Hot on the heels of our Chapter Approved should be DLC article, users on Reddit had a lot to say as well about the time gap in rules updates from GW.
With Chapter Approved 2018 out, we’ve seen some much-needed updates come to pass. Overall the book includes a ton of fixes for pretty much everything. On the whole, it seems to have been accepted well by the community – sans the Sisters players (more on that another day).
But a lot of hobbyists are still wondering why did it take so long to finally get here in the first place, what if the changes were bad for the game, or if they made a mistake in it somehow. Then what, a day 1 FAQ? Another 6 months to a year for a correction?
It’s crystal clear that GW is using a printing schedule and has their game-changing material printed months in advance of their actual release. There are potentially some major problems with this. For example, it’s widely regarded that the points changes in Chapter Approved 2018 were made in the summer, then sent to the printers and sold in December, making it essentially six months old.
Personally, I think GW is getting their sea legs under them with regards to how to maintain this wonderful game, and 1-1/2 years in there are still growing pains. However the vocal minority is always going to chime in with their thoughts, and sometimes there can be something to take into consideration from them as well.
The most universal of them still seems to be:
GW’s Printing Schedule Spells Out a Horrible Reaction Time
Coming from IamSando on Reddit:
So I think one thing that has gotten missed a bit in the winners and losers from CA is just how hamstrung GW appear to be by printing schedules. GW are being defended for things like not adjusting Castellans because of the printing schedule, and Mephiston being nerfed because he was “kicking butts” at LVO…which was 10 months ago.
This means that GW cannot hope to allow for a “natural” meta to develop, since if something is getting huge amounts of play then they need to react to it and then wait 6 months before printing their reaction, regardless of how the community adjusts for it.
When there’s a “problem unit” stomping the meta, why is there such a delay in when we see the changes? For example, the Castellan was in almost every single Imperium list because its point cost/damage output value was too insane.
Instead of seeing an instant “nipping of the bud” on that unit to let the game continue to blossom into other metas, GW makes a note of it, fixes it for their next FAQ, and then waits 6+ months to drop it. By doing this, meanwhile, players are either selling out and only running the meta lists or get fed up and quit playing because that list is all they ever see.
However from the big Meta picture is the Castellan keeping other super units from rising to the top of the tournament scene, and is therefore in a perfect place competitively?
We are in the digital age. Just because a game is played on the tabletop, that doesn’t mean we need to stick to only physical materials. As we’ve said before, we think all game updates should move to a free online format for the sake of time, with points changes coming in September after the FAQ to help keep the Holiday sales cycle intact for retailers worldwide.
GW can’t hope to balance 40k effectively as a more competitive game with a printing schedule like this. They NEED to move to an online instantaneous release if they want to improve this. Sure Codex’s can be printed and pretty, but an update like chapter approved needs to be an online update.
There are a ton of other comments and constructive suggestions about how to update the game (as well as speed it along for tournament play), over on Reddit as well.
CA2018 really shows how hamstrung GW are by printing schedules
Chapter Approved DLC
Here are some honest thoughts on how we feel Chapter Approved should be to better support the game, and retailers.
- A Free Digital Download
- It should constantly be updated with the most current information
- Chapter Approved should drop right after the Fall FAQ (see above)
We feel that it should be on behalf of GW’s company to release the Chapter Approved changes online and for free. Mainly because the players spent enough money on their models, hobby supplies, codex, etc. (Some of which are already outdated on release).
Something that hobbyists have said for the better part of 8th is that they should not have to foot the bill for year after year of fixes to content they own.
This would obviously be an act of good standing from the company for its player base amongst a string of PR missteps from raising prices massively on Forge World and some isolated but yet draconianly harsh hobby policies.
Games Workshop has had huge success as of late with their games. But that doesn’t mean that they do everything perfect.
What do you think about their printing schedule? Should game updates go online and be for free? Is it fair for us to pay for THEIR mistakes they decided to fix?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
Socials: @RealmbrushPainting
About Wesley Floyd: Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. He is known for his satirist takes on trending topics and imaginative yet amazingly affordable hobby solutions to painting Warhammer miniatures.
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. He knows for a fact that Mephiston red is the best-tasting paint and is the commission painting equivalent of a Wendy’s 4 for $4. If you like what he writes and want to contact him or have your tabletop minatures painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
