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SoulEater here! I'm the guy responsible for mostly compiling the fixes and everything else in this mega guide.

DOW2 is an amazing game, especially with the new mods coming and new things.
That said, this game is not perfect and can be buggy.

With that, we hope that anyone that has solutions to problems, to work together to help fix the problems. Its my earnest hope that one day, Relic will realize what a jewel DOW2 is and that they have a diamond in the rough that they have neglected!

This was originally a technical guide when I had it in mind. After that, it grew and I decided to add anything DOW2/CR/Retribution related, so its an all-in-one guide for players to refer to. Combed through a lot of Steam forums and websites to get the info you have today. Though I admit I spent too much time on this guide and its sub-sections (which I regret at times), I take little credit in that this guide contains solutions from players over the years and for players. All I did was compile them in one place that players can refer to.

Enjoy the guide, and hope it helps you! If you like, pls star the guide so others can find it and it helps them too! All solutions credited to whoever found out, and I take no credit except compiling this guide!

Cheers and peace out! (May 2023)

Note I: This guide was originally made for Retribution but most of the fixes should work for DOW2 and CR. Just take this into account when trying the fixes!

Note II: If you can't directly go to the links, just copy and paste the links into your web browser directly. Should work perfectly.

Original version initially compiled by Dark Riku at:
https://dawnofwar.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=5516

This improved version was created by SoulEater

• All solutions are credited to the people that found / made them.
  
• For basic info on the game, you can check the PCGamingWiki links in the section below.
  
• If you cannot find an answer here, check at the Steam forums or on r/dawnofwar at Reddit.
  
• Alternatively, ask at the help-and-quarries of any DOW2 mods or modding communties.

Note: Some fixes may work for DOW2 Vanilla and Chaos Rising, but haven't been tested.

Redirect back to the DOW II guide:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3338434009

Dawn of War's X.com Post on the Anniversary Edition:
https://x.com/DawnOfWar/status/1836872214643179782

Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/15620/Warhammer_40000_Dawn_of_War_II__Anniversary_Edition/

GoG:
https://www.gog.com/en/game/warhammer_40000_dawn_of_war_ii_anniversary_edition

- - - - -
Context: The Dawn of War II - Anniversary Edition basically bundles these games as a single deal on Steam or GoG:

• Dawn of War II
  
• Dawn of War II - Chaos Rising
  
• Dawn of War II - Retribution + most DLCs (except Veterans of Aestas Helmet, Necron Overlord for Last Stand and Ridiculously Bloody Blood Pack). Necron Overlord for Last Stand has been added!

To note, you will still need to install each game separately. Additionally, the game files are not modified in any way, so mod compatibility is still the same and good.

To know which DOW II game you're playing, you will see on your main menu screen:

• Vanilla: A Space Marine Force Commander in the jungle.
  
• Chaos Rising: A Chaos Lord in the snow.
  
• Retribution: A lady Inquisitor on a flaming rocky barren area.

To add on, you are only able to play with people on the same version of the game as you for campaign's co-op, PVP and Last Stand.

Additionally, as part of the Anniversary Edition, Relic has made the Dawn of War II Original Soundtrack (includes OST from Vanilla, Chaos Rising and Retribution) available to download from Steam as part of its gift to players!

How do you get it?

Firstly in your Library, go to your "Dawn of War II - Anniversary Edition"..

Next, go to additional content on your right (see the screenshot) and click on it! (this is also where the game's original manual is included too!).



After that, it will bring you to the screen below. Click on download, so it'll download to your PC!



After downloading, you can also listen to the OST via Steam's in-built music player too.

Okay, so what if you want to locate the .mp3 files you've downloaded?

Go to this settings here!



Then you'll be able to find the music folder location. For mine, it was:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\music\Official Soundtrack



Enjoy the complete OST with 35 soundtracks!

There are some notable differences between the Steam and GOG versions that have been observed.
Steam Version:

• Can play campaign and LAN (if button restored).. all offline only.

GoG Version:

• Can play campaign, LAN (if button restored) and private match.. all offline.

- - - - -
Credits: Kharos and BruiserBanned (7 Sept. 2023)

As of this time, the GoG version of DOW2: Retribution is confirmed not to be fully compatible with most mods (none of the dll injections work, causing crashes in the army painter and objects disappearing at high zoom, and 8-player FFA not working) - additionally the Performance & Stability Mod's d3d9.dll drastically reduces performance (as opposed to improving it on the Steam version) - so it is currently advised not to play most mods on the GoG version (and instead resorting to the Steam version) until this issue is resolved. Thank you for understanding.

Steam Discussion:

• DOW2: https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/15620/discussions/
  
• DOW2 CR: https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/20570/discussions/
  
• DOW2 R: https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/56400/discussions/

PC Gaming Wiki:

• https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Warhammer_40,000:_Dawn_of_War_II
  
• https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Warhammer_40,000:_Dawn_of_War_II:_Chaos_Rising
  
• https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Warhammer_40,000:_Dawn_of_War_II:_Retribution

Fandom:

• DOW2 Fandom: https://dow.fandom.com/wiki/Dawn_of_War_II
  
• Retribution: Fandom:https://dow.fandom.com/wiki/Retribution

Mods:

• ModDb - DOW2 Vanilla: https://www.moddb.com/games/dawn-of-war-2
  
• ModDb - DOW2 CR: https://www.moddb.com/games/dawn-of-war-ii-chaos-rising/
  
• ModDb - DOW2 Retribution: https://www.moddb.com/games/dawn-of-war-ii-retribution
  
• Nexus: https://www.nexusmods.com/warhammer40000dawnofwarII
  
• Nexus: https://www.nexusmods.com/dawnofwar2retribution/mods/

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Community for Mac and Linux Users by Feral Interactive:

• https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/groups/maclinux

- - -
Note: If you can't directly go to the links, just copy and paste the links / exact words for the URL below into your web browser directly. Should work perfectly.

NOTE: The installations below are for Retribution. You may try the methods for DOW2 and CR, but so far, no one has done so. You may use the DOW2 games ported by Feral Interactive for Mac and Linux.

==> MAC
Installing DoW2:R and Elite on Mac

• Method 1 by fragrantpanda: https://dawnofwar.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=3635
  
• Method 2 by iodji: https://www.dawnofwar.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=3274

MAC Save File Locations:
Hopefully this helps anyone who is still looking. At the time of writing, and using the most recent update with the Anniversary Edition, it is on:

Original campaign and Chaos Rising
$HOME/Library/Application Support/Feral Interactive/Dawn of War II/SaveData/

Retribution
$HOME/Library/Application Support/Feral Interactive/Dawn of War II - Retribution/SaveData/

Note: Portkit can be used instead of crossover. Found by another player in the Elite Mod server. Game runs astonishingly smooth and fine on MacBook Pro m2.
- - -
Note: If you can't directly go to the links, just copy and paste the links into your web browser directly. Should work perfectly.

==> LINUX
Installing DoW2:R on Linux by Clockwork - Guide and Log Entry for using Proton
Note: Best Linux guide!
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2794255663&snr=

Additional fix to prevent desync, credits to Clockwork for Proton 6.1 GE :
https://gist.github.com/jrbergen/0ce746676c4fbcc2becd6054d1bba2ed
Get the COH2 x64 fix, and that should help with Linux versions.

Basically, do steps 5, 7 and 8 from the above link.
Make sure the files are in the right folder path as per step 8.

Installing DoW2:R on Linux by okuu464

• IMPORTANT: ALLOWS LINUX PLAYERS TO PLAY WITH WINDOWS PLAYERS (confirmed in Dec 2023).
  
• For Linux, you want to have the get the following with protontricks:
  -d3dx9
  -d3dx9_42
  -d3dcompiler_42
  -d3dcompiler_43
  -d3dcompiler_47
  -dxvk
  -win7
  
• For protonversion use the custom Proton-GE 6.1. So far only one person has reported De-sync (Clockwork, thanks for reporting and advising!)
  
• Standard valve one works but you'll get a bit of crashing and Out of Sync Errors.
  
• Steps listed above, and considering I've been playing campaign with a buddy for the last few days hassle-free using the custom proton version.

Credits: Utsuho Reiuji / okuu464 on discord.


Installing DoW2:R and Elite on Linux by

• Method 1 by image357: https://www.dawnofwar.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=10289

>> Linux Specific Issue:
Get a start prompt / try to start game and when push the start button it loads a black screen and shuts down
- Solution:

• Go to DoW2 install folder, enter the 'lib' folder, and copy all the files from 'x86_64' folder into the main 'lib' folder.
  
• After that, Linux native version worked fine.
  
• Reason: The startup script was complaining that some lib files were missing. Checked and turns out the script looks for those lib files in nearly every possible folder.. except that one.
  Perhaps the install script on a recent update was misconfigured. It used to work previously without issue until sometime this year.
  
• Credits: 9lpa and Cray

Ref:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/56400/discussions/0/3805028677412721350/

>> Linux Launcher Broken and How to Fix:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/56400/discussions/0/4027970229975927875/

>> DOW2 on Proton / Ubuntu / Linux Issue

• https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/issues/2517

For some reason, some users report that some of the game's config files might be installed here.

..documents/mygames/dawn of war 2.

Do check here just in case. Alternatively, use Windows Search to find the folders "Dawn of War 2" or "Dawn of War II - Retribution" and see what and where pops out.

Check this first before doing anything else (assuming you may have also installed and uninstalled the game as a safeguard) :
The game won't run at all. Try these simple common steps to use before doing anything else. You should do these steps in order of sequence. Additionally, you can add / pile / accumulate the fixes / steps, they should help better.

• Do a full uninstall / reinstall of the game (some people swear by this) and remove the residual old files (remember to make a copy of them if you need them).
  
• Restart your PC first to clear RAM and any residue files.
  
• Update your GPU and audio drivers to the latest versions.
  
• Change your language to English using Steam by going to Library > Dawn of War II > Properties > General > Language. Sometimes the game crashes when its on other languages.
  
  
  
  
• Just in case, use CCleaner's Registry Cleaner and Custom Clean (you can use the free version) full to clean your file registries, especially if you had installed and uninstalled Retribution previously.
  
• Go to Steam, Library and then DoWII, CR or Retribution. Right click on properties, then click on local files and verify integrity of game files.
  
• Windows username has non-latin (english) symbols. Usually affects non-English users like Russian players. To fix, you must create another user that has the username in English (eg: John), start the game and the issue would be solved. (ref: https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/15620/discussions/0/3811784078990717369/)
  
• Game freezes at the main menu and can't run. Go to Go to Steam\SteamApps\common\Dawn of War 2\Install or Steam\SteamApps\common\Dawn of War II - Retribution\Install. Then Run DXSETUP.exe and vcredist.exe, to verify that you have the required versions of DirectX and VC installed. If they bring up errors about having newer versions already installed, cancel out of the installers. Alternatively, you can go to
  https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=8109 (Microsoft Store - Download Center to Download DirectX Redist (June 2010) from Microsoft itself. This installs a number of runtime libraries from the legacy DirectX SDK for some games that use D3DX9, D3DX10, D3DX11, XAudio 2.7, XInput 1.3, XACT, and/or Managed DirectX 1.1. Note that this package does not modify the DirectX Runtime installed on your Windows OS in any way.
  
• Delete the "configuration.lua" file or even the whole "Settings" folder at <C:\Users\****\Documents\My Games\Dawn of War 2/Settings> or at <C:\Users\****\Documents\My Games\Dawn of War II - Retribution/Settings>. Then, make sure to right-click the game in your Steam Library or shortcut, and click "set launch options" and make sure that the text box that shows up is blank. The game might have crashed due to previously running a mod that had the old launch option. Then try to run the game to regenerate the config file.
  
• If you are using OneDrive and housing game files there, this will cause issues. Move your game files from OneDrive to your local disk drives.
  
• DOW2 is limited to a certain number of pc processor cores. High chance this is the issue too. See the CoreFix entry far below, which provides a file that allows the game to recognize more processor cores.
  
• After regenerating a fresh config file at <C:\Users\****\Documents\My Games\Dawn of War 2/Settings> or C:\Users\****\Documents\My Games\Dawn of War II - Retribution/Settings, in your configuration.lua file,set vsync and horizontalmonitorcount to 0.
  
• Match your audio sampling quality to the game. When the game is set to 44100Hz, your audio output device should also be set to 24-bit 44100Hz, this helps to stabilize the game and reduce the occurrences of random crashes. Thanks Escanes in the comments!
  
• There were reports that you needed to switch your sound from digital to analog, so the game won't crash. You can try analog to digital just in case.
  
• Another report said you should try to adjust from surround sound to stereo option, vice versa (need to check Windows options for that), that helped to prevent the crash.
  
• There is a somewhat rare occurrence of the sound drivers needing to be regressed back several versions. There was an edge cause where a player's updated sound drivers was highly likely to be contributing to crashes where he could only be playing games up to 5 mins before getting crashes (nature of the crash is not related to soundbug), just direct crash with no music looping or distortion. After he regressed his sound drivers versions, it seemed to help reduce the crash frequency greatly. [ONLY DO THIS IF YOUR GAME IS STILL CRASHING AFTER DOING THE ABOVE STEPS!]

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Once you have done these steps and the game won't run at all, see below for more specific solutions for the game crashing on startup, info and possible solutions (especially for the AMD Ryzen's CPU, DivX files or the Windows Ransomeware Protection crash).

Problem:
After attempted launches, the button changes to trying to open the game and then reverses to "play" again without launching anything.



Solution:
Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Dawn of War 2\Install (or where you installed DOW2) as per screenshot.



Manually install those highlighted software. Should fix your problem.

Credits: To Oskar (acceptthisusernameplease) and 𝔊𝔞𝔯𝔳𝔦𝔢𝔩_𝔏𝔬𝔨𝔢𝔫 (kommissar40k)

It is recommended good practice to restart your PC.

A while back, it has been observed that players who restart their PC seldom have crashes, versus players who only restarted the game and shutdown their PCs. Why is this so?

Here are the reasons as explained by Chatgpt and Claude:

Chatgpt:
---
This behavior you're describing with the game crashing more often unless you restart your laptop, while shutting down doesn't help, can be puzzling but is actually tied to how modern operating systems handle shutdown and restart differently, especially on Windows.

Here’s why:

1. Hybrid Shutdown (Fast Startup) vs. Full Restart
Shutdown on modern Windows systems (from Windows 8 onwards) isn't always a full shutdown. Instead, it's often a hybrid shutdown (or fast startup). This means that Windows does not fully clear everything from memory or reload the system kernel from scratch. Instead, it saves part of the system state (kernel session) to disk, similar to hibernation, and when you boot up again, it restores that session to speed up the startup process.

This can leave residual data or small memory allocations from previous sessions hanging around, potentially leading to issues like the game crashing more often due to insufficient available RAM.

Restart, on the other hand, fully clears the system memory and reloads everything from scratch, giving you a truly "fresh start." This is why your game might run more smoothly after a restart—your system RAM is completely refreshed, without any leftover data from previous sessions.

2. Memory Fragmentation
Over time, as you run programs, your system's memory can become fragmented. Even after a hybrid shutdown, there could still be memory fragmentation or processes that didn’t clear out properly, leaving less contiguous memory available for your game when you start it again. A full restart helps to defragment and clear out the memory, allowing your game to access more of the available RAM in a more efficient way.

3. Background Processes and Drivers
Sometimes after a hybrid shutdown, certain background processes, services, or drivers might not fully reset. These can take up memory or introduce bugs that build up over time, which could affect your game’s performance. A restart ensures that all processes and drivers are reloaded from scratch, making the system more stable.

4. Pagefile/Virtual Memory Usage
Even though a hybrid shutdown doesn't leave RAM active, it might not completely reset the pagefile and virtual memory usage, which could also lead to memory pressure when your system is running for extended periods. Restarting clears both the RAM and virtual memory fully, giving the game more room to operate without crashing.

Claude:
---
Let me explain the key reasons why restarting helps:

1. Memory Management

• When your PC runs for long periods, RAM can become fragmented and filled with residual data from previously closed programs
  
• Some programs might not properly release memory when closed (memory leaks)
  
• While Windows tries to manage memory, over time these issues can accumulate
  
• A restart completely clears and resets the RAM, giving you a "clean slate"

2. System Process Cleanup

• Background processes can pile up over time
  
• Some processes might become stuck or enter unusual states
  
• A restart terminates all processes and starts them fresh
  
• This is particularly important for games like Dawn of War 2 that might interact with various system services

3. Driver State Reset

• Graphics drivers and other hardware drivers can sometimes enter suboptimal states
  
• Memory allocated to drivers might not be properly released
  
• A restart resets all drivers to their initial state

4. Windows System Resources

• Windows maintains various system resources and handles
  
• These can become depleted or fragmented with extended use
  
• A restart refreshes these system resources

Conclusion:
---
For Dawn of War 2 specifically, the game likely relies heavily on stable system resources and clean memory states. When players don't restart, they might be running the game with fragmented memory, suboptimal driver states, accumulated background processes and depleted system resources.

This makes crashes more likely, especially during memory-intensive operations or when the game needs to allocate new resources.

A user named JuIcE who had a Realtek Audio device, managed to get DOW II working to not crash by downloading the RealTek Drivers.

TLDR:
- If you have Realtek Audio device, download the R2.83 driver from the Realtek site:
- Link: https://www.realtek.com/Download/List?cate_id=593&menu_id=369

This should help solve one of the possible causes of the game crashing.

Directly quoting from his comment below here:

*UPDATE* I accidentally got it working. I was messing around with my work laptop and saw the "streaming" option in Steam. I launched DOW2 via streaming as a laugh and to my shock it actually worked. It was running fine on my PC streaming to my laptop! After closing the game and trying to launch it on my PC it again crashed at launch. I decided that this must mean it is a sound issue, because when streaming Steam uses a separate audio driver that you can see if you check your device manager "Steam Streaming Speakers" so I assumed that has to be the only real difference! My audio is a Realtek one and despite me going to my motherboard vendor for the driver and updating, searching other version updates it didn't help.

Finally I installed the R2.83 driver from the Realtek site;
https://www.realtek.com/Download/List?cate_id=593&menu_id=369

This has fixed my issue, I can now launch and play all the DOW games without issue. The downside is I have now lost the audio settings program so no equaliser controls.

I think others may have other problems but just in case this helps anyone I thought I would post it here.

I don't know if I'm honest. I had the official latest driver from Asus for the Realtek audio on my motherboard installed. I also tried an older version and a newer one. It still crashed. That driver from the Realtek site seems like maybe a generic one that runs their entire product line. I assume that installer must figure out your actual chip and install the appropriate driver files. Like I also said it means I have lost the audio settings program that used to show me what was connected to which ports, equaliser and so on, so maybe the actual issue is with the Asus software and driver?
I only figured out it was sound related because while my PC was streaming it everything was running normally but there was no sound. The sound was only coming out of the laptop.

Reference Link:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/15620/discussions/0/4846526093725432165/?ctp=4

Issue shows up as a normal crash but no matter what's done, the crash still occurs. Seems to happen primarily in Dawn of War II / Chaos Rising, though it happens for Retribution sometimes.

Turns out the reverb option being turned off in audio settings was the cause.
- To resolve the crash, turn on the "Reverb" option manually in:

C:\Users\<Your User Name>\Documents\My Games\Dawn of War 2\Settings\configuration.lua.

setting = "envreverbchannels",
value = 2,

0 = turned off
2 = turned on (don't ask me why its 2).

That should fix the problem.

Yet another possible solution.

The problem mainly lies in the sound drivers so here is what you will do:

• open device manager
  
• drop down "sound, video and game controllers"
  
• right click on your audio driver that is currently in use (in my case it's NVIDIA's high definition audio)
  
• select properties > driver > update driver > browse my computer for drivers > let me pick from a list of available drivers
  
• now you want to select "High Definition Audio" then click on next, you will get a warning just ignore it and click yes, then you might need to restart PC
  
• ...and boom the game will work and even the sound bug that plagued last stand is gone

Reference:
https://www.reddit.com/r/dawnofwar/comments/1dxsjw4/dow_2_and_dow_2_retribution_crashes_on_starting/

By NightVoron

I have USB headphones and nothing worked for me to solve the problem either, but uninstalling the headphone drivers helped, with Windows installing the default drivers and the headphones work.

Reference: https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/15620/discussions/0/4846526093725432165/?ctp=4

This has been known to cause crashes.

This solution is only applicable if you have Ryzen CPUs made by AMD.

Ryzen Master is a program that helps you with overclocking and stuff, its just used to disable cores / hyperthreads. Hyperthreads are Virtual Cores.

Note: If you have an intel CPU then this method won't work, as Ryzen Master is specifically for Ryzen CPU's/

In Ryzen Master:

• turn on Legacy compatibility mode mode, in profile 1, then restart the PC.
  
• It brings cores down from 64 to 16, and 128 threads to 32,
  
• then, still had multithreading / hyperthreading on, so disabled that as well in ryzen master under the tab: Additional Control / Simultaneous Multithreading / off-on => off.
  
• restarted again, and now i got 16 cores and now magicly the game suddenly starts.

Additionally, if you value your GPU and want to minimize coil whine, go in "my documents>games>dow2" and update configuration.lua with VSYNC = 1.

This will prevent your gpu from outputting like 10 million fps and cap it at 60 (or 58 fps).

References: https://www.reddit.com/r/dawnofwar/comments/n77r31/comment/hlx01oy/

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/56400/discussions/0/371919771763122406/

https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/disable-hyperthreading-on-amd.1475295/

https://linustechtips.com/topic/756820-amd-ryzen-hyperthreading-disabled/

https://youtu.be/ExleCxmy0Kw?t=201

To fix the problem you will need to replace the DivxMediaLib.dll, and DivxDecoder.dll in game's directory with new ones download from the internet.

Note:

• This problem was originally for DOW II Vanilla and Chaos Rising, but it may work for DOW II Retribution as well.

Instructions:

• Right-click on the game in the Steam Library and click "Properties"
  
• In the properties window, go to "Installed Files" tab and click "Browse..." to open directory with the game
  
• Delete the DivxMediaLib.dll, and DivxDecoder.dll files
  
• Download the https://www.dll-files.com/divxmedialib.dll.html and https://www.dll-files.com/divxdecoder.dll.html from the internet
  
• Extract the DivxMediaLib.dll, and DivxDecoder.dll files from the archives and copy then into the game's directory, essentially replacing the previous ones
  
• Boot up and play!

In case you ever have to reinstall the game or "check integrity of game's cache", you will have to repeat this process.

Link: https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3280729977

There is a somewhat rare issue that happens. The Ransomeware Protection can cause DOW2 to not run, by failing to start and crash instead.

To solve the problem, here's the solutions:

• Open Windows Settings -> Update & Security / Privacy & Security -> Windows Security -> Virus & Threat Protection -> Ransomware Protection / Using Controlled Folder Access.
  
• Then, scroll down to Manage Ransomware Protection
  
• Allow applications to access controlled folders.
  
• Add allowed applications.
  
• Then add DOW2.exe from your installation folder location.
  
• Save and apply!

Note: The Ransomware Protection may not appear for some people. For instance, it doesn't appear for me because I am using AVG. In that case, you can refer to this link for AVG.
https://support.avg.com/supportarticleview?l=en&urlname=use-avg-antivirus-ransomware-protection.

This allow you to allow AVG to allow DOW2 to play.
- - - - -
Reference Link: https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3297567790
Note: Has pictures but its in Chinese

Reference Link 2: https://www.bing.com/search?q=Use%20controlled%20folder%20access&form=B00032&ocid=SettingsHAQ-BingIA&mkt=en-US

Credits: Thank you to LuLu for the fix!
- - - - -

In that case, something you did very recently caused it to have a problem.

My advice is to delete your copy of the game and your configuration files (eg :C:\Users\<Your User Name> Packard\Documents\My Games\<Dawn of War 2 or Dawn of War II - Retribution>\Settings.

Remove those, and then reinstall the game fresh.

Credits: Thanks to Stad after trying to help for a few hours, for making me realize that some people don't provide enough information to allow people to troubleshoot why their games are not working.

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2879098260

Okay, I found out how a while.. because I was really curious. Its pretty straight forward. Here are the steps:

After installing the GoG version, you download the mod files to the DOW2 / CR or Retribution (GoG) version.

• Next, you copy the shortcut of the game.
  
• Next, right click "Properties" of the shortcut.
  
• At the [Target] field, move all the way to the end of it.
  
• Then add this line after the quotations: " -modname <your mod name> "
  
• For example: " -modname CampaignWargear "
  
• Then click save / apply.
  
• Next, you run the game using the shortcut and it should run perfectly for your mod.

To clarify, this method above works for generic mods that don't use the injector that is specific only for the Steam version of the game.

Mods that currently use the injector are:
- Elite Mod
- Codex
- Eternal

For whatever reason, the mod won't run and you get this bugsplat crash error report.



Here are simple common steps for checking before doing anything else.

• Check if the base game (DOW2, CR or Retribution) runs. If it does, issue is related to the mod. If the game cannot run, see the above section "Game Cannot Start" for solutions.
  
• One common issue is missing files. Check to see if you have all the mod files placed correctly in the right folder (this includes the module file).
  
• Another common issue is the module file. Check and see if you have the latest version of it, as it maybe the older one, that doesn't load all the mod files.
  
• One more common issue is, you may have a sub-mod where the parent mod's version is older. Check if that parent mod version is up-to-date as well (eg: Elite Mod, and the Improved AI Mod for Elite).
  
• Its possible, you are using a non-Steam version, hence you are missing some base game files. Most modern mods require that you use the latest version from Steam. In that case, please purchase the Steam version to solve this issue.
  
• One reason could be your PC having too many cores (see below for fix).
  
• Lastly, it could be problems with the mod itself. Please report crash to the respective mod owners.

This is only for Retribution

Recently, if you have downloaded Elite and Codex (as of 23 Sept 2024), the new injector that comes with the game causes it to also created separate config files for other mods. So when you attempt to launch the game, the game will crash and not work.. besides the usual reasons for the mod not working after you have done them in the previous section (Eg: mod installation folder incorrect, missing files etc.)

You need to configure the config the injector makes for other mods too.
- - - -
Example 1:

Let's say you're using Eternal (as of 23 Sept 2024, doesn't have compatibility with the injector yet), it creates a config file called "Eternal.config" in your Dawn of War II - Retribution folder.

Open the Eternal.config file with "Notepad"..

Next, you should see this inside:

mod-folder: mods
strict-load: false
load-order:
end-load:

So, you need to modify the mod-folder by making mod-folder follow the title of the config file.

For Eternal's case, it becomes:

mod-folder: Eternal
strict-load: false
load-order:
end-load:

Save and close.
After that, it should work, and you can play the game!

Example 2:

For my CampaignWargearMax5H mod, do the same so it becomes:

mod-folder: CampaignWargearMax5H
strict-load: false
load-order:
end-load:

Save and close.
After that, it should work, and you can play the game!
- - - -

Cannot Play Campaign or Skirmish (They're Greyed Out):
Possibly you might have bought "The Last Stand" only version of the game.

• So, double check and do buy the full version of the game (especially on sale, its very worth it!)

Cannot Play Last Stand and its Greyed Out:
The game or the shortcut you're using might have -dev mode on.

• Right-click the game in your Steam Library, and click "set launch options" and make sure that the text box does not have the -dev launch paramater.
  
• If you use your desktop shortcut for the game, right click properties.. and check in "start" at the end if the -dev line is there. If yes, remove it.

Game won't launch / freezes at loading screen
Issue due to OneDrive sync:

• Delete OneDrive or at least disable synchronization for the documents folder. In the case with enabled synchronization of the documents folder, the folder will be located at Windows:/Users/%username%/OneDrive/Documents, when normally the documents are located at Windows:/Users/%username%/Documents.
  
• After disabling synchronization, rechecking the integrity of the game files, reinstalling DirectX and restarting the PC, everything worked - the game started without compatibility mode, without muted sound, cinematics were displayed, the main menu was launched and the performance check was successfully passed. Neither disabling extra CPU cores, nor replacing game files, nor anything else was needed.

Ref: https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3040699752&tscn=1695624403
Credits to ЛастВан for solution!

Startup issue (Thanks to BbBoS):
Sometimes on a new installation it doesn't install the DirectX needed to run DoWII:R.

• Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Dawn of War 2\Install or C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Dawn of War II - Retribution\Install
  
• click on "DXSETUP".
  
• Or download it from Microsoft at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/confirmation.aspx?id=8109

Windows 8.1 startup issues (Thanks to Tsototar):
Reinstall an older version of DirectX (9.0c).

• Download and run the "DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer" from Microsoft at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35.
  
• The full topic discussion at https://www.dawnofwar.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1465

Note: Thanks horus for trying! (from Eternal server).

Ref:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/56400/discussions/0/626329821006086657/

High Pitch Screeching Sound, its not SoundBug:
Unknown what the root cause is but one thing that is common is the usage of USB headsets.

• To check if its the cause, switch to your default PC / laptop sound system or to another headset.
  
• It should stop the weird noise.
  
• Alternatively, update your audio drivers to the latest versions.
  
• Another solution is to enable Windows Sonic for headphones.

Ref:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/56400/discussions/0/3186860850589461289/

TLDR: In game sound stops, music loops and game crashes a few mins later.

The main primary solution is a combination of:

• the SMOL fix (https://www.moddb.com/mods/dow2-modding-tools-game-fixes/downloads/smol-retribution-fmodex-update-20211030) originally devised and made by Nah. This fix updates fmodex.dll for audio related tasks. Place them into the Retribution folder. Copy and paste over the existing fmod.dll and shark.dll files! (thx to various people reminding me to add this in).
  
• adding Windows XP/7 compatibility & run as admin.
  
• capping the game at 58 FPS (using Steam's launch options, using the shortcut target properties or the either via the in-build Nvidia's or AMD's Control Panel for graphic card GPU users or using another software to manually cap the FPS such as Rivatuner Statistics Server's FPS limiter specific only for the DOW2 series.)
  
• after adding the above fixes, restart your PC from time to time to refresh RAM!

Credits to Nah, MaximumGame & the Elite Mod team.

For more info and reference (on how to do the above STEP BY STEP with PICTURES, see the below guide):
ModDB Guide by SoulEater (Updated 16 Jan 2024):

• https://www.moddb.com/games/dawn-of-war-ii-retribution/news/soundbug-and-an-actual-working-solution

Note: You need to reinstall this every time you would "verify the integrity of steam cache" for DOW2:R

Note: Users report SB doesn't happen on Linux (Proton GE6.1).

OLD Soundbug List of Fixes:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2685673534

DoW2 not able to run on 16 cores:
When DOW2/CR/R is being run, game doesn't respond in task manager and appears stuck. No crash error bugsplat is given.

DOW2/CR/R was not optimized to run on more than 8 cores.
Essentially, need to deactivate 8 out of your 16 cores and the game will run.

Installation:

• Download & use the DOW2CoreFix at https://github.com/maximumgame/DOW2CoreFix/releases/tag/v1.0
  
• Click on "Profiler.dll" under Assets, this will download a fix for Muilticore CPUs.
  
• Cut\Copy\Drag "Profiler.dll" to the install directory of Dawn of War 2 or Dawn of War II - Retribution, replacing the original Profiler.dll

You can also download from ModDB now:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/dow2-modding-tools-game-fixes/downloads/corefix

---
Credits: Thanks to maximumgame for DOW2CoreFix and Batpimp for bringing up the issue!

4GB Patch for DOW2.exe

What does it do?
This very little tool patches x86 executables in order to let them have 4GB (instead of only 2) of virtual memory on x64 platforms. This tool comes very handy for applications which need a great amount of virtual memory like games, 3D renderization, multimedia etc.

What problem makes you need them?
If you ever run into error 183, and you need some additional RAM, this will help.
---
Link: https://ntcore.com/?page_id=371
Backup Link: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1101820400310157465/1101821923480055828/4gb_patch.zip

Some users report that using Low Specs Experience software allowed them to play DOW2 series without crashes by optimizing certain aspects of the game.

I haven't tested it myself, but since quite a few players have reported it works, feel free to give it a try!

Link:
https://ragnos1997.com/low-specs-experience-download/

Every text in the game has it's code, which determines which text should be shown in a specific place, normally in the default .ucs file in the default language folder (which normally is English or your native language). This error happens when you see the Line "XXXXXXXX No Range".. There are several ways this error can show up.

No Range unit tooltips (V1):
Basically, the "XXXXXXXX No Range" errors means that text under that specific code cannot be found in the .ucs file or the needed .usc file is missing.

• Do not have other conflicting UCF files. Some other mods for example might also have their own UCF files (and some mods like Elite Mod, Codex, Eternal etc. do not support other languages besides English).

• If you are running multiple mods you need to save the different UCF files somewhere else and place them back when using that particular mod.
  
• C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Dawn of War II - Retribution\GameAssets\Locale\English
  
• You may need to change your Steam language too to English.

No Range unit tooltips (V2):
Most mods do not have other language translations, and are only in English.

• To fix the issue and switch to English, selecting your game in the Steam library and click on properties, and switch it to English!
  
• Alt solution, go to the game folder on your drive, and then open GameAssets, and then open Locale, and then English. Copy the mod's ucs (eg: Eternal.ucs) and paste it in your language folder. Everything else will be in your language, but text will modded will to show English.

Credits: Thx to MrFler (Eternal Discord) for the alt solution!

No Range unit tooltips (V3):
It shows some words having the right words, others have the no range tooltips. This happens due to the installation order where a mod is installed first, instead of the base game.

• To fix the issue, first uninstall Retribution and any other mod.
  
• Next, install Retribution, install the mod and then change the language (if you are not using English in the first place).

Credits: RaphaelSAGE from the Eternal mod discord for the solution! XD

Problem:

My audio for dawn of war 2 through headphones it’s sounds super cursed ,crackly,fuzzy and just completely understandable but when I unplug my headphones and sound plays through my monitor it sounds absolutely fine

Is there any way to fix this or am I stuck with an unplayable game?

Solution:

• Go into your sound settings, find your headphones and turn off the enhanced audio setting,
  
• Works for all windows including Windows 11.
  
• Settings>system>sound>Speakers(headsetname)>Enhanced Audio>off

Reference:
https://www.reddit.com/r/dawnofwar/comments/vicswa/headphone_audio_bug_for_retribution/

The private invite feature is bugged in Dawn of War 2. As it frequently causes errors that require you to restart the game. The solution is for people to host and manually join public lobbies.

In addition, if you get a no-join event, one player needs to restart the game and try again. Otherwise, both players need to do it.

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1880667433
TLDR Solution:

Credits: Thank you CoffeeMaus!

Note: Some issues are isolated cases, so solutions are maybe specific only to those users' cases.

Cursor not being accurate in-game while fullscreen on widescreen (16:9+)

• Disable the System (Enhanced) scaling of the DPI resolution in DOW2.exe properties.

Unknown Join Event:
Unknown join event occurs if you don't have the same version of the mod as another player (or other players). Example, you may attempt to join each other's game, but you'll receive the "unknown joinEvent" error. Supposedly a Relic bug that is found even in the base game itself. It happens whenever you invite a person to your game if it's not your first hosted lobby. You need to restart your game each time to be able to properly invite people to your lobby. That's why you will see public lobbies labelled private.

• Ensure that all players have the same version of the game / mod (check at the main menu, they usually list the mod version of the game).
  
• Alternatively, this can also happen if you're trying to join private games.
  
• Sometimes, for whatever reason, if a private game host tries to host more than one game in a row without restarting the game, this error occurs.
  
• Just exit the game and log out of Steam. Then, login again and restart the game.

Ref:
https://dawnofwar.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2388

Can't click using mouse or use the keyboard on the in-game menu screen:
This seems to happen if your default keyboard language is set to another language other than English.

• How To Change Keyboard Language on Windows 10 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rps_gmFXSms

Start up Menu says "OUT OF VIDEO MEMORY" and has a pink background:
This bug seems to be due to anti-aliasing (AA). Additionally, it seems this is also experienced if you're forcing or enhancing AA from an external source, like the GPU Control Panel or an injector like dgvoodoo or Reshade, simultaneously running AA through dow2’s options themselves.

• In the in-game settings turn AA off.
  
• Check that you do not have it turned on in your Nvidia Control Panel or ATI Catalyst Control Center.
  
• Alternatively, check and turn off AA from dgvoodoo or Reshade etc.

Refs:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/56400/discussions/0/864977564182657478/
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/56400/discussions/0/3183345176722158831/
https://www.rage3d.com/board/forum/graphics-technology-forums/amd-radeon-software-discussion-and-support/430068-warhammer-dawn-of-war-2-pink-out-of-video-memory-screen?t=33986556

Sync Error:
Unknown root causes (several issues).

• Avoid putting random whether for players or AI. It seems that selecting random tends to increase the problem, and was a reported to Relic for fixing years ago, but wasn't truly fixed.
  
• It can also be that one of the players is playing on Linux with Proton compatibility enabled, and it just happens that they crashed. It can happen quite frequently if you don't run the unofficial Proton GE 6.1 (and even with it, it can happen; although the user feel like it stabilised his game by 100 times when compared to when he played with official Proton versions, which work better for other games).

Refs:
https://web.archive.org/web/20150323003953/http://community.dawnofwar.com/discussion/61/sync-error-detected
https://www.reddit.com/r/dawnofwar/comments/hdluq7/dow_2_out_of_sync_error/
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/56400/discussions/0/3589960830794861390/

Army Level Reset:
This error seems to occur due to a desync between your computer and Steam (for whatever reason), where it makes your game progress for Army Level go back all to LV0.

• Quit the game and log out of steam. Restart your computer.
  
• Before relaunching the game, manually login to Steam. Wait for a few seconds.
  
• Then, launch the game.
  
• If this doesn't work, reinstall the game from scratch.

Note: When you attempt to launch the game, you may get a Steam message about the desync. If that happens, just cancel that message, and relaunch the game. This should avoid a desync between Steam and your game.

Game on startup has a black screen and sound (Radeon users):
This is due to an old Radeon driver bug.

• Go to properties on steam and put "-window" in the launch options.
  
• In windowed mode, changed the game's resolution to your own and run the game again outside of windowed mode, take out the "-window" command.

Ref:
https://www.reddit.com/r/dawnofwar/comments/sc7t1m/dawn_of_war_2_retribution_only_has_a_black_screen/

Game Fix for Black screen crash on startup* for AMD Ryzen CPU users:
Something about the AMD Ryzen CPU 16 core processors upsets Dawn Of War 2 and it refuses to run. In the user's case the game would boot to a black screen and hang.

• To fix this, download the AMD Ryzen over clocking tools called "Ryzen Master".
  
• Once in the program, Under "Profile 1" tick the option for "Legacy Compatibility Mode" and Apply changes.
  
• Restart the PC just in case.
  
• After this the game booted without issue.

Ref:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/56400/discussions/0/4625714282759589652/

After launching game and at menu, if any key is pressed, the game crashes:
Very rare case. Unknown why it happens.

• Run game compatibility using Windows XP via the shortcut.
  
• Doesn't seem to happen for DOW2 Vanilla and Chaos Rising. Problem seems prevalent only for Retribution.

Ref:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/56400/discussions/0/3763354579692660342/

Game doesn't start on Windows 11 (thanks Darrigan):
Very rare case. Unknown why it happens.

• Game works correctly if started the PC in Safe Mode. This got the user thinking that the problem was caused by one of the Windows Services and started disabling different services. Root cause was Device Association Service (has to be disabled to get the game to work).
  
• If you are using Windows Defender, head to Windows Security first. Then click on "Manage Ransomware Protection" and untoggle "Controlled Folders" OR "Allow an app through controlled access" and select the DOW2.exe.

Ref:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/56400/discussions/0/3390672654413971829/
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/56400/discussions/0/4615641262430946343/

Can't click on anything at menu:
Unknown root cause.

• Go to C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\My Games\<Dawn of War 2 / Dawn of War II - Retribution>
  
• Select all folders in there, except for saved games (pretty sure you can probably delete that too if you have cloud sync on) and delete those files.
  
• Game should work and be clickable again.

Ref:;
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/56400/discussions/0/3409803502277886951/

An error occurred while starting the game:
Game hosted in lobby, but connecting to it shows above message, even if offline.

• Solution is to disable your VPN to remove error.
  
• Hotspot shield auto start and connecting without notifying.

Ref:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/56400/discussions/0/1742266586325386138/

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2876474496

Sometimes, players get tiny downloads or patches.

From reading online, it seems its a mix of things, and not just Retribution. It affects most games on Steam and its basically some auxiliary files.

From shader recaching / updates, localisation changes, actual tiny bug fixes or updates to the game change in user agreement or terms of use, valve validating the files just as a check to make sure they're working, updates to content subscribed for steam workshop mods etc.

https://steamdb.info/app/56400/patchnotes/
Last true update for the game was in Nov 2018.

• Do not use Discord to stream DOW2. You'll find your game lagging badly and your units taking very long time to respond to in-game commands.
  
• Use OBS to stream. Reported as no lag. Credits to Gedeon and Rider for the advice!
  
• You can also stream using Twitch.
  
• Additionally, you may need to stop or reduce your background programs or website browsers that use your internet connection if your find your online matches lagging.

A user on Reddit named ilivedownyourroad informed me that you can use YoloMouse by Dragon Rise Games to resize the size of the cursor.

I got the software to try (tested on 27 September 2024).

You can buy the software on Steam from here:
https://dragonrisegames.com/yolomouse/download

How to use:
- Run YoloMouse.exe.
- Run the game.
- Press Ctrl+Alt+C while in the game.
- Change your mouse cursor size or the design to another unique mouse cursor (including uploading your own).
- Enjoy!

Here's the results:



Snapped a picture on my smartphone to show the result (was used on the Eternal mod, works on anything)..



This is how the cursor is altered.

Note: For some reason, this YoloMouse software doesn't work (it disappears but its there) when the game is run in Windowed mode. Recommend to run YoloMouse in full-screen mode.

Play DOW/CR/Retribution in Window Full Screen:

Note: Adjust accordingly to the different base game versions.

Add the below to the Steam Launch options for the game:
-window -fullwindow -forceactive -lockmouse

Or, you can add in the DOW2 shortcut target by right clicking it and click on properties, then add in "Target" like in the screenshot:
-window -fullwindow -forceactive -lockmouse



Link:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/56400/discussions/0/598199244893873751/

Thanks to StriKE_SC2 and his friend for testing (from Eternal).

DOW2 Vanilla / Chaos Rising / Retribution High Resolution UI Scaling Patch:

This patch fixes the UI not scaling properly at high resolution. Determined that DOW2..exe sets a limit on the UI scaling, and this fixed was made to address it.

Download here, all files including, just copy and paste to your Retribution folder:
ModDB:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/dow2-modding-tools-game-fixes/downloads/dow2-high-resolution-ui-scaling-patch-vanilla-cr-and-retribution

Backup:
[copy and paste with the https://www.media + fire.com + /file/xybudf66dmhfduj/DOW2_UI_Scaling_Patch.rar/file]
---
Note: Don't worry, there's no virus / malware etc from the mediafire link.

How to use:
- Place both msacm32.dll and Injected.asi in the same directory as DOW2.exe and you're done.
- May have to adjust the UI scaling value in configuration.lua. There's no set limit btw now.

Original Download Link (Vanilla / Chaos Rising / Retribution):
https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/2627-dawn-of-war-2-vanillachaos-risingretribution-high-resolution-ui-scaling-patch/

Credits:
- GalCiv who made the fix, who used the ASI loader <https://github.com/ThirteenAG/Ultimate-ASI-Loader>
- Kharos who checked which file was usable from the list of ASI files.
- Indrid and SoulEater for the initial tests and feedback.
----------
Other possible solutions for widescreen mode below.

WSGF:
Check the guide and post here at these links:

• https://www.wsgf.org/dr/warhammer-40000-dawn-war-ii-retribution
  
• https://www.wsgf.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=19177

Ultra-Widescreen (21:9):
To get widescreen mode..

• Go into the configuration.lua file in Documents/MyGames/Dawn of War II - Retribution/Settings Folder and open it with Notepad.
  
• Look for horizontalmonitorcount value and set it to 3 (you can try adjusting by changing to value to 1 or 2 as well) then save and enter the game.
  
• This will center the Ui in the middle of the screen and looks ugly but at least you can see all the menu choices.

Reference:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/56400/discussions/0/371918937276510657/
https://dawnofwar.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1775

Using utility called "Lossless Scaling" by NovusSentient:
Launches the game in fake full-screen.

• find, download and install the utility.
  
• scale 1920x1080 to your native (eg: 2560x1440) resolution and add sharpen on top of that.

Reference:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/56400/discussions/0/3409803502277886951/

Borderless Gaming

• Screen Resolution @ 2560x1440 (especially if on ultrawide 3440x1440) - if you have smaller screen resolution than this, skip this step!
  
• Download Borderless Gaming from - https://github.com/Codeusa/Borderless-Gaming or Steam Store.
  
• In steam launch options for DoW2 (or your mod shortcut under properties -Target) set these commandline paramaters ' -window -fullwindow -lockmouse -forceactive '
  
• Launch Borderless Gaming
  
• Open DoW2 or your mod to launch the game.
  
• Whilst game is open, alt-tab out and look at Borderless Gaming. You should see DoW2 listed in Applications on the left of the panel.
  
  
  
  
• Click on DoW2 to highlight and add to "Favorites".. ENSURE that it when added to "Favorites" that is looks like Dawn of War II [Title] [Max]..
  
• Close DoW2 and reopen. You should now be able to alt+tab without the game freezing or minimising.

Credits: Arthurcloud from Elite Mod!

This is the folder path for the save files, logs and other misc files for Windows:

Dawn of War II and Chaos Rising:
C:\Users\<Your User Name>\Documents\My Games\Dawn of War 2\Settings

Another possible location is here (note: default folder path)
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\<your Steam user number>\15620\remote
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\<your Steam user number>\20570\remote
=> Possible this is where your Last Stand profile / saves are stored.

Retribution:
C:\Users\<Your User Name>\Documents\My Games\Dawn of War II - Retribution\Settings

Another possible location is here (note: default folder path)
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\<your Steam user number>\56400\remote
=> Possible this is where your Last Stand profile / saves are stored.

Note: Applicable for DOW2 and CR except there's no Imperial Guard. Points to reach certain wargear may differ for DOW2+CR versus DOW2 Retribution.

Retribution (Base Game) >>
Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BtG0GPsjzdERKYheJjj3Imgtiy-j4qIDWHfq8VaSt-U/edit
Army Level: https://dow.fandom.com/wiki/Army_Level

Elite Mod (as of V2.9.8.4) >>
Spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mzdAbkBgF5cPlBlzOD5TYpMOgv5uoynMpqMNYyK_mZU/edit

Note:
I will do my best to update them. May miss one or two.

- - - - -
So, let's say you don't want to spend days levelling up to get the cool visuals. What then? The good news is there are visuals mods available.

What are Visual Mods?:
https://www.moddb.com/games/dawn-of-war-2/tutorials/guide-on-official-visual-dlcs-and-custom-visual-mods-for-in-game-unit-modelsguide-on-official-visual

Armaments of War Redux Mod:
- A huge giant compilation of visual mods. Originally made compatible for the base Retribution and Elite Mod. I highly recommend it to use for both the base game and Elite Mod!
https://www.nexusmods.com/dawnofwar2retribution/mods/44
https://www.moddb.com/mods/dawn-of-war-2-retribution-elite-mod/addons/armaments-of-war-redux-v0991

- - - - -
Pictures by GoesWithEverything
- All @ https://imgur.com/user/goeswitheverything
Note: One or two of the pictures may not be accurate.

>> Chaos
- Common @ https://imgur.com/gallery/b4i3BTY
- Rare @ https://imgur.com/gallery/MqKD6yw
- Epic @ https://imgur.com/gallery/aNOp8TM

>> Eldar
- Common @ https://imgur.com/gallery/BUYXdF1
- Rare @ https://imgur.com/gallery/9X9JqyE
- Epic @ https://imgur.com/gallery/Bv8PibR

>> Imperial Guard
- Common @ https://imgur.com/gallery/1upAyCS
- Rare @ https://imgur.com/gallery/fFR2ZAM
- Epic @ https://imgur.com/gallery/yElyLzp

>> Orks
- Common @ https://imgur.com/gallery/R5yOFQ8
- Rare @ https://imgur.com/gallery/sxXklZz
- Epic @ https://imgur.com/gallery/JsWg24L

>> Space Marines
- Common @ https://imgur.com/gallery/N2XEZ7w
- Rare @ https://imgur.com/gallery/UxKtJJk
- Epic @ https://imgur.com/gallery/mkE48Qb

>> Tyranids
- Common @ https://imgur.com/gallery/FKGpYDh
- Rare @ https://imgur.com/gallery/TGQ3RUi
- Epic @ https://imgur.com/gallery/xsPEJ68

- - - - -
>> Extra (Elite Mod)
- Extras (reupload) @ https://imgur.com/gallery/PjaVLP0

>> Orginal Content made by Modders:
- THJT-9's Crimson Fists @ https://imgur.com/gallery/gcqMYfk
- THJT-9's Codex Veterans @ https://imgur.com/gallery/9Vh9Crh
- Shuma's Black Templars @ https://imgur.com/gallery/9QyHfSm
- Shuma's Death Korps of Krieg @ https://imgur.com/gallery/JyIhFEX

Campaign Guides and Info:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=113164963

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3180094245

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=669117899

Armour Rating:

• 1 point of armor rating is equivalent of 0.35% damage reduction, scale are linear (100 AR = 35% DR and so on)

Reference:

• https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/15620/discussions/0/618458030674653199/?insideModal=1
  
• http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?220906-Armor-rating-research
  
• https://web.archive.org/web/20141015002408/http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?220906-Armor-rating-research

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=121047299

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=122610764

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=207894189

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=161772331

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2201879905

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2916893969
In-Game Chat:

• To talk to team, press "Enter"
  
• To talk to everyone, press "Shift" + "Enter"

Link: https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/56400/discussions/0/527273983046996951/

Other Guides:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=211376115

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1083829512

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=134797939

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1391436908

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=196006975

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2802184067

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3109077520
Credits to: Ragenarok

Note: Your custom army schemes are saved by default at:

Retribution
C:\Users\<Your Username>\Documents\My Games\Dawn of War II - Retribution\Settings\playercfg,lua.

Dawn of War II and Chaos Rising
C:\Users\<Your Username>\Documents\My Games\Dawn of War 2\Settings\playercfg,lua.

You can edit and copy your custom army schemes using a text editor like notepad++ etc.

More advance guide:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=217298215
Credits to Dark Riku from Elite Mod!

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2875502294

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2875995528
Take Screenshot With Hud: Ctrl + Prt Sc
Take Screenshot Without Hud: Ctrl + Alt + Shift + Prt Sc

Q: Where can I find replays for the game and how can I watch them?
A: Replay files are located in this folder:
C:\Users<Your User Name>\Documents\My Games\Dawn of War II - Retribution\Playback.

Q: Can I watch other players replays?
A: Yes, you can copy other people's replays and put them in your "Playback" folder to watch too.

Q: Why can't I see the replays even if they are inside the folder?
A: The replay files must match the game version and mod version as well, so they would be compatible. Else, the replay files won't show.

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=201459096

DROP AND PLAY MODS:
Instructions: Just drop into "Mods" folder (make one if its not there) in the "GameAssets" folder, and its ready to use / play!
-------------------------------
Armaments of War - Redux (Visual Mod Collection) => Compatible with DOW2 Vanilla/CR/Retribution.
https://www.nexusmods.com/dawnofwar2retribution/mods/44

DOW2 Cursors
https://www.moddb.com/addons/cursors-dawn-of-war-1-styles-for-dawn-of-war-ii

SweetFX Preset for DOW2 => Compatible with DOW2 Vanilla/CR
https://www.nexusmods.com/dawnofwar2retribution/mods/60

DOW2 Vanilla / Chaos Rising / Retribution High Resolution UI Scaling Patch:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/dow2-modding-tools-game-fixes/downloads/dow2-high-resolution-ui-scaling-patch-vanilla-cr-and-retribution
This patch fixes the UI not scaling properly at high resolution. Determined that DOW2..exe sets a limit on the UI scaling, and this fixed was made to address it.

Change DOW2 Retribution or Elite Mod Main Menu Music Theme Mod
https://www.nexusmods.com/dawnofwar2retribution/mods/49**

Remove Death Korps of Krieg DLC Rasping Mask and Geiger Audio
https://www.nexusmods.com/dawnofwar2retribution/mods/46

Background Options for Army Painter (Retribution and Elite Mod)
https://www.nexusmods.com/dawnofwar2retribution/mods/43

Retribution Voices Restore from Chaos Rising
https://www.nexusmods.com/dawnofwar2retribution/mods/38

SPECIFIC MODS:
Instructions: Follow this mod's setup instructions in order to use it. These mods are usually not compatible with each other.
-------------------------------
Campaign Wargear and skill booster consumables mod
https://www.nexusmods.com/dawnofwar2retribution/mods/17

Campaign Wargear Max and 5 Heroes
https://www.nexusmods.com/dawnofwar2retribution/mods/61

No-Intro Videos Fix (although you can just add -nomovies too)
https://www.nexusmods.com/dawnofwar2retribution/mods/51

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2894585410

ModDB:
https://www.moddb.com/games/dawn-of-war-2
https://www.moddb.com/games/dawn-of-war-ii-chaos-rising
https://www.moddb.com/games/dawn-of-war-ii-retribution
https://www.moddb.com/mods/dow2-modding-tools-game-fixes

Nexus Mods:
https://www.nexusmods.com/warhammer40000dawnofwarII
https://www.nexusmods.com/dawnofwar2retribution

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2904740985
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2996138013
https://www.moddb.com/mods/dow2-modding-tools-game-fixes
--------------

1. Fonts:

Original game font as per below and found via extracting files from data.sga files from game Archives, under folder "font" :

• ptserif-regular
  
• saira_extracondensed-bold
  
• saira_extracondensed-semibold

[/strike][/list]

2. Main Menu and UI

Game uses Scaleform for its main menu / UI.

3. Adding -dev for launch paramaters.
This is for dev test work and if you know what you're doing.. cheats XD