Ronahn: The deed is done - the brutes have been set upon each other.
Macha: Then it is time for Taldeer and I to finally meet. While Kyre wars with Gorgutz, I will infiltrate his encampment and liberate her soul stone. I've planned a quiet operation - just my best warriors and myself. I hope for no violence, but I fear it cannot be helped.
Ronahn: My agents tell me you have many sympathizers within Kyre's ranks. If we take Taldeer from him - the source of his legitimacy - perhaps the sympathizers will come to our side.
Macha: We will see about that later. First we must unravel the truth of this prophecy. I will make contact with you again once we have Taldeer.
It should be easy enough to find, it's apparently the size of a Wraithlord now.
And that jaw is unhinged too far for me to take it seriously.
Jain Zar: Farseer. How goes your insurgency?
Macha: You puzzle me, Jain Zar. You fight by my side as I plan treason against my Craftworld. Yet as a Phoenix Lord, you could dethrone Kyre with a word and avoid this bloodshed.
Jain Zar: And if I did that, would you realise your potential? These are dark times for the Eldar, Macha, and the great leaders I seek to deliver us will never emerge if I coddle the Craftworlds.
Macha: Surely we are better served without the stain of insurgency!
Jain Zar: We are best served when the strong prevail over the weak and foolish.
Damn it Jain Zar, you're supposed to at least pretend that hordes of nameless fodder matter in comparison to hero units.
Taldeer is going in a Wraithknight (I suppose it'd be a Wraithseer), isn't she? There's no reason to mention the Wraithknights in a mission blurb if it's not going to come up and the Wraithlord just doesn't have the oomph to match the Knight from the demos or presumably Beauty Da Morkanaut (thanks Steam, I really needed to know that in advance).
Macha: We are in. First, I need a console to pinpoint Taldeer's exact location. If the guards catch us using any of the consoles, we will have a fight on our hands. If we were to damage these alarms, we can lure the guards towards them and away from their patrol route.
Somehow I managed to misinterpret this as saying that if I get seen by the guards at all I'm in for a fight and wasted quite a bit of time even though it should be obvious that friendly units wandering around the base won't provoke a reaction unless they're doing something/going somewhere they shouldn't. Also didn't Macha know the exact location a few missions back?
As I go through the level, Taldeer whispers.
Taldeer: I am sought. Has she come at last?
Macha: Taldeer! Speak to me!
Taldeer: Hm. You hear me clearly. Others try, but somehow they only hear what they wish.
Taldeer also says that her vision of the prophecy is muddled by a darkness which seems like a giant red flag but Kyre is already cheerfully ignoring those so it changes nothing.
Coincidentally, I'm sure, most of the forces that join up with Jain Zar are Howling Banshees.
Naturally, the stone is guarded.
Before a fight can begin, the party crashers arrive.
It says horrible things about Kyre's ability as a commander that he's getting outfoxed by the Orks even when they're mostly focusing on fortifying the vault entrance.
Since my main entrance is blocked, I send my forces through the unexplored part of the map since Macha rigged a webway gate to get her out of there if things go wrong (boy it feels weird to bounce between I and Macha).
Of course, the Orks are smashing it by the time my forces get there.
Meanwhile, Kyre's guys are careless enough to send forces after mine even while their main base is getting sacked.
As I go through the level, Macha starts worrying about Gorgutz penetrating far enough to hit Kyre's base.
Macha: This encampment should have been beyond Gorgutz' reach! What have I done!
I take it that this is Beauty since those drill arms don't match Killa Kans or Deff Dreads.
Macha: To think the Orks could have penetrated so deeply into Kyre's encampment...
I underestimated Gorgutz.
Jain Zar: You recognised Gorgutz as formidable. I suspect Kyre failed to do the same.
Macha: I predicted a different outcome. I made the wrong choice. We all flail uselessly without understanding the Prophecy. We need to unravel the truth of it.
Oh come the fuck on, I thought that it being that big was a representation of it on the level, not it's intended size.
Taldeer: My connection to my brother Ronahn is deeper than you know. You and I are connected as well, if not by blood than by fate. With my brother anchoring me to the living world, you and I might combine our vision and finally pierce this shadow that darkens the Prophecy.
Next time, Chasing Beauty, and considering Beauty is a Morkanaut (thanks again for spoiling that twice Steam) the Blood Ravens are probably going to get chased by Beauty.
Now that I've pushed through my difficulty problems, it's time to do this level. It's been 4 missions since the Blood Ravens have stuck their heads into the plot and even that was just a retrieve Diomedes/fuck with an Eldar camp nearby mission. The Blood Ravens don't really feel like the protagonists at this point, more like the guys who got shoved in because a Dawn of War game without any space marines would be instantly unpopular.
I've barely started the level and I'm already getting shown that Holt is not happy.
Holt: Angelos. I want you to prioritize hunting the Eldar. Do not get distracted by the Orks. Inquisitor out.
Diomedes: Greedy fool just wants the Spear. The Ork threat will intensify the longer we ignore it.
Jonah: As tempting as it is to do the opposite of the Inquisitor's wishes, Kyre must not obtain the Spear of Khaine. There is a quiet power sleeping in this planet. If that is the spear, I shudder to think how powerful Kyre will be while wielding it.
Diomedes: How do you suggest tracking them? The Eldar are like ghosts (Gorgutz did it easily enough).
Gabriel: That is why we will hunt Gorgutz. Orks leave an obvious trail. And as an Ork, Gorgutz will seek out a powerful opponent to battle.
Jonah: With his large horde, he will be able to search far and wide.
Gabriel: I'm in need of aerial support. Bring the Dauntless into high orbit.
Balthazar: Are you sure? I've received no notice from the Inquisitor that the blockade has ended.
Gabriel: The blockade is a sham. It remains in effect as a formality, so the Inquisitor can save face. He won't give you any trouble, not when he needs us.
Balthazar: Very well. Plot the course, helmsmen. Dauntless out.
I guess there's no real teeth to the blockade anymore, not after Gorgutz defanged a Starfort and Acheron ate Helios and the Eldar bypassed it with the Webway.
Two things, what happened to the blockade being a good idea rather than a hindrance? And second, "by use your elites and their abilities to make the difference" they actually mean that you should use your elites for literally everything up to the final section except for maybe rescuing your guys.
Jonah: The Eldar call this territory the Vault. Supposedly it's a gateway that leads below to Acheron's true surface, where the spear is enshrined.
Gabriel: And the Orks just so happen to make their camp here?
The first bit of this level is a bunch of Gretchin running away, showing that bridges can be raised and lowered if you touch the most-definitely-not-Necron control panels, on my first run through the level I accidentally get Gabriel killed by having him leap at some Boyz on the bridge, it dropped out just as he reached the apex of his leap.
In case it wasn't obvious by now, this place was built by Necrons.
Once I'm in, I ambush an Ork camp with Wazmakka inside but he quickly runs away.
Wazmakka: Humies? Oh bloody hell! We gotta fast track this plan! I'm on my way! Fire up 'Lil Beauty!'
Remember Gorgutz telling him to bring back something to crack open the Vault? Lil Beauty is that something even if it's not Beauty da Morkanaut like I thought.
Not exactly pretty, but this thing is hideously powerful for it's size.
Balthazar: Sire! The Orks just powered on a tractor beam powerful enough to rip this world open!
Gabriel: That must be their goal! We must destroy that contraption! Hurry! We must reach the tractor beam! The trail lead this way!
Balthazar: Chapter Master, I sent reinforcements, but they were dragged off course by the tractor beam. As I cannot risk any more drop pods, you must track their emergency beacons to gain reinforcements.
As you'd expect, they're always under attack when you find them and don't come under your control until all of the enemies are dead so you can't get the nearly dead squads to run away and let the elites handle things.
I eventually start running into Eldar and have to play run from the Wraithlord since his charge will annihilate my guys and on my first run through I was silly enough to bring them along everywhere.
Still, I make it to Beauty just in time for it to catch the Dauntless for use as a Rok.
Wazmakka: Ooo Beauty caught somethin' big!
Balthazar: Chapter Master! The tractor beam has locked on to the DAUNTLESS! We're on a crash course TOWARDS the Vault!
It is incredibly impressive that something this small caught a Battle Barge and could supposedly rip Acheron apart. I'm just posting this screenshot for a quick comparison so you can see how many forces I had available on my first run, they made it easier to tear through the infinite Ork defenders (and they are infinite as I found out on my second run) but they take a pounding in the process.
Is he going to name the Morkanaut after Beauty or is it already built?
Oh hey there's a Wraithknight. And looking at this shot really makes it look like the Blood Ravens are the underdogs caught in between the two main factions trying to find out what is going on.
Gabriel: Orks. Eldar. They're innumerable.
Holt: Angelos, do you read? You need to get clear - we are readying an orbital bombardment on your position.
Gabriel: Inquisitor! Do you have any idea what that will set in motion? They're fighting ON the Vault!
Holt: Get clear, Angelos... or die with our enemies.
Gabriel: Balthazar - we need an extraction before the Inquisitor drowns this place in fire!
Balthazar: I'll try, but our orbital elements are in disarray!
I'm impressed that they can launch an extraction while frantically trying to get a Battle Barge back out to orbit and off of the crash course.
And Holt is going to end up dead before the end of this, isn't he?
Now comes the bit that stomped me, Orks start pouring in from every angle after this, either to try and smash me for wrecking Beauty or to get to the fight down below. My battered squads just couldn't deal with them, especially since for some reason I couldn't shut down the bridges and stem the tide a bit, no matter how often I tried clicking on the bridge controls.
Not even close.
Annoyed, I changed my elites and swapped out Jonah for the Terminators from mission 8, their assault cannons and missile barrages saw a lot of use.
Much better, even if I lost out on some reinforcements by forgetting to bring the tacticals/devastators up to kill the enemies. And look at that one Tactical rushing ahead, the movement speed doctrine gets silly at times.
Taking down Beauty with just the elites takes a good long while, in between Gabriel and Diomedes respawning, I chip away at the infinite hordes from outside of aggro range, trying to take down the troublesome enemies and making sure to teleport back when attacks start coming in.
The strategy pays off and my guys stop the Orks even with the bridge problem still handicapping them.
When it's time to evacuate, Gabriel gets held up.
Such a rushed escape that you have to leave your Chapter Master behind, that's the sign of an underdog faction and a sign that Holt if pretty much guaranteed to die.
It's hard to see, but he's bracing himself like the marine in the opening cinematic against the shockwave of the bombardment.
So close to killing Kyre, yet all the bombardment did was open the door and probably kill a lot more Orks than Eldar.
Don't ask me why Kyre didn't fly straight down that hole and grab the spear if it's so close.
Jonah: Gabriel did not make it out! You are to blame, Inquisitor!
Holt: He was warned! I was not going to waste the opportunity to fire! And because I fired, I stopped Gorgutz! I stopped the Eldar!
Jonah: You've stopped nothing, you fool! All you've done is open the way for Kyre!
To be honest, at this point, he's on rather thin ice. Given his actions towards a Chapter Master, well, at this point he's risking Angelos lodging Godsplitter so far up his ass, he can taste it.
To be honest, at this point, he's on rather thin ice. Given his actions towards a Chapter Master, well, at this point he's risking Angelos lodging Godsplitter so far up his ass, he can taste it.
I'm going with the assumption that the rest of the chapter will get there first considering how Gabriel is stuck on Acheron and probably significantly injured between the Orks, the shockwave and the vault area collapsing.
I honestly figure the rest of the chapter will get there first considering Gabriel is stuck on Acheron and probably significantly injured between the Orks, the shockwave and the vault area collapsing.
Would that there was time for a homecoming, but dire matters demand our attention.
Macha: Surely there is a moment for a reunion?
Ronahn: We feared that Prophecy was leading us to disaster but now I have found its form! You'll need to see it with your own eyes to understand.
Macha: This discovery will sway Kyre?
Ronahn: Perhaps if he was of reasonable mind. But he is a zealot - there's no telling how he will react.
Macha: We must risk it. We must all see that which disturbs you so.
Ronahn: And if Kyre still wants your head?
Macha: We will take measures. I have led our people to the brink of civil war defying this Prophecy. If there's even a chance we can use what you found to open Kyre's eyes, I have to try.
Did the writers just forget about the bit from Retribution about Taldeer being important for preventing the awakening of a bunch of Tomb Worlds?
Jain Zar: For millennia, Acheron, mighty heroes and forgotten Craftworlds have been corrupted and undone by you. Here stands the wreckage of ancient Eldar shrines and idols, battlements and barricades, all sealed within a shell forged by our ancient enemy. I have known many Eldar over many generations who have fought for the Spear of Khaine. Indeed, I am warring now upon these carcass-strewn battlefields. But thus far none have claimed the Spear. Why is that, Acheron?
First off, Necrons confirmed. Second, shouldn't this be only the second or third time that Acheron has emerged from the Warp post-fall?
Acheron's cage is shattered and with it several dozen planets worth of Necrodermis (at the very least) is floating in orbit, presumably blocking further bombardment by Holt.
You can probably already guess what's coming next by the claw sticking out of the ice.
Yes, it's a huge daemon, why Macha didn't see other bits of it under the ice as they ran up the head, I don't know.
Macha: A Daemon! It stirs! It is only a matter of time until it wakes.
Kyre: All the more reason to seize the Spear and slay it. We can banish this shadow together, but I need Taldeer to preserve our unity. I've imprisoned enough warriors for supporting you as it is.
Macha: Continuing this war will surely awaken this creature. If you're set on staying this course, I must choose rebellion.
Kyre: You choose treason. So be it.
Macha: Kyre won't give up - he fears losing Taldeer will fracture his cause. But fighting him here will only wake the Daemon further.
Ronahn: Then we need to leave. There's a nearby Colossus Gate that can get us away.
And just like that, my escape route is locked down and I have to fight right on top of the Daemon to destroy the disruptors keeping the gate shut.
Ronahn: Kyre mentioned that he had taken a number of your supporters prisoner. I've learned that they're being held nearby. Since we're blocked from summoning reinforcements, it would be wise to free and recruit them.
You'd think that the daemon has it's hooks in him but so far he just looks utterly selfish.
When Macha wrecks the first disruptor, the backblast from the psychic explosion exposes a Wraithknight under the ice (add another feat to the pile of indicators that Macha is a psychic monster), but it's beyond repair.
Macha: Look! A ruined Wraithknight! Were it intact...
Taldeer: ...Ronahn and I could pilot it, as only twin souls can.
Ronahn: Sister, you have fought and paid dearly enough as it is.
If you're wondering why Wraithknights were designed so that only twins can pilot them, it's probably a Neon Genesis Evangelion reference.
If you're wondering what the blank circles are, they're strategic points, they'll spontaneously become captureable and develop resource nodes later in the level but for now I can't interact with any of them except for the one outside this group of prisoners.
Taldeer: Three bindings hold the beast, but if one should fail so will they all. The ice binds his form while the ancient Eldar enchantments bind his spirit. And the third binding... It is not of Eldar-make.
What the hell was this Daemon if it was bad enough to make the Eldar and Necrons team up during the War in Heaven and seal it in a massive expenditure of resources? And I guess that the third binding was the colossal Necrodermis shell that's currently in millions of pieces.
I find resource crates as I go through the level which in hindsight should have tipped me off. And then shortly this after I blew up the second disruptor without thoroughly exploring the level and recruiting all of the people available.
Macha: This Wraithknight can be restored.
Ronahn: You would still force us to fight as that thing!
Macha: I need to end this battle quickly, Ronahn!
Taldeer: Else the Daemon draw power from this conflict.
Kyre: You've squandered your chance for mercy, Macha!
Macha: Bonesingers - mend these generators and restore power to the Wraithknight! We can hold off Kyre until it's ready!
And then she warps in a base despite the no reinforcements rule and strategic points become captureable.
A lot more guys somehow warp in but it's not enough and I get my ass kicked by a limited resources level for the second time. It didn't help that I realised too late that each Webway gate was continuously warping in more guys rather than just being a possible avenue of attack.
And then I get my ass kicked by a Wraithlord elite because 1 squad of Shadow Spectres is not sufficient for anti-tank work and my Wraithblades just won't engage if Howling Banshees are in the way (they always are).
Before I wipe, some dialogue plays.
Taldeer: Brother, if he is not stopped, Kyre will bring great sorrow to our people.
Ronahn: But that decrepit Wraithknight won't release your soul. No final rest - just more war!
Taldeer: That may be, my beloved brother, but that is what fate demands.
And with that, the final fight is right on top of the gigantic Daemon/Bloodthirster.
Ronahn: Do we know where the Gate has taken us? (it'd be a shitty escape plan if you didn't know)
Macha: An adrift fragment of the Vault. Away from Kyre, temporarily safe.
Jain Zar: Kyre has abandoned the chase. He's wasted too much time on us. He'll make for the Spear, instead. A tall task made even harder by word that many warriors are abandoning his cause.
Macha: With his ranks depleted can he still challenge the Orks and humans for the Spear?
Ronahn: He will try even if he cannot.
Taldeer: A cataclysmic defeat, even if there were no Daemon. The creature's shadow still blinds us from knowing the true prophecy. But Macha, Ronahn, with you at my side I think I can finally pierce it!
Macha: Jain Zar, put out a call to the warriors abandoning Kyre and assemble them for battle. While you do this, Taldeer and I will divine the best future for us all. When it is found, we must be ready to seize it!
Taldeer's dialogue feels recycled, but I guess it's only been an hour or so since the last Eldar mission from their pov. And I can only assume that they prepared the adrift fragment in advance since it has an atmosphere.
Nice shot of the daemon, much more imposing than the low resolution face in the ice.
Next time, Gabriel is on his own but Dark Queen Solaria is coming to save him.
Sometimes the Orks and their hilariously insane bullshit make me remember that their bullshit is designed to stand and prevail in the same battlefields as the Necrons and their bullshit.
Giant daemon is odd to me though. I thought the Warp being full of Daemons was as a side-effect of the War in Heaven? And that it ended because the Enslavers flooded out of the Warp and ate most everybody. IIRC Enslavers can posses even daemons, they're the natural Immaterium predators.
I like how this showcases the sheer scale of the War in Heaven though. All have become debased shadows of the ancestors, even the Necrons who are in direct continuity to that chthonian conflict.
Sometimes the Orks and their hilariously insane bullshit make me remember that their bullshit is designed to stand and prevail in the same battlefields as the Necrons and their bullshit.
Giant daemon is odd to me thought. I thought the Warp being full of Daemons was as a side-effect of the War in Heaven? And that it ended because the Enslavers flooded out of the Warp and ate most everybody. IIRC Enslavers can posses even daemons, they're the natural Immaterium predators.
I like how this showcases the sheer scale of the War in Heaven though. All have become debased shadows of the ancestors, even the Necrons who are in direct continuity to that chtonian conflict.
You might still have the occasional demon come into being, they'd just be fewer in number. This could have been an early, almost Khorne perhaps. Or, more likely, one of his early lieutenants during the later stages of the war.
Back with the Marines, they're furious about Gabriel getting hit by the bombardment.
Solaria:...You have a lot of gall, begging House Varlock for help, Inquisitor. Has this disaster you've crafted cost you all your allies?
Holt: The Imperium needs your Knights. The Eldar are poised to gain a powerful weapon and are Swarming Acheron to get it.
Solaria: Even if I had Knights to spare, why should I help you after you abandoned House Varlock?
Holt: It is unwise to defy an Inquisitor.
Solaria: A disgraced Inquisitor, when word of your failures reaches your masters. House Varlock need not fear you. Now, if that is all, Inquisitor?
Holt: Wait! There's a signal. I thought it merely the remains of his armour, but it's been moving steadily towards Eldar lines. It's Angelos. He lives.
I get the feeling that he was planning to either conceal that for a plan or save it for stopping the Blood Ravens.
Still, Solaria seems cool even with her limited screentime.
Diomedes: The Inquisitor will die for this! Gabriel will be avenged!
Balthazar: The Chapter Master is not our only casualty. Due to the Ork weapon, many of our assets were vulnerable. The Inquisitor's bombardment condemned them.
Diomedes: That settles it! I will lead the boarding party and take the Inquisitor's head myself!
Jonah: No! We need to finish the mission! Vengeance is a luxury we cannot afford!
Solaria: Scion 1 to Dauntless. Do you read, Dauntless?
Balthazar: We read you, Lady Solaria. Go ahead.
Solaria: I'll be brief - I've received welcome tidings from a detestable source - the Inquisitor. So the Knights of Varlock march to Acheron. We would be honoured if you'd join us.
I can only assume that this scene happens after the campaign if something doesn't get Holt in the next few missions.
I get the space marine laser too, I guess that Holt's guns aren't completely blocked by debris.
I can't tell if these are all Gabriel's kills or if they died in the fall and battle. Speaking of the fall, shouldn't Gabriel be heavily injured between it, getting attacked on all sides during the extraction and the prior battle?
Meanwhile, Holt is ranting and trying to convince Gabriel to work for him.
Holt: Backup is coming! The Spear can still be won!
Gabriel: No one is touching that Spear! Not while I live!
Holt: What about the sacrifices made to get here? The lives lost?
Gabriel: That blood is on your hands! Your meddling is done, Inquisitor. Begone - only the valiant can decide how this ends.
And with that, Holt is probably left contemplating whether or not ordering another bombardment on Gabriel is worth guaranteeing the Blood Ravens coming after him because his Starforts are the only thing he's got left.
The Eldar forces try to teleport across a cliff area and gun Gabriel down, but unfortunately for them he can still jump after the big fall.
Somehow, this 21 Wraithcannon volley does nothing much (well, it took a chunk of his healthbar but that's about it) before Solaria arrives.
I'd honestly forgotten about the sprite swap I did back after mission 1. Chaos to the rescue I guess. Solaria has two abilities, having her gatling guns sweep over a selected cone and firing rockets at a designated area, she also has an overheat mechanic where if she's been firing her guns for a while she does more damage (and her rockets leave fire on the ground) but she moves even slower than usual.
Once the rescue is complete, I get my mission objective.
Gabriel: Solaria! You're a welcome surprise!
Solaria: As well you - I feared you had died before I could repay you.
Balthazar: Your return is a timely one, Chapter Master. To the west is a Colossus webway gate deploying Eldar in great numbers. They are working to activate a second Colossus gate to the east.
Gabriel: They're fortifying, trying to secure their approach to the Spear.
Naturally, I go after the established threat since that thing is already warping in forces to attack me while the second gate will only start warping them in eventually.
For a bonus objective I send forces to find dead Blood Ravens so Gabriel can monologue.
Gabriel: The Inquisitor did this. Whether it was by incompetence or malice, he is to blame.
----
Gabriel: It's only because of them that I got this far.
----
Gabriel: Your sacrifice will be repaid with victory, brothers. We must see this through to the bitter end! Their deaths will not be in vain.
It helps to do these one after the other because they're rather disjointed if you do them separately.
You can tell whether Solaria was the one that killed something by checking if it's in pieces or not. Those guns are not for clean kills.
This mission is pretty by the numbers, wipe out the gates with Solaria and my forces and then push through to a new objective once that's done. For this mission it's pushing through to the Temple Approach and you can go at your own pace without even worrying about attacks once the gates are gone.
The only obstacle in my way, it's a Wraithknight and it's got ranged weapons so I'll probably have to pay to unlock it.
Dire Avenger: We'll make our stand at the Temple with Lord Kyre!
I have several questions related to the fact that the Eldar are at the temple and have it fortified but somehow still don't have the spear. It's not like the place has defences.
Gabriel: You all do me honour. I cannot finish this quest alone. However, time is short. While we tarry, Kyre moves closer to the Spear he so craves.
Solaria: Balthazar and I deployed a second strike force to run interdiction against the Eldar. They're engaged at the Temple, buying time.
Diomedes: We must hurry - the Orks are regrouping - they too will assault the Temple.
Gabriel: Gorgutz lives, then. So all sides are poised to clash at once, and all of our battle strength is in play. I had this same feeling on the Vault, as though we are being led like lambs to the slaughter.
Jonah: I share your unease. Acheron has been building warp energy steadily now. I thought it might soon return to the warp, but it's too calm for that.
Gabriel: We must proceed with care. I have confronted evil before and I am wary of it's deceptions.
I'm now pretty sure that the daemon isn't as asleep as previously thought, I'd even put a fair amount of money on it influencing Kyre to some extent.
Also Gabriel's dialogue is pretty clearly intended for people that haven't played DoW before.
Next time, the final Ork mission where I storm the Temple with Beauty (and I have an easy time of things, things are a lot simpler when you have a super-heavy to anchor your line or finish an assault by itself).
Furious nada, the only reason they didn't kill Holt is probably because they can't risk being labeled heretics. Issue is, well, that's only so good for so long, and Holt pushed it too far this time. This is the kind of shit that even if he got the spear, would lead to him being known as Sir Holt the Headless Inquisitor once his superiors find out.
And with that, Holt is probably left contemplating whether or not ordering another bombardment on Gabriel is worth guaranteeing the Blood Ravens coming after him because his Starforts are the only thing he's got left.
Solaria's convo with him makes it pretty clear that Holt is already pretty bent once the Inquisitorial review board gets around to it, given that she was willing to actively and openly defy him. That's normally suicide for anyone who isn't a Spave Marine, another Inquisitor, or some very select officials (like the High Lords of Terra) in the Imperium, so if she's doing that and not having Holt go all "you dare defy me!" on her in response then he's already pretty screwed and they both know it. Killing him would probably be redundant for the Blood Ravens at this point.
Solaria's convo with him makes it pretty clear that Holt is already pretty bent once the Inquisitorial review board gets around to it, given that she was willing to actively and openly defy him. That's normally suicide for anyone who isn't a Spave Marine, another Inquisitor, or some very select officials (like the High Lords of Terra) in the Imperium, so if she's doing that and not having Holt go all "you dare defy me!" on her in response then he's already pretty screwed and they both know it. Killing him would probably be redundant for the Blood Ravens at this point.
I think Solaria is actually at/pretty close to that level. Knight worlds are coveted by the tech priests, and she is the commander of this world. That's a lot of why I think Gabriel was confident that ignoring the Inquisitor's orders would not cause problems: the techpriests wouldn't be happy about one of their worlds being abandoned to the orks. Combined with Gabriel's own ties to the inquisition and it seems like a reasonable risk.
I think Solaria is actually at/pretty close to that level. Knight worlds are coveted by the tech priests, and she is the commander of this world. That's a lot of why I think Gabriel was confident that ignoring the Inquisitor's orders would not cause problems: the techpriests wouldn't be happy about one of their worlds being abandoned to the orks. Combined with Gabriel's own ties to the inquisition and it seems like a reasonable risk.
Well, if Solaria is still alive at least, I played a mission ahead like usual and I'm now suddenly very unsure about the survival of the non-Eldar parts of the cast.
They were all at ground zero of a battle barge crashing into Acheron with enough force to destroy it.
Now for the Orks storming the gate, only two missions left after this.
Gorgutz: It's a race to the pointy stikk! We gotta beat the Eldar to it! This is the final fight, the end of the road for my prize! You know what that means, don't ya?
Zappnoggin: That we all get a chance to die so you can get more powerful?
Gorgutz: You got it!
It also means every Ork 'ere gets to RAMPAGE!
Zappnoggin: Rampage! Then let's gather the boyz and let'em loose!
Gorgutz: Not so fast! It ain't that easy. Them Eldar and humies is already ahead of us, standing in our way! We have to find a smart way to break through their lines.
Wazmakka: I got the answer, boss! Big Beauty! I'll grind my grotz to get her running! You field your boyz and I'll bring her to ya!
I could really go for either paintjob for Beauty. She get s a rocket punch that 1HKOs Predators and a shield generator to use and can use the shield as fuel for a blast attack.
This Beauty doesn't pack quite as much punch as the other Beauty but it's enough to break up the level and convince Orks that it's Mork.
Gorgutz: You've done me proud, Wazmakka! You've seen it boyz! There's a bunch of humies and eldar blocking my way to the pointy stikk! You and Beauty are going to rage your way through them!
After I build up a suitable force I punch open the gate and get a choice of whether to attack Blood Ravens or Eldar.
Gorgutz: If we go right, towards the Space Marines, we'll have to face their 'ard armour and wagons. if we go left, we'll fight the Eldar and their 'eavy wraith-gits.
At this point I assumed that the one I don't take out will beef up and decide to take out the Eldar before I have to face a Wraith army, Predators just don't take as much to kill. In the end it turns out that it doesn't make any difference.
Of course, the Eldar are already past the gate and I can only assume that the reason why they haven't gone for the spear yet is due to the daemon's influence clouding their judgement (it's that or the writers forgot about the hovercraft, Kyre having Swooping Hawk gear and Warp Spiders).
Still, I've got rokkits enough for the both of them.
Wraithknight: By Kyre's will, the Eldar shall claim the spear today!
Imperial Knight Paladin: No Xenos shall touch the spear while I draw breath!
And of course I wasted my rok on the respawning armies before these guys dropped in, sadly they don't engage each other or this would be even easier and probably fun to watch.
Ranged units are trash in melee, this applies even to Wraithknights or Paladins (the Paladin had a chainsword at least, Solaria is basically helpless in melee). They both die fast enough that Beauty doesn't even get a chance to join in. I love Ork anti-tank firepower, when armour shows up vs Space Marines or Eldar there's tension because they've only got Lascannon Devastators or Shadow Spectres for anti-tank work while with Orks they just get buried in rokkits without even inflicting meaningful casualties.
Once again, there is literally nothing stopping the Eldar from strolling in to get this.
Gorgutz: Suppose it's time to collect my winnings.
Macha is a showoff, choosing to float rather than just sit on Taldeer's shoulder.
Macha: Together, we can see!
Narrator: Farseer Macha divined that the Prophecy and the Spear and the entire enterprise were an elaborate trap. Even then, the Spear of Khaine, for which so much blood had been spilled, lay within reach of those that sought it.
Kyre just handled Gorgutz like he was nothing, that's the only impressive thing he's done in this whole campaign. Also he seems to have lightning grenades.
And then he tries to get fancy and the trap is sprung.
The face of a man that's seeing everything he's worked for crumble. I have no idea why his eyes are suddenly bright gold though. Maybe the Spear had an effect before it started draining him?
Then the blood sacrifice begins.
I was not expecting it to be this graphic when it happened. It honestly shocked me.
And here is the Storm Prince. Gorgutz makes use of his well honed escape tactics and bails out at this point before the Daemon notices him and gets in a stompy mood.
Now for the Eldar to hijack the Ork after mission briefing because they're the main protagonists of this.
Macha: Kyre is dead, and his Swordwind is leaderless and trapped! Many of my brethren will die if I do not intervene! And this Daemon - empowered as it is, is a danger to the entire galaxy.
Between the fact that it forced a truce between the Necrons and Eldar and the fact that it's wakeup stretches are making a vortex that's several dozen times the size of the average planet I am entirely willing to believe that this thing could fuck up a large chunk of the galaxy, especially if other forces rally around it.
Next time, it's a teamup mission and everyone fucking dies.
I think Solaria is actually at/pretty close to that level. Knight worlds are coveted by the tech priests, and she is the commander of this world. That's a lot of why I think Gabriel was confident that ignoring the Inquisitor's orders would not cause problems: the techpriests wouldn't be happy about one of their worlds being abandoned to the orks. Combined with Gabriel's own ties to the inquisition and it seems like a reasonable risk.
Is she? I'll admit I'm not as up to date on some of the newest lore, especially regarding the Knights and where they precisely fit in the Imperium's command structure. I figured they were something lodged in between the Guard and the Titan Legions...
You're supposed to stop when the cutscene you're after finishes in all cutscenes videos.
Anyways, I played mission 17 and got the stinger, I'd say I called it but it wasn't exactly subtle.
How exactly Gorgutz and Gabriel are going to get off that floating chunk of Acheron when all of their guys are dead is a question for the next two updates. Gabriel at least has House Varlock to help out while Gorgutz seemingly took all his guys past the blockade.
Now for mission 16, this one's the first of two teamup missions as the campaign nears it's end.
Taldeer: The Prophecy offers the key to defeating the Daemon: The uniting of the Wayfarers.
Macha: We Eldar were arrogant to assume it referred only to ourselves. We now know it encompasses two others: Gabriel Angelos - Master of the Blood Ravens and their ever-voyaging fleets - and Gorgutz, the wandering grifter. I must forge an alliance with them to defeat the Daemon, but I cannot do so without knowing the true path forward.
Taldeer: Indeed. We have pierced the shadow the Daemon has cast over the prophecy, yet he is still able to shroud our divination of the future. We have followed the threads of Fate as far as we can...
Macha: They have led us to an ancient Eldar Nexus. I believe this Nexus can pierce the shroud the Daemon has cast. To capture it, you need the warriors of the Swordwind. With Kyre dead, they are leaderless and trapped.
Taldeer: I will deliver them first, so Fate may deliver us all.
Ah right, Taldeer said the prophecy first and the twist is that it was about the Daemon getting taken down instead of Kyre (apparently also known as the Storm Prince) uniting the Eldar. The trap was just the Spear.
Jain Zar: The prophecy is revealed to be a trap, and Kyre has died a gruesome death - a victim of his own hubris! You must be pleased with yourself: All that you foresaw has come to pass and your enemies have fallen before you.
Macha: What? A great Daemon has been released from a long imprisonment and unleashed upon the galaxy! Our forces are left scattered and in disarray! This is not victory!
Jain Zar: Not yet. But you can rest well knowing that matters would have been much worse but for your involvement. You are at the centre of these events. This is your moment. Take it!
The story can't seem to make up it's mind on whether or not the prophecy is a giant trap or the key to salvation which is honestly pretty shit writing considering it's a central plot element.
Nice shot of the Storm Prince and Macha.
Taldeer: The words of the Prophecy were a warning all along. It was a trap.
Macha: The Daemon is an agent of Chaos, bound to this world by the ancient Eldar. To break its bonds, it required even greater strength than it had. Bloated by millennia of unwitting blood sacrifice, it finally gained the power to break free.
Taldeer: And the Spear of Khaine, a lure to attract the ambitious and greedy to this world.
Macha: A deception, to trick generation after generation into spilling blood here.
Taldeer: And Kyre succumbed without any hesitation.
Macha: We will be its next victims if we are not careful.
Something that's been bothering me for a while, for someone tortured by Slaanesh (or just by daemons in general) for all of the time between Dark Crusade and Retribution, Taldeer seems remarkably well adjusted.
And now to check in on the Orks.
Zappnoggin: Me 'ead! That beasty - it's in me 'ead!
Ork Boy: Everything's WEIRD! Where's the boss?!
Wazmakka: He went for the Stikk and didn't come out! Then, then this huge beasty rose up out of all the gore!
Ork Boy: That beasty is HUGE!
Wazmakka: Too huge! We should get on a kroozer and leg it from this world!
Zappnoggin: That Daemon boy ain't lettin' us run! He's taken over both the sky and the dirt! He is this world now!
With Acheron well on it's way to turning into a daemon world, the Orks' fates are sealed and any escape is effectively impossible. Of all the factions, only the Eldar possess a stable escape route.
This is the game's way of saying that you get a top tier elite for each section of the level.
These guys aren't Ork Boyz, if you look closely you can see that they're doppelgangers (made of blood of course), the Daemon can make copies of every unit in the game because fuck designing a whole balanced roster of Daemons for only two missions.
And this is what makes the blood doppelgangers, a blood fountain (what else was it going to be with a Khornate daemon?).
With the Swordwind rallied, I get the objective of fighting my way to the Nexus mentioned in the briefing. Presumably, my forces elsewhere are rescuing the rest of the scattered Swordwind.
I'm also required to smash these blood spewing towers because they'll interfere with the Nexus.
The daemonic doppelgangers also include to elite Dreadnoughts, still, Macha's Eldritch Storm tears through them and I reach the Nexus.
Macha: These spires strengthen the Daemon's influence and disrupt my divinations! But we can't destroy the Spires and hold the Nexus simultaneously.
Well he was easy to convince. Now it's time for the Ork segment of the level, Zappnoggin is presumably incapacitated at this point since I only have Gorgutz and Wazmakka piloting Beauty to work with.
And to complicate things, there's now death fog to worry about, any unit that goes in starts taking damage.
It's finally splitting out new units, now I get to deal with Bloodletters, amusingly they're less tough than Assault Marines or Nobs if it had spat out those two mobs I'd have problems.
There are two things to comment on here, first is the asshole Wraithlord that spawned before I could get sufficient Killa Kans and Tankbustas, the second is that statue with a soulstone (or rather a part designed to look like a soulstone) on it. It raises so many questions and answers none of them considering how soulstones are supposedly a post-fall invention.
For this mission I devote my resources to keeping my base safe while Gorgutz and Beauty go out and smash everything. Beauty only needs one punch to destroy their spawn point after all.
Before the end, the death fog has become an anti-fodder shield for the towers.
Once the towers are down, Macha does her divination.
Macha: The Nexus does its work - The shroud is lifted! The threads of Fate are unraveled and the future finally clear!
And with that, Balthazar is ready to sacrifice himself.
Normally I wouldn't mind this development since it's not like the Dauntless can blow up a planet that's several dozen/hundred times the size of the average planet before the daemon starts hitting back, but as the previous parts of the level (and the bit after the listening posts are down) make clear, there is no way off of the planet for the Orks and Blood Ravens. Any members of their cast either on Acheron or on the Dauntless are going to die.
So in short, Diomedes, Jonah, Solaria, Wazmakka and Zappnoggin are now all pretty much guaranteed to be dead and if Relic wants to bring them back in a future expansion it had better have a damn good explanation because there wasn't even a hint of the Blood Ravens escaping from the Dauntless (on the contrary, we see the remains of a bunch of them floating near where the Dauntless crashed next level) or even trying to escape Acheron.
Also, the Eldar get off scot free from this and keep a fair amount of their forces and only lose Kyre and his Wraithlord friend.
Okay, rant over, back to making three Listening Posts.
If more strategic points were like this, I wouldn't mind how energy hungry the Eldar are.
Balthazar: Locked on. Impact in five minutes. You will need to maintain the full signal strength.
Gabriel: We will defend it with everything we have.
*two minutes later*
Balthazar: Reaching the point of no return in three minutes.
And with Balthazar's last words, it's time to die.
That's it, all that's left to do.
Gabriel has a few things to say as it happens.
Gabriel: It has been long since Godsplitter has slain Daemonspawn!
----
Gabriel: Death comes for us all, brothers!
----
Gabriel: Brothers, to the end our foes will know that they have faced Blood Ravens in battle!
And the end of Acheron, I wonder what happened to Cyprus Ultima with this gigantic explosion.
Narrator: The impact of the ship shattered the Mantle of Acheron, smashing it into a multitude of fragments. Those that did not find means to escape, perished. Though reduced in stature, the Daemon was not killed. And the core of his dominion remained.
By reduced in stature, they mean that he's now small enough to fit on screen.
And with that, this campaign has gone from grim to "basically everyone but the Eldar are dead, Cyprus Ultima is probably a goner and Holt may have survived", maybe the novel has something that clarifies the story in it but to me this is what it all looks like.
Elder are supposed to be good at manipulating others into dying for them. They deserve to pull it off at least once in the series, because they blunder around a lot in the last game.
From what someone who on SB who had the novel, the Storm Prince isn't Khornate, it's Undivided. Apparently it also summoned Daemonettes and Nurglites in the novel.
From what someone who on SB who had the novel, the Storm Prince isn't Khornate, it's Undivided. Apparently it also summoned Daemonettes and Nurglites in the novel.
That's really strange, between the blood fountains, the fire, the blood towers and the Bloodletters it seemed like an obviously Khornate daemon. Do you remember any other differences between the novelisation and the game?
Normally I wouldn't mind this development since it's not like the Dauntless can blow up a planet that's several dozen/hundred times the size of the average planet before the daemon starts hitting back, but as the previous parts of the level (and the bit after the listening posts are down) make clear, there is no way off of the planet for the Orks and Blood Ravens. Any members of their cast either on Acheron or on the Dauntless are going to die.
That's really strange, between the blood fountains, the fire, the blood towers and the Bloodletters it seemed like an obviously Khornate daemon. Do you remember any other differences between the novelisation and the game?
Well to quote someone I've read over on SB(who just scrolling a bit down I see is the one who posted in the DoW3 thread right before you linked this LP)
Almost spot-on so far, bearing in mind I've just completed mission 3. The only real difference was that the game actually showed how Gorgutz made the weapon, while in the novel they skipped straight to the part where he had it.
The novel actually covers the events in the trailer as well - we actually get some perspective chapters from that one marine the trailer focuses on, and those two knights who fought the Wraithknight?
Spoiler
The one who got chopped in half was Solaria's consort while the one who body-slammed the Wraithknight was her son and heir. Being Solaria is suffering.
Luckily GW has just given a way to justify the Blood Ravens' continued existence despite all the beatings they take; the Primaris Marines.
Well, maybe. The first batches of Primari were apparently made with Crusade-era Loyalist geneseed stocks and Gulliman vetoed making Primari out of Traitor Legion geneseed and given the likeliness of the Blood Ravens being Thousand Son descendants.
Well, at least the Omnis Arcanum and Litany of Fury are elsewhere and they could've been given the tech to mae Primaris themselves. Or well, they'll get it somehow. Gotten actually
