The 9th edition of Warhammer 40,000 came out in the summer and with it the promise of a modern digital implementation of the game’s extensive set of rules. Now one of the most important functions of the system – data sheets for setting up individual units – is available in an app, along with a tool for building your armies. The problem is that finding the app is a bit of a hassle and understanding it is even more so.
Job one is finding the application on the Apple and Google storefronts. This is made difficult by the fact that there are literally dozens of licensed games on both platforms using common search terms like “Warhammer”, “40,000” and others. You can find the iOS version in the Apple App Store, and the Android version on Google Play. Or just look for the specific name – Warhammer 40,000: The App – and make sure to grab the one published by Games Workshop.
Once you’ve installed the app, you’ll be asked to do a My Warhammer account. This is a new, uniform login for all associated Games Workshop properties. This includes mobile apps like Warhammer 40,000: The App, but also for the community portal and for shop windows – too Games-Workshop.com, ForgeWorld.co.uk, and BlackLibrary.com.
After you sign up, you’ll be asked to sign up for a subscription, which costs $ 4.99 per month in the US. Register by January 9, 2021. Your first month is free.
It also gets a little uncomfortable.
What do you actually get for your subscription fee? access to Warhammer 40,000: Core BookFor one, in the 9th edition of the Advanced Rules section, where you can play something other than an easy pick-up game. Plus, you’ll get access to every Codex for every faction in the Warhammer 40,000 universe … as long as it’s Edition 8 content.
Say you want to play as Space Marines. Well, Games Workshop just released a 9th edition Code: Space MarinesTherefore, the rules for the 8th edition released in 2019 are not available in the app. you have to pay $ 50 Activate the content of the app for this book with a special code. And this is how the in-app rules will work for every army in the game in the future. Of course, you can only access this in-app content if you continue to pay the $ 4.99 subscription fee for the app.
How many aspects of Warhammer 40,000 (the game), this introduces a lot of edge cases.
For example, my beloved Dark Angels Space Marines chapter does not currently have a valid codex for the 8th Edition. The rules for the 9th edition just went too far to last longer. While Games Workshop is offering a version of this book for me in the 9th edition, there is Index Astartes: Dark Angels that she released in August. It’s a free supplement designed to help me with this. While this document was available as PDF for months (and also requires a copy of Code: Space Marines
Even crazier is the fact that Games Workshop continues to have issues with the delivery of some of its most popular products. While you can pick them up Code: Space Marines now online from the company’s website, Codex: Necrones – The other army was represented in the hugely popular army War hammer 40,000: Indomitus Boxed Set – is out of stock there and there is no way to unlock these rules in the mobile app without receiving the code that came with the physical book. Another reason to check with yours friendly local game storeas there are likely to be more copies in the wild.
With all this confusion aside, if you’ve already invested in the miniatures and the rules for using them, the additional $ 4.99 is a monthly entry fee to gain access to the Battle Forge. This part of the app, which went live on Monday, allows you to build legal armies on the fly. It’s closely tied to the current set of rules, including hooks for breaking full armies into smaller divisions. I was quickly able to mix up the models I currently own (including those I haven’t painted yet) into a few different powers.
While the Battle Forge interface is straightforward and the software itself is pretty snappy, you will need to educate yourself to really use it. It is not a tutorial or teaching tool, but a tool for committed gamers.
For now Warhammer 40,000: The App is in beta. There is no obligation to pay beyond the first month. Remember to remember to cancel this subscription within 30 days if you no longer want to use the app – or to buy books to unlock more content.
