Thursday, February 9

Will 6th ed bring back the lost sheep?


Over the last little while I have seen guys getting burnt out on the state of 40k. It might be for a myriad of reasons. Well this morning I was thinking about the 6th edition rumors and thought to myself "Will it make a difference?" Lets see.




The different reasons I have seen people fall away:

1. Sick of the the "crap," of GW corporate:
These individuals don't have any gripes with the game itself, but they were pissed when fine cast was released and then a major price hike was presented in the middle of what I feel will be called the 'minor depression.' These people usually sold all their armies and went back to video games and other hobbies. I don't think that these people will come back with 6th edition unless GW does an amazing job with marketing and some price incentives for new/ returning players (Which won't happen). Often times when these people leave they almost hate all things GW...Which is kind of sad, to be honest.

Likelihood of finding this sheep: Low


2. Codex creep:
Some people got really irritated about the codex creep of Grey Knights. Before this codex it was a debate as to whether it existed or not. Codex GK ended this debate, it exists and it pisses these people off. These people didn't sell their armies and most likely just disappeared into their basements to play friends who have social agreements to not play the newest cheese lists. Most of these people still love the hobby, they just hate GK and power creep and what it does to their really beautiful Tyranids army. With the arrival of 6th ed they for sure will re-evaluate their armies and see if the playing field has been leveled some. They will likely return until the meta shifts with the new rules, then there is a chance of losing them again once the new power armies surface.

Likelihood of finding this sheep: Average



3. Bored with 5th
This is where the large majority of the gamers I know are at. We have gimmicked 5th edition to the bone, we all are aware of the ins and outs of the edition and frankly it is getting to be the 'same old thing.' This isn't a bad thing, it just means these players want something fresh. This player may not be gone, but they will pick up their fantasy army or war machine list and give it a few runs. They might also encourage their gaming group to pick up specialist games or some Dark heresy RPG, anything that isn't 5th edition! With the launch of 6th edition this player will be at the forefront of updating their armies to the meta.

Likelihood of finding this sheep: High



So what do you think? Are you one of the lost sheep, maybe you didn't know you were. Will 6th ed make any difference to these players? Will it make a difference to you?


Duke

8 comments:

  1. P.S. I realize it is hard to read that blue, ill fix it later... sorry, lol

    Duke

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  2. I agree with your thoughts.

    #1 people are those that like to bitch and there is no pleasing those people.

    #2 well, that can be legit when it comes to dealing with powergamers driving away the gaming population. If they level the field and fix some of the abuses in these powergamer lists then yea, you will see people return.

    #3 Again, when you have a fresh injection to the rules people will return also. It gets boring when you show up for gaming and everyone is playing BloodAngelGreyKnightSpaceWolfetc...on the same tables over and over. Kinda sucks to go to a tournament and 50% of the armies are of one or two types. I miss the old days of variety in army typs at events. If you eat the same thing every day for every meal, well it gets pretty damm old real fast without variety.

    Then again you will have some bitchers that will quit the game because they won't like the changes to the rules and how it affects their armies. They will cry and bitch, throw their army on Ebay and then either play something else or rebuild a new list that they can tool out to abuse legally with the new rules.

    My only comment is "shut up, play the game and have fun...or go play Magic..."

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  3. I agree completely with your list. It's probable that 6th will shift the codex power hierarchy, although I doubt that armies like GK will be severely affected. But 40k as a hobby is in a decent place right now (GW's business strategy is insulting, but if you've already got the models, you're largely good to go). Fantasy is another matter entirely, and I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on what's happening there.

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  4. Sixth will probably not fix the game at all. Theyve gone through 5 editions and its still clunky and just bad.

    Prices arent going to get lower which means creep wont go away either. And as long as theors space marines (always will) there will be unblanace.

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  5. Styx hits the nail on the head

    Quote "codex power hierarchy"
    This is the main problem. I for one and not bored with 5th Edition. Still finding it fun and enjoying the game. ALl the armies are meant to play different. Abit shocking I know.

    To include all the whims of the palyers base will create a very clunky game "ie that leaked BRB"

    The samethings people are crying over, they complained about in the old edition, but now want the back?

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  6. I recall when we went from 3rd to 4th when I worked for GW and the interest it had. It did bring back old players to playing the game. There was some good buzz around here in Tampa when the 5th rollover came. I call it the honeymoon period where people are learning the rules and playing their books to see what works and such....then about 2 years in you start to see the crazy horse lists and the cycle starts again.

    Sometimes Codex creep is a factor, sometimes GW makes a good book then they just drop the ball and their focus goes away from balance to making the latest and greatest that everyone will want to play to sell models. Personally, I think it is when the game is no longer fresh and interesting is when players will wane and the abuse puppies start legally abusing their codex lists for power builds to win their games. It's a cycle.....sorta like the tide...tide washes in, then out...

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  7. I agree styx, the cycle does wash in and out. Hopefully when the tide comes in this time more driftwood sticks on the shores.

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  8. I think this will be the first time a new edition will have sparked interest for me. Seems like during the transition from 3rd to 4th and 4th to 5th, my friends and I all swore we weren't going to change... we'd just keep playing the way we liked. And we were playing all the time. This go round, I think it will be refreshing to have the game be a little different. And lately, I don't even play that often.

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