Hey everyone, Reecius here from Frontline Gaming with a few thoughts on a potential 7th edition of 40K.
We’ve all heard the rumors that a 7th edition of 40K may be eminent. We don’t know yet until it pops up on the GW Website, but this has been a rumor on the wind for a while now.
For one, I am happy for a new edition. There are a lot of annoying things about a new edition, but, there are some potentially great things about a new edition…if it’s done right.
So what’s annoying about it? Well, the expense for one. No one wants to buy yet another pricey rule book. Those doorstops aren’t cheap and to think that your investment into a book that we really only use a small portion of on a regular basis (the rules) may only be good for a year is frustrating to say the least.
For two: brain space. This game is REALLY complex. It is incredibly complex, actually, and we are only now really mastering 6th ed. Depending on how dramatic the change is, we are looking at a minimum of a few months to get back to a competent level of game play. That is frustrating.
However, there is so much potential good that could come out of this. 6th edition 40K is really a great edition of the game, my favorite so far, but it has a few problems that throw a monkey wrench into the game mechanics. These small issues have such a big impact on the game that it has caused a steady migration of players away to other game systems.
Many of those I have watched leaving have been gamers that enjoy the game aspect of the hobby. While some reading this may think it is good to see competitive gamers move on, if anyone will pause long enough to consider the implication this has on the hobby as a whole, it is not good.
Let’s assume that only 1/4 hobbyists is a tournament gamer. I do not know if that is correct, it may be more, it may be less, but let’s just say 25% for the sake of argument. If even half of that number of tournament gamers left 40K completely for games that they perceived to have a better, more balanced rule set the result would be extremely bad for Games Workshop. Assuming each customer spent the same amount of money, 12.5% of the customer base taking their dollars elsewhere means a 12.5% decrease in gross sales for GW, or roughly a £17 million pound ($28 million USD) reduction in revenue. I don’t think I need to explain why that would be bad for a company that claims to profit £21.4 million before taxes ($35 million USD). Likewise, if those gamers that really valued painting suddenly decided to paint other miniatures, the result would be similarly bad for everyone.
In my experience, however, the number of gamers that do enjoy the game side of the hobby at least as much as the modeling/painting/fluff side is more than 25%. In my experience, those gamers tend to spend a lot of money as well in the pursuit of fine tuning their lists for competition. For every customer that walks through our doors and buys a model strictly because it looks cool, we sell half a dozen based on what they do in the game. One of the most common questions we get asked as retailers by customers looking at making a purchase is: “is this unit good?”
The above is both anecdotal and not indicative of the hobby as a whole of course, but that is my experience and perception.
I was recently at KingdomCon, one of the many gaming conventions we attend and Warmahordes outnumbered GW games, 40K and Fantasy combined. Warmahordes was turning people away due to being full. I spotted a ton of former 40K players whom I have known for years that had given up on the game and had gone full bore into Warmahordes. As I always do, I asked why they made the switch and the answer was the same I always get: the rules.
The same goes for the other up and coming games right now that I see absorbing players: Infinity, Dropzone Commander, Malifaux, Flames of War, etc. These companies support, engage and listen to their communities and have what their respective players believe to be better rule sets.
Dropzone Commander especially, is blowing up in popularity. The owner of Hawk Wargames (maker of DzC) talks to his customers, and goes to tournaments to see how players are playing the game and then makes adjustments based on those observations to the rules to achieve balanced, fair game play. Warmahordes too, closely watches their own meta game and makes adjustments to try and keep things balanced.
40K is designed by a group of cool, nice guys (I have had the pleasure of meeting some of them and universally liked those I met) but all evidence seems to indicate that they create the game in a vacuum at their design studio seemingly ignorant to or not concerned with how their customers actually play the game. In a market where the competition is rapidly closing the technology and skill gap, and where getting product to customers is getting easier to do with less resources, GW’s reticence really rubs their customers the wrong way and will encourage the migration of players to games that at least seem to care about them and their opinion in regards to the actual mechanics of the game. As I say frequently, conventions are growing, the community is growing, people are spending money on games, it just seems that less of that pie is going to GW these days.
I enjoy other games a lot, but I LOVE 40K. I have since I was a kid reading White Dwarf with Rick Priestly talking about Bolt Thrower. I have awesome friends, countless hours of fun, travels, a business, and some great memories as a result of it. I want this game to succeed and that is why I am happy about 7th edition: It represents a chance for positive change. I hope to see a stop to some of the issues that inhibit 6th from being as awesome as it could be.
Let’s please see some play testing. Let’s please see some careful attention paid to game balance. let’s please see some frequent FAQs to support the rules we get that address issues the community struggles with answering for themselves. If done right, everyone benefits! A better rule set means a better product, happier customers, more sales, and a healthier business.
So here’s to cautious optimism! May 7th ed 40K, if it comes, be a great rule set for both the casual and competitive gamer and keep our favorite pastime at the top of the heap for many years to come.
Fingers are crossed.
Great article. Just one thing. 12.5% of 35,000,000 is not 28,000,000. =p
I was going off of their 2013 financial statements and that was profit, not gross revenue. I can see how it may have been confusing.
I read the article and had something to say about it… but then I saw the cover of the Bolt Thrower album and instantly put one of their albums on. Now I don’t remember what that was, but it doesn’t matter because Bolt Thrower remains. <3
Hehe, I have the “Warmaster” album in my car… I think I know what I’ll listen to when I drive home.
🙂
Good choice! Personally I like Those Once Loyal the most. When it was released it completely blew me away.
Mercenary for me I think.
Though World Eater off of RoC is still my fav. of theirs.
Yes!
For entertainment purposes only – who knows but this is what the net is saying:
Note “Sweep Attack” is a new thing, and not the same thing as a sweeping advance.
Movement:
Run: D6 or 2D6 for Flying Monstrous Creatures that are Swooping.
Consolidations: 2D6 pick one, but you only consolidate on your turn. You can charge with your consolidation move. Opponent can overwatch. You only get to fight once per turn, so if you consolidate into a new combat you don’t get to fight, unless your fist combat didn’t fight (opponent flees).
Retreats: 6 + D6
Charge: 2D6, not affected by difficult terrain.
Move through Difficult: 2D6 pick one.
Charge through Difficult: 2D6 (The same, but -2 iniative).
Reserves:
Coming in from Reserves: If there is no enemy in 24” of a particular table edge, units from reserve that use this edge to enter the table can march an additional 12”
Flyers have the “Patient Hunter” special rule which means they can choose to stay in ongoing reserves.
Assault:
Flee: You can chose to immediately lose combat after Hammer of Wrath, before any blows are struck. Iniative roll off as if you had lost combat. If you win, you do a normal Retreat. If you lose, the unit is destroyed. It happens before pile-ins.
Overwatch: Must win or tie an iniative roll off to overwatch. Cannot overwatch if Gone to Ground or Pinned.
Charge through Cover: -2 to initiative unless assault grenades or unit being assaulted has Gone to Ground or been Pinned.
Initiative: All models strike at their common Initiative unless they are in a Challenge, or are using Unwieldy weapons like power fists. If a unit has 3 Power Fists, and 2 Chainswords they all strike at Initiative 1.
Hammer of Wrath: Counts as part of combat resolution.
Assaulting Vehicles and Buildings: If the vehicle doesn’t have a WS (walker), then you Sweep Attack them rather than Assault them.
Psychic Powers:
Most happen at the end of the movement phase rather than the start. You have to roll for Warp charges like fantasy (complexity 4?)
Psychic powers do not require line of sight.
Unit Types:
Jump Infantry – Can use jump packs in all phases. If In difficult, and you use Jump pack, must take dangerous terrain test. Jump Packs in assault give HOW but not Rerolls.
Chariots – can Sweep Attack
Bikes – can Sweep Attack
Vehicles – d6 S6 Hammer of Wrath and have Sweep Attack which seems to replace Tank Shock. Walkers do d6 S:Unit Hammer of Wrath. “Death or Glory” against vehicle sweep attacks mean all models in unit Snapshoot at rear armor, or all models within 3” do CC attacks against rear armor. Must take fear test or WS:1. If they fail to stop the vehicle, then they take 2d6 S6 Hammer of Wrath. Only get cover saves against other vehicles.
Light Walkers – Only do 1 Hammer of Wrath. I’m thinking Killa Kans, Scout Sentinal, War Walkers.
Swarms – Take d3 wounds to Template weapons (flamers).
Special Rules:
Fleet add an extra D6, and can discard a D6 in all random moves. No Rerolls.
Move through cover, and you ignore the effects of Difficult Terrain (6” move, no iniative penalty for assault), but not Dangerous.
Shrouded: -2 to BS
Stealth: +1 to Cover
Fearless: Cannot chose to Flee
Preferred Enemy: +1 to hit for both Melee and Shooting.
Bulky: gives Hammer of Wrath.
Hit and Run: Gives Sweep Attack, cannot leave combat.
Sweep Attack: Close combat attack in the movement phase can only hit ground targets, and can be hit back. Pause during movement, cannot be within 1”. Any model within 3” can attack, and then finish movement. No Pile-ins allowed. Can be part of a Run Move. You can still shoot after a Sweep Attack. Does include Hammer of Wrath.
Vector Strike: d6 S:Unit AP:- auto hits. Hits Rear Armor. Swooping must pass within 3” of model being vector strike (no longer have to pass over). Does not count as shooting a weapon. All hits are precision hits.
Look Out Sir: On a 2+ the next closest model takes the wounds. Only 1 Look Out Sir roll for all allocated wounds. Look Out Sir is available to all models with special weapons.
Regeneration: 4+ to recover a wound. Grants Feel No Pain.
Other Rules:
Snapshooting: -3 BS.
High BS: No Rerolls for BS > 6. 1 always misses, 6 always hits.
FOC:
HQ: 0-25%, must have 1 warlord
Elite: 0-25%
Troops: 20-75%
Fast Attack: 0-25%
Heavy Support: 0-25%
Secondary Detachments: 0-25%, it includes Allies, Fortifications, Formations, Lords of War and can also include units from your primary codex. You can have 3, but must pick one after rolling for game, deployment and first turn. The player who wins first turn must select first. See example below.
Allies: Allies are part of the Secondary Detachment, but count in Primary FOC. They do not have a troop or HQ limit, and you must have only 1 ally per Secondary detachment, but you can take formations from other allies.
Fortifications: Fortifications are part of the Secondary Detachment.
Formations: Formations are part of the Secondary Detachment, and don’t count in the Primary FOC.
Lords of War: If one player brings a Lord of war and the other player does not, the first player must declare his Secondary Detachment first, and the opponent has a chance to bring fourth Secondary Detachment. Any Heavy Support in this special Secondary Detachment do not count against the Heavy Support Limit.
So sweep attacks use a unit’s melee weapons= to a units number of attacks when within so long as you are within three inches of an enemy units. They then continue their movement…. which would allow jetbikes to turbo-boost if you forewent shooting. Can you say outflanking Shining Spears???
I was hoping they’d make a change like that to Hit and Run. That rule was dumb for being allowed after the initial assault.
Er, i mean being allowed at any other time besides right after the initial assault.
I would love the whole “Secondary Detachment” thing to be true. It would be awesome to see Tournaments use this as a way to bring “Sidebars” into the game, allowing maybe two or three per player up to 25% of their total list points.
So stoked if all this turns out to be true.
Reminds me of that leaked 6ed doc we all got excited about — interesting and plausible ideas but likely a fan made document.
If those are true the Ork codex is going to have to be one hell of a codex to keep me playing 40k at this point.
Fake rules like these are pretty easy to spot because they often have paragraphs that probably made sense inside the head of the person writing it, but they weren’t actually smart enough to put it into a form that sounds like they know what they’re doing.
“Lords of War: If one player brings a Lord of war and the other player does not, the first player must declare his Secondary Detachment first, and the opponent has a chance to bring fourth Secondary Detachment. Any Heavy Support in this special Secondary Detachment do not count against the Heavy Support Limit.”
That paragraph makes no sense whatsoever. It was written by a moron. WTF is a fourth secondary detachment? What the hell does it mean to declare a secondary detachment?
I’m not much more inclined to believe these are true than you are, but if you’d read a paragraph just slight above that one it might make sense.
“Secondary Detachments: 0-25%, it includes Allies, Fortifications, Formations, Lords of War and can also include units from your primary codex. You can have 3, but must pick one after rolling for game, deployment and first turn. The player who wins first turn must select first.”
Context is a wonderful thing.
Welp time to box up my CSM.
Hope Orks are good.
I am very excited about 7th and like you have a ton of hope for it being a good rule set, you however are 100% correct about them creating a game in a vacuum and by them backing out of the tournament scene AND not play testing with any intensity it has shown in some of these Codexes.
I am with you in liking 6th a ton, it is my favorite all around rule set so far but again as you said the issues that are there are not small ones. They need to be fixed quickly and I really hope that this is exactly what this is and not a complete change, if 7th is a complete change and is not a good set of rules there may be a mass exodus. I know a ton of people are hanging on by a thread and this may be the defining moment of them staying or leaving.
I think this 7th edition move is a big risk. It will really impact the future of the game. I hope they do it right.
I do think GW is making some positive changes. Since 6th edition has come out, there has been an absolute fervor of activity. Heck, you can even get full rules for units from 4 dollar white dwarfs now.
This isn’t the same GW of three years ago. Here’s hoping that they have been listening, and only positive outcomes are on the way!
I think that the Psychic powers within the respective trees will change. Imagine how big a deal it will be if you just swapped Prescience with Scryers Gaze. The loss of “auto-twin linked” alone would send massive shockwaves through the game. I think in a good way. There is now a major benefit for having good statlines again. Overwatch is tied to your Initiative (sorry Tau). With less Prescience, low BS armies will in fact… not hit as well as high BS armies (gasps from the crowd)
All in all, I think it would really help the game be returning value to expensive units who actually pay for their stats.
Despite some trepidation, I generally agree. While we may not want to shell out another $75 or, God forbid, more, 7th could be exactly what this game needs. Hopefully this edition will keep what we love about 6th while changing some of the more broken aspects.
One of the scariest things about the state of the hobby, though, is the fear that every new release seems to bring out of the community. People are worried about what they’ll loose, not what they may get. Further, this fear isn’t entirely unjustified. Every other hobby I’m a part of people can’t wait for the next new thing because they can’t get enough of their cool new toys. It’s concerning to see a game that has it’s own community locked in such a state of fear.
If we think about, other then divination and allies. Most of the problems where brought on by not 6th itself, but codexs.
True enough, that goes into the creating their books in a vacuum with little outside help in testing and such.
Hell think about it, a Lemun Russ (any varient you want) with any Sponsons you want are cheaper than a Forgefiend with the gunmouth upgrade 😛
Well this is the problem you inevitably run into when you release codexes on a multi-year cycle, and stagger them with main rulebooks.
Well something I feel they are trying to do is make rules a tad more universal, I believe it’s to prevent edition changes from invalidating whole swaths of rules in the future.
Who knows, if 7(6.5) is already coming down the pipes, maybe the last few Codex’s will drop a tad in power, much like DoC in Fantasy 7th-8th and GK in 5th-6th…
There has always been problems with 40k, much like every other system, creep happens, the bigger the game, the bigger the problems.
It really does seem like they write their codices without their other codices in mind. That seems like a larger problem than the base rules. Even though a codex may be internally balanced (and quite a few of them are) they don’t seem to think that these things actually have to interact.
I think the ability of dominant companies to stay dominant, even when it should be expected they will fall, will probably keep GW dominant over Warmahordes and other upstarts for the long haul. They simply have more advanced technology, greater ability to attract top talent, and the long term resonance that other companies just don’t have – and this will keep them dominant.
I hope they don’t bring the To Hit mod’s back, I always thought of guns in the future to be more sophisticated and the fact that they unload rounds in a rapid fire pattern to be the reason for everyone essentially hitting at standard BS.
Fantasy when you fire one arrow at a time it seemed to make more sence…
Anyhow, in regard to the actual article: Well said, I love 6th and find it has put far more emphasis on fun, being that I’m rapidly becoming a shrivelled old cock, my hobby time desperately partitioned between work/wife/child so the more “cinematic”/”entertaining”/”fluff-bunny” aspect has really taken the crown for me
I would love to see some form of consolidation into combat, even if it is only roll 2d6 and pick one… I don’t want to be able to Ninja Gaiden all over the map, just penalize people for penis fencing in their own deployment.
I don’t really mind the random charge distance, I think of it as a shit hole battlefield where craters and corpses have churned the soil into a gore quagmire that my howling Berzerkers must slip/plow/trip through as my opponent dumps a hail of bullets at them (remember, the turns are supposed to be going on simultaneously).
Well I’m looking forward to it! Please just don’t eff me now Gee-Dub, I’m enjoying this more then Fantasy ATM… Don’t make me into a whiner now…
Hope for the best, expect the worst. That’s how I’m feeling for 7th edition. I really like 6th and I hope that 7th is just a tweak (though then I’d be upset that I’m paying for an FAQ but that’s another topic). I just hope it isn’t a radical change.
I too am trying to remain optimistic <3
I really think it’s wise to not get your hopes too high for major fixes. The philosophy is still to give the players a whole bunch of candy and donuts and ice cream and leave it up to us to not make ourselves sick.
I should clarify that I think the right attitude to have going into this is to expect them to leave most things pretty much as they are, clarify a few things, maybe tweak the psychic powers, since the cards have been recalled, add stronghold assault rules to the main book for fortifications, add rules discussing lords of war and formation detachments.
My stance is to be shocked if they do much more than that. That way I’m not disappointed when they don’t.
Was the cards recalled though? I seem to remember them being a limited run for as long as stock lasted.
You are pretty much 100% right. Especially because the recent WD where Jervis talks about competitive tournaments he says the same thing.
Competitive 40K can be saved, but it will be up to the TOs to do it. If the East/West divide can be overcome, we can have a single governing body in terms of banlists and custom game addendums that promote fair, skillful play and balance, much like Smogon does for the Pokemon video games, and it will work wonders.
In terms of casual 40K outside of tournaments and not using tournament scenarios, those who still have not embraced GW’s “you make your own rules, do what you think is awesome” will likely not be swayed to come back, as I don’t see that stance ever changing.
My fingers are crossed but my expectations are low. Going off the editorials in their publications, GW just dosnt get it. I have had the oportunity to work in a bunch of creative ventures. Based on my EXp, I have a pretty good Idea of the ruling mindset at GW. There is a thing that happens sometimes where a group of people want something to be a certain way and they think that by simply wishing hard enough that it will work in the manner they believe is should. Months later they are shaking their heads and wondering why they have a dud on their hands. Look at the whole creationism bull crap, its 2014 and people will kill over it. Look at how much effort they put into spinning some crazy psudeo-science into it; GW is doing the same thing. THey come from an era (and I know it well) where the “geek” was punished harsly. Things have changed….I mean look at the hotties at the various Cons. I can tell you that wasnt the case 20 years ago.
I so hope that GW puts on its big boy pants, admits it has some issues to resolve and pave the way forward. I would love to see a massive overhaul of the game system personally. So many developers have figured out how to alliveate the whole Alpha strike I win scenario. I would live to see all movement on bothe sides then next stage sort of thing, but barring that, they have some glaring problems.
Its 2014, instant global communication is now. People are yearning for more community. If you dont do both your days are numbered.
I say may the charge 4+d3
LOL the books prolly just sold out. Will be back as soon as more are printed maybe?
they where pulled, anything on the self was returned to HQ.
Just let us assault out of fucking vehicles, from reserves etc. Those nerfs truly weren’t needed on top of buffs to an already strong shooting game….and no one, NO ONE, should ever be allowed to have a 2+ rerollable save. If that shite gets fixed I’ll probably be happy:)
Yes. After rolling to hit, then wound, only 2.77% of the remaining wounds will actually do something. Yippee, that’s realistic!
I am relatively new to this game, only having gotten serious in the last year. The problems I see, from my perspective, are that: 1) no matter what your army is, with each codex that is released there is a strong chance that yours will become more irrelevant ( I unfortunately selected CSM for my first book); 2) that GW doesn’t give a shit about you as a customer, just what they can sell you; 3) GW refuses to make this game appeasing to people who are competitive, so the fact that 95% of my meta is competitive means that there are a lot of unhappy people; 4) GW intentionally nerfs common units, and buffs new or recently irrelevant ones, forcing you to update your investment (which can get expensive, after already spending lots of money); and 5) GW refuses to fix problems with the rules, which I can only explain as either being completely nonresponsive to customers or deliberate to force sales.
The amount of money we spend on their product should be an indication that we are rather loyal. It would be nice to see something in return. This would include finding a way to make quick and appropriate rule updates/amendments, a dedication to making sure each unit has some use in the game (CSM codex is filled with crappy units that have no use at all), trying to make sure each codex can at least, arguably, be used competitively, and making sure that the customer base is listened to. With the 7th edition, if changes aren’t made to remedy some of the issues that we commonly see, I see no further reason to continue playing this game. There are other games which are bringing new players, are much cheaper, and are dedicated to balance and competitive atmospheres. It’s sad, because 40k has the best models fluff, but that is not the stuff that is going to keep most customers.
Ummm, have you not noticed the Data Slates?
The Helbrute one was fucking bangarang, sure they didn’t move CSM to Taudar like power levels (I hope no-one ever reaches this higher state again).
Be’lakor’s gave CSM a great new HQ that helps Heretics the world over with his excellent Psycher abilities…
They are working on making units that are subpar better… Sure it’s a fiscal thing, but with Warmahordes and their releases people pay to play but never bitch, and you generally have to buy a book loaded with shit for other factions, unless this has changed…
Yay Boltthrower! I met them when they were on tour for their first album “In Battle there is no law” and played at the local art college in Belfast.
I really hope you are right.
If they go into this blind, it is potentially their last bite of the cherry with 40k as “top of the pile”. If they pull off the new rulebook, and it brings people back into the hobby, it could turn GW around now. If they leave people too long to leave the hobby/sell their armies when they move/take up warmachine then there’s no getting those guys back, the conversion will be much lower.
Here’s to hoping they nail it!
I can’t help but think that the power curve of the new codexes could have been averted, if they didn’t feel the need to counter flyers to hard. And they wouldn’t have needed to do that if they’ve done two things:
1. Tested the baledrake
2. Changed the cost/abilities of flyers which were previously skimmers. – vendetta, cron air
Right from the get-go, 6th ed had dominant lists thanks to pretty big points skews. GW themselves admit the vendetta was at LEAST 70% off, right? It went up by that much, while also taking a transportation hit.
To those putting their hopes high, this is GW we are talking about. This will be a sales stunt. Oh, and there will be a limited run Collector’s Edition oh-look-its-got-a-different-cover too 😛
The game needs a major turnaround. The competition is catching up big time, is way ahead in certain areas (communication, game balance and faqs/erratas), and with the cost of 40k reaching never ever seen levels the exodus is visible everywhere. Sadly, with the decisions the company has been making lately I do not see this happening. Like someone else said: hope for the best, expect the worse.
I think part of the reason people fear change can be summed up perfectly in what happened to me. In 5th I built a fluffy necron air force army, then when 6th rolled out not only was my army not fun to play with, it was not fun to play against. The money I dropped on those things effectively sits on a desk gathering dust. There is a lot of changes in 6th that made for more fun but it can be unfortunate if you’re comfortable where things are at. Even beer and pretzel (Tea and biscuits in my case) players are effected by bad rules changes.