Thirdfain's Dawn of War Guide: Chaos

[Thirdfain]

Welcome, pilgrims. I've been playing a lot of Dawn of War lately, and have decided I ought to impart the wisdom I've garnered to the assembled masses. Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be posting guides to the units of the different sides, along with anecdotes in their use in battle and general advice for the excellent RTS called Dawn of War. The purpose of these guides will not be to present total strategies or builds, but rather, to evaluate the units on each side in an in-depth fashio based on their performance ingame, allowing the now-informed reader to craft his or her own strategies.

So, without further ado, I present:

Thirdfain's Dawn of War Guide:
Chaos

My most recent set of games have been played as the foul (but delightful!) forces of Chaos. I've garnered a good deal of experience fighting a variety of people from around the world online, and my last couple of games, ranging from 5 minute rushes to hour-long seige wars, have brought the Forces of Chaos into the light. I'll now discuss each of the Chaos units, using the following system.

Each unit will have 6 characteristics, describing the major uses units have on the battlefield. Each of these characteristics will recieve from 0-4 stars.
0 stars means the unit lacks that attribute completely, 1 means they are poor in that department, 2 means they are mediocre, 3, good, and 4, outstanding. Some stats will have dashes instead of stars, these represent a range of effefctiveness based on upgrades and wargear.

The statistics are as follows:
Durability: The unit's resistance to being killed off. This covers it's resistance to taking losses. When applied to vehilces, this covers it's hitpoints. A vehicle may have less Durability than an infantry unit, still absorb huge fire from non-antitank weapons.
Stoicism: The unit's resistance to suppression and fear. This covers it's moral and it's ability to stand up to suppression attacks. All vehicles have 4 stars in suppression by their very nature.
Suppression: The unit's ability to disrupt enemy formations through firepower or potent attacks. "Knockdown" power, such as artillery units have.
Fearsomeness: Unit's ability to break enemy morale.
Lethality: Unit's ability to cut down enemy soldiers, inflicting losses and squandering the enemy's resources.
Antitank: Unit's ability to defeat enemy armour and special creatures.

So it begins!

Cultists
Durability: XX
Stoicism: X
Suppression: -
Fearsomeness: X
Lethality: X-
Antitank:

Cultists are very poor units all around, but they are very cheap and are available early on. While their awful stats may turn one away from the Cultist, they have a number of good traits. Firsstly, they can be rapidly massed and sent into hand-to-hand in the early "skirmish" phase of the game. This can tie down enemy ranged units while your marines cut them down with fire. Additionally, when equipped with grenade launchers, they have some suppression, which is important. With plasma rifles, they can exhibit decent lethality as well, cutting down Possessed, Space Marines, and other hard targets.

Chaos Space Marines
Durability: XX
Stoicism: XX
Suppression: -
Fearsomeness: X-
Lethality: XX-
Antitank: ---

Chaos Space Marines are killer units across the board, and depending on the weapons they are equipped with, can be potent killers or crush enemy morale in seconds. They have decent moral and hitpoints themselves, and can carry special weapons. Heavy Bolters and Plasma rifles make them quite lethal in a firefight against enemy light or heavy infantry, while missile launchers offer suppression and anti-tank power, and flamethrowers smash morale. It should be noted that in the late-game, ranged firepower is paramount. Loading Marines with flamethrowers or plasma rifles can crush the enemy in the early "skirmish" phase, but late-game, long range weapons are vital.

Raptors
Durability: XX
Stoicism: XX
Suppression: XX
Fearsomeness: X-
Lethality: XX-
Antitank:

Raptors are fast melee units equipped with jump-packs, and are notable mostly for their decent suppression. Nothing kills an army like a line of enemy marines with deployed heavy weapons or a wall of Reapers. Landing a couple units of raptors in their midst, to play havoc with their heavy guns, can grant you the precious time you need to bring your troops into range. Raptors are decent at this, but don't expect it to avail you much in a very pitched battle, where a handful of fairly fragile units may be slaughtered before they have time to disrupt the enemy formation.

Horrors
Durability: XX
Stoicism: XX
Suppression:
Fearsomeness: XX
Lethality: XX
Antitank:

Horrors do excellent damage versus infantry, but their attack isn't very long ranged and they, while durable, can't be reinforced. For the same price in Infantry population, you can field the far superior Chaos Marines. Late game, these guys are wasted meat. Early game, they are powerful for cutting down infantry, but you'd be better off spending the construction time on the far nastier Possessed Marines.

Possessed Marines
Durability: XXX
Stoicism: XX
Suppression: X-
Fearsomeness: XX--
Lethality: XX-
Antitank: X

Possessed are dead hard vicious melee fighters, and can truly screw up an enemy's battle-plans. Unupgraded, they are potent killers. Upgraded with armor peircing claws, they rip apart all infantry and can harm vehicles. Upgraded with daemonfire, they are a terror which crushes enemy morale in a matter of seconds. Though fast, they can't jumpjet, so they'll take heavy losses when charging an enemy heavy weapons line. Uses a Rhino transport to move them into striking distance safely.

Obliterators
Durability: XXX
Stoicism: XXX
Suppression:
Fearsomeness: XXX
Lethality: XXXX
Antitank: XXX

Obliterators are pretty damn expensive, but they have an incredible array of weapons and can deal out serious damage. Their combination of antitank lasers, antinfantry assault cannon, and heavy flamers allow them to smash enemy bodies, morale, and vehicles. Their drawbacks are their high cost and the fact you don't get them till late game. These are mostly a pretty toy for the late game when you are rich enough it doesn't matter. They have no suppression ability.

Chaos Rhino
Durability: X
Stoicism: XXXX
Suppression:
Fearsomeness:
Lethality:
Antitank:

These armored transports aren't that well amored, but they are fast and will last long enough to bring their cargo of screaming Possessed into melee range. For this alone they are worth the tiny pricetag.

Chaos Predator
Durability: XX
Stoicism: XXXX
Suppression:
Fearsomeness: X--
Lethality: X-
Antitank: X---

The Chaos Predator can mount either antitank or antinfantry weapons, and is very fast. When packed with anti-infantry weapons, it is a decent tool for cutting down soldiers- it's autocannon kills morale, and it's twin Heavy Bolters provide a nasty shock. It really shines, however, as an antitank platform. Equipped with 4 lascannons, it can rip apart enemy special creatures and vehicles in no time. It has decent armor, but won't survive especially long vs. heavy enemy antitank fire. Expensive, though...


Defiler
Durability: X
Stoicism: XXXX
Suppression: XXXX
Fearsomeness: XXXX
Lethality: XXX
Antitank: XX

The Defiler is an absolutely killer peice of weaponry. It has 4 weapons- a pair of claws, a heavy flamer, an autocannnon, and a ranged artillery piece. This allows the Defiler to be devastating at all ranges. As a suppression tool, the Defiler's cannons can turn an enemy assault into a disordered mass. It's weapons can cut down infantry in short order, and it's claws can tear infantry and tanks alike into little bitty peices. I've found the Defiler to be worth far more bang for the buck than the Predator. A half-dozen Defilers mixed in with your Marine line can provide a rain of shells which makes enemy attack almost useless. Additionally, the Defiler's potent melee skills allow it to rip apart enemy air-dropped Dreadnoughts and jump-units, rendering those two popular suppression tools worthless. The Defiler's one weakness is it's low hitpoints. Lightly armored, you would be wise to keep enemy fire from your defilers through clever usage of screening infantry. My favorirte Chaos unit by far, I've held off and beaten twice my number with a Marine line, some possessed in a Rhino, and a half-dozen Defilers.

Bloodthirster
Durability: XXXX
Stoicism: XXXX
Suppression: XX
Fearsomeness: XX
Lethality: XXX
Antitank: XXXX

The Bloodthirster is a huge daemon, and is the Chaos special unit. It can fly, it can smash vehicles and units alike with it's huge axe, and it's very hard to kill. The Bloodthirster does great damage, but for it's cost, has only modest suppression and fearsome stats. I'd describe it as a fun anti-tank weapon, good for landing amongst the enemy and absorbing their fire while it kills their armor and your infantry advance.
Also, it's immune to your own suppression weaponry. A Bloodthirster marching in while shells are raining in from your Defilers can exact a horrific tolll on the enemy.

NEXT WEEK:
Chaos: Strategies, Early to Late Game

[Captain tycho]

Actually, I must disagree with your assesment of Obliterators. They do crap damage against all targets, and can only reinforce up to four or so. They're decent if your in a pinch, as they're actually rather cheap, but I would use CSMs over them anyday. Their only real combat advantages are teleportation and their inability to be broken.

Other than that, great guide.

[Thirdfain]

Actually, I must disagree with your assesment of Obliterators. They do crap damage against all targets, and can only reinforce up to four or so. They're decent if your in a pinch, as they're actually rather cheap, but I would use CSMs over them anyday. Their only real combat advantages are teleportation and their inability to be broken.

Other than that, great guide.

Their resistance to suppression ups their killpower by a deal in my opinion. In my situations where your CSMs would be on the ground from the latest Fire Prism blast, broken and unable to fire well, your Oblits will still be pouring fire into the enemy, and doing decent damage against whatever they are aiming at.

[Captain tycho]

True, but their use is still quite situational. Pound for pound, CSMs are the better value.

[Beowulf]

Oblitators suck because among other things, they use the wrong damn weapon against Space Marines!

[Lord Revan]

You should tell that The Bloodthirster will lose HP if not combat (yes I know it's in the manual, but still)

[SAMAS]

The Defiler also suffers a bug that limits it's effectiveness. It's good, but it has the opportunity to be so much better.

You see, the nastiest thing in the Defiler's arsenal is not it's Battlecannon, but it's Autocannon, which rips through everything like a Warp Spider Exarch on speed.

The problem is, the Defiler rarely, if ever, fires it's autocannon. In fact, it usually only fires it when the target is in that tiny area of range between the Flamer's maximum range, and the Battlecannon's minimum range. Sometimes, it doesn't even fire then.

[Thirdfain]

The Defiler also suffers a bug that limits it's effectiveness. It's good, but it has the opportunity to be so much better.

You see, the nastiest thing in the Defiler's arsenal is not it's Battlecannon, but it's Autocannon, which rips through everything like a Warp Spider Exarch on speed.

The problem is, the Defiler rarely, if ever, fires it's autocannon. In fact, it usually only fires it when the target is in that tiny area of range between the Flamer's maximum range, and the Battlecannon's minimum range. Sometimes, it doesn't even fire then.

This is true, but the Defiler's best attribute is still it's combination of killer suppressing fire and good short-range combat. It does rarely use the autocannon, but that's OK.