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Hi All,

Apologies if this has already been answered but couldn't find it, my friends and I were discussing the new power level system and seem to have come to a disagreement. I'm pretty sure I'm right on this but when playing with power level any upgrades to gear etc. are free right? (Unless stated otherwise) my friends seem to think that with the power level system the units come with what they come with I.e. boyz come with sluggas and choppaz and that's it, you can't upgrade. If you could also point me towards where it specifically say you can upgrade or can't that'd be swell.

Cheers All!

Don't have the book with me, but you are correct.

petchd wrote:
Hi All,

Apologies if this has already been answered but couldn't find it, my friends and I were discussing the new power level system and seem to have come to a disagreement. I'm pretty sure I'm right on this but when playing with power level any upgrades to gear etc. are free right? (Unless stated otherwise) my friends seem to think that with the power level system the units come with what they come with I.e. boyz come with sluggas and choppaz and that's it, you can't upgrade. If you could also point me towards where it specifically say you can upgrade or can't that'd be swell.

Cheers All!

You are correct Power Level assumes you take some upgrades. Not every upgrade, but there are no restrictions on what you can take. 1 Power Level is 20 points, which is something that should be kept in mind.

The Unit's Average Upgrades are already included. You can load them out as you wish.
Remember though, the most 'Expensive' gear is not necessarily the best gear for the job.

Yep. Upgrades are free. if you are using power levels, go ahead and arm your models as you wish (within the limits of their opitions of course).

Cheers all

petchd wrote:
Hi All,

Apologies if this has already been answered but couldn't find it, my friends and I were discussing the new power level system and seem to have come to a disagreement. I'm pretty sure I'm right on this but when playing with power level any upgrades to gear etc. are free right? (Unless stated otherwise) my friends seem to think that with the power level system the units come with what they come with I.e. boyz come with sluggas and choppaz and that's it, you can't upgrade. If you could also point me towards where it specifically say you can upgrade or can't that'd be swell.

Cheers All!

An easy example for your friend to visualize this would be the Devastator Squad and the Tactical Squad for Space Marines.

A Dev Squad without upgrades really only has the signum rule that makes it different from a Tac Squad.
The Tactical Squad can have a Combi-plasma and a Plasma cannon, and is Power Level 5. A Devastator Squad could be equipped the same for the same Points Cost, but it's possible to add 3 more Plasma cannons - and that's why it's Power Level is 7 instead of 5.
On top of that: Adding up to 5 more marines to either Squad is +4 Power Rating, but only the Tac Squad gains an additional upgrade with that (Access to a Special Weapon). The Dev Squad just gains 5 more bodies, but no additional Heavy Weapons.

Sorry about the bump, I'm quite new to 40K, and haven't played 8th edition yet, and I'm still vaguely confused about power levels and upgrades. Can I clarify - so if I take a five-man tactical squad with a plasma gun that would be 5 power? And if I upgrade that to a ten-man squad with a plasma gun and a plasma cannon that would be 9 power?

I'm also putting together a little Harlequins force, but that's possibly even more confusing. So aTroupe armed with Harlequin's blades is 7 power, but I want to give them all Harlequin's Kiss weapons. Would that still be only 7 power? That seems a bit odd, and a little unfair on my opponent. Bearing in mind that Kisses are 14 points each in a battleforged army, that's 70 points worth of upgrades. I keep seeing people saying 20pts is roughly equal to 1 power, so would it be fairer to either not take the Kisses, or say it costs 3 or 4 power to do so? Or would you make a compromise where maybe one of the Harlequins has a Kiss or something?

 feltmonkey wrote:
Sorry about the bump, I'm quite new to 40K, and haven't played 8th edition yet, and I'm still vaguely confused about power levels and upgrades. Can I clarify - so if I take a five-man tactical squad with a plasma gun that would be 5 power? And if I upgrade that to a ten-man squad with a plasma gun and a plasma cannon that would be 9 power?

I'm also putting together a little Harlequins force, but that's possibly even more confusing. So aTroupe armed with Harlequin's blades is 7 power, but I want to give them all Harlequin's Kiss weapons. Would that still be only 7 power? That seems a bit odd, and a little unfair on my opponent. Bearing in mind that Kisses are 14 points each in a battleforged army, that's 70 points worth of upgrades. I keep seeing people saying 20pts is roughly equal to 1 power, so would it be fairer to either not take the Kisses, or say it costs 3 or 4 power to do so? Or would you make a compromise where maybe one of the Harlequins has a Kiss or something?

Ye-up, upgrades are included with Power Level. Their cost assumes some level of upgrades.

I think the term "upgrade" is confusing. It's just equipping them, which is figured into the power level cost.