Dawn of War IV Developers Fall at Wave 12 of Last Stand

A developer demonstration of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV’s The Last Stand showed the team losing on wave nine during its first attempt. After changing their equipment and abilities, the developers reached wave 12 before Bladeguard Veterans, Eradicators and Dreadnoughts defeated them.

The Last Stand puts three players in control of Commanders who must survive 20 waves of increasingly powerful enemies. Each Commander can reach level 30 during a match and gain access to additional abilities and wargear.

The mode adds a Strikeforce system. Each Commander can lead up to four Companion units, which have their own specialisations. Players can combine Commanders from different factions, including Space Marines, Orks and the Adeptus Mechanicus. The game director acknowledged that some combinations do not follow the setting’s lore because The Last Stand is designed as an arcade-style mode.

Equipment and unit choices use deployment points. Spending points on powerful wargear leaves fewer available for starting units. During the demonstration, the Ork Warboss used the Rokk Drop ability, which can create an additional unit in The Last Stand, alongside deployable Mek Guns. The choice left the Warboss with almost no starting forces, but he had built a small army by wave 10.

Commanders do not gain direct stat increases when they level up. Each level instead provides access to more wargear. This allows players at different levels to join the same match without creating a major power gap between them.

The mode has three score multipliers. The time multiplier increases when players clear waves quickly. The survivor multiplier decreases when a Commander is knocked down. The control multiplier increases as players hold the map’s three strategic locations.

The strategic locations also affect recovery. Units do not reinforce automatically, so players rely on medical supplies that appear in the centre of the map. Controlling more locations provides more supplies, while unused supplies are not replaced. Fallen units return after a set number of waves, with stronger units requiring longer respawn times.

Teammates can revive a downed Commander, who returns with refreshed ability cooldowns. Being knocked down still lowers the team’s score.

The Last Stand will launch with five Commanders representing four factions, including the Blood Ravens and Dark Angels Space Marine chapters. More Commanders are planned as free downloadable content.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV is scheduled to launch on Dec. 3, 2026. Players who purchase the Commander Edition will receive access on Nov. 30, three days before the general release. Both editions are currently available with a 10% preorder discount.

Reviewed and fact-checked by Vlad Kipran on November 6.