Important Notes
Important Notes for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II
Overview
This section covers critical warnings, common pitfalls, irreversible decisions, missable content, difficulty spikes, grinding traps, online etiquette (including anti-cheat), save management strategies, and things players frequently regret not knowing earlier. Understanding these will save you frustration and enhance your experience.
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Warnings and Pitfalls
- Cover is everything: In Dawn of War II, units in cover take drastically less damage and gain accuracy bonuses. Always move your squads from cover to cover. Standing in the open, even for a few seconds, can result in instant squad wipes against ranged enemies.
- Suppression is lethal: Heavy weapons and certain Tyranid units (like Zoanthropes) suppress your troops, pinning them and making them easy targets. Always suppress dangerous positions with your own heavy weapons or use abilities to break suppression (e.g., Force Commander's Charge).
- Melee requires micro: Don't just charge into melee. Use abilities like the Assault Marine's jump pack to close distance, but watch for counter-charges. Melee units (especially Tyranid Warriors) can shred ranged squads if unopposed.
- Don't ignore side missions: In the campaign, side missions (marked on the map) often reward valuable wargear tokens and experience. Skipping them can leave you underpowered for late-game missions.
- Resource management: You have limited requisition and power in each mission. Don't waste resources on unupgraded squads; invest in wargear and abilities that synergize with your playstyle.
- Campaign choices: At several points, you must choose which planet or mission to undertake next. Some missions become permanently unavailable if you don't complete them before a story progression. For example, after completing Act II, all Tyranid-controlled side missions on Meridian are locked out. Prioritize side missions before advancing the main story.
- Wargear selection: Wargear tokens are permanent unlocks. While you can swap wargear between missions, you cannot sell or destroy it. Choose wisely when equipping your heroes—each has limited slots (e.g., Force Commander has 4 weapon/armor slots, 2 support slots). Don't hoard; equip best available.
- Hero deaths (skirmish only): In skirmish and multiplayer, once a hero is killed, they cannot be revived until the end of the match. In campaign, heroes can be revived if you retreat before they fully die, but if the entire squad dies, they are lost for that mission. No permanent death though.
- Missable achievements: Some achievements are tied to specific mission conditions (e.g., complete a mission without losing a squad). Check the achievement list early to avoid replaying the entire campaign.
- The Last Stand mode: This is a separate cooperative wave-defense mode. Unlockable items and experience in The Last Stand carry over across sessions, but do not affect the single-player campaign. Don't ignore it if you enjoy PvE co-op.
- First major boss: The Tyranid Warrior boss on the mission "The Supply Depot" can be punishing if you haven't upgraded your squads. Use cover, focus fire with anti-armor weapons (like Plasma Gun), and keep your squads spread to avoid AoE damage.
- Chaos Lord encounter: The Chaos Lord in Act III has powerful melee attacks and a summon ability. Bring at least one squad with suppression (Heavy Bolter) to pin his minions, and use the Force Commander's Charge to interrupt his special attacks.
- Last Stand Wave 10+: In The Last Stand, enemy toughness scales rapidly. Coordination with teammates and proper gear (especially defensive relics) is essential. A common trap is hoarding points—spend them on abilities and upgrades between waves.
- Multiplayer ladder: In versus modes, expect skilled opponents early on. Start with unranked or co-op matches to learn maps and faction counters. The learning curve is steep due to no base-building—map control and harassment are key.
- Wargear farming: There is no grinding required in the campaign—experience and tokens come naturally from playing. Replaying missions to farm tokens is inefficient; you get better loot from new missions. Focus on progressing the story.
- The Last Stand gear grinding: Some players try to repeatedly play early waves for gear drops. This is slow. Instead, push as far as you can each run; better loot drops at higher wave counts. Use the weekly challenge for bonus rewards.
- Multiplayer experience: Don't grind against AI to level your multiplayer rank—it offers minimal experience. Play real matches to improve faster and earn more XP.
- Anti-cheat: Dawn of War II on Steam uses Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC). Cheating (e.g., speed hacks, infinite resources) will result in a VAC ban. Do not use third-party mods or trainers in multiplayer. Campaign and co-op (The Last Stand) are generally safe for mods, but avoid them in ranked play.
- Lobby behavior: Communicate with teammates, especially in co-op. Use ping markers to indicate targets. In PvP, avoid quitting early—it ruins the experience for others. Matches are relatively short (15-30 minutes).
- Faction variety: Don't always pick the same race. Learning all factions (Space Marines, Orks, Eldar, Tyranids) makes you a better player and helps you counter them.
- Lag and disconnects: Host migration is not supported. If the host leaves, the match ends. Check your connection before hosting. Use wired internet if possible.
- Auto-save only: The campaign does not allow manual saves. The game auto-saves at the start of each mission and at certain checkpoints. If you lose a mission completely, you restart from the last auto-save (usually the mission start). There is no ironman mode, but you cannot reload mid-mission to fix a mistake without restarting.
- Quit and resume: You can exit a mission and return later—the auto-save will load you at the last checkpoint. Note: if you quit mid-mission, your progress since the last checkpoint is lost.
- Multiple playthroughs: To experience all content (e.g., different wargear choices, faction story variants in expansion), you may need to start a new campaign. No save-file editing tools are officially supported; back up your save folder (located in `%USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Games\Dawn of War II\`) manually before modding.
- Multiplayer settings: Your multiplayer profile, hotkeys, and settings are saved separately. You can copy this file to other PCs.
- Always spend wargear tokens before starting a new mission—they don't carry over unused.
- In The Last Stand, coordinate with teammates on gear roles (tank, healer, damage).
- If you experience crashes, try lowering graphics settings (especially effects quality) and verifying game files via Steam.
- Join the Dawn of War community Discord for build advice and group play.
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Irreversible Choices and Missable Content
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Difficulty Spikes
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Grinding Traps
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Online Etiquette and Anti-Cheat
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Save Management Advice
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Things Players Commonly Regret Not Knowing Earlier
1. Squad abilities are game-changers: Each squad has active abilities that are easy to overlook. For example, the Scout's "Stealth" and "Demolition Charge" are crucial for flanking. The Apothecary's healing beam keeps squads alive. Unlock and bind abilities to hotkeys early.
2. Scout ahead with stealth units: In campaign, use the Scout's cloak to reveal enemy positions before engaging. This prevents ambushes and lets you plan cover positions.
3. Retreat button works on all squads: Press the retreat button (default `R`) to order a squad to fall back to the base. Use it when a squad is taking heavy fire—do not wait until models die.
4. You can pause during single-player: Press `Pause/Break` key to pause the game and issue orders. This is immensely helpful for microing abilities in tough fights.
5. Wargear slots are limited: Don't equip ammunition upgrades on every soldier—they take up a slot that could be used for armor or support items. Prioritize upgrades that match your squad's role.
6. The game penalizes snowballing: In multiplayer, if you lose your hero early, the enemy gains a huge advantage. Protect your hero at all costs.
7. Camera zoom can help: Use the mouse wheel to zoom out for a strategic view. Keeping the camera at medium distance helps you spot flanking maneuvers.
8. Sound cues matter: Certain enemy abilities (like a Chaos Sorcerer's Warp Storm) have distinctive sound effects. Listen for them to dodge or interrupt.
9. Allied AI can be directed: In campaign, you can give attack-move orders to allied squads (like the Guard squads in some missions) by selecting them and clicking. They are under your control.
10. The game has a high skill ceiling: Don't get discouraged by early losses in multiplayer. Watch replays and learn from your mistakes. Use the practice tool to test builds.
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Final Tips
Remember: Dawn of War II is a tactical game. Patience, positioning, and smart ability usage will always triumph over raw aggression.