The best ways to go about getting into Warhammer 40,000

Warhammer 40,000 certainly feels like it's on the brink of hitting mainstream appeal in the way that Dungeons & Dragons did following the launch of 5th Edition, the tributes in Stranger Things, and the monster success of Critical Role. Unlike Dungeons & Dragons, which is incredibly easy to learn and can be as rules light as you please, Warhammer 40,000 can be a bit more daunting for a beginner.

But, if you've had your first hit of service to the Emperor (or the Chaos Gods, if you're so inclined) and want more, we've got some tips to help with getting into the war game, lore, and both. No matter whether you want to get lost in the tomes of the Black Library or spend countless hours perfecting the visors on your helmets, we've got plenty of ways to help you take the next step in the hobby without overwhelming yourself.

Tips for Getting Into Warhammer 40,000 - The Wargame

Warhammer 40,000 is one of the most-established tabletop experiences we have today. However, it consistently iterates. On the one hand, that can make keeping up a bit of a task, but it also means everyone else is also studying the rules constantly. Therefore, you don't need to be as daunted when you're researching a list or the rules to start with. Sure, some things will pretty much always stay the same, but a huge tip for Warhammer in any sense is that like history or science it's kind of always being rewritten. The meta is forever changing, so already this should be a big weight off your shoulders.

With that, we can get to a proper beginner tip, which is to pick an army you like. One that you really, really like. Before looking at the rules, before buying your first Combat Patrol, you should know that you're going to want to spend hours building and painting these little dudes. Aesthetics are huge for this, probably more important than even the lore and playstyle, but there are admittedly loads of factors that go into picking an army. The important thing is picking one, and sticking with your army. Unless you're looking to just collect, which is fine, it's not a great idea to get pulled away by each release wave. Other armies are getting cool stuff all the time. This year I was almost dragged into spending hundreds on Space Wolves, for example, but I held strong to my beloved Dark Angels, because I knew otherwise I'd have effectively wasted a boatload of cash.

I'd recommend against picking up a starter set to get into the game, unless you know you want either the Tyranid or the Space Marine units. Even Combat Patrols might not offer great deals depending on your faction, even if they're billed as the way to get started. They will give you a discount on buying all the units in the box, though, which is a major boon in Warhammer. Something that's worth considering when picking your army is how much it'll cost. Even if you think Space Marines are a bit generic at first, they don't cost nearly as much to get a list with as Tyranids or Eldar for example. P.S. If you're not aware, a list is a collection of units that make up an army. They'll need a warlord, some battleline units, alongside other datasheets and probably a monster or vehicle mixed in to give yourself some balance.

Getting the free minis of the month from your local Games Workshop store is a great way to figure out whether you like building and painting a certain faction, but the internet offers a great amount of resources for learning everything else about them. In my experience, though, the buying, building, and painting are the things you'll have to do most, so make sure you're happy with all three when you pick an army. Just like D&D, the rule of cool shines supreme in Warhammer 40,000, and it's better to stick with what you like than chase the current meta. Warhammer takes a long time to prepare for, even if you don't paint, which means by the time you've got your super meta build ready to go, it has likely already been nerfed.

Once you've picked your faction, built and painted an army list you're ready to take to the tabletop, now comes the time to learn the rules and how the game is played. If there's a cheat code to learning the wargame, it's battle reports. I can't help but recommend 40K in 40m from Play On Tabletop. The cinematic, short structure the team there brings to Warhammer 40,000 makes it as accessible as it is exciting, and new fans really should check out a few games to see what the structure of the game is like, even if they skip over some aspects. After you've got an idea, you'll be able to better understand the guidelines from the rulebook and your faction Codex. If you're playing games with friends, the Codex is probably going to be fine for all your rules needs, but if you want a more competitive edge, you'll likely need assistance from the web or an app.

As you can probably tell from the above paragraphs, Warhammer 40,000 can seem quite complex and to some degree it is, but you can make life simpler for yourself by picking out your faction, building an army steadily without making a dreaded pile of shame (a pile of unbuilt/unpainted Warhammer models), and watching some battle reports to get a handle on the rules. Figure that out, and you'll be pitching grand battles in the grimdark far future in no time.

Tips for Getting Into Warhammer 40,000 - The Lore

This is a little easier, because really it's all just about your starting point. If you're just looking to absorb a general overview of the setting, the rulebook or preferably a faction Codex can give you thousands of years of story in a condensed format. YouTube also helps here, but there are so many lore YouTubers out there now it's really hard to just pick one and say they're the best for beginners. You'll be able to determine who you like dependent on voice, video length, and more. If you want official lore and little else, well then you have plenty of options.

So long as you're happy with an Imperial perspective (which you may just have to endure even if you're a fan of other factions), then you have loads of jumping off points, from games to books and some other stuff in between. Secret Level gives you plenty of badass action, but not a lot of detail on the setting, so we can't really recommend it for lore. Space Marine II does a lot better, dumping the odd keyword here and there to give you that gateway drug into Warhammer as it has done for so many players. Rogue Trader is in our opinion the best Warhammer 40,000 video game introduction, although it can offer a lot of text to pour through at times, which may put certain fans off.

If it's text you're looking for, though, then the Black Library offers tonnes of Warhammer books to dig through. The biggest narrative series by far is The Horus Heresy, but if 50+ books sound a bit daunting for a series, you can take on the Eisenhorn trilogy, which acts as a perfect introduction through the eyes of Games Workshop's version of James Bond. If you're looking to get some more book recommendations, you can do so here and here.