Dark Crusade impressions and thoughts

General Deathdealer · Post by **General Deathdealer** » 2006-10-11 06:33am

I have found out that I hate going up against the Tau. Holy shit they are hard to kill. One of my territories was attacked by them, but fortunately I had just taken the territory so my base was built up. But it took me several times rebuilding my Terminator squads and many many predators to take them out. It finally came down to me making a mad dash for their HQ to take it out. I have a lot more respect for those little bastards now.
The Eldar, Orcs, Imp Guard and Chaos are still pretty much easy to take out.
I still have not gone against the Necrons, but I have played a couple of single player battles as them, so I am looking forward to a good battle.
I know I should have started as one of the new races, but I just can't go against the Space Marines, yet.

DarkSilver · Post by **DarkSilver** » 2006-10-11 06:46am

General Deathdealer wrote: I know I should have started as one of the new races, but I just can't go against the Space Marines, yet.

Then you are weak and shall be crushed beneath our Necrodermis heels....

General Deathdealer · Post by **General Deathdealer** » 2006-10-11 06:54am

DarkSilver wrote:
General Deathdealer wrote: I know I should have started as one of the new races, but I just can't go against the Space Marines, yet.
Then you are weak and shall be crushed beneath our Necrodermis heels....

Heretic. You shall be purged from the galaxy by my brothers and I.

After playing single battles as the Necron and Tau I figured the campaign would be a little easy, so I figured I would start out as one of the old races for a bit of a challenge first, then I will work my way up to the Tau and Necron.

Brother-Captain Gaius · Post by **Brother-Captain Gaius** » 2006-10-11 07:45am

I plan on picking it up soon. I will, of course, play the Marine and Guard campaigns first, possibly followed by Orks. Then I have no mroe reason to play the campaign, and will await DoWH40K's DC update.

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » 2006-10-11 07:52am

The Necrons are a turtleing race simply because they're so slow that you can usually build troops faster than you can send them out to fight.

Therefore, capturing strategic points and building obelisks away from your base is essential if you want to wrap up a game without sitting there for a few hours. It allows you to pull the same trick that the Eldar do with webway gates.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2006-10-11 09:08am

Bah. If the Necrons are that slow, simply play a highly mobile race, wait for them to launch their assault, let them get halfway to your base, and then outmaneuver them, rush in behind, and OMGWTFBBQPWN their economic base. Or at least that seems like a good starting place to me, if they're really so slow as to not be able to do a damned thing about it.

Feil · Post by **Feil** » 2006-10-11 09:56am

General Deathdealer wrote:I have found out that I hate going up against the Tau. Holy shit they are hard to kill. One of my territories was attacked by them, but fortunately I had just taken the territory so my base was built up. But it took me several times rebuilding my Terminator squads and many many predators to take them out. It finally came down to me making a mad dash for their HQ to take it out. I have a lot more respect for those little bastards now.
The Eldar, Orcs, Imp Guard and Chaos are still pretty much easy to take out.
I still have not gone against the Necrons, but I have played a couple of single player battles as them, so I am looking forward to a good battle.
I know I should have started as one of the new races, but I just can't go against the Space Marines, yet.

So you went against the shootiest army in the history of 40k with non-disruptive ranged units... and you're surprised it was dificult? I don't have Dark Crusade, and won't until mid November, but I'd imagine Assault Marines with melta bombs, backed up with Hellfire Dreadnoughts, perhaps with a Missile-armed tac squad or a Predator Annihilator for long ranged antivehicle, would go right through the Tau.

white_rabbit · Post by **white_rabbit** » 2006-10-11 10:24am

Huh...

Taldeer doesn't suddenly have some sort of huge sword blast of doom does she ?

General Deathdealer · Post by **General Deathdealer** » 2006-10-11 11:17am

Feil wrote:
General Deathdealer wrote:I have found out that I hate going up against the Tau. Holy shit they are hard to kill. One of my territories was attacked by them, but fortunately I had just taken the territory so my base was built up. But it took me several times rebuilding my Terminator squads and many many predators to take them out. It finally came down to me making a mad dash for their HQ to take it out. I have a lot more respect for those little bastards now.
The Eldar, Orcs, Imp Guard and Chaos are still pretty much easy to take out.
I still have not gone against the Necrons, but I have played a couple of single player battles as them, so I am looking forward to a good battle.
I know I should have started as one of the new races, but I just can't go against the Space Marines, yet.
So you went against the shootiest army in the history of 40k with non-disruptive ranged units... and you're surprised it was dificult? I don't have Dark Crusade, and won't until mid November, but I'd imagine Assault Marines with melta bombs, backed up with Hellfire Dreadnoughts, perhaps with a Missile-armed tac squad or a Predator Annihilator for long ranged antivehicle, would go right through the Tau.

I was assaulting them with 4 squads of normal marines (each squad with 3 heavy bolters and 2 missile launchers), 1 squad of terminators (with 2 assault cannons), 1 squad of assault terminators, 2 Predators, and 3 Hellfire Dreadnoughts (each armed with an assault cannon). This would have been more than enough to take out any of the old races, but it took rebuilding 3 times to take out the last 2 Tau HQs (The 1st one I took out quickly by dropping my terminators right next to it). I would have done the same tactic as with the first HQ, but their other HQs were hidden.
So you can see, it take quite a bit to take the Tau out. And the bastards love the Skyray missile "tanks".

Shroom Man 777 · Post by **Shroom Man 777** » 2006-10-11 11:43am

Gah., that's what I hate. It seems like every other race has its own fair share of badass - except the IG! Why?!

Do the IG get neutered with that two-Russ-only limit mentioned a whole ago?

General Deathdealer · Post by **General Deathdealer** » 2006-10-11 11:47am

The 2 tank limit applies to the Marines also. You can only have 2 predators at any one time.
Can you build a Baneblade in addition to your 2 LRs?

Plus it also sucks that there is a cap on the number of turrets you can build. The IG has a little bit of an advantage there with the addition of their heavy weapons teams. Is there a limit on them?

Lonestar · Post by **Lonestar** » 2006-10-11 12:07pm

I have to say, the IG/Blood Ravens conflict was satisfactorily explained to me, and I *hope* that by the end of the campaign it's revealed that the Holy Artifacts(tm) indicate that the BR are loyalist Thousand Sons. Which would be cool.

Dartzap · Post by **Dartzap** » 2006-10-11 12:18pm

Lonestar wrote:I have to say, the IG/Blood Ravens conflict was satisfactorily explained to me, and I *hope* that by the end of the campaign it's revealed that the Holy Artifacts(tm) indicate that the BR are loyalist Thousand Sons. Which would be cool.

Care to spoil some of us? I wont get getting for it for two frigging weeks after all.Just mini-size it? plllllleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaassseee? With a cherry on top?

Post by **Kuja** » 2006-10-11 12:40pm

Lonestar wrote:I have to say, the IG/Blood Ravens conflict was satisfactorily explained to me, and I *hope* that by the end of the campaign it's revealed that the Holy Artifacts(tm) indicate that the BR are loyalist Thousand Sons. Which would be cool.

It would be retarded. I seriously hope the game doesn't drop that far.

SylasGaunt · Post by **SylasGaunt** » 2006-10-11 12:48pm

Rogue 9 wrote:Bah. If the Necrons are that slow, simply play a highly mobile race, wait for them to launch their assault, let them get halfway to your base, and then outmaneuver them, rush in behind, and OMGWTFBBQPWN their economic base. Or at least that seems like a good starting place to me, if they're really so slow as to not be able to do a damned thing about it.

Problem is that Necron warriors can teleport to any Necron building with hte exception of a few. So suddenly a good chunk of his army appears behind yours and starts shooting the hell out of them.

The 'crons seem very much an overwhelming force type, a slow, steady, and implacable advance. I haven't played against them yet but I'm betting that one of the key points is going to be point denial. Take points and fortify them. It doesn't deny them resources like it does other races but it increases yours and slows down their research and IIRC construction. Most of all you have to keep them from getting that damn Monolith up because every time I've rolled it out it's crushed everything in its path with contemptuous ease.

Sharp-kun · Post by **Sharp-kun** » 2006-10-11 01:39pm

General Deathdealer wrote: After playing single battles as the Necron and Tau I figured the campaign would be a little easy, so I figured I would start out as one of the old races for a bit of a challenge first, then I will work my way up to the Tau and Necron.

Does that mean the new races aren't really balanced? I'd have thought playing as an old race that you were used to would be easier? :\

Dartzap · Post by **Dartzap** » 2006-10-11 01:41pm

Sharp-kun -Investigate Glasgow city centre this friday, there is a possibility it might be sneaking onto shelves then.

Sharp-kun · Post by **Sharp-kun** » 2006-10-11 01:44pm

Dartzap wrote:Sharp-kun -Investigate Glasgow city centre this friday, there is a possibility it might be sneaking onto shelves then.

Oho?

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2006-10-11 01:56pm

SylasGaunt wrote:Problem is that Necron warriors can teleport to any Necron building with hte exception of a few. So suddenly a good chunk of his army appears behind yours and starts shooting the hell out of them.

The 'crons seem very much an overwhelming force type, a slow, steady, and implacable advance. I haven't played against them yet but I'm betting that one of the key points is going to be point denial. Take points and fortify them. It doesn't deny them resources like it does other races but it increases yours and slows down their research and IIRC construction. Most of all you have to keep them from getting that damn Monolith up because every time I've rolled it out it's crushed everything in its path with contemptuous ease.

Strategic points also increase Necron squad and vehicle cap, so if you deny a Necron player those you also deny his ability to mass an army. And most Necron infantry and vehicles are 3 cap, not 2, so they're definetly shorter on numbers than other races.

Lonestar · Post by **Lonestar** » 2006-10-11 02:14pm

Kuja wrote:
It would be retarded. I seriously hope the game doesn't drop that far.

Betting odds that the artifacts themselves are going to remain obscure. All they did to explain away the IG/BR was that the BR didn't want the IG to see 'em, which(to quote the game) implies the artifacts are damning rather than Holy.

Anarchist Bunny · Post by **Anarchist Bunny** » 2006-10-11 05:04pm

Bunny like the shooty xenotakus.

Ford Prefect · Post by **Ford Prefect** » 2006-10-12 01:14am

The Prefect requests that pictures be posted. Particularly of the Necrons.

SylasGaunt · Post by **SylasGaunt** » 2006-10-12 02:17am

Okay played some more, I really like the 'shoot the ever-loving hell out of them' way the Tau play.. shame they don't get this much respect in the tabletop game.

Anywho I just had a hella fun time taking the Necron stronghold in campaign mode. Spoilerized for those who don't want to know anything until they run into it.

The objective (I assume for everyone though it may just be the Tau) is to get your commander into the very core of the Necron catacombs and leave a can of instant sunrise in their pantry before getting the hell out.

Some quick fortification was my first step, as well as building a couple firewarrior squads to support my listening posts, which actually does a fairly good job of keeping whatever crons that wander over out of my base while I build up in my limited room. Cue some more building up and a small carpet of necron bodies on the ground at the base of the ramp leading up to my basecamp, and a few scares when Flayed ones popped up in my base and a couple dead tomb spyders in there reactivated. So I killed them again and build up a strike force. A squad of pathfinders, 3 full squads of firewarriors, and my Commander (Jet pack, stealth field, heavy flamer, and the standard burst cannon) and his two squads of elite stealth suit bodyguards. This force goes storming down the ramp, in a methodical but swift advance where any enemy encountered is quickly reduced to scrap by a storm of pulse fire. A few seconds wait and close examination to make sure they aren't getting back up then moving on until I snag a nice open and defensible area. Listening post goes up along with a vehicle tower and I leave them defensive for now.

Back to base. One of the subobjectives in the mission is investigating different sources of necron energy. Most of these are beacons for each of the remaining c'tan that all have different effects (Deciever keeps nearby units infiltrated, nightbringer continually ressurects units around it, and the Void Dragon will possess any vehicles that get near it). So I put together a highly mobile spec-ops force. 2 squads of stealth suits, all equipped with fusion blasters, and a unit of vespid stingwings. They move along, flying over terrain to shortcut down.. and find the next secondary objective, a Monolith graveyard where 3 or 4 dormant monoliths are parked. So I pop down, rip the first monolith apart fairly quickly with the Vespid's shred ability and the stealth suit's fusion blasters. Then it's a quick firefight with the defenders before they go back to wrecking sleeping monoliths. Mmmm behind the lines raids are fun. Moving along I think they took out one of the C'tan beacons.. and then my poor spec-ops force got raped when I stumbled onto an active monolith (of course the first I knew of it was when a nice little green mushroom cloud scattered my troops like bowling pins.

Back to my little bastion which by now has built up with a fire caste barracks which I've used to spawn three more firewarrior squads and a squad of broadsides which entrench around the listening post. There's another carpet of dead necrons nearby. So my armored group rolls out, three firewarrior squads in 2 devilfish (would've done more but I hit my cap), 2 skyrays, and 2 hammerheads. They proceed to utterly demolish the necrons that get in their way who are pretty much all infantry, destroy more beacons and generally plow the road. Once I've cleared a path I move my garrison from the bastion up behind the armor and proceed to start the final storming of the Necron's fortress in the North-west corner of the map. The advance is cautious because I know there's a monolith out in front of me somewhere. This time I don't get caught with my pants down. As soon as I spot the monolith both Skyrays do their salvo special attack and missile rape it and the hammerheads finish it off with their railguns. Anyway cue more general crushing until I get into the heart of hte Necron fortress with a lone Necronlord facing four tanks and more than 2 dozen heavily armed infantry.

You know it can't be that easy right? Right.

So the Necron Lord promptly turns into the nightbringer and starts tearing into my forces because that damn c'tan is literally invincible. However while he's tied up tearing my tanks and infantry a new one my commander jetpacks over his head, and onto the central pedestal where I leave our little surprise. Everyone hauls ass out of the tunnel and then we get a nice little cutscene where everything goes kablooey.

Suffice to say I liked it.

Oh and I love the whole wargear thing. I'm alternating between the Tau and Necron campaigns and I love pimping out my commander and his retinue (right now my commander has a heavy flamer, stealth field, and jetpack to fit with his elite stealth suit squads for bodyguard).

Lonestar · Post by **Lonestar** » 2006-10-12 06:12am

SylasGaunt wrote:Okay played some more, I really like the 'shoot the ever-loving hell out of them' way the Tau play.. shame they don't get this much respect in the tabletop game.

Anywho I just had a hella fun time taking the Necron stronghold in campaign mode. Spoilerized for those who don't want to know anything until they run into it.

The objective (I assume for everyone though it may just be the Tau) is to get your commander into the very core of the Necron catacombs and leave a can of instant sunrise in their pantry before getting the hell out.

Some quick fortification was my first step, as well as building a couple firewarrior squads to support my listening posts, which actually does a fairly good job of keeping whatever crons that wander over out of my base while I build up in my limited room. Cue some more building up and a small carpet of necron bodies on the ground at the base of the ramp leading up to my basecamp, and a few scares when Flayed ones popped up in my base and a couple dead tomb spyders in there reactivated. So I killed them again and build up a strike force. A squad of pathfinders, 3 full squads of firewarriors, and my Commander (Jet pack, stealth field, heavy flamer, and the standard burst cannon) and his two squads of elite stealth suit bodyguards. This force goes storming down the ramp, in a methodical but swift advance where any enemy encountered is quickly reduced to scrap by a storm of pulse fire. A few seconds wait and close examination to make sure they aren't getting back up then moving on until I snag a nice open and defensible area. Listening post goes up along with a vehicle tower and I leave them defensive for now.

Back to base. One of the subobjectives in the mission is investigating different sources of necron energy. Most of these are beacons for each of the remaining c'tan that all have different effects (Deciever keeps nearby units infiltrated, nightbringer continually ressurects units around it, and the Void Dragon will possess any vehicles that get near it). So I put together a highly mobile spec-ops force. 2 squads of stealth suits, all equipped with fusion blasters, and a unit of vespid stingwings. They move along, flying over terrain to shortcut down.. and find the next secondary objective, a Monolith graveyard where 3 or 4 dormant monoliths are parked. So I pop down, rip the first monolith apart fairly quickly with the Vespid's shred ability and the stealth suit's fusion blasters. Then it's a quick firefight with the defenders before they go back to wrecking sleeping monoliths. Mmmm behind the lines raids are fun. Moving along I think they took out one of the C'tan beacons.. and then my poor spec-ops force got raped when I stumbled onto an active monolith (of course the first I knew of it was when a nice little green mushroom cloud scattered my troops like bowling pins.

Back to my little bastion which by now has built up with a fire caste barracks which I've used to spawn three more firewarrior squads and a squad of broadsides which entrench around the listening post. There's another carpet of dead necrons nearby. So my armored group rolls out, three firewarrior squads in 2 devilfish (would've done more but I hit my cap), 2 skyrays, and 2 hammerheads. They proceed to utterly demolish the necrons that get in their way who are pretty much all infantry, destroy more beacons and generally plow the road. Once I've cleared a path I move my garrison from the bastion up behind the armor and proceed to start the final storming of the Necron's fortress in the North-west corner of the map. The advance is cautious because I know there's a monolith out in front of me somewhere. This time I don't get caught with my pants down. As soon as I spot the monolith both Skyrays do their salvo special attack and missile rape it and the hammerheads finish it off with their railguns. Anyway cue more general crushing until I get into the heart of hte Necron fortress with a lone Necronlord facing four tanks and more than 2 dozen heavily armed infantry.

You know it can't be that easy right? Right.

So the Necron Lord promptly turns into the nightbringer and starts tearing into my forces because that damn c'tan is literally invincible. However while he's tied up tearing my tanks and infantry a new one my commander jetpacks over his head, and onto the central pedestal where I leave our little surprise. Everyone hauls ass out of the tunnel and then we get a nice little cutscene where everything goes kablooey.

Suffice to say I liked it.

Hmm...the Smackdown I laid on the IG as the SM had a similiar ending(big boom)...I wonder if all the deaths of the bosses end that way?

Oh and I love the whole wargear thing. I'm alternating between the Tau and Necron campaigns and I love pimping out my commander and his retinue (right now my commander has a heavy flamer, stealth field, and jetpack to fit with his elite stealth suit squads for bodyguard).

Oh yeah. Brother-Captain Thule looks like a frickin' Pimp, with his wargear.

Brother-Captain Gaius · Post by **Brother-Captain Gaius** » 2006-10-12 06:42am

So what wargear's available? Can you get Terminator armor or artificer for Marines? Master-crafted weapons? Jump packs?

What about Guard? Is there a non-silly, non-wristguns-lol configuration of any sort?