Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War Maps & Locations Guide: Every Area Covered

Q: How many factions are there?

Eleven. Space Marines, Astra Militarum, Orks and Necrons came with the base game on 12 July 2018. Seven arrived as DLC: Tyranids and Chaos Space Marines in 2019, T'au and Craftworld Aeldari in 2020, Adeptus Mechanicus in 2021, Adepta Sororitas in 2022 and Drukhari in 2023. Each ships its own units and its own economic rules rather than being a reskin.

Q: How do you win?

Two ways only. Complete your faction's quest chain, which is a scripted storyline unique to each faction describing what it wants on Gladius Prime, or eliminate every other player. There is no diplomacy, no trade and no cultural or scientific victory, which keeps the mid game aggressive in a way most 4X games are not.

Q: Which faction is best for a first game?

Astra Militarum. They settle anywhere, run a straightforward Food and Ore economy, and their power curve is legible: cheap Guardsmen screens early, Heavy Weapons Squads and Leman Russ tanks in the middle, a Baneblade late. Space Marines are also forgiving but their single Fortress Monastery and Requisition economy behave unlike anything else in the game.

Q: What happens if a resource hits zero?

You are throttled rather than eliminated. If a resource used for building upkeep hits zero while your income is negative, that building's production drops 10 percent per turn until it bottoms out at 50 percent. If a resource used for population upkeep hits zero the same way, population growth degrades on the same schedule. Recovering income reverses it.

Q: How dangerous is the wildlife?

Dangerous enough to plan around. Catachan Devils are tank-sized and hit hard despite moderate armour, so they want anti-tank weapons rather than massed infantry. Psychneuein spawn a new Psychneuein from any unit they kill. Enslavers mind control units below 6.5 current morale and drain 2 morale a turn from adjacent units, and there is exactly one Enslaver squad guarding each artefact on the map.

Complete Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War maps and locations guide. Every area with difficulty, rewards, progression order, and what to do in each zone.

EarlyGuides Editorial Team

Researched and editorially reviewed. Updated August 12, 2026.

Proxy Studios and Slitherine shipped the first turn-based 4X game set in Warhammer 40,000 on 12 July 2018, and it strips the genre down to the part 40k actually supports. There is no diplomacy on Gladius Prime: you win by completing your faction's quest line or by killing everyone else. Four factions launched with the game, Space Marines, Astra Militarum, Orks and Necrons, and seven more arrived as DLC over the following five years: Tyranids in 2019, Chaos Space Marines in 2019, T'au in 2020, Craftworld Aeldari in 2020, Adeptus Mechanicus in 2021, Adepta Sororitas in 2022 and Drukhari in 2023. Each one runs a different economy, so switching faction changes far more than the unit art.

Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War features distinct areas with increasing difficulty. This guide covers every major location in progression order: what to do, what to get, and when to move on. For the step-by-step path, see our walkthrough.

Area Progression Order

Order	Location	Difficulty	Key Rewards	Recommended Build
1	Wire weed	Matters from turn one to the end of the game	Nothing. Treat it as impassable terrain and plan approaches around it	Astra Militarum
2	Imperial Ruins	Contested from the early expansion phase onward	Bonus Ore from buildings, 33 percent ranged damage reduction, blocked line of sight	Astra Militarum
3	Rivers	Relevant whenever you plan a multi-turn advance	No direct reward, but a defensive line you did not have to build	Space Marines
4	Artefact sites	Early to mid game, once you can beat an Enslaver squad	Stacking faction and unit bonuses	Space Marines
5	Ore fields	Decides city placement from the first settle onward	Increased output from surrounding buildings	Space Marines

Wire weed: Starting Area

A bio-engineered acidic plant that consumes all of a unit's movement points the moment it enters, permits zero building slots and deals damage every turn to whatever stands in it. It is a wall drawn on the map, and routing around it is almost always faster than pushing through.

Attribute	Detail
Difficulty	Matters from turn one to the end of the game
Key Rewards	Nothing. Treat it as impassable terrain and plan approaches around it
Recommended Build	Astra Militarum
Key Equipment	Leman Russ Battle Tank

What to Do Here

Learn the basics of Five resources with faction-specific economies. This is where you practice without heavy punishment.
Collect starting resources and your first equipment upgrade.
Clear all main content before moving to Imperial Ruins.
If you're struggling, read our beginner's guide.

Imperial Ruins: Early Game

The remains of the human cities that were on Gladius Prime first. Buildings placed in ruins produce extra Ore, units inside take 33 percent less ranged damage and block line of sight, entry costs an extra movement point, and the tile caps at 2 building slots.

Attribute	Detail
Difficulty	Contested from the early expansion phase onward
Key Rewards	Bonus Ore from buildings, 33 percent ranged damage reduction, blocked line of sight
Recommended Build	Astra Militarum
Key Equipment	Leman Russ Battle Tank

What to Do Here

Focus on mastering Cities that claim tiles with influence. It's critical from this point on.
Farm for Leman Russ Battle Tank if you don't have it yet.
Complete all objectives for maximum rewards.
Prepare for the difficulty spike in Rivers.

Rivers: Mid Game

River tiles cost an extra movement point to enter, which sounds minor until an attack arrives one turn later than planned. Rivers are the terrain that most often decides whether a counterattack lands before or after a city falls.

Attribute	Detail
Difficulty	Relevant whenever you plan a multi-turn advance
Key Rewards	No direct reward, but a defensive line you did not have to build
Recommended Build	Space Marines
Key Equipment	Leman Russ Battle Tank

What to Do Here

This is the main skill check. Bring an optimized build.
Tactical Space Marines becomes accessible here. Prioritize getting it.
Master Faction quest lines as a victory route for the boss encounters.
Check our boss guide if you get stuck.

Artefact sites: Late Game

Hovering rhombus-shaped relics attributed to the Old Ones, scattered across the map. Each one grants a stacking bonus to your faction and units, and each one is guarded by exactly one Enslaver squad, so taking them is a deliberate operation rather than an opportunistic grab.

Attribute	Detail
Difficulty	Early to mid game, once you can beat an Enslaver squad
Key Rewards	Stacking faction and unit bonuses
Recommended Build	Space Marines
Key Equipment	Tactical Space Marines

What to Do Here

Full build optimization is expected by this point.
Tactical Space Marines should be your primary, fully upgraded.
Terrain that decides the fight mastery starts mattering here.
Farm resources for the push into Ore fields.

Ore fields: Endgame

Special resource tiles that cannot be built on but raise the production of matching buildings placed around them. Grox pastures and recaf plantations work the same way for their own resources, so reading these features before you place a city decides its ceiling.

Attribute	Detail
Difficulty	Decides city placement from the first settle onward
Key Rewards	Increased output from surrounding buildings
Recommended Build	Space Marines
Key Equipment	Tactical Space Marines

What to Do Here

This is endgame. Best-in-slot gear and a perfected build are mandatory.
See our boss guide for endgame fight strategies.
The reward loop: clear content → upgrade → push harder content.
Experiment with Tyranids for variety once you've mastered the meta.

Exploration Tips

Clear areas in order: Wire weed → Imperial Ruins → Rivers → Artefact sites → Ore fields. Skipping areas means missing resources you'll need later.
Check every corner: Hidden caches and secrets are often in non-obvious locations.
Match your equipment: Some areas favor different equipment types.
Read the walkthrough: Our walkthrough provides exact progression milestones for each area.
Don't rush: Clearing an area fully gives more resources than speedrunning two areas.

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