"Warlord's Victory at Sea - Huge Disappointment" Topic

I was really looking forward to Warlords New 1/1800 ships and VaS rules for WWII naval. I was hoping for the price, VERY high price, for each Ship, that they would deliver something exceptional AT LEAST on par with GHQs excellent 1/2400 scale line. But NO the models leave MUCH to be desired and are inferior to even the XPForge line (available on Etsy) for about ONE QUARTER the cost. Even the old Axis & Allies ships selling for a premium on eBay are Cheaper and Higher Quality.

Very disappointing!

AND today, after having spent big bucks on their Bundle WITH Rules they announce those weren't the REAL RULES … nope you gotta shell out another $64 USD to get the REAL RULES. Little wonder … the initial set sold with the bundle was obviously incomplete, unclear and ambiguous if not actually wrong in certain areas. All in all a really HUGE disappointment. Ugh.

Seriously? I haven't been following any of this but Warlord actually sold a bundle including the rules only to know expect people will pay ANOTHER $64 USD to get the so called REAL rules?
That is ridiculous.

Don't blame you for being disappointed.

$64 USD does seem to me to be a lot for the rules. (I know we've discussed rulebook prices before). BUT in Warlord's defense, the Starter Set description does state:

The Victory at Sea rules manual presented in this starter game contains all you need to know to begin playing with the fleets included.

I direct you to the part that says "begin playing with the fleets included"…. doesn't explicitly say not the full rules, but to me implies it….

Just say'n..

Dave

PS, I didn't get into this game, I really don't like the way the ship models are based…..

After what I experienced playing at cons, I have no faith in their games, especially their buggy rules.

Um, I always knew that there was going to be a full rule set. Our local supplier had them on preorder months ago and then in a hurry they disappeared. They also had the subs and merchant fleet on pre-order.

But with a rules set that they gave away free with the August Wargames Illustrated you would not expect the full rules. And reading through them would also reveal that they were not complete – no night fighting, radar, submarines etc. And the rules are 264 pages and hardbacked so not too bad for GBP40.

We had a small game on Friday and we really enjoyed it. Lots of tactics and not a dice rolling exercise. Also the ships look much better on the table than they do in the photo's. My mate pointed out that all the photo's are taken from the side which exaggerates the thickness of the bases.

Just my two cents worth.

These concerns are why I have not stocked War at Sea in my store. Glad I waited.
I sold all of the Cruel Seas associated products at cost plus 10%. I just wanted to clear out my stock of Warlord. Too many competitor stores carry the Warlord ranges at their stores. So when we went to conventions, there would be six or seven booths with the same products. So I decided to invest my limited funds with other companies.

Hi

I played the rules this Summer at Twistedlords con In Oklahoma City. Basic rules only and it was a fun game, Not a really good simulation of WW2 naval. I think they released the full rules, So you could uses other scaled ships to play the game. The models are much like Axis and allies WAS figures in detail and scale.

Cruel Seas was the end for me.

I like VaS. But the price for what you get is definitely not worth it.

Our group recently discovered Naval Thunder – great ruleset that is intuitive and still pays attention to details. Replaced GQ3 for us.

I'll stick with GHQ and FAI.

I think i would have bought into this rule set if the ships would have been 1/3000th or 1/3600th or 1/4800th scale. The 1/1800th scale turned me off as did the bases.

How much different is the Warlord Rule Set when compared to the Mongoose Rule Set of the same name?

1/1800 has become a much more common scale. I will stick to Naval Thunder for now.

It would probably be worthwhile for Warlord to bounce their ideas off of a large number of wargamers BEFORE they decide to start a project.

I got the magazine rules set and played in a demo game. My rule has always been to play a game system three times before making a decision on it's merit. Nope, not this time. Once was all I needed. We'll stick with Naval Thunder, thank you.

"I think i would have bought into this rule set if the ships would have been 1/3000th"

This statement makes no sense. You can buy the rules and use Navwar ships.

I'll echo what some others have said – I've found VAS to be fun! I'm a neophyte in naval wargames. I took the starter box to a local games day and two strangers enjoyed the game. I've been playing it frequently with one of my local friends.

The VAS minis from Warlord are okay and they paint up pretty well. Trimming and un-bending is a bit of work. I feel that the bases look better on the table than they do in photos. I don't like the aircraft stands. The minis from Warlord do seem a bit pricey. Warlord would obviously like it if you purchased their minis, but you can use the minis that you like or already have.

I think the rules are blessedly uncomplicated but tactical enough to keep up interest. The aircraft and anti-aircraft rules aren't 100% clear in the the starter rules. I'm definitely going to get the "full" rules for VAS.

I think VAS can be good "gateway" naval game. I know that playing VAS has me reading up on WW2 naval history (I had no idea that non-carrier-launched observation planes were even a thing!) I've purchased the "Naval Thunder" rules and some naval miniatures from other manufactures – GHQ (lovely!) and Panzershiffe (inexpensive but still nice!). General Quarters 3 is next on the agenda.