11th Edition 40k Q&A FAQ Reveals Big Changes for 2026

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GW’s 11th Edition Q&A FAQ lays out the Armageddon launch, free rules, army support, terrain objectives, detachment points, and key 40k changes.

GW took a different path than normal with a Warhammer 40k edition launch: it answered a whole pile of questions before the community had to spend three weeks piecing together rules from blurry screenshots, half-heard livestream quotes, and one guy’s local store Discord.

The latest Warhammer 40k 11th Edition Q&A FAQ video gives players a much clearer look at the new edition. Some of these rules have already shown up in earlier previews, but seeing GW put them in one place makes this feel less like random drip-feed hype and more like a real runway into 11th Edition.

If you ask us, this is the stuff that decides whether you buy the Armageddon box, hold cash for codexes, wait for separate kits, or stop building lists around points that are about to get hit with the edition-change hammer.

Armageddon Is The Launch, But The Box Isn’t The Whole Edition

Updated on May 18th 2026, by Rob Baer with the latest from the Q&A session.

The new edition is launching with Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon, and GW made it pretty clear this box is the big starting gun for 11th Edition. It’s not the only way to play, but it’s the collector-friendly, lore-heavy, new-model-packed version of the launch.

• The Armageddon box is the main launch set for 11th Edition. It features Blood Angels, Orks, and the exclusive Operation Imperator campaign book.
• The Armageddon box is limited. GW said there are “loads” of copies, but it’s still a finite release. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.
• Operation Imperator is exclusive to the Armageddon box. The campaign book will not be sold separately later, which makes the box more than just plastic and cardboard.
• The core rulebook and mission materials will be sold separately. Players who skip the launch box won’t be locked out of the edition.
• The core rules will be free. Just like 10th Edition, the 11th Edition core rules will be available through the Warhammer 40,000 app or as a download.
• The Armageddon box releases in June. GW didn’t give an exact date during the Q&A, but confirmed the launch window.
• The price is not confirmed yet. GW said it will cost a little more than Leviathan and a little less than Saturnine.
• Each side in the Armageddon box is roughly 750 points. That puts the box around Combat Patrol plus some extra spice, not a full 2,000-point army in a box.
• A Warhammer+ battle report using 11th Edition rules is coming in May. That gives players a proper look at the new rules in action before the edition fully lands.

Free Rules, Combat Patrol, and App Support

GW seems to know that asking players to buy a launch box, new books, new decks, and new models all at once can make wallets start smoking. So the big accessibility pieces are staying pretty friendly.

• The 11th Edition core rules are free. Players can use the app or download them.
• Combat Patrol rules will also be free. You won’t need to buy the new Combat Patrol Companion just to play the mode.
• Combat Patrol datasheets and detachments will be available in the app. That keeps the easiest entry point into 40k fairly simple.
• The Combat Patrol Companion is more of a lore and onboarding product. It sounds useful for new players, but it isn’t required to roll dice.
• Legends support is coming to the app, but not at launch. Legend units will be added as codices start releasing.
• Legends units remain supported. Older units will still have datasheets and will continue to work the way Legends does now.

First Codexes and Early Release Roadmap

No great mystery here, at least for the first two books. If you looked at the launch box and guessed Orks and Space Marines were first, congratulations, you figured out the pattern. 

• The first 11th Edition codexes are Orks and Space Marines.
• A third codex for the new release is still unknown. GW dodged that one hard.
• There will be launch FAQs for some existing datasheets. Most datasheets will stay the same, but some will need small updates where new core rules change how they function.
• Players should expect points updates at launch. The edition change is not just rules text. The points are getting moved around too.

No Armies Are Getting Squatted

This was probably one of the biggest panic-button questions going into the Q&A. GW answered it cleanly: no armies are being removed from Warhammer 40k in 11th Edition.

• No current 40k armies are being squatted. Nobody is getting the old Squats treatment.
• Deathwatch are still playable. They can be used as Imperial Agents allies or as a Space Marine army using Space Marine detachments.
• Deathwatch aren’t getting new Deathwatch-specific detachments at launch. They still have options, just not a fresh bespoke launch package.
• Grey Knights are still an army. GW confirmed they remain fully supported.
• Grey Knights will get new detachments.
• Chaos Daemons are still an army. Their 10th Edition Index remains legal.
• Chaos Daemons will get new detachments. They can also still appear alongside god-specific Chaos Legions, they already received a Faction Focus, so we know a little about their new rules.
• Imperial Agents work basically the same as they do now. They can be taken as allies in Imperial armies or run as their own force.
• Imperial Agents aren’t getting new launch detachments.
• Allies still exist, but full soup is not coming back. You can still bring things like Imperial Agents or Chaos Knights where current rules allow, but GW is not returning to the anything-goes allied army days.

Detachment Points Are the Big Army-Building Change

The biggest list-building shift in 11th Edition is the new detachment point system. Instead of picking one detachment and calling it a day, you build out your army rules using a limited number of detachment points.

• At 2,000 points, armies generally get three detachment points.
• Detachments cost detachment points. Some will cost one, others may cost more.
• Most 2,000-point armies will end up with six or nine Stratagems. The total depends on which detachments you choose.
• Unused detachment points give no bonus. Use them or lose them.
• Smaller games get fewer detachment points. Larger games may get more.
• 1,500-point games count as Strike Force. GW said you stay in that bracket until hitting the next points threshold.
• Some detachments only affect specific units or characters. A one-point detachment may still be worth it if it buffs a key unit or lone hero.

This is where 11th Edition list-building could get fun, and also where every competitive player with a spreadsheet is about to become completely insufferable for a month. Customization is back, but on a bigger scale, and it’s tied to the army structure rather than agonizing over whether one guy in a squad gets a slightly shinier pistol.

Stratagems Are Changing Through Detachments

Stratagem access is now tied into the detachment system, which means the number of Stratagems you bring can vary based on army construction.

• The old six-Stratagem structure is no longer fixed.
• Most armies will have six or nine Stratagems at 2,000 points.
• Your detachment choices determine your Stratagem package.
• Battleshocked units still cannot use Stratagems. That matters a lot more now because Battleshock sticks around.

Battleshock Gets Nastier

Battleshock was one of those 10th Edition rules that sounded terrifying on paper, then often felt like someone gently tapping your army with a pool noodle, and in 11th GW seems to have noticed.

• Units now test Battleshock at half strength. Previously, they tested below half strength.
• Battleshock no longer automatically clears at the end of the turn. If you’re Battleshocked going into your next turn, you need to test to shake it off.
• Battleshocked units cannot use Stratagems. That means you can’t just rely on a clutch Stratagem if the unit is already rattled.
• Battleshock should matter more for armies like Night Lords and Tyranids. GW specifically acknowledged that those kinds of players were asking about it.

This is a pretty big shift because Objective holders, damaged vehicles, and small elite units may all feel the pressure earlier, and staying Battleshocked can actually mess with your plan instead of being a temporary annoyance.

Objectives Are Now Terrain Pieces

This may be the most important table-level change in 11th Edition. Objectives are no longer just little discs you toe into while pretending nobody can see you through a wall.

• Objectives are usually tied to terrain pieces.
• The whole terrain piece counts as the objective.
• Units holding objectives are often standing on or around terrain.
• Objective play now cares much more about terrain footprints, firing lanes, and movement.
• Leagues of Votann and other armies with objective-based rules may benefit. If an ability triggers against units on objectives, the larger terrain-based objective zones may make that easier to activate.
• The mission and battlefield layout are tied more closely together. Force disposition and mission setup will help determine the terrain layout.

This should make games feel more like a fight over actual battlefield positions instead of tiny invisible scoring bubbles. It also means terrain quality and layout are going to matter a lot.

Cover Now Gives Minus One to Hit

Cover is changing in a major way. Instead of improving saves, it now generally makes units harder to hit.

• Cover now usually gives minus one to hit.
• Infantry on terrain objectives will often benefit from cover.
• Vehicles do not automatically get cover just for touching terrain. They usually need intervening terrain or proper positioning.
• Cover and Stealth do not stack. Both provide minus one to hit, but you do not get a minus two modifier for having both.
• Stealth now works like portable cover. It makes a unit as hard to hit as if it were in cover, even when standing out in the open.

That last bit is important because nobody wants 40k to slide back into hit modifier nonsense. A clean cap on Stealth and cover stacking keeps it from getting too silly.

Shooting Armies Are Not Dead

With melee looking stronger in some previews, a lot of Tau, Astra Militarum, and other gunline players started sweating through their undersuits. GW pushed back on the idea that shooting armies are doomed.

• Shooting armies are still expected to function.
• Terrain objectives may expose scoring units to fire. If a unit wants to hold an objective, it often has to be on that terrain piece.
• Combat armies may have to cross open ground in some missions. That gives shooting armies chances to set firing lanes.
• Points changes will help rebalance units affected by rules changes.
• Artillery may become less dominant, but not useless.

The cleaner version: melee armies have shiny new toys, but shooting armies still get to punish mistakes. If the edition works as described, the winner should be the player who positions better, not the one who brought the most indirect fire and a bad attitude.

Indirect Fire and Hidden Units

Indirect fire is still around, but it’s being pulled toward a combined-arms role instead of being the table’s least popular magic trick.

• Indirect fire can target units the firing model cannot see.
• If the target is hidden and no friendly unit can see it, indirect fire hits on sixes.
• If another friendly unit can see the target, indirect fire becomes more reliable.
• Spotting units matter more. Units like Sentinels or Ratlings can help artillery do its job.
• Artillery is still useful, but less oppressive.

This is a healthier direction on paper. Artillery can still lob shells into the backfield, but it now wants forward observers instead of just deleting units from another zip code.

Torrent, Flamers, and Ignores Cover

The cover change naturally raised questions about flamers and Torrent weapons. GW clarified how that interaction works.

• Torrent weapons still automatically hit.
• Most flamers still have Ignores Cover.
• Ignores Cover does not add much when paired with Torrent. Since Torrent auto-hits, ignoring a hit penalty from cover doesn’t really matter.
• Flamers are still useful. The new Overwatch timing and prevalence of hit penalties keep them relevant.
• GW said flamers are roughly as good as they were before. They just interact with the new edition differently.

So no, your flamers didn’t suddenly become galaxy-brain super weapons. They’re still flamers, and still solve problems with their traditional enthusiasm and poor workplace safety standards.

Overwatch Timing Is Cleaner

Overwatch was one of the classic “wait, are you doing anything here?” rules that could make movement phases feel like a tax audit. GW says the timing is cleaner now.

• Overwatch happens at a clearer timing point.
• It no longer interrupts every individual move in the same way.
• Movement phases should flow faster.
• Flamers remain strong in Overwatch because Torrent still auto-hits.

This should reduce the awkward stop-start movement dance where one player moves a unit, then stares across the table waiting for the other player to decide whether something spicy happens.

Psychic Attacks Matter More

Psychic rules in 10th Edition often felt like a keyword wearing a fake mustache. In 11th, psychic weapons get a clearer rules identity.

• Psychic attacks now ignore modifiers to hit.
• Psychic attacks also ignore modifiers to wound.
• The Psychic keyword has more battlefield impact.
• Psychic shooting effectively gets around cover hit penalties.
• Rules or Stratagems that reduce wound rolls can be ignored by psychic attacks.

This gives psykers more of an actual role instead of just making them vulnerable to anti-psyker tech and calling it a day.

Healing Can Bring Back Whole Models

Healing also gets an important cleanup in 11th Edition.

• Healing can return whole models if enough wounds are restored.
• Healing is no longer limited to topping up damaged models unless specified otherwise.
• This makes multi-model units with healing much more interesting.
• Rules that restore several wounds may now have a bigger impact on depleted units.

Falling Back, Desperate Escape, and Hazardous Rolls

GW also clarified how falling back and related risk mechanics are changing. the new rules make risky movement less binary. You’re not always just picking up models, but you’re also not casually strolling out of combat without consequences.

• Some fall back situations require Hazardous rolls.
• Hazardous rolls now fail on a one or two.
• Most units take mortal wounds for failed Hazardous rolls instead of instantly losing models.
• Multi-wound models may survive failed rolls better than before.

Heavy Weapons Changed

Heavy weapons are getting a more flexible version of their classic firing style. So, Heavy units can shuffle a bit without becoming useless, but transports won’t let you hop out and immediately claim the bonus either, nice try.

• Heavy weapons can get plus one to hit after limited movement.
• The movement allowance mentioned was up to three inches.
• You do not get the Heavy bonus after disembarking.
• You do not get the Heavy bonus after deploying.
• You do not get the Heavy bonus while engaged in combat.

Surge Moves and Combat Disembark

GW also explained the different ways units can get into combat in 11th Edition.

• Charging remains the main way to enter combat.
• Some units can enter combat through combat disembark after a transport is destroyed.
• Getting into combat from a destroyed transport does not count as charging.
• Units do not gain charge bonuses from combat disembark.
• Surge moves are now a universalized rule.
• Some surge moves can move units into engagement range.
• Surge moves may happen after units are shot at or targeted, depending on the rule.

GW made it sound like getting into combat because your transport exploded is the worst version of that plan. Which is true, nobody wants their battle strategy to begin with “first, the Rhino dies.”

Aircraft Start in Reserve

Aircraft are getting a clearer battlefield role in 11th Edition, and it sounds closer to attack runs than just zooming around the table.

• Aircraft start the game in reserve.
• Aircraft arrive using ingress moves.
• They can enter from the battlefield edge to line up strafing or bombing runs.
• At the end of the opponent’s turn, they leave the battlefield.
• They can return again later for another attack run.
• Aircraft become mobile heavy weapon platforms that appear where needed.

This should help aircraft feel like aircraft, rather than weird floating tanks that occasionally obey physics and aviation rules.

Movement Through Terrain and Swarms

Terrain is doing a lot more in 11th, so GW clarified how certain unit types interact with it.

• Infantry can still move through many terrain types.
• Swarms are now called out alongside Infantry for terrain movement.
• Units like Canoptek Scarab Swarms can move through walls and ruins where appropriate.
• This fixes the weirdness where infantry could squeeze through ruins but actual tiny skittering swarms somehow couldn’t.

The scarabs are loose; hide your ankles.

Points Are Changing Across the Game

GW was very clear that players should not treat current points as gospel going into 11th Edition.

• Points are changing for 11th Edition.
• Players should avoid major buying decisions based only on current points.
• Infantry may go up.
• Artillery may come down.
• Fast melee infantry may become more valuable.
• Some units that are less effective under the new rules may get cheaper.
• Armies should remain roughly similar in overall size.

This is the classic pre-edition danger zone, because today’s auto-include can become tomorrow’s very pretty shelf decoration with one PDF.

Granular Points Are Partly Returning

No, we’re not going fully back to the age of paying one point for a purity seal and three for a dramatic hat. But some wargear costs are coming back where they matter.

• Major wargear choices may have different points.
• Small upgrades generally will not get tiny individual costs.
• Big weapons that change a unit’s battlefield role may affect points.
• GW used the Riptide as an example of a unit where different main weapons could cost differently.

This is a sensible middle ground, because nobody needs to price every bolt pistol again, but a giant gun that completely changes a unit’s job probably should matter.

Game Speed Should Be About the Same

GW doesn’t think 11th Edition will be dramatically faster or slower overall, but the time frames will shift around a bit.

• Setup may take slightly longer in competitive games.
• Force disposition can determine mission and battlefield setup.
• Terrain placement may take time if the table is not already arranged.
• The actual game may play a little faster.
• Fast dice rolling is assumed.
• Defensive rolls are intended to be resolved together more often.
• Cleaner Overwatch timing should reduce movement phase interruptions.

So the total game time may feel similar, but with less stop-start rules checking once the game gets moving.

Launch Box Models and Future Kits

The Armageddon box is limited, but GW clarified that the plastic inside is not locked away forever.

• The box itself is limited.
• Operation Imperator is exclusive.
• The models are not permanently exclusive.
• All units in the Armageddon box are expected to become available elsewhere later.
• Several units will get multipart versions.
• Multipart kits will include new options.
• The launch box versions are push-fit.

If you want the exclusive campaign book and the earliest access, grab the box. But, it you only want one multipart kit later, patience may save your pile of shame from gaining another basement level.

Ready-Painted Terrain and Unpainted Terrain

Terrain is a huge part of the new edition, so GW’s terrain product answers are worth a read too.

• Ready-painted terrain is coming.
• Unpainted terrain will also be sold.
• Players can choose convenience or the traditional hobby route.
• The new terrain ties neatly into the edition’s focus on terrain-based objectives.
• Ready-painted miniatures are not planned. GW gave that one a very firm no.

Ready-painted terrain makes sense. Ready-painted armies? Apparently not, sorry.

Ork Changes and Clarifications

Because Orks are one of the launch factions, a lot of questions focused on whether the Armageddon box represents the whole future of Ork options. Thankfully, no.

• Ork Boyz still have options for rokkit launchas and big shootas.
• Those options are not in the Armageddon push-fit box, but they remain legal.
• Orks still get power klaws.
• The Armageddon box does not include power klaws, but future Ork options still do.
• Runtherds still exist.
• Runtherds are now zero to one in Gretchin units.
• New Ork combi-weapons may have more specific profiles.
• Combi-rokkits may function differently from generic combi-weapons, with roles like anti-vehicle.
• GW is not rewriting every existing combi-weapon datasheet immediately.

This is classic launch box panic control. Just remember, push-fit models rarely show every future option, so don’t toss your old Ork bits box into the nearest squig pen just yet.

New Primarch Models, Space Marines, and Deathwatch Clarifications

Space Marines are the other launch faction, naturally, because the sun rose this morning and GW likes selling power armor.

• Deathwatch can still be played as a Space Marine army.
• Deathwatch can use Space Marine detachments.
• Deathwatch can also appear through Imperial Agents ally rules.
• Deathwatch do not get new unique launch detachments.
• Heavy bolter and melta Eliminators cannot mix in one squad.
• Those Eliminator versions have different battlefield roles and special abilities.
• There is no confirmed returning loyalist Primarch. GW mostly joked that they’re all dead, which is the kind of answer that keeps rumors alive for years.
• The Lion and Guilliman meeting remains unconfirmed. GW teased the idea but gave no real answer.

Custodes, Knights, and Heresy-Era Kits

GW also covered a couple of model range compatibility questions.

• Plastic Custodes models released for Horus Heresy will be usable in Warhammer 40,000.
• Imperial Knights can still use Heresy-era Knight chassis, where currently supported.
• This keeps cross-system plastic useful for players who collect both games.

That’s a nice win, especially with more Heresy plastic bleeding into 40k collections.

Tyranids and Subterranean Assault

Tyranid players got one specific confirmation.

• Tyranids can still use the Subterranean Assault detachment.
• GW noted it works nicely with the Red Terror.
• The Red Terror is coming to 40k soon.

Short, sweet, and full of ominous tunnel noises.

Boarding Actions and Other Expansion Rules Still Work

This is a big one for players who bought recent supplements and were worried they’d immediately turn into expensive lore coasters.

• Boarding Actions remain valid in 11th Edition.
• Armored Spearhead-style rules remain usable.
• Apocalypse-style rules remain usable.
• Maelstrom content remains usable.
• 500 Worlds content remains usable.
• Armageddon and Return of Yarrick expansion rules remain usable.
• GW considers those current ways to play for 11th Edition.

That’s good news. Nobody likes buying a rules supplement and watching it age like milk three weeks later.

Crusade Is Moving Out of Codexes

Crusade isn’t gone, but its delivery method is changing.

• Existing 10th Edition codex Crusade rules still work.
• Future codexes will not include Crusade content in the same way.
• Future Crusade-style rules will appear in narrative books and campaign packages.
• Maelstrom was given as an example of the kind of product where this content may live.
• Custom hero rules and narrative progression content will continue in that style.

For Crusade players, this is a pretty important shift, and it looks like it has a lot to do with the new narrative-focused Dominuts card pack. Codexes may become more focused on matched play and army rules, while narrative expansion books carry the campaign weirdness. Honestly, that could be great if the books are meaty enough.

Armageddon Lore and Faction Presence

The Q&A wasn’t just about rules. GW also spent time giving Armageddon more narrative weight, which is cool to see, because this edition’s launch is wrapped around that warzone.

• Armageddon may be Ullanor. GW leaned into the long-running implication from The Beast Arises, but didn’t stamp it with absolute confirmation.
• Blood Angels on Armageddon are a smaller force. Most of the Chapter is still dealing with the far side of the Great Rift near Baal.
• Blood Angels answered the call because of old honor oaths to Armageddon.
• Dante’s history with Armageddon gives the Blood Angels’ presence extra weight.
• Dark Angels on Armageddon are plausible. They are not specifically named in Operation Imperator’s main crusade force, but unspecified Chapters are present.
• Dark Angels have operated near Armageddon in past conflicts.
• Many Space Marine Chapters are present. GW rattled off a long list, including Ultramarines, Salamanders, Black Templars, Crimson Fists, White Scars, Space Wolves, Iron Hands, Celestial Lions, Marines Malevolent, Dark Krakens, and more.
• Other Imperial factions are active on Armageddon. Astra Militarum, Adepta Sororitas, Adeptus Mechanicus, and Imperial Agents all have ties to the warzone.
• Leagues of Votann mercenaries are operating in the region.
• Chaos remnants and cult activity are still part of the setting.

So while the box says Blood Angels versus Orks, the warzone gives you plenty of excuses to throw almost anything grimdark and heavily armed onto the table.

Final Thoughts on the Warhammer 40k 11th Edition Q&A

Sure, there’s still plenty we don’t know. The Armageddon box has no exact price yet, the third codex is still hidden, and the full balance picture won’t appear until players get games on actual tables.

But overall, this 11th edition Q&A FAQ did something useful: it let GW control the narrative before 40k rumors and speculation ran rampant. Now we know for sure what is on the way: a limited launch box, free core rules, no armies cut, terrain-based objectives, stronger Battleshock, modular detachment points, and point changes big enough to make current lists feel temporary.

For stores and players, this is the awkward pre-edition window. Everyone wants to prepare, but nobody wants to be the person who bought three boxes of the wrong unit because last edition’s math looked good.

The smartest move right now is to watch the reveals, keep your hobby plans flexible, and treat anything that looks “broken” today like it might have an expiration date printed right on the sprue.

🔗 Related Reads:

• 11th Edition’s Rules Rumors, Reveals & Predictions
• 40k 11th Edition Starter Set Details
• New 11th Edition Terrain Rules
• 40k Release Schedule Roadmap
• All the Chaos Rumors Heading Into 11th Edition
• Space Marine Rumors Roundup
• Latest Xenos Rumors for 40k
• New Combat Patrol Boxes
• Best Warhammer 40k Army List Builders

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