Dawn of War Walkthrough: Part 4, the Soulstorm Campaign in the Kaurava System

This is part 4, the last part of our Dawn of War walkthrough. It covers the Soulstorm campaign in the Kaurava system, the biggest map campaign in the game. It works like Dark Crusade, but with nine factions and several worlds to fight over instead of one planet.

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The whole walkthrough

What's different from Dark Crusade

If you played Dark Crusade, you already know the basics: a turn-based map, territories to attack and defend, Honour Guard for your commander, and enemy strongholds to finish the war. Soulstorm keeps all of that and changes a few things:

• Nine factions instead of seven. The Sisters of Battle and the Dark Eldar join the fight.
• A whole system, not one planet. The territories are spread over the planets and moons of Kaurava, so the map is much larger.
• Air units. Soulstorm adds flyers to every faction. You need anti-air in your battles from now on.
• A longer campaign. Eight enemy strongholds to beat means many more battles than on Kronus.

The Blood Ravens here are led by Captain Indrick Boreale, a different commander from Davian Thule in Dark Crusade.

How a turn works

1. Pick a territory next to one you hold and attack it. That starts a normal battle.
2. Win and you take the territory and its bonus. Lose and the turn is gone.
3. The AI factions then take their turns, attacking each other and you.
4. Defend your territories when they are attacked.
5. Spend your campaign income on Honour Guard and pick new wargear for your commander as it unlocks.

Hover over territories and read their bonuses. Some are much more useful than others, and they should guide your route.

Which faction should you pick?

With nine factions, the choice matters even more, because Soulstorm is a long campaign.

• Space Marines: the safe pick. Tough, flexible, easy to play well.
• Imperial Guard: forgiving, with strong tanks for long fights.
• Chaos and Necrons: strong and durable once you know them. Learn Necrons in skirmish first, since their economy is different.
• Orks and Tau: fun, but each has a catch. Orks need Waaagh! Banners for army size, and Tau collapse in melee.
• Eldar, Sisters of Battle and Dark Eldar: better for later runs. The Sisters use a Faith resource and the Dark Eldar collect Soul Essence, so they take practice.

If you want to try the new factions, play a few skirmishes with them first. A campaign is a bad place to learn a new army from zero.

Recommended order to take territories

The AI moves differently every time, so treat this as a plan, not a script:

1. Secure your home world first. Take the territories around your start before you look at other worlds. A safe home means fewer surprise defense battles.
2. Grab bonuses that help right away. Extra income and army bonuses pay off over the whole campaign.
3. Build Honour Guard early. It makes every later battle start in your favour.
4. Take on one enemy at a time. With eight enemies, fighting on many fronts gets out of hand fast. Focus on one, beat its stronghold, then move on.
5. Start with weaker neighbours. Every stronghold you win teaches you something and makes the next fight easier.
6. Leave the toughest stronghold for last. By then your commander has his best wargear and your Honour Guard is full.

Strongholds

Each faction has a stronghold territory, and you must take all eight enemy strongholds to win. Stronghold battles are bigger and harder than normal fights: the enemy has a full base and its best units.

• Prepare: full Honour Guard, good wargear and a save before you start.
• Bring anti-air. Enemy flyers can wreck a slow army that has no answer to them.
• Bring anti-tank. Every faction will send its heaviest units at you.
• Grab points early. These are long battles, and the side with more Strategic Points usually wins.
• Kill production first. Knock out vehicle and heavy-unit buildings, then clean up the rest.

Taking a stronghold is how you defeat a faction. Each one you beat also removes an army that could attack your territories.

Defense battles

With nine factions on the map, you will get attacked a lot. Keep your borders short, protect the territories whose bonuses you rely on, and don't worry about losing a small territory now and then. You can take it back later.

Tips for this part

• Always build anti-air. Flyers are new in Soulstorm and they punish armies without it.
• Learn new factions in skirmish first. Sisters of Battle and Dark Eldar play very differently.
• Read territory bonuses before you pick a target.
• Clear one front at a time. Eight enemies are too many to fight at once.
• Pace yourself. This is the longest campaign in the Definitive Edition. Save often and play a few battles per session.

My take

Soulstorm is the biggest campaign in the box, but for me it's not the best. Dark Crusade feels tighter, while Soulstorm is more about scale. Still, playing the Sisters of Battle across a whole star system is a great way to finish the series. Which faction did you take through Kaurava?

FAQ

How many factions are in Soulstorm?

Nine. The seven from Dark Crusade, plus the Sisters of Battle and the Dark Eldar.

How do you win the Soulstorm campaign?

Capture all eight enemy strongholds. Normal territories make you stronger, but strongholds end the war.

Is Soulstorm harder than Dark Crusade?

It is longer more than harder. You face more enemies and must deal with flyers, but the same plan works: build Honour Guard, read the bonuses and fight one enemy at a time.

Should I play Dark Crusade before Soulstorm?

Yes. Dark Crusade teaches the map campaign on a smaller scale, so Soulstorm feels much easier to manage after it.

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