Much like Blood Ravens themselves, the Dawn of War series keeps fighting, and much like them it also can’t avoid returning to the unlucky planet Kronus. In other words, we’ve got a new, story-driven Dawn of War 4 trailer, and there is a fair amount of good juice in it.
TL;DR
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War IV Trailer — Quick Summary
The new Dawn of War IV story trailer reveals a brutal war for Kronus, with new factions, heroes, and story developments. Dark Angels join the Blood Ravens as playable factions, while Primarchs, epic battles, and Necron leaders take center stage.
- Dark Angels join the fight: The trailer teases their arrival, led by Lion El’Johnson, with players able to choose between Blood Ravens and Dark Angels missions.
- Hero units returning: Primarchs like Lion El’Johnson may become part of the battlefield, alongside Necron leaders like Chronomancer Thothmek and Ork Warbosses.
- Factions and units: A spotlight on Necron Skorpekh Destroyers, Dark Angels Chaplain on bike, and other Warhammer 40K factions, though no gameplay was shown.
- Narrative focus: Co-written by John French, the story explores the Blood Ravens’ return to Kronus, continuing their tumultuous history, with lore revelations possibly on the horizon.
- Conclusion: A nostalgic trailer that raises the stakes for a Primarch-driven planetary war, but leaves gameplay details under wraps for now.
Dark Angels Join the Fight
Probably the biggest reveal of the trailer is that Blood Ravens won’t be the only Astartes chapter fighting for Kronus. They are joined by Dark Angels, one of the original Legions led by their Primarch himself, Lion El’Johnson. The Lion does not show his face in a literal sense, but he can be recognized by his shield and helmet, showing off that he is the only named 40k character smart enough to protect their noggin against headshots.
If you aren’t up to date on the state of 40k, it might strike you as surprising that a Loyalist Primarch is seen alive, but for a fair few years it’s been a deliberate direction of 40k. The Lion isn’t even the first to come back, that distinction goes to Roboute Guilliman, currently mostly trying to wrangle the mess that the Imperium has become.
What does El’Johnson mean for the game? Good question, we’d like to know as well. Will he appear as a playable entity of any sort?
What we know for sure from the official press release, is that we will be able to pick between Blood Ravens and Dark Angels missions during the Astartes campaign. It’s going to be interesting to see just how different these two factions’ playstyles will be.
Should we expect a return of hero units?
It would be pretty wild to have a Primarch as a unit on the battlefield, although even Dawn of War all these years ago had Avatar of Khaine and a Bloodthirster, so clearly that kind of power level isn’t a break from series tradition at all.
The trailer seems to lean in that direction in general. The Necrons, the other playable faction, will be led by Chronomancer Thothmek, and Orks will be torn between two different Warbosses having their own WAAAAAGH! ideas. Who’s leading the usual efforts of Adeptus Mechanicus to mess things up beyond all recovery? Uncertain, but they appear to be approaching Cawl’s level of inhuman augmentations, judging by the trailer.
A glimpse at factions and units
What else, what else. Necrons got a lovely showcase of their units with Skorpekh Destroyers getting special spotlight, Dark Angels got a chaplain of a bike smacking fools with a hammer, and we got a few terminators teleporting in dramatically. Pretty much all of the Warhammer 40k factions featured in the game got some times in the limelight. No gameplay was shown, however, which is a bit of a bummer,
Narrative chops
For the time being, it seems that Dawn of War 4’s campaign structure will be much less “Total War” than DoW: Dark Crusade’s, and its story is co-written by one of the Black Library authors, John French, known for 40k books such as Dropsite Massacre and Cypher: Lord of the Fallen. The Blood Ravens chapter has been through a truly wild rollercoaster over the 20 years of their video games, and them returning to Kronus ravaged by all kinds of disasters looks like their troubles are never going to end. It’s a miracle they are still standing.
But hey, maybe now, with an established Black Library author on deck, we’ll get more reveals about Blood Ravens’ lore? The fans have long been speculating they might be an offshoot of the Thousand Sons traitor legion. Will it be confirmed, or denied in DoW4? Who knows.
Conclusion
The story trailer was a nice blast from the past, in a way, reminiscent of the old Dark Crusade intro, and it teased and introduced the true scope of the planetary war, clearly important enough to get a Primarch interested.
It remains to be seen how the factions will maintain their distinct identities, a worry particularly applicable to the two Space Marine chapters, so it’s worth keeping an eye on the game until a more robust gameplay showcase arrives in a drop pod.