So tonight on Twitch Warhammer Community’s Eddie Eccles hosted a Studio Q&A, asking Pete Foley and Stu Black a host of questions sent in from Warhammer 40k gamers.

Between myself and Matt we’ve scribbled down all the details, so if you missed the FAQ chat you can check out the content below:

What Can Fans of Hordes Look Forward To?

Rules in 9th Edition will help to get stuff into combat. Terrain will be more meaningful, with lots of terrain blocking line of sight and stopping some of the shooting through 3 windows for example.
Labeling scenery will be clear and concise. Different types of cover, including obscured terrain which will block line of sight. The core rules will show you how much terrain you should have ideally for each size of game, giving you guidance to make the game balanced.

Overwatch has had some changes, and the studio have also looked into the Falling Back from combat rules. Further details weren’t discussed, however it sounds like they are more favorable to those doing the assaulting.

Are The Turn Mechanics in 9th Edition Changing?

Clearly asked by people not in favour of the Age of Sigmar random turns. Stu and Pete both categorically said the turn mechanic was not changing.

Using Reserves is Changing. How Will This Work in Practice?

You can spend Command Points (CP) to put any of your units into reserve. CP is designed to be more of an asset, for you as the commander, giving you the tactical options of bringing on units from your own board edge, and even other board edges as the game progresses. Opens the possibility of flanking your opponent.

How Will Terrain Work Differently in 9th Edition?

Terrain rules will add a more interactive and fun element to games. The studio have tried to make the new terrain rules as simple and concise as possible. Obscure tagged terrain blocks line of sight for example.
Makes woods, bunkers, all feel different.
One issue which has been fixed relates to combat on multiple level buildings. Previously a Carnifex may not be able to get into combat with a Guardsmen squad on a second floor for example, even though you would expect it to be able to reach up. It can do just this in 9th Edition.

Tyranid Players: Worried about Blast Weapons!

Monsters can perform similar to tanks, so some of the Tyranid monsters with guns will be even more frightening, as they can shoot in combat. Flanking will also help, as well as terrain, getting your gribbly monsters where they need to be without worrying about being blown off the board by shooting.

Missions: Will New Missions Be Similar to Those in 2019 Chapter Approved?

Both Stu and Pete focused on the 3 ways to play (Open, Narrative and Matched Play), and the ambition to make each way to play better.
Matched play they are aiming for balance. Wanting to make narrative more story driven. Making Open play as simple and straight forward as possible to pick up models and get them on the battlefield.
Mike Brandt was heavily involved with matched play testing. During the 9th Edition reveal Mike stressed they wanted to introduce missions that could be used around the world during different competitive events.
Over the course of 9th edition we’ll see lots of new missions, different ways to play, adding variety.

Are Random Shot Weapons Still a Thing?

Yes. New Blast rules helps with big explosive weapons. Random shot weapons will remain, as they add random tension and excitement.

Space Marines: Can Different Chapters, Space Wolves For Example, Use The New Primaris?

Yes, open to all chapters.

Anything for Deathwatch?

Yes. They’ve had plans for a while for the Deathwatch. They have advised that they have been listening to the community. Pretty soon after 9th Edition launches we will see new Deathwatch content

Can We Still Use Classic Marines?

Yes.

Can Death Company Get Chainswords?

No answer. Just ‘don’t worry’ from Stu!

With A New Character Making An Appearance for The Necrons, Does This Mean More Returning Major Characters?

‘Really big and exciting ones’, quoted from Pete!

Forge World Models. Will We Get Support For Armies like Death Korps of Krieg?

40k rules team are now writing Forge World rules. New books incoming for current Forge World ranges, including the Death Korp.

Codexes. Rules From The Vigilus Campaign Books Still Usable?

Yes.

Where Will I Find The Rules For New Primaris Space Marine and Necron Models?

In the boxes of the new models, as well as the new codexes when they come out.

Can I Always Hit On 6s?

Everybody can hit on 6s!

Will The New Codexes Have Crusade Contents?

Yes they will. Crusade will come into its own as the new codexes come out. Lots of content from core rules to start with, but will really come into the fore (esp narratively speaking) in new codexes.
Blood Angels battling against the Black Rage is an example of narrative content which will be included for Crusade.

What Size of Army Do You Start With For Crusade Campaigns?

Having a clear game size defines what level you start playing Crusade at. Starts at Combat Patrol size, so around 500pt battles. You can then spend earned requisition points on new units or replacing dead ones. The narrative really drives the game system.
The team have written missions designed specifically for different sized games and playing surfaces.

Core Rules: How Many Pages?

Longer than the 8 pages in the previous rule book, however their will be more examples of showing how the rules work. Tried to make the rules more concise. More illustrations. Rules appendix at the back of the book for those rarer moments.

Matched Play: What Has Been Done to Combat Dominant Eldar Flyers?

Modifiers are now capped, so no units can benefit from more than +1/-1 to hit. Flyers can leave the board and come back on, prevent flyers from ‘crashing’ if they hit a board edge. Flyers will also not interact in same ways as infantry and tanks on the battlefield, preventing people from positioning flyer bases to stop troops from accessing part of the battlefield. The changes have made flyers more fun to use and play against.

Any Changes to The Morale Phase?

Changes have been made to the moral phase. They have strived to update and improve the core engine of the system. Introduce Combat Attrition, which also has more interaction with other game elements.

Will We See More Units Added to Warhammer Legends?

Almost certainly. They don’t have plans to carve chunks out of codexes, but have stated some units in the future will be moving to Legends

How Will The New CP System Work?

CP was put into the game to add narrative elements and give the player more tatical options. Some armies had easy access, such as the Astra Militarum, whilst some didn’t, which includes the Adeptus Custodes. To level the playing field the amount of CP you start with at the beginning of the game is determined by the size of game you are playing.

Are Power Levels Still a Thing?

Yes. The studio have taken in feedback however, and Power levels will be adjusted when needed. They won’t however be adjusted as often as matched play points.

Crusade: Can They Be Used In Big Gaming Events?

Absolutely. Crusade works equally well with 50 players over a weekend, or 6 players running a campaign over 6 months, or even on your own against people not playing Crusade. Its your narrative.
Crusade players can play against matched play competitive armies, as the outcome can still be log into into your Crusade narrative. You can still earn experience and requisition points from losses.

Will Mortal Wounds Work The Same?

Yes

CP: Will It Mean Armies That Have Allies (Soup) Still Be Viable?

If you want to take allies you can, however you must spend CP to do so, meaning you’ll start playing with less. This adds to the resource management of the game. You’ll be able to use less Stratagems during the game, but could take an Imperial Knight for your army, for example.

Will Future Codexes Need The Additional Books, Such as Psychic Awakening?

New codexes will take best of Psychic Awakening content as well as the armies previous codex. Not every Relic and Stratagem will make the cut into the 9th Edition Codex, however as Stu put it, the 9th Edition Codex will almost be a ‘Greatest Hits’ of rules so far for your army.

Does CP Somehow Link to The Size of Your Game?

The scale of your battle, and in some cases the missions, will determine how many CP you start the game with.

Will New Crusade Rules/Experience Bring In-game Benefits?

Yes it does. Units gain exp which will unlock cool new principles, rules, etc. Requisition points gained from completing objectives, such as assassinating a character, will reward the unit which did so. Balancing mechanic built in to Crusade, so armies that have leveled up a lot can still competitively play an army which has just started out with no experience gained units.

With Changes to CP, Will We Still Need to Include Troops?

The major change to CPs at the start of the game offers more flexibility when writing your lists. Detachments are still a thing, however you aren’t now taking them to maximize your CP. This allows you to build an army you want to play with, without worrying about not having any CP to play with.

How Will CP Changes Affect People’s Armies?

People will choose the army they want to take and use, instead of writing a list with gaining CP in mind.
More freedom to build the army you want.

What Defines a Blast Weapon? What Defines a Horde?

Appendix bit in back of the core rule book defines what is classed as a blast weapon/horde. As the new codexes land these will also define what is a blast weapon/horde.

Are Space Marine Chainswords Better?

Astrartes chainswords are better than a normal chainsword. Different statline to Imperial Guard chainswords for example.

Favourite Thing of The New Edition?

Stu: 2 things. Terrain. Rules to encourage interaction with terrain. Crusade content. Method to help tell stories with armies over time.
Pete: Matched Play, competitive mission design. CP changes, encouraging building armies you want. Terrain effects everything.

At the end of the FAQ Eddie points out we will see many articles relating to 9th Edition over the next few weeks!

Published by David Jennings

Born and raised in Crewe in Cheshire, Dave is a geek through and through. Enjoys designing and managing websites. View all posts by David Jennings