Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Dark Crusade Unit Profile - Grey Knight

Studios like Relic Entertainment are helping refine and evolve real-time strategy as we know it. Whereas these games used to be about the simple steps of collecting resources, building a base and an army, and crushing your opponents, these strategy games have at once started to enjoy more gameplay depth, as well as more-exciting, fast-paced gameplay. Relic's 2004 strategy game Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War is a perfect example of the kind of fast-moving, explosive experience that real-time strategy games can deliver, and later this year, the developer will release a second expansion pack for Dawn of War, Dark Crusade. We're pleased to bring you the new units that will appear in the game, starting with the Space Marines' new unit, the Grey Knights.

Grey Knights

The Grey Knights are an extremely powerful and secretive chapter within the ranks of the elite soldiers known as Space Marines. The chapter was apparently founded to specifically hunt and battle daemons, the otherworldly monsters that plague the Emperor's domain. In fact, rumor has it that these exceptionally powerful soldiers were created from the Emperor's own genetic stock.

In battle, the Grey Knights are the most powerful of all Space Marines and possess special psyker abilities that make them even more dangerous adversaries. However, these supersoldiers are extremely rare; working with them is considered to be a unique privilege.

Combat Abilities:

The Grey Knights are even tougher than the average Space Marine and are decent ranged attackers, although they carry special "force halberd" melee weapons that make them much more effective in melee combat. Grey Knights are, of course, particularly effective against daemon opponents. Unfortunately, because these powerful warriors are so rare, in the game you'll be able to create only a single squad of them. As mentioned, Grey Knights also possess psyker abilities.

Special Abilities:

Psychic Inquisition:
This ability damages all enemies in a wide area around the Grey Knights with psychic "torture." The residual psychic energy actually "haunts" the area and seeks out any nearby targets.

Furious Charge:
This ability lets Grey Knights advance on their enemies with incredible speed, and the extra momentum is translated into a powerful attack.

That's all for the Space Marines' Grey Knights unit. Stay tuned to GameSpot for more updates on Dark Crusade's new units.