Complete DoW 2 patch notes released

1.2.1 Patch Notes

AG Warrior nerf: Oh wow, Tyranids are definitely gonna be feeling this one. 52 to 40 is a huge 24% reduction.

Energy shield nerf: About what I expected. 4 to 1 efficiency ratio is still a potent defense. And the 8 second toggle cooldown means people aren't going to be microing the shields on and off in an inane manner.

Falcon regen nerf: Perfectly appropriate nerf. You can argue that the Eldar race in general is UP, and I wouldn't argue with you, but the T3 Falcon spam was getting pretty lame. Something's wrong when your T2 transport is invincible compared to your T3 main battle tank.

Ripper nerf: Still too durable.

Zoan nerf: Uh... 3 seconds? That's... sort of a nerf I guess. Kinda.

Guardian equipment nerf: Not sure why this was needed. Guardians using grenades didn't strike me as OP.

Carnifex cost increased: 50 more req and 10 more power... meh. Was hoping for more, but I suppose the AG warrior nerf will work to magnify the significance of this change.

Tac sarge nerf: Oooooouch. 50 to 28... almost a 50% reduction in damage. I suppose it's a nice push to grab ASMs.

ATSKNF nerf: Reduced to 40% damage... alright. Knockback's unaffected, so it still serves its purpose. Again, just an incentive to invest in ASMs.

Spore Mines nerf: Awesome.

Warp Spider DPS buff: Pretty great, it's a 50% increase. Hope that's enough. If not, try try again.

DoW 2: Hormagaunts and melee-synapse: Leap

Am I the only one who thinks melee-synapsed Hormagaunts are way too good? They get frigging leap! That makes them practically impervious to ranged fire. Let me tell you, ranged fire is not very far in this game. Not even a full screen length, at full zoom out. Tactical squads can get maybe 3 or 4 bursts off before hormagaunts close the distance and tie them up. With leap, they can reduce that to about 1 burst. Melee damage in DoW 2 is higher then ranged damage to compensate for the fact that you have to close the distance. That's the entire justification for weaker ranged damage. Leap removes that disadvantage almost completely. Leap allows your 240 requisition unit to completely trump a 500 requisition unit. Not to mention the knockdown it provides. I find leap pretty damn overpowered right now. If ranged units had twice the distance, leap would go from being amazing to merely a good addition. Which is what a synapse bonus should give you, IMO.

My reaction to the upcoming Dawn of War 2 patch notes

The Carnifex cost increase is really nice though I always thought it was the pop that needed adjusting. 18 pop is way too low for a game-changing unit like that. I mean, Terminators take up 24. Does anyone really think Terminators are that much better?

The nerfing of the energy shields was pretty much expected, but got me thinking... the Terminator armor for the Force Commander really deserves some rethinking. A Thunder Hammer and Stormshield weapon option at the very least. Right now, it's completely unviable.

Definitely a nice change to warriors. We'll probably see a shift from full on AG spam to them including a few zooeys. Which is undoubtedly going to shift community focus onto them and their degree of OPness. Right now they're generally untouchable behind a solid wave of AG Warriors. But with the energy shield nerf... who knows. *shrug*

Overall, pretty good. Though the general impression I get with these notes is that tac spam is a more dire balance issue right now then Ravener tunnels. Which I can't really agree with.

Another Dawn of War 2 query

Anyone else find this strange? How come Terminators, Assault Terminators, and FC in Terminator armor aren incapable of retreating? All other infantry units are able to retreat. It makes sense for vehicles to lack a retreat button, but Terminators aren't vehicles. Other powerful infantry like Tier 3 Nobs and the call-in Seer Council are capable of retreating, so why are Terminators deprived of this option? They'd probably have to retreat slower because of their heavier armor, but that's alright. It just seems like an unnecessary disadvantage.

Dawn of War 2 query

Here's a question... what's up with heavy bolter and plasma devastator squads? Is there a reason they only have 675 health when a tactical squad have 1050? I mean, these squads are all just three guys in power armor. The Tact squad doesn't appear to be wearing heavier armor then the devastators. Why would they lose 35% of their health just because one of them swaps out a bolter for a heavy bolter/plasma cannon? Anybody else think this is strange? Do Warriors lost 35% of their health when they gain a barbed strangler or venom cannon? I'm not writing this because I want SM buffs, it's just kind of an odd inconsistency.

Pretty peculiar.

Something I never understood about Warhammer 40K...

Maybe it's because of my background in BattleTech, but I never understood why the Space Marines are considered the Emperor's finest and greatest weapon in the Imperium's arsenal. They're like, slightly bigger and bulkier then normal humans and you only get a million of em. Who cares about guys in power armor with slightly more powerful-than-usual guns when you have access to giant 100 foot tall castles on legs?