Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade Ork Guide Copyright 2007 Version 2.04 Written by White_Pointer e-mail: whitepointer@blood-sports.net Contents of this Guide: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Legal Information 3.0 About the game 4.0 What’s in this guide? 5.0 Ork Units 6.0 The Ork Population System Explained 7.0 The Ork Mob Bonus 8.0 The Complete Ork Dark Crusade 1.2 Tech Tree 9.0 Dark Crusade 1.2 1 vs 1 Ork Strategy Guide 10.0 Acknowledgements and Credits 1.0 Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dawn of War has been out for several years now, and has seen two expansions in this time: Winter Assault and Dark Crusade. The Orks have been there since day 1, however, many people are still confused about how their population system works - especially those that are new to the game and haven't played it prior to Dark Crusade. Being a regular on the Dawn of War forums myself, I've noticed there have been a lot of new players to DC coming into the forums and we have seen an increase in the number of people being totally clueless, or having the wrong idea, of how the Ork population system actually works, even though Orks have been around since the beginning of DoW! Here is a hopefully noob-friendly guide that includes explanations of the race's units, an explanation of the way the Ork population and teching system works, and specific Ork strategies. This guide has been mainly written with Dark Crusade in mind - however it also applies to Winter Assault and the original Dawn of War - just without the references to the new units and the obvious tech tree changes. 2.0 Legal Information ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This guide is intended for personal use only. No profit can be made from this guide under ANY circumstances, it is to be used for non-profit only. This guide will ONLY be hosted on Gamefaqs and RelicNews, unless you have my written consent to publish it on your own site and you MUST e-mail me to request my permission to use it. Please explain in your e-mail what the theme of your site is, the approximate amount of unique visitors you receive each month and what materials the site covers. This guide may not be altered in any way, shape, or form. 3.0 About the game ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War is developed by Relic Entertainment and published by THQ, and is a real-time strategy game set in the Warhammer 40k universe. Initially there was four playable races: The Space Marines, Chaos, Orks and Eldar. Winter Assault, the first expansion, added the Imperial Guard as a playable race. The second expansion, Dark Crusade, added the Tau and Necrons as playable races. 4.0 What’s in this guide? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Orks in Dawn of War probably have the most complicated population and teching system of all of the races, and it can be quite daunting for new players to try to understand how it works. This guide contains all the information you need to know about Ork units and the Ork's population and teching system, so you can hopefully understand how it all works. I've also included the Ork Tech Tree for the latest Dark Crusade patch - patch 1.2 and information on how the new Ork mob bonus works in 1.2. And lastly, to round it all off, a 1v1 strategy guide. What more could you ask for? 5.0 Ork Units ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all you new players out there, here's a guide to all of the Ork units Available in Dark Crusade. 5.1 GRETCHINS ************* Also known as Grots, your gretchins are your builder unit - they do all of the construction of Ork buildings. They can also attack at both range and in close combat, but don't rely on them to actually do any damage. They originally come in a squad of 1, and the squad can be reinforced to 5 members. They hit their maximum build speed at 2 squad members, and their maximum repair speed at 3 squad members. Additional members simply add more health to the squad, and reinforcing is free. SPECIAL ABILITY: INFILTRATE ........................... Gretchins can infiltrate and become invisible to all opposing units unless a detector unit is around. They can build and repair while invisible. Once researched the ability is always on. 5.2 SLUGGA BOYZ *************** Slugga boyz are unfortunately not the powerhouse units they used to be in the original Dawn of War. Since Winter Assault, their role has been reduced to basically being the Ork's point-capping unit. They gain some decent bonuses with the mob bonus if you reinforce them a lot, and they do benefit from a fair chunk of the Ork's upgrades. Their burna heavy weapon is reasonable without being overwhelming, but they are primarily a close combat unit so it makes no sense to stick them on ranged stance to use the burna. They dish out some decent damage if they have a nob leader and the choppy upgrades are researched, but you'll generally find their uses in tier 1 and tier 2 quite minimal. In tier 3, they can be a huge force with More Sluggas researched, which makes them free to build (but not reinforce) and you can make a whole army of them which can be very difficult for an opponent to beat. 5.3 BIG MEK *********** The Big Mek is the Ork's main commander unit throughout tier 1 and most of tier 2. He's a real monster in close combat and will significantly damage anything he touches but does not have the health that other race's commanders have. He's also vital for detection. His pistol is replaced by his mega- blaster after the Big Shooty Boss Weapons research. The Big Mek can also repair vehicles and buildings, but not as fast as gretchins can. SPECIAL ABILITY: TELEPORT ......................... The Big Mek has the ability to teleport as soon as he's built. The teleport has a pretty good range, and if he is attached to a squad, he'll even teleport the squad he's attached to with him. The ability does have a fairly long recharge however (2 minutes) so be careful you don't teleport into a bad situation. SPECIAL ABILITY: FORCE FIELD ............................ Once the Kustim Gadjitz upgrade is researched, the Big Mek gains a force field that reduces the damage taken from all ranged attacks by 10%. The force field also affects all Ork units within a small radius around the Mek. Once researched, the ability is always on and you'll notice an orange glow around the BM and all affected units. SPECIAL ABILITY: TANK ZZZAPPA ............................. Once the Kustim Gadjitz upgrade is researched, the BM also gains his Tank Zzzappa ability. The ability can be used on enemy vehicles to stun then so they can't move or use weapons for 10 seconds. Has a 90 second recharge. 5.4 SHOOTA BOYZ *************** Shoota boyz will probably form your backbone infantry unit in tier 1. They have decent range and damage, and can mix it with most other tier 1 ranged infantry as long as they outnumber them. Use them in conjunction with the BM and sluggas that can tie up enemy squads to prevent them from shooting. Like sluggas, shootas benefit from many of the Ork's upgrades. Their heavy weapon, big shootas, increase their range and damage output significantly. 5.5 STORMBOYZ ************* Stormboyz are the Ork's jump troop. Unlike the close combat jump troops of the other races however they aren't that great at taking on infantry, unless said infantry is ranged with not a lot of health. They are mainly used as a harassment unit to try to slow down opposition economy. They do output some pretty good damage with upgrades and a nob leader however. SPECIAL ABILITY: JUMP .................... Stormboyz can jump a pretty good distance using their jetpacks, allowing them traverse long or difficult terrain very quickly. They can jump twice before the ability needs to recharge. SPECIAL ABILITY: SPEED BOOST ............................ Once Stormboy Speed Boost is researched, the base movement speed of stormboyz becomes a lot faster. They also gain their speed boost ability which can be used to temporarily increase their movement speed even more. 5.6 NOBZ ******** Nobz are the Ork's backbone tier 2 infantry unit. They are tough as nails, especially with upgrades, and they dish out some pretty mean damage too. They move slower than other tier 2 close combat specialists, so attach them to your Big Mek and teleport them around to cause no end of trouble to your opponent. In tier 3, they become tougher still with additional health upgrades and their power claw heavy weapon that rips things apart from quickly. The power claws are expensive though. 5.7 TANKBUSTAS ************** Tankbustas are the Ork's main anti-vehicle unit throughout tier 2 and tier 3. They dish out very good damage to vehicles when they actually hit them, but can suffer from some pretty mediocre accuracy. Always have a squad of two of these guys in your army to take on enemy vehicles. SPECIAL ABILITY: INFILTRATE ........................... Tankbustas have the ability to become invisible unless a detector unit is around, making them an even better anti-vehicle option than they already are. They can fire their rokkits while infiltrated. Once researched the ability is always on. 5.8 MEGA-ARMOURED NOBZ ********************** The second commander unit Orks receive are the Mega-Armoured Nobz, originally coming in a squad of one that can be reinforced to four. They are absolute beasts in close combat and can take on pretty much any target, but they particularly make a mess of enemy commanders, infantry and buildings. SPECIAL ABILITY: POWER SURGE ............................ The Mega-Armoured Nobz get a temporary movement speed boost they can use to get into battle faster or to make a quick retreat. They glow a red colour when it's used. The ability drains health away from the MANZ until it wears off. Lasts for 15 seconds. 5.9 MAD DOCS ************ Mad docs are a vital Ork unit in tier 3. They provide health regeneration to nearby Ork units of 4 hitpoints/second plus have a number of other abilities that can swing the battle in the Ork's favour. SPECIAL ABILITY: FIGHTIN' JUICE ............................... The Mad Doc can use fightin' juice on any Ork squad (including a squad the doc itself is attached to) and the squad will not die for 20 seconds. It will still take damage as normal, but will not drop below 1 hitpoint until the ability wears off. SPECIAL ABILITY: BURNA BOMB ........................... The Mad Doc can drop a bomb at a given location, that explodes in 6 seconds and causes massive damage to anything that is unlucky enough to be standing close enough when it detonates - even your own units. The bomb can be diffused by the enemy if they target it and destroy it before it goes off. Costs 100 power to use. 5.10 FLASH GITZ *************** Flash Gitz are the Ork's primary ranged infantry unit in tier 3. They are awesome at killing loads of infantry very quickly, though aren't that great against vehicles and buildings. They provide some serious firepower and work best when combined with nobz or other close combat units. Their damage can be upgraded by researching the Dakka upgrades. 5.11 WARBOSS ************ The ultimate Ork Commander, the Warboss really is a monster. He deals significant damage to pretty much all targets in close combat and his ranged damage isn't too shabby either. With upgrades he can tussle with just about anything in the game except for the big relic units. Attach him to a Nob squad for extra power. SPECIAL ABILITY: POWER OF WAAAGH! ................................. When used, the Power of Waaagh! ability grants all nearby Ork units morale immunity, a 15% damage boost and a 33% movement speed boost for 20 seconds. Take 2 minutes to recharge. 5.12 WARTRUKKS ************** Wartrukks are what Orks use to get around when they don't feel like walking! They are great as transports and can carry two squads of orks in each one, and they move pretty quickly too. Don't write them off as simple transports though because they have a potent ranged attack that combines with Nobz in tier 2 quite nicely. SPECIAL ABILITY: SPEED BOOST ............................ Wartrukks can use this ability to temporarily gain a speed boost to get into or out of combat quickly. 5.13 WARTRAKS ************* Wartraks are the other light vehicle option for Orks. They cannot carry troops like Trukks, but make up for this with firepower. By default they come with a dual-rokkit launcher, that isn't bad but shouldn't be relied on for anti-vehicle damage. They can then be upgraded with a bomb chucka which provides awesome artillery and disruption against enemy infantry and slow down the target's movement speed if it hits. It also hits your own units though so be careful. SPECIAL ABILITY: SPEED BOOST ............................ Wartraks can use this ability to temporarily gain a speed boost to get into or out of combat quickly. 5.14 KILLA KANS *************** The Ork's walker vehicle is the Killa Kan and it packs an awesome punch in close combat. It moves the slowest of all the walkers in the game, but will also beat all walkers 1v1 except for Dreadnoughts. They have a lot of health and will take heaps of punishment before going down, so use them as damage sinks while the rest of your army moves in. Their default ranged weapon, their big shoota, isn't anything special. It can be upgraded to a rokkit launcher that does pretty good damage against vehicles and buildings but has horrible accuracy. 5.16 LOOTED TANKS ***************** Looted Tanks used to be called Looted Leman Russes in the original Dawn of War, but I guess they changed it to avoid confusion with the Imperial Guard's version. The Looted Tanks are far and away the worst tier 4 tank unit in the game and will lose to all other tier 4 tank units easily. But they do have a lot of hitpoints and can take a lot of punishment before going down, and they provide some very good anti-infantry firepower to complement the Ork's infantry-based army. It's artillery is both a blessing and a curse...the range is a lot larger than that of the Wartrak's, but like the Wartrak it also has friendly fire. It's also not firing it's bolters when at it's maximum artillery range. Best to keep them close to your army. 5.17 SQUIGGOTH ************** The huge behemoth that is the Squiggoth will put terror into any opposition army. The Squiggoth is enormous, which does cause some pathing problems now and then, but makes up for it with huge close combat damage across the board to pretty much anything, and it's ranged damage is pretty good too. It can also be used as a transport to carry up to two squads into battle and has plenty of hitpoints. Believe me your enemy will want to target the Squiggoth as soon as he sees him. Don't hesitate to get him out if the opportunity arises. SPECIAL ABILITY: RAMPAGE ........................ When using the rampage ability, the Squiggoth rears back then charges forward to the selected destination like a runaway Rhinoceros, knocking most infantry (including your own) away and flying into the air along the way. 6.0 The Ork Population System Explained ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here we go then, here's where it starts getting difficult. Put your thinking caps on and I'll tell you about the Ork Population System. 6.1 ORK CAP *********** The first thing to note about the Orks is that they do not have a squad cap like every other race in the game. All the other races have a limit to the number of squads they can build before they need to increase their cap, but they can reinforce these squads to maximum strength without needing any additional upgrades. Orks do not work this way. Orks work on what is known as Ork cap. This may seem confusing at first since it's so far removed from the way the other races work but it's really not that hard to understand. Instead of a limit to the number of squads they can field, Orks have a limit to the number of Orks they can field. Every Ork you have on the battlefield takes up Ork cap. This means two squads of four Orks take the same Ork cap as one squad of eight Orks. This means that, unlike the other races, reinforcing your squads takes up Ork pop. If you have 4 sluggas, and reinforce that squad to 8 for example, it will take 8 Ork pop for the squad, not 4. How much pop does each Ork unit take up? Excellent question. As of Dark Crusade patch 1.2, Ork infantry pop usage looks like this: _______________________________ |Unit Pop Usage| |_______________________________| | | |Gretchins 0 | |Sluggas 1 | |Shootas 1 | |Stormboyz 1 | |Tankbustas 1 | |Mad Docs 1 | |Nob Leaders 2 | |Stormboy Nobz 2 | |Nobz 2 | |Flash Gitz 2 | |Big Mek 2 | |Mega-Armoured Nobz 2 | |Warboss 2 | |_______________________________| The above is an important thing to note about the Ork heroes. Unlike all other races with the exception of the Imperial Guard, Ork heroes take up pop cap, as do their squad leaders. If you do not have the Ork pop to build them, they can't be built! So, keeping the above chart in mind, a force consisting of 8 sluggas with a nob leader, 4 shootas, and a Big Mek will take up 16 Ork cap. Note that vehicles do NOT take up Ork pop, they have their own separate vehicle cap which by and large works the same way as the other races. Again, as of Dark Crusade patch 1.2, the Ork vehicle pop usage looks like this: _______________________________ |Unit Vehicle Pop Usage| |_______________________________| | | |Wartrukks 3 | |Wartraks 3 | |Squiggoth 3 | |Killa Kans 4 | |Looted Tanks 5 | |_______________________________| 6.2 INCREASING YOUR ORK CAP *************************** Okay, so now you have the basics on how the Ork population system works. So you jump into a game and...hey...wait...you've only got 15 Ork pop to start with! That's not many Orks, so how do you increase your pop cap so you can build more Orks? Excellent question. Orks do not increase their population cap the same way as most of the other races with simple upgrades found in the HQ, nor do they receive any increase in pop cap by adding squad leaders like most of the other races (in fact squad leaders actually take up pop cap, as previously noted). To increase their population cap, Orks must build a special building called a Waaagh banner. Each Waaagh banner you build increases your Ork population cap by 10 and increases your vehicle cap by 2. Each waagh banner also progresses you up the tech tree, which we'll get to covering soon. For the purposes of this guide, building a waaagh banner will increase your Ork cap by 10 (on an interesting side note for you game junkies out there, building additional settlements will give you an extra 2 Ork cap). Unfortunately, this system does have it's drawbacks. Unlike the other races Orks can be knocked back in their population cap if their waaagh banners are destroyed. This will also be covered in more detail below. All other races have a maximum squad limit of 20. Since Orks don't work on a squad cap, they are limited to a maximum of 100 Ork pop. So each waaagh banner will increase your Ork pop by 10 up to a maximum of 100, and each waaagh banner will increase your vehicle pop by 2 up to a maximum of 20. 6.3 ORK RESOURCE **************** Okay, Ork resource. This is where is starts getting tricky my young padawans, so sit down and pay attention. Orks effectively have a third resource known as Ork Resource. This is the red number in the top left corner of the screen underneath the requisition and power resource numbers. Even though it's not a resource technically speaking, it's probably the best description for it. As explained above, every Ork you have on the field takes up Ork pop, and you need to build waaagh banners to increase that Ork pop so you can build more Orks. That's how it works on a basic level...but as you may have noticed, you need to wait a few seconds after building a banner before you can actually build more Orks, you can't do it straight away. Why is this? It's because after you construct that banner, you need to wait for your Ork resource to accumulate before you can build more Orks. Think of Waaagh banners as kind of similar to generators...once that generator is built you'll need to wait until enough power has accumulated to be able to build what you wanted to build. Banners work in a similar way, but unlike generators, constructing more does not increase the rate your Ork resource accumulates. Constructing more banners instead increases your maximum Ork cap, but you'll still need to wait a set amount of time for the Ork resource to accumulate before you can take advantage of that maximum pop cap. Ork resource will roughly increase by 1 every 1 game second. Also unlike generators and the power resource, there's always a maximum amount of Ork resource you can reach. So, the Ork resource works hand in hand with your maximum Ork pop. Here's an example: You start with a maximum 15 Ork pop. This means that the Ork resource will accumulate up to a maximum of 15 until you build a waaagh banner. So, you build a waaagh banner, and this increases your maximum Ork cap to 25. You then need to wait until your Ork resource accumulates before you can build more Orks, and it will accumulate up to a maximum of 25. Now then, just when you thought it was safe, here's where it starts getting a bit trickier. Your Ork resource is determined not just by the amount of Orks you have on the field, but also the amount of Orks you can POTENTIALLY have on the field. You'll notice at the start of a game, your Ork resource will accumulate to a maximum of 15. This means you can potentially build 15 pop worth of Orks. Build a squad of sluggas however, and your accumulated Ork resource decreases by 4, and you don't get that back (unless the sluggas all die, which we'll get to soon). You are now reduced to an accumulated Ork resource of 11, so now you can only build 11 pop worth of Orks. But but but! Notice that your maximum Ork resource remains at 15. For all intents and purposes, you have 15 Ork pop worth of Orks, even though only 4 of them are actually on the field. If you are starting to have a brain spasm right about now, you probably aren't alone. Talk about a head spin! The Ork resource system can be described kind of like a bank. You build your waaagh banners, and Ork resource starts accumulating into an Ork resource bank. By building Orks, you withdraw from the bank, but you haven't spent the Ork resource, you still have it in your pocket, so you still have the same amount of Ork resource. It's just split into two different places. If those built Orks die however, you haven't lost that Ork resource. It will accumulate back into your bank account up to the current maximum Ork pop. It seems convoluted, but it really isn't that hard to understand once you get your head around it. Increase your maximum Ork pop by building banners, wait a bit, then you can build more Orks. If those Orks die, wait a bit, then you can build them again. Your Ork resource is the combination of the Orks you have on the field as well as the Orks you haven't built yet but can potentially build. 6.4 ORK TECHING SYSTEM ********************** Orks tech differently to other races, and their teching system is quite unique. The Ork's teching system is based around the current Ork resource level. All Ork units, upgrades and structures require a certain amount of Ork resource to build. The Ork's armoury structure, the Pile O' Gunz, requires an Ork pop of 20 to build. This means from the start of the game, you need to construct a waaagh banner, then wait for your Ork resource to increase to 20 before you can build the structure. The same goes with units...Stormboyz for example require an Ork pop of 31, so you need to construct 2 banners, then wait for your resource to accumulate to 31 before you can build stormboyz. Some units and structures require other stuff to be built as well on top of needing the Ork pop...for example Nobz require 55 Ork pop as well as the PoG to be built. I have a complete Ork tech tree listing for Dark Crusade patch 1.2 in section 8.0 of this guide. You'll notice it's split up into what you can build or upgrade after each successive banner. Once you hit tier 3 though (that is, once you upgrade the settlement to the orky fort), additional banners do not increase tech level (but they still increase your maximum Ork pop). 6.5 DISADVANTAGES OF THE ORK SYSTEM *********************************** So now, hopefully, you have a pretty solid understanding on how the Ork population system works, how the Ork resource system works and how the Ork teching system works. Wait a minute, how come my tech level or my current maximum Ork pop decreases? Unfortunately the Ork's system of doing things does have it's disadvantages. It's really easy to be knocked backwards in tech level or maximum Ork pop, something the other races generally don't need to deal with. If a banner is destroyed, you will instantly lose the maximum Ork pop it provides. If you are currently at 55 Ork pop for example, if you lose a banner, your MAXIMUM Ork pop will instantly decrease to 45. If however your Ork resource has already accumulated to 55, it will stay that way until you build more Orks. Once you start building Orks, you'll use that stored up Ork resource, but it will only accumulate back to a maximum of 45 until you replace that banner. Therefore, your tech level will not decrease despite losing banners until you actually build Orks and use up your stored away Ork resource. So if you are at 55 pop and you still have your Pile o' Gunz, but then lose a banner, you can still build Nobz. However you'll quickly find you can no longer build new squads of them until you replace that banner (existing squads can still be reinforced though, provided you have the spare Ork resource to do it). This applies to vehicles too...if you are at 65 pop and lose a banner, you can still build a killa kan. But if you build a nob squad before you replace that missing banner, and your Ork resource drops to 55 as a result, you'll find you can no longer build killa kans until you replace that banner. Remember vehicles don't count towards the Ork pop system, but they ARE still affected by it. Keep in mind, good players will exploit this weakness and target your banners in an effort to try and knock you back in tech level. Be prepared to replace those banners a lot, especially later in the game. There are some Ork units that do not require a Ork pop level however. These are all the units that can be built once you have you have reached tier 3 (that is, you have upgraded your settlement to an orky fort). That is: Warboss, Mad Doc and Flash Gitz. As long as your orky fort is still standing, these units can still be built regardless of how many banners you lose once you get to that point. Looted Tanks can also still be built once Extra Vehicle Armour (that is, tier 4) has been researched and are not affected by banners...however the Squiggoth is affected by banners as well as requiring a captured relic. HOWEVER, the "gotcha" here is that your tier 2 and tier 1 units are still affected by the banners even once you are in tier 3. If you are in tier 3, and you lose enough banners while you are continuing to pump Orks out, you'll quickly find you can't build nobz, tankbustas, stormboyz, wartrukks, wartraks, killa kans or mega-armoured nobz. Don't be caught out by this! If you want to keep building these units in tier 3, you'll need to replace those banners. 7.0 The Ork Mob Bonus ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.1 MOB BONUS PRIOR TO DARK CRUSADE *********************************** You've probably heard at least something about the Ork's mob bonus in Dawn of War. It's gone through several forms over the course of two expansions and a number of patches. It used to not work at all when Dawn of War first hit the shelves! After several patches they finally fixed it...and between that time and Dark Crusade's release this was how it worked: _____________________________________________________________________________ |1) If 15 pop units are within a radius of 15, all of those Orks get a 30% | | morale regeneration increase. | |2) If 30 pop units are within a radius of 20, all of those Orks gain IMMUNITY| | to morale damage. | |3) If 50 pop units are within a radius of 25, all of those Orks gain a 20% | | damage bonus and doubled charge bonuses. | |_____________________________________________________________________________| Each "level" of mob bonus stacked with the previous "level"...which meant for example that at level 3 Orks got a 20% damage bonus, double charge bonus AND morale immunity and 30% morale regeneration increase. Here's a brief explanation of some of the above terminology because for new players, it probably won't make sense to you: The "pop of units" shouldn't be too hard to understand now that you've read about the Ork pop system. The pop in regards to the mob bonus in Dawn of War and Winter Assault refers to how much Ork pop a particular unit used. 15 pop doesn't necessarily mean 15 Orks. It WILL mean 15 Orks for the Ork units that only take 1 pop each...sluggas, shootas, stormboyz, tankbustas and mad docs. But for the units that used 2 pop each, you'd only need half that number to get that level 1 bonus. So a single reinforced squad of nobz for example would have given you that level 1 mob bonus all by itself. The "radius" part might have you scratching your head a bit. The numbers for the radius refer to an in-game unit of measurement. The best way to explain these numbers, without pulling out the game data files and throwing number crunching at you, is using weapon ranges as a guide. All ranged weapons have a maximum range they can fire at. The maximum range of shoota boyz for example is 25. That means when they have line of sight at their target, they can fire at a range of 25 in-game units. Once they get their big shoota heavy weapon, their range increases to 35. So, to get the level 3 mob bonus, picture the maximum range of shoota boyz (without big shootas), and make a circle in your head using that range as the radius (half the diameter). Once you have that circle pictured in your head, you need to squeeze 50 pop work of Orks into that circle to get the level 3 mob bonus. A radius of 15 or 20 is obviously a lot smaller than 25, but using this as a guide, you should be able to roughly work those out too. 7.2 MOB BONUS IN DARK CRUSADE ***************************** The mob bonus in Dark Crusade now works differently. Prior to patch 1.2, It seems at least that the level 3 mob bonus from Dawn of War/Winter Assault had been removed. That is, it was: _____________________________________________________________________________ |1) If 15 pop units are within a radius of 15, all of those Orks get a 30% | | morale regeneration increase. | |2) If 30 pop units are within a radius of 20, all of those Orks gain IMMUNITY| | to morale damage. | |_____________________________________________________________________________| Now in the latest patch, patch 1.2, it's been changed yet again, and completely reworked. Now, unfortunately, it's a bit more complicated than simply grouping large numbers of Orks in a small area and receiving global bonuses to those Orks. If you look in the patchlog for Dark Crusade 1.2, which you'll find on your PC (if you have installed the patch) in the "Patch" folder under the directory you installed Dark Crusade, you'll see this (this is straight out of the official changelog file and I do not claim it as my own): _____________________________________________________________________________ |Ork Waaagh Charge (mobbing) abilities have been reworked. | | | |* Mob bonuses triggering will now require a Pile O’ Gunz and a population | | of 50. | |* Morale regeneration and damage bonuses now only apply to individual squads.| | The more units that are in a squad, the higher the benefit. | |* A speed bonus has been added to the ability. | |* A health regeneration bonus has been added to the ability | |* Decreased the minimum number of Orks needed to start the bonus from 15 to | | 5. | |* Morale immunity is still area effect and is not confined to individual | | squads. | |_____________________________________________________________________________| Okay so what does all that mean? - Well the first point is pretty self-explanatory. The mob bonuses (all of them) now require you to be at tier 2 (50 Ork pop plus the Pile O' Gunz). They no longer trigger at any time like they used to. - The second point means this - In Dawn of War and Winter Assault, it didn't matter how many Orks were in the squads. As long as you had enough pop of Orks in the required radius, you'd get the bonus. This is no longer the case. The bonuses no longer apply to small squads. You'll need to reinforce them to receive most of the bonuses now. The larger the squad, the bigger the bonus. - The third point is that now Orks get a slight movement speed boost when affected by the mob bonuses. Easy enough. - The fourth point is similar to the third - the Orks affected by the bonuses now regenerate health slowly. - The fifth point is an interesting one. Prior to Dark Crusade you needed a minimum of 15 pop of Orks to trigger the first mob bonus. Now you only need 5. - The morale immunity bonus is one thing that hasn't changed. This is the same as it's always been...30 pop of Orks within a radius of 20 grants morale immunity for those Orks regardless of the squad sizes. So now there's six distinct bonuses Orks can receive by "mobbing up": - Charge (that is, morale regeneration) - Damage - Health - HealthRegen - Immunity (that's MORALE immunity) - Speed Some members of the Dark Crusade community have plunged through the game's data files to find out exactly what values the bonuses have, and here they are for your reading pleasure: ################## CHARGE ...... The entire squad gains +7% morale regeneration rate for every member of the squad affected by the ability. So the more members you have, the faster the morale regeneration! DAMAGE ...... The entire squad gains +2% in damage output for every member of the squad affected by the ability. So the more members you have, the more damage they dish out! Very nice, although the maximum you can get seems to be around +40%. Still not too shabby. HEALTH ...... The entire squad gains +2% health for every member of the squad affected by the ability. Unfortunately only one unit is affected by this ability which I'll get to soon. HEALTHREGEN ........... The entire squad gains a +12% health regeneration rate. That's the maximum it gets to, which isn't much at all, and it only affects two units (again, I'll get to that). IMMUNITY ........ Same as always: at least 30 pop of Orks in the required radius of 20 gain morale immunity. SPEED ..... The entire squad gets a +1.5% movement speed increase for every member of the squad affected by the ability. So the more members you have, the faster the entire squad moves! Also very nice, though the maximum speed you can reach is +28%. ################## But it gets more complicated than that. Wow, Relic certainly didn't make the Orks an easy to understand race did they? The complication arises because, as I alluded to above, the community has uncovered that not all Ork units are affected by every bonus! Bah. What also makes it complicated is that different Ork units have a different value when calculating the mob bonus. Some Orks are worth 1 Ork for the bonus, some are worth 2, and the big Warboss is worth 5! Lucky I've made this handy dandy chart so you know which bonuses affect which Ork units (provided they meet the criteria to receive the bonuses, of course) and what value on the mob they each have. Note HRegen = HealthRegen and Immune = Immunity, I have just shortened the words to make sure the table fits in the FAQ's formatting correctly. ____________________________________________________________________________ |Unit Charge Damage Health HRegen Immune Speed Mob Value| |____________________________________________________________________________| | | |Gretchins No No No No No No 0 | |Sluggas Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes 1 | |Shootas Yes No No No Yes No 1 | |Stormboyz Yes Yes No No Yes No 1 | |Tankbustas Yes Yes No No Yes No 1 | |Mad Docs Yes Yes No No Yes No 1 | |Nob Leaders Yes Yes No No Yes Yes 2 | |Stormboy Nobz Yes Yes No No Yes Yes 2 | |Nobz Yes No No No Yes No 2 | |Flash Gitz Yes Yes No No Yes Yes 1 | |Big Mek Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 2 | |Mega-Armoured Nobz Yes Yes No No Yes No 2 | |Warboss Yes Yes No No Yes No 5 | |____________________________________________________________________________| So there you go. It's important to note the Big Mek is the only unit that's affected by the health bonus to add a whopping 2% to his health (and only when he's actually attached to a large squad, to boot), and only the Big Mek and Sluggas are affected by the health regeneration bonus. Gretchins are not affected by any of the bonuses. Also note that shoota boy, stormboy and nob squad nob leaders are technically affected by the speed bonus, but because the entire squad moves as slow as it's slowest member, the only nob leader that actually benefits from the speed bonus in-game is the slugga nob leader, due to the fact shootas, stormboyz and nobz don't actually benefit from the speed bonus themselves. Mega-Armoured Nobz are also supposed to benefit from the morale immunity bonus, but in-game, it doesn't seem to work for some reason. Clear as mud? Good. Hopefully using this information you can now try to utilise the new mob bonuses. 8.0 The Complete Ork Dark Crusade 1.2 Tech Tree ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is complete...it includes build times, tech levels and costs for all structures, units and upgrades - now updated for DC 1.2! Aren't I good to you guys? Everything you need to know about the Ork tech tree is in here. You'll notice the tech tree is grouped up on a "per banner" basis, since additional tech is unlocked with each additional banner. Orks don't really have any defined "tiers" in their teching, but I have made a note of at what tech level the community considers Orks to enter into the next tier. I've also split each tech level into what structures, units and upgrades are available at that point. Note: For structure build times, they are taken when you have 2 or more gretchins in your gretchin squad (gretchins do not build any faster if they have more than 2 members in the squad, point to note - they hit their maximum build speed at 2 squad members. They repair faster with 3 but don't build any faster). 8.1 UNIT HARD CAPS ****************** A number of Ork units in Dark Crusade are hard capped. This means you cannot build more than this amount of this type of unit regardless of how much Ork Pop you have free. - Gretchins are hard capped to 4 squads - Nobz are hard capped to 2 squads - Flash Gitz are hard capped to 2 squads - Looted Tanks are hard capped to 2 units - Big Mek is hard capped to 1 unit - Mega-Armoured Nobz are hard capped to 1 squad - Warboss is hard capped to 1 unit - Mad Docs are hard capped to 4 units - Squiggoth is hard capped to 1 unit 8.2 ORK DETECTOR UNITS ********************** Since there is still some confusion about this, I'll list the Ork detector units in Dark Crusade here as well. Orks only have three: - The Big Mek - Mega-Armoured Nobz - The Warboss 8.3 ORK TECH TREE ***************** Alright, so now that that's all out of the way, here's the complete tech tree. Each listing goes like this: Name - Cost (Requisition/Power) - Build Time ###### TIER 1 ###### [0-15 BOYZ] (No banners) ........................ << STRUCTURES >> Settlement - 650/150 - 114 seconds Note: Each additional settlement will cost you 250/150 more than the previous one. Yes, this means if you build a settlement when you don't already have one, it'll only cost you 400/0) Boyz Hut - 225/0 - 27 seconds Listenin' Post - 90/0 - 23 seconds Generator - 150/0 - 24 seconds Mine Field - 50/50 - 13 seconds Waagh Banner - 165/0 - 24 seconds << UNITS >> Gretchin Squad - 90/0 - 9 seconds Slugga Boy Squad (built from HQ) - 120/0 - 18 seconds Slugga Boy Squad (built from Boyz Hut) - 120/0 - 15 seconds Shoota Boy Squad - 140/0 - 25 seconds Big Mek - 190/50 - 50 seconds << UPGRADES >> Gretchin Infiltration - 50/0 - 25 seconds LP -> LP2 - 100/75 - 35 seconds [15-25 BOYZ] (1 banner) ....................... << STRUCTURES >> Pile 'O Gunz - 150/50 - 33 seconds << UNITS >> None << UPGRADES >> More Dakka - 60/20 - 60 seconds More Burny - 50/50 - 30 seconds Burna (Slugga Heavy Weapon) - 20/10 - 9 seconds Big Shoota (Shoota Heavy Weapon) - 40/10 - 12 seconds WB -> WB2 - 50/50 - 30 seconds WB2 -> WB3 - 50/50 - 30 seconds [25-35 BOYZ] (2 banners) ........................ << STRUCTURES >> None << UNITS >> Nob Leader (Slugga) - 75/25 - 25 seconds *Requires Pile O' Gunz* Nob Leader (Shoota) - 75/25 - 25 seconds *Requires Pile O' Gunz* Stormboy Squad - 160/0 - 23 seconds Stormboy Nob - 75/20 - 30 seconds *Requires Pile O' Gunz* << UPGRADES >> 'Eavy Boy Armour - 75/25 - 45 seconds Stormboy Speed Boost - 25/35 - 40 seconds [35-45 BOYZ] (3 banners) ........................ << STRUCTURES >> None << UNITS >> Big Mek (with Kustim Gadjitz researched) - 190/50 - 62 seconds << UPGRADES >> Kustim Gadjitz - 75/75 - 42 seconds Blastier - 100/25 - 45 seconds More Choppy - 100/50 - 30 seconds ###### TIER 2 ###### [45-55 BOYZ] (4 banners) ........................ << STRUCTURES >> Mek Shop - 235/135 - 40 seconds Bigga Generator - 275/0 - 40 seconds << UNITS >> Nob Squad - 250/75 - 33 seconds *Requires Pile O' Gunz* Nob Leader (Nob Squad) - 75/25 - 25 seconds *Requires Pile O' Gunz* Tankbusta Squad - 150/30 - 20 seconds *Requires Pile O' Gunz* Wartrukk - 150/135 - 25 seconds Wartrak - 145/100 - 20 seconds << UPGRADES >> Tankbusta Infiltration - 50/75 - 25 seconds Tougher Bosses - 100/25 - 45 seconds Vehicle Speed Boost - 50/50 - 30 seconds Escalate Engagement - 75/250 - 60 seconds Strengthen Power Grid - 200/40 - 60 seconds Bomb Chucka (Wartrak Heavy Weapon) - 50/50 - 25 seconds [55-65 BOYZ] (5 banners) ........................ << STRUCTURES >> None << UNITS >> Mega-Armoured Nobz - 100/45 - 45 seconds Killa Kan - 190/275 - 30 seconds << UPGRADES >> Even More Burny - 50/50 - 30 seconds Rokkit Launcha (Killa Kan Heavy Weapon) - 120/60 - 28 seconds [65-75 BOYZ] (6 banners) ........................ << STRUCTURES >> None << UNITS >> None << UPGRADES >> Big Shooty Boss Weapons - 125/50 - 50 seconds Orky Fort - 300/300 - 90 seconds ###### TIER 3 ###### [ORKY FORT] ........... << STRUCTURES >> None << UNITS >> Flash Gitz - 210/30 - 25 seconds Mad Doc - 75/75 - 20 seconds Warboss - 200/75 - 30 seconds << UPGRADES >> Even More Dakka - 80/40 - 60 seconds Even More Choppy - 150/100 - 30 seconds Super 'Eavy Boy Armour - 75/25 - 45 seconds Even Tougher Bosses - 125/50 - 45 seconds LP2 -> LP3 - 250/145 - 60 seconds Full Scale War - 100/350 - 95 seconds Plasma Battery Storage - 350/0 - 95 seconds Power Claw (Nob Heavy Weapon) - 40/20 - 10 seconds More Sluggas - 200/0 - 45 seconds Extra Vehicle Armour - 400/400 - 96 seconds ###### TIER 4 ###### [EXTRA VEHICLE ARMOUR] ...................... << STRUCTURES >> None << UNITS >> Looted Tank - 150/300 - 45 seconds Squiggoth - 400/400 - 90 seconds *Requires Captured Relic* << UPGRADES >> None 9.0 Dark Crusade 1.2 1 vs 1 Ork Strategy Guide ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, now that all that stuff is over and done with...it's time to get our hands dirty and delve into Ork strategies! Note that this strategy guide has been written using Dark Crusade patch version 1.2 as the basis. It may or may not be relevant for any patches that might get released after 1.2. Also note that while some of these strategies may work in large team or free for all games, it's generally geared to the 1v1 game. So, this guide is for those who already know what they are doing with Orks. I'll assume you have read and understand all the information about how the Ork population and teching system works and what's available at what point in the tech tree. I'll also assume you have *some* experience while playing and have a fair understanding of what each unit's strengths and weaknesses are. This strategy guide has been born through my own experience with Orks, as well as from talking to and watching replays from other skilled Ork players such as K0lyan, Xerxes, Slow_Runner, Santiago4ever, marteffyo, Balllaman and r3r3drum, amongst others. 9.1 GENERAL PLAY WITH ORKS ************************** HARASSING AND TECHING ..................... There's one thing to note about Orks that will become pretty apparent quite quickly - they generally tech slower than the other races, especially from tier 1 to tier 2. This is because Orks are the most requisition-hungry race to tech from tier 1 to tier 2, and this of course requires map control which isn't always easy to achieve. The other races generally don't need to worry about securing as much of the map as they can in the opening minutes as Orks do in regards to needing that requisition to tech, but most of them are quite good at denying Orks the map control they need. For this reason, a lot of your early game should be focused on harassing your opponent to try to slow them down enough to allow you to get to tier 2 and get your heavy hitters out - and games WILL go to at least tier 2. Between two players of equal skill games in DC are never outright won or lost in tier 1. It's all about getting as much leverage as you can in tier 1 to launch yourself into tier 2. Other races that can quick tech can do it easier than Orks can, so that's why it's really important to start pressuring them early to try to put the brakes on their tech as much as possible. Hit them early, hit them hard. THE BIG MEK ........... Another note is that unlike some other races who can do without their commanders in tier 1, building the BM is generally not an option with Orks. He's your main deterrent against harassment and the main force in a harass itself. Even if the opponent doesn't build their commander in tier 1, you should always build the BM. He has awesome killing power and can tie a squad up forever, giving you a much better chance of fighting for the map. Don't forget though that he'll lose in a straight 1v1 fight against most other commanders (even the farseer if she uses both her spells on him), so whenever it's possible attach him to a slugga squad to provide extra protection. Oh yeah, he's also your only mobile detector until at least late tier 2. INFILTRATION ............ This should go without saying but research tankbusta infiltration as soon as it's time to start using tankbustas. It's invaluable. Grot infiltration is also a good idea, though don't get it too early unless you are facing a rush. UPGRADES ........ - The first upgrade you should probably get is the armour upgrade from the PoG...mostly because it's available quite early and doesn't take too long. It's important to get it as early as possible - the longer your boyz are
staying alive, the less you'll need to spend reinforcing them and the faster
you can tech.
- Next on the list would be either choppy or blastier, depending on whether
you are focusing on a more CC or shooty army. It's usually a good idea to get
both eventually, but which one you go for first will be dependent on what
strategy you are using.
- It's almost always a good idea to get the Big Mek's Kustim Gadjitz upgrade
- Tougher bosses is also usually a good idea, but not before the previously
mentioned upgrades
- The Burna upgrades aren't a good idea unless you are massing burnas (which
also isn't a good idea generally speaking)
- The Dakka upgrades can generally wait until quite late when you are thinking
about going tier 3 and getting flash gitz out

TO FREE SLUGGA, OR NOT TO FREE SLUGGA
.....................................

There's no doubt that making use of Free Sluggas can be powerful in the right
situation - though it's not so much of a problem in 1v1's as it is in larger
team games. It also however relies pretty heavily on your opponent leaving you
alone for the majority of the game, because it does take a lot of time and
resources to get to. Heading straight for tier 3 and free sluggas is never a
good idea as you'll almost always get overrun before you get there or before
you can reach any great number of sluggas. But regardless, if it's used as
part of a normal tech into tier 3, it CAN win you games that you probably
otherwise wouldn't have won, especially if you combine them with flash gitz
and vehicles. Use it sparingly, or risk being accused of being an abusing
n00b...it's use is generally frowned upon by the competitive community.

9.2 GENERAL ORK STRATEGIES
**************************

SHOOTA RUSH
...........

Despite the fact the build time on shootaboyz has been increased in DC, the
shoota rush is still effective in the right situations (generally on smaller
maps). Whack down an early banner, and while your sluggas are off capping go
shoota, BM, shoota from the boyz hut (you can also go shoota, shoota, BM, but
this puts your BM out on the field quite late which usually isn't a good
idea). Reinforce those two shoota squads and send them in along with the BM to
try to do some damage. Target LP's and gens, and try to knock out some of the
troops that come to defend when you get the chance. While this is going on
assess the situation...if you think you are getting on top, throw down a
generator and PoG and equip big shootas to your squads to push the advantage.
If you think you are getting overwhelmed, don't be afraid to pull back.

A modified version of the shoota rush is to build a gen first before the
banner, which if course limits you to only one squad of shootas unless you
forego one of your starting sluggas. This has the advantage of being able to
start stockpiling power early, but with only three squads running around, it's
much harder to secure map control. Still, this can work on certain maps in
certain matchups. Just don't leave building your banner until too late or
you'll quickly find yourself outnumbered.

Be very wary of the fast tech...if you encounter little resistance, this
usually means your opponent's going straight for tier 2. Remember to target
their builders. Pull back and minimise losses when the tier 2 troops hit you
until you can get some nob backup.

STORMBOY TECH
.............

Most effective against Eldar if they go Reapers, or Tau if they go Fire
Warriors, but can also be useful against SM if they decide to mass tacs on you
or IG if they equip grenades. It involves building two fairly quick banners
then pumping out a couple of squads of stormboyz. It's up to you whether you
want to throw those two banners down one after the other straight away, or wait
a bit to get the second banner so you can get a shoota squad out first - though
the former option is more risky and doesn't give you good opportunity to secure
early map control. One way or the other, you'll need the PoG down fairly
quickly so you can make use of stikkbombs, research armour and choppy and put a
nob leader on them. Hit their economy once you have them on the run and tech up
to tier 2 to push your advantage.

ECON BOOM
.........

Two fast generators at the start, start stockpiling that power and LP2 all of
your points as quickly as possible while harrassing and defending with a small
force. Depending on the map you can build the two generators before your boyz
hut then stick the hut next to an LP2 on a forward point to use as an added
fallback position. This leaves you wide open to rushes at the start of the
game, and basically surrenders map control to your opponent, but the rewards
are there if you manage to hold off until the economy kicks in. Better on some
maps than on others.

3 SLUGGAS
.........

This is more of a delaying tactic than anything else, since sluggas are not
good at destroying economy.

Exactly as the name suggests. Forget about building shootas at the start and
go for three squads of sluggas. Use them along with your BM to make a nuisance
of yourself as you build your econ and tech, then once your nobz arrive push
into the opponent's base as hard as you can. Don't forget upgrades! You may
decide to forget about nobz and go for trukks for some shooty support
instead...and this has the added bonus of being able to get your troops out
of trouble if things start to look hairy. Don't suicide your BM or boyz.

NOB TECH
........

The Nob tech still works despite the fast teching system in DC, but you need
to be careful about when you use it. Combine it as part of a good shoota rush
or 3 slugga build, and don't forget those armour and choppy upgrades. If the
nobz arrive early enough you can really put the brakes on any teching your
opponent is doing. Use Mega-Armoured Nobz as backup as well, but don't 
spend too long lingering in tier 2...even if you think you've got the game 
won, tier 3 units can turn the game around in seconds, so don't forget to
tech up yourself.

9.3 RACE SPECIFIC STRATEGIES
****************************

CHAOS
.....

Whatever a chaos opponent is going to throw at you is fairly predictable.
Raptor Harass->Fast tier 2 and berzerkers/sorcerer->fast tier 3 and possessed
marines/obliterators. Yay. The stupid thing is, it's extremely hard to
counter. The one weakness this fast teching chaos strategy has is that it's
difficult for them to attain map control, so use this to your advantage. Try
and take as much of the map as you can and build an economy in the opening
minutes, and prepare for the zerks. Once they start arriving keep them busy
with shootas and possibly some upgraded nobz, but don't waste any time in
tier 2. Yes, upgraded nobz will beat zerks (not necessarily for cost, but
they will beat them regardless), but spending too long in tier 2 is a big
mistake. Get to tier 3 as fast as possible or you won't have much of an answer
to the PSM's and Oblits that start heading your way. The Daemon Prince can
also be a real pain for Orks...sick your Warboss and BM on him and juice them
up if necessary.

Occasionally you may come across a Chaos player that's a bit creative who
decides to mass tacs on you. Stormboyz and shootas are your answer here, tech
to nobz to finish him off, but be careful of the fast tech to tier 3.

ELDAR
.....

Eldar can be a hard matchup for Orks. 90% of the time they'll Dark Reaper
spam you, and this can really hurt if you aren't prepared for it. Get your
stormboyz out but keep a shoota squad around for some ranged support. Keep
the Eldar player moving and microing his reapers like crazy, throw stikk
bombs when you can and get those armour and choppy upgrades. If your opponent
is smart he'll try running you around LP2's - if you can take the opportunity
to smash them with your BM and shootas to try and dent his economy.

If Eldar decides to build rangers against you, simply use your BM to keep the
rangers constantly tied up. Banshees are a bit more of a problem though, it's
a wonder why more Eldar players don't use them. Shootas under the fire of your
buildings guns is your best bet.

Watch out for Fire Dragons and that sneaky little trick of getting them into
your base and taking down your economy and vital buildings. They are
ridiculously resistant to your building guns and will level your base in
seconds if you are not careful. Always make sure to try to tie them up (I
know, not always easy when there's Reapers and Warp Spiders running around).
Remember Eldar are pretty heavily dependent on power, so don't hesitate to
take out their gens if you get an opportunity.

IMPERIAL GUARD
..............

This matchup has got a lot harder since WA. A lot rests in the opening minutes
in this one, you need to be really aggressive in trying to take map control
from them. An IG forward point is almost impossible to penetrate and you
really need to be on your guard that they don't sneak up and try to do this on
a point near your base. Shootas and Stormboyz are your best counters to the
guardsmen threat, but pay attention to what he's doing. If he starts getting
grenades, get stormboyz out. If he doesn't, it means he's fast teching to
tier 2. Equip big shootas to your shootaboyz and drive him back while you tech
to Tankbustas (Mega-Armoured Nobz are also a good idea...regular nobz not so
much in this matchup). Ork vehicles are quite effective against IG infantry as
well, so if you can spare the cash get a couple of trukks and traks and the
odd Killa Kan. Once you have sufficient resources kick off tier 3, push with
your flash gitz, but keep an eye on any fanatacism'd squads. Use your doc
juice!

NECRONS
.......

Like most races, Necrons are probably the Ork's hardest matchup. Warriors
kill shootas at range, and sluggas in melee. Flayed Ones deepstrike into
your base and tear down your banners like paper. Before too long Immortals
show up and knock down your base in seconds. And that's not even considering
what the Necron Lord is doing. So how the hell do you beat it? Hit them hard
and early. Hit them with shootas, sluggas and your BM (he's especially vital
in this matchup) as soon as you can, kill his scarabs and try to knock down
his generators. Try to take care of any warriors as soon as they pop out of
the monolith too before they do any real damage. Throw down your PoG, equip
big shootas, and try to do more damage, dancing away from the FO's as much as
you can. If you like, this is one situation where using burnas may be a good
idea...the warriors can't damage you when they are broken. Burnas combined
with big shootas can be a powerful combo against necrons if pulled off right.

Don't rely so much on your building guns here...not only do they barely
scratch necron infantry, one solar pulse and they are all useless. Invest in
tech instead and try to get to tier 3, once your flash gitz arrive you're in
with a chance. Don't miss the opportunity to build some traks for disruption.

The golden rule against necrons is to push, push push. Don't give them a
moment's rest and don't lay off for a second. Despite your best efforts,
you'll probably be forced to cut your losses and retreat at some point, but
don't give up when this happens. Use the time to consolidate and hit them
back.

ORKS
....

Fighting another Ork is like fighting yourself. It's a real guessing game...
will they try to out-mass me, will they try teching, will they try vehicles?
Just remember they have exactly the same options as you do. There are a few
tips though to fighting other Orks. Don't invest too much in tier 1 troops...
those building guns hurt, and spending resources on troops that are just going
to die to them is not a good idea. Target banners whenever you can to slow
down their tech, and take out the opposing BM if you get the chance.
Mega-Armoured Nobz are always a good idea against other Orks as they can
stand up to the building guns very well, as can Kans. Keep pressuring your
opponent and take map control from them, and you'll generally go on to win.

SPACE MARINES
.............

Space Marine players tend to be more imaginative than their Chaos playing
cousins. You can face a variety of different strategies against them. Mass
SM tac squads. Scout harass->tier 2 with Grey Knights and the Chaplain.
Assault Marine builds. Whatever the SM player tries, you need to try to match
them blow for blow. Mass tacs can be taken with the stormboyz/shoota combo,
and get your big shootas on your squads, otherwise they'll just be fodder
when the GK's arrive. Scouts in general aren't too much of a problem for Orks
to handle...the BM is quite good at stopping them from doing too much damage
even if they use snipers, and clever placement of your building guns usually
deters any early rushes. Scout builds usually mean the FC isn't going to be
around early so feel free to use your BM to chase them around. The golden rule
to fighting space marines is to try to hit them as hard as you can as early as
you can...because if they hit tier 2 with the majority of their tier 1 troops
still intact, they will really, really hurt you when their tier 2 upgrades
kick in and their new units hit the field (including dreadnoughts which can be
a real pain for Orks to deal with). If the SM hits tier 3 before you do, you
are making things very hard for yourself. Most SM players will try to end the
game in late tier 2 though, and understandably so because SM tier 2 is
insanely strong.

TAU
...

Tau can be a tricky matchup for Orks. You might think that the threat of
Vespids isn't a problem, but on a map where you have outer points that are not
protected by your building guns, they can be a huge pain...and unfortunately,
if the TC tags along (which he normally does), the BM can't handle them by
himself. Try to use shootas to back up your BM in this situation and take
advantage of the BM's detection ability to bring down any snare traps you
might spot. On maps where the majority of your points will be protected by
your building guns, it's a pretty safe bet the Tau will skip the Vespids and
go straight to Fire Warriors or Kroot. Fire Warriors can be handled by
stormboyz, so long as they don't get caught in snare traps (pay attention!)
and a lot of shootas with a BM attached to a slugga squad should handle the
threat of kroot. Tau tier 2 is when it starts getting nasty though, but it can
be quite hard to hurt them enough in tier 1 to make a difference. Make sure
you get tankbustas as soon as you can and research cloaking because those
vehicles are almost guaranteed to show up at your doorstep. Like Eldar, Tau
are pretty heavily dependent on power, so take out their generators whenever
you can. Earth caste builders are also vulnerable...take them down whenever
you see them.

10.0 Acknowledgements and Credits
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Relic Entertainment and THQ, for making a great RTS!
Relic Entertainment for the Dark Crusade patch notes for patch 1.2
The community at RelicNews for providing feedback and information for the
guide when I first posted it over there.
Myself, for writing this guide :)

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about this FAQ, feel 
free to e-mail me.

Copyright 2007 by White_Pointer