Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II Retribution – Eldar Campaign Guide and Tips

This guide will show you some of the most useful tips on how to progress and beat the Eldar campaign in Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II Retribution

Introduction

This guide is packed with helpful details to assist you in strategizing your approach to the Eldar campaign in Retribution. It delves into aspects of the campaigns that aren’t explicitly revealed upfront but significantly impact your decision-making process. For instance, you won’t know the rewards for a mission until it’s unlocked, so understanding which missions allow you to upgrade which units greatly influences your upgrade priorities and timing.

I’ve concentrated on documenting insights that typically require multiple playthroughs to uncover. As a result, I’ve omitted information readily accessible through the Eldar tutorial and tooltips on the planet map. Details like every hero trait description or army unit upgrade are left out, assuming you can pick those up through gameplay and exploration.

This compilation of knowledge stemmed from my preparations for a deathless run of the Eldar campaign. I decided to share it as a Steam guide to benefit fellow players, as the Eldar faction holds a special place in my heart within the Warhammer 40k universe.

General Campaign Facts

Here are some general tips applicable to all Retribution campaigns:

1. Retaining Earned Items and XP: Regardless of mission outcome, you keep all items and experience gained during a mission, even if you fail or quit early. This includes items collected and XP earned by your hero. The only way to reset progress without keeping rewards is by reverting to an older save file, which involves tinkering with Retribution’s files.
2. Resource Refunds: Whenever you lose a squad member or vehicle, you receive back all requisition and power spent on them. This becomes interesting when you realize that reinforcing most squad members costs less than the resources refunded when they die. By repeatedly losing and reinforcing squad members, you can effectively generate unlimited requisition and power, provided you have enough to initially build a squad.
3. Bonus Objectives and Items: Bonus objectives often yield items that your heroes can equip or expendable items with various benefits. As items are relatively rare outside of mission rewards and bonus objectives, it’s usually worthwhile to pursue these objectives.
4. Automatic Item Acquisition: Once an item drops during a mission, it’s automatically added to your inventory regardless of whether you click on it before the mission ends. Therefore, don’t fret if you miss picking up an item dropped by a boss in the closing cutscene—it’s already in your possession.

Army Units

In the Eldar campaign of Retribution, you’ll encounter nine distinct army units:

1. Guardians: These are your basic Eldar infantry units. They excel in ranged combat but have low health and damage output. Their strength lies in their numerous special abilities.
2. Grav Platforms: These heavy weapon emplacements offer suppression and anti-vehicle capabilities. While they boast considerable range and potent effects, they lack durability.
3. Banshees: Specialized melee infantry, Banshees are lethal up close but vulnerable due to their need to engage in melee combat.
4. Warp Spiders: These specialist ranged infantry units possess teleportation abilities and can throw anti-vehicle Haywire grenades, providing mobility and anti-vehicle support.
5. Wraithguard: Slow-moving yet durable infantry armed with powerful cannons that damage in an area and suppress enemies. They gain a speed boost when near any Warlock.
6. Falcon: As the Eldar’s transport vehicle, the Falcon allows infantry reinforcement and provides decent combat support with its weaponry and energy shield.
7. Wraithlord: A melee walker, the Wraithlord is the Eldar’s most resilient vehicle. It can also be outfitted with ranged weapons.
8. Fire Prism: This artillery tank specializes in long-range beam attacks tailored for infantry or vehicles. However, its effectiveness can be hindered by tight spaces limiting line of sight.
9. Avatar: The Eldar’s superheavy unit, the Avatar excels in melee combat and possesses potent area-of-effect abilities. Though durable, it is susceptible to being targeted due to its frontline position in battles.

Army Upgrades

In a Retribution campaign, army units typically have a set number of upgrades available to them. These upgrades are usually obtained as rewards for completing missions successfully. When you acquire an upgrade for a unit, you unlock it for future use and may enhance its stats or gain access to new weapons and abilities.

Most Eldar units follow a pattern of three upgrades, starting with the initial unlock and then two power-ups. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule:

1. Falcon: The Falcon is immediately available at the beginning of the campaign and does not have any further upgrades.
2. Wraithlord: Unlike most units, the Wraithlord boasts four upgrades: the initial unlock and three subsequent power-ups.
3. Avatar: The Avatar becomes accessible after completing the Mount Siccaris mission and does not offer any additional upgrades.

Unlocking units typically requires spending a mission reward, but there are some exceptions:

• Falcon and Avatar: These units are unlocked through mission progression without the need for mission rewards.
• Guardians: The first two Guardian upgrades are provided for free during the campaign tutorial. The final upgrade can be chosen later.
• Grav Platforms: The initial Grav platform upgrade is given during the tutorial, while the second upgrade is awarded in the Argus Settlement mission. The final upgrade is optional and can be obtained later.

Certain missions allow you to upgrade specific units, as outlined in the Mission Rewards section. However, it’s important to note that Fire Prisms and Wraithguard each have exactly three potential upgrades, with three missions dedicated to upgrading each. This means that in Chapter Keep Selenon, where you must choose between Wraithguard and Fire Prisms, fully upgrading both is only possible if you receive Commendation drops for one or both of them.

Heroes

In Retribution’s Eldar campaign, you’ll find yourself with 4 heroes, each with 15 traits to pick from. Throughout the campaign, they can earn up to 10 trait points (1 per level gained). Traits fall into 3 categories: Stamina (Health), Offense (Damage), and Will (Energy). You’ll need to strategize your trait selections early to ensure you get the ones you want by the end.

Initially, on Very Hard difficulty, your heroes might seem squishy, nudging you towards investing in Health traits. However, prioritize traits with long-term benefits. On the highest difficulty, focusing on quickly eliminating enemies often yields more success than trying to outlast them.

Post-Argus Settlement mission, you can opt not to bring Ronahn, Veldoran, or Elenwe, substituting them with an honor guard unit. These units aren’t significantly stronger than heroes, but boost your maximum army size and may benefit from hero-based army bonuses. Note that heroes left out of missions don’t gain XP, limiting their potential to reach level 10 before the campaign’s end.

Here are some general insights into the heroes and their most valuable trait options.

Kayleth

Kayleth, the Autarch, is a truly versatile hero within your arsenal. Whether it’s engaging in close combat or striking from a distance, she’s equipped for both. With options ranging from Power Swords to Executioners and from Shuriken Catapults to Fusion Guns, her adaptability knows no bounds.

Her standout ability, Skyleap (requiring Energy 5), is a game-changer. It boasts an impressive range and unleashes plasma grenades along its trajectory, capable of decimating enemy infantry units. During this aerial maneuver, Kayleth is impervious to harm, though she remains a target for ranged attacks. It’s worth noting that Skyleap’s effectiveness is further enhanced by the Volley trait (Damage 3), which increases the grenade count. Interestingly, while plasma grenades are commonly associated with Skyleap due to Volley, they don’t necessarily need to be equipped for the ability to function. However, Skyleap does carry a risk as it can leave Kayleth vulnerable upon landing amidst enemy forces, although she can swiftly retreat using her regular Jump ability.

Kayleth’s Damage traits significantly amplify her offensive capabilities. Particularly noteworthy is her synergy with a Fusion Gun alongside Damage 4 and Damage 5 traits, transforming her into a formidable adversary for enemy vehicles. Maximizing Damage and Energy with a fusion gun enables her to excel at eliminating both infantry, courtesy of Skyleap’s grenades, and vehicles alike.

Furthermore, Kayleth has the option to equip a commander item from a selection of 9 different ones available in the Retribution campaign. Whether acquired as mission rewards or through random drops, obtaining all items is quite feasible before embarking on the final mission.

• Helm of the War Host (knockback and suppression resistance)
• Aspect Stone of the Howling Banshee Shrine (war shout ability)
• Aspect Stone of the Striking Scorpion Shrine (infiltrate ability)
• Aspect Stone of the Fire Dragon Shrine (+50% damage to vehicles)
• Aspect Stone of the Dire Avenger Shrine (+25% damage resistance)
• Aspect Stone of the Shining Spear Shrine (+charge range, +29% movement speed)
• Aspect Stone of the Swooping Hawk Shrine (-50% Jump and Skyleap energy cost)
• Aspect Stone of the Dark Reaper Shrine (+20% ranged damage)
• Aspect Stone of the Warp Spider Shrine (summon Warp Spider squads for energy)

Kayleth’s versatility in an army is highlighted by the diverse selection of commander items available. You can choose one that aligns with your preferred strategy. The Warp Spider Stone stands out as an excellent choice due to its unique benefits. It enables you to commence building your army without the need to collect resources beforehand. Additionally, the summoned Warp Spiders gain advantages from any upgrades applied to your army.

Ronahn

Ronahn is clearly designed as a sniper and infiltration expert, equipped with Rifles for long-range single-target anti-infantry combat and Shuriken Catapults for versatile engagement. His standout ability, Kinetic Pulse, is both effective and exhilarating. With full Damage traits, it can swiftly eliminate most infantry while also knocking back surrounding enemies. Remarkably, this ability maintains its range whether Ronahn is armed with a rifle or a shuriken catapult. Its rapid cooldown of 20 energy ensures consistent disruption of enemy forces and elimination of high-priority targets, making it an essential tool for battlefield control.

Ronahn’s Energy traits, particularly Energy 1 and Energy 3, offer significant tactical advantages. The ability to move swiftly while cloaked, use abilities discreetly, and cloak without expending energy empowers him to employ a wide array of disruptive tactics against adversaries. While Energy 5 may seem enticing, its practical utility is limited, as cloaking multiple units often lacks strategic value in the face of imminent combat situations where stealth is fleeting.

Surprisingly, Ronahn’s Health 3 trait, enabling him to repair vehicles, proves to be invaluable in augmenting the campaign’s repair capabilities, outpacing even the Guardian’s restorative abilities. However, Health 5, which grants Ronahn the ability to damage and disable enemy vehicles, lacks effectiveness in practice. Despite its potential, the slow damage output and Ronahn’s vulnerability while executing this action render it impractical for neutralizing enemy threats efficiently.

Furthermore, Ronahn’s unique access to grenades alongside Kayleth adds an additional layer of tactical versatility to his arsenal, enhancing his ability to disrupt enemy formations and control the battlefield.

Veldoran

Veldoran is one heck of a Warlock, packing a serious punch with his psychic might. When it comes to his traits, Damage 5 and Energy 5 stand out as the cream of the crop. Damage 5 ramps up the destructive force of all his abilities, while Energy 5 unlocks Providence, a game-changer that wipes out cooldowns on his abilities while active. But here’s the kicker: Providence not only grants invulnerability but also charges up as Veldoran takes a beating. So, just when he’s teetering on the brink of defeat, bam! He unleashes a skill that renders him untouchable and lets him unleash a barrage of energy attacks on his foes. And the best part? You don’t even need to invest in his Health line to enjoy this bonus tankiness. Who needs skills to merely prolong Veldoran’s life when you can beef up his survivability and crank up his damage all in one go?

Elenwe

Elenwe might not be the hero for dishing out heavy damage, but she shines as a vital support character. Even her Damage trait line lacks strong offensive abilities. Levitation field (Damage 3) is handy for disabling foes rather than outright defeating them, and Mind War (Damage 5) targets just one squad at a time. It’s clear that Elenwe’s strength lies in her potential as a healer and support hero, particularly with investments in her Health and Energy trait lines. This complements the other heroes’ focus on dealing damage, creating a balanced team dynamic.

Her standout ability, Time Field (Energy 5), is a game-changer, significantly slowing and blocking attacks from all sources within its radius. While it affects Eldar units too, strategic placement can drastically reduce incoming damage from enemies. Notably, not all abilities are entirely negated by Time Field; some, like Veldoran’s Ethereal Slash, still function. It’s crucial to keep allies out and enemies in the field as much as possible to maximize its effectiveness.

Both Veldoran and Elenwe share the same arsenal of weapons, including Singing Spears, Witchblades, and Staffs. They can even equip each other’s Gift of the Ancients weapons. While Singing Spears and Witchblades default to melee combat and Staffs to ranged, all three can be used interchangeably based on battlefield positioning and durability considerations.

In terms of psychic power accessories, both heroes can equip any granting accessory, such as Channeling and Destructor. Early on in the campaign, distributing Channeling to Veldoran and Destructor to Elenwe helps balance healing and damage output, given the scarcity of energy. However, in the long run, Elenwe may benefit from Channeling, given her focus on healing skills, while Veldoran may optimize with Destructor, complementing his Damage 5 trait.

Regarding armor and accessories, all four heroes have the flexibility to equip Eldar armor and Spirit Stone accessories. However, armor is relatively scarce, primarily obtained through mission rewards. It’s essential to consider this when deciding whether to allocate mission rewards to upgrading your army. Quarantine Hold and Mount Siccaris offer some of the best armor options in the game among their mission rewards, adding another layer of strategy to your decision-making process.

Important Consumables

In the Eldar campaign, two significant types of consumable items play crucial roles: Commendations and Gifts of the Ancients.

1. Commendations: These are expendable items that grant a free upgrade to a specific type of army unit. When used, they provide an enhancement without any cost, making them valuable assets in bolstering your forces.
2. Gifts of the Ancients: These items are more mysterious and offer a different kind of reward. When activated, they provide a weapon based on the hero you have selected at the time of donation. You’ll be presented with a choice of four weapons, but you can only obtain one of them. Interestingly, the game doesn’t reveal the exact stats of these weapons before you make your decision, adding an element of uncertainty and strategic choice to your selection process.

Both types of consumables offer unique advantages and can significantly impact your campaign progress. Whether you’re looking to strengthen your army units with Commendations or equip your heroes with powerful weapons through Gifts of the Ancients, careful consideration and strategic planning are essential for maximizing their effectiveness in battle.

Commendations

• Commendations of Asurmen – Upgrade Guardians
• Commendations of Jain Zar – Upgrade Banshees
• Commendations of Biel Tan – Upgrade Warp Spiders
• Commendations of the Spiritseer – Upgrade Wraithguard
• Commendations of Lyanden – Upgrade Wraithlords
• Commendations of Saim Hann – Upgrade Fire Prisms

Most of the time, Commendations just pop up randomly, but there are two exceptions to that rule.

In Ladon Temple Ruins, there’s a sneaky spot at the top right (north east). Head down the staircase there, and you’ll meet two Plague Marines. When you approach, they’ll come up. Bring a unit to the bottom of the stairs, and voila! The Commendations of Asurmen drop. Handy tip: You’ll get the first two Guardian upgrades free in Ladon Swamplands. So, unless you really need Warlocks for your Guardians in Ladon Temple Ruins, grab this during the mission, and you won’t have to spend a mission reward upgrading your Guardians.

Next up, Chapter Keep Selenon. Here, your bonus objective is to take out four Manticores. Do that, and you’ll always snag the Commendations of Lyanden. Here’s the kicker: You keep all dropped items even if you quit a mission. So, quit the mission after snagging the Commendation, upgrade your Wraithlords, play Chapter Keep Selenon again, rinse, repeat. This lets you fully upgrade your Wraithlords without using a single mission reward. Nice, right?

Oh, and a little tip: If you’ve got a Commendation in your inventory already, it won’t drop again. So, use ’em up ASAP. No point holding onto them – ain’t no benefit in that.

Gift of the Ancients

First Gift of the Ancients

• Kayleth: Vaul’s Ember fusion gun. 26.6 damage, +40 health
• Ronahn: Explorer’s Long Rifle. 98 damage, +40 health
• Veldoran: Singing Spear of Disruption. 55 damage, 30% chance to knock back enemies.
• Elenwe: Rune-circle Staff. 20 damage, +1 energy regeneration

Typically, when you’re choosing a weapon for someone who doesn’t have one yet (chances are you won’t have weapons for all four when you get the First Gift), consider this: Elenwe’s weapon can be a real gem if you use her primarily as a healer. It boosts her spell-casting abilities, which can come in handy. Oh, and don’t forget, Veldoran and Elenwe can swap weapons if need be. So, mix and match to suit your needs!

Second Gift of the Ancients

• Kayleth: Beam of Lileath executioner. 96 damage, knockback units around target.
• Ronahn: The Keys of the Young shuriken catapult. 13.7 damage, +50 energy, +1 energy regeneration
• Veldoran: Mace of the Librarian staff. 25 damage, +50 energy to all nearby allies.
• Elenwe: Crystal-tipped Spear. 82 damage. Change on hit to disable vehicle. +5 energy regeneration to nearby allies.

Ronahn’s catapult could be good, the energy regen allowing more Kinetic Pulse if you’ve got that fully levelled by now. Elenwe’s item is probably the best in general; energy regen is always great because it lets you use more abilities.

Final Gift of the Ancients

• Kayleth: The Dance-Blade of Kle-eyr power sword. 121 damage, evasion bonus vs ranged weaponry, increases range of combat leap, +25% movement speed
• Ronahn: Breath of Ynnead long rifle. 90 damage, fires in bursts of 3, longer reload.
• Veldoran: Chaoseater witchblade. 109 damage, chance on hit chaos units teleported back to the warp, dealing massive damage, attacks return a portion of their damage as health, +20 damage to chaos space marines.
• Elenwe: The 99th Sword witchblade. 102 damage, 99% knockback resistance, +99 health, +99 armour

Ronahn’s rifle may not stand out much compared to other rifles with higher damage or bonus effects. Veldoran’s sword is sturdy and great for taking on Chaos Space Marines, but it’s more specialized for them rather than Chaos in general. Keep in mind, the boss fight against Kyras features exclusively daemons.

Kayleth’s weapon is a solid choice, especially if you appreciate what Veldoran already brings to the table. It offers increased mobility, which can be handy. However, consider that you’ll likely have a high-level fusion gun for her around this time, so using the Final Gift on something else might be wiser.

Also, remember that all Gift of the Ancient items have no level requirement, so you can equip them right away.

Mission Rewards

Here are all the rewards given for completing each mission, as well as some notes on the missions.

Mission 1: Ladon Swamplands

Unlock Channeling Runes

Choose one of

• Armour of Alaitoc (armour rating 20, 20% melee damage resistance)
• Upgrade Guardians
• Upgrade Warp Spiders

Notes:

• Always kill the ork turret; it drops a piece of armour
• Upgrading guardians should never be taken here; you can always get Commendations
• of Asurmen on the next mission
• The armour can be a good choice since armour is pretty scarce in this campaign.

Mission 2: Ladon Temple Ruins

Unlock Haywire Grenades

Choose one of

• Mirrorsword (72 damage, 25 melee skill)
• Upgrade Banshees
• Upgrade Warp Spiders

Notes:

• See the section in Important Consumables about getting a Commendations of Asurmen on this map

Mission 3: Argus Settlement

Unlock Grav Platform global ability

Choose one of

• Exodite’s Shuriken Catapult (9.8 damage, +22% accuracy, +50 energy to nearby allies)
• Upgrade Banshees
• Upgrade Warp Spiders

Notes:

• Although you technically start the campaign with access to the Falcon, this is the first time you get to take a Webway Assembly and therefore first time you can make a Falcon.
• After this mission you can deploy honour guard instead of heroes.

Bonus Mission: Blood River

Unlock First Gift of the Ancients

Choose one of

• Spirit stone of Lyanden (25% damage resistance)
• Upgrade Warp Spiders
• Upgrade Wraithlords

Notes:

• During the short cutscene as you arrive at the main base your army units can go on ahead while your heroes are in the cutscene, resulting in unit deaths.
• If you destroy the bridges during the final defence segment, Warboss Smashface will come to krump ya good, who drops the Fire Dragon Spirit Stone (+damage to vehicles) when killed.
• There’s a compelling argument to take the Spirit Stone reward; it gives a bonus of a kind you can’t get anywhere else. It doesn’t get outdone by later gear drops. But if you don’t take Wraithlords here you won’t be able to get them for two more missions.

Mission 4: Minos Iceworks

Unlock Singularity global

Choose one of

• Armour of Yuen (armour rating 48, +65 health, +22% damage resistance)
• Upgrade Banshees
• Upgrade Guardians

Notes

• While making your way around the central donut, there’s a crate under a chaos warp field. If you return and destroy it after the Chaos portal is gone and the warp fields vanished, you get a witchblade.
• The bonus objective summoning shrines appear during, not after, the portal’s destruction. Specifically, they spawn when the CSM announcer says “Daemons of Khorne, come forth!”. It’s worth doing the bonus at this point to make the rest of the portal takedown easier. The bonus does not drop any items.

Bonus Mission: Chapter Keep Selenon

Unlock Aspect Stone of the Swooping Hawk Shrine (infiltrate)

Choose one of

• Pathfinder’s Long Rifle (147 damage, +25% sight range, +50 energy, slow enemies for 5 seconds)
• Upgrade Wraithguard
• Upgrade Fire prism

Notes

• This mission has two bonuses; seize the munitions dump, and kill 4 Manticores.
• The manticore bonus always drops Commendations of Lyanden (wraithlord upgrade). See the section above in Import Consumables about fully upgrading Wraithlords by redoing the mission.
• One of the munitions drop reward items is the Script of the Black Library. This is another one you can collect repeatedly as long as you use it each time you drop out of the mission. This will give you a bunch of bonus XP.

Mission 5: Capitol Gardens

Unlock Second Gift of the Ancients

Choose one of

• Armour of Biel-Tan (44 armour, +16% ranged damage resistance, -16% movement speed)
• Upgrade Grav platforms
• Upgrade Warp Spiders

Bonus Mission: Spire Golgotha

Unlock Runes of the Harlequin (Confuse)

Choose one of

• Staff of Isha (31 damage, on hit regain energy and health, when hit by melee weapon 5% change to regain 10 health
• Upgrade Guardians
• Upgrade Banshees

Notes

• The game literally tells you this, but I didn’t figure it out on my first try, so I’ll leave it here in case it helps anyone else: you beat Daisy by luring it to charge into explosive barrels. Only once you’ve successfully lured it through three clusters of explosives should you focus conventional anti-vehicle weapons upon it; before that it has very high damage resistance to all sources other than the barrels.
• Daisy seems much less likely to charge when there are ranged Wraithlords around. Probably
• best results by bringing in only heroes to bait it.

Mission 6: Typhon Arena

Unlock Swift Movement global

Choose one of

• Black Catapult (12.7 damage, suppresses, when hit by a melee weapon 25% change per hit to recover 2 health, +3 damage to all nearby enemies)
• Upgrade Wraithlord
• Upgrade Fire Prism

Notes

• The Warp Spider Exarch is the one who teleports the Seer Council away. If you can keep him knocked over or kill him quickly, the Council won’t be able to run while you finish off the rest of them.

Mission 7: Arena Perimeter

Unlock Warp Throw

Choose one of

• Rune Armour of Macha (70 armour, +75 health, +35 energy, when hit by a melee weapon 35% chance to recover 10 health
• Upgrade Wraithguard
• Upgrade Grav platforms

Notes

• No access to vehicles and infrequent access to infantry reinforcement points. You have to move fast. Playing with heroes only is often good here.
• While running around the map, you’ll periodically see a wave of fire sweep over everything in sight. This doesn’t do damage and you aren’t expected to outrun it, it just knocks you down. There are occasional bombardments in specific locations which are signalled by a target on the ground however, and those do a lot of damage. Try not to stand in them.
• Your progress along the map is not proportional to how much of the mission is left. There’s a big fight in the arena when you reach it, which takes a long time, and the timer (although not visible) is still running during this. Try to get to the arena as quick as you can so there’ll be time for the battle.

Mission 8: Access Point Primus

Unlock Eldritch Storm global

Choose one of

• Spear of Malan’tai (95 damage, +20% melee damage, +25% ranged damage)
• Upgrade Banshees
• Upgrade Wraithlords

Bonus Mission: Quarantine Hold

Unlock Final Gift of the Ancients

Choose one of

• Three Moons (87 armour, +250 health, +20% melee damage resistance)
• Upgrade Warp Spiders
• Upgrade Fire Prism

Bonus Mission: Mount Siccaris

Unlock Avatar

Choose one of

• Mantle of the Young King (80 armour, fire damage to nearby enemies, +110 health)
• Upgrade Banshees
• Upgrade Wraithguard

Mission 9: Fortress Militant

Unlock Psychic Shield (energy shield accessory)

Choose one of

• Feugan’s Fire fusion gun (46.6 damage, 50% flame damage resistance, +10 damage)
• Upgrade Guardians
• Upgrade Wraithlords

Notes

Very likely you’ll be taking the fusion gun here; if you care about Guardians and Wraithlords you’ve almost certainly already unlocked all their upgrades when you reach this mission.

Mission 10: The Pit of Maledictus

No rewards because this is the final mission of the campaign. The fight with Kyras is near impossible to lose because you always get back the money you spent on a unit as soon as it dies. I find that anti-infantry weapons seem to kill Kyras faster than anti-vehicle weapons do.