Hey gamers, how are you all doing? I finally worked up the courage to try out the online mode, which I've been calling "Total War" in my head, but which is actually officially called Eternal War. It's the PvP mode with quick match, and this is my very first contact with actual online matches in this game. The servers are pretty active, and I played a bunch of rounds online just to soak up the multiplayer side of things and start understanding how it all works. So, let's get into it.
Total War mode: quick match
The Eternal War mode brings several different game modes with it, but since I wanted to try a bit of everything, I decided to just go with quick match and experience the different modes randomly. I haven't tried every single one yet, but I did get through most of them. One thing I really liked is how fast the matchmaking is, seriously fast, and that's something you really appreciate when you just want to jump in and play. Same goes for the match length, most rounds cap out around 15 minutes or less, and I even had a few Control matches that barely lasted 5 to 10 minutes.
Honestly, in times like these, when sometimes all you want is to play and enjoy a few quick rounds without committing a full hour to a single match, this quick match setup is a breath of fresh air. We've kind of gotten used to games demanding an hour or more per match these days, so having something this snappy and to the point feels really refreshing.
Excellent stability
I can say the server connection is really solid. Everything runs smooth and fluid, and the online maps don't have quite as much decoration and detail as the campaign environments, which actually works in their favor because they run extremely fluid and smooth most of the time. I didn't feel any lag, interruption, or limitation whatsoever when going up against other players. Considering how chaotic these matches can get with everyone using their abilities and weapons at once, that kind of stability really matters, and Saber Interactive clearly put in the work to make sure the online experience holds up under pressure.
Different classes to choose from and weapon combinations
Something I think is really well done is the amount of classes and weapons available. The classes are represented the same way on both the Space Marines and the Chaos heretics side, so the Tactical class, for example, is the same for both, only the aesthetics of the weapons and armor change depending on which faction you're playing. So far I've tried the Tech Marine and the Tactical class, which is the one I've played the most. It's a class that lets you track enemies and reveal where they're hiding, which is honestly super useful when you're trying to figure out where the enemy team is pushing from.
As for weapons, classes like Tactical end up being the most versatile in terms of weapon variety, while other classes are more limited, some don't even get a primary weapon and only carry a pistol as backup. One of my favorites so far has been the plasma rifle, it just feels satisfying to use, both in terms of the sound design and the damage it puts out. I'm curious to try out the other classes too, since from what I've read there are six total, Bulwark, Tactical, Assault, Vanguard, Sniper, and Heavy, and each one seems to bring a completely different playstyle to the table.
Character customization and the DLC items aren't what they promised
Here's where I have to complain a bit, because the DLC items don't show up correctly, and the customization menu doesn't place them properly either. On top of that, the game doesn't even tell you which DLCs you've actually purchased or which cosmetics you've downloaded. This is something that's pretty standard in other games, and considering this 1 Year Anniversary Edition supposedly comes with several DLCs included plus a season pass, I've honestly only seen one item show up so far. I don't know if maybe more of it shows up in PvE, but in PvP specifically, I've felt really limited on this front.
It's a bit of a bummer, because you'd expect an edition that bundles this much extra content to make it obvious what you own and how to access it. Hopefully this gets patched or clarified at some point, because right now it just feels like a chunk of the content I paid for is sitting somewhere I can't find or use properly.
A classic team deathmatch and more
I haven't played every mode yet. I tried the team deathmatch mode, which here is called Annihilation, and also the Control zone mode. I still need to try the rest, but so far these two modes are really solid, dynamic, and have gameplay that could easily give you tons of hours of playtime. Something worth keeping in mind is that you die a lot faster online, and weapons deal way more damage compared to the campaign. Of course, that'll depend on what difficulty you played the campaign on, but since I played mine on Normal, I could really feel the difference in the amount of damage you take online.
It changes the whole rhythm of combat honestly, positioning matters a lot more, and you can't just tank hits the way you might get away with against Tyranids in the campaign. Every engagement in Eternal War feels tense because a couple of good hits from the enemy team can end your run fast, which makes landing your own shots and using cover properly feel that much more rewarding.
So, gamers, it's been a pleasure sharing with you this new online side I'm exploring in this awesome game. There's clearly a lot more to dig into here, more classes to try, more modes to experience, and hopefully I'll figure out that whole DLC situation along the way too. See you with more in a next post.
