What is the new 40k army building app from GW going to need in order to win the community over, and perhaps more importantly how much should it cost us? Here are a few ideas…
We don’t know too much about the 40k army building app other than that it’s confirmed and releasing the same day as 9th Edition pre-orders. But what does the app need in order to “win out” against Battlescrbie? Which as for now, the most popular 40k list building app. The first order of business is to look at everything GW had to say on their new app.
40k Army Builder App Goes Live Same Day As Pre-Orders
On top of all this foundational 9th Edition news, GW mentioned that the app will be going live the same day as pre-orders.
On the same day that the Warhammer 40,000 pre-orders go live, a new app will be launched alongside it, providing several cool features to help you, including a full matched play army builder. The new app will do a number of things to assist players with their games, but one of the most useful will be the ability to build army lists using the updated points values and Detachments.
Before we even get a rulebook in our hands. it looks like we’ll be able to start plugging units into the app and seeing their updated points cost! This is going to be one big pot of honey for current 40k players. As of right now, Battlescribe has to wait until the new points and rules come out in order to update the website. However, with the fact the app is coming out two weeks before 9th Edition officially drops, this could be a way some users get “unstuck” from Battlescribe.
What the 40k App Could Really Be Like
Looking back at GW’s track record, it’s obvious that they have used Age of Sigmar as a testing ground for new models and rules formats. Just look at the Stormcast Eternals and Primaris (which released shortly after). Why should there be any major difference between the AoS Azyr app and the 40k army builder app?
Looking at the interface of the Azyr app, it’s a lot more than just an army builder for AoS. It’s got all of the warscrolls (datasheets for 40k peeps) laid out in a tab, a Library tab for Battletomes and other books, the Azyr tab which is the army building aspect, etc. As long as you’ve bought the content online, you can flip through different battleplans and check out every rule there is in the game.
If you’ve got some downtime, you can also flip through the Warscrolls tab to look at info on units you’re thinking about adding to your collection. There’s a lot that this app offers and it’s only $1/month for the full package.
Comparing Azyr to the 40k app (and knowing GW) there could quite possibly be a monthly subscription requirement that comes along. However, if it’s only a bare-bones army building app, then the players who are already established in Battlescribe probably won’t go anywhere.
Subscriptions Aren’t Bad: Just Don’t Make It a Micro-Transaction Nightmare
It’s probably safe to say that something like $1/month for an app is something that most players don’t mind fronting. Especially if the army builder is anything like the Azyr where they can download White Dwarf rules, codexes, Psychic Awakenings, etc. The fact that players can have all the rules in one spot without having to bring 3-4 different supplements to game day is huge.
But where people may draw the line is if micro-transactions and content walls become a thing. Game creators like Riot and EA are notorious for micro-transactions, enticing people to unlock another part of the content. We’re hoping that GW doesn’t pull a move where we only get something like three list slots before we have to pay another $1 to unlock three more.
Since Battlescribe’s quality has gone up over the years and so many players have used the app for so long, GW might honestly be fighting an uphill battle on this one. It’s interesting to note that GW switched up table sizes to multiples of Kill Team boards, and now GW is coming out with a 40k army building app to potentially make Battlescribe a dinosaur.
What are you hoping the 40k army builder is like? Do you think it’ll die off just like the Combat Roster did? Or do you think Battlescribe is going to get left behind?
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About the Author: Wesley Floyd
