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Ancient Power
A Dreadnought is undoubtedly a mighty force on the battlefield, but they are difficult to repair in the field without the right tools.
And those enemies with missile launchers? They will do far more than disrupt a Dreadnought...
Attack from Range; Close in for the Kill
Attacking with a long-range unit or a suppressor, and then closing with a short range unit is a good tactic.
Burn Them Alive
Flamers deal extra damage to units in buildings and also ignore the defensive bonuses of cover.
Careful What You Blow Up
Be mindful when destroying cover. Even though you have denied it to your enemy, you may find yourself without any cover if you have to fall back to that location.
Clearing Buildings
Flamers, grenades, and artillery are useful for clearing enemies out of buildings.
Combat Shotguns
The Shotgun's Explosive Shot ability knocks back enemy infantry. Use it to knock melee units back and keep them off of your Tactical Marines.
Come and Get Me!
Activate Tarkus's Tactical Advance ability right after triggering his Taunt. All enemies will direct their attacks at him, and he will be protected against ranged damage. You can then use your other squads to bring the pain.
Taunt is also useful for helping squads that are in trouble. Trigger it, and the enemy will forget about their current target and pile on to Tarkus (who can take it).
Cut off the Head...
Many enemy squads have strong leadersx and dangerous heavy weapons. Take them out with a high powered shot, and you can finish off the rest of the squad with relative ease.
Death From Above
Use the Assault Jump ability to knock down enemy infantry and buy time for your other squads to get into position. Or if the enemy is dug in, jump in close to break formations.
Defeating Cover
Direct assaults against units in heavy cover can be suicide. Use grenades and flamers to counter the benefits of cover.
Destroy the Brood Nests
Brood Nests and Hives summon additional Tyranid enemies.
Locate and destroy all of the Brood Nests in the area to stop them from hatching more Hormagaunts.
Destroy the Enemy Generators
Warp Generators enhance nearby Eldar enemies.
Synaptic Generators enhance nearby Tyranid enemies.
Generators enhance nearby Ork enemies.
Destroy the Waaagh! Banners
Waaagh! Banners and Teleporta Platforms summon additional Ork enemies.
Did You See Something?
If Cyrus flashes while infiltrated, it means the enemy has spotted him. This can leave him exposed to enemy fire, but it isn't a death sentence. Just pull back a little and Cyrus will fade from enemy view again.
Destroy the Webway Gates
Webway Gates and Webway Assemblies summon additional Eldar enemies.
Double Up The Guns
Securing Automated Foundries allows you to use a Locator Beacon, a special piece of wargear you can use to set up Tarantula bolter turrets.
Turrets are always available on defend missions, but if you bring the Locator Beacon you can deploy that many more.
Eldar Fleetness
Ranged Eldar Squads will do their best to keep you at range while fighting.
Energy
When using Focus Fire, Infiltrate or Tactical Advance, watch your squad's Energy. You Energy does not regenerate while an ability is on, so you might find yourself with lower-than-expected Energy in the next battle.
Fall Back
Use the Fall Back command when outmatched by your opponent. It is easier to reinforce around a relay you have already cleared that to revive fallen squad leaders near enemy strong points.
Fire For Effect!
Securing Communication Arrays gives you access to the Signum, a piece of wargear that allows you to call in devastating artillery strikes.
Nothing says victory quite like the rain of Imperial artillery.
Focus Fire Is Your Friend
Avitus can use Focus Fire to make any ranged weapon more powerful, not just the heavy bolter.
Friends Don't Let Friends Eat Shrapnel
Watch where you throw grenades. Allies caught in the blast can still be knocked back.
Go to Hand-to-Hand!
The Alternate Attack button in the core action panel will force a ranged unit to attack in melee. This will not do a great deal of damage to the enemy, but can tie up dangerous ranged weapons so they can no longer fire.
Jump Ahead, Just Not Too Far
Assault Jump is great for getting into the fray, but make sure you back up those units lest they fall to overwhelming forces.
Of course, if your Assault Squad is taking heavy damage, remember you can jump away!
Keep the Scout Alive
Keep Cyrus protected. His stengths are sabotage, infiltration and quick high-damage attacks. Don't leave him on the frontline for long.
Keep Them in the Line of Fire
Suppression fire slows units down, forcing them to remain in your area of fire for longer.
Middle Click
Click and hold the mouse scroll wheel to pan the camera around without having to scroll over to the screen edge or reach for the keyboard.
No Stopping the First Company
Units in Terminator armor cannot be suppressed by enemy fire.
One Point Shy?
Is a trait unlock just one point out of reach? Check your wargear.
Some pieces grant extra points to a Combat Discipline, and that can be enough to unlock that trait you always wanted.
Open a Path
Terminators, Dreadnoughts and heavy weapons can blow through almost any obstacle. Use this to outflank enemies, create new lines of fire, and deny cover to the enemy.
Thaddeus's Assault Jump and the Force Commander's charge are also effective at removing obstacles.
Out Go the Lights
Many enemy leaders are just as susceptible to blind grenades as their minions. Being able to stun a powerful enemy for several seconds can be very valuable.
Plan B
Facing vehicles without melta bombs or a missile launcher doesn't have to mean defeat. There are plenty of other options.
Plasma guns and power weapons (swords, axes, fists) both do respectable damage to vehicles and monstrous beasts. Avitus's Focus Fire and Cyrus's Explosive Rounds abilities can also make infantry weapons like Heavy Bolters and Combat Shotguns viable solutions as well.
Queue 'Em Up
Hold Shift when issuing orders to queue up commands. Your units will follow your orders in the sequence you choose.
Right Into My Trap
The Remote Detonation Pack is an excellent choice when deploying Cyrus on a defend mission. Plant a detonator ahead of an enemy wave in order to cover an approach to the defense area. When the enemy rushes in... boom!
Be careful not to set the detonator too close to the generators you are defending, however. Destroy those and you've lost the mission.
Swing that Sword
Power weapons may be great versus vehicles and other high-value targets, but they attack more slowly than chainswords. Against hordes of Orks or Tyranids, speed will pay greater dividends.
Tactical Advance
The Tactical Advance ability lets Tarkus move up on an enemy position when there is no cover to be had. His squad takes less damage and is immune to suppression when the ability is active.
Use Tactical Advance to get up to a building protecting an enemy suppressor and let loose with grenades or a flamer.
That Special Cyrus Touch
With the right combat training, Cyrus can gain special abilities with different ranged weapons. High Powered Shot makes his sniper rifle a lethal solution to single targtes, while explosive shots make a combat shotgun able to fight vehicles and blow troops out of cover.
He may be lighly armored, but Cyrus can be one of your deadliest warriors.
The Benefits of Armor
A higher Armor Rating makes a squad leader more resistant to enemy fire.
The Final Countdown
The enemy has grenades too. Move away from explosives thrown at your squads before the timer above them counts down to zero.
The Hive Mind
A Tyranid Hive Fleet is controlled by a terrible communal intelligence known as the Hive Mind. The largest of the hive ships serves as the repository of this mind, but it spreads to every Tyrannid.
Individuality does not exist among the Tyranids. All serve the hungers of the hive.
The Space Marine's Best Friend
Frag grenades are an effective way to manage an overwhelming situation.
Tie Them Down, Then Blow Them Up
Use melee units to keep an enemy stationary, throw a grenade or demolition charge on them, and then fall back at the last second.
Timing Is Everything
Many missions have a limited number of days in which to complete them. If you let them expire, you may end up regretting it.
Let a defense expire and that strategic asset is lost until you can re-secure it. In other missions, the same boss may return stronger later on.
But you can't get to every one. Sometimes you just have to let some missions expire... the question is which ones?
Try It On For Size
Use the time between missions to experiment with your wargear load outs. Try different equipment on different squads and see how it affects their stats.
Try Out Something New
Don't be afraid to experiment!
Just because Tarkus starts with grenades doesn't mean that you can't move them to a unit that might make more use of them. You may find combinations that work better with your play style.
Use 'Em If You Got 'Em
Short range weapons, like shotguns and flamers, are best used aggressively. Use cover or special abilities to get within range, and then let the enemy have it.
Where to Fight
Once you are fighting over three worlds, be careful not to ignore one planet for the sake of the others.
If you aren't defending it, a world will succumb to infestation and your campaign score will suffer (not to mention the poor residents of that world!).