Dawn of War Walkthrough: Part 2, Winter Assault on Lorn V (Order and Disorder)

This is part 2 of our Dawn of War walkthrough, covering the Winter Assault campaign on the frozen world of Lorn V. An Imperial Titan has fallen on the planet, and four armies want it. You will play both sides: Order (Imperial Guard and Eldar) and Disorder (Chaos and Orks), five missions each.

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The whole walkthrough

How Winter Assault works

Winter Assault is not one long story like Tartarus. You pick Order or Disorder from the campaign menu, and each has its own five missions. You can play them in any order, but the two campaigns tell the same story from opposite sides, so finishing both gives you the full picture.

The big change is that you often control two armies in one mission. The game hands control from one faction to the other at set moments. In the first three missions of each campaign the game decides when you switch. In the fourth mission you lead both allies, and the side that comes out on top decides which version of the fifth mission you get.

A few things to know before you start:

• The Imperial Guard are new in this expansion. Guardsmen are cheap and weak alone, so use lots of them and lean on tanks.
• The Eldar are fast but fragile. Keep them out of long fights and use their stealth and teleport tricks.
• When control switches, the army you leave behind keeps fighting on its own. Set it up in a safe spot before the handover.

Order campaign

The Imperial Guard are led by General Sturnn. The Eldar of Farseer Taldeer help from the shadows, for their own reasons.

No Retreat!

Sturnn's Guard must break into a Chaos fortress through a line of gates.

1. Breach the outer gates, then the inner gates. Most gates can be destroyed.
2. Deal with the central Chaos base early. It keeps sending Raptors over the wall. A Hellhound parked there handles them well.
3. Before the third pair of gates, bring a unit that can repair your turrets and put a few squads on the middle hill.
4. The last gate can't be broken. Control now moves to the Eldar, who come in from behind through a Webway Gate.
5. With the Eldar, destroy the generators and kill the Chaos Sorcerer once the generators are down. Set your Seer Council and Dark Reapers to hold ground so they don't run into traps.

Hold the Line!

1. As the Guard, push forward by capturing Strategic Points and taking over old Imperial buildings.
2. Load squads into two Chimeras with the Command Squad. That is about as much as you can unload safely at the other end.
3. A Leman Russ becomes your main problem later. A Psyker that can freeze it in place makes the fight much easier.
4. As the Eldar, you must destroy the Ork artillery vehicles that block the Guard's path. Draw the Killa Kans away by hitting nearby generators, then use a Ranger squad on a ridge to pick off the artillery.

Between a Stone and an Axe

1. Now the Orks are the big threat. As the Eldar, kill the Big Mek, then hold on until you can move your base. You will have to relocate twice.
2. Stormboyz keep jumping into your lines. Keep a few squads at home just for them.
3. As the Guard, send the Hellhound and Command Squad to the centre with infantry on both sides to support the Eldar.
4. A Squiggoth attacks your entrance. If your defense is set up well, it dies before it breaks through and you win.

Final Journey

The Guard and the Eldar fight on the same map, and this is the mission where you control both armies, and the side that does better here decides your ending. Build up both forces, and pick the one you want to finish with, then push it hardest.

Titan of the Emperor or Ancestral Powers

The last Order mission has two versions. Titan of the Emperor is the Imperial Guard ending and Ancestral Powers is the Eldar ending. Both are long fights with a lot coming at you. Build a full economy first, keep a strong anti-tank group, and don't spend your hero units carelessly. If one version feels too hard, replay Final Journey and favour the other side.

Disorder campaign

The Disorder side follows the Orks and the Chaos forces of Khorne. They are not friends. They use each other until one can get the Titan. The missions, in order, are:

1. Gather the Clans
2. Hunter!
3. Blood for the Blood God!
4. Keep Your Enemies Closer
5. Titan of Khorne (Chaos ending) or Trophies (Ork ending)

The structure is the same as Order: forced switches early, both armies in mission four, then a faction-specific finale.

Playing the Orks well

• Your army size depends on Waaagh! Banners. Build them steadily or you hit the cap fast.
• Orks win by numbers. Cheap mobs in front, heavy weapons and vehicles behind.
• Against the Imperial Guard, close the distance fast. Their tanks and heavy weapons are deadly at range but much weaker when your mobs are on top of them.

Playing Chaos well

• Chaos are strong attackers. Don't sit still: push early and keep the enemy on the back foot.
• Use daemons and Raptors to hit artillery and support squads that sit behind the line.
• Against the Eldar, watch for stealth units and teleports. Detection matters on these maps.

Mission-by-mission advice

1. In Gather the Clans and Hunter!, build your economy fast. Every point you hold is income you need for the bigger maps later.
2. In Blood for the Blood God!, play aggressively. The Chaos army is at its best on the attack.
3. In Keep Your Enemies Closer, the side you push harder decides whether you get Titan of Khorne or Trophies, just like Final Journey on the Order side.
4. In either finale, save before each big push and keep a reserve at home. The enemy throws everything at you.

Tips for this part

• Prepare before every switch. Move the army you are leaving to a defended spot, because the AI will control it.
• Play both campaigns. They cover the same events from both sides, and the story only makes full sense with both.
• Kill artillery first. Ork artillery and Guard tanks do huge damage if you let them sit and shoot.
• Use Chimeras and Webway Gates. Moving troops fast is the easiest way to win on these big maps.
• Replay mission four if you want the other ending. It decides which finale you get.

My take

Winter Assault is short but clever. Switching between two armies in one mission felt new back then, and it still makes you think about the whole map instead of one blob of units. I liked the Order side more, mainly for the Guard. Which side did you finish first, Order or Disorder?

FAQ

How many missions are in Winter Assault?

Each campaign, Order and Disorder, has five missions. The fifth comes in two versions on each side, depending on which faction does better in mission four.

Should I play Order or Disorder first?

Either works. Order is a good first pick because the Imperial Guard are forgiving, and it introduces the switching system well.

How do I get the other ending?

Replay the fourth mission (Final Journey or Keep Your Enemies Closer) and let the other faction come out on top. That unlocks the other version of the final mission.

Do I need to beat the original campaign first?

No. Winter Assault is its own campaign. Playing Tartarus first is still smart, because it teaches you the basics.

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