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Been about 2 years since I have last been prowling the 40k world. Last I remember Decurion, Eldar D and Spiders ruled. Noticed IK got a new codex (heard it's op) and am wondering if anyone out there minds refreshing me on some of the game changes made recently.

marcman wrote:
Been about 2 years since I have last been prowling the 40k world. Last I remember Decurion, Eldar D and Spiders ruled. Noticed IK got a new codex (heard it's op) and am wondering if anyone out there minds refreshing me on some of the game changes made recently.

A whole new edition of dumbed down STREAMLINED rules, basically Age of Sigmar BUT IN SPACE (and it's better than 7th, that's all you need to know about what a literal dumpster fire 7th was), codexes being pumped out every few weeks after being written by badgers and proofread by beagles, thus requiring more errata than actual rules in the book to fix, the complete refusal to fix issues that were brought up on day 0 of the new edition, codex creep of BIBLICAL scales (compare the SM and GK codex with the IK and Dark Eldar codex, for example) and the same old rip-off behavior from GW (5 pence of plastic for £50, books not worth the paper they are printed on, a dogged refusal to make their digital books actually usable) masked by some pretty Social Media posting and the (genuinely lovable and I respect the dude) Duncan "Two Thin Coats" Rhodes.

But hey, it's the "Most Playtested Edition", their words, not mine. But I suppose a single playtest game is more than 3rd though 7th got combined.

Ignoring the truly bitter people, the game has changed to a genuinely new game. It's more balanced now in that most factions have a competitive list, even if many units aren't to be seen on tournament tables. It's less bloated with rules, and GW are putting out rules updates every 6 months to fix broken things. The game is in a pretty good place, and more people are playing than in a long time.

Indeed, less bloated rule set and updates every six months seem to prevent broken units even if they still exist.
But the game is now more a board game. Maneuvering is less an issue. No more facing: My tank chain can see your tank chain and so I can shoot you.

I'm confused by the board game analogy? WH40K doesn't have a board

The main change has come due to 8th edition being a substantially changed ruleset - substantial enough to break all the existing codexes and meaning that every army needed new rules pronto. So when 8th launched they produced 5 'Index' books which contained 'get you by' type rules for all of the armies, and they've been releasing Codexes at a breakneck pace ever since to the point that now one year after the edition dropped most factions already have an 8th ed codex. So naturally, whatever was overpowered 2 years ago now has completely different rules and there's a whole host of other stuff that's OP. These days they're trying to tweak balance as they go with regular FAQs and a yearly Chapter Approved where they can and do make tweaks and change points costs, which means that if you buy into the new overpowered hotness there's a good chance it will be nerfed by the time you've painted it. Never has the advice 'just buy the models and armies you think are cool' been more appropriate. This still doesn't mean that they're better at writing balanced rules, just that they're making some kind of actual effort towards balance nowadays.

I won't bother typing anything about the actual changes made by 8th ed, because there's plenty of places around the web where that is gone into in detail already.

 Brother Castor wrote:
I'm confused by the board game analogy? WH40K doesn't have a board

People say that because in streamlining the rules they have become a bit more abstracted from what they're representing, more like they would be in a board game when compared to most wargames.

Dang haha so it sounds like Im gonna have to pick up new codex and rulebooks, is there anything I should just wait to pick up later (like 9th Ed or an 8.5?)

marcman wrote:
Dang haha so it sounds like Im gonna have to pick up new codex and rulebooks, is there anything I should just wait to pick up later (like 9th Ed or an 8.5?)

We have no indication of how long 8e will be around. I'd say minimum one more year, but could be a lot longer.

Realistically you need access to a rulebook. There's an 8 page free core rules download, but that just covers the rules in game. It does not have the rules for list building or missions and additional matched play rules. If you have a friend who could loan you it for a bit though to get your head around then that combined with the free rules should be enough to keep you going.

You also need the codex. Battlescribe can help, but it won't give you strats or give you a proper understanding of how the army works, so the codex will be necessary.

I'm agree with Stux.

Codex, basic rules and also if you watch some Battlereports or a kind of How to olay 8th will be enought.

Last time I played was 4th. For me 8th is more easy and fast. And no more being angry with your friends about if your tank is going to use front armour or side (for example).

 BaconCatBug wrote:

marcman wrote:
Been about 2 years since I have last been prowling the 40k world. Last I remember Decurion, Eldar D and Spiders ruled. Noticed IK got a new codex (heard it's op) and am wondering if anyone out there minds refreshing me on some of the game changes made recently.

A whole new edition of dumbed down STREAMLINED rules, basically Age of Sigmar BUT IN SPACE (and it's better than 7th, that's all you need to know about what a literal dumpster fire 7th was), codexes being pumped out every few weeks after being written by badgers and proofread by beagles, thus requiring more errata than actual rules in the book to fix, the complete refusal to fix issues that were brought up on day 0 of the new edition, codex creep of BIBLICAL scales (compare the SM and GK codex with the IK and Dark Eldar codex, for example) and the same old rip-off behavior from GW (5 pence of plastic for £50, books not worth the paper they are printed on, a dogged refusal to make their digital books actually usable) masked by some pretty Social Media posting and the (genuinely lovable and I respect the dude) Duncan "Two Thin Coats" Rhodes.

But hey, it's the "Most Playtested Edition", their words, not mine. But I suppose a single playtest game is more than 3rd though 7th got combined.

Are you like, waiting for all the "I'm coming back to the game" threads to be the first one to respond or what?

marcman wrote:
Dang haha so it sounds like Im gonna have to pick up new codex and rulebooks, is there anything I should just wait to pick up later (like 9th Ed or an 8.5?)

As far as the rules I am fairly sure they are free online for the few pages of game rules. (It's a PDF pamphlet that GW put out. Should be easy to find.)
You can find those and give them a read to see if it's anything you want to put money into.

Most relevant: those game breaking formations with special rules and free units are gone.

People whine about soup armies (made of allies, so you can cherry pick the best units from several different armies), but most armies can put up a good show at a tournament.

 Galas wrote:

 BaconCatBug wrote:

marcman wrote:
Been about 2 years since I have last been prowling the 40k world. Last I remember Decurion, Eldar D and Spiders ruled. Noticed IK got a new codex (heard it's op) and am wondering if anyone out there minds refreshing me on some of the game changes made recently.

A whole new edition of dumbed down STREAMLINED rules, basically Age of Sigmar BUT IN SPACE (and it's better than 7th, that's all you need to know about what a literal dumpster fire 7th was), codexes being pumped out every few weeks after being written by badgers and proofread by beagles, thus requiring more errata than actual rules in the book to fix, the complete refusal to fix issues that were brought up on day 0 of the new edition, codex creep of BIBLICAL scales (compare the SM and GK codex with the IK and Dark Eldar codex, for example) and the same old rip-off behavior from GW (5 pence of plastic for £50, books not worth the paper they are printed on, a dogged refusal to make their digital books actually usable) masked by some pretty Social Media posting and the (genuinely lovable and I respect the dude) Duncan "Two Thin Coats" Rhodes.

But hey, it's the "Most Playtested Edition", their words, not mine. But I suppose a single playtest game is more than 3rd though 7th got combined.

Are you like, waiting for all the "I'm coming back to the game" threads to be the first one to respond or what?

He has to do something with all the time hes spending not playing the game.