40K BREAKING: Points & Power Level Explained
Games Workshop unveils how the Power Level & Points will work in Warhammer 40,000 8th Edition!
Yesterday we got a good look at the unit Datasheets and a bit of a tease on the new Power Levels for units. Well today GW whips out the points to show us how those all work together.
via Warhammer Community
“Datasheets include something called a Power Level. This is a rough approximation of a unit’s relative effectiveness on the battlefield. These can be used to very quickly throw together two roughly equal forces to fight a battle. Or, in the case of some narrative and open play scenarios, will determine who takes what role in the game. For example, if you’re playing the “Ambush” mission, the side with the highest total Power Level for their army will always play the role of the attacker, where the smaller enemy force will need to escape the trap.”
“Power Levels are a great way to very quickly get a roughly balanced game organised and started, but they do not account for the various wargear options and upgrades a unit can have. For this level of granularity, you have points. These will be just as detailed as they are now, right down to points for individual weapon upgrades on every squad member.”
Read the Full Article HERE
In terms of points, they will be used specifically for Matched Play. In the example they used, they showed off a typical Space Marine Tactical Squad. Their Power Level starts a 5 but in terms of points, the breakdown is as follows:
- Tactical Marine: 13 Points
- Grav-Pistol for the Sergeant: 7 Points
- Multi-Meltas: 27 Points
Obviously, there will be more upgrades and options, but based on what we’ve seen so far for the weapons it looks like GW really has gone in an re-balanced all the points based on the upgrades too. They are also expecting games to go a bit quicker and are suggesting a couple (2) hours for a 2000 point game.
On top of that, there was another, slightly more important change:
“In matched play, your points will be capped across the whole game. So if you’re planning to summon units to the battlefield, you will need to set points aside to do this.
You will no longer be able to indefinitely replicate Daemon units, and instead, summoning will be used more as an alternative mechanism of deployment, much like deep striking or outflanking is today (both of which exist in their own forms in the new Warhammer 40,000 too).”
Advertisement
They do mention that you will not need to specify what those points will be spent on – just that you have to set them aside for the game. That means, if are playing a 2000 point game and you want to set aside 250 points for summoning, you get to dictate what those 250 points will be spent on during the game.
This may seem like a handicap, but the fact that you can choose what you want is a pretty big deal! You’ll be able to switch between summoning a couple of Objective scorers for one scenario and maybe a big unit of heavy hitting daemons the next. Maybe even a Greater Daemon to shore-up some defense – points permitting of course. For Matched Play/Tournament Players, that versatility could come in pretty handy!
Games Workshop did confirm that the point will not be on the Datasheet but will appear else where in the book. They laid out their reasoning pretty well:
“This is because you don’t need them to play if you don’t want, which frees up room to include more rules for weapons on the datasheet. It also means that, in the future, points for units could change without invalidating existing books – so if one unit or weapon starts to dominate tournaments, or certain units don’t seem to be carrying their weight in competitive games, we can address the balance.”
That’s pretty good reasoning in my opinion. That also means this will be a Living Ruleset that will change and adjust over time. No more outdated units and codexes for years – GW will be taking an active role in addressing balance issues as they crop-up.
What do you think of these changes? Are you Pro Living Ruleset or against not having points with the Datasheets? Let us know in the comments below!
