The latest Balance Dataslate has been in operation for two weeks now, and while it introduced a number of targeted tweaks, it’s fair to say that some don’t think we went far enough! In this article we’ll talk about why we prefer to avoid drastic changes when modifying rules, and how we expect the latest update to percolate into the competitive scene.
The changes in the latest dataslates were deliberately light touches, but we expect they’ll have an impact. This approach of making small adjustments helps us to determine how effective each of those changes have been – and what to do in response if they’re not having the desired effect. If we introduced three powerful new special rules for an underperforming army which then started consistently overperforming, it could be tricky to work out which of those additions to reverse. The same is true for applying multiple penalties or restrictions to powerful factions.
Making smaller changes gives us more accurate data, and makes it simpler to account for other factors – such as new factions joining the game, and new tactics hitting the tournament scene. We’ll have plenty of opportunities to make additional tweaks in the future, incrementally moving factions towards the ideal win rate – between 45% and 55%.
It will take time for the impact of the latest changes to become clear in the worldwide metagame – and for more events to run where the effects of these amendments can be felt. It’s still too early for us to see any real impact from this dataslate – it was only released two weeks ago, on a Thursday, so no-one running or attending an event the following weekend had time to implement the changes. As such, we only have one week of meaningful results – but this will change in the weeks to come.*
Codex: Leagues of Votann will be on general release this weekend, along with their whole range of units – at which point we’ll start to include their results, too. While a codex is only available as part of an army set, with limited access for players and a limited selection of units, we don’t include its results in our win rate data. It’s only when rules are available to everyone that we consider them officially part of the metagame.
Blood Angels Claim Victory in Kansas
Last weekend, Zaak Kerstetter’s Blood Angels won the Kansas City Warhammer Open Grand Tournament, narrowly beating the Thousand Sons in the final game of the event – proving that in the hands of skilled players, even armies that are statistically in the middle of the pack are capable of beating anyone. Congratulations to Zaak on his victory – which you can watch on the Warhammer Twitch channel.
In fact, the final standings at the Kansas Open display an interesting mix of armies in general. There were four different factions in the top five – two Chaos Daemons armies, the Blood Angels and Thousand Sons who contested the final, and the Tyranids of Hive Fleet Kraken. A heartening display of variety!
No Harlequins or Necrons managed to reach the upper levels of the standings, which makes a change from the picture earlier in the year – and there was even an Adeptus Mechanicus army in the top 10, despite their shortcomings in the global meta. With the latest dataslate removing restrictions and returning the CORE keyword to their Ironstrider engines, we hope to see their results improving.
The finale of this year’s Warhammer Open series takes place in New Mexico in a few weeks,** and we look forward to watching the games on the Warhammer Twitch channel before combing over the results to determine what they mean for the meta.
Over the coming weeks we’ll apply our learnings to the next instalment of the Munitorum Field Manual, to make sure we are charging the appropriate number of points for every unit in Warhammer 40,000. This will be available to players in the New Year, as will the next quarterly Balance Dataslate and a new Chapter Approved Mission Pack.
Balancing a game like Warhammer 40,000 that constantly receives new armies and units is something of a moving target – new rules have an impact on every other army currently in the game, and the updated points values, mission pack, and Balance Dataslate are a great opportunity for us to recalibrate.
Stu Black from the Warhammer 40,000 design team sat down with Warhammer TV presenter Nick Bayton for more insights on the Balance Dataslate and the results from the Kansas City US Open. It’s a great watch if you want more details on the context and thinking behind game balance.
As always, our thanks to everyone organising and playing in events that pass on their data to inform our ongoing balancing process, and those who send their questions in to 40KFAQ@gwplc.com to help fine-tune the game!
* And remember, the data above covers the previous 60 days of results, up until the 17th of October.
** You can still pick up tickets to the Grand Narrative event, right here.