Battlefleet Gothic Armada II

[Jarhead0331]

Man...I was really out of the lore loop. I had no idea Guilliman had been revived! This is very exciting news, although I'm sure it will all still end in disaster for humanity.

[SirAndrewD]

Man...I was really out of the lore loop. I had no idea Guilliman had been revived! This is very exciting news, although I'm sure it will all still end in disaster for humanity.

Yep, GW finally decided to have things happen in the lore.   They sort of had to do something after years of their sales falling off on both tabletop and in the Black Library.  They even had a year where they fell behind X-Wing in sales.  After finally moving the lore forward, they've reclaimed their position at the top and then some financially. 

Gulliman comes back and actually has a conversation with the Emperor, first time the guy has talked in 10,000 years.  Then he writes the Codex Imperialis, reforms the Imperium into something more akin to what the Emperor would've wanted, writes an unbiased history of the Imperium available to all people, and ends divine worship of the Emperor. 

He also uses his gene seed to create a new breed of Space Marine, the Primaris.   Of course they're bigger, stronger and have new super advanced marks of Power Armor that the Mechanicum designs.  At this point in the lore the Primaris Marines make up the majority of most of the major Astartes chapters.

And also of course, this means that GW sells all new large base Primaris figures, and if you want to be up on the current rules, you have to replace your old outdated Space Marines with the shiny new models.  Only $60 for a box of ten!  And now Gulliman is in the game too, with insane rules and a awesome figure only another $60 by himself!

And you can see why GW moved the lore forward.

This sadly is why I don't play the tabletop anymore.

[Jarhead0331]

This sadly is why I don't play the tabletop anymore.

LoL, you could still play under the old rules, no?

[SirAndrewD]

LoL, you could still play under the old rules, no?

You can, but almost no one does.  Regular Space Marines are still part of the army list, but they're so inferior to Primaris that it's pretty much a bad idea to use a lot of them unless you have to.  Everyone loves the new hotness. 

I could always play my 10000 plus points of Imperial Guard Astra Militarium I suppose.

[SirAndrewD]

Well, it was a very slow work day at my new job where I work from home, so I got to play a lot of both games. 

I remembered what I hated about the first.  Data recovery and Assassinate missions and the canned feel of the campaign.  The tactical combat is ok, and it looks good, but it just reminded me of why I put it down with only a few hours played.   It's fun but didn't quite scratch the itch. 

The new one just feels better.  The ability to pause is a godsend.  The way ships handle, the satisfaction of getting good angles and unleashing a lot of firepower.  I'm really loving how the tactical combat pops. 

The strategic layer is a whole different world and it feels a lot more Total Warish.  The canned feeling is definitely waning for me now that I played it long enough to save games and actually dig into it. 

Love love love the Imperium's roster compared to the first.  Having the Mechanicius and Astartes is a big plus.   Love sending the Imperial Fist ships on ramming and boarding runs.

I'm still totally not sold on the capture system.  I can confirm that even in campaign, enemy vessels will sit on a cap point and not move, making them very easy targets for torpedo runs and boarding actions.    The AI needs a lot of improvement in this respect.  Honestly, the AI in the first game was better. 

I think this one could grow into a keeper.  Not sure if I can suggest futzing around with the original.  I'm probably going to shelve it after tonight yet again and concentrate on the sequel.

[Gusington]

I must futz!! It's been sitting on my desktop for 2+ years. Gotta get at least 5 hours before switching over to the newer, sexier precious.

And is your employer hiring?

[SirAndrewD]

I must futz!! It's been sitting on my desktop for 2+ years. Gotta get at least 5 hours before switching over to the newer, sexier precious.

And is your employer hiring?

Futz away! 

And she is not.   She's a very nice, rich attractive Polish woman who lives in Italy and has me selling contracts for her Publishing house.    My wife's been working for her as a freelance ghostwriting interviewer for three years so I had a foot in the door.

Pays a bit less than teaching middle schoolers, sometimes.  Commission can change that a lot.  Gives me a ton of time to play more games though and work in my PJ's.

[Gusington]

Are you kidding me?

[SirAndrewD]

Are you kidding me?

Would I kid about working for a hot, rich, lady who lives on the Italian seaside and gives me my instructions for the week through Zoom meetings?

[Gusington]

^I...I don't know.

Just fired up both the first and second games just to futz and it is apparent that the second game is the first on steroids, even to a WH40k n00b like me.

I may fall in love with both!

[SirAndrewD]

^I...I don't know.

Just fired up both the first and second games just to futz and it is apparent that the second game is the first on steroids, even to a WH40k n00b like me.

I may fall in love with both!

They're both a lot more fun than they have any right to be honestly.   

To finally not be creepy, let's here some good Imperial stuff. 

For Gaunt!  And the Tanith!

[Gusington]

You must work harder on the not-creepy angle.

[SirAndrewD]

You must work harder on the not-creepy angle.

That's what my wife told me after the third restraining order.  I guess I did something right, she married me instead of getting a fourth.   

[Gusington]

I like your style.

[FarAway Sooner]

D, were the restraining orders to keep you away from her, or from tabletop gaming locations where guys all sit around and have creepy conversations about the way GW should tweak their game lore?