AMA Developer Blog – Multiplayer

For our latest AMA we invited members of the official Dawn of War IV Discord community to submit their questions to our development team, with a particular focus on multiplayer. (If you’re not already a member, you can join us here)  
 
This AMA features answers from Jan Theysen, Creative Director, and Elliott Verbiest, Senior Game Designer, as they share more about Dawn of War IV's multiplayer. 
 
Grab a brew and settle in, this one is a meaty one. There are a lot of great questions and answers below:  

What will the default 1v1 automatch win condition be: victory points/control points, annihilation, or multiple selectable modes? 

Elliott: For Quick Match, the default mode is Annihilation, but you will be able to select any, or all, of the following game 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. 

How is the team approaching balance across 1v1 and team games, especially with faction asymmetry and different faction difficulty levels? 

Elliott: When it comes to balancing, one of our core pillars is ensuring factions are represented authentically with how they are portrayed in the universe. For multiplayer specifically, we want to ensure play is fair, while making minimal compromises on that authenticity. 

Faction asymmetry is a notoriously difficult aspect to balance in a uniquely complex genre, especially outside the scope of 1v1. As Jan hinted at in a previous AMA, it's important for us as developers to recognize that no amount of testing done internally will ever match the sheer scale and creativity that countless players bring to bear at launch. 

What we can do is gather data, prioritize the most impactful issues, and clearly convey the intent of changes with the community. After launch we’ll keep working on the balancing based on the data and feedback to keep improving it. 

What mechanics are intended to prevent deathball play and reward tactical micro? 

Elliott: Many units have weapons and Wargear that are particularly effective against masses of units, from the Slugga Boyz’ Burna to the Monolith's Particle Whip. Choosing the right upgrades for the right threats and using abilities at the right time can swing a battle in your favor. 

Each faction also possesses a powerful Stratagem regardless of the Commander chosen that can devastate a large group of units if used well. 

When it comes to tactical micro, positioning, engaging enemy range units into melee while protecting your own range units and the optimal use of weapons and abilities give plenty of opportunities for optimisation. 

How central are cover, retreating, and on-field reinforcement to the multiplayer design compared with previous Dawn of War games? 

Elliott: Units benefit from veterancy to different extents across the factions, from providing stat improvements to unlocking new abilities for a unit. 

Cover, retreat, and on-field reinforcement are some of the tools you can use to preserve your forces and their XP in different circumstances: 

Cover is a great defensive option against ranged units, significantly reducing the amount of damage your troops take. It's available on maps as either directional cover, or garrisonable structures that offer protection from all directions. 

Orks can build their own cover, Adeptus Mechanicus can build their own grrisonable structure, while the Necrons do not use cover at all. Certain Wargear can negate cover (e.g. Flamers or grenades) and melee combat will force units out of cover. 

If you can use cover, you should use it. If a battle was a coinflip before, you might now win. But usually covers are more an optimization rather than a decisive factor.  

Retreat is effective for disengaging your units from melee combat or quickly repositioning them to your closest production structure while taking reduced damage, at the cost of losing control of your units for some time. 

You may have noticed in the recent Battle Reports that the Retreat icon above a unit changes color from red to yellow after some time. While the Retreat icon is yellow, you can cancel a Retreat order. 

This ensures Retreat remains a meaningful commitment, while avoiding making it too punishing on larger maps. It’s a nice risk-reward feature: Keeping units longer in a fight means they’ll deal more damage but get them out of there earlier makes it more likely they will survive. 

When the enemy retreats with a unit, you must decide if you want to double down and try to kill that unit with focus fire or abilities or if you let them go. 

On-Field Reinforcement is a flexible tool that enables you to commit resources to extend the longevity of your units, either to tip the scales in a fight, or buy time for you to reinforce a position. 

It's especially useful for keeping your units in a fighting state in the field but has a more limited effect in combat, with the Necrons’ unique variant of this mechanic as an exception. 

This is by far the most powerful of the three features. Units on “auto-reinforce” are noticeably harder to kill. So if you REALLY want to win an engagement, this is one of the best things you can do. However, having many units on auto-reinforce will drain your resources very quickly. You might win the battle but lose the war. We like this feature a lot because it brings the economy – a core pillar of many RTS games – into combat in a meaningful way. 

How will commanders and heroes work in multiplayer? Pre-match selection, mid-match tech unlocks, named campaign characters, or generic faction units? 

Elliott: Commanders are generic faction units outside of the campaigns and are selected pre-match alongside the faction and starting position. They are produced from the headquarters by default for a cost, usually mid-match after some unlocks. You will be able to change the match settings to have them as a starting unit or disable them entirely! 

What role do buildings and tech structures play beyond production, such as unlocking globals, upgrades, units, or alternate strategies? 

Elliott: Buildings and building upgrades often unlock units, research and sometimes other buildings and building-upgrades.  

Space Marines are the most straightforward: their 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 the headquarters. Care is required though, as enemy players can see where structures will be deployed. 

Ork structures can be built by almost any Ork infantry, are relatively cheap, and always come armed, making base crawling second nature to them. This has the additional benefit of shortening the distance to the frontlines for your freshly produced forces. 

Necron structures spread the Power Matrix, which is directly linked to their economy and empowers Necron units on it. The Tomb Pylon structure also acts as a point for Necrons to teleport forces to from their headquarters. 

The Adeptus Mechanicus link structures to their headquarters to form a Noosphere Network, which is crucial for unlocking their more powerful weaponry. It also provides powerful economic and combat boons to units and structures within. 

Can we get developer specific personal favourite factions?  

Elliott: I'm a fan of oddball factions mechanically and spooky skeletons aesthetically, so Necrons are right up my alley when it comes to the playable factions! Otherwise my favourite factions are pretty well-documented since the announcement at Gamescom. 

Jan: It’s changing a lot but currently probably AdMech. Their base-building feeds my inner city-builder, and I also think they have some exceptional units in all phases of the game.

Last but not least, we spotted a fair few of you wanted an update on Army painter! 

Elliott: We'll have more news in the near future but I'm very excited to show off everything it can do at launch! 

Jan: *Biting in fist* It’s going to be awesome. I think there is probably no other painter out there that offers more options. We can’t wait to share more and see what you come up with. 
 
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That’s all for this AMA, but there’s plenty more to come.  
 
We’ll be back with future sessions as we continue to showcase other features of the game such as Skirmish, Last Stand and yes Army Painter. 
 
Thank you for your continued support!