Are you one of those people that thinks Power Levels is the most “balanced” system? Well come on in and let me tell you why you may be wrong.
Today I’m going to be breaking down why I think the Power Level system is not as balanced as it could be.
Power Levels were introduced as way to make it easier to build a list without having to worry about how much each little option costs. Simply put a list together, put it on the tabletop, and go at it with your friends using whatever weapon your little heart desires. Is there a new list you want to try out real quick before you actually sit down and start crunching numbers? Power Levels give the player that option.
Since the release of Warhammer 40,000: 8th Edition players have had the option of playing with either points or Power Levels, with the exception of Matched Play which is strictly points only. But, Games Workshop might just be killing Power Levels without even realizing it. We’re constantly seeing updates to point values for different units, but what about the updates for Power Levels? Why are points fluctuating up and down but Power Levels stay the same?
This can create problems in all sorts of different areas. Let’s look at the local meta for example. A lot of escalation leagues are using a point and PL combination to create a more “fair” and fun league. What this means is you start off with say 750 points, but a single model can’t be more than 15 PL. What if the model you want to take dropped in points making it easier for you to squeeze in your list, but the PL stayed the same and it’s over the allowed limit? And not every league around the globe is going to set the same caps so no matter where you go the meta could be constantly changing.
This brings me to my next point, it seems the updates to points and not Power Levels is mainly geared towards Matched Play and tournament players. But should that be Games Workshop’s main focus? I honestly don’t think it should. Tournament players make up such a small population of people, and their focus should be a lot more on the casual player and newbies.
A large percentage of casual players seem to love to play Narrative, but if they’re never getting updates it’s going to get harder to find people to play PL games, and we’re already seeing the popularity lean more towards point value games.
Now let me give you a perfect example on why I think Power Levels are broken. The average games are capped at either 100 PL or 2,000 points depending on which one you’re playing. The new Chapter Approved came out and we saw huge jumps in point values for certain models, yet Power Levels stayed the same. The Warhound Scout Titan has a PL of 75, but the points jumped from 1,500 points to 2,000 points. So if you want to take it for you next 2,000 point game it’s going to take up your entire army, but if you’re playing PL you’ll still have 25 PL leftover to spend on additional units. Seems like a tad of an imbalance to me.
Also remember PL does not take into account any points for wargear upgrades either. So option heavy units can quickly outpace balance in regards to points vs power level as well.
When Games Workshop updates the point values for units, especially when it’s a major increase or decrease, they should also update the Power Levels. If they don’t we could eventually see the demise of Power Levels all together. Do I want to see that happen? Absolutely not, I think Power Levels is a great idea for casual play, testing new army ideas, and teaching new players how to play. But, it’s also a system that I don’t think we’ll ever see used in a big tournament.
Granted if you are playing power levels with your buddies, you probably won’t have any issues getting along and working out any imbalances amongst yourselves. However, there may be issues when new players try this in a game store with folks they may not know as well, etc etc.
What are your thoughts on Power Levels? Do you think there’s some updates that need to be made? I’d love to hear what the community has to say on this one.
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About the Author: James Rodriguez
