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.
These tips go beyond the basics. They're the strategies experienced players use to play more efficiently, the hidden mechanics most people miss, and the optimizations that compound over a full playthrough. If you're just starting, check our beginner's guide first.
Essential Tips
1. Pick your faction by its economy
Pick your faction by its economy. Space Marines run on Requisition and Energy, Necrons feed population with Ore, Astra Militarum and Orks need Food, and Orks additionally need to be attacking something every turn to stay solvent.
2. Track Influence separately from everything else
Track Influence separately from everything else. Each city tile costs 1 Influence per turn in upkeep, and heroes plus their items also come out of Influence, so a wide empire with no Influence income seizes up.
3. Route around wire weed rather than through it
Route around wire weed rather than through it. Entering a wire weed tile consumes every remaining movement point and the tile deals damage each turn, so a squad that walks in is out of the fight for at least two turns.
4. Garrison Imperial Ruins whenever you expect ranged fire
Garrison Imperial Ruins whenever you expect ranged fire. The 33 percent ranged damage reduction plus the blocked line of sight turns a ruin tile into the best defensive position on most maps.
5. Scout artefacts before you commit to taking one
Scout artefacts before you commit to taking one. Each has exactly one Enslaver squad on it, and Enslavers mind control any unit that drops below 6.5 current morale while draining 2 morale per turn from anything standing next to them.
6. Kill Psychneuein at range if you can
Kill Psychneuein at range if you can. They kill a unit and then spawn another Psychneuein from it, so a melee grind against them can multiply the problem instead of solving it.
7. Read the resource features before placing a city
Read the resource features before placing a city. Ore fields, grox pastures and recaf plantations cannot be built on but raise the output of matching buildings nearby, so a city centred badly wastes them permanently.
8. Remember a running resource deficit throttles you rather than killing you
Remember a running resource deficit throttles you rather than killing you. Hitting zero on a building upkeep resource cuts that building's production by 10 percent per turn down to a floor of 50 percent, and the same pattern applies to population growth.
9. Necron players should scout for tomb sites immediately
Necron players should scout for tomb sites immediately. Necrons can only found cities on tombs, so map knowledge in the first dozen turns sets the ceiling on the whole game.
10. As Orks, do not stockpile and turtle
As Orks, do not stockpile and turtle. Attacking generates Influence and every kill pays Ore, so an Ork army sitting still is an Ork army going broke.
Advanced Strategies
Build Optimization
The difference between an average build and an optimized one is massive. See our builds guide for full breakdowns.
For Space Marines (A-Tier):
- Focus on Five resources with faction-specific economies combinations for maximum output.
- Core gear: Tactical Space Marines
- Stat priority: Offensive stats first
For Astra Militarum (A-Tier):
- Versatile approach that handles any situation.
- Core gear: Leman Russ Battle Tank
- Stat priority: Balanced stats
Mechanic Interactions
Understanding how Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War's systems interact is where the real optimization lives. Our combat guide covers this in detail.
Five resources with faction-specific economies + Cities that claim tiles with influence: Ore, Food, Energy, Influence and Requisition are the five, but no two factions use them the same way. Combined with Cities that claim tiles with influence, cities expand by acquiring surrounding tiles, and every city tile carries an upkeep of 1 influence per turn, so unchecked sprawl quietly bankrupts you.
Faction quest lines as a victory route + Wildlife and artefact guardians: Every faction has its own scripted quest chain describing what it is doing on Gladius Prime, and finishing that chain is a win condition in its own right. When paired with Wildlife and artefact guardians, gladius prime is already occupied when you land.
Terrain that decides the fight scaling: Wire weed is a bio-engineered acidic plant that consumes all movement points on entry, allows zero building slots and damages whatever stands in it every turn. Imperial Ruins do the opposite: buildings placed in them produce extra Ore, units inside take 33 percent less ranged damage, line of sight is blocked, entry costs an extra movement point and the tile caps at 2 building slots. Rivers cost an extra movement point. Ore fields, grox pastures and recaf plantations cannot be built on at all but raise the output of matching buildings around them.
Equipment Efficiency
| Equipment | Best Use Case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Tactical Space Marines | Holding objectives, early expansion escorts, clearing wildlife spawns | The Space Marine line infantry and the unit the rest of the roster is built around. |
| Leman Russ Battle Tank | Breaking entrenched infantry, trading with enemy vehicles, escorting Guardsmen advances | The Astra Militarum workhorse armour and the point where a Guard army stops being fragile. |
| Necron Warriors | Steady frontline advances, holding tomb site cities, early wildlife clearance | The Necron basic infantry, slow and unglamorous but backed by an economy that sustains them on Ore rather than Food. |
| Ork Boyz | Constant early aggression, feeding the Influence and Ore economy, wildlife farming | Cheap, numerous and the engine of the Ork economy, because every attack generates Influence and every kill pays Ore. |
| Baneblade | Breaking a stalemate, punching into a defended city, late game pushes | The Astra Militarum super-heavy and the payoff at the end of a long Ore investment. |
Location Efficiency
Wire weed (Matters from turn one to the end of the game): 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.
Imperial Ruins (Contested from the early expansion phase onward): 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.
Rivers (Relevant whenever you plan a multi-turn advance): 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.
Artefact sites (Early to mid game, once you can beat an Enslaver squad): 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.
Ore fields (Decides city placement from the first settle onward): 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.
Mistakes Even Veterans Make
- Expecting diplomacy. There is none. Every other faction on Gladius Prime is hostile from turn one, and the only two ways to win are finishing your faction quest chain or killing everyone.
- Playing every faction the same way. Space Marines fold food and ore into Requisition and grow one vertical Fortress Monastery, while Orks settle anywhere and need constant combat, so a strategy carried across from one to the other collapses.
- Sprawling cities without Influence income. Each city tile is 1 Influence per turn, and the bill arrives quietly enough that many players notice only when heroes become unaffordable.
- Ignoring wildlife until it reaches a city. Catachan Devils hit hard enough to erase a squad and Psychneuein multiply by killing, so clearing spawn points early costs far less than dealing with them at your gates.
- Rushing a Baneblade or a Monolith with nothing screening it. Super-heavy units carry heavy upkeep and eat the budget that would have bought the infantry needed to protect them.
Pro Quick Tips
- Pick your faction by its economy. Space Marines run on Requisition and Energy, Necrons feed population with Ore, Astra Militarum and Orks need Food, and Orks additionally need to be attacking something every turn to stay solvent.
- Track Influence separately from everything else. Each city tile costs 1 Influence per turn in upkeep, and heroes plus their items also come out of Influence, so a wide empire with no Influence income seizes up.
- Route around wire weed rather than through it. Entering a wire weed tile consumes every remaining movement point and the tile deals damage each turn, so a squad that walks in is out of the fight for at least two turns.
- Start with Astra Militarum, switch to Space Marines when ready
- Invest in Tactical Space Marines above everything else
- Clear areas in order: Wire weed → Imperial Ruins → Rivers → Artefact sites → Ore fields. See our maps guide
- Five resources with faction-specific economies + Cities that claim tiles with influence together are stronger than either alone
More Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War Guides
- Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War Overview
- Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War Best Builds
- Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War Tier List
- Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War Walkthrough
- Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War Beginner's Guide
- Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War Weapons Guide
- Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War Combat Guide
- Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War Boss Guide
- Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War Maps & Locations
- Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War Crafting Guide
- Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War Classes & Characters
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