Not even close, there has been a lot of fights between the different Imperium factions and even between several IG regiments or SM chapters, if Arkhona has something that can make the owner rule the galaxy, everyone will fight for it, I'm pretty sure that could lead to a civil war on the Imperium.

That doesn't actually work though. There's no way to stick to lore and have playable Cultists/Guardmen/Skitarii/HumanSlavesInATauNation around. They just can't compete with Orcs, Aspect Warriors, Astartes etc. This is why we don't have Guardians except possibly as AI "base defense troops". I imagine Chaos will use Cultists for that.

The only viable IOM faction other than the Adeptus Astartes is the Adepta Sororitas. Guard are too weak, Grey Knights are two WTFOP and the Deathwatch are a) Astartes and b) don't operate at an 'army' level while the Mechanicus' military are basically Guardsmen, with Robocop instead of Stormtroopers. The Deathwatch could make their way in as an Astartes Elite unit (Deathwatch Veteran) with some funky gear options like venomnades etc, easily skinnable as Tyrannic War Veterans for Ultramarines. The Officio Assassinorum would work as Elite/Hero units for the SoB, but not as a single force.

The Tau are going to be tricky enough to balance against the existing races, as are the SoB - the Fire Warrior can probably scrape by on the combination of Carapace and Pulse Rifle, they'd get minced in melee, but that's rather the point of them. The SoB are, on an individual level, literally Space Marines But Not As Good, so they'll need something interesting to make them competitive.

Playable Tyranids is also all sorts of not going to work, they're better as an AI threat.

Actually, I think a mix from AI and Player Tyranids could work quite good later down the line. The 2 wouldn't directly work together. You would have no massive armys of weak Tyranids on the Battlefield.

AI Nids would exactly work like they work now, underground. BUT playercontrolled Nids, would be the specialist team of the Nids so to speak. Only the most effective and specialzed nids are sent to the surface to complete specific tasks (instead of overrunning everything), more to prepare for that overrun, weakening defenses and such.

Maybe not exactly like that, but I am sure there are pretty good ways to implement many things later^^

Unfortunately (in my opinion), it will be once again the Dawn of War story - where the Space Marine's and IG's commands simply overlap, and they apparently have to annihilate each other because of that. I hate that excuse, but it is true.
Imperium, and W40k in general, is just a big clustertuck where big things collide with bigger things - no brain required.

I disagree.
In fact this has been discussed elsewhere.
Though the basic troops of many factions can't stand up to Orks or Marines, each of the factions you mention have specialist groups and veterans that you can build an EC Faction from.
For example, the Imperial Guard has the Scions Tempestus, who aren't far off any power armoured IOM force and could make a good Sub-Faction.
They also have veteran Regiments like the Catachans, Drop Troops, Tanith First, Armageddon Steel Legion, any of which could form a Sub-Faction who's character differs from Stormtroopers.

This is how bE have done the Eldar. You don't play as Guardians, you play as Aspect Warriors, Rangers, Wraithguard, and other veteran Eldar soldiers.
And if it works for the Eldar, why shouldn't it work for other Factions?

I don't think Dark Eldar should be the first addition, they have almost the same fan base as the regular Eldar, so all it would do is split the smallest population near in half. They'd make a better second or third.

Personally thou, I hope they add the Lost and the Damned Guard at the same time or even before they add the Imperial Guard.

What? There's no way you can have Storm Troopers and Space Marines on a halfway level pegging and remain lore-coherent. The states are mutually exclusive. Storm Troopers are highly drilled and slightly augmented (chemical, cybernetic) humans. Space Marines are ex-humans converted at a fundamental biological level into war machines. There's no contest, not in the context of 40K lore.

Asides which, those regiments you listed are just that, regiments. They're not special, elevated or exceptional beyond the inherent plotshield associated with being the focus of some fiction. They're certainly not all the equivalent of Storm Troopers.

I still disagree. Stormtroopers are as close as a normal human can get to SM without the use of power armour or extensive biological enhancement.

Catachans are like the ultimate Commando force of 40K. They disappear into jungle, even CSM or Orks would have trouble finding them. Lore-wise they come a Death World, a type of world SM Chapters like to recruit from.

Drop Troops are the Paratroopers of 40K, they literary drop on or close to the enemy and can fill up holes in friendly formations or exploit holes in enemy formations.

The Tanith are a scout and recon force from a planet where the trees of the forest move. They can get closer to an enemy position than even SM scouts, and unleash a fusillade of las-shots onto it and then evade the enemy counter attack by using paths a marine can't follow.

And the Armageddon Steel Legion is a Mechanised Regiment with a lot of Tanks. Even a Chaos Astartes force is going to have problems with such a Tank force, especially if it shells them from a distance.


If you still think that Lore-wise these cannot stand up to Marines then I would suggest you are basing that off the equally plot-armoured Movie Marine.

Also, you must remember this is Asymmetric warfare. IG, and similar Factions will not be able to stand up to an equal force of SM in melee but they have weapons with greater range allowing them the chance to reduce Marine numbers before they get into melee. Add to that Tactics and capabilities that should favour the IG over SM in certain scenarios and on certain battlefields.

And it is the same for other Factions.

Guys, the devs want to add the most number factions as possible. That means probably there will be other IoM factions and they will fight each other. This game will make concessions to work as intended - a massive war for a planet.

SoB, DE and Tau are the 3 most asked for factions. They will show up.

Lol, i like the discussion about IG not being able to take on SM. To balance things out they just need to give bigger and more armour, and you balance IG the same way as they do on TT. With tanks, lots of tanks, support from the Imperial Navy, and mechanics and buffs that help a more defensive or sneaky playstyle.
It can be done, smart balancing is all that is required. Concentrated lasfire, can still take down a SM.