Don’t miss the latest on how the shooting phase in Warhammer Old World works and some entirely new rules that have been revealed!
They mentioned the release date will be Early 2024. However, as they said before, not everything will be new (or even in plastic). If you want to see more on the Warhammer The Old World launch line-up, you can check that out here.
This is the third real look at the rules we’ve gotten, so it’s nice to have an idea of how the game will play! For now, though, it’s time to start pouring over the rules and see if they are shaping up the way you dreamed of!
Plus, in Warhammer the Old World, ALL 8th Edition Fantasy armies would be playable! So now we will truly see plastic, resin, and metal minis on the same tabletop when the game finally releases!
In case you missed the major Warhammer Old World announcements since 2019, we’ve included them here:
- GW Announces Warhammer Fantasy Returning (sort of)
- Warhammer Old World Release Date Details & Starter Set
- Fantasy Bears! More Kislev Previews For Warhammer Old World
- Bretonnians, Tomb Kings, Orcs & More Confirmed in Warhammer Old World!
- Warhammer The Old World: Everything We Know So Far
- First Look At New Warhammer The Old World Rules
New Shooting Phase Mechanics Revealed: Warhammer The Old World
The latest news on the Shooting Phase for Warhammer The Old World mechanics comes from Warhammer Community.
As with the other phases, the Shooting Phase is broken into four steps which you follow in turn for each unit: Declare Targets, Roll to Hit, Roll to Wound, and Remove Casualties. Everyone and everything shoots in this phase, whether they’re lowly peasant bowmen and barbarian javelineers, a macabre Khemrian screaming skull catapult, or a High Elven mage manifesting a Fiery Convocation.
First, pick a unit and declare its target. A unit can only shoot if it has a ranged weapon, hasn’t marched or charged that turn, and isn’t fleeing or in combat. To shoot, a model must have line of sight to its target and you can’t split fire – so in some cases, not every member of a unit can let loose. Models can (almost always) shoot only once, no matter how many Attacks they have in their profile, and unless they have the Volley Fire special rule or are stationed on a hill, only the front rank may fire.
Nothing too crazy yet, except you can’t split fire or shoot if you marched or charged. However, it looks like Volley is returning, and they will use AP! For Longbows, the profile looks pretty similar, and the Screaming Skull Catapult uses the 3″ Blast Template with plenty of special rules and extra wounds if you can hit them with the center.
Hit Subphase
Once a target has been chosen, it’s time to roll To Hit. Here’s the big news: old-style Ballistic Skill, or BS as it is on the profile, is back, and it runs from 1 to 10. The higher your BS, the easier it is to bullseye your target, and once models reach a BS of 6 or more, they start earning rerolls on their missed shots.
Now, the higher your BS, the more you can get free re-rolls! If you have even 6 BS (probably not very often), you roll to hit on a 2+ to start, then a 6+ on your re-roll.
Of course, it’s not always as easy as that – there are various negative modifiers to your shooting: it’s -1 to hit if you’ve moved, you’re at long range, you’re receiving a charge, or if the target has partial cover. On top of that, a natural one always misses, while negative modifiers can stack past 6+, and you may find yourself having to roll 7+, 8+, or 9+ to hit (a natural six followed by another roll of 4+, 5+, or 6+!).
It also looks like they are bringing back the 7+ to hit mechanic, meaning you have to roll a six followed by following higher numbers.
Wounding
There’s more old-school goodness in the next step, in which you roll To Wound by comparing the Strength of the Attack against the Toughness of the target. There are even Toughness caps – a Strength 3 bow is simply too weak to harm a beast of Toughness 9.
Small arms fire can’t even harm big monsters, which is pretty interesting, and there are no 7+ to wound rolls, only to hit. Also, note it’s not 2x toughness for 6s; it’s two more toughness. You can’t wound something that has 2x Toughness +2.
Shooting Phase Warhammer Old World: Saving Throws
It wouldn’t be Warhammer without a saving throw, which your opponent will make during this step. It’s a familiar process: compare the Armour Penetration of the weapon with the armour value of the model it’s hitting. Light armour grants a 6+ save and heavy armour a 5+, which can be boosted with a shield, a barded mount, and certain spells and magical items. There is a small difference, however, as models can also have a Ward Save. This cannot be modified by AP, and it is rolled for as a separate save made after the armour roll has failed.
It’s good to see the light armor, heavy armor, and shield idea. It makes the game easy; if you have a shield and heavy, you get a 4+; if you add a mount, you get even better saves.
The final step is to remove casualties and take panic tests where necessary. This is super simple – remove one model for every Wound caused, unless the target has more than one Wound. You know the drill. You’ll need to take a panic test if the shooting has killed more than a quarter of the models in a unit – but we’ll get to what happens then in another article.
Then, you just take off the models who died and take panic tests if you need to. However, they did give some more info on other special rules.
There are plenty of weird and wonderful shooting units in Warhammer: The Old World, and a plethora of special rules to go with them. Big beasties have Breath Weapons, some skirmish cavalry can Fire & Flee, while Dwarfen Irondrakes have cinderblast bombs that can Quick Shot. Wouldn’t you like to know…
Magic in the Shooting Phase
As for magic, there are two categories of spells to be fired off in the Shooting Phase – Magic Missiles and Magical Vortexes. Human wizards using Battle Magic can, for instance, blast off a quick fireball, while those blessed by the Dark Gods may use the Lore of Daemonology to conjure a Vortex of Chaos.
Fireball is a huge classic, so it’s good to see it return! You’ll need an 8+, but it’s worth it for 2d6 Strength 4 hits!
Vortex of Chaos is a great way to disrupt the enemy and get off a few hits throughout the game; just be sure not to roll the scatter die toward your own army!
All the Latest Warhammer Rules & Model Rumors
What do you think about all the new Warhammer The Old World rules so far like these for shooting?
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
