Rank 3: Adeptus Mechanicus: Tech Nerds as Deadly Fanatics
Technology works a little differently in Warhammer 40,000 than in our world. There, both technical understanding and religious devotion are necessary to make and maintain a machine.
Accordingly, there are not just technicians in the Imperium, but Tech-Priests: humans who are disgusted by the weakness of their biological bodies and entrust themselves to the sanctity of metal. They serve the Omnissiah, a form of the Emperor.
In Mechanicus 2, you play as Adeptus Mechanicus or as Necrons:
Although this sounds more like something out of reality-removed system administrators with a god complex, the Mechanicus is one of the greatest powers in the Imperium overall:
- The Adeptus Mechanicus has a monopoly on all technological knowledge used in the Imperium. Due to the uprising of artificial intelligences, many technologies have been lost, and the Tech-Priests hoard everything they find.
- They are also the best engineers in the Imperium and possess the only blueprints for constructing some of the strongest weapons and armor of humanity.
- Additionally, they are themselves literal battle machines through cybernetic enhancements and have their own army of augmented cyborg soldiers with energy weapons, known as Skitarii.
If you’re interested in the Adeptus Mechanicus and find the idea of technically modified, fanatic super nerds intriguing, you should check out Dawn of War 4. The upcoming strategy game brings the Tech-Priests into the series for the first time as a playable race: I only played Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 for 30 minutes, but I’m already as excited as I haven’t been in years.
