Quick answer
KING Art Games has published a multiplayer-focused AMA answering questions from the official Dawn of War IV Discord community. Creative Director Jan Theysen and Senior Game Designer Elliott Verbiest cover game modes (Annihilation, Domination, Maelstrom), balance philosophy, cover and retreat mechanics, commander design, building tech trees, and the Army Painter.
Game modes
For Quick Match, the default mode is Annihilation, but players can select from the following modes for matchmaking:
- Annihilation: Destroy all enemy Headquarters and protect your own.
- Domination: Capture and hold more Strategic Positions than your opponents to gain Victory Points.
- Maelstrom: Secure objectives that dynamically appear across the map to gain Victory Points.
Balance philosophy
One of the core pillars is ensuring factions are represented authentically with how they are portrayed in the universe. Faction asymmetry is notoriously difficult to balance, especially outside 1v1. The team recognises that no amount of internal testing will match the scale and creativity that players bring at launch, and plans to gather data, prioritise issues, and convey the intent of changes clearly with the community.
Cover, retreat, and reinforcement
Cover
Cover is a great defensive option against ranged units, significantly reducing damage. It’s available as directional cover or garrisonable structures. Orks can build their own cover, Adeptus Mechanicus can build garrisonable structures, while Necrons do not use cover at all. Certain Wargear can negate cover.
Retreat
Retreat is effective for disengaging from melee combat or quickly repositioning to your closest production structure while taking reduced damage. The Retreat icon changes color from red to yellow after some time, allowing you to cancel the order. This creates a risk-reward decision: keeping units in a fight longer means more damage dealt, but retreating earlier increases survival chances.
On-Field Reinforcement
The most powerful of the three features. Units on auto-reinforce are noticeably harder to kill, but having many units on auto-reinforce will drain resources very quickly. You might win the battle but lose the war.
Commanders in multiplayer
Commanders are generic faction units outside of the campaigns, selected pre-match alongside the faction and starting position. They are produced from the headquarters for a cost, usually mid-match after some unlocks. Match settings can be changed to have them as a starting unit or disable them entirely.
Building tech trees
- Space Marines: Structures can be upgraded to unlock additional units and research. Structures can be dropped from orbit anywhere within vision, taking longer to deploy the further they are from HQ.
- Orks: Structures can be built by almost any Ork infantry, are relatively cheap, and always come armed, making base crawling second nature.
- Necrons: Structures spread the Power Matrix, linked to their economy and empowering units. The Tomb Pylon acts as a teleportation point.
- Adeptus Mechanicus: Structures link to the headquarters to form the Noosphere Network, crucial for unlocking powerful weaponry and providing economic and combat boons.
Army Painter
The team is very excited about the Army Painter, stating there is probably no other painter out there that offers more options. More news will be shared in the near future.
FAQ
What are the available multiplayer game modes?
Annihilation (destroy all enemy HQs), Domination (capture and hold Strategic Positions), and Maelstrom (secure dynamically appearing objectives).
Can commanders be disabled in multiplayer?
Yes. Commanders can be set as starting units, produced mid-match from the HQ, or disabled entirely via match settings.
Will the Army Painter be available at launch?
The team confirmed they are very excited about the Army Painter and will share more news in the near future, strongly implying it will be available at launch.