Dawn of War Codex

Hey folks,

I have felt like I have hit a wall with my IG games, I win barely any team games and I am always the one with the lowest points in the match.
My micro isn't that bad and I feel that fault can be found in my predictable and easy countered build order.

What IG build orders and general battle plans have you created? I main INQ as I love stopping things dead in their tracks, even termys.

The usual build order I run is.

GM - Sent - HWP (maybe cats if they have suppression up)- Tier 2 - Chimera - Ogryns - Tier 3 - Leman Russ (s)
Tier 1 is always brilliant for me but everything falls apart in Tier 2. I always seem to be outgunned and out muscled.

Thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated

I never waste resources for ogryns, as they are never payoff (very rare situation when ogryns are really needed is against WG's blobs). Much better to upgrade your existed units and hero (i use to play commissar). If i came to t2 very early i prefer chimera. If i encounter huge blobs or got a problem with lots of set-up teams i build manticore(but dont buy the upgrade - the damage is fine till t3, and cd is only lower). Else, i just make Stormtroopers and go for fast t3. At t3 i usually spam Russes.

I don't know much about the Stormtroopers but from what I have seen they are next to useless in 3 v 3's (maybe 2 v 2's)

They are easily killed, do less damage that upgraded GM squads, cost more to replace and their AV kit is only good if you are facing isolated vehicles?

Am I thinking right, or is there a special way you have to use them?

What do they do that a GM squad can't do, or a heavy wep with lascannon can't?

welshy wrote:I don't know much about the Stormtroopers but from what I have seen they are next to useless in 3 v 3's (maybe 2 v 2's)

They are easily killed, do less damage that upgraded GM squads, cost more to replace and their AV kit is only good if you are facing isolated vehicles?

Am I thinking right, or is there a special way you have to use them?

What do they do that a GM squad can't do, or a heavy wep with lascannon can't?

Well, with assault kit they do massive damage on a very long range. If you control them well, you can just hit'n'run - with their superior range the enemy will have hard time to kill even 1 model. Especially if you got 2 squads of GM on forward lines. With frag nade you can sneak to the enemy lines and kill enemy set up teams. 1 nade + few shots from their guns and the enemy SU team is dead. Ofc, there is more way to use frag nade. For example against melee units. Also, they are good for stealing enemy VP's. And the best thing about ST - they dont need power to build or for AK upgrade, so u can faster get to t3.
Also, they got AV upgrade that is good but i prefer AK, because usually IG got enough AV.

Ahh yeah, I always carry over a huge amount of req from tier 1, investing it in ST would be advisable.
Regarding a semi large req pool during tier 1, is there a wise place I should invest this? Power is useful I know, but what if all the farms are full? Just build lots of turrets?

I'll just try to shotgun a bunch of answers for you

I "mained" Inq for a while in the loosest sense of the word and my standard build order was:
Starting GM - Sent - GM - GM - Sent Stomp - Holy Brazier - (sarges and gens/nodes as needed, try to hold off on sarges as long as you can) - T1.5 unit(usually catas) - T2 - adapt from there.

You've mentioned req float issues with entering T2 and with the above build your float should be pretty minimal on account of having an extra squad. The third guardsman also opens up the possibility of getting a flamer on them as well for more genbash action.

For Inq in specific, the Holy Brazier is almost automatic in most matchups. Any of her armors are viable, with Excrutiators being the most common and the accessories are mostly niche uses that you should be able to figure out. Only the Rosarius is considered "standard" as the Braizer + Rosarius combo is pretty powerful in vs SM.

In T2, strongly consider adding the Banewolf to your arsenal. That thing is scary and really puts a dent in your opponent's economy if you're even just slightly ahead on tech.

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Stormtroopers are more of a strike force than the frontline unit that GM are. The infilitration is key to this, allowing them to attack from superior positions. Both kits are useful and open up different possibilities. Don't underestimate the Anti-Armor STs, as they can provide a powerful snare for the rest of your AV. That being said, they're not the kind of unit that defines your t2. If possible, get them as a supplemental squad in t2.

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If you're sitting on a req float with full farms in T1, then you're in a great position heading into the later parts of the game. Stromtroopers are an obvious pick here, but you can very possibly ride that heavy req advantage into a viable leman russ rush. That being said, don't get complacent in T2. Esp in team games, the ever changing flow of battle could mean that extra req can help quickly recover from a gen bash elsewhere.

welshy wrote:Tier 1 is always brilliant for me but everything falls apart in Tier 2. I always seem to be outgunned and out muscled.

Don't feel too bad about this, that is just intrinsic to the IG design.

However, the fact that you have a build order which is so specific means you are pigeon-holing yourself into one mode of play rather than thinking about what your opponents are fielding and trying to adapt against that. I cringe trying to imagine you playing without the use of spotters, they are probably the greatest thing the mod has brought to DOWII.

I would suggest you avoid training ogryns. There are some situations where you absolutely need a melee unit that can hold its own and they will fulfill that role, but at the moment they are overpriced for what they provide. Instead, consider stormtroopers - the AV kit makes them good for hunting down pesky manticores or bringing down walkers like dreadnoughts or bloodcrushers (when supported by a HWT with las/autocannon). The assault kit gives them a grenade and a pretty solid long-range attack. Don't use ST as just another frontline troop, GM will out-perform them in that way. Use their long range to harass enemy units while avoiding straight up fights, infiltrate and drop a grenade at a sensitive spot, or just use them as a cheap, versatile point capturing squad. A squad of infiltrating STs with meltaguns can ruin someones day when his army is halfway across the map and they start gunning down generators.

The Chimera is a great pick in most instances; however, consider a manticore too. If you are facing an enemy who uses large blobs or has entrenched himself on a critical point, a manticore can ruin his day and cause significant bleed (at the very least cause a mass retreat).

Leman Russes at T3 are the universal good choice, although, with all the shameless terminator spam nowadays, consider Kasrkins. The Leman russ plasma gun can inflict pretty serious pain on them, but if the terminators corner your tank in melee you can kiss it goodbye. I haven't used Kasrkins all that much, but with plasma guns they do very good damage to terminators. Also, unlike stormtroopers, they are actually quite strong troops in a frontline firefight. They have great HP and high DPS.

EDIT - also, consider getting the sentinel first. I use it to destroy cover on the enemies side of the map and to rush their units as they capture a point early on. Just the sight of a sentinel can cause someone to abandon a point, negatively affecting their economy.