The Last Stand is perhaps my favourite game at the moment. It consists of a horde oriented mini-game as part of Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War II (and its all encompassing expansion, Retribution) – it is ironic that virtually all of my time spent in the game has been on The Last Stand. The full name of this game would therefore be Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War Retribution: The Last Stand. I decided to leave the shorthand version in the title for the sake of convienience.

The Last Stand (TLS) is a game that I am not entirely sure why I love so much. It is essentially co-op wave defense, with two maps – each has 20 waves of progressively more difficult enemies to defeat. You can select a hero from each of the playable races in the base game (in addition to Necron and Tau) – as I am sure you know if you have played the game. At any rate, this post is one of a couple of little guides I wanted to write about the game. TLS still draws a fair amount of players, even today (especially after pseudo-death of Dawn of War III recently). In terms of the guides, I intend to cover both maps (and how best to tackle each wave) before then discussing the heroes, and which builds I have found most successful for them. I will do this from a low-level perspective, as in, a player who may be new to TLS and thus lack choices in the wargear department.

I will start with the first TLS map: Bloodied Collosseum. This one is considered the easier of the two by most players – and this is definitely true in the earlier waves – but having played Anvil of Khorne a lot, I am not sure which is the harder overall – I think the thing that throws off many players is that the maps operate quite differently, with different enemy types to fight – this means that more often than not, certain builds that work well on Collosseum do not on Anvil.

For example, Anvil is a smaller map, with less cover – this makes it easier to be swarmed (which depending on your hero could be a good or bad thing). On the other hand, Collosseum is much more open which makes kiting a much more enticing prospect. In terms of XP gain, you gain slightly more on Colosseum but I believe Anvil is slighty faster. The rule of thumb is if you consistently reach high waves, play Anvil.

I believe both TLS maps are set on Typhon Primaris – the planet before and after it falls victim to an Exterminatus (this happens in the Dawn of War II Campaign). When I tried to explain the story of the The Last Stand (if there was any) I came to the conclusion that it was probably a result of some extreme Chaos shenanigans (perhaps by sending daemonic clones of enemies to fight you) or addling the minds of the enemies that do spawn to make them want to fight and kill in the arena.

Another important point is that, while the spawn points of the enemies are random, there is in fact a fixed pattern. That means that, once you see where a specific set of enemies spawn, you will know certain other things as well (this is mainly used for the super heavy units in Anvil and the dopplegangers in Colosseum) – I will mention where is this approrpiate. The way this works is at the start of the game, each lane is randomly assigned a number – as far as I know, there is no logic to this number (ie it does not go clockwise or counterclockwise, it is totally random) – but once the number is assigned, it does not change.

One last side-note before I get into the nitty-gritty of waves – the reason you may see players pre-emptively state a map in TLS lobbies is the tendency of the matchmaker to ignore whatever map you queue for and place you randomly. The map to be played is always the one that the top player selected, regardless of the others. Hence, you will find the top player announces the map so the other plays can make the appropriate (if needed) alterations to their hero choice or build. Because yes, it definitely matters. (I will discuss that in the general Hero guide in future).

The table layout for all the units you face is borrowed from the Last Stand wiki – it looks something like this:

Time Spawn Unit The time in seconds that the enemy spawns after the wave starts The location in which the enemy will spawn The enemy unit type and amount



With that out of the way, I will now go through each wave – what it comprises of, and what possible difficulties you may encounter.

“I thought wez was supposed to be shooting them!”

Wave 1 – Orks

Time Spawn Unit 0 1 Shoota Boyz (2) 0 2 Shoota Boyz (2)

The first wave should not be causing you any problems – it is the easiest in the entire game. The Ork Boyz that spawn have weak shootas, no armour and appear in relatively few numbers. I am not sure that even the most lightly armoured hero would have difficulty here – apart from perhaps if a teammate is AFK (this can happen when players go and do something else while their game is loading) so be alert for this. This wave, however, should serve as a warm-up more than anything else.

*incomprehensible screaming noises*

Wave 2 – Tyranids

Time Spawn Unit 5 1 Hormagaunts (2) 10 1 Termagants (1) 10 4 Termagants (1) 10 3 Hormagaunts (2)

The weak-yet-numerous Termagaunts and Hormagaunts make easy pickings for any crowd-control abilities you possess. While the Termagaunts (ranged) will not be troublesome provided you stick to some form of cover (and you do not let them gather into a mess of venom), the Hormagaunts can actually do some damage if you allow two or three squads to get close. Granted, at this low wave it is unlikely – but it is still something to be aware of, especially with heroes with little close-quarter or crowd-control capability.

One should also note that most, if not all of the spawns from here on are staggered (meaning the entirety of a wave does not spawn at once). If you use this to your advantage by eliminating each section of the wave quickly, you will never allow the enemy to bring the full might of each wave against you.

“They know the science of war, but not the art!”

Wave 3 – Eldar

Time Spawn Unit 0 3 Guardians (2) 5 2 Guardians (2) 10 1 Guardians (1) 10 4 Guardians (1)

The four-man squads of Eldar Guardians are very weak, and prime pickings for crowd-control abilities. Lacking mobility here can be a hassle as you trek from spawn lane to spawn lane, only to get a handful of kills – but do not worry, things will ramp up soon.

The best way to tackle them is for your team to split up and cover as much ground as possible. At this early stage, enemies feel few and far-between (especially on the slightly more open Colosseum map). It is easy to underestimate the amount of damage they actually can do if they manage to group up and focus a single target (this is true of all Eldar forces) – on the offchance this happens, and your hero lacks health and armour, then you may be at a slight risk.

“FOR THE EMPEROR!”

Wave 4 – Imperium of Man

Time Spawn Unit 0 2 Imperial Guardsmen (2) 0 3 Imperial Guardsmen (2) 0 4 Imperial Guardsmen (2) 10 1 Force Commander (1) 10 1 Apothecary (2)

This is the first ‘boss wave’ – these come every four waves, offering a new spicy challenge. This wave can prove difficult for the very uninitiated.

The guardsmen are easy pickings, spawning first and scattered. Note the lane that does not open at the start – this is where the Force Commander and Apothecaries will spawn a little later. Chaos Sorcerers need to be alert here, for the Force Commander is an excellent doppleganger target that survives until wave 11 on average (at least for me – this obviously varies depending on your own performance/wargear and that of your team’s – he can usually survive a lot longer if you play well). If you have a Tau Commander on your team, he will likely anti-armour missile one of the enemy heroes, killing them instantly. As such, burst damage is very effective against the enemy heroes.

But if there is not much burst damage on your team, a good way to deal with this wave is to try and split the Force Commander from his healers. If this is not possible, then the widely accepted way of defeating these fellows is to target the Apothecaries first, before turning your attention to the Force Commander. It is as the Lord General says – “Dealing with the Apothecary will end this quickly.”

*loud roaring noises*

Wave 5 – Tyranids

Time Spawn Unit 0 2 Termagants (2) 0 3 Termagants (2) 5 1 Warriors (1) 5 4 Warriors (1)

Almost the second the previous wave is defeated, the next comes rolling on. This wave looks very similar to the previous Tyranid wave, only it has dangerous Warriors. These powerful melee attackers can cause knock-down in a short-ranged lunge attack, and can really hamper heroes who are poor in melee (Lord General with a Sniper is an example of this). If you are in the aforementioned category, either try and snipe the warriors before they approach you, or stay close to a team-mate for support. Another option is to garrison either building on the map until the threat passes – do not rely on these buildings too much though, as they can collapse – taking your hero down with them.

“Boyz on the right is all killed up!”

Wave 6 – Orks

0 2 Shoota Boyz (3) 0 3 Shoota Boyz (3) 5 1 Ork Nobz (1) 5 4 Ork Nobz (1) 15 1 Stikkbombaz (1) 15 2 Stikkbombaz (2)

The main hassle of this wave comes from the Stikkbombaz. Although they are just as likely to kill themselves as they are you, their grenades (especially when spammed) can put you on the floor and leave you vulnerable to other attacks. Stun-lock is a very dangerous threat to those without the unshakable trait, and can effectively leave you helpless as you watch your hero beaten to death. The Nobz are unarmoured and, while possessing a nasty slash attack, not much trouble. A good spot of burst damage will bring them down quickly. Kiting the larger Orks is also a widely accepted way of dealing with them.

“Circumvent these ruins, so that our weapons may strike true.”

Wave 7 – Eldar

Time Spawn Unit 0 1 Shuriken Cannon (1) 0 3 Shuriken Cannon (1) 0 1 Banshees (1) 0 2 Banshees (2) 0 3 Banshees (1) 5 2 Warp Spiders (1) 5 4 Warp Spiders (1)

This wave is Wave 9’s little brother – so you can use similar tactics for both. While the Banshees and Warp Spiders can do a dangerous amount of damage, your main priority for this wave is the Shurikens. They do tons of damage, and have the added pain of supression (slowing down your movement and attacks) – this leaves you easy pickings for Banshees and other Eldar. Stay in cover, and stay back. Focused ranged abilities like Powered Shot and Anti Armour missile are very effective here. Alternatively, just use jetpacks or other movement abilities to flank the Shurikens and end their sparkle-rampages.

*more, louder roar noises*

Wave 8 – Tyranids

Time Location Unit 0 2 Termagants × 2 0 3 Termagants × 2 5 1 Warriors × 1 5 3 Warriors × 1 5 1 Zoanthrope × 1 5 2 Zoanthrope × 1 5 3 Zoanthrope × 1 5 1 Hormagaunts × 1 5 2 Hormagaunts × 1 5 3 Hormagaunts × 1 5 4 Hormagaunts × 1

When I first started playing TLS, this was one wave that gave me a lot of trouble. The Zoanthropes (which shield themselves if you do not kill them quickly) can stun-lock a player if they gang up on you , while the large numbers of Warriors can really give you a good hiding. The best thing to do is get as much damage off as you can, as soon as you can. Stand by the lane entrances and fire off any ranged abilities you have – the Tyranids will spawn quickly, and in rather large clumps. The Zoanthropes need to be focused with whatever burst damage you have, for a failure to kill them quickly will result in them shielding. As the Sorcerer says – “It’s body is weak. Kill it before it strikes.”

A valid tactic is for your team to take position in one of the spawn lanes to funnel them in towards you (this is then a prime moment for big AoE abilities like Let The Galaxy Burn! (Chaos Sorcerer) and Rocket Run (Lord General)).

It can sometimes be helpful to leave the Zoans alive, because their artillery fire can cause friendly-fire. A well placed Zoanthrope attack can wipe out two, three, or even four smaller squads. Their death also knocks down all nearby tyranids. The deaths of Warrior units has a similar effect of knockdown.

“My blade has tired of its sheath.”

Wave 9 – Eldar

Time Location Unit 0 3 Banshees × 3 0 1 Shuriken Cannon × 1 0 2 Shuriken Cannon × 1 0 2 Warp Spiders × 1 5 3 Shuriken Cannon × 1 5 4 Shuriken Cannon × 1 5 1 Warp Spiders × 1 20 3 Banshees × 6 20 1 Shuriken Cannon × 1 20 4 Shuriken Cannon × 1

This wave is characterised by Banshees. Lots of them. If you can help it, try and destroy any Shurikens you can. Then, when the BIG blob of six or so Banshee squads spawns, do either one of two things: 1) Run like hell and let someone with good crowd control deal with it. 2) Launch your strongest AoE attacks. Alternatively, if you are feeling ballsy, leaping into the Banshees to disrupt them can be effective – this is mainly for those with jetpacks (most effectively the Tau and SM Captain) More often than not, this will split the horde and make it easier to deal with.

Take note, here – the location the big Banshee blob spawns will be the same spawn lane that the dopplegangers on Wave 16 take. This is important, as being prepared for that wave can mean the difference between victory and defeat.

“see but do not be seensee but do not be seensee but not do not be seensee but do not be seensee but do not be seensee but do not be seensee but”

Wave 10 – Space Marines

Time Location Unit 0 1 Tactical Marines × 2 5 2 Tactical Marines × 2 10 3 Tactical Marines × 2 15 4 Tactical Marines × 4 15 2 Scout Marines × 3 15 3 Scout Marines × 3

This wave can be a terrifying one. Tactical Marines are armed with plasma guns, which deal a ridiculous amount of damage if you are exposed. The scouts too are capable of killing you rather quickly with their rapid firing Bolters and hand-grenades. They also go invisible – but don’t worry, you will soon hear them with their trademark phrase.

Your best bet is usually to hunker down in some heavy cover around the edges of the map. Make sure you are aware of not being flanked, and also be alert of Scouts – who are invisible until they attack you. Space Marines have a good balance of strength and numbers, so crowd control and burst damage in equal measures can be effective against them.

“Stormboyz were made for getting STUCK IN!”

Wave 11 – Orks

Time Location Unit 0 1 ‘Uge Hamma Nob × 1 0 3 ‘Uge Hamma Nob × 1 0 1 Stronga Shoota Boyz × 2 0 3 Stronga Shoota Boyz × 2 10 2 Stormboyz × 2 10 4 Stormboyz × 2 15 1 ‘Uge Choppa Nob × 1 15 3 ‘Uge Choppa Nob × 1 15 2 Stronga Shoota Boyz × 2 15 4 Stronga Shoota Boyz × 2 15 2 Stormboyz × 1 15 4 Stormboyz × 1

The main difficulty of this wave is the Stormboyz, followed closely by the ‘Uge Nobs. Heroes such as the Sorcerer, General and to some extent the Eldar Farseer seem to be especially vulnerable to these jet-pack wielding crazies. Do not underesimate the close quarter damage they can put out – and try and take down as many as you can before they swarm you – this is an almost unavoidable fact with Stormboyz.

Once you are swarmed (and you arent an invincigod of tanking like the Hive Tyrand, SM Captain or Necron) there are a couple of things you can do: 1) Run to a building and hide while someone else helps you – this is a team game, after all. 2) Do the honourable thing and call a Rocket Run on yourself (like this hero of the Russian Army). Or 3) Kite the swarm until your team helps you out. I personally prefer option 3.

Despite the Stormboyz, one must also worry about another Ork menace – the Uge Nobs. These guys are large and slow – the main terror is the rate in which their health regenerates. This means that focused fire on a single Nob is required to take it down absolutely – a big ask for heroes without access to much burst damage. This is also quite difficult while being chased by a gang of them. If that happens, refer to the swarmed options in the previous paragraph. The Stronga Shootas should not also be discounted, for clumped in high numbers these green blobs can actually do a good portion of damage to you – and this will be an increased threat in the later Ork waves.

“Our souls united in purpose.”

Wave 12 – Eldar



Time Location Unit 0 1 Guardians × 2 0 2 Guardians × 2 0 3 Warp Spiders × 2 0 4 Banshees × 2 5 1 Shuriken Cannon × 2 10 1 Wraithlord × 1 15 1 Guardians × 1 15 2 Shuriken Cannon × 2 20 2 Wraithlord × 1 20 3 Wraithlord × 1 20 4 Wraithlord × 1 25 2 Warp Spiders × 1 25 3 Warp Spiders × 1 25 4 Warp Spiders × 1 30 1 Guardians × 1

Shurikens pinning you down while Wraithlords swat you aside with their giant swords will be your main threats this wave. Disable the Shurikens as soon as possible (the General’s sniper ifle is very effective at this) before turning primary attention to the Wraithlords. While these walkers have less health compared to others, their sword does a whole lot of damage, and they also have a shoulder-mounted Brightlance for extra pain. The good news is that Wraithlords are pretty damn slow, so outrunning them is fairly simple (provided you arent being surpressed by those damned Shurikens).

Sorcerers should consider at this point replacing their dead Force Commander with a Wraithlord clone. If their loyalist commander ally is not dead, I would keep him for as long as possible.

“Boyz on the left is all gone!”

Wave 13 – Orks

Time Spawn Unit 0 3 Ork Nobz (1) 0 1 Stronga Shoota Boyz (2) 0 2 Stronga Shoota Boyz (2) 0 3 Stronga Shoota Boyz (2) 0 4 Stronga Shoota Boyz (2) 10 1 ‘Uge Choppa Nob (2) 10 3 ‘Uge Choppa Nob (1) 10 4 Rokkit Launchaz (2) 15 3 ‘Uge Choppa Nob (1) 25 2 Rokkit Launchaz (2) 25 4 Stronga Shoota Boyz (1)

The primary threat of this wave is stun-lock. Be wary of Rokkit Launchaz, as these pose the biggest risk to you being thrown on the floor permanently. Those without the Unshakable trait in general should be extremely cautious. Other than that, there is nothing really new here that has not been encountered before. If your team has reached this point, it is unlikely you will fail on this wave.

*faint screaming*

Wave 14 – Tyranids

0 2 Termagants × 3 0 3 Termagants × 3 5 3 Termagants × 1 5 1 Warriors × 1 5 3 Warriors × 1 10 1 Raveners × 1 10 2 Raveners × 1 10 3 Raveners × 1 10 4 Raveners × 1 20 1 Hormagaunts × 1 20 2 Hormagaunts × 1 20 3 Hormagaunts × 1 20 4 Hormagaunts × 1

This wave can be truly nasty. Why? Raveners, that’s why. These guys do an ungodly amount of damage, on top being able to burrow on you to uproot your cushy little defensive positions – something of a problem for Lord General heroes.

Raveners are the priority target on this wave. Once they are dealt with, the rest of wave is fairly simple and there is not much new to contend with. When it comes to the high value targets, make sure that by taking them out you have not made yourself vulnerable to the other threats that want you dead – ie Warriors.

“Which part do I throw again?”

Wave 15 – Orks

0 1 Stikkbombaz × 2 0 2 Stikkbombaz × 2 10 3 Stikkbombaz × 2 10 4 Stikkbombaz × 2 10 1 Rokkit Launchaz × 1 10 2 Rokkit Launchaz × 1 10 3 Stronga Shoota Boyz × 2 10 4 Stronga Shoota Boyz × 3 20 3 Rokkit Launchaz × 2 20 4 Rokkit Launchaz × 2 35 1 ‘Uge Choppa Nob × 2 35 2 ‘Uge Choppa Nob × 2 45 3 ‘Uge Choppa Nob × 2 45 4 ‘Uge Choppa Nob × 2

Thoughts on explosions? You like them? That’s great, because this wave is basically just explosions. If you do not kill many Stikkbombas or Rokkit Launchas as soon as they leave the spawn gate, they will fill your screen with enough explosives to make computers lag and framerates plummet. That should be reason enough to want them dead.

One should also not under-estimate stun-lock. I know I have mentioned it a few times, but even the mightiest heroes can be whittled down if they are helpless to do anything to protect themselves. Hopefully, if this occurs, your team-mates can help you out. At any rate, try to avoid the nasty explosions.

Wave 16 – Dopplegangers

Time Location Unit 0 3 Player 1 clone 0 3 Player 2 clone 0 3 Player 3 clone

This is the big one. The second hardest wave of the map, and what can be indeed one of the toughest waves of the entirety of TLS. Why is it so nasty? Well, the game spawns three exact clones of the three players – complete with their abilities and wargear. The catch? The clones have higher health and damage than their player-counterparts. Be aware that even if a player drops from the match, you will still face 3 clones.

I personally find that this wave wildly varies in its difficulty. Sometimes the three dopplegangers are dispatched quickly and unceremoniously, and sometimes it is a long drawn out battle. If you are a well-coordinated team, utilising any stun abilities and synergising well then this wave will not be a problem.

The strength of the clones comes very much down to the kind of wargear each player is using – typically the heroes that are more ability driven (like the Farseer, Sorcerer and Mekboy) are easy to kill because the AI does not really know how to use the abilities properly. Others are an absolute terror, like the Necron Overlord and Tau Commander. I have compiled a tier list of the threats of wave 16 below. Naturally, the higher up the list, the more value the doppleganger for Chaos Sorcerers.

EXTREME DANGER

Necron Overlord – Armed with either a scythe or ranged staff, the Necron can do an obscene amount of damage with a single hit, bypassing most armour. Pair that with the common Tesseract Tomb (which stuns all enemies in a wide area) and he has the power to render you helpless as he wipes you out. Most players configure their Necron Lords to be invincible killing machines, and so this naturally makes any Necron doppleganger an invincibile killing machine as well. Your only saving grace is his lack of speed. That at least means you might be able to out-run him when he comes for you.

It is imperative that your Necron Overlord gets the first Tesseract Tomb out – he needs to be ready for the dopplegangers at the start of the wave, to throw that orb on the dopples immediately. The tomb can make short work of Wave 16.

Tau Commander – The absolutely unstoppable barrage of firepower that the Tau has access to makes him a terrifying doppleganger to fight. Pair that with a highly mobile jetpack, and this doppleganger can potentially be capable of wiping out entire teams by itself. Be wary of anti-armour missiles, which can one-shot most heroes. If you can, get him to target inanimate objects like turrets and drones, before your Tau Commander uses his own rockets against him.

DANGER

Hive Tyrant – With the right wargear, the Hive Tyrant is a force to be reckoned with. Paired with an array of powerful minions makes the Tyrant scary. However, making the Tyrant an invincible killing machine on par with the Necron requires some degree of human input, which thankfully the AI is not really capable of.

Space Marine Captain – The Captain throwing Dreadnoughts at you, whilst furiously jetpacking at you is not a nice thing to be faced with. If the Captain packs his tanking build, he can be unstoppable in terms of health – however his damage can be quite limited. Think of him as a slightly less-scary version of the Necron Overlord.

The lingering damage of the Lightning Claw is something to be concerned with, however. The instant revive ability is also extremely annoying – so be ready for that if one of your allies has either of these equipped.

MILD CONCERN

Lord General – while he is a flimsy target, and his infantry squads often easily dealt with, his sniper rifle and rocket run can prove exceedingly dangerous. Not to mention the fact that his turrets can persist into the next wave if it is the last thing standing. I have lost a couple of games because of turrets helping the Tyranids on wave 17. Cloning the General is a defensible choice (especially if he has a sniper rifle).

LIGHT BOTHER

Chaos Sorcerer – While the Sorcerer himself is a wet flannel, the doppleganger he potentially creates is not. If you can, try and bait him into cloning the weakest hero, or even better – someone’s minion. The good thing is that your own Sorcerer can select the best possible dopple (which will nearly always be better than his).

If you are feeling like a lucky Sorcerer, then cloning this enemy will mean your clone will take another clone of his own. With luck, you will end up with two dopplegangers. This can be absurdly powerful if your clone clones one of the higher tier enemies (and also very confusing).

MINOR NUISANCE

Eldar Farseer – While most of her abilities need some degree of brainpower to use effectively, wards, Group teleports and Eldritch storms can prove a nuisance. These however only delay the inevitable.

Ork Mekboy – Again, with a great deal of human input needed (especially with the teleport explosive spam build), Ork Mekboys are fairly simple to dispatch. Shoota armed Mekboys are not completely worthless in terms of damage, however.

*angry insect noises*

Wave 17 – Tyranids

Time Location Unit 0 3 Carnifex × 1 5 3 Lictor Alpha × 1 5 2 Hormagaunts × 3 5 1 Hormagaunts × 2 5 4 Hormagaunts × 2 10 2 Warriors × 1 10 4 Warriors × 1 15 1 Termagants × 3 15 4 Termagants × 1 15 4 Hormagaunts × 1 25 3 Carnifex × 1 25 2 Carnifex × 1 25 3 Termagants × 1 25 1 Raveners × 2 25 4 Raveners × 2

Before the final evil clone hits the ground from last wave, the Raveners are on you with a whole host of nastiness. In fact, the Tyranids are sending just about everything they have at you by this point.

Carnifexes are the terror of this wave, but massed Raveners and Warriors can also cause issues. If you can, focus down a Carnifex in the first few seconds on the wave, then move quickly to stay ahead of the other two – they do massive damage and have massive health. Stay in cover if you can, but mobility here is more important. As you kite, try and whittle down the Tyranids’ numbers. Keep an eye on your teammates to see if they need help – and stay in sight of them, in case they can help you. Teamplay is vital for these later waves.

Most of the time, the last things standing are the Carnifexes. Focus on one at a time – what usually happens is that one player runs the target in circles while you fire everything you have at it. Repeat this until the ‘Fexes are dead.

“Dakkadakka!”

Wave 18 – Orks

Time Location Unit 0 2 Stronga Shoota Boyz × 3 0 3 Stronga Shoota Boyz × 4 0 2 Warboss × 1 5 1 Stronga Shoota Boyz × 2 5 1 ‘Uge Hamma Nob × 2 5 2 ‘Uge Hamma Nob × 2 5 1 Deff Dread × 1 15 3 ‘Uge Choppa Nob × 2 15 4 ‘Uge Choppa Nob × 2 15 2 Deff Dread × 1 15 2 Rokkit Launchaz × 1 25 3 Deff Dread × 2 25 3 Rokkit Launchaz × 1 25 3 Stronga Shoota Boyz × 1 35 4 Deff Dread × 2 35 4 Rokkit Launchaz × 1 35 4 Stronga Shoota Boyz × 1

Now it’s the Orks’ turn to go all out. I would actually say Wave 18 is easier than Wave 17. That does not diminish its challenge, however. I would reccomend focusing the horde first, not the Warboss. That is because his attacks are generally easily avoided and he is a somewhat slow mover. What will do you damage, however, are the Deff Dreads and Shoota Boyz that can gang up and bully you. The good thing is that the Deff Dreads health does not regenerate, so every little bit of damage you can throw onto them helps in the long run.

“Rain fire upon us and we shall return it!”

Wave 19 – Space Marines

Time Location Unit 0 2 Terminator Marine × 1 0 1 Scout Marines × 4 0 3 Scout Marines × 4 5 1 Dreadnought × 1 15 2 Tactical Marines × 3 15 4 Tactical Marines × 3 15 2 Scout Marines × 1 15 2 Dreadnought × 1 15 3 Dreadnought with Assault Cannon × 1 35 3 Scout Marines × 1 35 4 Scout Marines × 1 35 2 Dreadnought × 1 35 4 Dreadnought × 1 35 1 Dreadnought with Assault Cannon × 1 35 3 Dreadnought with Assault Cannon × 1

If you thought Wave 11 was nasty, then this wave will give you something to think about. The Terminator usually spawns in an isolated position – so take him out first if you can. Granted, this is easier said than done due to his massive amount of health and armour – but if you can, this will make dealing with the rest of the wave significantly easier. Stay on the move (mainly to avoid Dreadnoughts), but try and stick to whatever cover remains on the map. In an ideal world, you would whittle down the Dreadnoughts and then the marines – but if you are mobile enough, then you just take what you can get and whittle down the wave bit-by-bit. Mobility is very important for Bloodied Colosseum.

“I will burn this planet to the ground.”

Wave 20 – Chaos

Time Spawn Unit 0 Center Chaos Lord 0 Center Player 1 clone 0 Center Player 2 clone 0 Center Player 3 clone 15 1 Bloodletters (2) 15 2 Bloodletters (1) 15 3 Bloodletters (2) 15 4 Bloodletters (1) 45 1 Bloodletters (2) 45 2 Bloodletters (1) 45 3 Bloodletters (2) 45 4 Bloodletters (1) n/a n/a Lictor Alpha (1) n/a n/a Warboss (1) n/a n/a Terminator Marine (1)

The wave to end all waves. The begin with, a short cutscene triggers – a Chaos Lord arrives and prompty revives all the clones you previous defeated (they then revive all the bosses of the previous waves) – you, meanwhile, are teleported into the spawn lanes, separated from your team. Without mobility and some form of serious tanking and/or firepower, you are basically dead here. A Chaos Sorcerer is a powerful ally to teleport away from threats while sending a constant drip of clones to occupy the enemies, while an Eldar Farseer’s confuse ability is also valuable.

In lieu of those techniques, good old fashioned force is a good substitute. Grouping up is important. Meanwhile, whittle down the Daemons until only the bosses remain. Then, take down the dopples first (in an ideal situation) to prevent them from reviving everyone. Finish the rest. I believe this is the hardest wave in the game, equal if not harder than wave 19 of the Anvil of Khorne map. If you can beat this one consistently (with a decent team) then you can definitely call yourself a good TLS player, and in possession of a good build to boot.

Other Noteworthy Things

So that’s all the waves of the map. What else is there?

I already mentioned the spawn logic – you can actually use the graphs I took (borrowed) from the Last Stand Wiki to see the exact location enemy spawns in relation to each other. While each number doesnt correspond to an exact lane, they are randomly assigned at the start of the game – so once you know where one spawns, you could theoretically know the rest. As I have said, the numbers are randomly assigned at the start of the match, and as far as I know there is no logic. So going clockwise around, the lanes could be numbered 3 2 4 1, or 1 4 2 3. It truly is random.

The most significant trick (that I think most players know by now) is the possiblity of actually getting out of bounds on the map. It is a slightly dodgy tactic, and if used incorrectly can actually hinder your team rather than help.Because it would be extremely difficult to explain, I will simply show you the trick in two easy steps.

So far, the ‘glitch’ only really works for the Tau Commander – he is the only one able to place drones directly in the way he can. Having a drone here can be immensely helpful, as invariably some enemies will get distracted by it – and those with Melee are helpless to do anything. It is only when enemies with grenades come along is the drone really threatened.

Alas, I am sure most players know of this trick – but this is to go one step beyond.

I recently realised that it is possible for you yourself to jetpack into the space created by the drone. Leaving the map entirely is possible with the Overlord’s wall-creating ability as well (although I have not tried that one yet, because without a ranged weapon it is quite useless). Get a weapon with good range and this spot could prove to be a lifesaver in many a situation. In the earlier waves however, when the sheer number of enemies is not a problem, then you are in effect hindering your team – because it is unlikely any enemy will happen to pass you by. Thus, you will be sat in your little nook waiting and listening – but not fighting. I find the positon is good for emergency situations only. Swarmed? Hop in. At risk of being overwhelmed? Go for it. Otherwise, it is probably a waste of time.

The buildings are also good choice for lower waves. However, after wave 10, you should avoid them. That is because the amount of enemies means that it will only be a matter of time before the building collapses, taking you with them. I will show you where, in my opinion, the best places to hunker down in the map are.

These positions have good amounts of unbreakable heavy cover, and shield you from a great portion of the rest of the map. My personal favourite position is the south-western corner, next to where the Tau Commander’s out of bounds trick is. The others are good as well – I suppose it all comes down to personal preference of both yourself (and your team).

And for the final note, don’t forget you can change the camera angle by holding Alt and moving the mouse around. It may not be necessary all the time, but having a good view of the battlefield is an important one.

That’s it for the Collosseum guide. If you feel I missed something or made a mistake, feel free to let me know. Other than that, thanks for reading. As promised, here are some links to other stuff that may pique your fancy.

Dawn of War wiki – A great deal of information on the Last Stand – information about each wave and hero is slightly lacking, however.

Hero guide – My guide to the heroes of The Last Stand.

Anvil of Khorne map guide – my guide to the other map of The Last Stand.