Chapter Command Wargear giveaway

Midday GMT for Dawn of War II promo.

Blog by Tom Bramwell Former Editor-in-Chief

Updated on 23 Feb 2009

Update, Monday 23rd February: It's with a profound sense of regret and wanting to punch somebody in the face that I have to let you know we're cancelling the Wargear giveaway that was set to run from today at midday.

This is due to an irresolvable legal issue involving one of the retailers offering pre-orders on Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II. THQ has tried very hard to sort it out, but I'm told there's no way around it.

In order to try and make up for this to some extent, we will be giving away the remaining 400 Chapter Command Wargear key sets today at midday GMT, which we can do without incurring further wrath.

Hopefully we'll be able to make this up to you later in the year. On behalf of both THQ and myself, we're very sorry.

Update, Tuesday 5.05pm: Thanks to everyone who got involved today and claimed keys. You can enjoy them on Friday. Unfortunately, due to a technical issue on THQ's end, we will have to postpone distribution of the remaining 400 bundles until next week. Turn up at midday GMT on 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th February for your chance to claim all five Wargear sets!

Update, Tuesday 12.17pm: All gone for today! We'll have more at midday on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Read on to find out what you get.

Original post: With Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II due out across Europe on Friday, 20th February, it's time to make ready - and plenty of you have been eyeing up the various retail pre-order deals, each of which includes a unique Wargear set.

The thing is, up to now you've had to pick your favourite and go with it. There are five Wargear sets available at retail - Chapter Command, Destroyer, Sniper, Sternguard and Vanguard - each of which confers various weapons, items and colour schemes, but you can't have them all unless you buy five copies of the game from different shops.

Except, now you can, because we've got 500 complete sets of Wargear, encompassing all five of the above packs, and we're giving them all away over the next few days. This means that if you claim one of the 100 keys offered today, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, you will have all five Wargear sets.

As with all our giveaways, all you have to do is log in (and register if you haven't already) and then visit the giveaway page and click the button at the bottom. You will then be presented with five redeemable codes.

To use them, first of all you will need the game itself. Once installed, you should visit Games for Windows Live Marketplace, click on the "Redeem Code" button, and enter the first. Repeat the process to unlock all five sets.

So what are you getting? Well, each Wargear set consists of a mixture of armour and weapons, as well as colour schemes and "chapters", which are preset multiplayer designs for the Space Marines. The armour and weapons can be used in the single-player campaign, and will be equipped from the start, colour schemes are for the army painter, and multiplayer designs work in, er, multiplayer.

Here's a complete rundown of what you're getting. Also check out our Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Wargear sets gallery to view artwork for each one. Remember, you get all five sets!

Chapter Command Wargear (for the Force Commander)

Items - "Cuirass of Azariah" Armour, "Pistol of Baal" Bolt Pistol, "Gauntlet of Blood" Power Fist, "Mantle of the Great Father" Armour, "Fearsome Light of Faith" Plasma Gun, "Laurels of Hadrian" Iron Halo
Multiplayer Spacemarine chapters - "Revilers", "Angels Sanguine"
Multiplayer custom army painter colours - Shining Gold, Mithril Silver, Abyss Purple, Insect Green, Iron, Abyss Orange, Brazen Brass, Metallic Blue

Destroyer Wargear (for the Devastator squad)

Items - "Armour of the Destroyer" Devastator armour, "Purge of Victory Bay" heavy bolter, "Unerring Thunderbolt" missile launcher
Multiplayer Spacemarine chapters - "Novamarines"
Multiplayer custom army painter colours - Dwarf Bronze, Abyss Blue, Abyss Magenta, Butonic Brown

Sniper Wargear (for the Scout Marine squad)

Items - "Grim Silence" armour, "Initiate's Lesson of Strength" shotgun, "Deathtouch of the Angel" sniper rifle
Multiplayer Spacemarine chapters - "Angels of Redemption"
Multiplayer custom army painter colours - Abyss Yellow, Chainmail, Abyss Green, Rotting Flesh

Sternguard Wargear (for the Tactical Marine squad)

Items - "Armor of Vandea", Mastercrafted grenades, "Unforgiving Truth" Bolter
Multiplayer Spacemarine chapters - "Taurans"
Multiplayer custom army painter colours - Bronze, Metallic Yellow, Metallic Orange, Spectral Blue

Vanguard Wargear (for the Assault Marine squad)

Items - "Raven's barding of Flight" Armour, "Herald of the Coming Doom" Bolt Pistol, "Blade of Ulyus" Chainsword
Multiplayer Spacemarine chapters - Brazen Claws
Multiplayer custom army painter colours - Burnished Gold, Abyss Red, Metallic Green, Crystal Blue

Head over to the giveaway page, where most of this information is replicated, to get your hands on your keys - and if you do miss out, be sure to check this blog page or the Eurogamer homepage at midday all week for the latest round of keys.

Finally, if you're unlucky enough not to get a key through the giveaway, you can get the specific Wargear packs from the following retailers: