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So based on the mass of threads about how 'bad' every army is for X or Y I thought I would propose a thread about how to better balance the armies of 40k in 8th. Based on the information I know about the armies so far these are my current suggestions:

Marines - just make Nu marines the standard and get rid of the old ones (rules only) then base everything around the nu marine stat line. This would make marines fewer in number but a bit more powerful.

Tau - either up the BS of Tau to 3+ to make them a shooty army leaving most everything else the same or make marker lights more useful for boasting BS. In this edition the 7e marker lights would have been fine (possibly swap pinpoint and scouring costs).

Necrons - drop the BS to 4+ to compensate for their getting back up. They currently feel like they have too much everything to me.

Tyranids - these guys feel about right to me (but I don't know huge amounts).

Orks - I dunno, I kinda forgot they existed in 40k (which isn't a good sign). Maybe make them a minimum 4+ to wound?

Chaos - make them nu marines with some bonuses but slightly more expensive.

Eldar - make them really awesome at their trade but few in number.

Collectively balance the points for units across the game (which may come in due course).

Feel free to share you views.

I like the idea for the Marines a lot actually, might have to give that a try. Only problem is that the Primaris don't have nearly as many weapon options as the old Marines.

Just give Deathwatch the ability to have the special units (termies, Vanguard etc) in their Veteran squads. They're just bad without them. They're now just like normal Marine Vets with less stuff, which isn't a good thing at all. I also have to get a load of Drop Pods for the Deathwatch now too, just to have Deep Strike again (and we all know how fun Drop Pods are to build/paint!).

Well, my point of view:

Its far to early to talk about balancing a game we haven't even tested. Its all theory crafting in faction bubbles.

"Oh my XY is way to expensive"
"Buff XY is useless now"
"Army XY is nerfed so hard"

If everybody is complaining about downgrades, than maybe there is no reason to complain at all, cause we are all downgraded and still (or finally) at the same powerlevel.

I mean, it was quiet easy, to forecast the problems of 7. when it were released, cause it was just a little different 6. edition and codices stayed the same (at least on 7. release). Now everthing has changed. 8. isn't just 7.5 and the codices are all new at the same time. We don't see the big picture at the moment. Maybe there are problems in 8. I am sure there are, but we shouldn't expect a thunderstorm immediately because we see some dark clouds in the sky. Its just too much information to get the bigger picture right at the moment. So test the new stuff for a month or two and then lets talk about problems and balancing again.

Just my opinion.

Greetings

Give Guard blobs again.

 Boniface wrote:

Tau - either up the BS of Tau to 3+ to make them a shooty army leaving most everything else the same or make marker lights more useful for boasting BS.

Am I supposed to take this sentence seriously?

I personally think Eldar is just right; you need a certain amount of synergy and finesse to get the most out of their power. I've only glanced at the rules and have already seen some pretty good combos.

Orks I also think is pretty good, but most people are complaining about the prices. Specifically the vehicles. This part I agree since Ork vehicles should really be more "quantity over quality". They should be somewhat cheaper (maybe about 20% cheaper) and their power adjusted to balance. I think Orks in general should have cheap vehicles, but otherwise they look about right to me.

Marines and Chaos I....am rather torn. Marines is business as usual, but Chaos...there could have been so much more done. I suspect when the codex drops it's going to be drastically different. How different, I don't know. But as it stands they feel really gutted compared to what we had before.

Tau should hit on a 3+ in range. That I don't argue. I think they were always more like "Eldar, but with shooting" in that it takes combinations and knowing what units to use. Their various rules in 6th and 7th (basically ignoring combat) got a little out of hand and I heard that the new Markerlights are toned back a lot, so that's good. They should be a race that makes the most of the Shooting Phase, not turn other phases into the Shooting Phase. However I think they should get back their Jump-Shoot-Jump ability, and make it their own unique ability.

Necrons I always saw as the opposite of the Tau in philosophy, but their peer in being a ranged army (which is why I dislike the Wraiths, Lychguard and Overlords since they're very melee centric, they feel almost like they belong in Chaos Space Marine armies than Necrons). To that, I agree that basic warriors should drop in BS to 4+ to hit; their schtick should be that their units are hardy so they can lay down a withering hail of fire as they slowly advance up the board. Also their lords should be able to buff other aspects outside of the Reanimation Protocols, like maybe let them teleport around the board to mitigate their slow movement, give them TEMPORARY bonuses to Hit, or bonus shots to shooting. Kinda like a mix of Imperial Guard Orders and Ad Mech Canticles (effects more like Orders, but one-use and you choose out of a chart like the Canticles).

Grey Knights - Allow each of the 3 sanctic powers to be cast more than once per turn.

As it stands now, having 3 psykers with Gate of Infinity, in matched play, only one psyker can attempt to manifest it per turn. (page 215 of the rules).

So we pay a premium for psyker units that can only cast a heavily nerfed Smite.

Also, give them access to NuMarines, or buff PAGK. All in all Grey Knights look like absolute garbage in 8th so it'd be nice to see some buffs besides "Draigo is an HQ choice."