Is it worth it? We’ll make an army list on the new Warhammer 40k Battle Forge side of the app that is finally here, and review it…
We knew this was being worked on for a while now, but it looks like GW’s offering to help players make army lists is finally here in beta form. If you want to check it out yourself you can grab it here.
Today let’s look at how to actually build a Battle Forged Army on the 40k app, so let’s see how it works and how to use it, and if it’s worth your hobby dollars.
According to Games Workshop: There’s a lot that goes into planning your perfect Warhammer 40,000 army list: flipping through codexes, cross-referencing points values, checking different weapons and wargear rules to find that perfect loadout…
It’s all about to get a lot easier!
Making Your First Battle Forged Army on the 40k App
Before we get started, this is in Beta- yes we are doing GW’s Q/A for them apparently! There have been some errors already reported, so just keep an eye out for things that aren’t right as you’re making a list.
In the initial part, you put in all of your data for what type of game you are playing and what point level.
Well, this step makes the most sense… You have to pick a faction if you want to make an army!
Once you have your army chosen, you then pick the sub-faction, if you’re army has one.
Setting Up Your Detachments
Once you get the initial stuff all set, you then have to start adding detachments. Simply click the plus sign to start.
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Once you add a battalion it should look like this and just to note, it shows the units you need to complete the detachment in yellow. Once you put them in they turn a dark blue. Then you can start throwing your units in.
Adding Units
This is pretty easy, you just click on what you want to add and pick from the list. There have been some issues with certain armies not having everything in there yet, so just keep that in mind.
Pretty simple for this part, just keep adding in your units! You can either customize them as you’re adding them or later.
Customizing Individual Units
If you’ve used a building app before this is fairly similar. You can add and subtract models from this screen here. Once you have the number of minis you want in the unit, you can start messing around with the loadouts.
In this stage, you can customize the wargear of all your units. It shows the points, what the gear does, and how many you can add.
Warnings
This is actually pretty cool. It shows you what you need to fix to actually make your army Battle Forged. A pretty simple way to make sure your lists are up to par. It also tells you how many points you have remaining or if you are over. If you’re over it will show up as a warning, if you’re under it just shows as something to watch out for.
It will also show you that you need to denote a Warlord, add relics, and give your army any pre-game Strategems.
Once you fix the issues it will look something like this. It will still show how many points you could still add, so that’s pretty nice.
Exporting the List
Once you get your list all ready, you can then export it. Whether you want to share it with your email or just copy it to your clipboard, you can.
That does it for the quick run down, making an army list took less than 3 minutes when the purchased content (like the Space Wolves codex) was loaded! But overall, when the units and wargear are working, it’s a pretty easy way to get a Battle Forged army. The warnings are also really nice for both veteran and newer players to just keep everyone honest.
Battle Forge 40k App Army Builder Review: Is It Worth It?
Now value-wise you’re looking at a monthly sub of $4.99 (US) and then from there, you have to buy each codex for the additional datasheet rules to view outside of the army builder. Which kinda blows as there is less and less value for the ‘free” app as new codex books and supplements are released.
So after a 5-month delay in functionality, and initial release only in a Beta form that perhaps may be finalized by the time their free month offer expires, we still don’t see the value in supporting Games Workshop here.
Here’s why, if we allow them to think that releases like this are okay, they are just going to continue putting out shit products. They have broken promise after promise with this release, and to be fair that just seems like the norm with them (even though they are hiring editors and proof-readers for their publications, and more developers for their App).
It seems like to use, its putting the cart before the horse, in an attempt to keep sales and their stock price soaring.
So at the end of the day, hobby your way, whether it’s making lists on Battlescribe, Paper, Excel, or GW’s app if there is value in it for you. For us, we hobby strong by supporting well-developed products and publications- GW or otherwise.
Also, an interesting development in the “free” vs “paid” APP battle that Apple is currently in with both Fortnight and the US Congress, could have further ramifications for other “free” APPs that collect fees on their own platforms (like GW?).
Keeping an eye on this one for sure.
Have you built a list with the new functionality yet? What do you think about this part of the app?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, and make sure you enter the latest monthly giveaway for FREE today! You can also support us on Patreon and get ad-free access to the site, plus a ton of minis that helps support some of the best creators out there!
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
