Looking to get into the Warhammer 40k universe...which game should i start with?

So i recently played Space Marine and enjoyed the hell out of it and i got pretty interested in the lore of the warhammer universe and would like to play more games and seeing as how there is a sale on all the dawn of war games, what better time than to start now?

i looked at all of em and i think the only ones that interest me are all the dawn of war II games (vanilla, chaos rising and retribution) and not so much the older ones...so which out of these three would be a good place to start? I'm assuming chaos rising and retribution are stand alone expansions so i wont need vanilla dawn of war II to play them, right? So should i just get the newest one (retribution) and then go back and get the others if i end up liking it? Or should i just start with dawn of war II and worry about the expansions later?

i'm just not really sure how good the expansions are to the vanilla game and how long they are

Thanks

My mate told me Chaos Rising needs vanilla but retri doesn't. Install Retri(f2p weekend atm) play it and if you like it pick up the others while theyre on sale.nameless125

ahh ok...wasn't sure if chaos rising was stand alone too or not...i figured retribution was since it was free to play, so i assumed both were

and i do plan on playing it tomorrow for free since i'm off work...but i won't really have that much time to play that deep into it so that's why i was wondering between the three which one i should get (well now just the two, lol) just in case i couldn't make up my mind in the short amount of time i'll have to play it over the weekend

so now i guess it's between DOWII and retribution

Dawn of War Retribution continues the story of #2 and Chaos Rising. #2 gives you a lot of lore snippets through dialogue and would be a better introduction in my opinion. Retribution just jumps right into it and although it makes some attempt to explain the events leading up to that point it doesn't attempt to cater as well to people unfamiliar with the franchise quite as well as the base game does.

The original Dawn of War would be equally as good however. It's very cheap these days and you could arguably say it's better considering how different the styles of RTS are between the two games.

They are both really fun. I've logged over 80 hours for both the original and Chaos expansion. Having said that, I also feel compelled to put in a plug for the original dawn of war. It captures the feel of the Warhammer universe extremely well, is probably really cheap now and has a fantastic number of unique factions. Dawn of War is more of a traditional RTS, albeit with some unique elements such as having to expand to capture "requisition" points. Also if you are interested in learning more about the Warhammer Universe itself I cannot recommend Dan Abnett's series enough. Both his Gaunt's Ghosts and Eisenhorn series are fantastic.

Dawn of War Retribution continues the story of #2 and Chaos Rising. #2 gives you a lot of lore snippets through dialogue and would be a better introduction in my opinion. Retribution just jumps right into it and although it makes some attempt to explain the events leading up to that point it doesn't attempt to cater as well to people unfamiliar with the franchise quite as well as the base game does.

The original Dawn of War would be equally as good however. It's very cheap these days and you could arguably say it's better considering how different the styles of RTS are between the two games.

xxLordDavidxx

DOW I and DOW II and actually both the same price on steam right now

and ok...hearing that about retribution i think i'll pass on that one for now until i make my way to it

but now you and the poster below you have got me interested in DOW I...i'm only looking to get one of em right now, so for $10, which do you guys think is the best deal? DOW I or II?

I was thinking maybe start at II and if i really enjoy it go back to I?

Depends if you are more interested in a traditional RTS or something a little different. DOW1 has base building and resource gathering etc. while DOW2 has you controlling a very limited number of units which then level up throughout the course of the campaign gaining more HP, abilities etc. I can't tell you which one you should get, but really you can't go wrong with either of them. If you do decide to get DOW1 though just get the first two expansions - Winter Assault and Death Crusade(?) - and pass one the last one. It's absolutely terrible.

Depends if you are more interested in a traditional RTS or something a little different. DOW1 has base building and resource gathering etc. while DOW2 has you controlling a very limited number of units which then level up throughout the course of the campaign gaining more HP, abilities etc. I can't tell you which one you should get, but really you can't go wrong with either of them. If you do decide to get DOW1 though just get the first two expansions - Winter Assault and Death Crusade(?) - and pass one the last one. It's absolutely terrible.

Martel100

yea the DOW I on steam is the gold edition and comes with Winter assault...so that's cool

i do like the sound of DOW II more though...seems very interesting and i love stat building

damn! i think i might cave and just get both DOWI gold edition and DOWII and just wait for the next time these games are on sale to get the expansions if i desire more DOW

sorry for being a bother, but i have one more question....how is the Chaos Rising expansion for DOWII?

i can get both DOWII and CR for $15

i might just end up doing that and hold off on DOW I for now (sorry...i'm an indicisive buyer :P )

vanilla+ CR is pretty solid.. i have both and like em alot.. you will LOVE the space hulk missions in DoWII their practically some of the best levels in a game ive played in a while.

vanilla+ CR is pretty solid.. i have both and like em alot.. you will LOVE the space hulk missions in DoWII their practically some of the best levels in a game ive played in a while.

ionusX

sounds great! This is what i'm going to do then...can't wait to start playing and to start learning more about the lore

if this goes well i'll get DOW I at a later sale

thank you everyone, your feedback is highly appreciated

Start with the table top.

[QUOTE="ionusX"]

vanilla+ CR is pretty solid.. i have both and like em alot.. you will LOVE the space hulk missions in DoWII their practically some of the best levels in a game ive played in a while.

CDUB316

sounds great! This is what i'm going to do then...can't wait to start playing and to start learning more about the lore

if this goes well i'll get DOW I at a later sale

thank you everyone, your feedback is highly appreciated