A reader recently wrote to me saying that he’s back in Warhammer 40,000 after 20 years (said soon), and that he’s kind of lost.
I have a colleague who was in your same situation: he started playing in its beginnings, second edition, then he left it and came back in the eighth. I remember that seeing the great “refoundation” of the game that this edition supposed, he told me “this is really like the game that I remember”. And he rejoined.
So I thought it was a good idea to write this article as a guide for those who find themselves in a similar situation and want to resume the hobby. I hope you find it helpful.
The Most Typical Approach When Taking Up the Hobby
” No, look, no complications, I just want to come back with something simple: paint some minis, play a couple of pachangas, and that’s it, I don’t want to complicate my life .”
I have heard it many times. Almost all of you, when you come back, have that mentality. But you do not realize an uncomfortable reality: what you ask for is impossible.
If you really just want to get down to painting minis, then great, you don’t need this item, anyone can do that. Better go see the painting tutorials on severals Youtube channels . But that’s not playing again, it’s just continuing with the hobby.
“Playing a couple of parties” is an interesting concept. You assume that a game, being friendly or relaxed, is free of complexity. You remember that the dice are rolled (remember that they are D6), and although there is no longer the scatter die or the templates, the way of playing cannot have changed so much, right? Surely your colleague can explain “the differences”, “what has changed”, as if they were four things.
Well, I’m afraid you’re wrong. You’re going to have to complicate life a bit.
Even the logo has changed
Same game, different rules
It turns out that you are a player who has given Warhammer a hard time for years, but also many years ago. You left the game for whatever reason, and now you want to pick it up again.
Of course, the first thing you think is that you already control enough, that you just need to recycle yourself a little.
Big mistake. Let me make it clear to you, and don’t be offended by it: you don’t know how to play .
Because Warhammer 40k is still the same game, but everything has changed, not just the rules . A marine is still a marine and hits on 3+; the Imperial Guard is now called the Astra Militarum, but remains conceptually the same; Chaos is still Chaos; the eldar are now called aeldari for business/legal reasons, but they are still glass cannons; the orks are still more chaotic than Chaos and much more fun than any other faction; and the tyranids are still ravenously hungry. But at the same time, everything is different.
For example, the board is now smaller (new for 9th edition); the IKs/CKs have literally given a new dimension to the game (they have their own codex since the eighth edition); you probably didn’t even know the Adeptus Mechanicus as a faction (they were born in the seventh edition, but consolidated as a single faction in the eighth); you may not even know about the flyers (6th or 7th edition, I can’t remember) or the Genestealer Cults (7th or 8th edition) or the new Sisters of Battle (7th or 8th); and now there are even primarchs dancing around, at the moment three, with the fourth sticking out its paw and strong rumors of someone else on the way, apart from ultra-mega-powerful characters who are now not only powerful in lore, but also in rules, like Abaddon , Ghazkhull or the Silent King. And neither you, nor anyone,
Of course, now you arrive with your magnificent vintage minis , many of them metallic, which are the envy of many collectors, to a game board (I insist, smaller than the one you are used to), they put some of these novelties in front of you, and you stay piqueto
And then there are the rules, which have evolved quite a bit and are constantly being revised. In fact, the pace of news is frenetic. The reason is that GW tries to make WH as balanced as possible, which is very difficult, but, admittedly, we are currently facing the most even moment in the history of this game. At least competitively speaking.
Every time a new edition comes out, everyone has to relearn the game, because the changes are too significant. Let alone with the addition of new factions, whether you are a player of the same, in which case, obviously, you have to learn everything from the beginning, as if you are a rival and you have to learn to play against another army.
Anyway, you think you know how to play, that you just need recycling, but you’re wrong. The game is the same, conceptually, but in practice it is totally different from what you remember. You don’t know how to play, take it. It is the main starting point. This is Mortarion. If you haven’t played in a while, you may not know it yet.
OK, so what do I have to do to get back into the warhammer 40k hobby?
It’s not really true that you should start from scratch, because at least you already have a long way to go when it comes to your army (or armies). You probably already have a lot of minis assembled and painted, and as I said at the beginning, the basics remain the same: a standard marine still hits on 3+, and always will. But you do have to treat it as if you were a new player and just bought an army on Wallapop.
What happens is that there have been news in all factions, changes in miniatures sizes, etc. So of all you are going to have to invest money in upgrading your armyas if you werebecause you are a new player. And for investing, maybe even consider starting with another faction that you now find more attractive.
Be that as it may, my recommendation is that you follow the following steps.
1. Choose faction
What are you going to want to play with, at least at first?
Do not get fat if you already had several factions. Remember that you are a new player and you have to learn from scratch, so you cannot play all of them at the same time because you will not find out anything. First one step and then another.
Once you have chosen faction, you do what any new player would do…
2. Read rules
I know that what you want is to read the codex, but you will not find out half of it if you do not know how to play. It is not necessary that you know every page of the manual by heart, but you do need to know what the game phases are, how to deploy, how to launch psychic powers, how to fight, how to build detachments, what are the missions secondary and primary and how they are scored…
Essentially the game remains the same, so it won’t take you long to understand the basics, you’ve already earned that. The important thing is that you have a global vision of how to play, and for that you have no choice but to read the rules. It’s not that bad, cheer up!
Once you have read it, now you can go to the funniest part.
3. Read the Codex
Again, you don’t need to learn every rule by heart. But each faction has special mechanics that must be understood and internalized, and that are generally new.
For example, the marines now have three combat doctrines that change every turn and, complemented by the chapter’s own doctrines, make the way they play radically different from chapter to chapter; the Sisters of Battle have the miracle dice; the IKs have a code of honor… In short, each faction has its “own flavor”, and you have to know it when building your army.
Obviously, if you’re starting from scratch with a new faction, you’ll need to get to know it well before you jump into collecting it. But if it’s your old army, again my advice is to treat it like you’re starting from scratch, no matter how much what you’re reading sounds familiar to you.
4. Update your miniatures
If you have chosen to start with a new faction, perhaps because you rejoined in the wake of Warhammer Conquest’s release, then you are truly starting from scratch and everything you buy will be brand new.
But if you’re recycling your old army, it’s important to be well informed about the miniatures update . In the particular case of vehicles, it is likely that they have changed in size, so your old vehicles may not be very playable as they are smaller than normal. Find out (the best thing is to take a look at them in your trusted store) because if you can’t find problems when going to play against someone.
The same goes for the bases. Be well informed because in almost all armies there has been a change of scale. Repearing does not cost as much as it seems, there are many ways to do it relatively easily and cheaply.
Allow me to insist on this, because it is a common source of frustration among old players, who do not understand why in a certain tournament they are not allowed to bring their old and perfectly original miniatures. There is an objective reason, and that is that, as you well know, size in this game matters, and a lot.
5. Play and catch up
Don’t jump into the game if you haven’t completed the steps above. Seriously, listen to me. You’re going to come face to face with the uncomfortable reality that I’ve repeated to you from the beginning: you don’t know how to play. And the experience is going to be just as frustrating for you as it is for your opponent.
But if you have already done it, if you more or less already have the necessary base of any novice player, then now yes, you are ready to give it your all again on the boards.
The only way to really learn is this: by rolling dice. You have to have a minimum base, but in the first games you will discover that there are a thousand details that you have overlooked, and that the real dimension of the game is very different from what you remember.
Slowly
Let me stress this to you because for veterans returning to the game after a long time, the main problem is rushing.
This is a constantly evolving game. Everyone has a hard time keeping up with new things, but if you haven’t played for a long time, you just can’t keep up, you have to learn from the beginning.
I know that it can be a bit frustrating, but knowing the reality is the first step to face it successfully. Little by little, step by step. Don’t be in a hurry. I understand that if you have returned to the game after a long time it is because the flame of Warhammer has returned to beat in you, which is very powerful. You once enjoyed the game, and you will again.
But if you want that party with your colleagues to be fun, take the trouble to upgrade a little, because if it doesn’t turn out to be a bad experience, nobody will have fun, and you’ll probably throw in the towel.
Be that as it may, much encouragement to resume the hobby!
