40K Deep Thought: Avoiding Warhammer Burnout
Fritz Here.. Even the most die-hard gaming enthusiast hits that wall from time to time- the grimdark that you love starts to slow down and drag.
The games you once looked forward to playing and enjoying don’t sparkle as much. Is it a case of 40K burnout?
True, 40K is a miniature game, but there is also a huge social component of the game both within your gaming group and outside of it on the internet, forums, YouTube, etc. Over time this exposure, and your local place in it can and does shape how you view the game, which means form time to time it’s necessary to take a step back, recharge your game, and enjoy your hobby with a fresh perspective.
Variety is the Spice of Life
These are a few experiences that I have used over the years to continue enjoying 40K despite the best efforts of Games Workshop…
There are three main aspects to the Warhammer hobby:
– painting and collecting miniatures
– playing the game competitively
– playing from a narrative perspective
All of us are experiencing the game through these three views, but it’s only natural to gravitate towards one or two over time.
If you are a competitive player of course your miniatures have to be painted, but in feeling the burnout maybe time to dedicate a bit more hobby time towards developing your modeling and painting skills.
Likewise if you are a narrative player, switch to the experience of competitive play for a bit- use the opposing experience to gain some new insights into how you want )or don’t want to play 40K).
Those who know my blogging and tactics style and have been following me over the years know I’m a strong advocate for playing the army you want to play, and not what the internet says is best in the moment. You are going to be spending a large amount of time and effort playing with and pushing around your plastic toys, so loving the models, and what they represent is key for long term satisfaction in my experience.
That said, once you have an army and list that you enjoy playing I usually recommend having three or four slight variants on the list- usually adding or removing a few units. These might not be the most optimal builds, but that slight tactical variation gives you something new to play from time to time without killing the familiarity and proficiency of your main list.
I’ve been essentially playing the same Saim-Hann Eldar list since 2007 – farseers on jetbikes, guardian jetbikes, vypers, fire prisms, and wave serpents. In my “main” list Eldar guardians go in the wave serpents, but then I have two variant lists filling out the wave serpents with either Howling Banshees or Fire Dragons . Just different enough from time to time to keep me on the edge tactics-wise, yet not different enough that it takes away from the enjoyment of zooming my jetbikes and vypers around.
What small unit swaps can you make in your list that would add something new.
Mixing up Missions
Missions are next, and in my experience are the biggest contributors to 40K burnout . Many of us play the same mission over and over again which removes the unpredictability aspect of the game of just who is going to win, or even when we play a custom or narrative mission both sides always try to be equal.
Now of course there needs to be rules and point values for competitive play, as this is only fair, but if you allow yourself to experience 40K as a grimdark wargame then why does it always have to be fair?
When as any 40K battle in the Black Library books been fair?
Try your hand at playing an asymmetrical mission.
Put that fortification in the center of the table and set up some razor wire and emplacements for your 1000 points of Space Marines vs. 2000+ points of opposing miniatures attacking form all sides. See if you can hold out for the Emperor for six turns until reinforcements arrive.
Send in that suicidal strike squad to try and take down an opposing titan.
If the 40K narrative is full of heroic last stands then why aren’t more of us making that last stand in our games?
My final piece of burnout advice if you prefer something a bit less radical and more comfortable would be to recheck your HQ choices.
If you have been running that Chapter Maser in your list for months, how about swapping him out for a Librarian or even a Chaplain. If your HQ choice isn’t needed to unlock certain army options then such a swap can again offer a slightly different playstyle without altering of changing much.
So for the other 40K vets out there, what has kept you going and enjoying the game all these years and many battles later. The young bloods in the hobby are looking for that heroic intervention.
