Is 7th Edition the Time?

[Auticus]

6th and 7th in my area resulted in the tournament players mass exodus to warmachine/hoardes and an influx of players from 2nd and 3rd returning plus a new crop of narrative gamers.

It will depend on your area of course as every area is different. For me, I dropped out at the tail end of 4th and most of 5th because I was not happy with the game or armies that were out, and I have exponentially more fun with the current version of the game minus a couple of niggling issues that I can live with.

[xbenblasterx]

6th and 7th in my area resulted in the tournament players mass exodus to warmachine/hoardes and an influx of players from 2nd and 3rd returning plus a new crop of narrative gamers.

It will depend on your area of course as every area is different. For me, I dropped out at the tail end of 4th and most of 5th because I was not happy with the game or armies that were out, and I have exponentially more fun with the current version of the game minus a couple of niggling issues that I can live with.

At a risk of coming across all romantic, would you say that the game has become less competitive, probably owing to the fact I'm actually pretty bad at the playing side but I still enjoy a good game, but I've always enjoyed the more narrative elements of the game and not so much it's competitive nature. I think I might prefer a game that was less hardcore.

[CoffeeGrunt]

In our area there isn't really a tournament presence, so 40K 7th Edition has been thriving lately, and we've got a half dozen people or so who've started playing since it dropped, (given the two dozen or so playerbase of our small store in a small town, it's not too bad IMO.)

WarmaHordes has rocked up and has a half dozen or so people playing, and a lot more interested. So far it seems that the two systems may co-exist in peace. Personally I think it would come down to mood. 40K I generally play with friends as a catalyst for a chat and a catch up. WarmaHordes demands a lot of concentration and tight rules lawyering on movement, LoS and the like which makes for more of a gambit between two gents rather than a casual dice throwing exercise.

[xbenblasterx]

All the differing opinions here, I suppose It's good to see how the whole wargaming hobby is branching out in general, but obviously I think involving yourself in one particular game is quite a big investment both time and money wise. I really enjoyed 40k in the past, the lore, the models, the community it's all been great!

But having getting back in touch with it now it seems that GW in general aren't in the best of positions, so maybe it's best to to climb aboard the sinking ship. Then again maybe competition will force GW to adapt, change and overall improve. In the same way the console market works.

What do people reckon?

Obviously those of you already in bed with plastic crack mistress may have biased opinions, but from an outsider looking in?is 40k still the peak or is it time to roll my dice else where... *more terrible wargaming based puns will follow).

[BrotherErekose]

I'm the opposite of Chumbalaya, in how I feel. I like it.

I came in to 40k at the beginning of 4e (2004), and have continually played through now.

I think 5e may have been been the argumentatively best edition. It eliminated many of 4e's glaringly broken items (Consolidate into a *new* h2h combat? ) and was a good fast paced game.

6e was a distinctly different direction, with lotsa issues.

7e is still *really* good. It's like 5e's improvement on 4e, only for 6e. A lot of wonky 6e mechanics are gone, while keeping many of the cool, new items from 6e. It's not the stream-lined game 5e was, but still a fun, but complex exercise in killing Plastic Space Men. And no real killer stupid mechanics (not a cue to bring the ones that *do* exist up. Let's stay on Topic ).

Yes. Jumping back in is a good idea. A whole buncha new codexes in rapid succession means it's going to continually shift the meta and be new and challenging and dynamic for a long time.

[xbenblasterx]

I'm the opposite of Chumbalaya, in how I feel. I like it.

I came in to 40k at the beginning of 4e (2004), and have continually played through now.

I think 5e may have been been the argumentatively best edition. It eliminated many of 4e's glaringly broken items (Consolidate into a *new* h2h combat? ) and was a good fast paced game.

6e was a distinctly different direction, with lotsa issues.

7e is still *really* good. It's like 5e's improvement on 4e, only for 6e. A lot of wonky 6e mechanics are gone, while keeping many of the cool, new items from 6e. It's not the stream-lined game 5e was, but still a fun, but complex exercise in killing Plastic Space Men. And no real killer stupid mechanics (not a cue to bring the ones that *do* exist up. Let's stay on Topic ).

Yes. Jumping back in is a good idea. A whole buncha new codexes in rapid succession means it's going to continually shift the meta and be new and challenging and dynamic for a long time.

I like how positive you are ha convincing me a little, i usee to be a Grey Knights player and well the recent reveal on a new Codex is certainly very appealing (even if the price tag is not) but if you were say in my posistion now having played 40k in the played 40k in the past do you think it might be worth trying a new system first? I know i like 40k see and i'm afraid of gettimg to heavily invested in a system only to be burned when i don't enjoy. Does 40k feel fresh?

Man its a tough decision btaking up a hobby like this!

[John Bower]

Speaking for myself I joined in 5th ed; I had dabbled long ago but only really got into 40k in 2009 and 5th. I must confess to having lost my mojo toward the end of that edition; then 6th dropped and I was one of the people that saw it's potential and loved it. Needless to say I played it a lot.

Now we have 7th and tbh yeah, it's not as streamlined as 5th was; but if you like narrative games it has real opportunity for that; sure Tourney crowd aren't over impressed but I don't think they will be until a wych has the same stats as a Terminator.

Unbound armies are what you make of them; they can be stupid but then so can any army if TFG builds them. The best part of 7th is really down to 'find somebody or a group that play your way; your style and you will enjoy it'.

Most of my buddies play it the same way I do. We love it.

[Voltigeur]

I like how positive you are ha convincing me a little, i usee to be a Grey Knights player and well the recent reveal on a new Codex is certainly very appealing (even if the price tag is not) but if you were say in my posistion now having played 40k in the played 40k in the past do you think it might be worth trying a new system first? I know i like 40k see and i'm afraid of gettimg to heavily invested in a system only to be burned when i don't enjoy. Does 40k feel fresh?

Man its a tough decision btaking up a hobby like this!

I would say try everything you can! There are so many good games on the market right now, see if you can get some folks at your LGS to run a demo game or two for you. Most people I know love introducing new players to the games they enjoy. There's really no reason (other than financial) to stick to one system in this day and age. I started getting into Warmahordes and Historicals at the recommendation of others and now I have more variety and fun in my hobby while still enjoying 40k.

You'll no doubt meet the fan boys online who are purists of one game system or another. They'll try to convince you that their system is the best wargame and everything else is the worst. These people are liars. Every system is different and has it's own strengths and weaknesses and most of them are at very least worth a try. There has never been a better time to be in the miniatures/wargaming hobby, the quality of games and minis are better than ever and the pure choice available to hobbyists is staggering! Don't limit yourself to one game unless you absolutely have to!

In reply to your second question, I believe that 7th is the freshest edition of 40k in years! The Malestrom missions do wonders to keep the game exciting!

[xbenblasterx]

I would say try everything you can! There are so many good games on the market right now, see if you can get some folks at your LGS to run a demo game or two for you. Most people I know love introducing new players to the games they enjoy. There's really no reason (other than financial) to stick to one system in this day and age. I started getting into Warmahordes and Historicals at the recommendation of others and now I have more variety and fun in my hobby while still enjoying 40k.

You'll no doubt meet the fan boys online who are purists of one game system or another. They'll try to convince you that their system is the best wargame and everything else is the worst. These people are liars. Every system is different and has it's own strengths and weaknesses and most of them are at very least worth a try. There has never been a better time to be in the miniatures/wargaming hobby, the quality of games and minis are better than ever and the pure choice available to hobbyists is staggering! Don't limit yourself to one game unless you absolutely have to!

In reply to your second question, I believe that 7th is the freshest edition of 40k in years! The Malestrom missions do wonders to keep the game exciting!

I certainly would like to try every game I can get my hands on it's just as you say price and also time! Are quite big constraints, I do love this hobby no matter what format I play, but no doubt like many folk here I haven't got heaps of time like i used to during my youth hah to spend dipping my brush in everything.

I suppose I'm looking at 40K as the safety net, I did give WM a good go and arguably that's GW's main competitor, didn't really get on with it. I've always liked the idea of Historical particularly WW II but the rule sets seem whay to deep!

Either way since starting this discussion It's bringing back a lot of good memories about the hobbyist community, I actually freelance in tech and video game journalism as day (and night job) so I'm often reading a lot of community feedback often at times its always a massive pissing contest which gets old quick!

Here however it seems that all the bad taste is aimed directly back at the companies and even though I'm being a whiny little ***** about playing a game I'm getting some awesome feedback so cheers guy's

[HsojVvad]

Just remember, we are already what, close to 25% of the 7th edition cycle. So if you are going to buy 7th edition and want to get as much value you can. 8th edition should released in about 14 months from now. No I am not joking, I am actually being serious.

6th edition only lasted 20 or 22 months. It didn't even survive 2 years let alone the 4 year cycle we are use to.