Warhammer 40K: Are 10th Edition Weapons Really Less Deadly?

Will Warhammer 40K’s 10th edition actually be a less deadly game?  It’s complicated.

Warhammer  40K is getting it’s 10th edition sometime very soon. It promises to be a major rework of a lot of the game. In particular, the designers have stated that the game is going to be a little bit less deadly. Units are supposed to survive a bit longer, letting you have more fun. Now that we’ve gotten a look at a decent number of weapons, we can start to judge how this is playing out. So let’s take a  look and see if the weapons are any less deadly.

Anti-Infantry Weaponry Seems More Deadly

Based on the basic stats a lot of the infantry weapons, they don’t seem any less deadly. In fact, some seem more. Take the basic bolt rifle. It’s now a combination of three “old” variants. It’s not really any less deadly. In fact,  compared to the standard old bolt rifle, it’s kept pretty similar stats, losing some range and gaining a bunch to hit if standing still. This doesn’t really look less deadly.

How about the Shurikan Cannon? Well it’s stats are the same. In fact trading the old Shuriken rule for sustained hits and ignores cover seems to make it more deadly. Certainly, its max damage has gone up. 

What about Terminators? Well, their weapons don’t seem all that less deadly. The Storm Bolter is pretty much the same. Heavy Flamers got a boost. Cyclones are pretty similar. Assault Cannons lost AP but can deal mortal wounds, which is a pretty fair trade-off. Melee has a bit more of a downgrade, but it’s not a lot. 

The big stand out is with Twin-Linked weapons,, which have lost about half their attacks, at least at range. This does bring down their damage, but the wound re-roll stops it from being a huge hit.

Weapons Aren’t The Whole Story

It seems that in general, weapons that are aimed at anti-infantry have not really gotten any less deadly. In fact, a few that we have seen have gotten better. However, weapons’ on their own are not the be-all and end-all of deadliness. Unit and army rules can add a lot to the damage output. Blanket AP bonuses changed a lot. So perhaps army rule changes are what makes the game less deadly? I don’t think we’ve really seen anough of these to judge. However, if there is a change to make the game less deadly, this is a good place to look.

Tanks Are A Stand Out

One stand out does seem to be tanks. Takes have gotten a deadly tougher from what we have seen. So far, we haven’t really seen a major jump in the anti-tank weapons we’ve gotten. Melta in particular, seems to be in an odd place. The basic Rhino can shrug off a decent number of melta hits, as they now need 5s to wound most vehicles. That’s a decent change. On the other hand, we haven’t seen stats for a lot of the big guns, so who knows at this point? The fact that d6 damage weapons are still out there argues that for tanks at least the game is less deadly. For infantry, si far the verdict is still out.

Let us know if you think the weapons are less deadly, down in the comments! 

Author: Abe Apfel

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.