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Looking to get into Necromunda. Which starter set is best for a new player (Hive War or Ash Wastes)? I like the gangs in both sets, so I'm not really sure which is the better terrain pack and rules set.

Ash Wastes depends on whether you play outdoors scenarios, I'd think.
Hive War terrain is likely to get used more often.

Got Hive War myself, it has the feel of 1st edition inside a building, the other looks like 1st edition outside

ok obviously not exactly first edition but when playing it before I got the box it felt like the game that captured me all those years ago.

Can see the outdoor appealing to people who want vehicles etc, I want dingy crawls inside confined spaces.

and I want that in my games too

They're kind of two different games.

Hive War lets you play inside the Underhive, with no vehicles. The game works best with lots of terrain, a lot more than you will get in the Hive War boxed set.

Ash Wastes is out in the wasteland, using vehicles. It's essentially an expansion for Necromunda.

Regarding the rules, I don't own Ash Wastes but from what I hear it's a pretty comprehensive book, whether you're playing in the Underhive our outside of it. The Hive War rulebook is fine for learning but it is missing key information, like how to play a campaign. You will want to pick up a more comprehensive rulebook at some point.

Remember that Ash Wastes is almost twice the price of Hive War. Sure, it's a more comprehensive box but it's only really worth getting if you want to get into the vehicle side of Necromunda. If you're happy to stay in the Underhive I'd get Hive War and see if you can buy a separate copy of the Ash Wastes rulebook. You can also buy the hardback Necromunda rulebook, but even that is out of date now, the Ash Wastes rulebooks contains corrections.

I’d recommend delving into the Necromunda discord. There’s a lot of very invested players in Necromunda there.
Though the long and short of this particular question would be Hive War I’d say yeah.