I’ve been playing quite a lot of the Beta of Dawn of War II, but there are a lot of people struggling with the bare basics of the game. This game is not Dawn of War. It’s just an entirely new game. To help everybody out, here are some tips to be more successful in DoW2.

Tip 1: Keep your units alive

Running away would be a good idea

The most vital part of DoW2 is to keep your units alive. All squads are small and cost a lot, so you better make sure they’re worth it. If your squad even survives with only one member alive, it’s still cheaper to reinforce it back to full health than to buy a new one. Luckily, Dawn of War 2 has a way to keep your dying squads alive, and use it well! If you press the ‘Fall back’ command (default on X), your squad will automatically run back to base (or the nearest resupply point). While falling back, you cannot control your units but they take less damage, cannot be suppressed by enemy fire and run faster. Very useful!

Tip 2: Use cover

Another new addition to DoW2 is a cover system. Apparently it works much like in Company of Heroes, but I have never played CoH so I can’t comment on that. If you place your units near cover (plants, rocks or walls), they’ll automatically get behind them and take less damage. And a lot less damage. Basically, don’t even try to kill enemies that are behind cover. It’s best to just come from behind, where their cover is useless or attack with melee.

Tip 3: Teamwork is very important

In 3v3’s, teamwork is vital. There are just situations where you alone will not be able to overcome your enemy, but your teammates can help out. Some days ago I was playing with 2 friends, and the enemy had locked me up with Devestator Heavy bolter squads and a whopping 3 Tarantula turrets. It was near impossible for me to even come close because of the turrets, and if I got behind them with my jumping units they would be annihilated by the Heavy bolters. Then, my teammate came to the rescue, and because he came from the side the turrets couldn’t reach him. These are examples on how teammates can help each other.

Another vital way to help is to revive each other’s commander. If you didn’t know yet, if you move your own commander to an ally’s dead commander and right click on them, you can revive  them! While they will only be at around 1/3 health when they’re revived, they’re right on the battlefield (or at least not as far away), and your ally won’t have to pay the revival cost.

Support your vehicles

Tip 4: Vehicles are not one-man armies

In DoW2, vehicles are devastating. They can easily tear up most squads, and even some Anti-Vehicle squads have to be careful they aren’t rushed by vehicles. However, don’t think you can send them in by yourself. If there are multiple squads firing on your vehicles, especially if there’s some Anti-vehicle units mixed in, they will die in a matter of seconds. Therefore, always make sure you support your vehicles, or you will have simply wasted all that requisition and power.

Tip 5: Crazy tactics can work

There are very little games where crazy tactics and strategies can work. Try to think outside the box. You will be able to surprise your enemy with things he did not expect, and if you do not expect something in DoW2 you’re in a lot of trouble. For example, do you think you can win the upcoming battle? Send some of your infiltrated scouts with shotguns behind the enemy lines, and they can pick off foes that try to run back to their base. Afraid your enemy will use a lot of Plasma cannons and Heavy bolters soon? Destroy all of his cover by jumping on them with your Assault Space Marines or by smashing through them with your vehicles. There are so many crazy strategies  that can be used, and everybody has only scratched the surface of what’s possible. Try to be innovative, and you can gain a huge advantage over the enemy.

I hope these tips can help people to improve their game, so they can enjoy it as much as I do. Good luck!