The new edition is almost upon us! The final pieces of the rules are slotting into place, ready for you to play your first games of new Warhammer 40,000 this weekend.
Coming this week, you can look forward to a refreshed Warhammer 40,000 App that includes full unit points updates across the game, Detachment Points and Force Dispositions, and a new interactive Munitorum Field Manual.
When do I get my points?
Wednesday 17 June – about 48 hours after this article went live.
The new points for Warhammer 40,000 will go live in both the updated Warhammer 40,000 App, and right here on Warhammer-Community.com in the form of a new interactive Munitorum Field Manual.
The update to your Warhammer 40,000 App will deliver much more than just points – it brings full integration with the new edition’s rules, as well as new features like the War Journal to track your games, and the ability to see your opponent's full suite of army rules and datasheets as you play.
We’ll have more info on the new features on Wednesday, when the app update goes live.
If you have the Warhammer 40,000 App already, you’ll only need to look out for the usual update. The app will update automatically to include all the new edition rules, while any Codex rules for your army you unlocked last edition will remain accessible.
One important note for those of you planning to play your last games of the current edition this weekend (maybe at a farewell tournament for 10th, such as the Warhammer Open in Edmonton) – turn your device’s auto updates off! The app will not support older editions of Warhammer 40,000 once it’s been updated.
What changes can I expect in the points?
There are a few themes to the points changes you’ll quickly see when they arrive on Wednesday. These are primarily driven by changes in the core rules – some units become more powerful in the new edition, and so have had their points raised accordingly, while others have seen a slight dip in their effectiveness, and so you’ll be able to take more of them.
Here are a few things to look out for:
Vehicles with powerful mid-range firepower benefit from being able to more easily open wide firing lanes by moving partially into terrain, and so many go up in points.
Large combat-leaning monsters and vehicles generally find it much easier to reach and charge enemy units, and so many go up in points.
Infantry units that are both fast and powerful in melee tend to have gone up a bit in points.
Large models that fly now have a much easier time navigating the battlefield – expect many of these to go up.
Titanic units (with the Towering keyword and the Plunging Fire bonus to shooting) become particularly lethal at short range. Expect several to go up in points.
Units that can manipulate battle-shock become more powerful – several will see their points increase.
Models with Psychic weapons now ignore many negative modifiers to their attacks when fighting, so many also see a point increase.
The ability to re-roll charges has become very useful with the added flexibility of picking targets after you roll – expect some units with this ability to cost more points.
Surge Moves are now more likely to catch enemy units with the changes to engagement range (now a flat 2”) – these units will likely cost more points.
Fights First, while still a useful ability, is less dominating than in the last edition, so many of these units will cost fewer points.
Large units of 20 or more models, which were previously used to fill up large parts of the battlefield, can no longer spread out as much, due to the 9” coherency rule. Many of their points go down.
Units with both Infiltrate and Scout now need to choose which rule to use each game – they can’t do both, so have seen a points reduction.
Stealth is now a more situational rule, as it doesn’t stack with Cover, and so many units with Stealth are set to go down in points
Indirect fire is now weaker against distant targets that no model in your army can see, and so many artillery units have gone down in points when taken individually.
There are two other changes that are worth noting.
Some units now cost more when included in your army more than once. These tend to be very powerful units with the potential to dominate in competitive games when used in multiples (we’re looking at you, Defilers). This change helps limit their impact when taken en masse, but doesn’t overly punish players who want to bring a balanced list or just include one of all the coolest models in their army. (And in fairness, Defilers are really cool.)
Secondly, some weapon upgrades now cost points if they are significantly more powerful or effective than the other available options. For example, the macro plasma incinerator on a Redemptor Dreadnought now costs 10 points to equip (though the basic cost of the Dreadnought drops by 10, so it nets out the same – or 10 points less if you choose the heavy onslaught gatling cannon).
Ongoing Balance
Across all of these changes, the studio rules team has been aiming to ensure that the new Warhammer 40,000 is as balanced as possible right out of the gate.
Of course, within days of the new edition dropping on the 20th, millions of games of Warhammer 40,000 will be played across the world, and that is bound to throw up SOMETHING that no amount of playtesting could catch.
The regular balance updates for the new edition will work as they do today – quarterly. So you can expect small course corrections to under- or over-performing armies every three months.
However, because of the volatile nature of balance in a new edition – new rules, detachments, units and synergies – for the first three months of the new edition, our studio rules team will actually be looking to step in monthly, if needed – with the first update due for the end of July.
So there you go – a new app, new points and a commitment to balance going forward. Good times.
We hope you enjoy the game when it lands in just a few days' time. Remember – update your app this Wednesday, to start planning your army for the new edition of Warhammer 40,000.
