Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

This came up in a discussion I was in with a friend. He asked me what I hope would get changed with Orks when they get updated.

I made myself a list and realized a lot of it is very un-orky. For example, monsterous creatures, S10 guns, or AP1 weapons. Those I associate with Tyranid, Imperial Guard/Space Marine, and Tau.

So what makes an Ork Codex feel like an Ork Codex? What are the main staples of Orks that make them unique?

The few things I can think of off hand are "Waaagh!", Mob Rule, and random weapons.

Assault weapons with multiple shots (bringing the dakka)
paper thin transports/assault vehicles
the ability to field lots of armor of sorts
Naturally lots of boys

A few things even better than all other armies.

Portable force fields
The zzap gun used to potentially be the strongest gun in the game at 2D6 strength and 2D6 AP Thus topping at at busting AV22 armor.
Orks used to have the ultimate monsterious creature in the Squigoloth.
Nothing wrong with AP1 guns, especially if it comes from a weird boy.

 Jayden63 wrote:
Naturally lots of boys

This. Whatever it is, there needs to be lots of it.

Things that I can see that make an Ork codex Orky:
Grammar and spelling that would kill an English teacher.
Lots of weird rules.
More Dakka
Even More Dakka

 TheAvengingKnee wrote:

More Dakka
Even More Dakka

This post is still missing a FETHING GAKLOAD OF DAKKA!

Lots a dakka and the ability to loot almost anything. Looted landraiders, looted leman russes, looted sentinels, looted everything. I'll loot a carnifex if I could figure out what I'd use it for.

so in summary...

1. Dakka
2. More dakka.
3. Lotz of boyz
4. looting everything that's not nailed down (and figuring out how to loot what is)
5. Challenging the laws of physics and common sense with their crazy inventions.
6. MOAR DAKKA

As far as I'm concerned, anything can be made 'Orky' with the right amount of fluff and some wacky rules.

Ork Rail Gun a.k.a "Dat Big Dakka wot we'z looted from dem fish 'ead gits": Because of lack of maintenance or even a general knowledge of how the machine operates, a roll of 1 results in electric discharge from the power capacitors which kill a random model within 6 inches. "Oi Magnetz, how duz dey work?!"

I don't think GW would give Orks a Tau weapon but this is just an example. Monstrous creatures would be even easier to explain considering all the squiggoth and squig variants running around.

Ability to take loads of cheap troops. I want to be able to take at least 100 models in a 1000 point game with points left over (which I already can, so, um...let's just keep that the same )

I think Orks need some sort of Initiative bonus in CC (even if it's just on the charge) now Furious Charge has lost that. I just don't buy the idea that a wave of Orks is going to hit a line of Guardsmen then just stand around waiting to be hit.

Bring back Mobbing Up. They're very social guys...!

I think I read once (Please correct me if I'm wrong) that Orks used to be able to take tanks from other armies and add Orky touches to make looted vehicles, before this was replaced by the generic Looted Wagon. Let's go back to something like that. While we're on the subject, let's have vehicle design rules in general.

Orks having monstrous creatures isnt unorky at all - Squiggoths already exist in forgeworld, i wouldnt be surprised if the new codex being rumored about will have one in it.

High strength and AP weapons arent unorky - its only unorky if they have a very good chance to hit without numbers or not having a backfire possibility.

It would be very orky to say we have an entire group of Melta gunners with 24inch range, Str8 AP1 Assault 1 shots but on a roll to hits every 1s and 2s rolled melts the ork instead. Still wouldnt be balanced but hey its still orky!

Long as we can spam it because its either 1) relies on lots of bodies and costs low enough to get the bodies or 2) costs less than the non-ork equiv but has a negative chance whenever you use it its still an orky unit.

I think that was in 3rd Edition when we could take any vehicle. If i remember right from the guy i heard this from, the vehicle blew itself up on a roll of 1 rather than the current Dont Press Dat! rules and just had orky BS but the rest was the same.
However, now we just call it allies lol. Still yet to find anything ally-wise i actually want with my orks though. Everything that i would want are Desperate Allies or are on the HELL NO list, and i'd rather avoid desperate allies

 Vineheart01 wrote:
Orks having monstrous creatures isnt unorky at all - Squiggoths already exist in forgeworld, i wouldnt be surprised if the new codex being rumored about will have one in it.

High strength and AP weapons arent unorky - its only unorky if they have a very good chance to hit without numbers or not having a backfire possibility.

It would be very orky to say we have an entire group of Melta gunners with 24inch range, Str8 AP1 Assault 1 shots but on a roll to hits every 1s and 2s rolled melts the ork instead. Still wouldnt be balanced but hey its still orky!

Long as we can spam it because its either 1) relies on lots of bodies and costs low enough to get the bodies or 2) costs less than the non-ork equiv but has a negative chance whenever you use it its still an orky unit.

I think that was in 3rd Edition when we could take any vehicle. If i remember right from the guy i heard this from, the vehicle blew itself up on a roll of 1 rather than the current Dont Press Dat! rules and just had orky BS but the rest was the same.
However, now we just call it allies lol. Still yet to find anything ally-wise i actually want with my orks though. Everything that i would want are Desperate Allies or are on the HELL NO list, and i'd rather avoid desperate allies

I'm seriously considering a "Deathskulls" allies unit. Using a Deathskulls force, but painting them up and using the Space marine codex.

So 10 blue orks using a SM statline, with Nob as Commander, burna boy as flamer and rokkit boy as ML, ect.
Use a pred as a pred, but painting it orky and having an ork out the hatch ect ect

 Vineheart01 wrote:
Orks having monstrous creatures isnt unorky at all - Squiggoths already exist in forgeworld, i wouldnt be surprised if the new codex being rumored about will have one in it.

High strength and AP weapons arent unorky - its only unorky if they have a very good chance to hit without numbers or not having a backfire possibility.

It would be very orky to say we have an entire group of Melta gunners with 24inch range, Str8 AP1 Assault 1 shots but on a roll to hits every 1s and 2s rolled melts the ork instead. Still wouldnt be balanced but hey its still orky!

What about if Orks just had an anti-armour weapon with Gets Hot? After all, with OrK armour it's not as if your odds of surviving an overheat are very high...

Maybe it could even be a Big Gun so we get BS3.

 Vineheart01 wrote:
I think that was in 3rd Edition when we could take any vehicle. If i remember right from the guy i heard this from, the vehicle blew itself up on a roll of 1 rather than the current Dont Press Dat! rules and just had orky BS but the rest was the same. However, now we just call it allies lol. Still yet to find anything ally-wise i actually want with my orks though. Everything that i would want are Desperate Allies or are on the HELL NO list, and i'd rather avoid desperate allies

I forgot about allies...one very good thing for Orks is that Imperial Guard are Allies of Convenience, and I think they are quite capable of covering all the shooty bases Orks are lacking in.

Dis right here.

I would argue that there are three major factors:
Cheap units.
Random effects.
Math Hammer.

Almost all of the units in the codex have this to some sort of degree.

What about if Orks just had an anti-armour weapon with Gets Hot? After all, with OrK armour it's not as if your odds of surviving an overheat are very high...

Maybe it could even be a Big Gun so we get BS3.

so...kustom mega blasta?

Technically that gun is wicked strong - the issue is the damn thing is impossible to get enough of it to bother. Loota meks are stupid and any Warboss puting meks in his loota groups should be demoted to Grot immediately - Burnas are highly situation period and the massive strength difference makes the KMB in that group pointless since its either massive overkill, or half the unit does nothing.

Big mek with it? ....no just no
Deffdredd? The hell would you take that for? Its expensive and Scorchas or more DCCW are way better considering what its goin to be facing anyway.
Killa kans are the only one thats somewhat viable. BS3 so it hits better, but its also kinda pricy.

Actually....i outta try that...my Nids friend loves running Tyrants with endurance so theyre usually T8/9 so nothing but my lootas can even attempt to hurt them.
The gears be turnin in me head...

So, essentially I think I'm saying I want a cheaper KMB on wheels...

Also, I'd like to see more options for Gretchin. Instead of just getting the one-size fits all Grot Blaster I'd like to see a few upgrades for them - maybe let them purchase an armour save or swap their weapons (for example,swap Blaster with a shotgun, etc).

Squig Herds should be a unit (and for that matter I demand multipart plastic Squigs - the whole sprue would be nothing but heads and legs...).

Choosing a clan should actually make a difference in terms for wargear and rules available rather just being away to pick a paint scheme.

Rokkit Launchers should get a frag option. More blast weapons in general - Orks like big explosions.

THere's nothing wrong with having S10 guns on an Ork army.

They like big guns and they will not lie.

At least not about liking big guns.

 Fezman wrote:
So, essentially I think I'm saying I want a cheaper KMB on wheels...

Also, I'd like to see more options for Gretchin. Instead of just getting the one-size fits all Grot Blaster I'd like to see a few upgrades for them - maybe let them purchase an armour save or swap their weapons (for example,swap Blaster with a shotgun, etc).

Squig Herds should be a unit (and for that matter I demand multipart plastic Squigs - the whole sprue would be nothing but heads and legs...).

Choosing a clan should actually make a difference in terms for wargear and rules available rather just being away to pick a paint scheme.

Rokkit Launchers should get a frag option. More blast weapons in general - Orks like big explosions.

Id have to agree with all that except the ork clans actually having an impact on your wargear.
Clans are strictly paintjobs. If i was forced to paint my army this way in order to do that tactic for WYSWYG gaming i wouldnt have fun anymore. I like being able to paint each individual model however i want to make that model cool. None of my BWs or Dakkajets are going to look alike in the slightest, enforcing clans for wargear options would make me have to repaint them.

Not sure what i would take on gretchin and not feel like im wasting points. They die the instant something looks at them, theyre only viable because theyre ungodly cheap and are primarily a meatshield or a gun emplacement user. Unless that upgrade was like 1-2 pts per grot i wouldnt want to add anything because, like i said earlier, they die the instant something looks at them.

If i could get a whole unit of KMBs or at LEAST half a unit of them with the non-KMBs wanting to fire at the same target, id be happier. Ive yet to ever run one because of the reasons in my last post. If i could put them in Tankbusta groups i could totally see them being used alot more. Especially since Tankbustas kinda demand a battlewagon, why not let them have meks? Keep the thing alive and if they didnt need to repair it they zzzzap things.

 Vineheart01 wrote:
None of my BWs or Dakkajets are going to look alike in the slightest

Good, because if they DID look alike, it wouldn't be Orky!

 Melissia wrote:

 Vineheart01 wrote:
None of my BWs or Dakkajets are going to look alike in the slightest

Good, because if they DID look alike, it wouldn't be Orky!

Mine are painted in green camo so they are harder to see in the sky.

Well, obviously.

Boyzs, boyzs and more boyzs and then more boyzs.

 Fezman wrote:
So, essentially I think I'm saying I want a cheaper KMB on wheels...

Look into Grot Tanks. They're cheaper than killa kans, arguably more mobile and durable, can take TWO guns instead of one, though 1 is just a shoota, and max squadron size is 6 as opposed to 3 for Killa kans. If you want to kill A LOT of Termies with instant death: Grot Tank Mobs!

I would like on a Waaagh! for my units to do something other than get Fleet. For instance, Lootas automatically get 3 shots. Burnas can use their burnas as both power weapons and to fire in the same turn. Tank Busta rokkit's range doubles.

I like how the Dakkajet gets double the amount of shots. Think the same idea could pollinate into other units.

DontEatRawHagis wrote:
I would like on a Waaagh! for my units to do something other than get Fleet. For instance, Lootas automatically get 3 shots. Burnas can use their burnas as both power weapons and to fire in the same turn. Tank Busta rokkit's range doubles.

I like how the Dakkajet gets double the amount of shots. Think the same idea could pollinate into other units.

Shootas getting double shots
Thats 120 S4 shots from a 180 pt unit

 Tod wrote:

Shootas getting double shots
Thats 120 S4 shots from a 180 pt unit

Just the idea that Waaagh! could be more than just granting fleet.

I was thinking about this the other day. What would i liker to see in a new ork dex. Whittler still remaining orky. And all my though kept going to kustomizing stuff. And a greater definition to the klans.

Things like up admiring vehicles but like then they become lumbering or slow and purposeful. Larger our potentially cheaper or more expensive units of kans etc..... Making a dreadd with 14 armor.

A greater diversity in looted vehicles. Maybe trees of types off vehicles. Loottas that cold loot other armies weapons aka the old snipper loot, las/assault cannons and such.


More options besides expensive shooting upgrades to flash gitz. Which should also be much cheaper.

A squiggoth would be cool. Poison upgrades for snakebites.m

Weapon skill boosts for goffs. Like cult of speed stuff.

Currently i can't remember the last time i declared a waaagh do more effective waaagh would be good or maybe a full time benefit.

 firmlog wrote:
I was thinking about this the other day. What would i liker to see in a new ork dex. Whittler still remaining orky. And all my though kept going to kustomizing stuff. And a greater definition to the klans.
Things like up admiring vehicles but like then they become lumbering or slow and purposeful. Larger our potentially cheaper or more expensive units of kans etc..... Making a dreadd with 14 armor.
A greater diversity in looted vehicles. Maybe trees of types off vehicles. Loottas that cold loot other armies weapons aka the old snipper loot, las/assault cannons and such.
More options besides expensive shooting upgrades to flash gitz. Which should also be much cheaper.
A squiggoth would be cool.

A lot of this stuff is touched upon in the Imperial Armour 8 book. I STRONGLY recommend any ork player checking it out. Just bloody amazing what's in it.