Starcraft, Counterstrike, and DOTA, Power Core mode did it in a very simplistic manner that made it feel like the "strategy" part of RTS had been all but sucked out.<br />
<br />
Sales-wise, the game didn't do well in comparison to it's predecessors. While the original [[Dawn of War]] has sold over 6 million copies since 2011 and the was heralded with critical acclaim upon release, and [[Dawn of War II]] took the #1 spot on western sales charts during it's initial release; Dawn of War III didn't raise too much attention apart from standard fanfare, with a [[Skub|mixed response from the community]], and game critics saying it was good, but ultimately [[FAIL|flawed]]. According to [https://steamspy.com/app/285190 Steamspy's estimates], the game's digital sales barely broke a quarter million sales as of July 2017, which is not a good sign for a highly anticipated AAA game series.<br />
<br />
[http://steamcharts.com/app/285190#All It didn't help that the playerbase declined sharply post-release], a clear sign that it just didn't make the impact people expected from the series. [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/1332350869595289198 While Relic seemed to be listening to the community's concerns,] the game was never able to recover from its downward spiral. This being said, they released mod tools, and a small but dedicated group of modders have been working on tweaking the game and adding new units. <br />
<br />
Overall, the game is [[skub]] incarnate, being nearly unrecognizable in comparison to it's predecessors. [[Nurgle|One side hates it for being too overly simple for a strategy game and deviating too far from the things that defined DoW from the beginning,]] [[Tzeentch|while another side is retarded.]]<br />
<br />
[[File:DoW3 Annihilation.jpg|300px|right|thumb]]<br />
===The Annihilation Update===<br />
On June 13th 2017, [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/1332350869595289198 Relic announced the addition of Annihilation mode to the game], along with turrets, a new map, and skins for the super-heavies as Free-LC. On June 20th, [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2663165213085204247 the Annihilation Update dropped] and, it was actually pretty good. The removal of railroady objectives and the addition of a wide open map added a significant amount of depth to the game that was previously lacking, allowing players to take advantage of several mechanics that were previously hamstrung by power core mode. By this point however, too much of the player base had been alienated by power core mode and they weren't willing to come back and give the game another go, so the player count kept declining.<br />
<br />
[[File:DoW3 Endless War.jpg|300px|right|thumb]]<br />
===The Endless War Update===<br />
On October 19th 2017, Relic released the [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2973925069475244397 Endless War Update], which added a bunch of additional content to the game. For starters, each faction has been given an additional Elites choice; the [[Dreadnought#Castraferrum_Pattern|Ironclad Dreadnought]] for Space Marines, the [[Wraithseer]] for Eldar, and the Lifta-Droppa Battlewagon for the Orks, which is basically a [[Awesome|Battlewagon armed with a massive Traktor Kannon]]. We also got three new maps, one themed for each faction, and some more Elites skins, including [[Deathwing]] Terminators, a [[Primaris Chaplain]], and [[Salamanders|Bray'arth Ashmantle]].<br />
<br />
==The End Times Hath Come==<br />
On February 8th 2018, [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-02-08-relic-leaves-dawn-of-war-3-behind-as-it-moves-on-to-new-projects Relic announced they were officially stepping away from Dawn of War III], citing low player counts as the chief reason.<br />
<br />
While Dawn of War 3 has a dedicated player base, it didn't hit the targets we were expecting at launch, and it hasn't performed the way we had hoped since. It's been tough for us as professionals who want to make great games for our players, and for us as people who care a lot about what we do. When a game underperforms, plans need to change. With Dawn of War 3, we simply don't have the foundation we need to produce major content. We're working in close partnership with Sega and Games Workshop to determine the best course of action, while shifting focus to other projects within our portfolio.<br />
<br />
Given this, the [https://community.dawnofwar.com/discussion/15957/patch-upload-as-of-05-feb-2018 February 8th patch] was likely just Relic releasing whatever work they'd finished on the proposed expansion and fixing a couple remaining bugs before bidding the game farewell. With Relic now focusing primarily on Age of Empires IV, Dawn of War III has potentially become a Franchise Killer, though Relic and Sega are apparently in talks with [[Games Workshop|GW]], so time will tell. It should be noted that while Relic has no plans to produce major content, they are still patching and maintaining the game as well as putting out occasional Free-LC skins.<br />
<br />
===Dawn of War III Is Dead!===<br />
A small and dwindling community of fans and modders had tried rallying together in an attempt to resurrect Dawn of War III through Twitch streams, community game nights, and new mods. The goal was to generate enough interest to get Relic to return to the game (lol), or at least release more mod tools so the fans could pick up where they left off, and if not that, then at least to keep the community alive. This effort eventually floundered and the game continued its tailspin. The game sees 200 people online in a good day and matchmaking is deader than [[Cadia]].<br />
<br />
== See Also ==<br />
* [https://www.dawnofwar.com/ The Official Dawn of War site]<br />
* [http://store.steampowered.com/app/285190/Warhammer_40000_Dawn_of_War_III/ Dawn of War III on Steam]<br />
* [http://modding.dawnofwar.com/ Want to make a mod for the game? Start here.]<br />
* [[Dawn of War Mods#Dawn of War III Modding|The list of /tg/-approved mods]]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyLLeKcxw24U2fT8iOowRbzBHsulCAizV The game's soundtrack, which also includes a clean version of the trailer theme]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6lUjVLPU04 WAAAAAAAAAGHH!!]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfEp-ZuwiGE&t Totalbiscuit's review of the game, which highlights a number of problems from the perspective of someone who enjoyed the previous two titles.]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OCWQelkjBg ZoranTheBear and ThunderPsyker's overview of the game, offering the opinions of a newcomer to the franchise and a veteran, respectively]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeWRQ2w0cT0 Arch-Warhammer's review of the game]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPDTt_GOdyY Adam Millard's analysis of why the game failed. He does an excellent job discussing the issues of Dawn of War III while remaining fairly neutral and analytical.]<br />
* [https://steamdb.info/app/285190/graphs/ Here are the game sales stats].<br />
<br />
==Gallery==<br />
<center><br />
<gallery><br />
Image:Don'tWorryDieHappy.gif|Don't Worry, Die Happy<br />
Image:DoW3 Menu.jpg|The Main Menu, which shows the elites and paint scheme you currently have equipped.<br />
Image:DoW3 Army Painter.jpg|The Army Painter<br />
Image:DoW3 Elites Menu.jpg|The Elites Menu<br />
Image:This has been dark work.PNG|[https://youtu.be/CjnvZtYl2fA?t=20s One fan's reaction] [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2316393822047631108 to the announcement of incoming modding tools]<br />
Image:PrimarisAngelos.png|The [[Blood_Ravens#Bloody_Magpies|REAL reason]] for Gabriel Angelos' [[Primaris Marines|changes]] (the Godsplitter bullshit is just what they tell other loyalists who [[Inquisition|get too nosy]])<br />
File:RetributionGabriel.JPG | Gabriel's Cut Original Model found Within Dawn of War III World Builder.<br />
File:StandardofKaurava.JPG | Wargear Found in Dawn of War II Chaos Rising showing that relic did indeed plan for Gorgutz to win Soulstorm.<br />
</gallery><br />
</center><br />
<br />
<br />
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Video Games]][[Category:Dawn of War]]</div>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBDhttp://2d4chan.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Dawn_of_War_III&diff=169572Dawn of War III2019-10-22T22:13:57Z<p>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBD: /* See Also */</p>
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<div>{{/vg/}}<br />
''"In darkness'', ''I shall be light''<br><br />
''In times of doubt'', ''I shall keep faith''<br><br />
''In throes of rage'', ''I shall hone my craft''<br><br />
''In vengeance'', ''I shall have no mercy''<br><br />
''In the midst of battle'', ''I shall have no fear''<br><br />
''In the face of death'', ''I shall have no remorse"''<br><br />
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_ZgyNoHtjw| The voice in the trailer.]<br />
[[File:DoWIII.jpg|thumbnail|right|500px|Skulls for the skull throne!]]<br />
Announced on 3rd of May 2016 and released on April 27nd 2017, '''''Dawn of War III''''' is the third entry in the Dawn of War series.<br />
<br />
The game features [[Space Marines]], [[Orks]], and [[Eldar]], along with [[Imperial Guard]] as an NPC race allied with Space Marines and [[Imperial Knight|Imperial Knights]] as playable allied units to the Space Marines. The campaign features all three factions, rotating which faction you're playing every mission [[Dawn of War II#Retribution|rather than having every faction play the same shortened campaign]]. The story features [[Gabriel Angelos]] (sadly with a different voice actor), [[Macha]], and [[Gorgutz]] as they all race to an ancient planet called Acheron which emerges from the warp every couple thousand years and holds an artifact called the Spear of [[Khaine]].<br />
<br />
==Plot==<br />
{{spoilers}}<br />
Coming back with a new look and much closer to the first game while having elements from the second, the third installment sees the return of some of the more popular characters. Among them [[Gabriel Angelos]], [[Farseer Macha]] and [[Warboss Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter]] will battle for the planet of Acheron for a powerful weapon known as the Spear of Khaine. Whilst the Eldar and Orks seek to obtain it for its tremendous power, Gabriel seeks to prevent anyone from using it, as it apparently reeks of deceit. More of the plot can be read below.<br />
<br />
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"><br />
===Part 1: Verlock Keep and Cyprus Ultima===<br />
Long story short, it begins on the Knight World of Cyprus Ultima being overrun by [[Orks]] led by [[Warboss]] Gitsompa with Varlock Keep being on its last toes against the green tide. [[Heresy|For some reason,]] Inquisitor Holt has prevented further reinforcements from assisting the local Knight house from being overwhelmed. Thankfully for Lady Solaria (The Matriarch of Verlock Keep), <s>Captain</s> [[Chapter Master]] [[Gabriel Angelos]] of the [[Blood Ravens]] ignored the [[Inquisitor|Inquisitor's]] decree and came to assist Lady Solaria's forces. During the fighting, Warboss [[Gorgutz]] led a counter attack to prove that he is the better overall leader then Gitstompa. Unfortunately the [[Eldar]] led by [[Autarch]] Kyre, came on Cyprus to mess everything up which forced Gorgutz to think of some [[Tactical genius|Tactical Genius]] which involves building a giant cannon, sabotage and [[Sindri|Sindri'ing Warboss Gitstompa]] so that Gorgutz would become defacto leader. Meanwhile, the breach in the decree led to Inquisitor Holt feeling all [[Butthurt|butthurt]] about this and tasked Ol'Gabe to defend Starfort Helios which has been overrun by Orks now led by Gorgutz. Both Holt and Gabe talked about the reason behind the starforts, in which they were designed as a barricade against the legendary planet Acheron which houses the legendary 'Spear of [[Khaine]]' in which Holt took great interests in attaining it for himself. As you can imagine, Gabe was quite suspicious over the Inquisitor's ambition and was even more suspicious over the Spear of Khaine whose intuition led Gabe to suspect of it as a [[Chaos|Chaotic corruption]] (Oh, how right he was).<br />
<br />
On the other hand of the spectrum, [[Farseer]] [[Macha]] led an Eldar warhost to aid Kyre who he himself is also after the Spear of Khaine. However, Macha is suspicious about Kyre's prophecy as it did not add up to Macha's own divination on what lies beyond Acheron. Macha was tasked by Kyre to kill Gabriel Angelos as he sees the Chapter Master as an obstacle to Kyre's own ambition, however Macha's relationship with Gabriel stretched all the way back [[Tartarus]]. Before she could accomplish this, [[Jonah Orion]] stood in Macha's way. Macha promptly kicked Jonah's ass and threaten to kill him if he did not tell her where <s>Macha's husbando</s> Gabriel Angelos is. However, being the shining beacon of bromance that is Gabe, the Chapter Master came to Macha's location to prevent her from killing his [[Gay|<s>boyfriend</s>]] most trusted [[Librarian]] butt budy. Macha attempted to throw her singing spear, Gabriel remembered that he was wearing terminator armour and singing spears are AP- and so managed to catch the damned weapon with his hands. Macha blasted him with Psychic shenanigans, took a thunder hammer to the face and either passed her Invuln save or benefited from the Eternal Warrior rule. Before they could end their little 'reunion' however, the planet Acheron arrived on the Cyprus system and shattered Starfort Helios, reigning space debris on where they fought (Seriously, Acheron is ECKS BAWKS HUEG, like Gas Giant size). Macha escaped whilst Gabe was left horrified over the fate of [[Chaplain]] [[Apollo Diomedes]] as it was Gabriel who ordered Diomedes to assist the resistance on Helios. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Gorgutz promptly [[PROMOTIONS|jizzed himself]] with all the loot being crash landed around him due to Helios' demise. Unfortunately, other gitz such as [[Weirdboy]] Zappnoggin and [[Big Mek]] Wazzmakka are fighting over the loot. After Gorgutz promptly bash their heads in and forced them to comply under his leadership, Gorgutz then led on a joyride to Starfort Charon so he could find out what the hell is going on in Acheron. Apparently ''how'' he managed to get onto the Starfort without getting shot down isn't worth worrying about (seriously, he's just there and hopping off a crashed craft without any further explanation). After blowing up the defenses of Charon with nothing more than a bunch of [[Gretchin]] with explosive grenades (seriously, you would think that the defenses of an Imperial Starfort would be a bit more secure), Gorgutz then used the opportunity of the disabled Starfort to land on Acheron without the worry of being blown up. On the other hand, Macha met with [[Ronahn]] to discuss on the potential craziness that is Kyre. Apparently, the reason why Ronahn was here and acting as a secret spy for Kyre was because Kyre [[Derp|somehow got his hands on]] [[Taldeer|Taldeer's]] soulstone due to some altercation with Ronahn. Apparently, Kyre is using Taldeer's prophecy as not only as to stroke Kyre's fragile ego but to also keep his legitimacy stable. Despite the fact that using another [[Craftworld|Craftworld's]] soulstone for nefarious purposes, especially one from [[Ulthwé]] should be enough to send half of the Craftworld's forces to shank Kyre's ass for [[Heresy]], this did not come to pass. After some discussions, Macha, Ronahn and [[Jain Zar]] (Who came to Macha's assistance to stop Kyre's foolish action that would further weakened the Biel-Tan craftworld) all agreed that Kyre's prophecy is nothing more than a steaming pile of [[Bullshit]] and will lead their people to ruin. Unfortunately Jain Zar didn't just tell everyone to stop follow Kyre because she didn't feel like it (yes seriously, she'd rather kill Eldar than that and there's a weak explanation on her trying to get Macha to realize her potential through the conflict) which would have ended the conflict immediately and stopped Eldar from killing each other. So Macha and Ronahn devise a plan to distract Kyre's forces with the aid of Gorgutz so they could sneak around and steal back Taldeer's soulstone instead. Macha and Ronahn also managed to convince Gorgutz to aid them by essentially waving the Spear of Khaine all over Gorgutz like he is some sort of attack dog. So with Gorgutz now in the race to get his 'Super Pointy Stikk', Dawn of War 3 has essentially turned into a Monty Python sketch with all three races bonking each other's heads so they can leap frog each other to get to the Spear first.<br />
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===Part 2: Acheron===<br />
On the other side of the theater, Gabe discussed with Captain Balthazar on board the Blood Raven's [[Battlebarge]] to retrieve Diomedes' [[Gene Seed|Gene Seed]] for he fears that he is dead. However, Inquisitor Holt being a shady motherfucking dick, threatened Gabriel not to go to the remains of Helios or else he would shoot Gabe's aircraft out of the sky. This understandably twisted Gabe's nipples to no end and secretly arranged Balthazar to [[Just as Planned|teleport]] Gabe on the remains of Starfort Helios. They agreed and Gabe was transported on the destroyed Starfort. What he saw disturbed Gabe as the remains of both the Starfort and its crew members was [[Grimdark|fused with the structures of Acheron]]. Fearing for the worst, Gabriel along with a group of [[Terminator|Terminators]] proceed to cleanse the area of both Orks and Eldar with sufficient [[Dakka]]. Once Gabriel found where Diomedes is located, to everyone's surprise, Apollo Diomedes has indeed survived due to [[Plot Armor|rolling a 1 on his To Wound/Destroyer roll and escaping unscathed]] (or maybe he just passed every Armour/Invuln save, he was wearing termie armour). After hearing the Inquisitor's actions, Diomedes was understandably [[Rage|pissed as fuck.]] Inquisitor Holt himself was displeased, but more pressing matters was at hand due to everyone wanting to get the Spear of Khaine.<br />
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On Acheron, Farseer Macha and her posse sneaked to where Taldeer is resting and proceed to [[Blood Ravens|'borrow it']] for their own uses. However, they were caught and were forced to flee, fortunately they completed their task and Kyre sighed in disappointment. Near the vault shielding the Spear of Khaine, Gabe and friends fought their way to destroy the Eldar. However, Inquisitor Holt decided that if a bunch of enemies are gathered in one spot, you might as well just nuke them and requested an orbital bombardment on the vault. Unfortunately it turns out shooting a door has a chance of blowing it open, which certainly happened and that was near where Gabriel's forces were (though he did at least warn Gabe with more than enough time for the Blood Ravens to flee), so Gabe ordered his brothers to flee and while remaining behind because he knew it would look really cool for the trailer. Apollo Diomedes and even Jonah Orion [[Rage|flipped their shit on the Inquisitor]], with Diomedes swearing he [[RIP AND TEAR|wants to rip Holt's head off and shit down his neck]] and Jonah calling Holt a fucking retard for even requesting orbital bombardment. Holt, feeling the heat of a chapter of pissed off [[Space Marines]] went and plead with Lady Solaria. [[Awesome|Solaria then laid down the sickest burn in the game, calling out Holt's cowardice in not only letting Solaria's house to die by the Ork invasion but also firing orbital bombardment near the position of Gabriel Angelos, she further states that no one would fear the incompetence and idiocy of a 'disgraced Inquisitor' threatening Holt that his ass is grass once she tells Holt's superiors on what he has done.]] Holt later put an ice pack on that burn and cried himself to sleep, but before he did, he told Solaria that Gabe may still be alive and what do you know, Gabriel ''IS'' alive since he watched the bombardment from a distance while taking advantage of that Iron Halo/Cataphractii Terminator re-roll bullshit. Gorgutz was also practically under the blast and he survives due to... [[Plot Armor|he just does.]]<br />
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Inside the vault on the true surface of Acheron, Autarch Kyre used Macha's supporters as leverage to draw her out and force her to comply to his will. Unfortunately for him, they were standing on an icy prison keeping a FUCK HUEG [[Greater Daemon]] of [[Khorne]] from escaping (yes, it is yet ''another'' reveal that [[Chaos]] is the ultimate big bad, [[Skub|Que more moaning and bitching that the plot is uninspired)]] and Macha rightly concluded that fighting would only wake it and that something was wrong with the spear. Naturally Kyre didn't listen and after an intense firefight of elf-on-elf violence, Macha then pleaded to Ronahn to let Taldeer's soulstone to be interned in a motherfucking [[Wraithknight]]. Ronahn as you can imagine, hesitated cause he is a good and dutiful brother and would never put his sister into harms way again; the situation however, was dire, thus Ronahn relented and became the co-driver with his sister. During the infighting, Kyre knew he was distracted and continued his campaign to retrieve the Spear. However, bad luck follows Kyre everywhere, and is forced to butt heads with Gorgutz army. These two both battled each other before Kyre won, grabbed the Spear of Khaine and attempt to slay Gorgutz. His plans were slightly hindered when a part of the blade broke and he was liquefied, as it turns out that the Spear was a [[Trap]] designed to spill the blood of the ambitious and greedy and to act as a blood ritual to release the daemon from its prison. Kyre did the 'Oh Shit!' look before ending up like [[Sindri Myr]] as daemon chow.<br />
<br />
===Part 3: Tartarus 2, Electric Boogaloo===<br />
With the daemon released, everyone promptly shat bricks. Macha and Taldeer then did a quick divination and found out that the only way to victory is get all three races to unite and spank the daemon to oblivion. Macha, somehow managed to convince Gorgutz to join her cause despite being backstabbed by Ronahn (Or as Gorgutz would like to call him, Ronny) whilst Gabriel has a....somewhat [[Love Can Bloom|intimate chat]] before he himself joined her cause. Unfortunately for Gabe, part of the ritual needed to defeat the daemon was [[Exterminatus|to blow up Acheron]]....[[Herp|with his own Battlebarge.]] Captain Balthazar overheard this and eagerly accepted his fate before [[Angry Marines|pile driving a seemingly fully loaded Battlebarge into the planet's crust]] in a spectacular display of [[Warhammer 40,000 8th edition|needless sacrifice'''s''']]. <br />
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Seriously, how many Blood Ravens were on the ship? Anyway, the ship blew up the mantle and hurtled the shrine housing the Spear of Khaine into orbit. You would think that the Battlebarge would have just [[Derp|fired its weapons or even have a Cyclonic Torpedo ready,]] but it seems the Imperium has a knack for [[World Engine|wasting expensive ships by]] [[First Tyrannic War|blowing itself up for myriad of reasons.]] On the other hand, Angelos and Balthazar did mention how the Daemon was shielding Acheron and how it took a trio of listening posts to guide the Battlebarge down to the surface; nevertheless, it still is retarded, because the Inquisition normally issues [[Exterminatus]] device approved for [[Chapter Master (game)|Space Marines]] to use by placing it directly on a planet's surface, or use [[Gabriel Angelos|Nemesis weaponry]] to [[Grey Knight|bannish the daemon]] [[Matt Ward|regardless of]] [[Spiritual Liege|his Wounds stats]]; and while it is possible that the Blood Ravens having [[Celestial Lions|bad relationships with the Inquisitor]] would have prevent them from getting one, they didn't even bother to ask and instead killed dozens or hundreds of battle-brothers wile wasting ressources the Blood Ravens can't afford to lose, proving therefore that the staff [[Games Workshop|didn't even know about it]]. <br />
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All three heroes were teleported onto the shrine (It would be safe to assume that all named elite heroes survived Acheron's destruction) by Macha's help to face the daemon. As explained, the previously seen ECKS BAWKS HUEG daemon the size of a Imperial Cruiser has now shrunk in size to be the same height as any old regular Greater Daemon. In a hilariously bizarre and completely un-Khornate way, the daemon AKA the Storm Prince, [[Wat|spends more time healing itself by literally drinking a fountain of]] [[Lulz|daemon kool-aid]]...[[FAIL|we wish we were joking.]] That and the fact that the daemon used [[Tzeentch|trickery of all things]] to set itself free (Spear of Khaine fiasco, daemonic doppelgangers, etc)...one must wonder how [[Khorne]] might have felt after learning that this jackass along with [[Firaeveus Carron|another failure]] continue to became such staunched followers of the Blood God. During the fight, Gabriel in a completely uncharacteristic way, acknowledged ignoring Macha's warnings back on Tartarus was a mistake which resulted in the devastation of the Blood Ravens in [[Dawn of War 2]], in which Macha in turn, uncharacteristically accepted it; but come on now, we all remember that her warnings were fully aimed at protecting the plot, not making things clear for the Blood Ravens & the Inquisitor on what they ought to do. After kicking the daemon to death, all three heroes departed to go their separate ways with Gorgutz finally getting his 'Super Pointy Stikk'/Spear of Khaine. [[What|Again, this is bizarrely uncharacteristic for all of them as we usually see an Eldar ending up backstabbing the Orks and Space Marines into muderfucking each other instead of simply...you know...keeping their promises. Maybe they decided to wait until their armies could rebuild?]] <br />
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Anyway, with the mission done, it is safe to assume that Inquisitor Holt is going to have his [[Anal Circumference|anus enlarged by fifteen meters]] over the shit he has done to Gabe and friends.<br />
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All in all, the last few missions was vaguely similar to the plot of the original [[Dawn of War]]. As both games ends with a cataclysmic fight against an agent of [[Chaos]] being freed from a millennia long prison that is disguised as an object of immense power, in which a gullible pawn thinks he can take it for his own benefit, only to be used as a sacrifice to free the daemon in a blood ritual. Both artifacts are seen by Gabriel Angelos to be malicious and needs to be destroyed with Macha warning Gabe about the true nature of both artifacts. The only difference is that Gabe actually listened to Macha for once on Acheron, thus making the ending of Dawn of War 3 more [[Noblebright]] than the original Dawn of War. <br />
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Oh yeah, the secret after credits ending depicts none other then the return of the [[Necrons]]. Which would probably be more impressive if the story hadn't pretty much stopped there with no sign of continuing.<br />
</div><br />
<br />
==Returning Characters==<br />
===Imperials (Blood Ravens)===<br />
* '''Chapter Master [[Gabriel Angelos]]:''' Returning with a ornate and badass looking set of Terminator Armor. Would be 100% badass if it weren't for the fact that he was capable of inexplicably jumping ([[C.S. Goto|and flipping!]]) several meters off the ground in said Terminator Armor (And the fact that he's no longer voiced by Paul Dobson *sob*). They try and explain this away by linking this ability to his hammer, but considering that Diomedes can do this too and we're not clear on how the hammer does it, it's still stupid. Spends most time battling with the other two factions to prevent them from obtaining the Spear of Khaine, as he suspects it may be corrupted. Some art has him standing at Primarch-grade height. He is loyal and thoughtful of his chapter to the point that he defended his new librarian buddy Jonah Orion from the [[Macha|jealous yandere-virgin]] as well as went against an inquisitor's order to try and give Diomedes last rites when the starfort Diomedes was on crashed into Acheron. Currently having a harem relationship with his librarian buddy Jonah Orion, Farseer Macha and Lady Solaria of the Varlock Imperial Knight house, probably Diomedes too.<br />
* '''Chief Librarian [[Jonah Orion]]:''' Promoted to Chief Librarian after surviving the battle against the chaos corrupted Chapter Master [[Azariah Kyras]]. Now sports a goatee and wearing fancy new armor. Is currently having a bromance relationship with his Chapter Master.<br />
* '''Chaplain [[Apollo Diomedes]]:'''' Returning as a Chaplain in terminator armor (sadly with a different vox box that actually makes him comprehensible). It was never explained why he became a Chaplain after his previous appearance. Must have felt so ashamed about serving a chaos tainted traitor so much that he couldn't bear the mantle of First Company Captain anymore. So now he's a Chaplain, sniffing out taint and making heretics...[[Asmodai|Repent]]. He is now loyal as ever to his chapter, so loyal that he nearly transforms into an [[Angry Marine]] after the stupid-made-manifest known as Inquisitor Damien Holt bombarded their Chapter Master Angelos. Most likely became a Chaplain because he was the one that took it as a job to cleanse the Chapter honor (by splitting the fucking head of his Chapter Master), and even saying at the end of the Retribution campaing that he cant serve the chapter as he was then.<br />
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===Eldar (Biel-Tan)===<br />
* '''Farseer [[Macha]]:''' Returning for the first time since the original Dawn of War, and looking (almost) exactly as she's been depicted in /tg/ art for years (other than a fancy hair ornament and wearing more clothes than said average depictions). Ostensibly working for Lord Kyre to get the Spear of Khaine for him, but appears to be suspicious of his real motives for doing so. Is somewhat tsundere with Gabriel Angelos and still pissed about the whole Maledictum thing. (Ultimately they're both at fault. She didn't explain to him why he shouldn't do what he did, but that doesn't preclude him from ''asking'', something we know he's good at, and he says himself he should have listened to her.)<br />
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===Eldar (Ulthwe)===<br />
* '''[[Ronahn]]:''' Also reappearing as the leader of a Ranger detachment and Kyre's spymaster, and only marginally less whiny than he was before. After losing Taldeer's soul stone on the way home to Kyre (which he is NOT happy about), he has been trying to recover his <s>waifu's</s> sister's soulstone and bring it back to Ulthwe, and so allies with Macha in a plan to undermine Kyre and get her soul stone back.<br />
* '''[[Taldeer]]:''' Apparently Taldeer's soul stone ended up being salvaged during Retribution, as she reappears as a <s>Wraithseer</s> [[Wraithknight]] with a big fucking sword after said soul stone is taken by Kyre. One of her prophecies as recounted in the trailers seems to refer to the impending conflict over the Spear of Khaine.<br />
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===Orks (Bad Moons)===<br />
* '''Warboss [[Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter]]:''' Returning during his absence after Soulstorm, Gorgutz is back with a bigger and badder power klaw (with a retractable chain, no less). He starts out in the service of another Warboss named Gitstompa, and apparently always planned to Sindri him (though the Eldar unwittingly turn him into the Warboss of the Bad Moons WAAAGH! after they kill Gitstompa, believing that killing him would scatter the Ork horde). He's racing against the other factions for the pointy-stick. At some point gets sort of tricked by Ronahn into fighting a heavily defended Eldar base defending the vaults entrance. Macha told him she wanted the other Eldar dead, and told them they were both trying to get the spear, but Ronahn "forgot" to mention the bit about their entrance being heavily defended, which somewhat makes Gorgutz a dumbass for actually trusting dem sneaky knife ears. In the end Gorgutz is ''technically'' the canon winner because he went away with his "pointy stikk" once the daemon was slain, though they did ''let'' him get away with it and the Spear itself was depowered due to the daemon no longer being inside of it.<br />
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===Others===<br />
* '''Brian Dobson:''' The only VA from the first and second series to return. He voices generic Space Marines, Orks and Eldar.<br />
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==New Characters==<br />
===Imperials (Blood Ravens)===<br />
* '''Captain Balthazar:''' A Captain of the Blood Ravens and serves as the mission briefer.<br />
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===Imperials (Others)===<br />
* '''Lady Rebek Solaria:''' Head of House Varlock of Cyprus Ultima and pilot of the Imperial Knight, Drakaina. Drakaina is equipped with two avenger cannons that'll deal more damage when heated up. Becomes BFFs with Angelos after he saves Varlock Keep from Orks (against Inquisitor Holt's orders).<br />
* '''Inquisitor Damien Holt:''' An Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos that seeks the wandering world, Acheron, for the Spear of Khaine. [[Chenkov|He plays the role of asshole cold blooded strategist that gives little regard to his allies like they were pawns in a chess game]] but without any actual strategy to speak of; apparently Relic decided that [[Mordecai Toth|Inquisitor Toth]] from the first Dawn of War and [[Inquisitor Adrastia]] from the second were too sane and reasonable for gamers to handle. The Imperial forces he's working with, Imperial Knights of House Varlock and The Blood Ravens, both hate his guts. The Varlock House hate him for abandoning them to a massive Ork invasion. The Blood Ravens, wary of his obsession with a Warp-tainted xenos artifact, despised the inquisitor for his willingness to waste their battle-brothers' lives for the Spear, which culminated in launching an orbital bombardment on their chapter master Gabriel Angelos to break into the Spear's complex. [[Rage|This made the Blood Ravens so mad]] that Diomedes, the Chaplain, was going to shove a BAAAANEBLADE up the inqisitor's arse only to be stopped by Jonah Orion, who reminds him that they can let the rest of the Inquisition do so later. No relation to [[Commissar Holt]].<br />
* '''Deathwatch Kill-Team Ironmaw:''' They compose of a Dark Angel, a Blood Angel, a Crimson Fist, a [[Ultramarines|Smurf]] and are led by one of everyone's favourite [[Space Wolves|space vikings]]. In multiplayer, the Ultramarine is replaced by a space marine from the chapter you selected via army painter.<br />
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===Eldar (Biel-Tan)===<br />
* '''Autarch Kyre:''' Leader of the Biel-Tan warhost and seeks to obtain the Spear of Khaine. The asshole that led even more Eldar to die in a pointless campaign for some legendary shiny (not to mention him ignoring the Soulstones of his fallen warriors instead of collecting them, which should tell just how asshole he is), and stole Taldeer's Soulstone for good measure (which Macha and Ronahn both note could very well lead to a war between their Craftworld should Ulthwe learn about it). He hired Ronahn as his spymaster only to be betrayed by him. He still got the spear in the end, after fighting Gorgutz for it and cheated using psyker power. Turns out the spear contained a greater daemon of khorne and was possessed by it, after the spear itself shattered as Kyre tried to strike Gorgutz with it... [[Castellan Crowe|which is just weird]], even for a plot device, because daemon weapons are empowered by the daemon's presence, not structurally weakened by it. So arrogant that even the other Eldar can't stand him. <br />
* '''[[Jain Zar]]:''' Phoenix Lord (Lady?) of the Howling Banshees and the first of the Phoenix Lords to be featured in a video game adaptation (Granted, she's also in Eternal Crusade, but has yet to fully appear in that game). Has seen Acheron before and that Eldar have been fighting over the spear for millennia. None so far has succeeded in recovering it.<br />
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===Orks (Bad Moons)===<br />
* '''Wazzmakka:''' Da most byotiful Big Mek dere is. He dont call her beauty for er' looks! Very fond of tellyportas.<br />
* '''Zappnoggin:''' A Weirdboy who sounds surprisingly sane-ish for an ork whose head can explode at any time. Has rather un-orky ideas about not getting into fights that he can't win, which he says has let him live a long time (by Ork standards, anyway).<br />
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==Differences and New Things==<br />
The game attempts to blend the best parts of the first two, featuring base building and massive armies alongside summonable elite units who can sway the course of battle. The game also features doctrines similar to those from [[/v/|Company of Heroes 2]]. Unlike in Company of Heroes 2, you may take up to three Doctrines, with some being connected to specific elite units. Secondly, the Doctrines do not give bullshit like +4% to ranged damage, but either unlock abilities for specific units or upgrade the existing abilities of others (like upgrading the Dreadnoughts to gain charge attacks and shields after executing slam attacks, giving Dire Avengers Holo-Fields, or giving Deffkoptas Buzzsaws). Relic's aim was to make their latest game the most accessible, including features such as a minimalistic UI, icons to represent effects like suppression, and easy-to-read descriptors for most abilities. It is the first Dawn of War game to only feature three factions at launch rather than four, though the included factions do have more units available at launch than they did in previous titles.<br />
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Another change is the new cast of voice actors (whom according to the developers comprise of VA's from their previous title [[Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine]]). This has been met with some amount of [[rage]] from fans, most notably those who wished for the return of Paul Dobson as Angelos.<br />
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Armies are now divided into standard soldiers (things like [[Tactical Squad|Tactical Marines]], [[Dire Avengers]], and [[Ork Boy|Boyz]] as well as vehicles) and elites (which includes the likes of named characters, [[Terminators]], and Imperial Knights). The former act like standard RTS units, performing most of the legwork as well as adding bulk to your army, while the latter are more powerful units with abilities that can change the tide of battle. <s>In both campaign and multiplayer, players collect said elites by farming skulls (no, we're not kidding. [[RAGE|all three factions are Khornate for some reason]])</s> Not anymore, skulls have been removed. Everyone has access to all Elites and doctrines from the get-go (save for those that are unlocked by leveling up elites). Elite units can level up based on how many enemies they killed during each game, though these level-ups don't improve them in any way, they just unlock exotic paints and new skins. Among them there are really powerful units that are showing up for the first time in the series (such as [[Imperial Knight|Imperial Knights]], [[Wraithknight|Wraithknights]], and [[Gorkanaut|Gorkanauts]]). At the very least, the presence of troop units to back up the elites could mean that the rest of the Blood Ravens 4th Company might actually be getting off their asses and doing something this time around.<br />
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As mentioned previously, the campaign switches between [[Blood Ravens]], [[Orks]], and [[Eldar]] every mission. While the attempt to incorporate all three factions is appreciated, and it is marginally better than Retribution's approach, the constant switching between three vastly different playstyles can be very jarring.<br />
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Markedly absent is a sequel/expansion of Dawn of War II's [[Last Stand]] mode which, given that Last Stand was popular enough to become it's own standalone spinoff product, is likely a deliberate omission. Thus far small fan interest exists in seeing Last Stand return.<br />
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==Pre-Release Reactions==<br />
The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7JNTfrK3Yk 12 minute exclusive gameplay] released shortly after the trailer drew quite a lot of [[Skub|ire.]] With many complaining on the way it looks (having a cleaner, more colorful aesthetic in comparison to previous titles) with rumors that the team developing Dawn of War III was trying to piggyback [[Blizzard|Starcraft]] [[RAGE|of all games]] to the animation lacking the weight and grit of the previous Dawn of War games. Special mentions go to the fighting style animations of [[Gabriel Angelos|old Gabe]] [[What|whose sudden usage of backflips, frontflips and jumping like a 5 ton ballerina on crack]] [[Fail|despite wearing terminator armor]] [[RAGE|drew accusations that one of the lead creators of this game]] [[C.S. Goto|might be a small, black leprechaun with a fetish of Multilasers and backflipping Terminators.]] Hell, the goddamn Lascannons don't fire a [[Indrick Boreale|quick, charged, devastating single shot]] but instead its a [[lance|laser weapon that does more damage the longer it's trained on it's target]]. <br />
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Later interviews and bits of information released did little to ease the [[Skub|ire.]] Including the lead director confirming that sync-kills have been removed, Assault Marines being considered [[What|"light armor"]] units, the dynamic movement system introduced in II being removed, and fall back mechanics are also gone. At this point from a community standpoint, you were either absolutely behind these changes, or were watching something your were previously looking forward to turn into an absolute shitshow; with very little middle ground to be found. And it really doesn't help that their methods of explaining away some of the lore breaking shit seems to come directly from our [[C.S. Goto|good old friend]]. Notably they tried to explain the backflipping Terminator armor by saying that [[What|his hammer has a shard of an Avatar in it]]. This also happened to be an idea made by the Irish leper, and even if it was canon the developers never mentioned what this actually did to give Angelos the ability to backflip, making this move look like a hand-wave to shut the fans up.<br />
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Reactions to the beta did little to assuage the divide in the community. Some, like AngryJoe, thoroughly enjoyed it, while others, like TotalBiscuit, seemed to be completely turned off by it.<br />
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Voice Acting has taken a big change, with Relic opting to go for an all British cast (except for Brian Dobson) rather than using their stable of Ocean Group VAs from previous titles. The rationale behind this is that having British voice actors makes the game more authentic to 40K's British roots, and totally not because of the ongoing voice actors strike against major video game publishers in North America that Sega, and thus Relic, isn't affected by anyway.<br />
<br />
==Post-Release==<br />
{{editwar}}<br />
After the game was released, the reception was [[Skub|mixed]] to say the least. Those who like the game say that the traditional "build and conquer" RTS campaign is a refreshing change for those who didn't like Dawn of War II's [[Diablo]]-style campaign, and while Paul Dobson is sorely missed, the rest of the voice cast isn't too bad. The Elites system is a natural progression from Dawn of War II, and the Ork's [[WAAAGH]]! mechanic is one of the best things ever put into a Dawn of War game. Additionally, they point out that while the power core mode is too simple, it does give a good introduction to the RTS genre for those who are brand new rather than just throwing them to the wolves like other games. <br />
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Those who don't like the game are of the opinion that Relic under Sega gutted what made Dawn of War popular in the first place and turned it into something uninspired and boring by comparison, as it simplified or stripped out many of the iconic elements of the series, such as sync-kills, the cover system and wargear. Many who liked the Dawn of War II campaign aren't fans of a more traditional RTS campaign, and some also feel that the races play too similarly aside from one or two gimmick mechanics. The game also has multiple lore inconsistencies, such as Eldar with shields and [[C.S. Goto|backflipping Terminators]], although to be fair, [[Dawn of War: Soulstorm|it isn't alone]] [[Azariah_Kyras|in this respect]]. Basically, [[Age of Sigmar|Relic significantly altered their popular product to attract a wider audience, and ended up alienating a large portion of their established fanbase.]]<br />
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The decision to focus on simplification and balance in multiplayer was likely an intentional design choice considering the dev teams wanted Dawn of War to develop a competitive scene (seemingly ignoring the fact that people never really picked up Dawn of War for competitive multiplayer). However, unlike good competitive games like Starcraft, Counterstrike, and DOTA, Power Core mode did it in a very simplistic manner that made it feel like the "strategy" part of RTS had been all but sucked out.<br />
<br />
Sales-wise, the game didn't do well in comparison to it's predecessors. While the original [[Dawn of War]] has sold over 6 million copies since 2011 and the was heralded with critical acclaim upon release, and [[Dawn of War II]] took the #1 spot on western sales charts during it's initial release; Dawn of War III didn't raise too much attention apart from standard fanfare, with a [[Skub|mixed response from the community]], and game critics saying it was good, but ultimately [[FAIL|flawed]]. According to [https://steamspy.com/app/285190 Steamspy's estimates], the game's digital sales barely broke a quarter million sales as of July 2017, which is not a good sign for a highly anticipated AAA game series.<br />
<br />
[http://steamcharts.com/app/285190#All It didn't help that the playerbase declined sharply post-release], a clear sign that it just didn't make the impact people expected from the series. [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/1332350869595289198 While Relic seemed to be listening to the community's concerns,] the game was never able to recover from its downward spiral. This being said, they released mod tools, and a small but dedicated group of modders have been working on tweaking the game and adding new units. <br />
<br />
Overall, the game is [[skub]] incarnate, being nearly unrecognizable in comparison to it's predecessors. [[Nurgle|One side hates it for being too overly simple for a strategy game and deviating too far from the things that defined DoW from the beginning,]] [[Tzeentch|while another side is retarded.]]<br />
<br />
[[File:DoW3 Annihilation.jpg|300px|right|thumb]]<br />
===The Annihilation Update===<br />
On June 13th 2017, [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/1332350869595289198 Relic announced the addition of Annihilation mode to the game], along with turrets, a new map, and skins for the super-heavies as Free-LC. On June 20th, [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2663165213085204247 the Annihilation Update dropped] and, it was actually pretty good. The removal of railroady objectives and the addition of a wide open map added a significant amount of depth to the game that was previously lacking, allowing players to take advantage of several mechanics that were previously hamstrung by power core mode. By this point however, too much of the player base had been alienated by power core mode and they weren't willing to come back and give the game another go, so the player count kept declining.<br />
<br />
[[File:DoW3 Endless War.jpg|300px|right|thumb]]<br />
===The Endless War Update===<br />
On October 19th 2017, Relic released the [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2973925069475244397 Endless War Update], which added a bunch of additional content to the game. For starters, each faction has been given an additional Elites choice; the [[Dreadnought#Castraferrum_Pattern|Ironclad Dreadnought]] for Space Marines, the [[Wraithseer]] for Eldar, and the Lifta-Droppa Battlewagon for the Orks, which is basically a [[Awesome|Battlewagon armed with a massive Traktor Kannon]]. We also got three new maps, one themed for each faction, and some more Elites skins, including [[Deathwing]] Terminators, a [[Primaris Chaplain]], and [[Salamanders|Bray'arth Ashmantle]].<br />
<br />
==The End Times Hath Come==<br />
On February 8th 2018, [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-02-08-relic-leaves-dawn-of-war-3-behind-as-it-moves-on-to-new-projects Relic announced they were officially stepping away from Dawn of War III], citing low player counts as the chief reason.<br />
<br />
While Dawn of War 3 has a dedicated player base, it didn't hit the targets we were expecting at launch, and it hasn't performed the way we had hoped since. It's been tough for us as professionals who want to make great games for our players, and for us as people who care a lot about what we do. When a game underperforms, plans need to change. With Dawn of War 3, we simply don't have the foundation we need to produce major content. We're working in close partnership with Sega and Games Workshop to determine the best course of action, while shifting focus to other projects within our portfolio.<br />
<br />
Given this, the [https://community.dawnofwar.com/discussion/15957/patch-upload-as-of-05-feb-2018 February 8th patch] was likely just Relic releasing whatever work they'd finished on the proposed expansion and fixing a couple remaining bugs before bidding the game farewell. With Relic now focusing primarily on Age of Empires IV, Dawn of War III has potentially become a Franchise Killer, though Relic and Sega are apparently in talks with [[Games Workshop|GW]], so time will tell. It should be noted that while Relic has no plans to produce major content, they are still patching and maintaining the game as well as putting out occasional Free-LC skins.<br />
<br />
===Dawn of War III Is Dead! Long Live Dawn of War III!===<br />
A small and dwindling community of fans and modders had tried rallying together in an attempt to resurrect Dawn of War III through Twitch streams, community game nights, and new mods. The goal was to generate enough interest to get Relic to return to the game (lol), or at least release more mod tools so the fans could pick up where they left off, and if not that, then at least to keep the community alive. This effort eventually floundered and the game continued its tailspin. The game sees 200 people online in a good day and matchmaking is deader than [[Cadia]].<br />
<br />
== See Also ==<br />
* [https://www.dawnofwar.com/ The Official Dawn of War site]<br />
* [http://store.steampowered.com/app/285190/Warhammer_40000_Dawn_of_War_III/ Dawn of War III on Steam]<br />
* [http://modding.dawnofwar.com/ Want to make a mod for the game? Start here.]<br />
* [[Dawn of War Mods#Dawn of War III Modding|The list of /tg/-approved mods]]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyLLeKcxw24U2fT8iOowRbzBHsulCAizV The game's soundtrack, which also includes a clean version of the trailer theme]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6lUjVLPU04 WAAAAAAAAAGHH!!]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfEp-ZuwiGE&t Totalbiscuit's review of the game, which highlights a number of problems from the perspective of someone who enjoyed the previous two titles.]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OCWQelkjBg ZoranTheBear and ThunderPsyker's overview of the game, offering the opinions of a newcomer to the franchise and a veteran, respectively]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeWRQ2w0cT0 Arch-Warhammer's review of the game]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPDTt_GOdyY Adam Millard's analysis of why the game failed. He does an excellent job discussing the issues of Dawn of War III while remaining fairly neutral and analytical.]<br />
* [https://steamdb.info/app/285190/graphs/ Here are the game sales stats].<br />
<br />
==Gallery==<br />
<center><br />
<gallery><br />
Image:Don'tWorryDieHappy.gif|Don't Worry, Die Happy<br />
Image:DoW3 Menu.jpg|The Main Menu, which shows the elites and paint scheme you currently have equipped.<br />
Image:DoW3 Army Painter.jpg|The Army Painter<br />
Image:DoW3 Elites Menu.jpg|The Elites Menu<br />
Image:This has been dark work.PNG|[https://youtu.be/CjnvZtYl2fA?t=20s One fan's reaction] [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2316393822047631108 to the announcement of incoming modding tools]<br />
Image:PrimarisAngelos.png|The [[Blood_Ravens#Bloody_Magpies|REAL reason]] for Gabriel Angelos' [[Primaris Marines|changes]] (the Godsplitter bullshit is just what they tell other loyalists who [[Inquisition|get too nosy]])<br />
File:RetributionGabriel.JPG | Gabriel's Cut Original Model found Within Dawn of War III World Builder.<br />
File:StandardofKaurava.JPG | Wargear Found in Dawn of War II Chaos Rising showing that relic did indeed plan for Gorgutz to win Soulstorm.<br />
</gallery><br />
</center><br />
<br />
<br />
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Video Games]][[Category:Dawn of War]]</div>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBDhttp://2d4chan.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Dawn_of_War_III&diff=169571Dawn of War III2019-10-22T22:13:28Z<p>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBD: /* Dawn of War III Is Dead! Long Live Dawn of War III! */</p>
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<div>{{/vg/}}<br />
''"In darkness'', ''I shall be light''<br><br />
''In times of doubt'', ''I shall keep faith''<br><br />
''In throes of rage'', ''I shall hone my craft''<br><br />
''In vengeance'', ''I shall have no mercy''<br><br />
''In the midst of battle'', ''I shall have no fear''<br><br />
''In the face of death'', ''I shall have no remorse"''<br><br />
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_ZgyNoHtjw| The voice in the trailer.]<br />
[[File:DoWIII.jpg|thumbnail|right|500px|Skulls for the skull throne!]]<br />
Announced on 3rd of May 2016 and released on April 27nd 2017, '''''Dawn of War III''''' is the third entry in the Dawn of War series.<br />
<br />
The game features [[Space Marines]], [[Orks]], and [[Eldar]], along with [[Imperial Guard]] as an NPC race allied with Space Marines and [[Imperial Knight|Imperial Knights]] as playable allied units to the Space Marines. The campaign features all three factions, rotating which faction you're playing every mission [[Dawn of War II#Retribution|rather than having every faction play the same shortened campaign]]. The story features [[Gabriel Angelos]] (sadly with a different voice actor), [[Macha]], and [[Gorgutz]] as they all race to an ancient planet called Acheron which emerges from the warp every couple thousand years and holds an artifact called the Spear of [[Khaine]].<br />
<br />
==Plot==<br />
{{spoilers}}<br />
Coming back with a new look and much closer to the first game while having elements from the second, the third installment sees the return of some of the more popular characters. Among them [[Gabriel Angelos]], [[Farseer Macha]] and [[Warboss Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter]] will battle for the planet of Acheron for a powerful weapon known as the Spear of Khaine. Whilst the Eldar and Orks seek to obtain it for its tremendous power, Gabriel seeks to prevent anyone from using it, as it apparently reeks of deceit. More of the plot can be read below.<br />
<br />
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"><br />
===Part 1: Verlock Keep and Cyprus Ultima===<br />
Long story short, it begins on the Knight World of Cyprus Ultima being overrun by [[Orks]] led by [[Warboss]] Gitsompa with Varlock Keep being on its last toes against the green tide. [[Heresy|For some reason,]] Inquisitor Holt has prevented further reinforcements from assisting the local Knight house from being overwhelmed. Thankfully for Lady Solaria (The Matriarch of Verlock Keep), <s>Captain</s> [[Chapter Master]] [[Gabriel Angelos]] of the [[Blood Ravens]] ignored the [[Inquisitor|Inquisitor's]] decree and came to assist Lady Solaria's forces. During the fighting, Warboss [[Gorgutz]] led a counter attack to prove that he is the better overall leader then Gitstompa. Unfortunately the [[Eldar]] led by [[Autarch]] Kyre, came on Cyprus to mess everything up which forced Gorgutz to think of some [[Tactical genius|Tactical Genius]] which involves building a giant cannon, sabotage and [[Sindri|Sindri'ing Warboss Gitstompa]] so that Gorgutz would become defacto leader. Meanwhile, the breach in the decree led to Inquisitor Holt feeling all [[Butthurt|butthurt]] about this and tasked Ol'Gabe to defend Starfort Helios which has been overrun by Orks now led by Gorgutz. Both Holt and Gabe talked about the reason behind the starforts, in which they were designed as a barricade against the legendary planet Acheron which houses the legendary 'Spear of [[Khaine]]' in which Holt took great interests in attaining it for himself. As you can imagine, Gabe was quite suspicious over the Inquisitor's ambition and was even more suspicious over the Spear of Khaine whose intuition led Gabe to suspect of it as a [[Chaos|Chaotic corruption]] (Oh, how right he was).<br />
<br />
On the other hand of the spectrum, [[Farseer]] [[Macha]] led an Eldar warhost to aid Kyre who he himself is also after the Spear of Khaine. However, Macha is suspicious about Kyre's prophecy as it did not add up to Macha's own divination on what lies beyond Acheron. Macha was tasked by Kyre to kill Gabriel Angelos as he sees the Chapter Master as an obstacle to Kyre's own ambition, however Macha's relationship with Gabriel stretched all the way back [[Tartarus]]. Before she could accomplish this, [[Jonah Orion]] stood in Macha's way. Macha promptly kicked Jonah's ass and threaten to kill him if he did not tell her where <s>Macha's husbando</s> Gabriel Angelos is. However, being the shining beacon of bromance that is Gabe, the Chapter Master came to Macha's location to prevent her from killing his [[Gay|<s>boyfriend</s>]] most trusted [[Librarian]] butt budy. Macha attempted to throw her singing spear, Gabriel remembered that he was wearing terminator armour and singing spears are AP- and so managed to catch the damned weapon with his hands. Macha blasted him with Psychic shenanigans, took a thunder hammer to the face and either passed her Invuln save or benefited from the Eternal Warrior rule. Before they could end their little 'reunion' however, the planet Acheron arrived on the Cyprus system and shattered Starfort Helios, reigning space debris on where they fought (Seriously, Acheron is ECKS BAWKS HUEG, like Gas Giant size). Macha escaped whilst Gabe was left horrified over the fate of [[Chaplain]] [[Apollo Diomedes]] as it was Gabriel who ordered Diomedes to assist the resistance on Helios. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Gorgutz promptly [[PROMOTIONS|jizzed himself]] with all the loot being crash landed around him due to Helios' demise. Unfortunately, other gitz such as [[Weirdboy]] Zappnoggin and [[Big Mek]] Wazzmakka are fighting over the loot. After Gorgutz promptly bash their heads in and forced them to comply under his leadership, Gorgutz then led on a joyride to Starfort Charon so he could find out what the hell is going on in Acheron. Apparently ''how'' he managed to get onto the Starfort without getting shot down isn't worth worrying about (seriously, he's just there and hopping off a crashed craft without any further explanation). After blowing up the defenses of Charon with nothing more than a bunch of [[Gretchin]] with explosive grenades (seriously, you would think that the defenses of an Imperial Starfort would be a bit more secure), Gorgutz then used the opportunity of the disabled Starfort to land on Acheron without the worry of being blown up. On the other hand, Macha met with [[Ronahn]] to discuss on the potential craziness that is Kyre. Apparently, the reason why Ronahn was here and acting as a secret spy for Kyre was because Kyre [[Derp|somehow got his hands on]] [[Taldeer|Taldeer's]] soulstone due to some altercation with Ronahn. Apparently, Kyre is using Taldeer's prophecy as not only as to stroke Kyre's fragile ego but to also keep his legitimacy stable. Despite the fact that using another [[Craftworld|Craftworld's]] soulstone for nefarious purposes, especially one from [[Ulthwé]] should be enough to send half of the Craftworld's forces to shank Kyre's ass for [[Heresy]], this did not come to pass. After some discussions, Macha, Ronahn and [[Jain Zar]] (Who came to Macha's assistance to stop Kyre's foolish action that would further weakened the Biel-Tan craftworld) all agreed that Kyre's prophecy is nothing more than a steaming pile of [[Bullshit]] and will lead their people to ruin. Unfortunately Jain Zar didn't just tell everyone to stop follow Kyre because she didn't feel like it (yes seriously, she'd rather kill Eldar than that and there's a weak explanation on her trying to get Macha to realize her potential through the conflict) which would have ended the conflict immediately and stopped Eldar from killing each other. So Macha and Ronahn devise a plan to distract Kyre's forces with the aid of Gorgutz so they could sneak around and steal back Taldeer's soulstone instead. Macha and Ronahn also managed to convince Gorgutz to aid them by essentially waving the Spear of Khaine all over Gorgutz like he is some sort of attack dog. So with Gorgutz now in the race to get his 'Super Pointy Stikk', Dawn of War 3 has essentially turned into a Monty Python sketch with all three races bonking each other's heads so they can leap frog each other to get to the Spear first.<br />
<br />
===Part 2: Acheron===<br />
On the other side of the theater, Gabe discussed with Captain Balthazar on board the Blood Raven's [[Battlebarge]] to retrieve Diomedes' [[Gene Seed|Gene Seed]] for he fears that he is dead. However, Inquisitor Holt being a shady motherfucking dick, threatened Gabriel not to go to the remains of Helios or else he would shoot Gabe's aircraft out of the sky. This understandably twisted Gabe's nipples to no end and secretly arranged Balthazar to [[Just as Planned|teleport]] Gabe on the remains of Starfort Helios. They agreed and Gabe was transported on the destroyed Starfort. What he saw disturbed Gabe as the remains of both the Starfort and its crew members was [[Grimdark|fused with the structures of Acheron]]. Fearing for the worst, Gabriel along with a group of [[Terminator|Terminators]] proceed to cleanse the area of both Orks and Eldar with sufficient [[Dakka]]. Once Gabriel found where Diomedes is located, to everyone's surprise, Apollo Diomedes has indeed survived due to [[Plot Armor|rolling a 1 on his To Wound/Destroyer roll and escaping unscathed]] (or maybe he just passed every Armour/Invuln save, he was wearing termie armour). After hearing the Inquisitor's actions, Diomedes was understandably [[Rage|pissed as fuck.]] Inquisitor Holt himself was displeased, but more pressing matters was at hand due to everyone wanting to get the Spear of Khaine.<br />
<br />
On Acheron, Farseer Macha and her posse sneaked to where Taldeer is resting and proceed to [[Blood Ravens|'borrow it']] for their own uses. However, they were caught and were forced to flee, fortunately they completed their task and Kyre sighed in disappointment. Near the vault shielding the Spear of Khaine, Gabe and friends fought their way to destroy the Eldar. However, Inquisitor Holt decided that if a bunch of enemies are gathered in one spot, you might as well just nuke them and requested an orbital bombardment on the vault. Unfortunately it turns out shooting a door has a chance of blowing it open, which certainly happened and that was near where Gabriel's forces were (though he did at least warn Gabe with more than enough time for the Blood Ravens to flee), so Gabe ordered his brothers to flee and while remaining behind because he knew it would look really cool for the trailer. Apollo Diomedes and even Jonah Orion [[Rage|flipped their shit on the Inquisitor]], with Diomedes swearing he [[RIP AND TEAR|wants to rip Holt's head off and shit down his neck]] and Jonah calling Holt a fucking retard for even requesting orbital bombardment. Holt, feeling the heat of a chapter of pissed off [[Space Marines]] went and plead with Lady Solaria. [[Awesome|Solaria then laid down the sickest burn in the game, calling out Holt's cowardice in not only letting Solaria's house to die by the Ork invasion but also firing orbital bombardment near the position of Gabriel Angelos, she further states that no one would fear the incompetence and idiocy of a 'disgraced Inquisitor' threatening Holt that his ass is grass once she tells Holt's superiors on what he has done.]] Holt later put an ice pack on that burn and cried himself to sleep, but before he did, he told Solaria that Gabe may still be alive and what do you know, Gabriel ''IS'' alive since he watched the bombardment from a distance while taking advantage of that Iron Halo/Cataphractii Terminator re-roll bullshit. Gorgutz was also practically under the blast and he survives due to... [[Plot Armor|he just does.]]<br />
<br />
Inside the vault on the true surface of Acheron, Autarch Kyre used Macha's supporters as leverage to draw her out and force her to comply to his will. Unfortunately for him, they were standing on an icy prison keeping a FUCK HUEG [[Greater Daemon]] of [[Khorne]] from escaping (yes, it is yet ''another'' reveal that [[Chaos]] is the ultimate big bad, [[Skub|Que more moaning and bitching that the plot is uninspired)]] and Macha rightly concluded that fighting would only wake it and that something was wrong with the spear. Naturally Kyre didn't listen and after an intense firefight of elf-on-elf violence, Macha then pleaded to Ronahn to let Taldeer's soulstone to be interned in a motherfucking [[Wraithknight]]. Ronahn as you can imagine, hesitated cause he is a good and dutiful brother and would never put his sister into harms way again; the situation however, was dire, thus Ronahn relented and became the co-driver with his sister. During the infighting, Kyre knew he was distracted and continued his campaign to retrieve the Spear. However, bad luck follows Kyre everywhere, and is forced to butt heads with Gorgutz army. These two both battled each other before Kyre won, grabbed the Spear of Khaine and attempt to slay Gorgutz. His plans were slightly hindered when a part of the blade broke and he was liquefied, as it turns out that the Spear was a [[Trap]] designed to spill the blood of the ambitious and greedy and to act as a blood ritual to release the daemon from its prison. Kyre did the 'Oh Shit!' look before ending up like [[Sindri Myr]] as daemon chow.<br />
<br />
===Part 3: Tartarus 2, Electric Boogaloo===<br />
With the daemon released, everyone promptly shat bricks. Macha and Taldeer then did a quick divination and found out that the only way to victory is get all three races to unite and spank the daemon to oblivion. Macha, somehow managed to convince Gorgutz to join her cause despite being backstabbed by Ronahn (Or as Gorgutz would like to call him, Ronny) whilst Gabriel has a....somewhat [[Love Can Bloom|intimate chat]] before he himself joined her cause. Unfortunately for Gabe, part of the ritual needed to defeat the daemon was [[Exterminatus|to blow up Acheron]]....[[Herp|with his own Battlebarge.]] Captain Balthazar overheard this and eagerly accepted his fate before [[Angry Marines|pile driving a seemingly fully loaded Battlebarge into the planet's crust]] in a spectacular display of [[Warhammer 40,000 8th edition|needless sacrifice'''s''']]. <br />
<br />
Seriously, how many Blood Ravens were on the ship? Anyway, the ship blew up the mantle and hurtled the shrine housing the Spear of Khaine into orbit. You would think that the Battlebarge would have just [[Derp|fired its weapons or even have a Cyclonic Torpedo ready,]] but it seems the Imperium has a knack for [[World Engine|wasting expensive ships by]] [[First Tyrannic War|blowing itself up for myriad of reasons.]] On the other hand, Angelos and Balthazar did mention how the Daemon was shielding Acheron and how it took a trio of listening posts to guide the Battlebarge down to the surface; nevertheless, it still is retarded, because the Inquisition normally issues [[Exterminatus]] device approved for [[Chapter Master (game)|Space Marines]] to use by placing it directly on a planet's surface, or use [[Gabriel Angelos|Nemesis weaponry]] to [[Grey Knight|bannish the daemon]] [[Matt Ward|regardless of]] [[Spiritual Liege|his Wounds stats]]; and while it is possible that the Blood Ravens having [[Celestial Lions|bad relationships with the Inquisitor]] would have prevent them from getting one, they didn't even bother to ask and instead killed dozens or hundreds of battle-brothers wile wasting ressources the Blood Ravens can't afford to lose, proving therefore that the staff [[Games Workshop|didn't even know about it]]. <br />
<br />
All three heroes were teleported onto the shrine (It would be safe to assume that all named elite heroes survived Acheron's destruction) by Macha's help to face the daemon. As explained, the previously seen ECKS BAWKS HUEG daemon the size of a Imperial Cruiser has now shrunk in size to be the same height as any old regular Greater Daemon. In a hilariously bizarre and completely un-Khornate way, the daemon AKA the Storm Prince, [[Wat|spends more time healing itself by literally drinking a fountain of]] [[Lulz|daemon kool-aid]]...[[FAIL|we wish we were joking.]] That and the fact that the daemon used [[Tzeentch|trickery of all things]] to set itself free (Spear of Khaine fiasco, daemonic doppelgangers, etc)...one must wonder how [[Khorne]] might have felt after learning that this jackass along with [[Firaeveus Carron|another failure]] continue to became such staunched followers of the Blood God. During the fight, Gabriel in a completely uncharacteristic way, acknowledged ignoring Macha's warnings back on Tartarus was a mistake which resulted in the devastation of the Blood Ravens in [[Dawn of War 2]], in which Macha in turn, uncharacteristically accepted it; but come on now, we all remember that her warnings were fully aimed at protecting the plot, not making things clear for the Blood Ravens & the Inquisitor on what they ought to do. After kicking the daemon to death, all three heroes departed to go their separate ways with Gorgutz finally getting his 'Super Pointy Stikk'/Spear of Khaine. [[What|Again, this is bizarrely uncharacteristic for all of them as we usually see an Eldar ending up backstabbing the Orks and Space Marines into muderfucking each other instead of simply...you know...keeping their promises. Maybe they decided to wait until their armies could rebuild?]] <br />
<br />
Anyway, with the mission done, it is safe to assume that Inquisitor Holt is going to have his [[Anal Circumference|anus enlarged by fifteen meters]] over the shit he has done to Gabe and friends.<br />
<br />
All in all, the last few missions was vaguely similar to the plot of the original [[Dawn of War]]. As both games ends with a cataclysmic fight against an agent of [[Chaos]] being freed from a millennia long prison that is disguised as an object of immense power, in which a gullible pawn thinks he can take it for his own benefit, only to be used as a sacrifice to free the daemon in a blood ritual. Both artifacts are seen by Gabriel Angelos to be malicious and needs to be destroyed with Macha warning Gabe about the true nature of both artifacts. The only difference is that Gabe actually listened to Macha for once on Acheron, thus making the ending of Dawn of War 3 more [[Noblebright]] than the original Dawn of War. <br />
<br />
Oh yeah, the secret after credits ending depicts none other then the return of the [[Necrons]]. Which would probably be more impressive if the story hadn't pretty much stopped there with no sign of continuing.<br />
</div><br />
<br />
==Returning Characters==<br />
===Imperials (Blood Ravens)===<br />
* '''Chapter Master [[Gabriel Angelos]]:''' Returning with a ornate and badass looking set of Terminator Armor. Would be 100% badass if it weren't for the fact that he was capable of inexplicably jumping ([[C.S. Goto|and flipping!]]) several meters off the ground in said Terminator Armor (And the fact that he's no longer voiced by Paul Dobson *sob*). They try and explain this away by linking this ability to his hammer, but considering that Diomedes can do this too and we're not clear on how the hammer does it, it's still stupid. Spends most time battling with the other two factions to prevent them from obtaining the Spear of Khaine, as he suspects it may be corrupted. Some art has him standing at Primarch-grade height. He is loyal and thoughtful of his chapter to the point that he defended his new librarian buddy Jonah Orion from the [[Macha|jealous yandere-virgin]] as well as went against an inquisitor's order to try and give Diomedes last rites when the starfort Diomedes was on crashed into Acheron. Currently having a harem relationship with his librarian buddy Jonah Orion, Farseer Macha and Lady Solaria of the Varlock Imperial Knight house, probably Diomedes too.<br />
* '''Chief Librarian [[Jonah Orion]]:''' Promoted to Chief Librarian after surviving the battle against the chaos corrupted Chapter Master [[Azariah Kyras]]. Now sports a goatee and wearing fancy new armor. Is currently having a bromance relationship with his Chapter Master.<br />
* '''Chaplain [[Apollo Diomedes]]:'''' Returning as a Chaplain in terminator armor (sadly with a different vox box that actually makes him comprehensible). It was never explained why he became a Chaplain after his previous appearance. Must have felt so ashamed about serving a chaos tainted traitor so much that he couldn't bear the mantle of First Company Captain anymore. So now he's a Chaplain, sniffing out taint and making heretics...[[Asmodai|Repent]]. He is now loyal as ever to his chapter, so loyal that he nearly transforms into an [[Angry Marine]] after the stupid-made-manifest known as Inquisitor Damien Holt bombarded their Chapter Master Angelos. Most likely became a Chaplain because he was the one that took it as a job to cleanse the Chapter honor (by splitting the fucking head of his Chapter Master), and even saying at the end of the Retribution campaing that he cant serve the chapter as he was then.<br />
<br />
===Eldar (Biel-Tan)===<br />
* '''Farseer [[Macha]]:''' Returning for the first time since the original Dawn of War, and looking (almost) exactly as she's been depicted in /tg/ art for years (other than a fancy hair ornament and wearing more clothes than said average depictions). Ostensibly working for Lord Kyre to get the Spear of Khaine for him, but appears to be suspicious of his real motives for doing so. Is somewhat tsundere with Gabriel Angelos and still pissed about the whole Maledictum thing. (Ultimately they're both at fault. She didn't explain to him why he shouldn't do what he did, but that doesn't preclude him from ''asking'', something we know he's good at, and he says himself he should have listened to her.)<br />
<br />
===Eldar (Ulthwe)===<br />
* '''[[Ronahn]]:''' Also reappearing as the leader of a Ranger detachment and Kyre's spymaster, and only marginally less whiny than he was before. After losing Taldeer's soul stone on the way home to Kyre (which he is NOT happy about), he has been trying to recover his <s>waifu's</s> sister's soulstone and bring it back to Ulthwe, and so allies with Macha in a plan to undermine Kyre and get her soul stone back.<br />
* '''[[Taldeer]]:''' Apparently Taldeer's soul stone ended up being salvaged during Retribution, as she reappears as a <s>Wraithseer</s> [[Wraithknight]] with a big fucking sword after said soul stone is taken by Kyre. One of her prophecies as recounted in the trailers seems to refer to the impending conflict over the Spear of Khaine.<br />
<br />
===Orks (Bad Moons)===<br />
* '''Warboss [[Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter]]:''' Returning during his absence after Soulstorm, Gorgutz is back with a bigger and badder power klaw (with a retractable chain, no less). He starts out in the service of another Warboss named Gitstompa, and apparently always planned to Sindri him (though the Eldar unwittingly turn him into the Warboss of the Bad Moons WAAAGH! after they kill Gitstompa, believing that killing him would scatter the Ork horde). He's racing against the other factions for the pointy-stick. At some point gets sort of tricked by Ronahn into fighting a heavily defended Eldar base defending the vaults entrance. Macha told him she wanted the other Eldar dead, and told them they were both trying to get the spear, but Ronahn "forgot" to mention the bit about their entrance being heavily defended, which somewhat makes Gorgutz a dumbass for actually trusting dem sneaky knife ears. In the end Gorgutz is ''technically'' the canon winner because he went away with his "pointy stikk" once the daemon was slain, though they did ''let'' him get away with it and the Spear itself was depowered due to the daemon no longer being inside of it.<br />
<br />
===Others===<br />
* '''Brian Dobson:''' The only VA from the first and second series to return. He voices generic Space Marines, Orks and Eldar.<br />
<br />
==New Characters==<br />
===Imperials (Blood Ravens)===<br />
* '''Captain Balthazar:''' A Captain of the Blood Ravens and serves as the mission briefer.<br />
<br />
===Imperials (Others)===<br />
* '''Lady Rebek Solaria:''' Head of House Varlock of Cyprus Ultima and pilot of the Imperial Knight, Drakaina. Drakaina is equipped with two avenger cannons that'll deal more damage when heated up. Becomes BFFs with Angelos after he saves Varlock Keep from Orks (against Inquisitor Holt's orders).<br />
* '''Inquisitor Damien Holt:''' An Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos that seeks the wandering world, Acheron, for the Spear of Khaine. [[Chenkov|He plays the role of asshole cold blooded strategist that gives little regard to his allies like they were pawns in a chess game]] but without any actual strategy to speak of; apparently Relic decided that [[Mordecai Toth|Inquisitor Toth]] from the first Dawn of War and [[Inquisitor Adrastia]] from the second were too sane and reasonable for gamers to handle. The Imperial forces he's working with, Imperial Knights of House Varlock and The Blood Ravens, both hate his guts. The Varlock House hate him for abandoning them to a massive Ork invasion. The Blood Ravens, wary of his obsession with a Warp-tainted xenos artifact, despised the inquisitor for his willingness to waste their battle-brothers' lives for the Spear, which culminated in launching an orbital bombardment on their chapter master Gabriel Angelos to break into the Spear's complex. [[Rage|This made the Blood Ravens so mad]] that Diomedes, the Chaplain, was going to shove a BAAAANEBLADE up the inqisitor's arse only to be stopped by Jonah Orion, who reminds him that they can let the rest of the Inquisition do so later. No relation to [[Commissar Holt]].<br />
* '''Deathwatch Kill-Team Ironmaw:''' They compose of a Dark Angel, a Blood Angel, a Crimson Fist, a [[Ultramarines|Smurf]] and are led by one of everyone's favourite [[Space Wolves|space vikings]]. In multiplayer, the Ultramarine is replaced by a space marine from the chapter you selected via army painter.<br />
<br />
===Eldar (Biel-Tan)===<br />
* '''Autarch Kyre:''' Leader of the Biel-Tan warhost and seeks to obtain the Spear of Khaine. The asshole that led even more Eldar to die in a pointless campaign for some legendary shiny (not to mention him ignoring the Soulstones of his fallen warriors instead of collecting them, which should tell just how asshole he is), and stole Taldeer's Soulstone for good measure (which Macha and Ronahn both note could very well lead to a war between their Craftworld should Ulthwe learn about it). He hired Ronahn as his spymaster only to be betrayed by him. He still got the spear in the end, after fighting Gorgutz for it and cheated using psyker power. Turns out the spear contained a greater daemon of khorne and was possessed by it, after the spear itself shattered as Kyre tried to strike Gorgutz with it... [[Castellan Crowe|which is just weird]], even for a plot device, because daemon weapons are empowered by the daemon's presence, not structurally weakened by it. So arrogant that even the other Eldar can't stand him. <br />
* '''[[Jain Zar]]:''' Phoenix Lord (Lady?) of the Howling Banshees and the first of the Phoenix Lords to be featured in a video game adaptation (Granted, she's also in Eternal Crusade, but has yet to fully appear in that game). Has seen Acheron before and that Eldar have been fighting over the spear for millennia. None so far has succeeded in recovering it.<br />
<br />
===Orks (Bad Moons)===<br />
* '''Wazzmakka:''' Da most byotiful Big Mek dere is. He dont call her beauty for er' looks! Very fond of tellyportas.<br />
* '''Zappnoggin:''' A Weirdboy who sounds surprisingly sane-ish for an ork whose head can explode at any time. Has rather un-orky ideas about not getting into fights that he can't win, which he says has let him live a long time (by Ork standards, anyway).<br />
<br />
==Differences and New Things==<br />
The game attempts to blend the best parts of the first two, featuring base building and massive armies alongside summonable elite units who can sway the course of battle. The game also features doctrines similar to those from [[/v/|Company of Heroes 2]]. Unlike in Company of Heroes 2, you may take up to three Doctrines, with some being connected to specific elite units. Secondly, the Doctrines do not give bullshit like +4% to ranged damage, but either unlock abilities for specific units or upgrade the existing abilities of others (like upgrading the Dreadnoughts to gain charge attacks and shields after executing slam attacks, giving Dire Avengers Holo-Fields, or giving Deffkoptas Buzzsaws). Relic's aim was to make their latest game the most accessible, including features such as a minimalistic UI, icons to represent effects like suppression, and easy-to-read descriptors for most abilities. It is the first Dawn of War game to only feature three factions at launch rather than four, though the included factions do have more units available at launch than they did in previous titles.<br />
<br />
Another change is the new cast of voice actors (whom according to the developers comprise of VA's from their previous title [[Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine]]). This has been met with some amount of [[rage]] from fans, most notably those who wished for the return of Paul Dobson as Angelos.<br />
<br />
Armies are now divided into standard soldiers (things like [[Tactical Squad|Tactical Marines]], [[Dire Avengers]], and [[Ork Boy|Boyz]] as well as vehicles) and elites (which includes the likes of named characters, [[Terminators]], and Imperial Knights). The former act like standard RTS units, performing most of the legwork as well as adding bulk to your army, while the latter are more powerful units with abilities that can change the tide of battle. <s>In both campaign and multiplayer, players collect said elites by farming skulls (no, we're not kidding. [[RAGE|all three factions are Khornate for some reason]])</s> Not anymore, skulls have been removed. Everyone has access to all Elites and doctrines from the get-go (save for those that are unlocked by leveling up elites). Elite units can level up based on how many enemies they killed during each game, though these level-ups don't improve them in any way, they just unlock exotic paints and new skins. Among them there are really powerful units that are showing up for the first time in the series (such as [[Imperial Knight|Imperial Knights]], [[Wraithknight|Wraithknights]], and [[Gorkanaut|Gorkanauts]]). At the very least, the presence of troop units to back up the elites could mean that the rest of the Blood Ravens 4th Company might actually be getting off their asses and doing something this time around.<br />
<br />
As mentioned previously, the campaign switches between [[Blood Ravens]], [[Orks]], and [[Eldar]] every mission. While the attempt to incorporate all three factions is appreciated, and it is marginally better than Retribution's approach, the constant switching between three vastly different playstyles can be very jarring.<br />
<br />
Markedly absent is a sequel/expansion of Dawn of War II's [[Last Stand]] mode which, given that Last Stand was popular enough to become it's own standalone spinoff product, is likely a deliberate omission. Thus far small fan interest exists in seeing Last Stand return.<br />
<br />
==Pre-Release Reactions==<br />
The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7JNTfrK3Yk 12 minute exclusive gameplay] released shortly after the trailer drew quite a lot of [[Skub|ire.]] With many complaining on the way it looks (having a cleaner, more colorful aesthetic in comparison to previous titles) with rumors that the team developing Dawn of War III was trying to piggyback [[Blizzard|Starcraft]] [[RAGE|of all games]] to the animation lacking the weight and grit of the previous Dawn of War games. Special mentions go to the fighting style animations of [[Gabriel Angelos|old Gabe]] [[What|whose sudden usage of backflips, frontflips and jumping like a 5 ton ballerina on crack]] [[Fail|despite wearing terminator armor]] [[RAGE|drew accusations that one of the lead creators of this game]] [[C.S. Goto|might be a small, black leprechaun with a fetish of Multilasers and backflipping Terminators.]] Hell, the goddamn Lascannons don't fire a [[Indrick Boreale|quick, charged, devastating single shot]] but instead its a [[lance|laser weapon that does more damage the longer it's trained on it's target]]. <br />
<br />
Later interviews and bits of information released did little to ease the [[Skub|ire.]] Including the lead director confirming that sync-kills have been removed, Assault Marines being considered [[What|"light armor"]] units, the dynamic movement system introduced in II being removed, and fall back mechanics are also gone. At this point from a community standpoint, you were either absolutely behind these changes, or were watching something your were previously looking forward to turn into an absolute shitshow; with very little middle ground to be found. And it really doesn't help that their methods of explaining away some of the lore breaking shit seems to come directly from our [[C.S. Goto|good old friend]]. Notably they tried to explain the backflipping Terminator armor by saying that [[What|his hammer has a shard of an Avatar in it]]. This also happened to be an idea made by the Irish leper, and even if it was canon the developers never mentioned what this actually did to give Angelos the ability to backflip, making this move look like a hand-wave to shut the fans up.<br />
<br />
Reactions to the beta did little to assuage the divide in the community. Some, like AngryJoe, thoroughly enjoyed it, while others, like TotalBiscuit, seemed to be completely turned off by it.<br />
<br />
Voice Acting has taken a big change, with Relic opting to go for an all British cast (except for Brian Dobson) rather than using their stable of Ocean Group VAs from previous titles. The rationale behind this is that having British voice actors makes the game more authentic to 40K's British roots, and totally not because of the ongoing voice actors strike against major video game publishers in North America that Sega, and thus Relic, isn't affected by anyway.<br />
<br />
==Post-Release==<br />
{{editwar}}<br />
After the game was released, the reception was [[Skub|mixed]] to say the least. Those who like the game say that the traditional "build and conquer" RTS campaign is a refreshing change for those who didn't like Dawn of War II's [[Diablo]]-style campaign, and while Paul Dobson is sorely missed, the rest of the voice cast isn't too bad. The Elites system is a natural progression from Dawn of War II, and the Ork's [[WAAAGH]]! mechanic is one of the best things ever put into a Dawn of War game. Additionally, they point out that while the power core mode is too simple, it does give a good introduction to the RTS genre for those who are brand new rather than just throwing them to the wolves like other games. <br />
<br />
Those who don't like the game are of the opinion that Relic under Sega gutted what made Dawn of War popular in the first place and turned it into something uninspired and boring by comparison, as it simplified or stripped out many of the iconic elements of the series, such as sync-kills, the cover system and wargear. Many who liked the Dawn of War II campaign aren't fans of a more traditional RTS campaign, and some also feel that the races play too similarly aside from one or two gimmick mechanics. The game also has multiple lore inconsistencies, such as Eldar with shields and [[C.S. Goto|backflipping Terminators]], although to be fair, [[Dawn of War: Soulstorm|it isn't alone]] [[Azariah_Kyras|in this respect]]. Basically, [[Age of Sigmar|Relic significantly altered their popular product to attract a wider audience, and ended up alienating a large portion of their established fanbase.]]<br />
<br />
The decision to focus on simplification and balance in multiplayer was likely an intentional design choice considering the dev teams wanted Dawn of War to develop a competitive scene (seemingly ignoring the fact that people never really picked up Dawn of War for competitive multiplayer). However, unlike good competitive games like Starcraft, Counterstrike, and DOTA, Power Core mode did it in a very simplistic manner that made it feel like the "strategy" part of RTS had been all but sucked out.<br />
<br />
Sales-wise, the game didn't do well in comparison to it's predecessors. While the original [[Dawn of War]] has sold over 6 million copies since 2011 and the was heralded with critical acclaim upon release, and [[Dawn of War II]] took the #1 spot on western sales charts during it's initial release; Dawn of War III didn't raise too much attention apart from standard fanfare, with a [[Skub|mixed response from the community]], and game critics saying it was good, but ultimately [[FAIL|flawed]]. According to [https://steamspy.com/app/285190 Steamspy's estimates], the game's digital sales barely broke a quarter million sales as of July 2017, which is not a good sign for a highly anticipated AAA game series.<br />
<br />
[http://steamcharts.com/app/285190#All It didn't help that the playerbase declined sharply post-release], a clear sign that it just didn't make the impact people expected from the series. [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/1332350869595289198 While Relic seemed to be listening to the community's concerns,] the game was never able to recover from its downward spiral. This being said, they released mod tools, and a small but dedicated group of modders have been working on tweaking the game and adding new units. <br />
<br />
Overall, the game is [[skub]] incarnate, being nearly unrecognizable in comparison to it's predecessors. [[Nurgle|One side hates it for being too overly simple for a strategy game and deviating too far from the things that defined DoW from the beginning,]] [[Tzeentch|while another side is retarded.]]<br />
<br />
[[File:DoW3 Annihilation.jpg|300px|right|thumb]]<br />
===The Annihilation Update===<br />
On June 13th 2017, [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/1332350869595289198 Relic announced the addition of Annihilation mode to the game], along with turrets, a new map, and skins for the super-heavies as Free-LC. On June 20th, [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2663165213085204247 the Annihilation Update dropped] and, it was actually pretty good. The removal of railroady objectives and the addition of a wide open map added a significant amount of depth to the game that was previously lacking, allowing players to take advantage of several mechanics that were previously hamstrung by power core mode. By this point however, too much of the player base had been alienated by power core mode and they weren't willing to come back and give the game another go, so the player count kept declining.<br />
<br />
[[File:DoW3 Endless War.jpg|300px|right|thumb]]<br />
===The Endless War Update===<br />
On October 19th 2017, Relic released the [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2973925069475244397 Endless War Update], which added a bunch of additional content to the game. For starters, each faction has been given an additional Elites choice; the [[Dreadnought#Castraferrum_Pattern|Ironclad Dreadnought]] for Space Marines, the [[Wraithseer]] for Eldar, and the Lifta-Droppa Battlewagon for the Orks, which is basically a [[Awesome|Battlewagon armed with a massive Traktor Kannon]]. We also got three new maps, one themed for each faction, and some more Elites skins, including [[Deathwing]] Terminators, a [[Primaris Chaplain]], and [[Salamanders|Bray'arth Ashmantle]].<br />
<br />
==The End Times Hath Come==<br />
On February 8th 2018, [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-02-08-relic-leaves-dawn-of-war-3-behind-as-it-moves-on-to-new-projects Relic announced they were officially stepping away from Dawn of War III], citing low player counts as the chief reason.<br />
<br />
While Dawn of War 3 has a dedicated player base, it didn't hit the targets we were expecting at launch, and it hasn't performed the way we had hoped since. It's been tough for us as professionals who want to make great games for our players, and for us as people who care a lot about what we do. When a game underperforms, plans need to change. With Dawn of War 3, we simply don't have the foundation we need to produce major content. We're working in close partnership with Sega and Games Workshop to determine the best course of action, while shifting focus to other projects within our portfolio.<br />
<br />
Given this, the [https://community.dawnofwar.com/discussion/15957/patch-upload-as-of-05-feb-2018 February 8th patch] was likely just Relic releasing whatever work they'd finished on the proposed expansion and fixing a couple remaining bugs before bidding the game farewell. With Relic now focusing primarily on Age of Empires IV, Dawn of War III has potentially become a Franchise Killer, though Relic and Sega are apparently in talks with [[Games Workshop|GW]], so time will tell. It should be noted that while Relic has no plans to produce major content, they are still patching and maintaining the game as well as putting out occasional Free-LC skins.<br />
<br />
===Dawn of War III Is Dead! Long Live Dawn of War III!===<br />
A small and dwindling community of fans and modders had tried rallying together in an attempt to resurrect Dawn of War III through Twitch streams, community game nights, and new mods. The goal was to generate enough interest to get Relic to return to the game (lol), or at least release more mod tools so the fans could pick up where they left off, and if not that, then at least to keep the community alive. This effort eventually floundered and the game continued its tailspin. The game sees 200 people online in a good day and matchmaking is deader than [[Cadia]].<br />
<br />
== See Also ==<br />
* [https://www.dawnofwar.com/ The Official Dawn of War site]<br />
* [http://store.steampowered.com/app/285190/Warhammer_40000_Dawn_of_War_III/ Dawn of War III on Steam]<br />
* [https://www.dawnofwarrealm.com/ Dawn of War Realm, the fansite trying to resurrect the game]<br />
* [http://modding.dawnofwar.com/ Want to make a mod for the game? Start here.]<br />
* [[Dawn of War Mods#Dawn of War III Modding|The list of /tg/-approved mods]]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyLLeKcxw24U2fT8iOowRbzBHsulCAizV The game's soundtrack, which also includes a clean version of the trailer theme]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6lUjVLPU04 WAAAAAAAAAGHH!!]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfEp-ZuwiGE&t Totalbiscuit's review of the game, which highlights a number of problems from the perspective of someone who enjoyed the previous two titles.]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OCWQelkjBg ZoranTheBear and ThunderPsyker's overview of the game, offering the opinions of a newcomer to the franchise and a veteran, respectively]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeWRQ2w0cT0 Arch-Warhammer's review of the game]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPDTt_GOdyY Adam Millard's analysis of why the game failed. He does an excellent job discussing the issues of Dawn of War III while remaining fairly neutral and analytical.]<br />
* [https://steamdb.info/app/285190/graphs/ Here are the game sales stats].<br />
<br />
==Gallery==<br />
<center><br />
<gallery><br />
Image:Don'tWorryDieHappy.gif|Don't Worry, Die Happy<br />
Image:DoW3 Menu.jpg|The Main Menu, which shows the elites and paint scheme you currently have equipped.<br />
Image:DoW3 Army Painter.jpg|The Army Painter<br />
Image:DoW3 Elites Menu.jpg|The Elites Menu<br />
Image:This has been dark work.PNG|[https://youtu.be/CjnvZtYl2fA?t=20s One fan's reaction] [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2316393822047631108 to the announcement of incoming modding tools]<br />
Image:PrimarisAngelos.png|The [[Blood_Ravens#Bloody_Magpies|REAL reason]] for Gabriel Angelos' [[Primaris Marines|changes]] (the Godsplitter bullshit is just what they tell other loyalists who [[Inquisition|get too nosy]])<br />
File:RetributionGabriel.JPG | Gabriel's Cut Original Model found Within Dawn of War III World Builder.<br />
File:StandardofKaurava.JPG | Wargear Found in Dawn of War II Chaos Rising showing that relic did indeed plan for Gorgutz to win Soulstorm.<br />
</gallery><br />
</center><br />
<br />
<br />
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Video Games]][[Category:Dawn of War]]</div>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBDhttp://2d4chan.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Dawn_of_War_III&diff=169570Dawn of War III2019-10-22T22:12:24Z<p>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBD: /* Dawn of War III Is Dead! Long Live Dawn of War III! */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{/vg/}}<br />
''"In darkness'', ''I shall be light''<br><br />
''In times of doubt'', ''I shall keep faith''<br><br />
''In throes of rage'', ''I shall hone my craft''<br><br />
''In vengeance'', ''I shall have no mercy''<br><br />
''In the midst of battle'', ''I shall have no fear''<br><br />
''In the face of death'', ''I shall have no remorse"''<br><br />
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_ZgyNoHtjw| The voice in the trailer.]<br />
[[File:DoWIII.jpg|thumbnail|right|500px|Skulls for the skull throne!]]<br />
Announced on 3rd of May 2016 and released on April 27nd 2017, '''''Dawn of War III''''' is the third entry in the Dawn of War series.<br />
<br />
The game features [[Space Marines]], [[Orks]], and [[Eldar]], along with [[Imperial Guard]] as an NPC race allied with Space Marines and [[Imperial Knight|Imperial Knights]] as playable allied units to the Space Marines. The campaign features all three factions, rotating which faction you're playing every mission [[Dawn of War II#Retribution|rather than having every faction play the same shortened campaign]]. The story features [[Gabriel Angelos]] (sadly with a different voice actor), [[Macha]], and [[Gorgutz]] as they all race to an ancient planet called Acheron which emerges from the warp every couple thousand years and holds an artifact called the Spear of [[Khaine]].<br />
<br />
==Plot==<br />
{{spoilers}}<br />
Coming back with a new look and much closer to the first game while having elements from the second, the third installment sees the return of some of the more popular characters. Among them [[Gabriel Angelos]], [[Farseer Macha]] and [[Warboss Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter]] will battle for the planet of Acheron for a powerful weapon known as the Spear of Khaine. Whilst the Eldar and Orks seek to obtain it for its tremendous power, Gabriel seeks to prevent anyone from using it, as it apparently reeks of deceit. More of the plot can be read below.<br />
<br />
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"><br />
===Part 1: Verlock Keep and Cyprus Ultima===<br />
Long story short, it begins on the Knight World of Cyprus Ultima being overrun by [[Orks]] led by [[Warboss]] Gitsompa with Varlock Keep being on its last toes against the green tide. [[Heresy|For some reason,]] Inquisitor Holt has prevented further reinforcements from assisting the local Knight house from being overwhelmed. Thankfully for Lady Solaria (The Matriarch of Verlock Keep), <s>Captain</s> [[Chapter Master]] [[Gabriel Angelos]] of the [[Blood Ravens]] ignored the [[Inquisitor|Inquisitor's]] decree and came to assist Lady Solaria's forces. During the fighting, Warboss [[Gorgutz]] led a counter attack to prove that he is the better overall leader then Gitstompa. Unfortunately the [[Eldar]] led by [[Autarch]] Kyre, came on Cyprus to mess everything up which forced Gorgutz to think of some [[Tactical genius|Tactical Genius]] which involves building a giant cannon, sabotage and [[Sindri|Sindri'ing Warboss Gitstompa]] so that Gorgutz would become defacto leader. Meanwhile, the breach in the decree led to Inquisitor Holt feeling all [[Butthurt|butthurt]] about this and tasked Ol'Gabe to defend Starfort Helios which has been overrun by Orks now led by Gorgutz. Both Holt and Gabe talked about the reason behind the starforts, in which they were designed as a barricade against the legendary planet Acheron which houses the legendary 'Spear of [[Khaine]]' in which Holt took great interests in attaining it for himself. As you can imagine, Gabe was quite suspicious over the Inquisitor's ambition and was even more suspicious over the Spear of Khaine whose intuition led Gabe to suspect of it as a [[Chaos|Chaotic corruption]] (Oh, how right he was).<br />
<br />
On the other hand of the spectrum, [[Farseer]] [[Macha]] led an Eldar warhost to aid Kyre who he himself is also after the Spear of Khaine. However, Macha is suspicious about Kyre's prophecy as it did not add up to Macha's own divination on what lies beyond Acheron. Macha was tasked by Kyre to kill Gabriel Angelos as he sees the Chapter Master as an obstacle to Kyre's own ambition, however Macha's relationship with Gabriel stretched all the way back [[Tartarus]]. Before she could accomplish this, [[Jonah Orion]] stood in Macha's way. Macha promptly kicked Jonah's ass and threaten to kill him if he did not tell her where <s>Macha's husbando</s> Gabriel Angelos is. However, being the shining beacon of bromance that is Gabe, the Chapter Master came to Macha's location to prevent her from killing his [[Gay|<s>boyfriend</s>]] most trusted [[Librarian]] butt budy. Macha attempted to throw her singing spear, Gabriel remembered that he was wearing terminator armour and singing spears are AP- and so managed to catch the damned weapon with his hands. Macha blasted him with Psychic shenanigans, took a thunder hammer to the face and either passed her Invuln save or benefited from the Eternal Warrior rule. Before they could end their little 'reunion' however, the planet Acheron arrived on the Cyprus system and shattered Starfort Helios, reigning space debris on where they fought (Seriously, Acheron is ECKS BAWKS HUEG, like Gas Giant size). Macha escaped whilst Gabe was left horrified over the fate of [[Chaplain]] [[Apollo Diomedes]] as it was Gabriel who ordered Diomedes to assist the resistance on Helios. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Gorgutz promptly [[PROMOTIONS|jizzed himself]] with all the loot being crash landed around him due to Helios' demise. Unfortunately, other gitz such as [[Weirdboy]] Zappnoggin and [[Big Mek]] Wazzmakka are fighting over the loot. After Gorgutz promptly bash their heads in and forced them to comply under his leadership, Gorgutz then led on a joyride to Starfort Charon so he could find out what the hell is going on in Acheron. Apparently ''how'' he managed to get onto the Starfort without getting shot down isn't worth worrying about (seriously, he's just there and hopping off a crashed craft without any further explanation). After blowing up the defenses of Charon with nothing more than a bunch of [[Gretchin]] with explosive grenades (seriously, you would think that the defenses of an Imperial Starfort would be a bit more secure), Gorgutz then used the opportunity of the disabled Starfort to land on Acheron without the worry of being blown up. On the other hand, Macha met with [[Ronahn]] to discuss on the potential craziness that is Kyre. Apparently, the reason why Ronahn was here and acting as a secret spy for Kyre was because Kyre [[Derp|somehow got his hands on]] [[Taldeer|Taldeer's]] soulstone due to some altercation with Ronahn. Apparently, Kyre is using Taldeer's prophecy as not only as to stroke Kyre's fragile ego but to also keep his legitimacy stable. Despite the fact that using another [[Craftworld|Craftworld's]] soulstone for nefarious purposes, especially one from [[Ulthwé]] should be enough to send half of the Craftworld's forces to shank Kyre's ass for [[Heresy]], this did not come to pass. After some discussions, Macha, Ronahn and [[Jain Zar]] (Who came to Macha's assistance to stop Kyre's foolish action that would further weakened the Biel-Tan craftworld) all agreed that Kyre's prophecy is nothing more than a steaming pile of [[Bullshit]] and will lead their people to ruin. Unfortunately Jain Zar didn't just tell everyone to stop follow Kyre because she didn't feel like it (yes seriously, she'd rather kill Eldar than that and there's a weak explanation on her trying to get Macha to realize her potential through the conflict) which would have ended the conflict immediately and stopped Eldar from killing each other. So Macha and Ronahn devise a plan to distract Kyre's forces with the aid of Gorgutz so they could sneak around and steal back Taldeer's soulstone instead. Macha and Ronahn also managed to convince Gorgutz to aid them by essentially waving the Spear of Khaine all over Gorgutz like he is some sort of attack dog. So with Gorgutz now in the race to get his 'Super Pointy Stikk', Dawn of War 3 has essentially turned into a Monty Python sketch with all three races bonking each other's heads so they can leap frog each other to get to the Spear first.<br />
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===Part 2: Acheron===<br />
On the other side of the theater, Gabe discussed with Captain Balthazar on board the Blood Raven's [[Battlebarge]] to retrieve Diomedes' [[Gene Seed|Gene Seed]] for he fears that he is dead. However, Inquisitor Holt being a shady motherfucking dick, threatened Gabriel not to go to the remains of Helios or else he would shoot Gabe's aircraft out of the sky. This understandably twisted Gabe's nipples to no end and secretly arranged Balthazar to [[Just as Planned|teleport]] Gabe on the remains of Starfort Helios. They agreed and Gabe was transported on the destroyed Starfort. What he saw disturbed Gabe as the remains of both the Starfort and its crew members was [[Grimdark|fused with the structures of Acheron]]. Fearing for the worst, Gabriel along with a group of [[Terminator|Terminators]] proceed to cleanse the area of both Orks and Eldar with sufficient [[Dakka]]. Once Gabriel found where Diomedes is located, to everyone's surprise, Apollo Diomedes has indeed survived due to [[Plot Armor|rolling a 1 on his To Wound/Destroyer roll and escaping unscathed]] (or maybe he just passed every Armour/Invuln save, he was wearing termie armour). After hearing the Inquisitor's actions, Diomedes was understandably [[Rage|pissed as fuck.]] Inquisitor Holt himself was displeased, but more pressing matters was at hand due to everyone wanting to get the Spear of Khaine.<br />
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On Acheron, Farseer Macha and her posse sneaked to where Taldeer is resting and proceed to [[Blood Ravens|'borrow it']] for their own uses. However, they were caught and were forced to flee, fortunately they completed their task and Kyre sighed in disappointment. Near the vault shielding the Spear of Khaine, Gabe and friends fought their way to destroy the Eldar. However, Inquisitor Holt decided that if a bunch of enemies are gathered in one spot, you might as well just nuke them and requested an orbital bombardment on the vault. Unfortunately it turns out shooting a door has a chance of blowing it open, which certainly happened and that was near where Gabriel's forces were (though he did at least warn Gabe with more than enough time for the Blood Ravens to flee), so Gabe ordered his brothers to flee and while remaining behind because he knew it would look really cool for the trailer. Apollo Diomedes and even Jonah Orion [[Rage|flipped their shit on the Inquisitor]], with Diomedes swearing he [[RIP AND TEAR|wants to rip Holt's head off and shit down his neck]] and Jonah calling Holt a fucking retard for even requesting orbital bombardment. Holt, feeling the heat of a chapter of pissed off [[Space Marines]] went and plead with Lady Solaria. [[Awesome|Solaria then laid down the sickest burn in the game, calling out Holt's cowardice in not only letting Solaria's house to die by the Ork invasion but also firing orbital bombardment near the position of Gabriel Angelos, she further states that no one would fear the incompetence and idiocy of a 'disgraced Inquisitor' threatening Holt that his ass is grass once she tells Holt's superiors on what he has done.]] Holt later put an ice pack on that burn and cried himself to sleep, but before he did, he told Solaria that Gabe may still be alive and what do you know, Gabriel ''IS'' alive since he watched the bombardment from a distance while taking advantage of that Iron Halo/Cataphractii Terminator re-roll bullshit. Gorgutz was also practically under the blast and he survives due to... [[Plot Armor|he just does.]]<br />
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Inside the vault on the true surface of Acheron, Autarch Kyre used Macha's supporters as leverage to draw her out and force her to comply to his will. Unfortunately for him, they were standing on an icy prison keeping a FUCK HUEG [[Greater Daemon]] of [[Khorne]] from escaping (yes, it is yet ''another'' reveal that [[Chaos]] is the ultimate big bad, [[Skub|Que more moaning and bitching that the plot is uninspired)]] and Macha rightly concluded that fighting would only wake it and that something was wrong with the spear. Naturally Kyre didn't listen and after an intense firefight of elf-on-elf violence, Macha then pleaded to Ronahn to let Taldeer's soulstone to be interned in a motherfucking [[Wraithknight]]. Ronahn as you can imagine, hesitated cause he is a good and dutiful brother and would never put his sister into harms way again; the situation however, was dire, thus Ronahn relented and became the co-driver with his sister. During the infighting, Kyre knew he was distracted and continued his campaign to retrieve the Spear. However, bad luck follows Kyre everywhere, and is forced to butt heads with Gorgutz army. These two both battled each other before Kyre won, grabbed the Spear of Khaine and attempt to slay Gorgutz. His plans were slightly hindered when a part of the blade broke and he was liquefied, as it turns out that the Spear was a [[Trap]] designed to spill the blood of the ambitious and greedy and to act as a blood ritual to release the daemon from its prison. Kyre did the 'Oh Shit!' look before ending up like [[Sindri Myr]] as daemon chow.<br />
<br />
===Part 3: Tartarus 2, Electric Boogaloo===<br />
With the daemon released, everyone promptly shat bricks. Macha and Taldeer then did a quick divination and found out that the only way to victory is get all three races to unite and spank the daemon to oblivion. Macha, somehow managed to convince Gorgutz to join her cause despite being backstabbed by Ronahn (Or as Gorgutz would like to call him, Ronny) whilst Gabriel has a....somewhat [[Love Can Bloom|intimate chat]] before he himself joined her cause. Unfortunately for Gabe, part of the ritual needed to defeat the daemon was [[Exterminatus|to blow up Acheron]]....[[Herp|with his own Battlebarge.]] Captain Balthazar overheard this and eagerly accepted his fate before [[Angry Marines|pile driving a seemingly fully loaded Battlebarge into the planet's crust]] in a spectacular display of [[Warhammer 40,000 8th edition|needless sacrifice'''s''']]. <br />
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Seriously, how many Blood Ravens were on the ship? Anyway, the ship blew up the mantle and hurtled the shrine housing the Spear of Khaine into orbit. You would think that the Battlebarge would have just [[Derp|fired its weapons or even have a Cyclonic Torpedo ready,]] but it seems the Imperium has a knack for [[World Engine|wasting expensive ships by]] [[First Tyrannic War|blowing itself up for myriad of reasons.]] On the other hand, Angelos and Balthazar did mention how the Daemon was shielding Acheron and how it took a trio of listening posts to guide the Battlebarge down to the surface; nevertheless, it still is retarded, because the Inquisition normally issues [[Exterminatus]] device approved for [[Chapter Master (game)|Space Marines]] to use by placing it directly on a planet's surface, or use [[Gabriel Angelos|Nemesis weaponry]] to [[Grey Knight|bannish the daemon]] [[Matt Ward|regardless of]] [[Spiritual Liege|his Wounds stats]]; and while it is possible that the Blood Ravens having [[Celestial Lions|bad relationships with the Inquisitor]] would have prevent them from getting one, they didn't even bother to ask and instead killed dozens or hundreds of battle-brothers wile wasting ressources the Blood Ravens can't afford to lose, proving therefore that the staff [[Games Workshop|didn't even know about it]]. <br />
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All three heroes were teleported onto the shrine (It would be safe to assume that all named elite heroes survived Acheron's destruction) by Macha's help to face the daemon. As explained, the previously seen ECKS BAWKS HUEG daemon the size of a Imperial Cruiser has now shrunk in size to be the same height as any old regular Greater Daemon. In a hilariously bizarre and completely un-Khornate way, the daemon AKA the Storm Prince, [[Wat|spends more time healing itself by literally drinking a fountain of]] [[Lulz|daemon kool-aid]]...[[FAIL|we wish we were joking.]] That and the fact that the daemon used [[Tzeentch|trickery of all things]] to set itself free (Spear of Khaine fiasco, daemonic doppelgangers, etc)...one must wonder how [[Khorne]] might have felt after learning that this jackass along with [[Firaeveus Carron|another failure]] continue to became such staunched followers of the Blood God. During the fight, Gabriel in a completely uncharacteristic way, acknowledged ignoring Macha's warnings back on Tartarus was a mistake which resulted in the devastation of the Blood Ravens in [[Dawn of War 2]], in which Macha in turn, uncharacteristically accepted it; but come on now, we all remember that her warnings were fully aimed at protecting the plot, not making things clear for the Blood Ravens & the Inquisitor on what they ought to do. After kicking the daemon to death, all three heroes departed to go their separate ways with Gorgutz finally getting his 'Super Pointy Stikk'/Spear of Khaine. [[What|Again, this is bizarrely uncharacteristic for all of them as we usually see an Eldar ending up backstabbing the Orks and Space Marines into muderfucking each other instead of simply...you know...keeping their promises. Maybe they decided to wait until their armies could rebuild?]] <br />
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Anyway, with the mission done, it is safe to assume that Inquisitor Holt is going to have his [[Anal Circumference|anus enlarged by fifteen meters]] over the shit he has done to Gabe and friends.<br />
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All in all, the last few missions was vaguely similar to the plot of the original [[Dawn of War]]. As both games ends with a cataclysmic fight against an agent of [[Chaos]] being freed from a millennia long prison that is disguised as an object of immense power, in which a gullible pawn thinks he can take it for his own benefit, only to be used as a sacrifice to free the daemon in a blood ritual. Both artifacts are seen by Gabriel Angelos to be malicious and needs to be destroyed with Macha warning Gabe about the true nature of both artifacts. The only difference is that Gabe actually listened to Macha for once on Acheron, thus making the ending of Dawn of War 3 more [[Noblebright]] than the original Dawn of War. <br />
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Oh yeah, the secret after credits ending depicts none other then the return of the [[Necrons]]. Which would probably be more impressive if the story hadn't pretty much stopped there with no sign of continuing.<br />
</div><br />
<br />
==Returning Characters==<br />
===Imperials (Blood Ravens)===<br />
* '''Chapter Master [[Gabriel Angelos]]:''' Returning with a ornate and badass looking set of Terminator Armor. Would be 100% badass if it weren't for the fact that he was capable of inexplicably jumping ([[C.S. Goto|and flipping!]]) several meters off the ground in said Terminator Armor (And the fact that he's no longer voiced by Paul Dobson *sob*). They try and explain this away by linking this ability to his hammer, but considering that Diomedes can do this too and we're not clear on how the hammer does it, it's still stupid. Spends most time battling with the other two factions to prevent them from obtaining the Spear of Khaine, as he suspects it may be corrupted. Some art has him standing at Primarch-grade height. He is loyal and thoughtful of his chapter to the point that he defended his new librarian buddy Jonah Orion from the [[Macha|jealous yandere-virgin]] as well as went against an inquisitor's order to try and give Diomedes last rites when the starfort Diomedes was on crashed into Acheron. Currently having a harem relationship with his librarian buddy Jonah Orion, Farseer Macha and Lady Solaria of the Varlock Imperial Knight house, probably Diomedes too.<br />
* '''Chief Librarian [[Jonah Orion]]:''' Promoted to Chief Librarian after surviving the battle against the chaos corrupted Chapter Master [[Azariah Kyras]]. Now sports a goatee and wearing fancy new armor. Is currently having a bromance relationship with his Chapter Master.<br />
* '''Chaplain [[Apollo Diomedes]]:'''' Returning as a Chaplain in terminator armor (sadly with a different vox box that actually makes him comprehensible). It was never explained why he became a Chaplain after his previous appearance. Must have felt so ashamed about serving a chaos tainted traitor so much that he couldn't bear the mantle of First Company Captain anymore. So now he's a Chaplain, sniffing out taint and making heretics...[[Asmodai|Repent]]. He is now loyal as ever to his chapter, so loyal that he nearly transforms into an [[Angry Marine]] after the stupid-made-manifest known as Inquisitor Damien Holt bombarded their Chapter Master Angelos. Most likely became a Chaplain because he was the one that took it as a job to cleanse the Chapter honor (by splitting the fucking head of his Chapter Master), and even saying at the end of the Retribution campaing that he cant serve the chapter as he was then.<br />
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===Eldar (Biel-Tan)===<br />
* '''Farseer [[Macha]]:''' Returning for the first time since the original Dawn of War, and looking (almost) exactly as she's been depicted in /tg/ art for years (other than a fancy hair ornament and wearing more clothes than said average depictions). Ostensibly working for Lord Kyre to get the Spear of Khaine for him, but appears to be suspicious of his real motives for doing so. Is somewhat tsundere with Gabriel Angelos and still pissed about the whole Maledictum thing. (Ultimately they're both at fault. She didn't explain to him why he shouldn't do what he did, but that doesn't preclude him from ''asking'', something we know he's good at, and he says himself he should have listened to her.)<br />
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===Eldar (Ulthwe)===<br />
* '''[[Ronahn]]:''' Also reappearing as the leader of a Ranger detachment and Kyre's spymaster, and only marginally less whiny than he was before. After losing Taldeer's soul stone on the way home to Kyre (which he is NOT happy about), he has been trying to recover his <s>waifu's</s> sister's soulstone and bring it back to Ulthwe, and so allies with Macha in a plan to undermine Kyre and get her soul stone back.<br />
* '''[[Taldeer]]:''' Apparently Taldeer's soul stone ended up being salvaged during Retribution, as she reappears as a <s>Wraithseer</s> [[Wraithknight]] with a big fucking sword after said soul stone is taken by Kyre. One of her prophecies as recounted in the trailers seems to refer to the impending conflict over the Spear of Khaine.<br />
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===Orks (Bad Moons)===<br />
* '''Warboss [[Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter]]:''' Returning during his absence after Soulstorm, Gorgutz is back with a bigger and badder power klaw (with a retractable chain, no less). He starts out in the service of another Warboss named Gitstompa, and apparently always planned to Sindri him (though the Eldar unwittingly turn him into the Warboss of the Bad Moons WAAAGH! after they kill Gitstompa, believing that killing him would scatter the Ork horde). He's racing against the other factions for the pointy-stick. At some point gets sort of tricked by Ronahn into fighting a heavily defended Eldar base defending the vaults entrance. Macha told him she wanted the other Eldar dead, and told them they were both trying to get the spear, but Ronahn "forgot" to mention the bit about their entrance being heavily defended, which somewhat makes Gorgutz a dumbass for actually trusting dem sneaky knife ears. In the end Gorgutz is ''technically'' the canon winner because he went away with his "pointy stikk" once the daemon was slain, though they did ''let'' him get away with it and the Spear itself was depowered due to the daemon no longer being inside of it.<br />
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===Others===<br />
* '''Brian Dobson:''' The only VA from the first and second series to return. He voices generic Space Marines, Orks and Eldar.<br />
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==New Characters==<br />
===Imperials (Blood Ravens)===<br />
* '''Captain Balthazar:''' A Captain of the Blood Ravens and serves as the mission briefer.<br />
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===Imperials (Others)===<br />
* '''Lady Rebek Solaria:''' Head of House Varlock of Cyprus Ultima and pilot of the Imperial Knight, Drakaina. Drakaina is equipped with two avenger cannons that'll deal more damage when heated up. Becomes BFFs with Angelos after he saves Varlock Keep from Orks (against Inquisitor Holt's orders).<br />
* '''Inquisitor Damien Holt:''' An Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos that seeks the wandering world, Acheron, for the Spear of Khaine. [[Chenkov|He plays the role of asshole cold blooded strategist that gives little regard to his allies like they were pawns in a chess game]] but without any actual strategy to speak of; apparently Relic decided that [[Mordecai Toth|Inquisitor Toth]] from the first Dawn of War and [[Inquisitor Adrastia]] from the second were too sane and reasonable for gamers to handle. The Imperial forces he's working with, Imperial Knights of House Varlock and The Blood Ravens, both hate his guts. The Varlock House hate him for abandoning them to a massive Ork invasion. The Blood Ravens, wary of his obsession with a Warp-tainted xenos artifact, despised the inquisitor for his willingness to waste their battle-brothers' lives for the Spear, which culminated in launching an orbital bombardment on their chapter master Gabriel Angelos to break into the Spear's complex. [[Rage|This made the Blood Ravens so mad]] that Diomedes, the Chaplain, was going to shove a BAAAANEBLADE up the inqisitor's arse only to be stopped by Jonah Orion, who reminds him that they can let the rest of the Inquisition do so later. No relation to [[Commissar Holt]].<br />
* '''Deathwatch Kill-Team Ironmaw:''' They compose of a Dark Angel, a Blood Angel, a Crimson Fist, a [[Ultramarines|Smurf]] and are led by one of everyone's favourite [[Space Wolves|space vikings]]. In multiplayer, the Ultramarine is replaced by a space marine from the chapter you selected via army painter.<br />
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===Eldar (Biel-Tan)===<br />
* '''Autarch Kyre:''' Leader of the Biel-Tan warhost and seeks to obtain the Spear of Khaine. The asshole that led even more Eldar to die in a pointless campaign for some legendary shiny (not to mention him ignoring the Soulstones of his fallen warriors instead of collecting them, which should tell just how asshole he is), and stole Taldeer's Soulstone for good measure (which Macha and Ronahn both note could very well lead to a war between their Craftworld should Ulthwe learn about it). He hired Ronahn as his spymaster only to be betrayed by him. He still got the spear in the end, after fighting Gorgutz for it and cheated using psyker power. Turns out the spear contained a greater daemon of khorne and was possessed by it, after the spear itself shattered as Kyre tried to strike Gorgutz with it... [[Castellan Crowe|which is just weird]], even for a plot device, because daemon weapons are empowered by the daemon's presence, not structurally weakened by it. So arrogant that even the other Eldar can't stand him. <br />
* '''[[Jain Zar]]:''' Phoenix Lord (Lady?) of the Howling Banshees and the first of the Phoenix Lords to be featured in a video game adaptation (Granted, she's also in Eternal Crusade, but has yet to fully appear in that game). Has seen Acheron before and that Eldar have been fighting over the spear for millennia. None so far has succeeded in recovering it.<br />
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===Orks (Bad Moons)===<br />
* '''Wazzmakka:''' Da most byotiful Big Mek dere is. He dont call her beauty for er' looks! Very fond of tellyportas.<br />
* '''Zappnoggin:''' A Weirdboy who sounds surprisingly sane-ish for an ork whose head can explode at any time. Has rather un-orky ideas about not getting into fights that he can't win, which he says has let him live a long time (by Ork standards, anyway).<br />
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==Differences and New Things==<br />
The game attempts to blend the best parts of the first two, featuring base building and massive armies alongside summonable elite units who can sway the course of battle. The game also features doctrines similar to those from [[/v/|Company of Heroes 2]]. Unlike in Company of Heroes 2, you may take up to three Doctrines, with some being connected to specific elite units. Secondly, the Doctrines do not give bullshit like +4% to ranged damage, but either unlock abilities for specific units or upgrade the existing abilities of others (like upgrading the Dreadnoughts to gain charge attacks and shields after executing slam attacks, giving Dire Avengers Holo-Fields, or giving Deffkoptas Buzzsaws). Relic's aim was to make their latest game the most accessible, including features such as a minimalistic UI, icons to represent effects like suppression, and easy-to-read descriptors for most abilities. It is the first Dawn of War game to only feature three factions at launch rather than four, though the included factions do have more units available at launch than they did in previous titles.<br />
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Another change is the new cast of voice actors (whom according to the developers comprise of VA's from their previous title [[Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine]]). This has been met with some amount of [[rage]] from fans, most notably those who wished for the return of Paul Dobson as Angelos.<br />
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Armies are now divided into standard soldiers (things like [[Tactical Squad|Tactical Marines]], [[Dire Avengers]], and [[Ork Boy|Boyz]] as well as vehicles) and elites (which includes the likes of named characters, [[Terminators]], and Imperial Knights). The former act like standard RTS units, performing most of the legwork as well as adding bulk to your army, while the latter are more powerful units with abilities that can change the tide of battle. <s>In both campaign and multiplayer, players collect said elites by farming skulls (no, we're not kidding. [[RAGE|all three factions are Khornate for some reason]])</s> Not anymore, skulls have been removed. Everyone has access to all Elites and doctrines from the get-go (save for those that are unlocked by leveling up elites). Elite units can level up based on how many enemies they killed during each game, though these level-ups don't improve them in any way, they just unlock exotic paints and new skins. Among them there are really powerful units that are showing up for the first time in the series (such as [[Imperial Knight|Imperial Knights]], [[Wraithknight|Wraithknights]], and [[Gorkanaut|Gorkanauts]]). At the very least, the presence of troop units to back up the elites could mean that the rest of the Blood Ravens 4th Company might actually be getting off their asses and doing something this time around.<br />
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As mentioned previously, the campaign switches between [[Blood Ravens]], [[Orks]], and [[Eldar]] every mission. While the attempt to incorporate all three factions is appreciated, and it is marginally better than Retribution's approach, the constant switching between three vastly different playstyles can be very jarring.<br />
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Markedly absent is a sequel/expansion of Dawn of War II's [[Last Stand]] mode which, given that Last Stand was popular enough to become it's own standalone spinoff product, is likely a deliberate omission. Thus far small fan interest exists in seeing Last Stand return.<br />
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==Pre-Release Reactions==<br />
The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7JNTfrK3Yk 12 minute exclusive gameplay] released shortly after the trailer drew quite a lot of [[Skub|ire.]] With many complaining on the way it looks (having a cleaner, more colorful aesthetic in comparison to previous titles) with rumors that the team developing Dawn of War III was trying to piggyback [[Blizzard|Starcraft]] [[RAGE|of all games]] to the animation lacking the weight and grit of the previous Dawn of War games. Special mentions go to the fighting style animations of [[Gabriel Angelos|old Gabe]] [[What|whose sudden usage of backflips, frontflips and jumping like a 5 ton ballerina on crack]] [[Fail|despite wearing terminator armor]] [[RAGE|drew accusations that one of the lead creators of this game]] [[C.S. Goto|might be a small, black leprechaun with a fetish of Multilasers and backflipping Terminators.]] Hell, the goddamn Lascannons don't fire a [[Indrick Boreale|quick, charged, devastating single shot]] but instead its a [[lance|laser weapon that does more damage the longer it's trained on it's target]]. <br />
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Later interviews and bits of information released did little to ease the [[Skub|ire.]] Including the lead director confirming that sync-kills have been removed, Assault Marines being considered [[What|"light armor"]] units, the dynamic movement system introduced in II being removed, and fall back mechanics are also gone. At this point from a community standpoint, you were either absolutely behind these changes, or were watching something your were previously looking forward to turn into an absolute shitshow; with very little middle ground to be found. And it really doesn't help that their methods of explaining away some of the lore breaking shit seems to come directly from our [[C.S. Goto|good old friend]]. Notably they tried to explain the backflipping Terminator armor by saying that [[What|his hammer has a shard of an Avatar in it]]. This also happened to be an idea made by the Irish leper, and even if it was canon the developers never mentioned what this actually did to give Angelos the ability to backflip, making this move look like a hand-wave to shut the fans up.<br />
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Reactions to the beta did little to assuage the divide in the community. Some, like AngryJoe, thoroughly enjoyed it, while others, like TotalBiscuit, seemed to be completely turned off by it.<br />
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Voice Acting has taken a big change, with Relic opting to go for an all British cast (except for Brian Dobson) rather than using their stable of Ocean Group VAs from previous titles. The rationale behind this is that having British voice actors makes the game more authentic to 40K's British roots, and totally not because of the ongoing voice actors strike against major video game publishers in North America that Sega, and thus Relic, isn't affected by anyway.<br />
<br />
==Post-Release==<br />
{{editwar}}<br />
After the game was released, the reception was [[Skub|mixed]] to say the least. Those who like the game say that the traditional "build and conquer" RTS campaign is a refreshing change for those who didn't like Dawn of War II's [[Diablo]]-style campaign, and while Paul Dobson is sorely missed, the rest of the voice cast isn't too bad. The Elites system is a natural progression from Dawn of War II, and the Ork's [[WAAAGH]]! mechanic is one of the best things ever put into a Dawn of War game. Additionally, they point out that while the power core mode is too simple, it does give a good introduction to the RTS genre for those who are brand new rather than just throwing them to the wolves like other games. <br />
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Those who don't like the game are of the opinion that Relic under Sega gutted what made Dawn of War popular in the first place and turned it into something uninspired and boring by comparison, as it simplified or stripped out many of the iconic elements of the series, such as sync-kills, the cover system and wargear. Many who liked the Dawn of War II campaign aren't fans of a more traditional RTS campaign, and some also feel that the races play too similarly aside from one or two gimmick mechanics. The game also has multiple lore inconsistencies, such as Eldar with shields and [[C.S. Goto|backflipping Terminators]], although to be fair, [[Dawn of War: Soulstorm|it isn't alone]] [[Azariah_Kyras|in this respect]]. Basically, [[Age of Sigmar|Relic significantly altered their popular product to attract a wider audience, and ended up alienating a large portion of their established fanbase.]]<br />
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The decision to focus on simplification and balance in multiplayer was likely an intentional design choice considering the dev teams wanted Dawn of War to develop a competitive scene (seemingly ignoring the fact that people never really picked up Dawn of War for competitive multiplayer). However, unlike good competitive games like Starcraft, Counterstrike, and DOTA, Power Core mode did it in a very simplistic manner that made it feel like the "strategy" part of RTS had been all but sucked out.<br />
<br />
Sales-wise, the game didn't do well in comparison to it's predecessors. While the original [[Dawn of War]] has sold over 6 million copies since 2011 and the was heralded with critical acclaim upon release, and [[Dawn of War II]] took the #1 spot on western sales charts during it's initial release; Dawn of War III didn't raise too much attention apart from standard fanfare, with a [[Skub|mixed response from the community]], and game critics saying it was good, but ultimately [[FAIL|flawed]]. According to [https://steamspy.com/app/285190 Steamspy's estimates], the game's digital sales barely broke a quarter million sales as of July 2017, which is not a good sign for a highly anticipated AAA game series.<br />
<br />
[http://steamcharts.com/app/285190#All It didn't help that the playerbase declined sharply post-release], a clear sign that it just didn't make the impact people expected from the series. [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/1332350869595289198 While Relic seemed to be listening to the community's concerns,] the game was never able to recover from its downward spiral. This being said, they released mod tools, and a small but dedicated group of modders have been working on tweaking the game and adding new units. <br />
<br />
Overall, the game is [[skub]] incarnate, being nearly unrecognizable in comparison to it's predecessors. [[Nurgle|One side hates it for being too overly simple for a strategy game and deviating too far from the things that defined DoW from the beginning,]] [[Tzeentch|while another side is retarded.]]<br />
<br />
[[File:DoW3 Annihilation.jpg|300px|right|thumb]]<br />
===The Annihilation Update===<br />
On June 13th 2017, [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/1332350869595289198 Relic announced the addition of Annihilation mode to the game], along with turrets, a new map, and skins for the super-heavies as Free-LC. On June 20th, [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2663165213085204247 the Annihilation Update dropped] and, it was actually pretty good. The removal of railroady objectives and the addition of a wide open map added a significant amount of depth to the game that was previously lacking, allowing players to take advantage of several mechanics that were previously hamstrung by power core mode. By this point however, too much of the player base had been alienated by power core mode and they weren't willing to come back and give the game another go, so the player count kept declining.<br />
<br />
[[File:DoW3 Endless War.jpg|300px|right|thumb]]<br />
===The Endless War Update===<br />
On October 19th 2017, Relic released the [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2973925069475244397 Endless War Update], which added a bunch of additional content to the game. For starters, each faction has been given an additional Elites choice; the [[Dreadnought#Castraferrum_Pattern|Ironclad Dreadnought]] for Space Marines, the [[Wraithseer]] for Eldar, and the Lifta-Droppa Battlewagon for the Orks, which is basically a [[Awesome|Battlewagon armed with a massive Traktor Kannon]]. We also got three new maps, one themed for each faction, and some more Elites skins, including [[Deathwing]] Terminators, a [[Primaris Chaplain]], and [[Salamanders|Bray'arth Ashmantle]].<br />
<br />
==The End Times Hath Come==<br />
On February 8th 2018, [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-02-08-relic-leaves-dawn-of-war-3-behind-as-it-moves-on-to-new-projects Relic announced they were officially stepping away from Dawn of War III], citing low player counts as the chief reason.<br />
<br />
While Dawn of War 3 has a dedicated player base, it didn't hit the targets we were expecting at launch, and it hasn't performed the way we had hoped since. It's been tough for us as professionals who want to make great games for our players, and for us as people who care a lot about what we do. When a game underperforms, plans need to change. With Dawn of War 3, we simply don't have the foundation we need to produce major content. We're working in close partnership with Sega and Games Workshop to determine the best course of action, while shifting focus to other projects within our portfolio.<br />
<br />
Given this, the [https://community.dawnofwar.com/discussion/15957/patch-upload-as-of-05-feb-2018 February 8th patch] was likely just Relic releasing whatever work they'd finished on the proposed expansion and fixing a couple remaining bugs before bidding the game farewell. With Relic now focusing primarily on Age of Empires IV, Dawn of War III has potentially become a Franchise Killer, though Relic and Sega are apparently in talks with [[Games Workshop|GW]], so time will tell. It should be noted that while Relic has no plans to produce major content, they are still patching and maintaining the game as well as putting out occasional Free-LC skins.<br />
<br />
===Dawn of War III Is Dead! Long Live Dawn of War III!===<br />
A small and dwindling community of fans and modders had tried rallying together in an attempt to resurrect Dawn of War III through Twitch streams, community game nights, and new mods. The goal was to generate enough interest to get Relic to return to the game (lol), or at least release more mod tools so the fans could pick up where they left off, and if not that, then at least to keep the community alive. This effort eventually floundered and the game continued its tailspin.<br />
<br />
== See Also ==<br />
* [https://www.dawnofwar.com/ The Official Dawn of War site]<br />
* [http://store.steampowered.com/app/285190/Warhammer_40000_Dawn_of_War_III/ Dawn of War III on Steam]<br />
* [https://www.dawnofwarrealm.com/ Dawn of War Realm, the fansite trying to resurrect the game]<br />
* [http://modding.dawnofwar.com/ Want to make a mod for the game? Start here.]<br />
* [[Dawn of War Mods#Dawn of War III Modding|The list of /tg/-approved mods]]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyLLeKcxw24U2fT8iOowRbzBHsulCAizV The game's soundtrack, which also includes a clean version of the trailer theme]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6lUjVLPU04 WAAAAAAAAAGHH!!]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfEp-ZuwiGE&t Totalbiscuit's review of the game, which highlights a number of problems from the perspective of someone who enjoyed the previous two titles.]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OCWQelkjBg ZoranTheBear and ThunderPsyker's overview of the game, offering the opinions of a newcomer to the franchise and a veteran, respectively]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeWRQ2w0cT0 Arch-Warhammer's review of the game]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPDTt_GOdyY Adam Millard's analysis of why the game failed. He does an excellent job discussing the issues of Dawn of War III while remaining fairly neutral and analytical.]<br />
* [https://steamdb.info/app/285190/graphs/ Here are the game sales stats].<br />
<br />
==Gallery==<br />
<center><br />
<gallery><br />
Image:Don'tWorryDieHappy.gif|Don't Worry, Die Happy<br />
Image:DoW3 Menu.jpg|The Main Menu, which shows the elites and paint scheme you currently have equipped.<br />
Image:DoW3 Army Painter.jpg|The Army Painter<br />
Image:DoW3 Elites Menu.jpg|The Elites Menu<br />
Image:This has been dark work.PNG|[https://youtu.be/CjnvZtYl2fA?t=20s One fan's reaction] [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2316393822047631108 to the announcement of incoming modding tools]<br />
Image:PrimarisAngelos.png|The [[Blood_Ravens#Bloody_Magpies|REAL reason]] for Gabriel Angelos' [[Primaris Marines|changes]] (the Godsplitter bullshit is just what they tell other loyalists who [[Inquisition|get too nosy]])<br />
File:RetributionGabriel.JPG | Gabriel's Cut Original Model found Within Dawn of War III World Builder.<br />
File:StandardofKaurava.JPG | Wargear Found in Dawn of War II Chaos Rising showing that relic did indeed plan for Gorgutz to win Soulstorm.<br />
</gallery><br />
</center><br />
<br />
<br />
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Video Games]][[Category:Dawn of War]]</div>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBDhttp://2d4chan.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Dawn_of_War_III&diff=169569Dawn of War III2019-10-22T22:11:51Z<p>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBD: /* Dawn of War III Is Dead! Long Live Dawn of War III! */</p>
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<div>{{/vg/}}<br />
''"In darkness'', ''I shall be light''<br><br />
''In times of doubt'', ''I shall keep faith''<br><br />
''In throes of rage'', ''I shall hone my craft''<br><br />
''In vengeance'', ''I shall have no mercy''<br><br />
''In the midst of battle'', ''I shall have no fear''<br><br />
''In the face of death'', ''I shall have no remorse"''<br><br />
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_ZgyNoHtjw| The voice in the trailer.]<br />
[[File:DoWIII.jpg|thumbnail|right|500px|Skulls for the skull throne!]]<br />
Announced on 3rd of May 2016 and released on April 27nd 2017, '''''Dawn of War III''''' is the third entry in the Dawn of War series.<br />
<br />
The game features [[Space Marines]], [[Orks]], and [[Eldar]], along with [[Imperial Guard]] as an NPC race allied with Space Marines and [[Imperial Knight|Imperial Knights]] as playable allied units to the Space Marines. The campaign features all three factions, rotating which faction you're playing every mission [[Dawn of War II#Retribution|rather than having every faction play the same shortened campaign]]. The story features [[Gabriel Angelos]] (sadly with a different voice actor), [[Macha]], and [[Gorgutz]] as they all race to an ancient planet called Acheron which emerges from the warp every couple thousand years and holds an artifact called the Spear of [[Khaine]].<br />
<br />
==Plot==<br />
{{spoilers}}<br />
Coming back with a new look and much closer to the first game while having elements from the second, the third installment sees the return of some of the more popular characters. Among them [[Gabriel Angelos]], [[Farseer Macha]] and [[Warboss Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter]] will battle for the planet of Acheron for a powerful weapon known as the Spear of Khaine. Whilst the Eldar and Orks seek to obtain it for its tremendous power, Gabriel seeks to prevent anyone from using it, as it apparently reeks of deceit. More of the plot can be read below.<br />
<br />
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"><br />
===Part 1: Verlock Keep and Cyprus Ultima===<br />
Long story short, it begins on the Knight World of Cyprus Ultima being overrun by [[Orks]] led by [[Warboss]] Gitsompa with Varlock Keep being on its last toes against the green tide. [[Heresy|For some reason,]] Inquisitor Holt has prevented further reinforcements from assisting the local Knight house from being overwhelmed. Thankfully for Lady Solaria (The Matriarch of Verlock Keep), <s>Captain</s> [[Chapter Master]] [[Gabriel Angelos]] of the [[Blood Ravens]] ignored the [[Inquisitor|Inquisitor's]] decree and came to assist Lady Solaria's forces. During the fighting, Warboss [[Gorgutz]] led a counter attack to prove that he is the better overall leader then Gitstompa. Unfortunately the [[Eldar]] led by [[Autarch]] Kyre, came on Cyprus to mess everything up which forced Gorgutz to think of some [[Tactical genius|Tactical Genius]] which involves building a giant cannon, sabotage and [[Sindri|Sindri'ing Warboss Gitstompa]] so that Gorgutz would become defacto leader. Meanwhile, the breach in the decree led to Inquisitor Holt feeling all [[Butthurt|butthurt]] about this and tasked Ol'Gabe to defend Starfort Helios which has been overrun by Orks now led by Gorgutz. Both Holt and Gabe talked about the reason behind the starforts, in which they were designed as a barricade against the legendary planet Acheron which houses the legendary 'Spear of [[Khaine]]' in which Holt took great interests in attaining it for himself. As you can imagine, Gabe was quite suspicious over the Inquisitor's ambition and was even more suspicious over the Spear of Khaine whose intuition led Gabe to suspect of it as a [[Chaos|Chaotic corruption]] (Oh, how right he was).<br />
<br />
On the other hand of the spectrum, [[Farseer]] [[Macha]] led an Eldar warhost to aid Kyre who he himself is also after the Spear of Khaine. However, Macha is suspicious about Kyre's prophecy as it did not add up to Macha's own divination on what lies beyond Acheron. Macha was tasked by Kyre to kill Gabriel Angelos as he sees the Chapter Master as an obstacle to Kyre's own ambition, however Macha's relationship with Gabriel stretched all the way back [[Tartarus]]. Before she could accomplish this, [[Jonah Orion]] stood in Macha's way. Macha promptly kicked Jonah's ass and threaten to kill him if he did not tell her where <s>Macha's husbando</s> Gabriel Angelos is. However, being the shining beacon of bromance that is Gabe, the Chapter Master came to Macha's location to prevent her from killing his [[Gay|<s>boyfriend</s>]] most trusted [[Librarian]] butt budy. Macha attempted to throw her singing spear, Gabriel remembered that he was wearing terminator armour and singing spears are AP- and so managed to catch the damned weapon with his hands. Macha blasted him with Psychic shenanigans, took a thunder hammer to the face and either passed her Invuln save or benefited from the Eternal Warrior rule. Before they could end their little 'reunion' however, the planet Acheron arrived on the Cyprus system and shattered Starfort Helios, reigning space debris on where they fought (Seriously, Acheron is ECKS BAWKS HUEG, like Gas Giant size). Macha escaped whilst Gabe was left horrified over the fate of [[Chaplain]] [[Apollo Diomedes]] as it was Gabriel who ordered Diomedes to assist the resistance on Helios. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Gorgutz promptly [[PROMOTIONS|jizzed himself]] with all the loot being crash landed around him due to Helios' demise. Unfortunately, other gitz such as [[Weirdboy]] Zappnoggin and [[Big Mek]] Wazzmakka are fighting over the loot. After Gorgutz promptly bash their heads in and forced them to comply under his leadership, Gorgutz then led on a joyride to Starfort Charon so he could find out what the hell is going on in Acheron. Apparently ''how'' he managed to get onto the Starfort without getting shot down isn't worth worrying about (seriously, he's just there and hopping off a crashed craft without any further explanation). After blowing up the defenses of Charon with nothing more than a bunch of [[Gretchin]] with explosive grenades (seriously, you would think that the defenses of an Imperial Starfort would be a bit more secure), Gorgutz then used the opportunity of the disabled Starfort to land on Acheron without the worry of being blown up. On the other hand, Macha met with [[Ronahn]] to discuss on the potential craziness that is Kyre. Apparently, the reason why Ronahn was here and acting as a secret spy for Kyre was because Kyre [[Derp|somehow got his hands on]] [[Taldeer|Taldeer's]] soulstone due to some altercation with Ronahn. Apparently, Kyre is using Taldeer's prophecy as not only as to stroke Kyre's fragile ego but to also keep his legitimacy stable. Despite the fact that using another [[Craftworld|Craftworld's]] soulstone for nefarious purposes, especially one from [[Ulthwé]] should be enough to send half of the Craftworld's forces to shank Kyre's ass for [[Heresy]], this did not come to pass. After some discussions, Macha, Ronahn and [[Jain Zar]] (Who came to Macha's assistance to stop Kyre's foolish action that would further weakened the Biel-Tan craftworld) all agreed that Kyre's prophecy is nothing more than a steaming pile of [[Bullshit]] and will lead their people to ruin. Unfortunately Jain Zar didn't just tell everyone to stop follow Kyre because she didn't feel like it (yes seriously, she'd rather kill Eldar than that and there's a weak explanation on her trying to get Macha to realize her potential through the conflict) which would have ended the conflict immediately and stopped Eldar from killing each other. So Macha and Ronahn devise a plan to distract Kyre's forces with the aid of Gorgutz so they could sneak around and steal back Taldeer's soulstone instead. Macha and Ronahn also managed to convince Gorgutz to aid them by essentially waving the Spear of Khaine all over Gorgutz like he is some sort of attack dog. So with Gorgutz now in the race to get his 'Super Pointy Stikk', Dawn of War 3 has essentially turned into a Monty Python sketch with all three races bonking each other's heads so they can leap frog each other to get to the Spear first.<br />
<br />
===Part 2: Acheron===<br />
On the other side of the theater, Gabe discussed with Captain Balthazar on board the Blood Raven's [[Battlebarge]] to retrieve Diomedes' [[Gene Seed|Gene Seed]] for he fears that he is dead. However, Inquisitor Holt being a shady motherfucking dick, threatened Gabriel not to go to the remains of Helios or else he would shoot Gabe's aircraft out of the sky. This understandably twisted Gabe's nipples to no end and secretly arranged Balthazar to [[Just as Planned|teleport]] Gabe on the remains of Starfort Helios. They agreed and Gabe was transported on the destroyed Starfort. What he saw disturbed Gabe as the remains of both the Starfort and its crew members was [[Grimdark|fused with the structures of Acheron]]. Fearing for the worst, Gabriel along with a group of [[Terminator|Terminators]] proceed to cleanse the area of both Orks and Eldar with sufficient [[Dakka]]. Once Gabriel found where Diomedes is located, to everyone's surprise, Apollo Diomedes has indeed survived due to [[Plot Armor|rolling a 1 on his To Wound/Destroyer roll and escaping unscathed]] (or maybe he just passed every Armour/Invuln save, he was wearing termie armour). After hearing the Inquisitor's actions, Diomedes was understandably [[Rage|pissed as fuck.]] Inquisitor Holt himself was displeased, but more pressing matters was at hand due to everyone wanting to get the Spear of Khaine.<br />
<br />
On Acheron, Farseer Macha and her posse sneaked to where Taldeer is resting and proceed to [[Blood Ravens|'borrow it']] for their own uses. However, they were caught and were forced to flee, fortunately they completed their task and Kyre sighed in disappointment. Near the vault shielding the Spear of Khaine, Gabe and friends fought their way to destroy the Eldar. However, Inquisitor Holt decided that if a bunch of enemies are gathered in one spot, you might as well just nuke them and requested an orbital bombardment on the vault. Unfortunately it turns out shooting a door has a chance of blowing it open, which certainly happened and that was near where Gabriel's forces were (though he did at least warn Gabe with more than enough time for the Blood Ravens to flee), so Gabe ordered his brothers to flee and while remaining behind because he knew it would look really cool for the trailer. Apollo Diomedes and even Jonah Orion [[Rage|flipped their shit on the Inquisitor]], with Diomedes swearing he [[RIP AND TEAR|wants to rip Holt's head off and shit down his neck]] and Jonah calling Holt a fucking retard for even requesting orbital bombardment. Holt, feeling the heat of a chapter of pissed off [[Space Marines]] went and plead with Lady Solaria. [[Awesome|Solaria then laid down the sickest burn in the game, calling out Holt's cowardice in not only letting Solaria's house to die by the Ork invasion but also firing orbital bombardment near the position of Gabriel Angelos, she further states that no one would fear the incompetence and idiocy of a 'disgraced Inquisitor' threatening Holt that his ass is grass once she tells Holt's superiors on what he has done.]] Holt later put an ice pack on that burn and cried himself to sleep, but before he did, he told Solaria that Gabe may still be alive and what do you know, Gabriel ''IS'' alive since he watched the bombardment from a distance while taking advantage of that Iron Halo/Cataphractii Terminator re-roll bullshit. Gorgutz was also practically under the blast and he survives due to... [[Plot Armor|he just does.]]<br />
<br />
Inside the vault on the true surface of Acheron, Autarch Kyre used Macha's supporters as leverage to draw her out and force her to comply to his will. Unfortunately for him, they were standing on an icy prison keeping a FUCK HUEG [[Greater Daemon]] of [[Khorne]] from escaping (yes, it is yet ''another'' reveal that [[Chaos]] is the ultimate big bad, [[Skub|Que more moaning and bitching that the plot is uninspired)]] and Macha rightly concluded that fighting would only wake it and that something was wrong with the spear. Naturally Kyre didn't listen and after an intense firefight of elf-on-elf violence, Macha then pleaded to Ronahn to let Taldeer's soulstone to be interned in a motherfucking [[Wraithknight]]. Ronahn as you can imagine, hesitated cause he is a good and dutiful brother and would never put his sister into harms way again; the situation however, was dire, thus Ronahn relented and became the co-driver with his sister. During the infighting, Kyre knew he was distracted and continued his campaign to retrieve the Spear. However, bad luck follows Kyre everywhere, and is forced to butt heads with Gorgutz army. These two both battled each other before Kyre won, grabbed the Spear of Khaine and attempt to slay Gorgutz. His plans were slightly hindered when a part of the blade broke and he was liquefied, as it turns out that the Spear was a [[Trap]] designed to spill the blood of the ambitious and greedy and to act as a blood ritual to release the daemon from its prison. Kyre did the 'Oh Shit!' look before ending up like [[Sindri Myr]] as daemon chow.<br />
<br />
===Part 3: Tartarus 2, Electric Boogaloo===<br />
With the daemon released, everyone promptly shat bricks. Macha and Taldeer then did a quick divination and found out that the only way to victory is get all three races to unite and spank the daemon to oblivion. Macha, somehow managed to convince Gorgutz to join her cause despite being backstabbed by Ronahn (Or as Gorgutz would like to call him, Ronny) whilst Gabriel has a....somewhat [[Love Can Bloom|intimate chat]] before he himself joined her cause. Unfortunately for Gabe, part of the ritual needed to defeat the daemon was [[Exterminatus|to blow up Acheron]]....[[Herp|with his own Battlebarge.]] Captain Balthazar overheard this and eagerly accepted his fate before [[Angry Marines|pile driving a seemingly fully loaded Battlebarge into the planet's crust]] in a spectacular display of [[Warhammer 40,000 8th edition|needless sacrifice'''s''']]. <br />
<br />
Seriously, how many Blood Ravens were on the ship? Anyway, the ship blew up the mantle and hurtled the shrine housing the Spear of Khaine into orbit. You would think that the Battlebarge would have just [[Derp|fired its weapons or even have a Cyclonic Torpedo ready,]] but it seems the Imperium has a knack for [[World Engine|wasting expensive ships by]] [[First Tyrannic War|blowing itself up for myriad of reasons.]] On the other hand, Angelos and Balthazar did mention how the Daemon was shielding Acheron and how it took a trio of listening posts to guide the Battlebarge down to the surface; nevertheless, it still is retarded, because the Inquisition normally issues [[Exterminatus]] device approved for [[Chapter Master (game)|Space Marines]] to use by placing it directly on a planet's surface, or use [[Gabriel Angelos|Nemesis weaponry]] to [[Grey Knight|bannish the daemon]] [[Matt Ward|regardless of]] [[Spiritual Liege|his Wounds stats]]; and while it is possible that the Blood Ravens having [[Celestial Lions|bad relationships with the Inquisitor]] would have prevent them from getting one, they didn't even bother to ask and instead killed dozens or hundreds of battle-brothers wile wasting ressources the Blood Ravens can't afford to lose, proving therefore that the staff [[Games Workshop|didn't even know about it]]. <br />
<br />
All three heroes were teleported onto the shrine (It would be safe to assume that all named elite heroes survived Acheron's destruction) by Macha's help to face the daemon. As explained, the previously seen ECKS BAWKS HUEG daemon the size of a Imperial Cruiser has now shrunk in size to be the same height as any old regular Greater Daemon. In a hilariously bizarre and completely un-Khornate way, the daemon AKA the Storm Prince, [[Wat|spends more time healing itself by literally drinking a fountain of]] [[Lulz|daemon kool-aid]]...[[FAIL|we wish we were joking.]] That and the fact that the daemon used [[Tzeentch|trickery of all things]] to set itself free (Spear of Khaine fiasco, daemonic doppelgangers, etc)...one must wonder how [[Khorne]] might have felt after learning that this jackass along with [[Firaeveus Carron|another failure]] continue to became such staunched followers of the Blood God. During the fight, Gabriel in a completely uncharacteristic way, acknowledged ignoring Macha's warnings back on Tartarus was a mistake which resulted in the devastation of the Blood Ravens in [[Dawn of War 2]], in which Macha in turn, uncharacteristically accepted it; but come on now, we all remember that her warnings were fully aimed at protecting the plot, not making things clear for the Blood Ravens & the Inquisitor on what they ought to do. After kicking the daemon to death, all three heroes departed to go their separate ways with Gorgutz finally getting his 'Super Pointy Stikk'/Spear of Khaine. [[What|Again, this is bizarrely uncharacteristic for all of them as we usually see an Eldar ending up backstabbing the Orks and Space Marines into muderfucking each other instead of simply...you know...keeping their promises. Maybe they decided to wait until their armies could rebuild?]] <br />
<br />
Anyway, with the mission done, it is safe to assume that Inquisitor Holt is going to have his [[Anal Circumference|anus enlarged by fifteen meters]] over the shit he has done to Gabe and friends.<br />
<br />
All in all, the last few missions was vaguely similar to the plot of the original [[Dawn of War]]. As both games ends with a cataclysmic fight against an agent of [[Chaos]] being freed from a millennia long prison that is disguised as an object of immense power, in which a gullible pawn thinks he can take it for his own benefit, only to be used as a sacrifice to free the daemon in a blood ritual. Both artifacts are seen by Gabriel Angelos to be malicious and needs to be destroyed with Macha warning Gabe about the true nature of both artifacts. The only difference is that Gabe actually listened to Macha for once on Acheron, thus making the ending of Dawn of War 3 more [[Noblebright]] than the original Dawn of War. <br />
<br />
Oh yeah, the secret after credits ending depicts none other then the return of the [[Necrons]]. Which would probably be more impressive if the story hadn't pretty much stopped there with no sign of continuing.<br />
</div><br />
<br />
==Returning Characters==<br />
===Imperials (Blood Ravens)===<br />
* '''Chapter Master [[Gabriel Angelos]]:''' Returning with a ornate and badass looking set of Terminator Armor. Would be 100% badass if it weren't for the fact that he was capable of inexplicably jumping ([[C.S. Goto|and flipping!]]) several meters off the ground in said Terminator Armor (And the fact that he's no longer voiced by Paul Dobson *sob*). They try and explain this away by linking this ability to his hammer, but considering that Diomedes can do this too and we're not clear on how the hammer does it, it's still stupid. Spends most time battling with the other two factions to prevent them from obtaining the Spear of Khaine, as he suspects it may be corrupted. Some art has him standing at Primarch-grade height. He is loyal and thoughtful of his chapter to the point that he defended his new librarian buddy Jonah Orion from the [[Macha|jealous yandere-virgin]] as well as went against an inquisitor's order to try and give Diomedes last rites when the starfort Diomedes was on crashed into Acheron. Currently having a harem relationship with his librarian buddy Jonah Orion, Farseer Macha and Lady Solaria of the Varlock Imperial Knight house, probably Diomedes too.<br />
* '''Chief Librarian [[Jonah Orion]]:''' Promoted to Chief Librarian after surviving the battle against the chaos corrupted Chapter Master [[Azariah Kyras]]. Now sports a goatee and wearing fancy new armor. Is currently having a bromance relationship with his Chapter Master.<br />
* '''Chaplain [[Apollo Diomedes]]:'''' Returning as a Chaplain in terminator armor (sadly with a different vox box that actually makes him comprehensible). It was never explained why he became a Chaplain after his previous appearance. Must have felt so ashamed about serving a chaos tainted traitor so much that he couldn't bear the mantle of First Company Captain anymore. So now he's a Chaplain, sniffing out taint and making heretics...[[Asmodai|Repent]]. He is now loyal as ever to his chapter, so loyal that he nearly transforms into an [[Angry Marine]] after the stupid-made-manifest known as Inquisitor Damien Holt bombarded their Chapter Master Angelos. Most likely became a Chaplain because he was the one that took it as a job to cleanse the Chapter honor (by splitting the fucking head of his Chapter Master), and even saying at the end of the Retribution campaing that he cant serve the chapter as he was then.<br />
<br />
===Eldar (Biel-Tan)===<br />
* '''Farseer [[Macha]]:''' Returning for the first time since the original Dawn of War, and looking (almost) exactly as she's been depicted in /tg/ art for years (other than a fancy hair ornament and wearing more clothes than said average depictions). Ostensibly working for Lord Kyre to get the Spear of Khaine for him, but appears to be suspicious of his real motives for doing so. Is somewhat tsundere with Gabriel Angelos and still pissed about the whole Maledictum thing. (Ultimately they're both at fault. She didn't explain to him why he shouldn't do what he did, but that doesn't preclude him from ''asking'', something we know he's good at, and he says himself he should have listened to her.)<br />
<br />
===Eldar (Ulthwe)===<br />
* '''[[Ronahn]]:''' Also reappearing as the leader of a Ranger detachment and Kyre's spymaster, and only marginally less whiny than he was before. After losing Taldeer's soul stone on the way home to Kyre (which he is NOT happy about), he has been trying to recover his <s>waifu's</s> sister's soulstone and bring it back to Ulthwe, and so allies with Macha in a plan to undermine Kyre and get her soul stone back.<br />
* '''[[Taldeer]]:''' Apparently Taldeer's soul stone ended up being salvaged during Retribution, as she reappears as a <s>Wraithseer</s> [[Wraithknight]] with a big fucking sword after said soul stone is taken by Kyre. One of her prophecies as recounted in the trailers seems to refer to the impending conflict over the Spear of Khaine.<br />
<br />
===Orks (Bad Moons)===<br />
* '''Warboss [[Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter]]:''' Returning during his absence after Soulstorm, Gorgutz is back with a bigger and badder power klaw (with a retractable chain, no less). He starts out in the service of another Warboss named Gitstompa, and apparently always planned to Sindri him (though the Eldar unwittingly turn him into the Warboss of the Bad Moons WAAAGH! after they kill Gitstompa, believing that killing him would scatter the Ork horde). He's racing against the other factions for the pointy-stick. At some point gets sort of tricked by Ronahn into fighting a heavily defended Eldar base defending the vaults entrance. Macha told him she wanted the other Eldar dead, and told them they were both trying to get the spear, but Ronahn "forgot" to mention the bit about their entrance being heavily defended, which somewhat makes Gorgutz a dumbass for actually trusting dem sneaky knife ears. In the end Gorgutz is ''technically'' the canon winner because he went away with his "pointy stikk" once the daemon was slain, though they did ''let'' him get away with it and the Spear itself was depowered due to the daemon no longer being inside of it.<br />
<br />
===Others===<br />
* '''Brian Dobson:''' The only VA from the first and second series to return. He voices generic Space Marines, Orks and Eldar.<br />
<br />
==New Characters==<br />
===Imperials (Blood Ravens)===<br />
* '''Captain Balthazar:''' A Captain of the Blood Ravens and serves as the mission briefer.<br />
<br />
===Imperials (Others)===<br />
* '''Lady Rebek Solaria:''' Head of House Varlock of Cyprus Ultima and pilot of the Imperial Knight, Drakaina. Drakaina is equipped with two avenger cannons that'll deal more damage when heated up. Becomes BFFs with Angelos after he saves Varlock Keep from Orks (against Inquisitor Holt's orders).<br />
* '''Inquisitor Damien Holt:''' An Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos that seeks the wandering world, Acheron, for the Spear of Khaine. [[Chenkov|He plays the role of asshole cold blooded strategist that gives little regard to his allies like they were pawns in a chess game]] but without any actual strategy to speak of; apparently Relic decided that [[Mordecai Toth|Inquisitor Toth]] from the first Dawn of War and [[Inquisitor Adrastia]] from the second were too sane and reasonable for gamers to handle. The Imperial forces he's working with, Imperial Knights of House Varlock and The Blood Ravens, both hate his guts. The Varlock House hate him for abandoning them to a massive Ork invasion. The Blood Ravens, wary of his obsession with a Warp-tainted xenos artifact, despised the inquisitor for his willingness to waste their battle-brothers' lives for the Spear, which culminated in launching an orbital bombardment on their chapter master Gabriel Angelos to break into the Spear's complex. [[Rage|This made the Blood Ravens so mad]] that Diomedes, the Chaplain, was going to shove a BAAAANEBLADE up the inqisitor's arse only to be stopped by Jonah Orion, who reminds him that they can let the rest of the Inquisition do so later. No relation to [[Commissar Holt]].<br />
* '''Deathwatch Kill-Team Ironmaw:''' They compose of a Dark Angel, a Blood Angel, a Crimson Fist, a [[Ultramarines|Smurf]] and are led by one of everyone's favourite [[Space Wolves|space vikings]]. In multiplayer, the Ultramarine is replaced by a space marine from the chapter you selected via army painter.<br />
<br />
===Eldar (Biel-Tan)===<br />
* '''Autarch Kyre:''' Leader of the Biel-Tan warhost and seeks to obtain the Spear of Khaine. The asshole that led even more Eldar to die in a pointless campaign for some legendary shiny (not to mention him ignoring the Soulstones of his fallen warriors instead of collecting them, which should tell just how asshole he is), and stole Taldeer's Soulstone for good measure (which Macha and Ronahn both note could very well lead to a war between their Craftworld should Ulthwe learn about it). He hired Ronahn as his spymaster only to be betrayed by him. He still got the spear in the end, after fighting Gorgutz for it and cheated using psyker power. Turns out the spear contained a greater daemon of khorne and was possessed by it, after the spear itself shattered as Kyre tried to strike Gorgutz with it... [[Castellan Crowe|which is just weird]], even for a plot device, because daemon weapons are empowered by the daemon's presence, not structurally weakened by it. So arrogant that even the other Eldar can't stand him. <br />
* '''[[Jain Zar]]:''' Phoenix Lord (Lady?) of the Howling Banshees and the first of the Phoenix Lords to be featured in a video game adaptation (Granted, she's also in Eternal Crusade, but has yet to fully appear in that game). Has seen Acheron before and that Eldar have been fighting over the spear for millennia. None so far has succeeded in recovering it.<br />
<br />
===Orks (Bad Moons)===<br />
* '''Wazzmakka:''' Da most byotiful Big Mek dere is. He dont call her beauty for er' looks! Very fond of tellyportas.<br />
* '''Zappnoggin:''' A Weirdboy who sounds surprisingly sane-ish for an ork whose head can explode at any time. Has rather un-orky ideas about not getting into fights that he can't win, which he says has let him live a long time (by Ork standards, anyway).<br />
<br />
==Differences and New Things==<br />
The game attempts to blend the best parts of the first two, featuring base building and massive armies alongside summonable elite units who can sway the course of battle. The game also features doctrines similar to those from [[/v/|Company of Heroes 2]]. Unlike in Company of Heroes 2, you may take up to three Doctrines, with some being connected to specific elite units. Secondly, the Doctrines do not give bullshit like +4% to ranged damage, but either unlock abilities for specific units or upgrade the existing abilities of others (like upgrading the Dreadnoughts to gain charge attacks and shields after executing slam attacks, giving Dire Avengers Holo-Fields, or giving Deffkoptas Buzzsaws). Relic's aim was to make their latest game the most accessible, including features such as a minimalistic UI, icons to represent effects like suppression, and easy-to-read descriptors for most abilities. It is the first Dawn of War game to only feature three factions at launch rather than four, though the included factions do have more units available at launch than they did in previous titles.<br />
<br />
Another change is the new cast of voice actors (whom according to the developers comprise of VA's from their previous title [[Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine]]). This has been met with some amount of [[rage]] from fans, most notably those who wished for the return of Paul Dobson as Angelos.<br />
<br />
Armies are now divided into standard soldiers (things like [[Tactical Squad|Tactical Marines]], [[Dire Avengers]], and [[Ork Boy|Boyz]] as well as vehicles) and elites (which includes the likes of named characters, [[Terminators]], and Imperial Knights). The former act like standard RTS units, performing most of the legwork as well as adding bulk to your army, while the latter are more powerful units with abilities that can change the tide of battle. <s>In both campaign and multiplayer, players collect said elites by farming skulls (no, we're not kidding. [[RAGE|all three factions are Khornate for some reason]])</s> Not anymore, skulls have been removed. Everyone has access to all Elites and doctrines from the get-go (save for those that are unlocked by leveling up elites). Elite units can level up based on how many enemies they killed during each game, though these level-ups don't improve them in any way, they just unlock exotic paints and new skins. Among them there are really powerful units that are showing up for the first time in the series (such as [[Imperial Knight|Imperial Knights]], [[Wraithknight|Wraithknights]], and [[Gorkanaut|Gorkanauts]]). At the very least, the presence of troop units to back up the elites could mean that the rest of the Blood Ravens 4th Company might actually be getting off their asses and doing something this time around.<br />
<br />
As mentioned previously, the campaign switches between [[Blood Ravens]], [[Orks]], and [[Eldar]] every mission. While the attempt to incorporate all three factions is appreciated, and it is marginally better than Retribution's approach, the constant switching between three vastly different playstyles can be very jarring.<br />
<br />
Markedly absent is a sequel/expansion of Dawn of War II's [[Last Stand]] mode which, given that Last Stand was popular enough to become it's own standalone spinoff product, is likely a deliberate omission. Thus far small fan interest exists in seeing Last Stand return.<br />
<br />
==Pre-Release Reactions==<br />
The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7JNTfrK3Yk 12 minute exclusive gameplay] released shortly after the trailer drew quite a lot of [[Skub|ire.]] With many complaining on the way it looks (having a cleaner, more colorful aesthetic in comparison to previous titles) with rumors that the team developing Dawn of War III was trying to piggyback [[Blizzard|Starcraft]] [[RAGE|of all games]] to the animation lacking the weight and grit of the previous Dawn of War games. Special mentions go to the fighting style animations of [[Gabriel Angelos|old Gabe]] [[What|whose sudden usage of backflips, frontflips and jumping like a 5 ton ballerina on crack]] [[Fail|despite wearing terminator armor]] [[RAGE|drew accusations that one of the lead creators of this game]] [[C.S. Goto|might be a small, black leprechaun with a fetish of Multilasers and backflipping Terminators.]] Hell, the goddamn Lascannons don't fire a [[Indrick Boreale|quick, charged, devastating single shot]] but instead its a [[lance|laser weapon that does more damage the longer it's trained on it's target]]. <br />
<br />
Later interviews and bits of information released did little to ease the [[Skub|ire.]] Including the lead director confirming that sync-kills have been removed, Assault Marines being considered [[What|"light armor"]] units, the dynamic movement system introduced in II being removed, and fall back mechanics are also gone. At this point from a community standpoint, you were either absolutely behind these changes, or were watching something your were previously looking forward to turn into an absolute shitshow; with very little middle ground to be found. And it really doesn't help that their methods of explaining away some of the lore breaking shit seems to come directly from our [[C.S. Goto|good old friend]]. Notably they tried to explain the backflipping Terminator armor by saying that [[What|his hammer has a shard of an Avatar in it]]. This also happened to be an idea made by the Irish leper, and even if it was canon the developers never mentioned what this actually did to give Angelos the ability to backflip, making this move look like a hand-wave to shut the fans up.<br />
<br />
Reactions to the beta did little to assuage the divide in the community. Some, like AngryJoe, thoroughly enjoyed it, while others, like TotalBiscuit, seemed to be completely turned off by it.<br />
<br />
Voice Acting has taken a big change, with Relic opting to go for an all British cast (except for Brian Dobson) rather than using their stable of Ocean Group VAs from previous titles. The rationale behind this is that having British voice actors makes the game more authentic to 40K's British roots, and totally not because of the ongoing voice actors strike against major video game publishers in North America that Sega, and thus Relic, isn't affected by anyway.<br />
<br />
==Post-Release==<br />
{{editwar}}<br />
After the game was released, the reception was [[Skub|mixed]] to say the least. Those who like the game say that the traditional "build and conquer" RTS campaign is a refreshing change for those who didn't like Dawn of War II's [[Diablo]]-style campaign, and while Paul Dobson is sorely missed, the rest of the voice cast isn't too bad. The Elites system is a natural progression from Dawn of War II, and the Ork's [[WAAAGH]]! mechanic is one of the best things ever put into a Dawn of War game. Additionally, they point out that while the power core mode is too simple, it does give a good introduction to the RTS genre for those who are brand new rather than just throwing them to the wolves like other games. <br />
<br />
Those who don't like the game are of the opinion that Relic under Sega gutted what made Dawn of War popular in the first place and turned it into something uninspired and boring by comparison, as it simplified or stripped out many of the iconic elements of the series, such as sync-kills, the cover system and wargear. Many who liked the Dawn of War II campaign aren't fans of a more traditional RTS campaign, and some also feel that the races play too similarly aside from one or two gimmick mechanics. The game also has multiple lore inconsistencies, such as Eldar with shields and [[C.S. Goto|backflipping Terminators]], although to be fair, [[Dawn of War: Soulstorm|it isn't alone]] [[Azariah_Kyras|in this respect]]. Basically, [[Age of Sigmar|Relic significantly altered their popular product to attract a wider audience, and ended up alienating a large portion of their established fanbase.]]<br />
<br />
The decision to focus on simplification and balance in multiplayer was likely an intentional design choice considering the dev teams wanted Dawn of War to develop a competitive scene (seemingly ignoring the fact that people never really picked up Dawn of War for competitive multiplayer). However, unlike good competitive games like Starcraft, Counterstrike, and DOTA, Power Core mode did it in a very simplistic manner that made it feel like the "strategy" part of RTS had been all but sucked out.<br />
<br />
Sales-wise, the game didn't do well in comparison to it's predecessors. While the original [[Dawn of War]] has sold over 6 million copies since 2011 and the was heralded with critical acclaim upon release, and [[Dawn of War II]] took the #1 spot on western sales charts during it's initial release; Dawn of War III didn't raise too much attention apart from standard fanfare, with a [[Skub|mixed response from the community]], and game critics saying it was good, but ultimately [[FAIL|flawed]]. According to [https://steamspy.com/app/285190 Steamspy's estimates], the game's digital sales barely broke a quarter million sales as of July 2017, which is not a good sign for a highly anticipated AAA game series.<br />
<br />
[http://steamcharts.com/app/285190#All It didn't help that the playerbase declined sharply post-release], a clear sign that it just didn't make the impact people expected from the series. [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/1332350869595289198 While Relic seemed to be listening to the community's concerns,] the game was never able to recover from its downward spiral. This being said, they released mod tools, and a small but dedicated group of modders have been working on tweaking the game and adding new units. <br />
<br />
Overall, the game is [[skub]] incarnate, being nearly unrecognizable in comparison to it's predecessors. [[Nurgle|One side hates it for being too overly simple for a strategy game and deviating too far from the things that defined DoW from the beginning,]] [[Tzeentch|while another side is retarded.]]<br />
<br />
[[File:DoW3 Annihilation.jpg|300px|right|thumb]]<br />
===The Annihilation Update===<br />
On June 13th 2017, [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/1332350869595289198 Relic announced the addition of Annihilation mode to the game], along with turrets, a new map, and skins for the super-heavies as Free-LC. On June 20th, [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2663165213085204247 the Annihilation Update dropped] and, it was actually pretty good. The removal of railroady objectives and the addition of a wide open map added a significant amount of depth to the game that was previously lacking, allowing players to take advantage of several mechanics that were previously hamstrung by power core mode. By this point however, too much of the player base had been alienated by power core mode and they weren't willing to come back and give the game another go, so the player count kept declining.<br />
<br />
[[File:DoW3 Endless War.jpg|300px|right|thumb]]<br />
===The Endless War Update===<br />
On October 19th 2017, Relic released the [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2973925069475244397 Endless War Update], which added a bunch of additional content to the game. For starters, each faction has been given an additional Elites choice; the [[Dreadnought#Castraferrum_Pattern|Ironclad Dreadnought]] for Space Marines, the [[Wraithseer]] for Eldar, and the Lifta-Droppa Battlewagon for the Orks, which is basically a [[Awesome|Battlewagon armed with a massive Traktor Kannon]]. We also got three new maps, one themed for each faction, and some more Elites skins, including [[Deathwing]] Terminators, a [[Primaris Chaplain]], and [[Salamanders|Bray'arth Ashmantle]].<br />
<br />
==The End Times Hath Come==<br />
On February 8th 2018, [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-02-08-relic-leaves-dawn-of-war-3-behind-as-it-moves-on-to-new-projects Relic announced they were officially stepping away from Dawn of War III], citing low player counts as the chief reason.<br />
<br />
While Dawn of War 3 has a dedicated player base, it didn't hit the targets we were expecting at launch, and it hasn't performed the way we had hoped since. It's been tough for us as professionals who want to make great games for our players, and for us as people who care a lot about what we do. When a game underperforms, plans need to change. With Dawn of War 3, we simply don't have the foundation we need to produce major content. We're working in close partnership with Sega and Games Workshop to determine the best course of action, while shifting focus to other projects within our portfolio.<br />
<br />
Given this, the [https://community.dawnofwar.com/discussion/15957/patch-upload-as-of-05-feb-2018 February 8th patch] was likely just Relic releasing whatever work they'd finished on the proposed expansion and fixing a couple remaining bugs before bidding the game farewell. With Relic now focusing primarily on Age of Empires IV, Dawn of War III has potentially become a Franchise Killer, though Relic and Sega are apparently in talks with [[Games Workshop|GW]], so time will tell. It should be noted that while Relic has no plans to produce major content, they are still patching and maintaining the game as well as putting out occasional Free-LC skins.<br />
<br />
===Dawn of War III Is Dead! Long Live Dawn of War III!===<br />
A small and dwindling community of fans and modders had tried rallying together in an attempt to resurrect Dawn of War III through Twitch streams, community game nights, and new mods. The goal was to generate enough interest to get Relic to return to the game (lol), or at least release more mod tools so the fans can pick up where they left off, and if not that, then at least to keep the community alive. This effort eventually floundered and the game continued its tailspin.<br />
<br />
== See Also ==<br />
* [https://www.dawnofwar.com/ The Official Dawn of War site]<br />
* [http://store.steampowered.com/app/285190/Warhammer_40000_Dawn_of_War_III/ Dawn of War III on Steam]<br />
* [https://www.dawnofwarrealm.com/ Dawn of War Realm, the fansite trying to resurrect the game]<br />
* [http://modding.dawnofwar.com/ Want to make a mod for the game? Start here.]<br />
* [[Dawn of War Mods#Dawn of War III Modding|The list of /tg/-approved mods]]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyLLeKcxw24U2fT8iOowRbzBHsulCAizV The game's soundtrack, which also includes a clean version of the trailer theme]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6lUjVLPU04 WAAAAAAAAAGHH!!]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfEp-ZuwiGE&t Totalbiscuit's review of the game, which highlights a number of problems from the perspective of someone who enjoyed the previous two titles.]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OCWQelkjBg ZoranTheBear and ThunderPsyker's overview of the game, offering the opinions of a newcomer to the franchise and a veteran, respectively]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeWRQ2w0cT0 Arch-Warhammer's review of the game]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPDTt_GOdyY Adam Millard's analysis of why the game failed. He does an excellent job discussing the issues of Dawn of War III while remaining fairly neutral and analytical.]<br />
* [https://steamdb.info/app/285190/graphs/ Here are the game sales stats].<br />
<br />
==Gallery==<br />
<center><br />
<gallery><br />
Image:Don'tWorryDieHappy.gif|Don't Worry, Die Happy<br />
Image:DoW3 Menu.jpg|The Main Menu, which shows the elites and paint scheme you currently have equipped.<br />
Image:DoW3 Army Painter.jpg|The Army Painter<br />
Image:DoW3 Elites Menu.jpg|The Elites Menu<br />
Image:This has been dark work.PNG|[https://youtu.be/CjnvZtYl2fA?t=20s One fan's reaction] [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2316393822047631108 to the announcement of incoming modding tools]<br />
Image:PrimarisAngelos.png|The [[Blood_Ravens#Bloody_Magpies|REAL reason]] for Gabriel Angelos' [[Primaris Marines|changes]] (the Godsplitter bullshit is just what they tell other loyalists who [[Inquisition|get too nosy]])<br />
File:RetributionGabriel.JPG | Gabriel's Cut Original Model found Within Dawn of War III World Builder.<br />
File:StandardofKaurava.JPG | Wargear Found in Dawn of War II Chaos Rising showing that relic did indeed plan for Gorgutz to win Soulstorm.<br />
</gallery><br />
</center><br />
<br />
<br />
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Video Games]][[Category:Dawn of War]]</div>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBDhttp://2d4chan.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Dawn_of_War_III&diff=169568Dawn of War III2019-10-22T22:08:16Z<p>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBD: /* Post-Release */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{/vg/}}<br />
''"In darkness'', ''I shall be light''<br><br />
''In times of doubt'', ''I shall keep faith''<br><br />
''In throes of rage'', ''I shall hone my craft''<br><br />
''In vengeance'', ''I shall have no mercy''<br><br />
''In the midst of battle'', ''I shall have no fear''<br><br />
''In the face of death'', ''I shall have no remorse"''<br><br />
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_ZgyNoHtjw| The voice in the trailer.]<br />
[[File:DoWIII.jpg|thumbnail|right|500px|Skulls for the skull throne!]]<br />
Announced on 3rd of May 2016 and released on April 27nd 2017, '''''Dawn of War III''''' is the third entry in the Dawn of War series.<br />
<br />
The game features [[Space Marines]], [[Orks]], and [[Eldar]], along with [[Imperial Guard]] as an NPC race allied with Space Marines and [[Imperial Knight|Imperial Knights]] as playable allied units to the Space Marines. The campaign features all three factions, rotating which faction you're playing every mission [[Dawn of War II#Retribution|rather than having every faction play the same shortened campaign]]. The story features [[Gabriel Angelos]] (sadly with a different voice actor), [[Macha]], and [[Gorgutz]] as they all race to an ancient planet called Acheron which emerges from the warp every couple thousand years and holds an artifact called the Spear of [[Khaine]].<br />
<br />
==Plot==<br />
{{spoilers}}<br />
Coming back with a new look and much closer to the first game while having elements from the second, the third installment sees the return of some of the more popular characters. Among them [[Gabriel Angelos]], [[Farseer Macha]] and [[Warboss Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter]] will battle for the planet of Acheron for a powerful weapon known as the Spear of Khaine. Whilst the Eldar and Orks seek to obtain it for its tremendous power, Gabriel seeks to prevent anyone from using it, as it apparently reeks of deceit. More of the plot can be read below.<br />
<br />
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"><br />
===Part 1: Verlock Keep and Cyprus Ultima===<br />
Long story short, it begins on the Knight World of Cyprus Ultima being overrun by [[Orks]] led by [[Warboss]] Gitsompa with Varlock Keep being on its last toes against the green tide. [[Heresy|For some reason,]] Inquisitor Holt has prevented further reinforcements from assisting the local Knight house from being overwhelmed. Thankfully for Lady Solaria (The Matriarch of Verlock Keep), <s>Captain</s> [[Chapter Master]] [[Gabriel Angelos]] of the [[Blood Ravens]] ignored the [[Inquisitor|Inquisitor's]] decree and came to assist Lady Solaria's forces. During the fighting, Warboss [[Gorgutz]] led a counter attack to prove that he is the better overall leader then Gitstompa. Unfortunately the [[Eldar]] led by [[Autarch]] Kyre, came on Cyprus to mess everything up which forced Gorgutz to think of some [[Tactical genius|Tactical Genius]] which involves building a giant cannon, sabotage and [[Sindri|Sindri'ing Warboss Gitstompa]] so that Gorgutz would become defacto leader. Meanwhile, the breach in the decree led to Inquisitor Holt feeling all [[Butthurt|butthurt]] about this and tasked Ol'Gabe to defend Starfort Helios which has been overrun by Orks now led by Gorgutz. Both Holt and Gabe talked about the reason behind the starforts, in which they were designed as a barricade against the legendary planet Acheron which houses the legendary 'Spear of [[Khaine]]' in which Holt took great interests in attaining it for himself. As you can imagine, Gabe was quite suspicious over the Inquisitor's ambition and was even more suspicious over the Spear of Khaine whose intuition led Gabe to suspect of it as a [[Chaos|Chaotic corruption]] (Oh, how right he was).<br />
<br />
On the other hand of the spectrum, [[Farseer]] [[Macha]] led an Eldar warhost to aid Kyre who he himself is also after the Spear of Khaine. However, Macha is suspicious about Kyre's prophecy as it did not add up to Macha's own divination on what lies beyond Acheron. Macha was tasked by Kyre to kill Gabriel Angelos as he sees the Chapter Master as an obstacle to Kyre's own ambition, however Macha's relationship with Gabriel stretched all the way back [[Tartarus]]. Before she could accomplish this, [[Jonah Orion]] stood in Macha's way. Macha promptly kicked Jonah's ass and threaten to kill him if he did not tell her where <s>Macha's husbando</s> Gabriel Angelos is. However, being the shining beacon of bromance that is Gabe, the Chapter Master came to Macha's location to prevent her from killing his [[Gay|<s>boyfriend</s>]] most trusted [[Librarian]] butt budy. Macha attempted to throw her singing spear, Gabriel remembered that he was wearing terminator armour and singing spears are AP- and so managed to catch the damned weapon with his hands. Macha blasted him with Psychic shenanigans, took a thunder hammer to the face and either passed her Invuln save or benefited from the Eternal Warrior rule. Before they could end their little 'reunion' however, the planet Acheron arrived on the Cyprus system and shattered Starfort Helios, reigning space debris on where they fought (Seriously, Acheron is ECKS BAWKS HUEG, like Gas Giant size). Macha escaped whilst Gabe was left horrified over the fate of [[Chaplain]] [[Apollo Diomedes]] as it was Gabriel who ordered Diomedes to assist the resistance on Helios. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Gorgutz promptly [[PROMOTIONS|jizzed himself]] with all the loot being crash landed around him due to Helios' demise. Unfortunately, other gitz such as [[Weirdboy]] Zappnoggin and [[Big Mek]] Wazzmakka are fighting over the loot. After Gorgutz promptly bash their heads in and forced them to comply under his leadership, Gorgutz then led on a joyride to Starfort Charon so he could find out what the hell is going on in Acheron. Apparently ''how'' he managed to get onto the Starfort without getting shot down isn't worth worrying about (seriously, he's just there and hopping off a crashed craft without any further explanation). After blowing up the defenses of Charon with nothing more than a bunch of [[Gretchin]] with explosive grenades (seriously, you would think that the defenses of an Imperial Starfort would be a bit more secure), Gorgutz then used the opportunity of the disabled Starfort to land on Acheron without the worry of being blown up. On the other hand, Macha met with [[Ronahn]] to discuss on the potential craziness that is Kyre. Apparently, the reason why Ronahn was here and acting as a secret spy for Kyre was because Kyre [[Derp|somehow got his hands on]] [[Taldeer|Taldeer's]] soulstone due to some altercation with Ronahn. Apparently, Kyre is using Taldeer's prophecy as not only as to stroke Kyre's fragile ego but to also keep his legitimacy stable. Despite the fact that using another [[Craftworld|Craftworld's]] soulstone for nefarious purposes, especially one from [[Ulthwé]] should be enough to send half of the Craftworld's forces to shank Kyre's ass for [[Heresy]], this did not come to pass. After some discussions, Macha, Ronahn and [[Jain Zar]] (Who came to Macha's assistance to stop Kyre's foolish action that would further weakened the Biel-Tan craftworld) all agreed that Kyre's prophecy is nothing more than a steaming pile of [[Bullshit]] and will lead their people to ruin. Unfortunately Jain Zar didn't just tell everyone to stop follow Kyre because she didn't feel like it (yes seriously, she'd rather kill Eldar than that and there's a weak explanation on her trying to get Macha to realize her potential through the conflict) which would have ended the conflict immediately and stopped Eldar from killing each other. So Macha and Ronahn devise a plan to distract Kyre's forces with the aid of Gorgutz so they could sneak around and steal back Taldeer's soulstone instead. Macha and Ronahn also managed to convince Gorgutz to aid them by essentially waving the Spear of Khaine all over Gorgutz like he is some sort of attack dog. So with Gorgutz now in the race to get his 'Super Pointy Stikk', Dawn of War 3 has essentially turned into a Monty Python sketch with all three races bonking each other's heads so they can leap frog each other to get to the Spear first.<br />
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===Part 2: Acheron===<br />
On the other side of the theater, Gabe discussed with Captain Balthazar on board the Blood Raven's [[Battlebarge]] to retrieve Diomedes' [[Gene Seed|Gene Seed]] for he fears that he is dead. However, Inquisitor Holt being a shady motherfucking dick, threatened Gabriel not to go to the remains of Helios or else he would shoot Gabe's aircraft out of the sky. This understandably twisted Gabe's nipples to no end and secretly arranged Balthazar to [[Just as Planned|teleport]] Gabe on the remains of Starfort Helios. They agreed and Gabe was transported on the destroyed Starfort. What he saw disturbed Gabe as the remains of both the Starfort and its crew members was [[Grimdark|fused with the structures of Acheron]]. Fearing for the worst, Gabriel along with a group of [[Terminator|Terminators]] proceed to cleanse the area of both Orks and Eldar with sufficient [[Dakka]]. Once Gabriel found where Diomedes is located, to everyone's surprise, Apollo Diomedes has indeed survived due to [[Plot Armor|rolling a 1 on his To Wound/Destroyer roll and escaping unscathed]] (or maybe he just passed every Armour/Invuln save, he was wearing termie armour). After hearing the Inquisitor's actions, Diomedes was understandably [[Rage|pissed as fuck.]] Inquisitor Holt himself was displeased, but more pressing matters was at hand due to everyone wanting to get the Spear of Khaine.<br />
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On Acheron, Farseer Macha and her posse sneaked to where Taldeer is resting and proceed to [[Blood Ravens|'borrow it']] for their own uses. However, they were caught and were forced to flee, fortunately they completed their task and Kyre sighed in disappointment. Near the vault shielding the Spear of Khaine, Gabe and friends fought their way to destroy the Eldar. However, Inquisitor Holt decided that if a bunch of enemies are gathered in one spot, you might as well just nuke them and requested an orbital bombardment on the vault. Unfortunately it turns out shooting a door has a chance of blowing it open, which certainly happened and that was near where Gabriel's forces were (though he did at least warn Gabe with more than enough time for the Blood Ravens to flee), so Gabe ordered his brothers to flee and while remaining behind because he knew it would look really cool for the trailer. Apollo Diomedes and even Jonah Orion [[Rage|flipped their shit on the Inquisitor]], with Diomedes swearing he [[RIP AND TEAR|wants to rip Holt's head off and shit down his neck]] and Jonah calling Holt a fucking retard for even requesting orbital bombardment. Holt, feeling the heat of a chapter of pissed off [[Space Marines]] went and plead with Lady Solaria. [[Awesome|Solaria then laid down the sickest burn in the game, calling out Holt's cowardice in not only letting Solaria's house to die by the Ork invasion but also firing orbital bombardment near the position of Gabriel Angelos, she further states that no one would fear the incompetence and idiocy of a 'disgraced Inquisitor' threatening Holt that his ass is grass once she tells Holt's superiors on what he has done.]] Holt later put an ice pack on that burn and cried himself to sleep, but before he did, he told Solaria that Gabe may still be alive and what do you know, Gabriel ''IS'' alive since he watched the bombardment from a distance while taking advantage of that Iron Halo/Cataphractii Terminator re-roll bullshit. Gorgutz was also practically under the blast and he survives due to... [[Plot Armor|he just does.]]<br />
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Inside the vault on the true surface of Acheron, Autarch Kyre used Macha's supporters as leverage to draw her out and force her to comply to his will. Unfortunately for him, they were standing on an icy prison keeping a FUCK HUEG [[Greater Daemon]] of [[Khorne]] from escaping (yes, it is yet ''another'' reveal that [[Chaos]] is the ultimate big bad, [[Skub|Que more moaning and bitching that the plot is uninspired)]] and Macha rightly concluded that fighting would only wake it and that something was wrong with the spear. Naturally Kyre didn't listen and after an intense firefight of elf-on-elf violence, Macha then pleaded to Ronahn to let Taldeer's soulstone to be interned in a motherfucking [[Wraithknight]]. Ronahn as you can imagine, hesitated cause he is a good and dutiful brother and would never put his sister into harms way again; the situation however, was dire, thus Ronahn relented and became the co-driver with his sister. During the infighting, Kyre knew he was distracted and continued his campaign to retrieve the Spear. However, bad luck follows Kyre everywhere, and is forced to butt heads with Gorgutz army. These two both battled each other before Kyre won, grabbed the Spear of Khaine and attempt to slay Gorgutz. His plans were slightly hindered when a part of the blade broke and he was liquefied, as it turns out that the Spear was a [[Trap]] designed to spill the blood of the ambitious and greedy and to act as a blood ritual to release the daemon from its prison. Kyre did the 'Oh Shit!' look before ending up like [[Sindri Myr]] as daemon chow.<br />
<br />
===Part 3: Tartarus 2, Electric Boogaloo===<br />
With the daemon released, everyone promptly shat bricks. Macha and Taldeer then did a quick divination and found out that the only way to victory is get all three races to unite and spank the daemon to oblivion. Macha, somehow managed to convince Gorgutz to join her cause despite being backstabbed by Ronahn (Or as Gorgutz would like to call him, Ronny) whilst Gabriel has a....somewhat [[Love Can Bloom|intimate chat]] before he himself joined her cause. Unfortunately for Gabe, part of the ritual needed to defeat the daemon was [[Exterminatus|to blow up Acheron]]....[[Herp|with his own Battlebarge.]] Captain Balthazar overheard this and eagerly accepted his fate before [[Angry Marines|pile driving a seemingly fully loaded Battlebarge into the planet's crust]] in a spectacular display of [[Warhammer 40,000 8th edition|needless sacrifice'''s''']]. <br />
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Seriously, how many Blood Ravens were on the ship? Anyway, the ship blew up the mantle and hurtled the shrine housing the Spear of Khaine into orbit. You would think that the Battlebarge would have just [[Derp|fired its weapons or even have a Cyclonic Torpedo ready,]] but it seems the Imperium has a knack for [[World Engine|wasting expensive ships by]] [[First Tyrannic War|blowing itself up for myriad of reasons.]] On the other hand, Angelos and Balthazar did mention how the Daemon was shielding Acheron and how it took a trio of listening posts to guide the Battlebarge down to the surface; nevertheless, it still is retarded, because the Inquisition normally issues [[Exterminatus]] device approved for [[Chapter Master (game)|Space Marines]] to use by placing it directly on a planet's surface, or use [[Gabriel Angelos|Nemesis weaponry]] to [[Grey Knight|bannish the daemon]] [[Matt Ward|regardless of]] [[Spiritual Liege|his Wounds stats]]; and while it is possible that the Blood Ravens having [[Celestial Lions|bad relationships with the Inquisitor]] would have prevent them from getting one, they didn't even bother to ask and instead killed dozens or hundreds of battle-brothers wile wasting ressources the Blood Ravens can't afford to lose, proving therefore that the staff [[Games Workshop|didn't even know about it]]. <br />
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All three heroes were teleported onto the shrine (It would be safe to assume that all named elite heroes survived Acheron's destruction) by Macha's help to face the daemon. As explained, the previously seen ECKS BAWKS HUEG daemon the size of a Imperial Cruiser has now shrunk in size to be the same height as any old regular Greater Daemon. In a hilariously bizarre and completely un-Khornate way, the daemon AKA the Storm Prince, [[Wat|spends more time healing itself by literally drinking a fountain of]] [[Lulz|daemon kool-aid]]...[[FAIL|we wish we were joking.]] That and the fact that the daemon used [[Tzeentch|trickery of all things]] to set itself free (Spear of Khaine fiasco, daemonic doppelgangers, etc)...one must wonder how [[Khorne]] might have felt after learning that this jackass along with [[Firaeveus Carron|another failure]] continue to became such staunched followers of the Blood God. During the fight, Gabriel in a completely uncharacteristic way, acknowledged ignoring Macha's warnings back on Tartarus was a mistake which resulted in the devastation of the Blood Ravens in [[Dawn of War 2]], in which Macha in turn, uncharacteristically accepted it; but come on now, we all remember that her warnings were fully aimed at protecting the plot, not making things clear for the Blood Ravens & the Inquisitor on what they ought to do. After kicking the daemon to death, all three heroes departed to go their separate ways with Gorgutz finally getting his 'Super Pointy Stikk'/Spear of Khaine. [[What|Again, this is bizarrely uncharacteristic for all of them as we usually see an Eldar ending up backstabbing the Orks and Space Marines into muderfucking each other instead of simply...you know...keeping their promises. Maybe they decided to wait until their armies could rebuild?]] <br />
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Anyway, with the mission done, it is safe to assume that Inquisitor Holt is going to have his [[Anal Circumference|anus enlarged by fifteen meters]] over the shit he has done to Gabe and friends.<br />
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All in all, the last few missions was vaguely similar to the plot of the original [[Dawn of War]]. As both games ends with a cataclysmic fight against an agent of [[Chaos]] being freed from a millennia long prison that is disguised as an object of immense power, in which a gullible pawn thinks he can take it for his own benefit, only to be used as a sacrifice to free the daemon in a blood ritual. Both artifacts are seen by Gabriel Angelos to be malicious and needs to be destroyed with Macha warning Gabe about the true nature of both artifacts. The only difference is that Gabe actually listened to Macha for once on Acheron, thus making the ending of Dawn of War 3 more [[Noblebright]] than the original Dawn of War. <br />
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Oh yeah, the secret after credits ending depicts none other then the return of the [[Necrons]]. Which would probably be more impressive if the story hadn't pretty much stopped there with no sign of continuing.<br />
</div><br />
<br />
==Returning Characters==<br />
===Imperials (Blood Ravens)===<br />
* '''Chapter Master [[Gabriel Angelos]]:''' Returning with a ornate and badass looking set of Terminator Armor. Would be 100% badass if it weren't for the fact that he was capable of inexplicably jumping ([[C.S. Goto|and flipping!]]) several meters off the ground in said Terminator Armor (And the fact that he's no longer voiced by Paul Dobson *sob*). They try and explain this away by linking this ability to his hammer, but considering that Diomedes can do this too and we're not clear on how the hammer does it, it's still stupid. Spends most time battling with the other two factions to prevent them from obtaining the Spear of Khaine, as he suspects it may be corrupted. Some art has him standing at Primarch-grade height. He is loyal and thoughtful of his chapter to the point that he defended his new librarian buddy Jonah Orion from the [[Macha|jealous yandere-virgin]] as well as went against an inquisitor's order to try and give Diomedes last rites when the starfort Diomedes was on crashed into Acheron. Currently having a harem relationship with his librarian buddy Jonah Orion, Farseer Macha and Lady Solaria of the Varlock Imperial Knight house, probably Diomedes too.<br />
* '''Chief Librarian [[Jonah Orion]]:''' Promoted to Chief Librarian after surviving the battle against the chaos corrupted Chapter Master [[Azariah Kyras]]. Now sports a goatee and wearing fancy new armor. Is currently having a bromance relationship with his Chapter Master.<br />
* '''Chaplain [[Apollo Diomedes]]:'''' Returning as a Chaplain in terminator armor (sadly with a different vox box that actually makes him comprehensible). It was never explained why he became a Chaplain after his previous appearance. Must have felt so ashamed about serving a chaos tainted traitor so much that he couldn't bear the mantle of First Company Captain anymore. So now he's a Chaplain, sniffing out taint and making heretics...[[Asmodai|Repent]]. He is now loyal as ever to his chapter, so loyal that he nearly transforms into an [[Angry Marine]] after the stupid-made-manifest known as Inquisitor Damien Holt bombarded their Chapter Master Angelos. Most likely became a Chaplain because he was the one that took it as a job to cleanse the Chapter honor (by splitting the fucking head of his Chapter Master), and even saying at the end of the Retribution campaing that he cant serve the chapter as he was then.<br />
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===Eldar (Biel-Tan)===<br />
* '''Farseer [[Macha]]:''' Returning for the first time since the original Dawn of War, and looking (almost) exactly as she's been depicted in /tg/ art for years (other than a fancy hair ornament and wearing more clothes than said average depictions). Ostensibly working for Lord Kyre to get the Spear of Khaine for him, but appears to be suspicious of his real motives for doing so. Is somewhat tsundere with Gabriel Angelos and still pissed about the whole Maledictum thing. (Ultimately they're both at fault. She didn't explain to him why he shouldn't do what he did, but that doesn't preclude him from ''asking'', something we know he's good at, and he says himself he should have listened to her.)<br />
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===Eldar (Ulthwe)===<br />
* '''[[Ronahn]]:''' Also reappearing as the leader of a Ranger detachment and Kyre's spymaster, and only marginally less whiny than he was before. After losing Taldeer's soul stone on the way home to Kyre (which he is NOT happy about), he has been trying to recover his <s>waifu's</s> sister's soulstone and bring it back to Ulthwe, and so allies with Macha in a plan to undermine Kyre and get her soul stone back.<br />
* '''[[Taldeer]]:''' Apparently Taldeer's soul stone ended up being salvaged during Retribution, as she reappears as a <s>Wraithseer</s> [[Wraithknight]] with a big fucking sword after said soul stone is taken by Kyre. One of her prophecies as recounted in the trailers seems to refer to the impending conflict over the Spear of Khaine.<br />
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===Orks (Bad Moons)===<br />
* '''Warboss [[Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter]]:''' Returning during his absence after Soulstorm, Gorgutz is back with a bigger and badder power klaw (with a retractable chain, no less). He starts out in the service of another Warboss named Gitstompa, and apparently always planned to Sindri him (though the Eldar unwittingly turn him into the Warboss of the Bad Moons WAAAGH! after they kill Gitstompa, believing that killing him would scatter the Ork horde). He's racing against the other factions for the pointy-stick. At some point gets sort of tricked by Ronahn into fighting a heavily defended Eldar base defending the vaults entrance. Macha told him she wanted the other Eldar dead, and told them they were both trying to get the spear, but Ronahn "forgot" to mention the bit about their entrance being heavily defended, which somewhat makes Gorgutz a dumbass for actually trusting dem sneaky knife ears. In the end Gorgutz is ''technically'' the canon winner because he went away with his "pointy stikk" once the daemon was slain, though they did ''let'' him get away with it and the Spear itself was depowered due to the daemon no longer being inside of it.<br />
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===Others===<br />
* '''Brian Dobson:''' The only VA from the first and second series to return. He voices generic Space Marines, Orks and Eldar.<br />
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==New Characters==<br />
===Imperials (Blood Ravens)===<br />
* '''Captain Balthazar:''' A Captain of the Blood Ravens and serves as the mission briefer.<br />
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===Imperials (Others)===<br />
* '''Lady Rebek Solaria:''' Head of House Varlock of Cyprus Ultima and pilot of the Imperial Knight, Drakaina. Drakaina is equipped with two avenger cannons that'll deal more damage when heated up. Becomes BFFs with Angelos after he saves Varlock Keep from Orks (against Inquisitor Holt's orders).<br />
* '''Inquisitor Damien Holt:''' An Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos that seeks the wandering world, Acheron, for the Spear of Khaine. [[Chenkov|He plays the role of asshole cold blooded strategist that gives little regard to his allies like they were pawns in a chess game]] but without any actual strategy to speak of; apparently Relic decided that [[Mordecai Toth|Inquisitor Toth]] from the first Dawn of War and [[Inquisitor Adrastia]] from the second were too sane and reasonable for gamers to handle. The Imperial forces he's working with, Imperial Knights of House Varlock and The Blood Ravens, both hate his guts. The Varlock House hate him for abandoning them to a massive Ork invasion. The Blood Ravens, wary of his obsession with a Warp-tainted xenos artifact, despised the inquisitor for his willingness to waste their battle-brothers' lives for the Spear, which culminated in launching an orbital bombardment on their chapter master Gabriel Angelos to break into the Spear's complex. [[Rage|This made the Blood Ravens so mad]] that Diomedes, the Chaplain, was going to shove a BAAAANEBLADE up the inqisitor's arse only to be stopped by Jonah Orion, who reminds him that they can let the rest of the Inquisition do so later. No relation to [[Commissar Holt]].<br />
* '''Deathwatch Kill-Team Ironmaw:''' They compose of a Dark Angel, a Blood Angel, a Crimson Fist, a [[Ultramarines|Smurf]] and are led by one of everyone's favourite [[Space Wolves|space vikings]]. In multiplayer, the Ultramarine is replaced by a space marine from the chapter you selected via army painter.<br />
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===Eldar (Biel-Tan)===<br />
* '''Autarch Kyre:''' Leader of the Biel-Tan warhost and seeks to obtain the Spear of Khaine. The asshole that led even more Eldar to die in a pointless campaign for some legendary shiny (not to mention him ignoring the Soulstones of his fallen warriors instead of collecting them, which should tell just how asshole he is), and stole Taldeer's Soulstone for good measure (which Macha and Ronahn both note could very well lead to a war between their Craftworld should Ulthwe learn about it). He hired Ronahn as his spymaster only to be betrayed by him. He still got the spear in the end, after fighting Gorgutz for it and cheated using psyker power. Turns out the spear contained a greater daemon of khorne and was possessed by it, after the spear itself shattered as Kyre tried to strike Gorgutz with it... [[Castellan Crowe|which is just weird]], even for a plot device, because daemon weapons are empowered by the daemon's presence, not structurally weakened by it. So arrogant that even the other Eldar can't stand him. <br />
* '''[[Jain Zar]]:''' Phoenix Lord (Lady?) of the Howling Banshees and the first of the Phoenix Lords to be featured in a video game adaptation (Granted, she's also in Eternal Crusade, but has yet to fully appear in that game). Has seen Acheron before and that Eldar have been fighting over the spear for millennia. None so far has succeeded in recovering it.<br />
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===Orks (Bad Moons)===<br />
* '''Wazzmakka:''' Da most byotiful Big Mek dere is. He dont call her beauty for er' looks! Very fond of tellyportas.<br />
* '''Zappnoggin:''' A Weirdboy who sounds surprisingly sane-ish for an ork whose head can explode at any time. Has rather un-orky ideas about not getting into fights that he can't win, which he says has let him live a long time (by Ork standards, anyway).<br />
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==Differences and New Things==<br />
The game attempts to blend the best parts of the first two, featuring base building and massive armies alongside summonable elite units who can sway the course of battle. The game also features doctrines similar to those from [[/v/|Company of Heroes 2]]. Unlike in Company of Heroes 2, you may take up to three Doctrines, with some being connected to specific elite units. Secondly, the Doctrines do not give bullshit like +4% to ranged damage, but either unlock abilities for specific units or upgrade the existing abilities of others (like upgrading the Dreadnoughts to gain charge attacks and shields after executing slam attacks, giving Dire Avengers Holo-Fields, or giving Deffkoptas Buzzsaws). Relic's aim was to make their latest game the most accessible, including features such as a minimalistic UI, icons to represent effects like suppression, and easy-to-read descriptors for most abilities. It is the first Dawn of War game to only feature three factions at launch rather than four, though the included factions do have more units available at launch than they did in previous titles.<br />
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Another change is the new cast of voice actors (whom according to the developers comprise of VA's from their previous title [[Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine]]). This has been met with some amount of [[rage]] from fans, most notably those who wished for the return of Paul Dobson as Angelos.<br />
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Armies are now divided into standard soldiers (things like [[Tactical Squad|Tactical Marines]], [[Dire Avengers]], and [[Ork Boy|Boyz]] as well as vehicles) and elites (which includes the likes of named characters, [[Terminators]], and Imperial Knights). The former act like standard RTS units, performing most of the legwork as well as adding bulk to your army, while the latter are more powerful units with abilities that can change the tide of battle. <s>In both campaign and multiplayer, players collect said elites by farming skulls (no, we're not kidding. [[RAGE|all three factions are Khornate for some reason]])</s> Not anymore, skulls have been removed. Everyone has access to all Elites and doctrines from the get-go (save for those that are unlocked by leveling up elites). Elite units can level up based on how many enemies they killed during each game, though these level-ups don't improve them in any way, they just unlock exotic paints and new skins. Among them there are really powerful units that are showing up for the first time in the series (such as [[Imperial Knight|Imperial Knights]], [[Wraithknight|Wraithknights]], and [[Gorkanaut|Gorkanauts]]). At the very least, the presence of troop units to back up the elites could mean that the rest of the Blood Ravens 4th Company might actually be getting off their asses and doing something this time around.<br />
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As mentioned previously, the campaign switches between [[Blood Ravens]], [[Orks]], and [[Eldar]] every mission. While the attempt to incorporate all three factions is appreciated, and it is marginally better than Retribution's approach, the constant switching between three vastly different playstyles can be very jarring.<br />
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Markedly absent is a sequel/expansion of Dawn of War II's [[Last Stand]] mode which, given that Last Stand was popular enough to become it's own standalone spinoff product, is likely a deliberate omission. Thus far small fan interest exists in seeing Last Stand return.<br />
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==Pre-Release Reactions==<br />
The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7JNTfrK3Yk 12 minute exclusive gameplay] released shortly after the trailer drew quite a lot of [[Skub|ire.]] With many complaining on the way it looks (having a cleaner, more colorful aesthetic in comparison to previous titles) with rumors that the team developing Dawn of War III was trying to piggyback [[Blizzard|Starcraft]] [[RAGE|of all games]] to the animation lacking the weight and grit of the previous Dawn of War games. Special mentions go to the fighting style animations of [[Gabriel Angelos|old Gabe]] [[What|whose sudden usage of backflips, frontflips and jumping like a 5 ton ballerina on crack]] [[Fail|despite wearing terminator armor]] [[RAGE|drew accusations that one of the lead creators of this game]] [[C.S. Goto|might be a small, black leprechaun with a fetish of Multilasers and backflipping Terminators.]] Hell, the goddamn Lascannons don't fire a [[Indrick Boreale|quick, charged, devastating single shot]] but instead its a [[lance|laser weapon that does more damage the longer it's trained on it's target]]. <br />
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Later interviews and bits of information released did little to ease the [[Skub|ire.]] Including the lead director confirming that sync-kills have been removed, Assault Marines being considered [[What|"light armor"]] units, the dynamic movement system introduced in II being removed, and fall back mechanics are also gone. At this point from a community standpoint, you were either absolutely behind these changes, or were watching something your were previously looking forward to turn into an absolute shitshow; with very little middle ground to be found. And it really doesn't help that their methods of explaining away some of the lore breaking shit seems to come directly from our [[C.S. Goto|good old friend]]. Notably they tried to explain the backflipping Terminator armor by saying that [[What|his hammer has a shard of an Avatar in it]]. This also happened to be an idea made by the Irish leper, and even if it was canon the developers never mentioned what this actually did to give Angelos the ability to backflip, making this move look like a hand-wave to shut the fans up.<br />
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Reactions to the beta did little to assuage the divide in the community. Some, like AngryJoe, thoroughly enjoyed it, while others, like TotalBiscuit, seemed to be completely turned off by it.<br />
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Voice Acting has taken a big change, with Relic opting to go for an all British cast (except for Brian Dobson) rather than using their stable of Ocean Group VAs from previous titles. The rationale behind this is that having British voice actors makes the game more authentic to 40K's British roots, and totally not because of the ongoing voice actors strike against major video game publishers in North America that Sega, and thus Relic, isn't affected by anyway.<br />
<br />
==Post-Release==<br />
{{editwar}}<br />
After the game was released, the reception was [[Skub|mixed]] to say the least. Those who like the game say that the traditional "build and conquer" RTS campaign is a refreshing change for those who didn't like Dawn of War II's [[Diablo]]-style campaign, and while Paul Dobson is sorely missed, the rest of the voice cast isn't too bad. The Elites system is a natural progression from Dawn of War II, and the Ork's [[WAAAGH]]! mechanic is one of the best things ever put into a Dawn of War game. Additionally, they point out that while the power core mode is too simple, it does give a good introduction to the RTS genre for those who are brand new rather than just throwing them to the wolves like other games. <br />
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Those who don't like the game are of the opinion that Relic under Sega gutted what made Dawn of War popular in the first place and turned it into something uninspired and boring by comparison, as it simplified or stripped out many of the iconic elements of the series, such as sync-kills, the cover system and wargear. Many who liked the Dawn of War II campaign aren't fans of a more traditional RTS campaign, and some also feel that the races play too similarly aside from one or two gimmick mechanics. The game also has multiple lore inconsistencies, such as Eldar with shields and [[C.S. Goto|backflipping Terminators]], although to be fair, [[Dawn of War: Soulstorm|it isn't alone]] [[Azariah_Kyras|in this respect]]. Basically, [[Age of Sigmar|Relic significantly altered their popular product to attract a wider audience, and ended up alienating a large portion of their established fanbase.]]<br />
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The decision to focus on simplification and balance in multiplayer was likely an intentional design choice considering the dev teams wanted Dawn of War to develop a competitive scene (seemingly ignoring the fact that people never really picked up Dawn of War for competitive multiplayer). However, unlike good competitive games like Starcraft, Counterstrike, and DOTA, Power Core mode did it in a very simplistic manner that made it feel like the "strategy" part of RTS had been all but sucked out.<br />
<br />
Sales-wise, the game didn't do well in comparison to it's predecessors. While the original [[Dawn of War]] has sold over 6 million copies since 2011 and the was heralded with critical acclaim upon release, and [[Dawn of War II]] took the #1 spot on western sales charts during it's initial release; Dawn of War III didn't raise too much attention apart from standard fanfare, with a [[Skub|mixed response from the community]], and game critics saying it was good, but ultimately [[FAIL|flawed]]. According to [https://steamspy.com/app/285190 Steamspy's estimates], the game's digital sales barely broke a quarter million sales as of July 2017, which is not a good sign for a highly anticipated AAA game series.<br />
<br />
[http://steamcharts.com/app/285190#All It didn't help that the playerbase declined sharply post-release], a clear sign that it just didn't make the impact people expected from the series. [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/1332350869595289198 While Relic seemed to be listening to the community's concerns,] the game was never able to recover from its downward spiral. This being said, they released mod tools, and a small but dedicated group of modders have been working on tweaking the game and adding new units. <br />
<br />
Overall, the game is [[skub]] incarnate, being nearly unrecognizable in comparison to it's predecessors. [[Nurgle|One side hates it for being too overly simple for a strategy game and deviating too far from the things that defined DoW from the beginning,]] [[Tzeentch|while another side is retarded.]]<br />
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[[File:DoW3 Annihilation.jpg|300px|right|thumb]]<br />
===The Annihilation Update===<br />
On June 13th 2017, [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/1332350869595289198 Relic announced the addition of Annihilation mode to the game], along with turrets, a new map, and skins for the super-heavies as Free-LC. On June 20th, [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2663165213085204247 the Annihilation Update dropped] and, it was actually pretty good. The removal of railroady objectives and the addition of a wide open map added a significant amount of depth to the game that was previously lacking, allowing players to take advantage of several mechanics that were previously hamstrung by power core mode. By this point however, too much of the player base had been alienated by power core mode and they weren't willing to come back and give the game another go, so the player count kept declining.<br />
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[[File:DoW3 Endless War.jpg|300px|right|thumb]]<br />
===The Endless War Update===<br />
On October 19th 2017, Relic released the [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2973925069475244397 Endless War Update], which added a bunch of additional content to the game. For starters, each faction has been given an additional Elites choice; the [[Dreadnought#Castraferrum_Pattern|Ironclad Dreadnought]] for Space Marines, the [[Wraithseer]] for Eldar, and the Lifta-Droppa Battlewagon for the Orks, which is basically a [[Awesome|Battlewagon armed with a massive Traktor Kannon]]. We also got three new maps, one themed for each faction, and some more Elites skins, including [[Deathwing]] Terminators, a [[Primaris Chaplain]], and [[Salamanders|Bray'arth Ashmantle]].<br />
<br />
==The End Times Hath Come==<br />
On February 8th 2018, [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-02-08-relic-leaves-dawn-of-war-3-behind-as-it-moves-on-to-new-projects Relic announced they were officially stepping away from Dawn of War III], citing low player counts as the chief reason.<br />
<br />
While Dawn of War 3 has a dedicated player base, it didn't hit the targets we were expecting at launch, and it hasn't performed the way we had hoped since. It's been tough for us as professionals who want to make great games for our players, and for us as people who care a lot about what we do. When a game underperforms, plans need to change. With Dawn of War 3, we simply don't have the foundation we need to produce major content. We're working in close partnership with Sega and Games Workshop to determine the best course of action, while shifting focus to other projects within our portfolio.<br />
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Given this, the [https://community.dawnofwar.com/discussion/15957/patch-upload-as-of-05-feb-2018 February 8th patch] was likely just Relic releasing whatever work they'd finished on the proposed expansion and fixing a couple remaining bugs before bidding the game farewell. With Relic now focusing primarily on Age of Empires IV, Dawn of War III has potentially become a Franchise Killer, though Relic and Sega are apparently in talks with [[Games Workshop|GW]], so time will tell. It should be noted that while Relic has no plans to produce major content, they are still patching and maintaining the game as well as putting out occasional Free-LC skins.<br />
<br />
===Dawn of War III Is Dead! Long Live Dawn of War III!===<br />
A small but growing community of fans and modders have been rallying together in an attempt to resurrect Dawn of War III through Twitch streams, community game nights, and new mods. The goal is to generate enough interest to get Relic to return to the game, or at least release more mod tools so the fans can pick up where they left off, and if not that, then at least to keep the community alive. In the words of the site's founder, "We cannot let it fall into the hands of Chaos, so we shall stand proudly and 'SAVE DA GAEM.'" Game night schedules and other information about the community can be found at [https://www.dawnofwarrealm.com/ Dawn of War Realm.] The surprise comeback of No Man's Sky [https://www.pcgamer.com/which-game-deserves-a-no-mans-sky-style-comeback/?ns_campaign=article-feed&amp;ns_mchannel=ref&amp;ns_source=steam&amp;ns_linkname=0&amp;ns_fee=0 further fueled the fires of hope.]<br />
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== See Also ==<br />
* [https://www.dawnofwar.com/ The Official Dawn of War site]<br />
* [http://store.steampowered.com/app/285190/Warhammer_40000_Dawn_of_War_III/ Dawn of War III on Steam]<br />
* [https://www.dawnofwarrealm.com/ Dawn of War Realm, the fansite trying to resurrect the game]<br />
* [http://modding.dawnofwar.com/ Want to make a mod for the game? Start here.]<br />
* [[Dawn of War Mods#Dawn of War III Modding|The list of /tg/-approved mods]]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyLLeKcxw24U2fT8iOowRbzBHsulCAizV The game's soundtrack, which also includes a clean version of the trailer theme]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6lUjVLPU04 WAAAAAAAAAGHH!!]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfEp-ZuwiGE&t Totalbiscuit's review of the game, which highlights a number of problems from the perspective of someone who enjoyed the previous two titles.]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OCWQelkjBg ZoranTheBear and ThunderPsyker's overview of the game, offering the opinions of a newcomer to the franchise and a veteran, respectively]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeWRQ2w0cT0 Arch-Warhammer's review of the game]<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPDTt_GOdyY Adam Millard's analysis of why the game failed. He does an excellent job discussing the issues of Dawn of War III while remaining fairly neutral and analytical.]<br />
* [https://steamdb.info/app/285190/graphs/ Here are the game sales stats].<br />
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==Gallery==<br />
<center><br />
<gallery><br />
Image:Don'tWorryDieHappy.gif|Don't Worry, Die Happy<br />
Image:DoW3 Menu.jpg|The Main Menu, which shows the elites and paint scheme you currently have equipped.<br />
Image:DoW3 Army Painter.jpg|The Army Painter<br />
Image:DoW3 Elites Menu.jpg|The Elites Menu<br />
Image:This has been dark work.PNG|[https://youtu.be/CjnvZtYl2fA?t=20s One fan's reaction] [http://steamcommunity.com/games/dawnofwar/announcements/detail/2316393822047631108 to the announcement of incoming modding tools]<br />
Image:PrimarisAngelos.png|The [[Blood_Ravens#Bloody_Magpies|REAL reason]] for Gabriel Angelos' [[Primaris Marines|changes]] (the Godsplitter bullshit is just what they tell other loyalists who [[Inquisition|get too nosy]])<br />
File:RetributionGabriel.JPG | Gabriel's Cut Original Model found Within Dawn of War III World Builder.<br />
File:StandardofKaurava.JPG | Wargear Found in Dawn of War II Chaos Rising showing that relic did indeed plan for Gorgutz to win Soulstorm.<br />
</gallery><br />
</center><br />
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[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Video Games]][[Category:Dawn of War]]</div>2600:8801:B300:83D0:7D30:1696:2476:3BBD