Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Alice O'Connor)
Warhammer’s Tyranids would be difficult to placate in a traditional 4X strategy game. They’d always be offering you bum deals for your biomass, sending heretical missionaries to spread the good word about biomass, claiming they saw your biomass first so it’s rightfully theirs, rivalling your tourism industry with such attractions as Biomass World and Eurobiomass, delivering notes sneering at your meagre biomass, and tainting your culture with television broadcasts like Biomass Hunt, Biomass Judy, and NCIS: Biomass.
Thankfully there is no diplomacy in the grim darkness of the far future, only war, so the Tyranid faction which hit Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics Of War today as DLC will simply devour you, your cities, and the soil beneath your feet as they amass biomass.
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War - Alberto
War spares no one: Orks, Necrons, Astra Militarum, Adeptus Astartes. All are spilling blood. But no one expected this.
It started as a rumour: xeno test subjects escaping from an Adeptus Mechanicus research facility. Then it turned into something more sinister... word of something lurking in the remote corners of Gladius Prime, ever growing, driven by an insatiable hunger.
Now everything has changed: the Tyranids are here!
Tyranids is the new DLC for Warhammer 40,000: Gladius. Lead a brand new faction, the Tyranids, in their effort to conquer Gladius!
With new gameplay mechanics, new units, research tree and questline, the Tyranids are a unique addition to Warhammer 40,000: Gladius. Tyranids is available on PC and Linux. You can buy it by visiting its product page.
Tyranids is being released alongside a sizeable update to Warhammer 40,000: Gladius, which introduces a highly requested feature: Steam Achievements! You can read the full changelog here.
We will be streaming the new DLC live on our Twitch channel today at 6 pm GMT. Richard Yorke will be the Hive Mind: will he manage to consume his foes?
Last but not least: to celebrate the Tyranid invasion we will be discounting Warhammer 40,000: Gladius at 25% off for today, starting at 6 pm GMT! What are you waiting for?
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War - Alberto
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Tyranids is coming out tomorrow!
We know many of you cannot wait, but it's almost there. While you wait, why not have a look at the new Tyranid units?
Hormagaunts Basic close combat infantry unit Hormagaunts are vicious and extraordinarily single-minded predators that will pursue their victims without pause or respite. With powerful hind legs, Hormagaunts dart across the battlefield in a series of bounding leaps, ignoring injury and tiredness until they have run down their exhausted quarry and torn it apart with frenzied strikes of their scythe-like claws.
Termagants Basic infantry unit Termagants are agile and cunning creatures. They are amongst the smallest of the Hive Mind's warriors and were originally created to roam the arterial passages of bio-ships in search of intruders. In planetary invasions, Termagants scuttle forwards on four legs whilst unleashing torrents of fire from the anti-personnel bio-weaponry - commonly fleshborers - clutched in their clawed forelimbs.
Gargoyles Jump infantry unit A Tyranid attack is preceded by the beating of thousands of membranous wings as Gargoyle broods descend upon the foe, blotting the sun and spitting death from their fleshborers. Their winged manoeuvrability gives Gargoyles a distinct hunting advantage. Wherever Tyranids attack a planet, the defenders look fearfully to the skies, for they know that every sky-borne shadow could be a flock of Gargoyles about to attack.
Tyranid Warriors Versatile synapse infantry unit Tyranid Warriors are the most adaptable of all the Hive Mind's bioforms. They are creatures from the blackest of nightmares, unstoppable killing machines with pulsing ichor for blood, needle-sharp teeth and darkly gleaming eyes that reveal a terrible intelligence at work. A Tyranid Warrior stands twice the height of a man, its carapace protected by a thick chitin. One might expect such a creature to be slow in its actions, but a Tyranid Warrior is lithe, with reactions as swift as a whip.
Raveners Fast beast unit bred for close combat Raveners are voracious predators, their clawed and snake-like bodies driven onwards by an all-consuming hunger. Twisted musculature grants these beasts a terrifying turn of speed. Raveners can bound over small obstacles in an eye-blink, dart between larger obstructions and even slither through flooded marshland with bewildering swiftness. The power house within the Raveners' wiry forms allows them to burrow long distances beneath a world's surface, before emerging in a spray of earth right in front of an enemy position, claws eviscerating their ambushed prey whilst their thorax-mounted weapon symbiotes spit death.
Zoanthropes Synapse infantry unit with devastating psychic abilities Zoanthropes are created solely to harness the psychic potential of the Hive Mind, and their bodies are perfected towards such a function. If necessary, a Zoanthrope can be used to extend the range of the Hive Mind’s synaptic control, utilising the beast’s vast cerebral capacity to relay its instructions to lesser creatures. A Zoanthrope’s link to the synaptic web is such that, by flexing the merest part of its mind, it can rain incandescent power on the enemy, projecting destructive bolts of energy that boils through adamantium plate and disintegrates flesh with equal ease.
Lictor Stealth infantry unit The Lictor is a highly specialised development of the Tyranid Warrior bioform, specifically adapted to fill a scout role in the vanguard of the Tyranid advance. Lictors rove ahead of the main body of a swarm, seeking out pockets of resistance to be eradicated and native life forms to be absorbed. Able to move swiftly and without sound through even the densest terrain, and concealed by a chameleonic carapace that renders it all but invisible to the naked eye, a Lictor can remain hidden until it chooses to strike. It can wait motionless for days, unnoticed by its victims, an unseen herald of approaching disaster.
Malanthrope Support unit that consumes tiles and founds new cities Malanthropes are rarely seen Tyranid creatures. This is because they are not truly warrior organisms, and so are not usually encountered by a prey world’s defenders. Instead, these floating creatures follow behind the Tyranid attack; they are typically created only after a prey world’s protectors have been defeated and the swarm is in the process of devouring the planet’s biomass. On those few occasions that a survivor has seen a Malanthrope and somehow escaped, they have brought with them a tale of horror. They report seeing these giants drift across corpse-strewn battlefields, but unlike other Tyranids, which mindlessly devour everything in their way, Malanthropes seem to selectively search through the slain – as to what they are searching for, none can say.
Hive Crone Synapse flyer unit that excels against airborn targets The Hive Crone is a flying monstrosity used by the Tyranids to establish air superiority over prey worlds. It is a creature perfectly adapted to aerial combat, able to wrestle enemy aircraft out of the skies as proficiently as any daredevil pilot at the control of a sophisticated jet-fighter.
Haruspex Monstrous creature unit with a grasping tongue The Tyranid Haruspex is a ferocious beast created to consume biomass at a sickening pace. It is possessed of a rapacious appetite, driven by the need to sate an infinite hunger. Few foes are foolish enough to stand before a feeding Haruspex, for it can devour an entire platoon of soldiers in a matter of moments, shovelling victim after victim into its craw without ever slowing down. Any morsel that proves too large to be swallowed in one gulp is seized with the Haruspex’s gargantuan claws and ripped, crushed or battered apart with negligent ease.
Carnifex Monstrous creature unit with devastating close combat capabilities Carnifexes are living engines of destruction, towering monsters of unyielding armoured chitin and knotted alien musculature. They are one of the toughest and deadliest of all of a hive fleet’s warrior creatures, created to spearhead assaults in massed battles. Though the Hive Mind’s has since created larger warrior-organisms, few are the Carnifex’s equal in terms of size to strength, nor in terms of sheer destructive potential.
Trygon Monstrous creature unit that can initiate subterranean assaults The Trygon is a vast serpentine creature, so colossal that it towers over even the mighty Carnifex. It is a heavily armoured monster, covered from head to tail with a thick carapace of shifting plates. As the Trygon moves, these plates generate a potent bio-static charge that courses along the length of the beast’s body and wreathes its bladed forelimbs with crackling power. The Trygon can direct this energy as a lethal high-voltage discharge – unleashing pulsing arcs of lightning that leave its prey as little more than a charred pile of scorched bone.
Exocrine Monstrous artillery unit Exocrines are feared for their ability to deal death from afar. The most distinctive feature of an Exocrine is its dorsal bio-cannon, which emits a high-pitched hiss a second before firing, giving its prey just enough time to realise the danger they are in before searing plasma scours them into atoms.
Tyrannofex Monstrous creature unit with long-range weaponry that annihilates evne the heaviest vehicles There can be little doubt that the massive Tyrannofex exists purely for destruction – it is a monster created for the most apocalyptic and gruelling of battlegrounds. Striding ominously towards their prey, these alien giants deal death from afar, shattering enemy battle lines with merciless salvos of bio-weapons fire. The only way to stop the unrelenting slaughter is to slay the beast, but a Tyrannofex has the fortitude of a living battle fortress and is heedless of all but the heaviest enemy ordnance. Clad in ablative layers of chitinous armour, a Tyrannofex is as unyelding as any war engine built of steel and born of conventional technology.
Tyranid Prime Fearsome synapse hero unit that boosts allied Tyranid WarriorsTyranid Primes are the apex of the Tyranid Warrior strain, faster, stronger and smarter than the other Warriors they lead to battle, who instinctively emulate their deadly skills. Armed with deadly boneswords and a deathspitter, the Tyranid Prime mows through enemies with horrendous speed and strength.
Hive Tyrant Flying synapse hero unit with terrifying psychic powers Hive Tyrants are the commanders of the Tyranid swarms and enact the Hive Mind's will on the field of battle. Though individuals display a wide variety of physical characteristics, all Hive Tyrants are fearsome hulking monsters that tower over even a Dreadnought. They are brutally strong, able to shatter ferrocrete with sickening ease. Every part of such a beast's body is perfectly created to kill, even the layers of chitinous plating that protect them. A Hive Tyrant is a formidable opponent at any distance, as deadly with ranged weapons as it is with boneswords or claw.
Tervigon Synapse hero unit that spawns armies of Termagants The Tervigon is a massive synapse creature whose towering carapace shields a swollen abdomen. Though possessed of a formidable array of bio-weapons, from monstrous claws that crush any prey that ventures too close, to banks of razor-tipped spines that can be fired a considerable distance, the Tervigon's true threat lies within... Every Tervigon serves as a living incubator, within whose bloating form dozens upon dozens of Termagants slumber in a state of near-life. The Tervigon can spawn its dormant broods at will, jolting their minds into wakefulness.
Broodhive Allows units to tunnel from one Broodhive to another Where the Tyranids arrive, the plants that constitute the Broodhive travel with them. Rapidly proliferating from seeds left by the Tyranid swarm as they pass, these plants burrow their giant hollow roots through soil, metal or stone, enabling Tyranids to pass undetected between areas.
Every Warhammer fan’s favorite army of biological horrors is coming to Warhammer 40,000: Gladius—Relics of War this week, releasing on January 15th. Tyranids are a swarm of devouring monsters, and play like them, with unique mechanics catered to that theme. Tyranids will apparently build up and expand by stripping biomass from their enemies, their own units, and the environment itself. Tyranid cities will strip their surroundings bare of resources. It sounds like an interesting, mobile play style focused on sprawling and adapting to the situation rather than digging in and building up defenses. They also don’t use the same resources as others, using a flexible biomass pool to build up rather than food and ore.
Gladius is a 4X strategy game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. At release, our Tom Senior called it “a solidly made strategy game, but a bland one” where most of the races didn’t have too much to differentiate them from one another aside from unity variety. You can read his review here. We’ll see if the Tyranids’ new mechanics can shake that up—you can read a post from the game’s developers here for more details.
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War - Alberto
On Tuesday January 15th we will be releasing the new DLC, Tyranids.
The new expansion focuses on a brand new race with new gameplay mechanics, a range of new units, a new research tree and much more. We are looking forward to seeing how players will react to the addition of such a unique race.
Tyranids will be accompanied by a free update. It will contain many tweaks and improvements, but chief among them is something many players asked for.
Well, without further ado... Steam Achievements are coming to Warhammer 40,000: Gladius!
55 achievements have been added, covering unique goals for each of the five races. We can't wait to hear what you think of them.
What else is there to say? Tomorrow we will have a thorough look at Tyranids, live on Twitch! Tune in at 7 pm CET on our Twitch channel for our preview Stream. On Monday we will post a new article, detailing the new Tyranid units. And on Tuesday, Emperor preserve us, the Tyranids will invade!
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War - Alberto
We said this week we would show everything of the new DLC for Warhammer 40,000: Gladius, Tyranids.
We already spoke at length of the new gameplay mechanics yesterday, and we'll follow up every day with news about the new DLC.
Today we have very interesting news in store for you. We are going to stream the new expansion on Friday January 11th live on Twitch, for the first time ever!
Don't miss this exclusive first-look preview stream - Agrippa Maxentius will lead his very own Tyranid swarm. We'll see if he manages to conquer Gladius Prime at 7 pm CET, this Friday, on our Twitch channel.
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War - Alberto
The Tyranids are an extremely original and unique race. Their playstyle is rather different compared to the other factions: they field large numbers of cannon-fodder infantry which is best employed to cover for very powerful heavy infantry. They have access to highly specialised units (more on them in a units diary later this week) as well as flying monstrous creatures!
They are an aggressive, expansionist race. If you play against a Tyranid AI and you find yourself bordering a ‘nids infestation, best to prepare your defenses. If you are playing as Tyranids, don’t refrain from going on the offensive and don’t worry about losing a few units. It’s not a faction for the faint of heart.
Let’s have a look at the specifics of their gameplay mechanics.
Biomass
Food and ore are replaced by a single biomass resource. This is the Tyranids’ most important resource, as it’s used to build new buildings, produce and maintain units as well as sustain your population. There are several ways to increase your biomass (more on that below).
No Energy
Tyranids don’t make use of Energy, either. Instead, their buildings are sustained with Influence, which becomes even more important to Tyranids players.
The Ravening Swarm
Tyranid cities are more restricted in size, but less penalized by quantity. Cities cost less, and you’re encouraged to follow a decentralized playstyle. Tyranids spread all across the world when played effectively!
Reclamation
Production buildings can reclaim units to regain biomass and production. This is part of what makes your Biomass pool dynamic. If you don’t have a use anymore for a certain unit, get rid of it and dissolve it into the Biomass pool!
Feed Upon The Planet
Cities (when acquiring new tiles) and Malanthropes consume tile biomass and strip the ground down to bedrock. It is a one-time action which strips the terrain tile of all resources in order to add to your biomass pool. This mechanic is a strong encouragement for Tyranids players to keep expanding for new terrain to consume. Even if you are forced back, you will leave a wasteland behind you.
Prey Adaptation
By defeating and consuming enemies, Tyranids evolve better ways of beating them next time. Enemies defeated in the area of a Malanthrope generate research points. This bonus can be further enhanced with specific technologies. If you playing as the Tyranids you want to keep a Malanthrope where fighting is thick, to better learn from your enemies’ tactics and communication patterns. Needless to say, if you are playing against the Tyranids it will be wise to eliminate a Malanthrope if you spot one.
Instinctive Behaviour
Units outside the range of a synapse creature revert to their instinctive behaviour until contact is re-established whereas whilst in range of a synapse link Tyranid units are immune to morale effects. The Hive mind’s attention can be focused to temporarily override a unit's instinctive behaviour. Each unit type reacts differently when reverting to instinctive behaviour. This is possibly the most unique gameplay mechanic: the malus for reverting to instinctive behaviour can be very harsh. You need to keep your swarm effective by spreading synapse units evenly and intelligently.
Poisoned Weapons
Many Tyranid monstrosities possess the ability of executing poisonous attacks. This means that certain weapons do addictional damage to enemy infantry units. Bear that in mind – when fielding a line of Guardsmen there is a high chance they will be slaughtered!
Acid Blood
The alien blood spilt from certain Tyranids is so corrosive that it can eat through ceramite armour and dissolve flesh in mere moments. When certain Tyranid units are attacked in melee they automatically damage their attackers. You can use this to your advantage by dragging your enemies in melee combat, and watch acid do the rest…
Broodhives
Where the Tyranids arrive, the plants that constitute the Broodhive travel with them. Rapidly proliferating from seeds left by the Tyranid swarm as they pass, these plants burrow their giant hollow roots through soil, metal or stone, enabling Tyranids to pass undetected between areas. In gameplay terms, Trygons can build Broodhives across the map, and then Tyranid units can perform subterranean movements between Broodhives. This makes Tyranids potentially extremely mobile, but only if you prepare a network of Broodhives. If you are playing against the Tyranids and they manage to deploy a Broodhive next to your capital, be very afraid.
These mechanics are only part of what makes the Tyranids unique and fun to play as. Everything (units, technologies, buildings, quests…) about them is completely new and different compared to what you are used to. We will describe the Tyranid units in a Dev diary later this week. Until then, we’d like to hear what you think in our forum!
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War - Alberto
If you are a Warhammer 40,000 fan, chances are you have heard of the new expansion coming for Warhammer 40,000: Gladius, Tyranids. We are now ready to announce its release date: the Tyranids are coming to Gladius on January 15th!
The Tyranids are an expansionist and aggressive race, always ready to unleash their ravenous hordes on their terrified enemies...
Just like the other factions, the Tyranids come with their own unique set of units, technologies, heroes and buildings. Their behaviour is faithfully represented through new unique and original gameplay mechanics and they play like no other faction in the game.
We will cover their gameplay and their units roster later on during the week as well as announce some preview streams, so stay tuned!
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War - Alberto
On Gladius Prime there is only war. Orks, Necrons and Men vie for control of a dying world. But something worse lurks in the shadows. Feral Tyranids now roam the surface of the planet, escapees from an Imperial research facility. All life on Gladius will shudder in fear.
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Tyranids has been announced!
The first major DLC for Warhammer 40,000: Gladius will be released in January and will add for the first time a new playable race: the Tyranids.
The Tyranids will have their own unique gameplay mechanics, faithfully recreating their rapacious nature. Adaptable, vicious, terrifying, they strive to consume everything in their everlasting hunger. You can find more about the new race and how they'll play on the DLC's product page.
Stay tuned for further news and more information. Tyranids will be released on Slitherine and on Steam on January 2019. In the meantime, we would like to hear what you think on our forum!
