40K FAQs – There Should Be ONLY ONE
I think GW should take a page from Privateer and simplify the entire FAQ process for everyone’s sanity – both their’s and yours.
I LOVE the new GW. They have come back into their customer base with both arms open and given people pretty much what they have been clamoring for – for decades.
But like they say, you should be careful what you wish for – because you just might get it.
For quite a while, folks have been saying things along the lines of: “The game would be perfect if only GW put out perfect rules and regular FAQs.”
The problem of course is obvious. We now have a game that is 3 months old with TEN FAQs out already. They drop at random times and are a mixed bag. Sometimes we get big game changers like the flyers don’t count as units on the board for instant death ruling – sometimes we get points updates, sometimes we a comma moved a couple of words to the left.
We are going to get an annual Chapter Approved book each year.
It all sounds great doesn’t it?
It does except that the last time GW did something like this it was a mess. Most of you don’t remember but 1998’s 3rd Edition had annual rules updates and supplements in the Chapter Appoved Volumes 2-4.
These guy and his buddies
3rd was a game that was also a clean break from the previous edition. It too started with very clean efficient rules. Then it slowly became overly complex and unwieldy with more and more rules, and errata added over the years. Just before 4th came along, you needed stack of books, printouts and codexes to play a game.
The Kurgan finds it easier to cut off heads than print out all the FAQs.
What to Do?
I do think there is a real risk of chasing your tail on rules and while there will always be unblancing forces in any game as complex as 40K. GW can show prudence by not over-reacting.
I propose the following approach – used by Privateer Press:
- ONE Warhammer 40,000 FAQ (Forge World can do it’s own)
- The ONE FAQ covers everything, core rulebook and codexes
- The ONE FAQ is released on a pre-anounced regular schedule (say quarterly)
“I think there should be only one…”
What Does this Do
- This lets GW not rush to judgement. They can take time to evaluate the game and not only identify the real issues, but have the time to fix them correctly. Measure twice, cut once and all of that.
- This gives the organized play events a known FAQ schedule. They wont get blindsided by sudden FAQ drops or imbalanced at the last moment. I’m sure some type of FAQ schedule can be worked out to be ideal for the small number of major annual events.
- This simplifies things for players. You only have to mess with ONE file. Just snag it once every 3 months, and you are totally current with the game. No more shifting around over a dozen PDFs or showing up at the game table only to be blindsided by something that came out a week back for an army you don’t play.
I want you to look at these two sample FAQs to compare them and see what I am talking about.
GW 40K FAQ/Errata (Main rulebook)
Warmachine/Hordes Main FAQ (old example)
Of course these days Privateer also have all unit cards online and they are updated with FAQ/errata updates.
~I’d be all for this approach and want your opinion on it.
