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So I wanna get into the hobby, but I can't decide which army to start with.
The Dark Eldar look AMAZING but I hear they are the least beginner friendly army.
Iv'e been cheking out Eldar, Space Marines and Tau aswell. Would be cool to hear you guys thoughts and opinions

Thanks in advance!

Welcome to Dakka and 40k.

You planning on playing in a very competitive meta? Or with a bunch of more casual guys? Because once you step away from the top end of the game, much more becomes viable. Also, rules and power levels change between editions, so take the long term view, don’t be too worried about today.

Learning curves are a one-time thing when you start. An amazing army that you love is forever. Pretty much any “what army to pick” question can be answered with “go with your heart”. You might get your teeth kicked in, frequently and violently, while you learn how things work. But if you learn from your mistakes, and have the tenacity to tough it out until you figure out the tricks that make your army tick, you will be stronger for it.

Thanks dude!
I'm going to play on a casual level. I hate meta wherever it can be found (videogames etc.)
There are so many armies I like but it's just something about the dark eldar that makes me tick. The incubi (looks so dope) is one example.
And at the same time the thought of an Imperial Fist army makes me wanna go space marines!

This topic comes up all the time and you will get a ton of varying answers but ultimately it comes down to
1. What models do you find cool. Its your money and time being invested and you don't want to work/play with stuff you don't like because its "competitive"
2. What playstyle do you think sounds fun? Close combat, Shooting, fast, durable, brute force, lots of tricks/tactics, hordes of models, lean elite forces, etc.
3. Do you like any of the faction's background info/lore (aka the fluff)? Liking the faction your playing helps with the connection to your plastic figures and helps keep that excitement going.

Dark Eldar are definitely an interesting faction and despite popular opinion they actually have a variety of tactics and unit compositions that work fairly well. They certainly aren't playing on easy mode but they have the tools to give people trouble and can play to win the mission. I like Dark Eldar in spite of the fact they are closely related to.....

Eldar. *sigh* you won't find me saying much positive about Eldar as they are my least favorite faction. Most powerful faction, op rules, goofy looking designs, bleh. I will say most of their codex is really useful and you can take most anything from their lineup and make it work.

Spess Mahreens - Ok so these guys are your jack of all trades and they come in all different flavors/colors/hats/tropes to fit whatever fancy you have. Hard to go wrong with a space marine faction but the trick is finding the one you like the most. Strong codex and have options.

Tau - If armies had a sliding scale of shooting to close combat ratio then the Tau took the scale and pulled it so far to the shooting side that they broke the scale (or turned it up to 11 if you prefer a spinal tap analogy). Psychic phase is a mystery to the Tau and the Assault Phase is called second movement phase for their suits and the sad times for any Tau stuck in close combat. Lot of above average units that work well together in a synergy focused gameplay style but they absolutely stink in close combat. The Tau die horribly in close combat.... did I mention the close combat and how they hate being in it? Dead horse beating aside the Tau are kings of the medium range shooting and they make armies that rely on cover saves cry. Personally they aren't very fun to play against for a lot of armies and they tend to have to shoot first and worry about grabbing objectives after everything is dead. If 40k had a "Pub Stomper" faction the Tau would be that. I play Tau and I love them but I personally don't think they are very good for a new player to learn the game as they are too extreme in their shooting at the cost of the other phases in the game.

Great to hear your thoughts guys!

Dark Eldar is not an army for a beginner. Speed is their armor.
One mistake during the game and the game can be gone.
I'd start with Space Marines. This allows you to get familiar with the game dynamics and the other armies in the 40k universe.

Go with the army you like, that's my advice.

My first army was effectively DE (I played GK before I really 'played' and I didn't take the game seriously until I was done with Space Marines.)

Basically, I learned the 40k rules and gameplay mechanics with DE. And frankly, if you really love them then its completely worth it! Nothing is gonna make you happier than playing a faction you love.

Dark Eldar are incredibly fast, like really really fast, and have good shooting that kills infantry and vehicles alike. They do get hard countered by armies like Tau however.

Space Marines are good jack of all trades. They have good shooting and some good assault units.

Space marines are gonna be easier, but, if you really love Dark Eldar, then go with them! It makes getting into the game a lot easier!

~Mikey

Go for the Dark Eldar, as you say a great looking army. And then learn to play them. Space Marines are easier to use but you'll get bored of marine v marine games as loads of people use them

Me and my cousin started at the same time and he went with Dark Eldar. He does well with them in our local gaming group,
and they definitely go for min/maxing their armies. The first match I ever played at the store was against a summoning daemon army at 1000 points.
He summoned like 500 points into the game.

Go with what you like. If you stick with it you'll most likely own many more armies in the future. Lol.

It also beg the question of how much money are you ready to spent. You're going to spend more money on a DE army than on a SM one because each DE model cost way less than his SM equivalent on the field. Plus, there is the question of the hobby. More models mean more time to paint and thus less time on the board.

Step One: Find a HQ you think looks the best.
Step Two: buy dudes who match his aesthetic
Step three: have a fluffy army that you are proud of.