Dawn of War 2 was released a couple of days ago and I’m sure many of you have discovered it’s addictive multiplayer gameplay by now. Some of you may have stumbled upon the fact that some players seem to have a lot more experience in this game already. Many of these players, such as myself, have participated in the beta and have formed a better understanding of the various races in the month that has passed since then.
So for those of you who are newer to this game – or those of you who are simply looking for a little help with their play – I’ve written a couple of guides to get you started on the right track. Based on my own experiences with the beta of course.
The first post in this series is a guide to the most challenging race in the game and my race of choice, the Eldar. Soon posts for the other races will follow as well as an article with general tips that should help you out regardless of the race you play with.
Heroes
Selecting your hero comes first and the Eldar offer three interesting choices. Unfortunately interesting doesn’t mean powerful and most Eldar players will opt for the same hero time and time again: the Warlock.
Warlock
The Warlock doesn’t require as much attention as the other heroes, which gives you more time to lead the rest of your micro-intensive army. He’s a powerful melee hero, who can shove entire squads away and does a whopping amount of damage. However, he – initially – can’t absorb a whole lot of damage, so he’s a bit of a glass cannon.
This hero is particularly powerful against swarms of units (typically Ork and Tyranid) as he can throw them down to the ground as he attacks in melee, making them unable to do anything for a while. But despite his frontline role, you’ll generally want to move him in only after everything is engaged, so that the enemy doesn’t immediately focuses fire on him.
His immolate upgrade is probably most interesting, setting swaths of land on fire. Perfect for weakening your opponent’s defenses before you rush in for the kill. With further upgrades you can make him much more resistant to damage and a very powerful hero killer.
Warp Spider Exarch
The Warp Spider Exarch is a nice utility hero which is best used for logistics support. Basically, you want him ferrying your units around the map with his Mass Teleport ability. This gives you a potentially decisive edge in mobility.
However, despite his usefulness this is not a very popular hero amongst Eldar players. The main reason for this is that he’s effectively an upgraded Warp Spider and therefore doesn’t do much damage and can’t take a whole lot either. He just teleports.
This results in a hero that requires a lot of attention to keep alive.
Farseer
The Farseer is described as a melee support hero, but she dies so easily that you really don’t want her near the frontlines. Instead she’s an incredible buffer and debuffer, with certain upgrades also giving her access to powerful directly damaging spells.
She gives your Guardians a great advantage early on with her standard buff to ranged power ability and her late-game Seer Council superpower is very useful. And since you’ll often be using her in a support role, you don’t need to pay quite as much attention to her as you would to the Warp Spider Exarch.
The Farseer is still quite a handful, because you’ll want her all over the map supporting troops in combat. Don’t leave her be like you can do with an upgraded Warlock, because she’s still quite fragile and mainly a support hero.
Hero selection matters a lot for your playstyle with the Eldar
Teamgames
If you’re playing Eldar in a team of other races then you can expect to be relegated to support / harassment duty. This is because you can’t hold positions very well, but you can be extremely effective in breaking through defenses. Another reason is that nearly all of your units are amongst the fastest in the game, allowing them to reach and reinforce varying battlefields quickly.
Your best bet early on will be to march alongside another player to the victory point closest to your base and nearest to the opponent’s prime victory point. You can then help your teammate push on through, while relegating additional Guardian squads to capping resource nodes in other areas of the map and reinforcing the remaining player.
Eldar are most effective in teamgames by focusing on taking over resource nodes and leaving the overall frontlines largely to their teammates. Holding more resource nodes will result in a bigger/stronger army. And you can use these forces to punch a hole between the enemies main focus points – the nearest victory points – and catch their units from behind.
Early game
You want to push forward hard and fast toward a victory point. Have your troops capture the victory point and your hero a resource point nearby. Meanwhile queue up an extra Guardian squad to help capture additional points. A Shuriken Weapons Team is also a good idea, because it can provide suppressing fire from behind and tears through early infantry.
The best way to move forward from here is to temporarily ignore the remaining victory points and go about capturing resource points. Preferably do so near the opponent’s base so that he’s pushed back into defensive positions and you have control over the game. Your score might hurt a little initially, but your eventual advantage will allow you to overwhelm your opponent when you strike.
One key thing to keep in mind about the Eldar is that they’re power-hungry, so you want to capture and activate as many power nodes as possible. If possible, also build a few power generators to further boost your power income.
Now as for the units you should have to accomplish this: Guardians are always a good choice. They’ll be the mainstay of your army all the way into late game and this is because they’re an excellent anti-infantry ranged unit with powerful upgrades. You’ll want to upgrade them with Battle Gear quickly, so that they can throw grenades. These are perfect for clearing out buildings or weakening defenses. Their ability to build a shield is great for creating cover out of nowhere.
Rangers are usually not a very good choice. They’re extremely expensive, fragile, slow to fire and outclassed on nearly all fronts by Guardians. However, you will want to have at least one squad around when going up against anyone using infiltrated units, because they’re your only detection unit. They’re also useful against Space Marines, because they can use suppressing fire to keep their expensive units at bay.
Shuriken Weapons Teams are mobile weapon emplacements capable of suppressing and destroying infantry units. Powerful but fragile and with little maneuvrability. You’ll want to have at least one of these, but keep it to the back of your army to surprise any attackers.
Howling Banshees are a unit you’ll want to get just prior to upgrading your HQ. They’re not especially useful early on, but once upgraded (requires tier 2 HQ) their special ability can demoralize any nearby troops. With this they can tear through swarms of infantry in spite of their relatively low health. They can come in handy against Ork or Tyranid swarms, but generally aren’t worth the cost versus extra Guardian/Shuriken squads or a Ranger squad.
The Warlock can kick some serious ass in melee
Mid game
During mid game (tier 2 HQ) you will want to consolidate your hold on the resource nodes on the map. And once you’ve built a more powerful force by adding a Wraithlord or Falcon to it; push on for another victory point. It’s a good idea to add Wraithlord or Falcon to whatever defenses you have setup to provide covering fire and more powerful anti-vehicle capabilities.
A number of new units can be added to your armada now: Warp Spiders can come in handy due to their teleport ability. They can teleport behind enemy forces, wreak havoc – and when upgraded: throw anti-vehicle grenades – and teleport straight out to safety. Otherwise they’re a decent anti-infantry unit, but Guardians are usually more cost-effective. More than one squad is generally not advisable.
Falcons are fast and can pack quite a punch. They’re very effective for taking down infantry and for doing hit & run attacks, particularly with their transportation capabilities. Having your Guardians repair them during combat can even make them somewhat durable in a direct confrontation. And sometimes they can even be used as early anti-vehicle platforms, skimming away while lying down massive bursts of fire. At tier 3 you can upgrade them with holofields, which slowly drain energy but absorb immense amounts of damage.
Wraithlords are the most popular tier 2 unit of the Eldar by far – and rightfully so. It doesn’t just look cool, but its standard melee attacks do incredible amounts of damage and allow it to easily take on most vehicles and heroes. Its anti-infantry and anti-vehicle upgrades are capable, but if you’re in close then you’ll always want to force it to melee for additional damage. Do make sure to utilize them for hit & run attacks only, because they can’t take much damage. Repair them with your Guardians when necessary.
Brightlance Weapons Teams are mediocre anti-vehicle units. They have a setup time and can be easily taken out, but they can do a decent amount of damage once in place. You’ll probably prefer a Wraithlord or D-Cannon Weapons Team (tier 3) in its place, because both of them are more capable anti-vehicle units.
Late game
In late game (tier 3 HQ) you’ll have a more capable defensive position and won’t need to be as mobile as before. Your prime weakness are still vehicle heavy forces, which will require clever use of all your units to overcome.
Have your Guardians draw fire while your Fire Prisms and D-Cannons whittle away at them from a distance. Or use your Warp Spiders EMP grenades to disable vehicles and move your Wraithlords in for the kill.
What you’ll want to do during late game is to push, push and keep pushing. During mid game you started pushing for victory points and if you still haven’t secured two by now then you’re in trouble.
So assemble a strike force and take whatever victory points you can. Don’t stop at one, but try to take over the map. As you gain more resource points and victory points, the opponents chance of victory diminishes greatly.
The Eldar feature three prominent units in late game which can turn the tide of battle very quickly.
The D-Cannon Weapons Team fires the most powerful blasts in the game and can tear apart infantry and vehicle alike in no time at all. Unfortunately it’s a weapons team, so it’s a defensive unit best used near your most important victory point and towards the back of your army.
The Fire Prism is an upgraded Falcon which packs a type of D-Cannon on top. This weapon can be used to either blast apart groups of infantry, or tear through armor, by pressing the associated button. It’s a slowly firing unit, but it moves fast and does a lot of damage, making it ideal for a quick hit & run move – or for blasting away at enemy forces behind your main army. It also fires while moving, which makes it ideal for killing vehicles while retreating – as none of them can keep up.
The Avatar is without a doubt the single most impressive and powerful unit in Dawn of War 2. It’s also the most expensive unit – at over 1000 requisition to build – but well worth the cost if you can afford it. It’s one of the slowest Eldar units, but it can stomp through tier 3 armies with little difficulty and heals rapidly near your HQ. Even the superunits of other races are no match at all for an Avatar, unless it is left unsupported.
Higher level units are much more powerful - so keep them alive!
Best practices
What follow are a couple of additional tips for proper Eldar play. Take them into account if you want to win.
- Shuriken, Brightlance and D-Cannon weapon teams are powerful units, but need to be used properly. Always keep at least one mobile unit in front of them, so that your weapon teams do not become the prime target. And if you’ve just beaten back an attack, deploy your weapon teams in a different location to throw off your enemy.
- Try to upgrade your Guardians early on, because their grenade ability is very powerful. A nice tactic against Tyranid is to send a Guardian squad in, lure the enemy forces towards you and use another Guardian squad to throw a grenade to where the enemy will be. Many of them will die
- Advanced tiers and upgrades are important for Eldar, so upgrade your HQ early on.
- Retreat is your best friend. This counts for all races, but especially for the rather frail Eldar. If your guardians are about to hit melee distance, retreat. If your hero is starting to be overwhelmed, retreat. If a vehicle force approaches that you’re not ready for, retreat.
- Be wary of Tyranid players. They are fast-moving and can take out your vehicles fast, against this race Wraithlords are often not a good idea. A Warlock hero can really help here – as does the Seer Council superpower of the Farseer.
- Keep moving. The Eldar are great on offense, but not so much defense – so keep pressing on and if you’re not breaking through then find another target. Don’t let your weapons teams or guardians fall into defensive position for too long, because they’ll be toast in no time once the enemy knows their position.
- Guardians are your best friend. It may sound strange, but this Tier 1 unit will be important even in late game. Both for drawing fire and holding off hostile infantry. Their grenades also allow them to cause some serious damage amidst the enemies ranks. And they can repair vehicles!
- If your vehicle dips below half-health you’ll want to retreat it. Contrary to other races, even Eldar vehicles are fragile. So retreat well before their health dips dangerously low and have some guardians repair them back to full health.
- You can push the frontlines with your vehicles in spite of their fragility! Set up a squad (or multiple squads) of Guardians behind them to keep repairing them as they annihilate the enemy. Your vehicles will still take damage, but will keep being repaired and thus take a lot longer to take out.
- All your infantry has the Fleet of Foot ability – so use it! Only certain Tyranid units can keep up with Eldar units under the effects of FoF, making it ideal for faking retreats or luring opponents into traps.
- If you have a Wraithlord: upgrade it with a Brightlance cannon against Eldar, Orks or Space Marines. A Shuriken cannon is better against Tyranid. But don’t get stuck using these at range! Move in and switch to melee once you’re in striking distance. Wraithlords may have powerful cannon upgrades, but nothing beats their sword.
- The Falcon is not to be underestimated as a frontline support unit. It allows nearby infantry to reinforce, which makes it ideal in more defensive engagements.
- Wraithlords are powerful walkers, but don’t overestimate them. They can’t take SM Dreadnoughts 1v1 (as of an open beta balance patch) and they’re very vulnerable to anti-vehicle weaponry due to their low armor. The Wraithlord may be the most popular Eldar tier 2 unit, but oftentimes you’ll have more success with a properly supported Falcon.
I hope this article has helped you on your way to Eldar mastery. If you’d like to express your thoughts on any of the tactics exemplified here, or would like to expand upon the list above, please feel free to leave a comment!
See you again tomorrow for a new article – and a new race.
You can read the other DoW 2 guides in this series at:
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I guess it would be fair to say that the Eldar are overpowered…
I currently have a 20 straight win as eldar
and it’s not because they are over-powered, it is because they are the best suited for micro-management.
You can out-run/out-manouver every race, and 99% of the time outsmart other players.
Eldar weapon platforms are the best defense/offense units availalbe to any race.
Standard eldar tactic I have found is to have 1 shuriken canon on frontline with one set back so that it covers the frontline shuriken and a little more infront. This counters ALL warps, jumpers or rushes. mainting a single group of howlers near the frontline shuriken also means NO retreat for any enemy force
I use gaurdians to set up shields as often as possible and as many too, they’re great for absorbing long range fire, even if it is 1 tank blast. I keep 2 wrath lords handy with bright lance, to engage tanks/walkers. I either use farseer or warlock, warlock is the backbone of any eldar army. Farseer is a luxury and by teir 3 becomes a decisive victory unit. My final unit to fill pop is either a d-canon or a prism tank, d-canon = better option but FAR less mobile. I never engage with prism tank in the primary conflict, I use to to flank, or persue.
This tactic often misleads enemy armies, even armies of 3 enemies; using farseer/warlock and gaurdians to lure them into range of d-canon or the frontline shuriken causes them to committ to a full contact battle. Second shuriken and howlers often destroy melee units that warp/jump/rush the first shuriken, and wrath lords can easly walk into the enemy’s armies as most rocket/anti-vehicle infantry will be pinned down, and vehicles are no problem due to the wrathlords brightlance (then click melee once close enough). The prism tank is the deciding factor, I may have to retreat most of my units, or not; but in either case I can most often obliterate all 3 players armies simply because they forget about thier flanks. The prism tank can easily help the front line at the sime time as rotating around the enemy armies to their back, and if they retreat just follow, it shoots as it moves! AND each shot will push the enemy infantry to the ground to slow them down! (this is also where the sprint ability for gaurdians etc. comes in handy).
This tactic works anywhere on the map because gaurdians can deploy shields which are great cover for platforms and themselves.
rinse and repeat
The only fatal flaw to eldar is their power requirement, and physical weakness. If you don’t notice haumagaunts encircling you, you’re gone. If you don’t notice those orks throwing a few nades, you’re gone. If you don’t secure power supply, you’re gone.
They are not over-powered by any means; they are just crafty
imo DOWII is balanced, the only unbalancing factor is ALL THE BUGS AND CRASHES!
I’d also like to add that depending on your adversarie’s tactics and skills, your army should be shuffled as eldar. Rangers are great for destroying space marine infantry spam, or even eldar howler/platform spam.
War spiders are useful for jumping behind an enemy just as your engage them to disable vehicles/turrets (damn space marine engineer!) and also to create ALOT of chaos
Warp Spider hero with 3 howler groups can jump on ANY army with vehicles (aslong as no dreadnaught or killa-khan in sight) and will destroy them in seconds. This move is easily supported with falcons or warthlords with shuriken canons!
Good luck players!
Wow, thanks for the elaborate comments
I agree that Dawn of War 2 is fairly well balanced. It’s just that all the races are different and some are harder to master than others. Naturally certain match-ups can prove advantageous to a specific side, but usually it’s the more skilled player who wins – not the player with the better race on paper. And that’s how it should be.
And yes – you can’t state it enough for the Eldar: stay mobile. Anything you have gets torn apart quickly (save for the Avatar) so don’t close into melee (except with banshees/wraithlords) and the retreat button is your best friend!
Well actually i still have to wait for the full game to arive (whenever that is)….
I think that after reading these tactics i will give the Eldar a GO…
In the beta i handled the Tirranit better than any other race but i think that because i aint much of an micromanager if even an strategy player at all…
Thanks for the nice read.
Yeah i totally believe eldar are probably the best to win the game with but they are just so over powered its not funny.
Just because say your marines. marines are slow powerful. But eldar are pretty powerful lots of abilities very early on cheap and fast. marines expensive not alot of abilties untill later on weak at level 1 only until you get to level 2 your units are alll still mega weak eldar are really weak at the start except their commander but when you have really fast units you can just run back and then supress more and more then some grenades! and its just soo annoying you cannot win against eldar! they are just too fast and too powerful too quick.
Philip Herron, i wonder if you tried to play em, it is a pain, but in hands of uber good player they are great. I wrote uber good, coz just a good player is not enough. 1 slip and yours squad is dead. Other races are more forgiving.
While playing with friends online, I find Warp-spiders extremely usefull, as long as your friends provide anti-armor and armor support. Im on a 12 winning streak with a friend, i start with producing either 3 guardians squad or 2 guardians and two banshees, depending on what we’re facing then I teleport around with them, capping points and ambushing (never attack frontal with eldar, unless thats your bait), when I reach tier two I often have money to produce two Warp Spider squads (I often lose/sacrifice one guardian squad earlier), with them and the exarch i move across the battlefield starting with harrasing smaller forces (orcs and tyranids are the best here since they are primarly melee oriented and are easy to kite). When I reach four Warp Spider squads, I can take on any Tyranid army, most Ork forces and any non-armor force by eldar and SM. I just tele around the battlefield, flanking, kiteing the enemy around till they go nuts.
@foll5 – that sounds a lot like the way I used to play in beta, back when the Warp Spiders (and Exarch) were viable. I’m guessing it’s good in the latest version again.
I really need to get around to playing some more Dawn of War 2 with the latest patch…
You will tear through any infantery, slashed terminartors today, Exarch and two squads, smashed them to bits before they turned around. Be vary about supporting units and deploy in cower, otherwise you’re toast.
like to add that the exarch first weapon upgrade is op against, well anything except armor again:/
interesting i play soulstorm and havent played dawn of war 2 yet but the eldar are definately my favorite but i may have to change my tactics as i play very differently in soulstorm i tand to use the ranger squads and farseer alot the avatar i find is superior and the seer council the most hardy infintary that is if you are paying close attention to reinforcing them i am getting dawn of war 2 and i wanna say thanks for the advice
yay for eldar and not my freinds brother who goes for the imperium in cluding the boring space marines