With the announcement of the 10th edition of Warhammer 40000 Games Workshop, once again, has us - the players - hungry for details and refreshing the Warhammer Community page like crazy. Each and every post, image, even the tiniest snippet of information about what the new edition might look like has the players speculate, discuss and wish for the swift arrival of the new ruleset. This, however, has had a twofold effect on the player-base with part of the fans taking a step away from the now-old 9th edition ruleset and another part perceiving this as an opportunity to try out new things or push even harder to secure those GT and Super Major wins. In this article I will focus on the former group, as it is an interesting phenomenon that, in my humble opinion, deserves as much attention as those tournament winning lists
DISCLAIMER: This article loosely relates to the data and findings of a
survey Contact Lost conducted in October, 2021 on the general feeling of
burnout in 40k. At that time we invited Archon Skari to talk about the topic
and help us interpret the results. I believe the data gathered and specifically
the comments collected from the survey’s participants are timeless and, to an
extent, are also applicable today. If you want to listen to the full episode,
this link will take you to the exact moment in the video where we begin the
discussion:
Change… is constant
New edition being announced generally is a great thing. In some players,
however, knowing that a new ruleset is on the horizon generates exactly the
same kind of emotions as the concept of attending a tournament with old rules
after a new dataslate had arrived. Many a time, new rules or FAQs arrive after the
cut-off date of a tournament and the TO do not wish to upset the players by
allowing untested rules at short notice. Whether these decisions are right or
wrong, the fact is that some players question the sense of playing according to
out-dated rules and could go as far as skip the event entirely as they no
longer find it alluring.
We are seeing this happen right now in the 40k community and even the
crew of Contact Lost has fallen victim to this „trend” with tweak yearning for
any opportunity to put minis on the table (also virtual one) and Joker taking a
step back because “what is the point?”. The prospect of 10th edition
has pushed some players into this burnout-esque state where competitive play
makes no sense anymore. Why? Relevance, I guess. Players, especially the
ambitious ones who aim for the top spot at events, enjoy the bragging rights as
well as that hint of appreciation if the event was packed with known names. Even
more so, if they came up with a new successful build that took a major event by
storm. The current 40k environment, with meta-analysing articles, Youtube
channels with tacticas and podcasts featuring the latest winners, albeit unlike
anything we have seen ever before, is ephemeral and relatively short-lived. New rules, be it in the form of an FAQ, a
dataslate or a promised new edition seem to take away from all that if not
invalidate it completely. Have you ever gone back and listened to an older
episode of your favourite podcast or watched a meta tier list from a few months
ago? Obviously, you have not and it is for the same reason.
At Contact Lost we give it a lot of consideration when planning future
episodes. We often try to figure out what our listeners would find interesting
and whether inviting yet another player piloting a bucketload of Dark Angels
terminators, or whatever dominates the meta at that particular moment in time,
would make sense. Same goes for inviting players who had just won an event and
the balancing dataslate dropped the next day. 9 out of 10 times the decision is
not to feature that player or list due to it being “old news”. And nobody likes
to be put in the “old news” drawer.
We’ve all been there…
This feeling, this burnout-like sensation cannot really be helped, but is
a common feeling among the players. When we asked people in 2021 whether they
have ever felt burnout in this hobby, a staggering 82% of respondents admitted
to having gone through a stage like that and another 9% would not go as far as
to call it burnout, but something similar.
Our survey showed that if there is any dominant reason for people
experiencing similar sensation – it is the meta shifts and power creep. 60% of
respondents pointed to this answer and for good reason: for your typical
tournament goer swapping an army or a set of units is cost, both money- and
time-wise. The new edition almost automatically translates into new rules and
models, with builds potentially being invalidated as soon as the new indexes
drop. Sometimes even sheer previews let us think that this or that unit would or
would not see play. I, for one, am already saving up for the new Tyranids range
as the new Termagants and Lictors are only a tip of an ice-berg. I am sure
Space Marine players are having similar thoughts.
What to do while we wait?
The new edition is still months away. We have been promised more insights into it through Warhammer Fest and Kansas City but, like the ones we have seen so far, the reveals will drive some to elation and others to impatience and… well… further burnout. We asked our listeners what their ways of battling that hobby apathy was and we also have some ideas of our own. Although these will not be perfect solutions to all, perhaps you find some inspiration in the hints below.
44% of our respondents suggested focusing on other aspects of the hobby and I could not agree more.
This is, by far, one of the most multi-faceted hobbies out there, but it is easy to forget if you only focus on the competitive aspect of it. Options include, but are not limited to:
a) Catch up on your painting / modelling – one way of getting ready for the new edition could be to get all your models battle-ready. The beginning of the edition is usually the time of experimentation where finding new synergies and powerful combos are key to your tournament success. Make sure that all your models are prepared for that and go beyond those three basic colours and step out of that damn safety-bubble and magnetize that arm with the sword already. Give yourself multiple options to play with for when the time comes.
b) Get into event organising yourself – your area
might enjoy a new tournament or a new pair of hands on deck for an event that
already exists. Be it a local RTT or a major event, the logistics of TO-ing more
often than not are too much for one person. Be there for your local club or
tournament organiser, become that helpful part of the community and you might
be surprised with the level of recognition and a network of people you get to
build while on that. Find the area that excites you in TOing – I found my
element in finding sponsors for our local events. For you it could be becoming a referee - after all if there is shortage of anything in this hobby - it's the referees. You could also organise less
conventional gaming events like “laid-back” gaming which is newbie-friendly or
tournaments with army swaps where a player gets to “showcase” what his/her army
does and then they swap armies so that the opponent gets to pilot the army
having seen what the army does in the hands of a skilled player. If your local
community already has many new players, perhaps a 3-man team tournament with a
condition that each team must contain at least one rookie could be an option. You
might also consider organising “small points” Incursion-oriented tournaments
for something like 600-point armies that take up an afternoon instead of a
weekend and require a change of your mindset due to points and mission
constraints.
c) Get involved
with your local gaming store – depending on the country your local gaming store
could be the centre of action for hobbyists in the area. Even though you do not
see much point in playing the game competitively, other, especially fresh
players could use your insights, your view on tactics, hell.. your coaching!
There are multiple initiatives that I could suggest that (at least in my area)
are usually bottom-up initiatives that turn out to be massive hits. Consider
suggesting to your LGS that you could organise “tactica days” with rules
tutorials and tactical basics; showcase games at conventions to attract new
people, painting tutorials in the shop or any other area, bitz flea markets
where people exchange parts or models they do not need anymore
d) Get into
content creation – chances are, if you are a competitive player suffering from hobby
burnout, that there is a ton of ideas and tactical solutions in your head just
waiting to see daylight. Think of a way of sharing these with the broader
community – a podcast, a Youtube channel, a blog? The world is your oyster and
there will not be a better time for building a following than now. And do not
worry about competition – if you find your niche, you will do just fine. The
new edition, new models, TV series (Henry Cavill yes, yes,YES!) and potentially
movies will attract a lot of new blood to the hobby, so perhaps you could be
the one who attracts their attention. And remember that this is not only about
competitive gaming – you could boast with your painting and modelling skills,
your knowledge of lore or Horus Heresy book reviews. The options are endless.
e) Play on
TTS – yes, yes… it’s not the same, but it is as close as you can get. You will
be surprised by the amount of discord channels, online leagues (both teams and
singles) and the plethora of possibilities this tool provides. Most important
one: it allows you to break out of the routine of your local meta and exposes
you to players from all over the world within the confines of your own
man-cave. And don’t worry, no one will find out if you get your ass kicked 😊 And if
you are not a native speaker of English – this is also a great opportunity to
hone your language skills.
f) Try Kill
Team or Crusade – you have the models already, so why not give it a shot? I’d
bet $10 that there is a bunch of blokes in your area who play those that you
have never met and who would be happy to welcome a new face. And it is still
technically 40k so you are not yet a sinner… unlike AoS…
g) Find new
content online – chances are that you are very focused on your national meta /
tournament scene and you hardly ever poke your head out to look beyond it. Again, the world of 40k
content has grown more in the last 3 years than it has in the previous 20 years
so there is plenty to choose from and if you are reading this – you have made
your first step. In our future articles we will post suggestions of
attention-worthy online content but for the time being – trust google.
h) Consider playing in teams - although it may not be possible locally, TTS allows for this easily. And trust me when I tell you that it is a WHOLE NEW EXPERIENCE of the game. Picking the right army composition, the pairing process and actually playing brings this hobby to a completely new level. You will also find, that team compositions tend to bring certain units if not whole armies back from the dead as they might have a niche in a team composition that they do not have otherwise in singles.
i) Merc for the WTC - if you want to be as competitive as possible but don't know how, or you are not yet considered fit for your country's national team, playing as a mercenary at the World Team Championship may be food for your thought. Join a team of seven other individuals who wish to compete at the highest team level and show them top teams that skill and dedication do not have a flag and be the first one to win the WTC as Mercenaries!
The new edition is almost here. Here’s hopes that it meets all the
expectations. We all need to wait patiently but whether this time is spent in a
productive way depends solely on you. The ideas above are just the beginning,
there is so much more that can be done to kill the passing minutes, hours and
days. I strongly encourage picking up new stuff even if it is outside of your
comfort zone. What is the worst that could happen? Worst case scenario: the new
edition will come and reset it all…
Let us know in the comments if you have any other ideas how to kill time
while GW drip-feeds us new information about 10th… If you have not,
check out our latest episodes here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCztFu1z7KkjIpMj0l_NDC4g
Author: Tomasz ‘tweak’ Data
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