Warhammer 40K: Kill Team Joint Ops – Bring On The Co-Op
The new edition of Kill Team is introducing a new mode of play that supports solo and co-op games. Here come the Joint Ops!
We’ve been hearing about the new edition of Kill Team and the buzz so far has been good. One of the new changes I’m most excited for is the introduction of a new Joint Ops mode. It’s part of the mission pack in the core book and GW as said they are going to support this mode moving forward with more missions and downloads. But what is it and how will it be playable both solo and co-operatively? Time for a look at the mechanics to find out!
“Joint Ops are player-versus-environment – or PvE – missions designed to offer a unique playground for commanders to test their skills, teach Kill Team to a friend, or try out new teams and strategies. The three missions contained in the Kill Team Core Book reinforce this concept of teaching skills and casual play, while future mission packs will expand the concept with new challenges.”
Joint Operations In Kill Team
The basics of the Joint Ops is similar to a regular Kill Team game. As the players, you’ve got to form your Kill Team by either using one faction and splitting the forces or by taking two halves of other Kill Teams and merging them together. And yes, you can really go nuts with the list building if you want.
The enemy faction is going to be made of a team of Non-Player Operatives, or NPOs. They are typically representative of a larger, less elite force than your Kill Team. What that translates to in game terms is that your Kill Team will always be outnumbered. But don’t count yourselves out by any means! You’ve got something on your side the enemy doesn’t: human knowledge. The NPOs are basically “programmed” with some pre-scripted actions/behaviors. Knowing this, you can (hopefully) use that to your advantage and overcome the numbers.
“Each model on the opposing team is assigned one of two NPO behaviours that dictate how they move, attack, and assign orders in the killzone. Brawlers are all about closing the distance and getting stuck into close combat, while Marksmen hang back and shoot – aiming to protect any objectives they see.”
The guidelines for running the NPOS depends on their roles. They are simple enough they fit on a single page!
When it comes to actual decisions or conflicting rules for the NPOs you’ve got a pretty simple guideline: “they do whatever is worse for the players.” Having played more than a few co-op games in the past when you’re running the enemies this simple rule really does make things way more interesting.
Choose Your Enemy
So how do you end up choosing the opposing force? WarCom explains:
“Missions have a tally of Wounds and NPOs are chosen from a list of universal datacards until they meet that amount. These datacards are completely model-agnostic and represent a variety of different unit types, so you can use whatever miniatures you have in your collection.”
This is a pretty interesting way to handle this one. I like the model-agnostic approach. Having the enemy forces be a “blank slate” means you can just add in whatever enemies you have available.
This also leans into the ability for you and your team to create whatever narrative you want to make. I dig it! The missions included are also simple and fun. There’s different maps to try out based on both Killzone Volkus and Gallowdark. So if you’ve got those sets you’re all set. After a few games of running the NPOs you’re only going to get faster with them. This seems like a really great way to experiment and try other Kill Teams out — and to bring a buddy along for the ride!
Kill Team Co-Op Is Just The Beginning
“This is just the beginning of co-op and solo play, providing a framework that will be expanded in the future. There will be new missions, enemies, killzones, and even more exciting mission packs coming for free online and in future products – so keep your eyes peeled as the new edition develops.”
Personally, I’m really looking forward to this mode. Not only will it allow you to play solo games vs NPOs and get some practice in but co-op is a fantastic way to teach. I’ve pulled in quite a few friends over the years by playing 2v2 team games of 40k as that was a great way to play and teach. Now, Kill Team is getting a way to do multiplayer that’s lower-stakes than a typical game. It might sound trivial but removing the competitive element to the game really does make things more approachable for new players.
Are you going to try out the Joint Ops with a buddy? Or are you brave enough to try it in solo mode?
