Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade: Complete Guide

This guide covers Dark Crusade, the standalone 2006 expansion: how the Kronus meta-campaign works, how to win stronghold battles, notes on all seven races, skirmish build fundamentals, and how to run it on a modern PC, including where the 2025 Definitive Edition fits in.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the final retail patch of Dark Crusade (no updates since the 2000s) and the Definitive Edition released 14 August 2025. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Status: Dark Crusade (originally released 9 October 2006) is standalone, so you never needed the original Dawn of War or Winter Assault to play it. It includes all seven races of its era in skirmish and campaign. You can no longer buy it on its own on Steam: the standalone listing (app 4580) is unlisted at the publisher's request and only works for existing owners. Today you get it in one of two bundles: Dawn of War - Anniversary Edition (Classic), the original game with Winter Assault, Dark Crusade and Soulstorm, or Dawn of War - Definitive Edition (14 August 2025), a remaster of the same content with nine factions, better lighting and textures, 64-bit support, improved pathfinding and camera, and a built-in Mod Manager. Everything in this guide applies to Dark Crusade in either version.

Which Version Should You Play?

Owners of the Anniversary Edition were offered a discounted "veterans" upgrade to the Definitive Edition at launch, so check your Steam library before paying full price.

Quick Start

1. Requisition comes from holding points. Grab Strategic Points, Critical Locations and Relics fast, and put Listening Posts on them. Map control is your economy.
2. Power comes from generators. Build them early; later, put your race's high-output generator on slag deposits where the map has them. Relics unlock each race's top-tier units.
3. Necrons are different. They don't use requisition at all, only power. More on that below.
4. Reinforce and upgrade, don't just build more squads. A full squad with weapon upgrades beats two half-dead ones.
5. Watch morale. Broken squads barely fight. Pull them back, use leaders and morale abilities, and target enemy morale with suppressive weapons.
6. Use Retreat. Squads that run home and reinforce keep their upgrades and deny the enemy kills.
7. In the campaign, buy Honor Guard. Territory income pays for veteran units that start every battle with you and persist between fights.
8. Attack strongholds only when you're ready. Stronghold battles are long scripted missions, and taking one eliminates that faction.
9. Your commander grows. Wargear unlocks as you hit campaign milestones. Equip it before each battle.

The Kronus Campaign

How it works

The campaign has two phases each turn:

Key rules:

• Planetary requisition: every territory you hold adds to your income on the world map. You spend it on Honor Guard, powerful versions of your units that can't be trained normally and carry over between battles, or on garrisoning standard units in a territory.
• Persistent bases: any structure you build during a battle is still there the next time you defend that territory. Building a proper base in a border territory is an investment, not a one-off.
• Territory bonuses: captured territories grant bonus abilities or unlock extra Honor Guard units. Read the tooltip on the world map and grab the ones that help your race early.
• Stronghold territories: each rival's home base, fought as a special mission with multiple primary and secondary objectives. Capturing a faction's stronghold removes that faction from the game.
• AI counterattacks: enemy factions attack your territories between your turns. Guarded or fortified territories are much safer.

Campaign strategy

1. Expand first, then go for strongholds. Early turns are for cheap territories with useful bonuses and more income.
2. Fortify the border. A territory where you've already built defences is far easier to hold when you're attacked.
3. Put income into Honor Guard. A few elite squads at the start of every battle speed everything up.
4. Pick stronghold targets deliberately. Knocking out the faction pressing you hardest removes its counterattacks. Leave strongholds guarded by strong armies for later.
5. Save before stronghold missions. They're long, with objectives and defenders already dug in.

Commanders and canon

The Tau commander Kais is the protagonist of the earlier shooter Fire Warrior, and Eliphas leads the Word Bearers warband. Every race has its own campaign ending, but the canonical outcome is a Blood Ravens victory: Thule's forces defeat every faction, including executing Farseer Taldeer and destroying the Necron Lord, and Kronus returns to Imperial control. The series continues from there in Soulstorm and Dawn of War II.

A campaign turn, step by step

1. Check the map for threats. Look at which enemy armies border your territories before you move.
2. Spend planetary requisition. Top up Honor Guard or garrison a threatened border territory.
3. Equip new wargear. If you hit a milestone last turn, your commander has new gear waiting.
4. Pick the attack. Prefer territories that give a bonus you'll use in every later battle, or that cut an enemy off from its stronghold.
5. Fight efficiently. Build only what you need to win. Structures you do build stay in that territory for future defences, so a few defensive buildings in a frontier territory pay off.
6. Save. Especially before a stronghold assault or when an enemy army is next door.

Race Notes

Space Marines

A flexible, elite-infantry race. Tactical Marines are the backbone, Scouts grab points early, and Assault Marines jump in to break ranged squads. Dreadnoughts and Terminators come later. The Force Commander is a strong early fighter. Tip: don't skip heavy weapon upgrades on Tacticals. They need them for anti-vehicle work.

Imperial Guard

Cheap, numerous infantry with attachable leaders (Commissars, Priests and others), plus strong artillery and tanks (Basilisk, Leman Russ). The late game is very strong. Tip: attach a leader to every Guardsmen squad, and push out with Sentinels while your infantry holds points.

Eldar

Fast, fragile specialists. Guardians and Rangers early, then Aspect Warriors: Dire Avengers, Howling Banshees, Dark Reapers and more. Webway Gates let you move around the map. Tip: Eldar lose badly in drawn-out brawls, so hit and retreat, and use the Farseer's psychic abilities on key targets.

Orks

Pop comes from Waaagh! Banners, and the army gets stronger as the horde grows. Slugga Boyz swarm, Shoota Boyz shoot, Nobz lead squads, and Tankbustas handle armour. Tip: put banners up early for population and keep your mobs large. Orks hit hardest when they commit together.

Chaos

Cultists and Heretics early, Chaos Space Marines as the core, and daemons and Possessed for melee. The top tier has very powerful daemonic units. Tip: Chaos pressure is at its best in the mid game, so push before the enemy's top tier arrives.

Tau Empire (new in Dark Crusade)

Excellent ranged firepower (Fire Warriors, Crisis Suits, Broadsides) but very weak in melee; the Tau commander doesn't even have a melee attack. The alien Kroot fight alongside them as auxiliaries and fill the melee gap. Tau are the only race with a real branch in their tech: at the top of the tree you're offered two final-tier buildings, and you can only build one. Each unlocks different end-game units and technologies, so read both tooltips before committing and pick the one that covers your army's weakness in that match. Tip: screen with Kroot, keep Fire Warriors out of melee and focus fire. Tau fall apart against anyone who gets into close combat, and the commander should never be your frontline.

Necrons (new in Dark Crusade)

Necrons don't use requisition. Units cost no requisition at all; power pays for research, buildings, new squads and reinforcements. Many Necron units can resurrect. Necron Warriors are the slow, tough core. Your home base is the Monolith, which is gradually restored as you build more structures; once fully restored it becomes mobile (very slow, but it can teleport). Later tiers add stronger elite units. Tip: you still need Strategic Points for map control, victory conditions and to deny the enemy income, but your own economy is generators. Build power aggressively and use Necron durability to win long fights. Their slow speed makes them vulnerable to raids, so guard your points.

Skirmish and Multiplayer Fundamentals

Opening priorities (any race)

1. Builders and point-cappers straight away. Your first units should be capturing Strategic Points while builders put up power.
2. Early infantry. Two squads to contest points, reinforced.
3. Listening Posts on points you hold, to boost income and defend them.
4. Tech up once you're holding at least half the map.
5. Relics unlock top-tier units, so contest them hard.

Economy rules of thumb

• If your income is dropping, you're losing map control. Take points back before you tech.
• Power scales with how many generators you build, so add them steadily as your army grows rather than all at once.
• Don't float resources. Unspent requisition is a squad that isn't on the field.

Combat rules of thumb

• Melee vs ranged: melee squads tie up ranged ones, and ranged squads shoot while engaged ones can't reply. Pick your fights.
• Morale: some weapons deal morale damage and break squads without killing them. Broken enemies are easy to finish off.
• Vehicles: take them down with dedicated anti-vehicle upgrades, not basic small arms.
• Retreat: use it often. Losing a squad also loses its upgrades and gives the enemy momentum.

Running It on a Modern PC

• Classic version: the original game's Steam listing (the old Master Collection) became Dawn of War - Anniversary Edition on 19 September 2024, and original owners got that upgrade free. It's now labelled "(Classic)", includes Dark Crusade, and requires Windows 10 or later.
• Definitive Edition (14 August 2025): a separate remaster with image-based lighting, upgraded textures, pathfinding improvements, 64-bit support and a camera built for widescreen and 4K. It's the easiest option if you want a polished modern experience and the full expansion set.
• Resolution: the classic engine supports higher resolutions, but UI scaling is limited. On very high-resolution displays the HUD gets small; this is one of the main reasons to pick the Definitive Edition.
• Mods: the original DoW/DC modding scene is huge. Many popular overhauls target Soulstorm rather than Dark Crusade, so check the mod's required version before installing. The Definitive Edition has an integrated Mod Manager and advertises compatibility with community mods, but older mods may still need updated releases, so check each mod's page for which version it supports.
• Multiplayer: both versions support 2-8 player matches. They are separate products, so make sure your group owns the same edition before planning a match.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Teching too early in skirmish. Map control comes first.
• Not reinforcing squads. Half-strength squads die and waste their upgrades.
• Leaving campaign territories undefended. The AI counterattacks between your turns.
• Ignoring Honor Guard. Territory income is there to be spent.
• Throwing Tau into melee. Screen them with Kroot.
• Playing Necrons like everyone else. Their economy is power, not requisition.
• Forgetting wargear. Commander upgrades unlock mid-campaign and need equipping.

Advanced Tips

• Harass builders and generators. Economic damage early decides games against the AI and humans alike.
• Commander placement: commanders are strong fighters but slow to replace. Use them to lock down points, not to dive.
• Campaign efficiency: go for territories with strong abilities first. A good bonus early snowballs across every later battle.
• Hard difficulty: the AI expands fast. Scout its expansion route and cut it off.
• Relic fights: a relic lost at 15 minutes can be the whole game. Keep a squad and a Listening Post on it.
• Stronghold missions: clear objectives in order, bring Honor Guard, and hold back reserves for the defenders' counterattack waves.

FAQ

Do I need the original Dawn of War to play Dark Crusade? No. Dark Crusade is standalone.

Which races are playable? Space Marines, Imperial Guard, Eldar, Orks, Chaos, Tau and Necrons. Sisters of Battle and Dark Eldar came later in Soulstorm.

Who wins canonically? The Blood Ravens under Captain Davian Thule.

How do Necrons get resources? They only use power, with no requisition.

Can I still buy Dark Crusade on its own? Not on Steam. The standalone listing is unlisted. Buy the Anniversary Edition (Classic) for the original version, or the Definitive Edition (14 August 2025) for the remaster; both include Dark Crusade.

Does the Definitive Edition include the Dark Crusade campaign? Yes. It bundles the base game, Winter Assault, Dark Crusade and Soulstorm, with four campaigns and nine factions.

What happens when I capture a stronghold? That faction is removed from the campaign.

Why can't my Tau build both final-tier buildings? By design. Tau get two final-tier options and can only build one per match, so choose based on what you're fighting.

Why is my Necron base moving? Once the Monolith is fully restored by building enough structures, it becomes a slow, mobile unit that can teleport.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Dark Crusade
• Wikipedia: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (Anniversary and Definitive Edition notes)
• Steam store page, Dark Crusade (unlisted)
• Steam store page, Dawn of War - Anniversary Edition (Classic)
• Steam store page, Dawn of War - Definitive Edition