14 DAY TRIAL // On Gladius, it’s not just the Orks, Chaos, Tyranids, or Necrons that try to destroy faithful servants of the Imperium. After a turn spent shooting at Boyz that are moving in the direction of an outpost, a massive Catachen devil, a sort of irradiated scorpion on steroids, pops out of the forest and casually mauls one of my Battle Sister units.
Next turn, I start producing a Zephyrim unit to gain extra melee ability, while forming a line of units to surprise any incoming enemies with some solid overwatch fire. At the same time, a Mortifier mech moves to the front, ready to engage the devils or any other native fauna that gets aggressive.
On the strategic level, my over-investment in science allows me to quickly add armor and capabilities to my units. But it also means I don’t have all the resources to sustain unit production. So I need my defensive line to hold until I get some more requisition and manufacture some extra mechanical firepower.
Adepta Sororitas is developed by Proxy Studios and published by Slitherine Ltd., like the core game. This is a downloadable content pack that aims to expand the turn-based strategy by giving players an entirely new faction to play with.
The Sisters of Battle are some of the most faithful servants of the Emperor, staunch defenders of the Imperium of Man. They do not have the superhuman abilities of the Space Marines but they are a combat force to be reckoned with, as well as administrators, healers, and almsgivers.
The Adepta Sororitas are thrown into battle on Gladius, with 18 units that can be unlocked and deployed and a range of special abilities and powers. The Battle Sisters are their most basic unit, relatively weak and focused on ranged action, but they soon get backed by heroes like the Canones, their core hero, as well as Paragon Warsuits, Retributors, and more.
On the strategic level, the factions will rely on the Acts of Faith that each unit can boost its abilities and the extra special powers coming from the hero units. Losing a unit also limits morale loss for the rest, which can help in the bigger engagements.
Make sure to quickly tech up to Hospitalier Sisters, who can create new cities for extra resources. More importantly, they will also explore the Sororitas holy sites, bringing in extra research.
The core tenets of success in Gladius are easily applied to the Sisters of Battle. Move carefully, expand only once a zone is secure, and concentrate fire on one enemy. Always use special powers, including grenades, as soon as they are available.
A big lesson I re-learn every time I return to Gladius is to wait until I have overwhelming firepower before moving against an enemy settlement. Also, make sure to protect veterans.
Adepta Sororitas does add a solid range of units for the new faction but does not otherwise tweak its presentation. Gladius does capture the grim and dark nature of Warhammer 40,000 really well but prolonged exposure shows just how brown and gray everything is. The sound design continues to be solid, especially the soundtrack.
Conclusion
The DLC is a Yay for any player that has explored the other featured factions for hours and really wants something new for Warhammer 40,000: Gladius. Other players are better served by sticking with the base experience until they explore all it offers. The title’s mechanics are still engrossing but the studio needs to be more adventurous, bringing new ideas to its future content.
A review code was provided by the publisher.
