Shower thought I had. But I was just thinking that its obvious they would want to justify some Imperial faction vs Imperial faction stuff so that you weren't just fighting Orks and Aeldari all the time. So people figured rogue Guard elements would be a thing to mix things up.

But then I was thinking how they could do the same with Space Marines. Given it will be a bit before we see any CSM representation. And the obvious conclusion was renegade chapters. Those that broke off from the Imperium but hasn't necessarily done so because they drank the Chaos Flavoraid.

Which got me thinking, could you play a Space Marine custom faction is Renegade? Or go further and could you play a Space Marine faction that starts loyal but can become a Renegade chapter as campaigns go on?

If you could build one as a Renegade right off the bat it would be interesting if they let you customize faction aversions. Like having your Chapter from the get go being capable of having friendlier relations to Aeldari or the like. To show their more neutral position compared to mainstay Imperials. But it does make me wonder how far the "make your own story elements" go if they do allow Renegades from the get go.

Specifically the dev says this at around the 20:50 mark:

>"We really wanted to put the biggest thing that we could get away with in a Total War game. We are looking at putting bigger things later down the line of course, but this will be the biggest thing we've had in a Total War."

At first I didn't think much of this. But after re-watching the stream I realized there actually isn't really anything in mainstay 40k that is bigger than a Stompa. The tallest mainline Imperial Knight is the Dominus class, which is a good deal smaller than a Stompa. Other than that, nothing out of the normal GW codex rosters really compare in size to the Stompa.

It's really only Forgeworld units like Warhound Titans, Tyranid Bio Titans, the T'aunar Supremacy Armor, Acastus Knight, and so on that are bigger than a Stompa.

Wouldn't say this is a confirmation of anything mind. But fun to see they are thinking about it given how people were hoping we might see at least the smaller classes of Titans in some capacity. Given they are probably not concerned about things like city gate heights (which was the main thing limiting the height of units in the Warhammer Fantasy games), I really do think the sky is probably the limit here. Though obviously with considerations on recruitment limitations and roster balances of course probably having a say of what does or doesn't get added.

Had a bit of a shower thought pop into my head. But while chewing on it I wasn't sure what direction I wanted for this part of the game myself, so thought I'd poke your brains about it as well.

So in Total War: Warhammer we had a lot of minor NPC factions to fill out the empty spaces of the world. Some of these are notable lore factions. Like the many Empire subfaction that make up it's electorate like Stirland and the like. But a lot of other subfactions were made up by CA to just fill in the blank spaces so to speak.

One of my favorites is the Dimmed Sunz minor faction that exist to have an excuse to fight Greenskins in Cathay. Or the minor faction dedicated to Sarthoreal the Everwatcher, himself being a CA original creation (kinda, technically Sarthoreal existed in 40k prior). It was nice seeing these original minor factions with their unique banners and color schemes in the game, even if they were destined to be curb stomped by the major factions. I would have a once in the blue moon campaign where they became major powers, or steadfast allies, and make that campaign memorable from cookie cutter "X LL led subfaction dominated the world" ones.

But with Total War 40k, I wonder how much or how little CA will be putting into minor factions like this given the change to how campaigns seem to be working. And just the way 40k works compared to fantasy. There are no shortage of minor subfactions to add for pretty much every big tabletop faction. Even something as minor as Harlequins or Corsairs have their own extensive lists of major and minor subfactions to copy and paste iconography and color schemes from the Codexes and into the game. So on paper there might not be a need for CA to even make up their own ones since most of that work is already done for them.

BUT that isn't putting into consideration the big emphasis on customization in 40k. While we still haven't seen how it works in action, and are just taking CA's word on it. The custom faction building element of 40k seems like its a big focus, and the Crusade system seems tailor made to be a "make your own story" type of experience. If they are putting this much effort into a faction builder, I imagine they would make use of that to generate minor factions that players can encounter and be unique to their own campaigns. Having that ability to say "X faction became my greatest ally/enemy" and it would be something entirely unique to that particular campaign they played.

So with my rambling on that done. What would your preferences be? Sticking with loreful factions from the tabletop/lore only? Having CA make their own minor factions, iconography and color schemes, like they did with Fantasy? Or random generate them using their build-a-bear system they made?

I think most likely it will be a mix of all three, but which angle would you prefer to see more of in your own campaigns?

I've been lurking around a number of 40k subs, and saw there was a lot of interest in knowing what Trazyn and Orikan have been up to in the timeline. Since there is a decent gap of time between The Infinite and the Divine and the newly announced sequel The Wicked and the Warped. Given Robert Rath is someone who is known for doing a TON of research and making nods to some obscure 40k lore, it is natural he might make references to timeline events that aren't mentioned in novels and the like that occurred chronologically between these two books.

The timeline is a little funky here because I&D skips huge swaths of time during its thousand year long narrative, but vast majority covers a pre-Great Rift period of time. With the climatic elements of the book occurring shortly after the Fall of Cadia. Since the novel Fall of Cadia (and its prequel short-story Bleeding Stars) occur during the time when Orikan was buried under Serenade's surface following the Exterminatus. But other than that overlap I think most of these events follow the end of I&D (but before the cliffhanger epilogue where Trazyn asks the Deceiver Shard how to enter the Great Rift).

Trazyn has been a busy bee to say the least, so he makes up the bulk of this. But Orikan does have a few fun ones too

#Trazyn Events with specific dates

• 793.M41: His first encounter with Inquisitor Valeria after she investigates why Hive Fleet Behemoth avoided Solemnace. Would implant a Mindshackle scarab into her and have a mutually beneficial relationship until she is (sorta) executed by Inquisitor Greyfax (Codex: Necrons, 5th Edition/Mindshackle by Robert Rath)

• 878.M41: Tries to steal the Spear of Vulkan from Forgefather He'stan but is defeated in a duel. (Codex: Space Marines: 6th Edition)

• 933.M41: Launched a full-scale invasion into the Fenris system. Invaded the world of Midgardia, destroyed its orbital defense systems, battled against Logan Grimnar, Arjac Rockfist, Njal Stormcaller, Ulrik. Skvarl Cogfang, Gnaerold Ghostwolf but achieved his objective of retrieving a C'tan Shard of the Burning One from the planet and withdrew with no issues. (Codex Supplement: Champions of Fenris, 6th edition)

• 943.M41 to 953.M41: Tells the Salamanders that he discovered the Song of Entropy (one of Vulkan's missing relics) triggering a decade long war between the armies of Solemnace and the Salamanders Chapter. Reveals he lied when He'stan fights him personally to retrieve the relic and tries, but fails, to steal the Spear of Vulkan again. (Codex: Space Marines: 6th Edition)

• 990.M41: He orchestrates the Tyranid invasion of the world of Vuros and uses a temporal cascade to make the invasion an exhibit. Is forced to abandon the project after it results in several full-scale battles in his galleries. (Codex: Necrons, 7th edition)

• 999.M41: Participated in the Carnac Campaign with Orikan, Nemesor Zahndrakh, Vargard Obyron, and Anraykyr the Traveler all working together to reawaken a dormant Tomb World that had Aeldari Exodites establish a colony on it. (Codex: Necrons, 5th Edition)

Events without dates (some could have occurred during I&D)

• Allied with Imotekh the Stormlord in a battle against the Cato Sicarius of the Ultaramarines and Eldorath Starbane of Craftworld Alaitoc. (White Dwarf 383)
• Encountered Eidolon while attempting to make an unspecified procurement. Was sent Fabius Bile as an exchange, but instead of claiming Bile he traded a ship's worth of Emperor's Children geneseed for a Fulgrim clone. (Fabius Bile: Clonelord by Josh Reynolds)
• Participated in a warzone on Mordian against the Thousand Sons and Harlequins after co-opting the armies of Overlord Serevakh the Star-Throned after collecting him. Commanded a myriad of Xenos forces (including T'au, Leagues of Votann, Orks, and Tyranids) to help defend the Aeldari webway portals. Still wants to close the Warp Rift above Mordian so he can get to what he really wanted to do in the system. (Warhammer 40K Grand Narrative 2025)

#Orikan

Events with specific dates

• 987.M41: Traps the 7th company of the Obsidian Glaives Chapter in a chrono-loop to better study his enemies. (Codex: Necrons, 7th Edition)

• 999.M41: Participated in the Carnac Campaign as mentioned in Trazyn's section. Specifically helps Anraykyr avoid assassination by Aeldari Rangers with his future sight. Asks for no reward, but it's heavily implied he was responsible for the extremely convenient timing of the Tomb World's awakening that allowed for the Necron victory. (Codex: Necrons, 5th edition)

• T12345X000-11: While commanding a cabal of Crypteks commanded by Orikan on Szarekh's behalf. Orikan predicts the fortress called the Basilicanum Imperator will be a threat to Szarekh's plans. He leads a combined force of Szrekhan, Pruskh, and Uretep Dynasties, along with the Triarch Praetorians, to destroy the fortress defended by the Adepta Sororitas and AdMech. (Codex: Necrons, 10th edition)

Events without dates (These all occur after I&D)

• Advised Imotekh with his prophecies during the conquest of Forgeworld Hypnoth. They then used an unforeseen Tyranid infestation to weaken the Imperial defenses and defeat the Fleshtearers and Iron Hand defending the planet with the help of a Mechanophage. (Codex: Necrons, 8th edition)

• Infiltrates Solemnace and releases several Tyranid specimens in an attempt to retroactively prove his prophecy that Solemnace will be devoured by Tyranids true. Fights Trazyn but is forced to withdraw. (War in the Museum by Robert Rath)

• Involved in the Pariah Nexus conflict. Mentioned his loyalty to Szarekh has long ago disintegrated but he still respects what the Silent King is trying to achieve with cleaning the galaxy of Warp taint. He believes a calamity is going to occur in the region of such magnitude that it is messing with his current day prophecies, and he narrowed it down to the Nephilim region. (Crusade: Pariah Nexus, 10th edition)

That's all the material I know for the most part. I'm sure I missed some things here and there, but I think if Robert Rath is going to make any callbacks to existing material. These should make up the more notable events that took place in-between depending on where Wicked and the Warp sits on the vague timeline we got.

Hope this helps anyone looking forward to the sequel!

TLDR

Factions should be allowed to battle each other on a planet without necessarily being "at war." With enough conflicts, or other negative actions, between them eventually leading to a state of Total War.

This would allow for more interesting dynamics between factions without necessarily making them more complex.

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Explanation

I've been mulling over how interactions between factions would play out in 40k for awhile now. And I think I've finally settled on what I think makes the most sense for the setting.

Like most people, I expect diplomacy to either be at the level of the Total War: Warhammer trilogy, or be even more simplified. With the tagline of the IP being "There is Only War" and the recent affirmation of this in the PC Gaming Show video making it feel like the latter is the most likely. So no one is really expecting to see 3K levels of depth to say the least.

BUT while I do think diplomacy will not be that complex, I do think there is room in the setting to be a bit more nuanced than what we had in prior titles. Especially given the blank slate with the new engine.

Factions in 40k, even among Imperials, can have some pretty varied relations. A lot of it is based on oaths and favors rather than long-term alliances or command structures dictating how each faction should behave.

So while Imperial factions are mostly on the same side, they can clash with each other on occasion without outright warring with one another. And the same goes with their dynamics with outside factions on occasion.

Launch faction wise I think things will be fairly straightforward (except with Craftworlders, which is a can of worms). But as more factions are added I really think they should future proof the dynamics by shifting up how diplomacy works in general to work more as a spectrum, with "Total War" being something that only occurs when enough actions have built up to it.

What I mean by that is that battles shouldn't be something that only occurs when you're in a war state with another faction. You should be able to come into conflict with "neutral" (or even friendly) factions over objectives on a planet, which will affect diplomatic relations but not immediately lead to a declaration of war. This means that you could have conflicting objectives between, say, Space Marine and the Guard on a particular world and have a bit of a skirmish over it but not immediately have a case where you're trying to erase each other from the galaxy entirely.

This would allow for things like the Craftworld Aeldari fantasy to work. Given their infamous reputation of being allies one moment and then attacking you not too long after because of some long game they are playing out that looks like they are mercurial whackos from the outside. Meaning you won't suddenly be in a war for survival after attacking a singular Guard outpost or something.

Hell, it could even make for some more nuanced relations with a faction as "we're always at war" like the Orks. Maybe having enough major battles with Orks paradoxically makes them friendlier with you given they see you as someone who gives them a good fight. Meaning that they are more open to hearing you out when it comes to possibly fighting off a third party. Letting you have some interesting dynamics with Ork factions beyond just having some subfactions like Freebootaz/Blood Axes being the only ones having more open diplomatic options.

I think having this sorta "fight without being in a full-on war" system would lay the foundations for later factions who have more complex relations with other factions (T'au, AdMech, Necrons, LoV, etc.). And just make the game overall a lot more interactive in how campaigns play out compared to the Fantasy games where there is an illusion of interaction between factions.

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Not really sure if I'm explaining the concept that well, but I'd really love to hear what everyone thinks about it.

I know most folks think diplomacy shouldn't be a focus at all. And Total War is all about the war, and it should be an all or nothing dynamic. But I do think CA mixing it up how diplomacy works for this entry will really make 40k be that dream game in the long term. And really drive home that "make your own story" element we know and love without clashing with the spirit of the setting.

Over the last few months we've had a lot of talks about the big picture when it comes to DoW IV. Things like the gameplay flow, campaign focus, and so on. Which are end of the day the most important things we are rightfully worried about. Which may or may not have been alleviated as more of the game has been shown off.

But now that we finally have a release date, I thought it would be nice to have a chat dedicated to those relatively minor concerns we have with the game. Small things that won't make or break whether you get the game or not, but would just be a bugbear for you.

For example, while we haven't had the Necron showcase yet, something I've been a little worried about is VO. There's a somewhat common misunderstanding in the 40k community regarding Necrons where they think everyone is mindless but the lords, but in reality it is only the Warriors. Everyone else, while to varying degrees, still have minds from Immortals to upwards. So I'm hoping the devs are aware of that and we have some voice acting for Immortals, Deathmarks, and Lychguard. But other games have made them voiceless, so it's a dice roll.

Also Necron wise, I'm really hoping they allow their VFX to be customized to other colors too. Green is the iconic Necron look, but there are plenty of Dynasties who use other colors in their weapons. Would be a real shame if Thokt were included as a color scheme but you weren't able to have their signature blue energy.

Both of these things are really nothing burgers in the grand scheme of things, but would affect my enjoyment of the game a bit even if it isn't that big of a deal. So was wondering what y'all might have as similar small scale gripes or hopes for the game.