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Featuring an extensive interplanetary campaign spanning an entire star system in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm introduces two all-new factions for an unprecedented total of nine playable races.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm is a complete standalone title and will feature two all-new armies, including the malicious Dark Eldar, for an unprecedented total of nine playable races. In addition to new units across each of the seven existing races, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm will incorporate air units for the first time and introduce multiplayer medals, adding a whole new level of depth to online battles. The revolutionary meta-game introduced in Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade is further expanded to an interplanetary scale in Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm, allowing players to battle across an entire star system.

Ben Schneider, Designer/Writer, Iron Lore Entertainment

If you’re not familiar with the Warhammer 40,000 universe, let me tell you: it’s a dark and wild vision of the future, where only the most deadly and warlike races have survived. The Sisters of Battle represent the direct fighting arm of the human Ecclesiarchy, and are famed for their righteous zeal – and penchant for burning things. The Dark Eldar are the twisted kindred of the ancient Eldar race. They are a nation of deadly pirates, whose treasure is the souls of their victims, which they consume to prolong their depraved lives, and this week, we’re going to take a closer look at the Celestian Squad and the Scourge Squad.

Celestian Squad

First formed in the Age of Apostasy and redeemed by the Reformation, the Sisters of Battle have been the most incorruptible defenders of the Imperium of Man. All Battle Sisters were recruited as orphans, and have spent their whole lives knowing only harsh discipline and the teachings of the Ecclesiarchy.

A Battle Sister may be recruited to become a Celestian if she shows remarkable promise or is a proven veteran of many conflicts. But she must be more than a superior soldier; she must possess fierce, unwavering faith in the Imperium and a burning hatred of its enemies. This religious fervor makes Celestians trustworthy bodyguards and inspiring examples on the battlefield. They are one of a select number of deployable units who garner the Faith resource, which allows the Sisters of Battle to perform their miraculous Acts of Faith.

To supplement their religious ardor, Celestians are also bearers of heavy weaponry. Celestians are the only infantry provisioned with the Sisterhood’s famed Melta- and Multi-Melta guns, which burn through flesh, metal, and other substances with equal effectiveness.

It is said the appearance of Celestians in a battle is much like the rising sun. The standard ranks of Battle Sisters, wearied and injured, are granted new eyes to tell dark from light, while the shadows of evil dissolve and flee from their fiery gaze.

Scourge Squad

The heavy infantry of the Dark Eldar are nothing like the sun. They are far more likely to blot it out – flocks of them lifting off on grotesque daemon-like wings, their Splinter Cannons poised and ready to fire in a blaze of death and terror. These dark and brooding warriors rely on the range of their weapons and the gift of flight to appear where least expected and then be gone again.

Scourges may be equipped with Dark Lances, rendering them as lethal to vehicles and buildings as their Splinter Cannon are to infantry. Although they are terrifyingly adept with both weapons, Scourges take great pride in the fact that they do not dilute the purity of their purpose with melee training. As a result, they are quite vulnerable to close combat – or would be, if they could somehow be cornered and grounded. Translation: not very likely, and woe to the fool who tries it and fails.

Confessor

Every Confessor is an orator with remarkable skills of persuasion, a fire-tested zealot, a shrewd tactician, and a formidable warrior. With special dispensation from the Ecclesiarchy, they are free to move and act as they see fit within their diocese, in the effort to root out threats to the Imperium, be they from within or without. When a Confessor joins the Sisters of Battle, he confers more than just his wisdom and expertise. He can also perform any of a number of powerful Acts of Faith, buoyed by the potent zeal of the Battle Sisters around him.

A Confessor can hold an audience spellbound by his speech. His piercing eyes and the inflections of his voice will draw confessions from the most determined of heretics and spot out infiltrated enemy and unsanctioned psyker alike. But his powers of eloquence are fully matched by his wisdom. His insights and authority often provide priceless on-the-spot leadership to the Sisters of Battle. The Confessor ensures that those who follow blindly fall not into pitfalls, and do ever prevail in their service of the Imperium.

Penitent Engine

Most often, those who have strayed from the true path of the Ecclesiarchy atone with their lives. Inquisition is usually swift, if extremely painful. If a sinner is spared from death, it is precisely because he or she has eagerly offered his or her life in exchange for redemption. If the sins are slight, there is arco-flagellation, and excruciating procedure, best left undescribed. But if the sins are too heinous, there is only the Penitent Engine.

Driven by the repenter’s frenzied thirst for forgiveness, these massive war machines charge fearlessly into battle, the half-living form of the sinner shackled and wired to its face. The speed and ferocity of the Penitent Engine as it stomps towards its foes with buzzing saws and spouting flame is a sight to behold.

The horrifying image of the Engine and its repenter is nothing but an inspiration to the Battle Sisters: that someone would sacrifice themselves in this way is the truest testament to their beliefs.

Towering above troops, tanks, and other walkers, the Penitent Engine dispenses with all such foes swiftly, and wreathed in glorious flame.