The Beast Rampant | 06 Jul 2015 9:41 a.m. PST |
I wanted to title this, "Please Warhammer, Don't Hurt 'Em!", but I just couldn't justify it. I got into WHFB near the beginning of third edition, and played through most all of 5th's run. By that time, my longtime group had all scattered, and I was disgusted with GW over WH40K 3rd and such, so I dropped out. Cue life outside GW. But all the talk of Oldhammer has made me long for the Good Old Days, and to dust off my once-beloved armies. Plus, reading all the rancor surrounding- well, you know- lots of WH players say they will continue with 8th, (the prior edition), or return to still earlier editions. And as the circle seems to be closed on Warhammer Massed battle, there seems little reason not to. Which brings me back around to the question: what is/will be/would be your WHFB edition of choice, and why? Please try and limit remarks regarding "that New Kid" out of this, there's plenty of discussion about that elsewhere. |
Pictors Studio | 06 Jul 2015 9:49 a.m. PST |
I started with 5th, but it was a too hero hammery. It was the same problem they had with 2nd edition 40K. When they switched to 3rd 40K it felt like something similar needed to happen to WHFB and they did that with 6th edition. Characters weren't the be all and end all of winning a game. Units weren't ridiculously huge, you had a pretty good chance with a 20 man unit. The magic was simplified. I thought it was better. Of course Warmaster was better still. |
f u u f n f | 06 Jul 2015 9:50 a.m. PST |
I love games of 5th edition, it is what I started with. But I also have more recently discovered 1st edition and love to play it. If I had to chose just one though… probably 5th just because of nostalgia. |
Martian Root Canal | 06 Jul 2015 9:53 a.m. PST |
1st and 2nd edition for me. |
Ping Pong | 06 Jul 2015 9:55 a.m. PST |
3rd then 8th. Is Age of Sigmar GW's "New Coke?" |
M C MonkeyDew | 06 Jul 2015 9:58 a.m. PST |
2nd, then 3rd…then 6th 3rd got a bit fiddly and then the rest seemed to be trying to un-fiddly it to the point of madness. 2nd is still very free form but recognizable. I started with third BTW and have never seen 1st. bob |
Mars Miniatures | 06 Jul 2015 10:02 a.m. PST |
As a teen in the 80s I bought WHFB 3rd edition and 40k 1st. So my heart tells me that is the best edition. However, right now at this moment since I only just recently got bitten by the nostalgia bug and bought 1st edition and all its expansions in pristine condition, my mind tells me its 1st EDITION all the way, baby!!! Until, I find a reasonable priced 3rd Hardback that isnt falling apart and both Realm of Chaos books without having to sell a liver, I will not flip flop my decision! :p |
PiersBrand | 06 Jul 2015 10:14 a.m. PST |
Still on my 1984 2nd ed copy… may move to the new 3rd ed, but need to think on it… |
Garand | 06 Jul 2015 10:19 a.m. PST |
Is Age of Sigmar GW's "New Coke?"
I have a feeling AoS is going to be GW's D&D 4th edition. Only time will tell… I've played or dabbled with WHFB as a ruleset since 4th (I started collecting in 3rd, but was too young/poor to actually pursue it seriously). I think it peaked overall with 6th, but will probably stick with 8th for the time being… Damon. |
Mister Tibbles | 06 Jul 2015 10:20 a.m. PST |
Started with 1st edition, thinking it was an RPG! I have collected all the editions since then. My favorite visually and play-wise is 5th edition, just nudging out 4th. 5th edition also had all the great boxed campaigns. I loved the revised Bretonians but was dreadful at painting them! I also liked the focus on heroes and wizards. When I discovered Warmaster in 2000, I fell in love with it and never looked back to WHFB. It had the great look of 5th edition, but with better mechanics. 10mm was a fun change of pace, allowing me to paint true armies. $7 USD a unit was also nice! I still collected all the WHFB books, just as a completest. BTW an upside of getting into 5th edition today--the books are cheap to buy because of all the perceived 'hatred' toward it! But I'm an old guy reading TMP, so what do I know anymore! I'm not GW's market. |
Tommy20 | 06 Jul 2015 10:34 a.m. PST |
My group started with 4th & played through 6th before giving up. Every once in a while, we talk about breaking out 4th again for a lark, but haven't mustered up enough interest yet. |
The Beast Rampant | 06 Jul 2015 10:43 a.m. PST |
My nostalgia gland says 3rd, the edition I played the most by far (when Rogue Trader came out, the only child had to learn to share), but it WAS really crunchy. I remember I grumbled that 4th had filed off all the rough edges, but in retrospect, I can't say (or remember, really!) if that might have been a good thing. If I got back into this, one of my big factors would be a more modest figure count. My days of fielding six-square clanrat and seven-square skavenslave blocks are behind me. |
kallman | 06 Jul 2015 10:44 a.m. PST |
I started with second edition WFB but liked sixth edition as characters, magic, monsters, and troops were pretty well balanced. If I were to get the chance to play it would be sixth. |
Coyotepunc and Hatshepsuut | 06 Jul 2015 10:57 a.m. PST |
3rd for me. And Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader. |
KenofYork | 06 Jul 2015 11:00 a.m. PST |
Another important choice is what to use for army lists. I suggest choosing one of the all in one type books. You can use the first Ravening Hordes to play second edition, Warhammer Armies to play 3rd and the newer Ravening Hordes booklet should work well enough for 6-8th edition. Trying to balance all the power creep books is a lot of work, and the all in one answer works pretty well. |
Tgerritsen | 06 Jul 2015 11:07 a.m. PST |
I remember seeing 1st Edition at the Citadel booth at Gen Con a million years ago. I loved the artwork and have been hooked ever since. |
Mithmee | 06 Jul 2015 12:35 p.m. PST |
I started with 4th Edition and love playing the game up into the beginning of 5th Edition. By the time 6th Edition hit I was hating GW. |
Royal Marine | 06 Jul 2015 12:40 p.m. PST |
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KaweWeissiZadeh | 06 Jul 2015 1:34 p.m. PST |
3rd edition because it's basically 2nd with some extra fluff. |
skippy0001 | 06 Jul 2015 1:36 p.m. PST |
2nd edition-easier to add roleplaying. |
Axebreaker | 06 Jul 2015 3:31 p.m. PST |
I would say 3rd edition for me if I start playing again. Christopher |
meledward23 | 06 Jul 2015 5:43 p.m. PST |
"Of course Warmaster was better still." -the truth ;) |
langobard | 07 Jul 2015 3:46 a.m. PST |
It's interesting that the various editions of WH sort of bounced between super-units, super-heroes and super-magic, which leads someone like me to place another vote with Pictors observation 'of course, Warmaster was better still'. For me, Warmaster hits the big battle spot that I love like no other edition of WH. |
myrm11 | 07 Jul 2015 9:22 a.m. PST |
Started with a mix of 1st and 2nd – the 2nd Ed box set plus Forces of Fantasy from 1st Ed (all you needed to do was convert one stat to a number from letter and add 1 IIRC). For me 2nd edition peaked with Ravening Hordes – and for me most of 3rd Ed was codifying and clarifying the changes Ravening Hordes introduced to sort it into a proper version. Its there that I think they had it right – decent number of figures so its still a mass combat game and units were dominant enough that Heroes couldn't just walk over. Later editions were workable but there was always something not quite on what I was looking for – be it one hero taking out a 1500point army, or a 12figure army, or dominant magic phases each seemed to be trying to fix something and succeeding but forgetting its context. There are some Oldhammer guys who turn up occasionally at our club and with 3rd Edition they seem to be having large battles, fun and not spending ages parsing rule segments despite playing pretty competitively…that's quite an attractive recommendation to me…. |
nazrat | 07 Jul 2015 9:29 a.m. PST |
6th Edition was the best by far for me, although 7th had some nice tweaks. |
Rusty Cyborg | 07 Jul 2015 10:07 a.m. PST |
3rd Edition with Warhammer Armies or 6th Edition with Ravening Hordes. |
Prince Rupert of the Rhine | 07 Jul 2015 1:03 p.m. PST |
3rd edition for me who doesn't enjoy forming units in square or shield wall. Plus one book with all the army lists bonus. Also add in Mighty Empires (which I have), the original WFRP (which I still have), Man O'war (which I have to), Warhammer siege and the Realms of Chaos books (well the first one with proper army lists not the second one with weird doesn't fit at all army lists)and you can create a full Warhammer campaign on land and sea. What's not to like |
(Phil Dutre) | 07 Jul 2015 1:50 p.m. PST |
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Coelacanth | 08 Jul 2015 10:17 a.m. PST |
Warhammer first appeared on my radar with second edition, but I didn't see it up close until third was released. For a variety of reasons, I never did get the third ed. rulebook (one of the reasons being the notorious quality of the binding!) Over time, I sort of drifted away, but when Warhammer Ancient Battles was released, I finally took the plunge. That game and Warhammer English Civil War are the only Warhammer battle games that I currently possess. On the other hand, I bought the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay book the minute it was released, and it quickly became my favorite game of that time. I later bought the paperback of WHFRP (re-released by Hogshead Games) to help preserve my original hardback copy; I still have both copies. Ron |
IronMike | 08 Jul 2015 10:55 a.m. PST |
Normally I'd say 2nd edition: Just enough fluff to be inspiring, and the mechanics are clear enough to be usable… …currently however, I'm going with whatever set of rules cheese off so-called 'true wargamers' the most, so Age Of Sigmar it is! |
dice gunner | 11 Jul 2015 2:14 p.m. PST |
I started at the end of 4th and ended in 6th. I absolutely refused to chase the tail again. Me and my friends seperate from the crowd and enjoyed it all the way up until we crawled out of our cave and heard how it crashed with 8th. I am glad I stopped. But another friend of mind got me into this layout that works quite well. 7th rules with 6th ed. Armybooks. Not a bad combo indeed. |