Relic Entertainment’s Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3 may not have had the best response from fans since launching earlier this year but the developer continues to update it with new content. The latest is an entire expansion called Endless War which adds three new Elite heroes, five cosmetics, new options for custom matches and three maps for multiplayer.

The new maps include Shrine of Asuryan (1v1), Serpent Chasm (2v2) and Da Extractor (3v3) while the new Elite heroes include the Ironclad Dreadnought, the Lifta-Droppa Wagon and Wraithseer Kayduin. Alongside Endless War, Steam players will have a chance to experience the entire game for free this weekend.

The free weekend is currently live and will end on October 23rd at 10 AM PT/1 PM ET/6 PM UK time/7 PM CEST. Alongside updating Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3, Relic Entertainment is also working on Age of Empires 4, the next in the famed series of strategy titles from Microsoft. It doesn’t have a release date yet though.

New content is on the horizon for Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3. According to Relic Entertainment in its latest community update, Engines of Annihilation will include a new map and mode while being free for everyone. It’s out on June 20th with gameplay to be revealed on June 16th, 10 AM PST on Twitch.

The new mode is Annihilation, which throws in turrets to protect your base from the very beginning of the round. Annihilation Classic allows you to start without turrets but they can still be built using the new Doctrine “Buildable Turrets”. The basic goal of destroying your enemy’s core remains.

The new map is Mortis Vale but if you want to play Annihilation on existing maps, then don’t worry – they’ve been retrofitted to support the new mode. Relic also notes that a free skin pack will be going live with update, adding the House Raven skin for the Imperial Knight Paladin, an Exalted skin for the Wraithknight and a Deathskulls skin for the Gorkanaut.

What are your thoughts on the new update? Let us know in the comments below.

Relic Entertainment’s Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3 hasn’t even been out for a week but its players have already racked up an insane amount of play-time. As per the developer, a total of 1,464,424 matches have been played by users thus far. This includes the campaign, skirmish and multiplayer.

Other figures include a collective playtime of 889,520 hours, a total of 176,544,050 units killed and roughly 30,000 deaths per minute in just four days. The most popular Elites are Jain Zar, Weirdboy Zapnoggin and Imperial Knight Solaria. Popular doctrines include Tip of the Spear, Avenger Shield and Healin’ Scrap.

Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3 is out now on PC and combines the gameplay of its predecessors to make for a new experience. Its campaign encompasses three factions – Space Marines, Eldar and Orks – as opposed to one with the introduction of new Super Units.

You can check out more about it in our review here.

Relic Entertainment’s Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3 has positive reviews coming out before its release on April 27th. However, if you want to try it for yourself before then, the open beta will be live today and free for the weekend.

Starting at 10 AM PT/1 PM ET/6 PM BST, April 21st and ending at the same time on April 24th, the beta will be for multiplayer alone.

You’ll have access to all three factions – Eldar, Orks and Space Marines – along with a limited number of Elites and six Doctrines for each side. Along with three maps, players can engage in 1v1, 2v2 and 3v3 modes.

Sign up for the open beta here if you’re interested though be warned that any progress made will not carry over into the full game. You can check out our review of Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3 here. Will you be picking up the game when it launches on PC? Let us know in the comments.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

The pre-order bonuses are skins.

Pre-Ordering Dawn of War will grant you custom skins for the Imperial Knight, the Wraithknight and the Morkanaut. Thankfully, no gameplay related content has been gated off by the pre-order bonuses, so you needn’t be worried about players who pre-order gaining any sort of competitive advantage. It’s nice to see Relic offering a small bonus for pre-orders rather than keeping any units or modes locked behind the pre-order wall.

"These aren’t just heroes with varying special abilities that lead to diverse play-styles, complementing their armies in interesting ways. These are genuine characters backed by a strong script and stellar voice work."

Even for those who aren’t deeply familiar with the lore, the set-up for Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3 is bad-ass. It begins with House Varlock, the Space Marines’ contingent set up on the planet Cyprus Ultima, under attack from the Orks. For some reason, the Imperium stays orbiting the planet, refusing to send aid. Such rules don’t apply to Gabriel Angelos and his Blood Ravens who immediately land on Cyprus and engage the Orks. The introduction provides an overview of Angelos’ abilities, unit production, managing different objectives and so on. Though it’s imminently straightforward, it also showcases the compelling moments that inhabit Dawn of War 3. The first time you see Angelos, standing before an Ork barrage and sweeping them away with one slam of his hammer, you’ll instantly fall in love.

Angelos isn’t the only Elite in Dawn of War 3 though. Instead of choosing one faction in the campaign, you actually take control of each of the three at varying points. The first mission is all about Angelos and his Blood Ravens repelling the Orks. In the next mission, Gorgutz, himself under the command of the boss Gitstompa, is working with a pack of Orks to counter-attack the humans and effectively build a super-weapon. For reasons unknown, the Eldar intervene and it suddenly becomes a battle against Banshees and Vypers.

These aren’t just heroes with varying special abilities that lead to diverse play-styles, complementing their armies in interesting ways. These are genuine characters backed by a strong script and stellar voice work. Macha could come off as arrogant and stubborn but there’s a soft motherly side that’s genuinely worried for the cause. Gorgutz may be angry and vicious but he’s also cunning in an unpredictable way. As for the story-telling, though the mission briefings are fairly static, especially some of the cut scenes which are presented as animated 2D artwork, they do a great job of advancing the plot. The in-game conversations during missions are also great thanks again to the voice-acting and characterization.

How exactly does Dawn of War 3 play though? As noted above, it’s an amalgamation of the systems seen in Dawn of War 1 and 2. You’ll be leading an Elite into battle but also establishing bases and garnering resources. Resource points exist to be captured – and contested over – to keep your bases running. Cover points which can provide fortified positions for your ranged units can also be taken and captured. As the campaign rolls on, you’ll receive different objectives like rescuing an adviser, assaulting different towers on a map (while also contending with reinforcements targeting your home base), guarding super-weapons, engaging in boss fights and so on.

"That’s one of the other great aspects of Dawn of War 3 though. It can be a mix of tactical play as you capture cover points and resources while assigning squads of ranged and melee infantry that can cut down enemies."

Each of your units possesses special abilities like the Assault Marines’ Jump-jets and can be used to either change positioning or inflict massive damage on a foe. Each faction has their own share of unique units as well, from heavy ranged units with Gatling guns and anti-armour weaponry to builders that can teleport across the map and provide support. These factions are further expanded with support buildings like the Eldar’s Webway Gates that can help them teleport across the map or the Orks’ Waaargh!! Tower that can rally the troops for pushes. Units can be upgraded to unlock new abilities, gain more health and attack damage or just use more powerful weapons.

However, your hero is the centerpiece of all this combat. Angelos’ specialty is crowd-control, smashing units away and creating space. Macha attacks from a distance, throwing her spear and conjuring spells before summoning it back to her. Gorgutz can spin his over-sized claw like a wrecking ball, shielding units from turret fire, while also grappling to out of the way spots.

Overtime, you’ll have access to other Elites like Solaria who commandeers a towering Imperial Knight. She’s one of the new Super Units with a high damage output and range, capable of obliterating tons of smaller enemies at once. Of course, she’s not an instant win button – Solaria and other powerful Elites need Elite Points to be called in. These are resources which generate overtime or can be garnered by capturing specific points. And while a normal Elite may cost less, a Super Unit is a much heavier investment. However, they’re very useful when it comes to turning the tide of battle. Don’t rely on them too much though since they can be countered – Solaria, for instance, can be swarmed by anti-armour weaponry and doesn’t have much mobility for escaping when her health is low.

That’s one of the other great aspects of Dawn of War 3 though. It can be a mix of tactical play as you capture cover points and resources while assigning squads of ranged and melee infantry to support you and cut down enemies. You can focus solely on your Elite, who gains experience and other abilities with each successful mission, tearing through the opposition. This elegant mix of line unit management and MOBA-like focus on heroes can be hard to handle at times, especially when the game throws three different Elites to manage at one point.

"This is Relic Entertainment showcasing once again why it does Warhammer 40K and real-time strategy games so well."

It never becomes overwhelming thanks to the simple yet intuitive mechanics which are very well demonstrated in the tutorials. Furthermore, there are Doctrines that can further mix up your play-style, affecting the status of units given the right conditions. For instance, when playing with Angelos, a drop pod can heal any units nearby it. Macha’s Doctrine allow other Elites to enter stasis and regain health if they’re close to dying. Elites gain new Doctrines as they level up, leading to more variety. As such, there are also Army Doctrines that can be equipped before heading into multiplayer for varying effects like Space Marine Scouts receiving bonus damage on their initial attacks.

And while I have no doubt that a meta will eventually emerge in multiplayer, this style of gameplay leads to some very engaging matches. Despite the presence of only one game mode, it’s a push to capture resources, counter enemy units, flank their basis and ultimately deploy Elites that can turn the tide. The Doctrines, combined with the unique abilities of each faction, makes for a rip-roaring good time in multiplayer. However, since I only played against AI, I can’t say much about the net-code and stability of servers at this time. A note on the AI: Whether it’s the campaign or in skirmish, they fight hard enough on Normal to present a challenge without being overwhelmingly cheap. That’s a tough balance to achieve in any game but Dawn of War 3 makes it so easy.

There are the odd quibbles I have with Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3, such as how the path-finding of units can sometimes cause problems. Also, the style of gameplay may not be nearly as revolutionary as its predecessors. These are minor, almost non-existent complaints for me and totally subjective if you’re someone else. Dawn of War 3 delivers stunning visuals at all turns with remarkable performance, with distinctly animated units, awesome special effects (watching an Elite go to town never, ever gets old) and great environmental design. The two styles of gameplay mesh together so seamlessly and provide so many opportunities for combat that I wouldn’t mind replaying the campaign again to apply what I’ve learned to earlier missions.

Needless to say, this isn’t a resurgence for the franchise. This is Relic Entertainment showcasing once again why it does Warhammer 40K and real-time strategy games so well. Every single aspect is honed to near perfection in an inviting package that will appeal to hardcore fans and new players alike. For the Emperor, forever more.

This game was reviewed on PC.

Relic Entertainment’s Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 3 has received a new trailer called “Exordium” which focuses on the epic story taking place. It’s not actual gameplay but the sequences themselves look pretty incredible.

The trailer talks about how planet Cyprus is filled to the brim with Orks and the Imperial commander doesn’t want anyone providing aid. Unfortunately, Gabriel Angelos of the Blood Raven chapter is defying orders and rushing to defend the house. So now you know how they get involved in this war.

Dawn of War 3 will have an open beta for its multiplayer later this month which provide players a taste of the three factions. The game itself is out on April 27th for PC – depending on which edition you pre-order, there are numerous bonuses to be had. Head to Steam to check them all out.

What are your thoughts on the cinematic trailer? Let us know below in the comments and stay tuned for more details.

The Creative Assembly is hard at work on Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3, the follow-up to their critically acclaimed RTS series (not including Total War: Warhammer, of course). If you want to know if the game is for you, at least with regards to multiplayer, then there will be an open beta taking place later this month.

Starting at 10 AM PT/1 PM ET/6 PM UK, April 21st and ending at the same timings on April 24th, the open beta will allow players access to all three factions – Eldar, Orks and Space Marines.

A selection of elite heroes will be available as well and those who participate can also try out the Masters of War skins. The latter will be available free to those who pre-order the full game. To register for the open beta, head here.

Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3 will release on April 27th for PC, just a few days after the beta concludes. Will you be taking part? Let us know below.

GamingBolt spoke to game director Philippe Boulle about Dawn of War 3’s development, recent updates and what can be expected.

"We’ve been very busy getting the game ready, to be honest. Relic games, and RTS games in general, involve a lot of moving pieces and it’s really important that we take the time we need to get them all right."

Given how Dawn of War 2 released in 2009, what motivated a return to the universe with the sequel? How do you feel Relic’s knowledge of development over the years helped in shaping Dawn of War 3?

It was never a question of if, just of when we would tackle Dawn of War III. The franchise is a huge part of the studio – and personally it’s what I came to Relic to work on. There’s a lot of 40K love at the studio and we’re thrilled to be back working in that property.

Dawn of War III is the product of all our products to date. We spend a goodly amount of time looking back at the previous games in the franchise to see what we wanted to bring forward. We also looked to Company of Heroes (I and II) and Relic’s other games. We married this to some modern innovations from the broader strategy genre. We’re really proud of where we’ve landed and we can’t wait for the fans to experience it.

Dawn of War 3 has seen its share of marketing ups but we haven’t heard much in a while. How has development been progressing over the past few months?

We’ve been very busy getting the game ready, to be honest. Relic games, and RTS games in general, involve a lot of moving pieces and it’s really important that we take the time we need to get them all right. But, fans just got their first taste of Dawn of War III’s multiplayer, we announced our release date, and we’ve opened up pre-orders. So the time has paid off. We won’t keep fans waiting long.

How important is the plot in the third game? How will it appeal to both Dawn of War fans and Warhammer 40K buffs?

Story is critical to Dawn of War and we’ve dedicated a lot of energy to crafting an incredible story for players to experience. Existing fans of Dawn of War (and 40K in general) will find lots of familiar faces and pick up elements from the previous games. We absolutely wanted to honour the many worlds and conflicts in this fantastic setting.

But we didn’t want to produce a story that was just an extension of existing plot lines. We needed this to an epic that stood on its own and that welcomed people into this universe of constant warfare. That meant digging deep into our protagonists and almost rebuilding them from the ground up. Our heroes – Gabriel Angelos of the Space Marines, Farseer Macha of the Eldar, and the Ork Gorgutz ‘Ead’unter – are the centre around which the whole story revolves. These are nuanced characters that both embody their factions and have their own drives.

Players will get to embody each of these heroes across the story of the game. We are giving equal love to all three factions.

"Are the Super Walkers able to turn the tide of a battle? Absolutely. Are they unstoppable, instant-win buttons? Far from it."

How do the three factions – the Eldar, Space Marines and Orks – differ from each other this time around? What balance changes, new units and whatnot can veterans and new players expect?

Dawn of War III’s factions allowed us to create a solid and exciting gameplay ecosystem for players. Each one gives players a wide range of mechanics, units, and abilities to choose from as they work to develop their unique play styles. What’s more, the factions offer a diversity of voice and personality that brings out the best of the universe.

Franchise veterans are going to see a distinct evolution of each faction for Dawn of War III. When we decided to bring these three forward, we identified the core elements that makes each army compelling, and seed this throughout their heroes, abilities, buildings, mechanics, animations – everything really.

For Space Marines, you see their superior technology and precision strikes in the higher profile role of drop pods, and their Orbital Bombardment. For Eldar, you see their protection of their sparse numbers in their mobility, teleportation, and regenerative battle focus. For Orks, you see their unstoppable momentum come to life through salvaging scrap to upgrade and build units from the foes they rip to shreds.

Our single-player campaign unfolds through missions that rotate from faction to faction, helping them get introduced to the strengths and weaknesses of each, preparing them for our fast-paced multiplayer combat where all three go head-to-head.

What challenges did you face with the new walker units? Was it difficult to balance them and how significant of a role do they play in combat?

The Super Walkers are incredibly powerful, they look stunning, and their abilities are so satisfying to deploy. We want that moment a player deploys a Super Walker onto the field to feel like a victory in and of itself, and on the flip side, we want players to relish the moments that they’re able to take out a competing player’s most powerful weapon.

Are the Super Walkers able to turn the tide of a battle? Absolutely. Are they unstoppable, instant-win buttons? Far from it. We never wanted a match to feel like a race to deploying a Super Walker, and we didn’t want to invalidate other strategic load-outs and elite choices. For that reason, each Super Walker can be countered and taken down, like any other unit, and needs to be supported by the rest of an army in order to be successful.

Lady Solaria, the Space Marine’s Imperial Knight, is a great example of this. She’s a ranged powerhouse who can easily obliterate the front line. But, if a few troops of Howling Banshees rush in behind her minimum range, they can limit her movement and slowly chip down her health. Her powerful abilities also involve some wind-up time, giving enemies the opportunity to stun or interrupt before she fires.

Why the return to the first Dawn of War’s style of base-building? How does it affect mechanics introduced in Dawn of War 2?

When we set out to make Dawn of War III, we knew we wanted to celebrate the best features of previous instalments. DOW2’s influence can be seen in the incredible elite heroes and their abilities that are so fun to unleash upon your enemies. From vanilla DOW, we wanted to get back to the staggering scale of battle that felt oh-so 40K. From our perspective, large armies and base-building go hand-in-hand.

Using buildings, resource production, and tech trees helps us pace out the escalation of a mission or match. Players need to make smart choices of what they’re building and when, in order to earn their way up to the higher power abilities and units.

"We’ve added four Escalation Phases to our multiplayer matches, each introducing different effects like defeated units refunding a percentage of their cost, increased production by resource, or increased structure health."

But even on the base building and economy side, there are some DoW2 touches. We brought forward the idea of resource points owned by a team rather than an individual – allowing you to build on and add to points captured by your allies. Every player spends resources on their own, but the whole team earns together.

Elites are the clearest DOW2 influenced element. They deploy based on Elite Points accrued over time, helping us balance what’s an early game elite versus a late game elite. Players will need to manage their bases, resources, and tech trees in order to reach the point of deploying elite, and will need the right mix of line units to support them.

What can we look forward to in terms of multiplayer (like new modes and whatnot)?

Dawn of War III’s multiplayer pits the three factions against each other in a tense, chaotic fight to the finish. It really puts the strengths and weaknesses of each faction to the test as you try to put powerful heroes and devastating abilities to use, while countering those of your foes. It’s fast, it’s fun, and we think players are going to love it.

We’re launching with 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3 modes. In each mode, teams will fight to destroy three structures – while protecting their own, of course – in order to win the match. These structures are Shield Generators, Turrets, and Power Cores. The structures create points of conflict to draw teams together for epic victories and crushing defeats within a single match.

Likewise, the interactions between elite heroes give rise to micro victories that help make each match more memorable. We want players to celebrate each time they defeat an enemy elite or Super Walker. Even if they don’t win the match, they’ll still have that ‘gotcha’ moment and some bragging rights.

Lastly, we’ve added four Escalation Phases to our multiplayer matches, each introducing different effects like defeated units refunding a percentage of their cost, increased production by resource, or increased structure health. We’re very excited with how this has changed the flow of a match. It keeps players active even when they’re at a disadvantage; taking away some of the dead man walking syndrome of long RTS matches.

Have you begun planning out post-launch content, especially given how well Chaos Rising and Retribution were received for Dawn of War 2?

We don’t have much to share on this at this stage. Obviously we want to keep building this franchise, and giving players more to experience, but for now we’re focused on delivering a Dawn of War at launch that will have been worth the long wait.

With the increased presence of strategy titles on consoles, will we see Dawn of War 3 or future Relic titles coming to Xbox Scorpio or PS4 Pro?

We love seeing the expansion of the strategy genre to other platforms, but we’re focused on a PC launch. That’s where Relic and Dawn of War were born and that’s where we wanted to bring the franchise back.

Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3 looked pretty good with its gameplay debut at E3 2016 and Sega released some more footage of Relic Entertainment’s upcoming RTS to showcase the Space Marines’ stomping capabilities.

The gameplay features commentary from game director Philip Boulle, with community manager Kellie Goggins noting that it was a condensed mission balanced to showcase the gameplay’s core features. The footage is also pre-alpha so certain audio, UI and visual elements may be changed.

It’s also worth noting that there would be more objectives and paths for units to take during the actual hour-long mission. Also, the Eldar aren’t actually that weak in the final game so worry not and simply bask in the Space Marines’ dominance in the meantime.

Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3 will be out in 2017 for PC. What are your thoughts on the gameplay footage and commentary? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more updates.