Hey all, Danny here to give you a recap of the live Q&A on the new edition of 40K. I know I am lucky to be at a job with office time with little oversight, so for the many of you that cannot be logged in to get the dirt directly, I’m here for you!
So, the general stuff: This Q&A took place on 4/24/17 at 9:15 AM PST. It features Pete Foley, the lead designer of this edition. I apologize for my notes, and I did my best to clean them up, but this the price you pay for semi-live coverage. So, let’s get into it:
The whole thing started with the new trailer for 40K. It seems to be all the old Gathering Storm Trailer voice overs combined.
Q: At Adepitcon, you previewed new rules. Are those going to all be in new 40K?
A: Yes, all of it is in for new 40K. All of it.
Q: Are there new rules for vehicles?
A: No more vehicle profile. All models use same statline. Degrading value. Bespoke rules for every model. {BS still in it seems. No flat to hit like AoS. S/T still exists it seems but everything can hurt everything. They mentioned that the current statline has been expanded to include movement}
Q: Will armies keep their current playstyle?
A: Yes, but some tweaks when needed.
Q: How is 8th going to impact HH?
A: Never answered this.
Q: Still a D6 system?
A: Yep.
Q: How long is an average game?
A: 1500 would be 90 minutes. Certainly in 2 hours. {holy shit, that’d be nice}
Q: Will there be support for Campaign play?
A: Yes, whole section called “Narrative”. {Jackass.}
Q: Will every model/scenery have rules?
A: Yes.
Q: What are command points?
A: In Matched and Narrative games, all armies must be battle-forged. There are now 14 Force-Orgs charts. If you fulfill a force-org, you get command points, depending on size of that force-org. Can be used for reroll, interrupt charges to let you pick a fight, not just chargers. Very tactical. No way to get back. Generic command points are in book, faction specific ones later.
Q: Codexs?
A: New codexes, yes. They are still here and will come out. New command points. New flavors of SM have different command points.
Q: Templates?
A: Yes. They are gone.
Q: Written in Andy’s accent?
A: Yes.
Q: Will there be limits to Command points?
A: Limited to one per phase.
Q: Did you actually Beta test?
A: Yes. A lot. Frontline. Adepticon. Nova. Most thorough we have ever playested. {They say this a lot}
Q: How do I get the new rules?
A: Everyone will get new rules day 1. 5 books at launch. Inside will be rules for all. SM. Imperium. Xenos. Chaos. {Main Rulebook?} When codex comes out, you get more updated rules. Extra command points, etc. Chapter tactics, army special rules.
Q: Will Cities of Death, planet strike still exist?
A: Yes, updated at some point for Narrative supplements.
Q: What about broken units?
A: Every unit has been playtested. Most balanced version of game ever.
Q: Will match play be updated regularly?
A: Yes. Community engagement is key, same for 40K. Updates to be expected. Want game to evolve.
Q: How will free rules be delivered?
A: Digital and GW stores and some independent retailers will have limited supply of printed versions. Core rules will pop up different places.
Q: Will there be an App with army builder?
A: Working on it. Not on launch but after.
Q: Will we see specific tournament packet?
A: There are guidelines but no specific tournament packet.
Q: Is this a full game reset? Will there be more balance?
A: Everything is updated and hopefully in a better place.
Q: New rules for every current model? Seems impossible.
A: Yes. Long time in development. We are happy with what we’ve done.
Q: What were/are top 3 goals of this design?
A: The game would work for all 3 ways to play. More accessible. Push back to forefront Imperium versus Chaos. Make Chaos Great Again. Tons of feedback now that we take. We are trying to listen.
Q: When is it released?
A: This year. Very soon for more news.
Q: More warhammer fests?
A: Safe to assume.
Q: Will models disappear?
A: No, all the factions represented and all models.
Q: Will points be on launch?
A: Different ways to point your army. Two different sets of points. Powerlevel: focused on narrative play. Not include upgrades. Gives you a model but more focused on getting you gaming in the story. Matched play: Full granular modes with upgrades and points for upgrades {so standard 40K}.
Q: Some factions are missing from the new website under Factions. Why?
A: All of them are still here. Astrum Militarum still belongs to Imperium. Tempestus is still part of Astrum Militarum. Website doesn’t mean codex/faction, just narrative categories.
Q: Any new factions?
A: Yes. New things on the way. {mumbled something that sounded like “maybe one at launch” I don’t know.}
Q: Will Monstrous Creatures degrade like vehicles?
A: Yes, monstrous creatures will also degrade.
Q: Will Bolters hurt everything?
A: Yes, everything can hurt everything. No stat is capped at 10. Heavy weapons cause multiple wounds. Expect large models to have a ton of wounds.
Q: What size of games?
A: All different sizes. Matched play from 1000+. Comfortably fit. Narrative scales to any points.
Q: What model has the highest wound count?
A: Not sure. Maybe Lord of Skulls or Knights. Big wound counts in general.
Q: How does army selection work? Do you pay for units like AoS or more like now?
A: Yes, in Matched plat, you pay points for upgrades. Yes there is a Force Org. Allies are still in. You can still have lots of different units. There is now a Keyword driven system, so Deathstars shouldn’t happen. Abilities don’t carry over to models not intended to have them. {He corrected himself when he said a SM captain joining a guard unit and said “Near a unit”.}
Q: Is close combat going to be viable?
A: Yes, big part of background and big part of game. Big benefit to charge.
Q: Will there be benefits for sticking to one faction?
A: Yes. The bigger the detachment, the more command points. Each detachment is from one Faction.
Q: A few areas are absent from Galaxy Map, is this intentional?
A: No, more an oversight. It’s a Crowded map.
Q: Fleshtearers as new poster boys?
A: Working on it.
Q: What are you most proud of?
A: Looking forward to reaction to the rules. Worked really hard on to make a game everyone wants.
Q: Will FW have rules updates and how do we get them?
A: Yes, same way.
Q: Will imperial guard work?
A: Hope so.
Q: How much will the story develop?
A: Quite a lot. Not going to change background but want new developments. Every day will feature new article on the new edition until it is released.
Q: I just bought a codex, what do I do?
A: Proof of purchase within 8 weeks, you will get a voucher for its value. See Community page for more details.
So there you are guys. There is a lot of information to mine and a lot of changes coming. It looks like 8th edition will not be just 40K ported to AoS, but it definitely looks like a big hybrid, so we essentially have AoS and 3rd edition making a baby. Freak out at your leisure.
