When the new edition of Warhammer 40,000 launched, we promised a few monthly updates to make sure the game is in a good place before switching to the usual quarterly schedule. The second of these is here today, with points updates for a few outlying factions and units, plus tweaks to map layouts and detachments.
If you want to read it right away, you can access the updated Munitorum Field Manual and other documents over at the Warhammer Community Downloads page.
Warhammer 40,000 August Update
Download Now
What’s New?
As far as faction performance goes, the game is in a pretty balanced state, with a handful of the best and worst performing armies getting most of the attention as far as points changes go. Chaos Daemons, Emperor’s Children, and Adeptus Custodes get some slight points increases to keep them in line with the rest of the field, while the Astra Militarum, Death Guard, and Aeldari have new options available to them after targeted points reductions.
To make one thing clear, though – the Orks are not included in this balance pass, as their new Codex is on pre-order, and any changes would be rendered moot in a matter of days. They’ll get new points when the book drops, and will be under the same scrutiny as everyone else from the next update. Don’t worry, Boyz, you haven’t been forgotten.
Speaking of which, September’s update will be the last of the monthly balance passes, after which it will go back to quarterly releases. A lot of the data gathered during August will be informing the updates for September too, so keep your eyes peeled.
In addition to points adjustments, some detachments that previously had restrictions preventing them from being used alongside others have had those conditions removed, to open up more avenues for list building. The Death Guard, for instance, can now combine Mortarion’s Hammer with Contagion Engines to seriously buff their Daemon Engines.
Force Disposition matchups are also being watched closely to make sure none are overly one-sided, and this month’s update adjusts a few of the recommended map layouts so that one side doesn’t have the advantage over the other.
Disruption players in particular have been given more maps with six total objectives to reduce the first-turn advantage, while terrain areas for some expansion objectives have been nudged slightly to open up movement lanes for larger vehicles and monsters.
Otherwise, the work continues on the September update. The Warhammer Studio rules team has been crunching the numbers since the Armageddon box first hit the shelves and taking in feedback from hundreds of players – especially in-person at Warhammer events around the world.
We’ll see you again later for another balance update in September.
