Is infinity good?

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**THEDARK1RI5ES**

A couple of months ago I posted this question (Is Warmachine good?) on the warmahordes thread. Everyone was like, ''oh you should do it'' and ''you'll enjoy it'' well, I didn't. But now I really, and I mean really love the look of infinity. Since I basically play with all chaos in fantasy and a big bit of techno advanced guys in 40k (tau)I was wandering which army is for me. I liked the look of Ariadna and the Nomads but are there any other armies more suited to what I would need?

Cheers!

**Knight**

What are you looking for? I know people were putt off by order dynamic, potentially a single miniature can slaughter 3/4 of your army, if you're not careful. Other stopped after learning what pain it is to face a camouflage.

As for the army diversity. Styles aren't fixed, even though scenario play can push you in a specific direction. Nomads and Ariadna can easily field camouflage and warband heavy armies.

Take a look at BoW videos:

Nomads

Ariadna

**THEDARK1RI5ES**

Knight wrote:
What are you looking for? I know people were putt off by order dynamic, potentially a single miniature can slaughter 3/4 of your army, if you're not careful. Other stopped after learning what pain it is to face a camouflage.

As for the army diversity. Styles aren't fixed, even though scenario play can push you in a specific direction. Nomads and Ariadna can easily field camouflage and warband heavy armies.

Take a look at BoW videos:

Nomads

Ariadna

Cheers!

**Makumba**

Probably the fewest number of"bad" units I have ever seen . It makes random effects actualy fun and balancing , unlike GW games . It is very dynamic because of ARO. It does have sides which can be viewed as bad . More then a few models are not the most friendly to build , specialy if someone comes from everything is plastic GW games . You require special terrain to play it .Which means more money , time and space needed to play it .

The rest is a taste thing . Some people like the anime style of some models , some don't . Some of the old first generation models look bad , some still look fine .

**Pacific**

Answer the following questions:
- Do you like small model count, skirmish games, that give an individual miniature significant abilities and killing power?
- Do you like the near-future, high tech Ghost-in-the-Shell/anime style mixed with some Blade Runner & a dash of cyber punk?
- Do you enjoy a reactive game mechanic, where you can interrupt your opponents actions with counter-moves, or sitting down texting your mates and ignoring the game while your opponent takes 20 minutes moving their force?
- Do you like having free rules, an online (and free) army building feature, rules wiki, officially supported forum, and a rules system that is tailored to be tightly balanced and lets you choose the miniatures you like?
- Have you got a fine eye for detail and painting?

As you can tell by the very biased questions I love this game.. in more than 20 years of wargaming I think it has some of the most dynamic and balanced game mechanics I have seen. The miniatures are fantastic, I will go as far as saying beautiful.. they reek of passion and effort on behalf of the sculptor, they are incredibly detailed, and they will challenge and improve your painting ability. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the game is run by a group of people who care about their fanbase, try and give them what they want, and actually speak to them.

I really cannot say enough good things about this game.. honestly, if I were to put in video-gaming terms, it's like jumping from the 16-bit platformers that you had played a million times, to the first time you start running as Mario towards the castle in 3D. It's an entirely different, and better, experience than a lot of the other stuff out there.

And.. at the risk of this starting to sound unhealthy, I will stop there

Knight wrote:
What are you looking for? I know people were putt off by order dynamic, potentially a single miniature can slaughter 3/4 of your army, if you're not careful. Other stopped after learning what pain it is to face a camouflage.

As for the army diversity. Styles aren't fixed, even though scenario play can push you in a specific direction. Nomads and Ariadna can easily field camouflage and warband heavy armies.

Take a look at BoW videos:

Nomads

Ariadna

Knight.. I don't mean to sound rude by saying this, but Jesus Christ I hope you don't work in sales.

Someone goes in with the money to buy a new car, then leaves and decides to throw themselves off of a bridge

**MarcoSkoll**

Makumba wrote:
You require special terrain to play it.

I'd challenge that assertion. Infinity doesn't need "special" terrain to play it by any means.

What it needs is players to break up line of sight a lot more than most people set up their WH40K boards. And possibly a house rule to be applied to any GW terrain being used, as buildings with vast windows and missing walls don't actually break up line of sight very well.

**THEDARK1RI5ES**

Cheers guys!

**kestril**

So, a quick overview of the factions. Keep in mind that every faction can do similar things to other factions, they just do it differently. That may sound weird, but once you play a few games you'll start seeing the subtle differences.

Anywway, to quote from the offical forums, I think this post does the factions the most justice:

Barakiel wrote:

Pan Oceania: The human "ideal". A foremost human superpower, relying on high technology and ranged firepower. They lack the ferocity, determination or gritty character of other factions, but compensate with the highly skilled, well equipped soldiers at all levels of their military hierarchy. They are widely identified as the TAG faction, possessing more TAG variants than any other force, backed by a well-equipped and superbly trained professional army. They also interface closely with the Church, resurrecting the Crusading knghtly orders of old to give the faction a zealous, unpredictable angle to accompany their otherwise disciplined standing army.

Yu Jing: Formed from the descendants of East Asian culture, they're Pan Oceania's primary opposition in terms of the power struggle between human civilizations. While PanO specializes in TAG diversity, Yu Jing specializes in Heavy Infantry diversity. They also throw in a lot of iconic Asian units and troop types, utilizing close combat in tandem with ranged firepower more than any other faction. They possess a tremendous number of unique troop types, ranging from lobotomized political prisoners that function like walking bombs, to modern samurai in powered armor, to street racing bike gangs that serve as rapid strike and recon units.

Ariadna: Resourceful and clever, albeit "poor" and at a technological disadvantage. Their inability to directly challenge the human superpowers in terms of resources or technology has made them clever, focusing on a playstyle that merges stealth and ambush-type operations with direct, berserk aggression. The hostile and brutal nature of their world makes their standard units much heartier and tougher than your basic human, though they cannot fully reach the superhuman level that powered armor or TAGs can achieve. Descended directly from Scottish, Kazak, French and American troops, they bear a strong resemblance to the military forces of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. In addition, the predators native to their home planet have created a "werewolf" subpopulation, second-class citizens who fight alongside human companions because they are unfit for any other way of life.

Haqq Islam: The "smartest" human faction, combining unique biomedical technology with scrappy, courageous units. While they lack the technological gadgetry of PanO or Yu Jing, they possess unique biotech in the form of Regenerating troops, specialized Viral ammunition, and the ability for their specialized assassins to impersonate the appearance of hostile forces. They possess disciplined regular troops, skilled clandestine killers and feral desert fighters in equal measure. Masters of trade and export, they also direct interface with Mercenary and Pirate elements to protect shipping lanes. For the time being, they are the unofficial "Merc" faction since they can include more Merc units as part of their official army list than any other faction.

Combined Army: A coalition of different alien races hostile to humanity, that features tools and weaponry that are unique to their force. The different races each specialize in a type of warfare, be it stealth, open combat, horde/swarm, or simply shoving the game's most powerful models in the opponent's face and bludgeoning them to death with them. Definitely a good choice for players that want a true science fiction experience, manifested in bizarre aliens with bizarre technology. Certainly one of the most varied and unique factions available.

ALEPH: The militant branch of the Artificial Intelligence that oversees and liaises with the human factions, ALEPH is humanity's answer to resisting the Combined Army. They have the finest troops that the Human Sphere has to offer, whose basic "grunts" rival the elite troop choices of other armies in terms of statline and equipment. They are formed mostly of cruel and efficient automatons, but also have a wild and unpredictable side since their parent AI has recreated the heroes of Homer's Iliad as warrior constructs designed to resist the Combined Army.

Nomads: Human outcasts, preferring independence and a unique way of life to being subjected to laws and governmental scrutiny. They are masters of technological and information warfare, combining stealth troops with a prominent hackers and professional space-mercenary soldiers. Rather than residing on a given planet or planets, they roam in converted prison ships. The difficulty and limitations of such a way of life have further enhanced their resourcefulness, and they live to oppose the establishment of ALEPH and the general order of the rest of the human civilizations. They also possess a broad range of unique troop types and abilities, brought on by their inclination towards physiological enhancement and genetic tampering. They combine professional mercs with mutated freaks.

Tohaa: An alien race with a long history of resisting the Combined Army, they seek to enlist (or exploit) the aid of humanity as a barrier to stop the predations of the Combined Army. Their technological advantage comes from biological experimentation and innovation, allowing them to "grow" second skins of armor to protect their elite warriors, as well as utilize viral and nanomachine technology to devastating effect on the battlefield. In addition, the social interaction of their race allows them to operate with heightened efficiency and synchronicity, allowing their soldiers to form effective and lethal fireteams that perform more efficiently than the sum of their constituent parts. While not as "weird" or openly hostile as the Combined Army, their unique playstyle and suspicious motives make them a wild card in terms of how their role in the universe will unfold.

**Knight**

Someone goes in with the money to buy a new car, then leaves and decides to throw themselves off of a bridge.

Considering the ugly experience I had with Warmachine it might be rather pleasant alternative. WM/Hordes start as a nice game but certain combos will simply roll over you. I had a theme in mind when I started, however it soon became too apparent that it's not going to work. I actually considered quitting war gaming in general as it would appear I have a natural talent at making poor armies. However I'm still sticking with Infinity. It's simply interesting system with far less "must haves" and far more responsive actions you can make. I played with a relatively new player, who lost many models because he deployed them in a straight line and I flanked him with a paratrooper armed with a shotgun, twin shots in the back and set the models again, however this game he was the one that was trying to shot me in the back. This is why I love Infinity, it's possible to execute identical manoeuvres without feeling so restrained by the rules. Certain armies have their privileges but the general principle is available to everyone.

**Red Harvest**

If You liked chaos in Fantasy you may like the look of the Combined Army-- three alien races-- the 'bad guys' of Infinity. If you like the Tau, have a look at the Pan Oceania minis. You can in fact choose your faction based upon which minis you like best-- balance is that good, or you can play a few games -- since the rules are free-- using proxies for different armies to get an idea of what may suit your playstyle best. So maybe Nomads or Ariadna are for you. You only need a few minis to play , say ~15, to give yourself a good enough selection, so you could play two factions at some point.

To answer your question, Yes, very good indeed. But you will need to set aside any pre-conceived notions you have based on experiences with other tabletop games. Infinity does not play at all like them. It can be very immersive since you must always pay attention to what is going on even during your opponent's active turn. Games play quickly too, once you have a grasp of the rules. Never a dull moment

You will need more terrain, including more scatter terrain than you are probably used to using.

**Antenociti**

Makumba wrote:
You require special terrain to play it .Which means more money , time and space needed to play it .

by "special" do you mean non-gothic and without any skullz on it?

If so; I agree.

Otherwise.. I dont

You can print out a load of freebie paper containers to make a very good (as in very playable) table with - that aint gonna cost you much: e.g. http://www.antenocitisworkshop.com/news/category/articles/papercraft/