The closed multiplayer beta for Relic’s Dawn of War 3 has come and gone, and I managed to throw some Space Marines to their glorious deaths in a few 3v3 games. There’s an open beta weekend coming on 21 April too, so if you didn’t have access this time that’ll be your next chance.
In the video below you can see edited footage from a pair of matches, with post-game narration providing thoughts on the direction and mechanical changes made to the multiplayer in Dawn of War 3. The summary is that the game plays fairly close to Company of Heroes 2; albeit with a few notable differences.
There are no victory points (at least not in the mode present in the beta). Instead, it’s necessary to take down an opponent’s ‘Power Core’ structure, which itself is protected by a shielded turret. Relic have also introduced ‘Escalation Phases’ to the multiplayer and, as you’ll no doubt have heard, Dawn of War 3 has an ‘Elites’ system that allows the summoning of powerful hero-like units.
Thoughts on all of that, plus footage of my neophyte attempts to control the Space Marines, below.
