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Id say the most important things to keep in mind if you wanna do this hobby is:

1- If you have a gf or wife, make sure you get permission first. Trust me, if you dont, you'll never live down the fact they think you are wasting money on this crap, or in the case of families, time with children. Make sure you are responsible and respectful to the women in your life first!
2- Keep in mind this hobby is just that...a hobby. It's not meant to spend every waking moment of free time on. If you wanna play ASAP, just buy some guys, slap some paint on them and send them out. If you're a perfectionist in painting and take 2 hours to paint one guy, start doing an assembly line for painting. Line up 5 or 6 guys (more maybe) and just do the same paint in the same areas. pretty soon, you have a squad of 10 guys in 4-6 hours, rather than 20 hours.
3- Get down to the local game shops and meet people. Your motivation to play this game is greatly increased when you meet others who will share your interest and also maybe give you new ideas to collecting.
4- As said before, look for cheaper deals. This can be expensive stuff. especially if you're doing a horde army like Orks or Imperial guard.
5- Don't blow 200-300 bucks on an army box. Most people I see that do this buy the box, paint a quarter of the guys and then sell them or lose interest. Start off small, and once you are commited to a force, go for the bigger purchases.
6- Stick with ONE army, always, for a year or more at least. everytime you jump armies, be prepared to spend at least 500-700 bucks for a 1500-2000 point force (unless you're playing Grey knights or something)
7- Be prepared to meet gamers who may not be as friendly or honorable as you are. Not everyone follows the rules, and some will bend them. Read the rule book from cover to back, and be well versed in them. Most rules will come as you play the game, but dont rely on someone else to teach you everything.
8- Try to keep your collection to a max of 2000 points per army. Most games will never go over 2000 points. It's a good idea to have some extra units to play around with for different tactics, but you really don't need 10 of everything in your army codex. Come up with a strategy of attack, or a style of play you like, and it will keep your costs down.
9- As said before, always choose an army based on it's look and backround first. If you try to pick the most competative army but hate the models, soon they will collect dust on your shelf, until they too are sold on Ebay or just plain forgotten about.
10- As said before, be ready to have fun, and laugh at your own misfortune. Personally, I think everyone who plays warhammer 40k Or fantasy should play a game with Fantasy Orks. They will teach you the true meaning of sportsmanship. Can't help but laugh when your fanatics destroy your own units, after they have squabbled and can't move this turn, and before the giant fell over onto your own battle line crushing your general. Remember to laugh always!

I know that some of these have been posted already, but just backing up what others have said.

Serder wrote:

Samus_aran115 wrote:-
- Don't be afraid of ebay

that is true, I have around 1000$ worth of models and only spent around 400$ for them, buy used stuff and ebay is your bff in this hobby

I have roughly $5000 worth and I only spent $700. Ebay, at least back in the good old days where you could find more second hand stuff, is a godsend.

The most important thing to know is that 40k takes a lot of prepwork. You have to put a lot of time and effort in before you can even play your first game.

The 10 most important things with prepwork are probably.

1.) buy the rulebook first. Read the rulebook. Read it again. Read it again. 40k is a complicated game, and the only way to keep it running smoothy is if everyone has read the rulebook multiple times and has at least complete knowledge of the rules for whatever units they're bringing to the field.

This is EXTRA TRUE FOR VETERANS, as they're likely to miss tiny tweaks in the way rules change over time.

2.) buy your codex before you buy any miniatures. Read your codex. Read it again. This is the same as knowing your rules, but moreso. You can't expect your opponent to necessarily know how your army works, or what its special rules are. It is your responsibility to know what you can and cannot do without cheating.

3.) The first miniature you buy/paint should be a troops choice. You are going to be fielding many of these models, so you should pick a color scheme that looks good on them.

4.) Buy, build, and paint a legal army before you buy anything else. Two troops (or more) and at least one HQ. It is SO tempting to make your first purchase a HS or something. Don't do it. Spending a lot of time working on stuff you still can't play with because you still can't play a game at all sans a legal army will just leave you frustrated. Plus, it's much more likely that you're going to swap out HSs and elites for something else, while you're likely to keep using your original troops models.

5.) Don't buy more than you can paint. Piles of sprue are just demoralizing. Piles of grey miniatures are moreso.

6.) Remember that 40k isn't actually that expensive. Yes, it just cost you $30 for something. Now compare that to a pair of movie tickets or a bottle of whiskey. 40k, movies, and booze are all nice, but only one of those is a durable good. 40k is the movie tickets you buy and then let you go back to the theatre again for free whenever you want.

Also remember, you're spending a lot of money, but you're spending it over time. I've probably spent something like $500-$600 on 40k related stuff, but that's over 5 years. That breaks down to roughly $2 a week. If you're willing to spend $10 a month on netflix, 40k doesn't seem so bad.

7.) Get involved in a community. Hook up with a FLGS, cruise forums, etc. Getting to know people who want to help you out will make starting a MUCH more pleasant affair.

8.) Don't be afraid to play against good players, especially early on. 40k doesn't have a WHOLE lot of depth once you master the fundamentals, so the faster you can master the fundamentals, the sooner you'll be competing at more or less the same level as people around you. Playing against good players can really help with this.

9.) Take your time. Take your time to actually understand the rules. Take your time actually modeling and painting your miniatures to the standard you desire. Take time to really think about the games you play to see how you could do better. As said, your miniatures are a durable good. You don't have to do everything as fast as possible.

10.) Create some background to your army. Having officers with some personality, or some reason for why people are fighting makes things more epic and fun. It doesn't take much time, and you can even just copy someone else. Anything you can do to add depth to the experience as a whole and bring it out of just pushing plastic and rolling dice will make things better.

Rochronos wrote:Um... have fun?

Lol! I agree. +1

Also:
1. Be prepared to start a second army even if you have no intention of doing so at the start
2.Teach as many of your friends to play as you can to have more potential opponents
3. No matter how much you like something you painted, you will see someone elseses and think how much better it is than yours
4. WYSIWYG...Just be aware of it and hard far people will let you bend it when assembling your first models and choosing equipment.
5. Metal models are a pain to build.
6. One way or another GW will get their money. You may think you can only buy models on ebay, but you will be in the store and see one you want and give in.
7.Hatters gonna hate, play what you like and play how you like.
8.If a unit is good and you like using it, it may be a good idea to include more in your army. Why have 1 LR when 2 is better?
9.Dakka is a great place for information and feedback.
10.Enjoy the hobby!





Automatically Appended Next Post:
sorry...
4 "Just be aware of it and how far people will let you bend it when assembling your first models and choosing equipment."

Lord Scythican wrote:Warhammer is cheaper than Magic the Gathering now. Seems worth mentioning since standard has $95.00+ cards now. My friends always complained that the game cost too much and they would rather play MtG. It just is not true any longer.

It's the major reason why I switched from MTG to 40k. The long-term cost is ridiculously high compared to 40k because every two years your Standard deck becomes illegal thanks to set rotations. At least you know ahead of time unlike in Yu-Gi-Oh! with their random ban lists.

Radical_Edward wrote:

Lord Scythican wrote:Warhammer is cheaper than Magic the Gathering now. Seems worth mentioning since standard has $95.00+ cards now. My friends always complained that the game cost too much and they would rather play MtG. It just is not true any longer.

Yeah, I kinda felt that way when I tried to get back into Magic recently. I wanted to play in standard, but a $400 playset of jace, or a $200 playset of Tezzeret is ridiculous. I remember Shadowmage Infiltrator hit $45 and I thought that was high -- I'd have to be insane to invest in a deck now. Nobody to playtest with anyway. I will say, though -- Magic will probably always have better prize support and more streamlined tournaments than any minis game could have.

Indeed. Whenever I see some of the deck costs of the decks that are winning Pro Tours and what not, I say "that could buy me a fully painted 2k army."

I'd rather take the army.

EDIT: Glad to know a lot of you haven't seen those charts. I got those in a pack of PDFs I downloaded with various third party charts and what not and those were in there. Suffice to say, it made me learn the game sooo much faster.

Radical_Edward wrote:

Lord Scythican wrote:Warhammer is cheaper than Magic the Gathering now. Seems worth mentioning since standard has $95.00+ cards now. My friends always complained that the game cost too much and they would rather play MtG. It just is not true any longer.

Yeah, I kinda felt that way when I tried to get back into Magic recently. I wanted to play in standard, but a $400 playset of jace, or a $200 playset of Tezzeret is ridiculous. I remember Shadowmage Infiltrator hit $45 and I thought that was high -- I'd have to be insane to invest in a deck now. Nobody to playtest with anyway. I will say, though -- Magic will probably always have better prize support and more streamlined tournaments than any minis game could have.

Tell me about it. Man MtG has gotten ridiculous. I am pretty sure you would need more than $0.50 commons to go along with Tezzeret and Jace as well. Probably need like $400.00 worth of rare lands. People still play the game however, but I have noticed my local FNM scene has dropped a lot. I still believe if something is over priced, you shouldn't sell it for that just for the heck of it. I could have gotten $75.00 a pop out of my Darth Revan figures a few years ago. I wasn't about to feed that because it destroys the hobby. It happens all the time. (Marvel Legends anyone?)

That is what I like about warhammer. It does have a price creep, but if it was like MtG, Terminators would be $50.00 a mini and Stormravens would be selling on ebay for $500.00.

Serder wrote:

Samus_aran115 wrote:-
- Don't be afraid of ebay

that is true, I have around 1000$ worth of models and only spent around 400$ for them, buy used stuff and ebay is your bff in this hobby

If I only had a GW store to play at, I would live by this. However the place I play at is a local games/comic shop. I buy everything from them, because frankly I can't play Warhammer on ebay.

AresX8 wrote:

It's the major reason why I switched from MTG to 40k. The long-term cost is ridiculously high compared to 40k because every two years your Standard deck becomes illegal thanks to set rotations. At least you know ahead of time unlike in Yu-Gi-Oh! with their random ban lists.

Exactly! You can buy $500.00 worth of minis now, and still use them 10 years later.

OMG those charts are awesome!!

FLGS are key. I have one near me that sells everything at around 10-20$ off GW prices. If it werent for places like this, I would still be running FoW exclusively.

Don't buy from GW, discount websites have everything, but cheaper!

FLGS are key. I have one near me that sells everything at around 10-20$ off GW prices. If it werent for places like this, I would still be running FoW exclusively.

I wish this were the case in calgary. Only place i've found that has GW products are two hobby stores, and both are the same price as GW. One splits the boxes up though, so if you only need 2 more marines, you can buy them seperately for 6 bucks or whatever, rather than buying a full squad, so that keeps the costs down a little bit I suppose.

^ thats a really good idea. I wish my local offered something like that too.

Have a rudimentary understanding of the game before you purchase anything
Read your codex before you purchase anything
Always play with a smile no matter how the dice smite thee, if you can’t muster a smile don’t muster your army.
Always shake hands at the conclusion of a game even if your opponent was a chode.
Reference the rule book often, it is not shameful, it is shameful to play wrong.
Play as many people as you can.
Play as many different armies and army compositions as you can.
Play as many standard, battle missions, original player creations as you can. Diversity is the spice of life and the spice of this game as well.
Try to start with friends or make friends within the hobby, they will ensure that you always have a game.
Make time to paint ( something I very much need to do.)

AresX8 wrote:



10. Use and cherish these charts:

http://www.box.net/shared/259ni63f7y
http://www.box.net/shared/bqzncmnocc
http://www.box.net/shared/rvm1qubh8r

They will make the game much more streamlined for you in the beginning.

Best charts ever. I can remove like twelve bookmarks now.

Nalyd wrote:

AresX8 wrote:



10. Use and cherish these charts:

http://www.box.net/shared/259ni63f7y
http://www.box.net/shared/bqzncmnocc
http://www.box.net/shared/rvm1qubh8r

They will make the game much more streamlined for you in the beginning.

Best charts ever. I can remove like twelve bookmarks now.

I second that!