This hobby is just becoming too expensive for me and gw just won’t meet me half way. A $50 codex book is a novelty thing which is cool; it’s not some value. I don’t feel the same for this app. I was really hoping that this app would allow me to play the game on a bit more of a budget.
Just make the app free. I know you don’t want to but you’re losing so much potential customers who already pay you hundreds for one army and paint and glue and decorations and terrain. If I’m being really honest here, I’m just a little sick of being bleed dry.
Here’s a great idea. Keep the subscription, BUT include a subscription to warhammer plus so we can watch warhammer shows. And for the love of Pete, have a rewards system worth using.
I loved using this app for army building and for playing games of warhammer, it was genuinely the best tool they had offered as you had access to all of the rules at a moments notice and could build armies on the fly, which made games way more fun because it streamlined the process so much. But the monthly subscription that you need to make more than 3 lists + all the money you spend on their miniatures isnt enough for Games Workshop, in order to access ANY army rules, you have to own the $60 codex for that army (which used to be almost worth the price because of all the lore and character descriptions, but is now just a $60 rulebook for each army), effectively making it so that using this tool means you have to spend an additional $60 PER army. Absolutely atrocious business model from Games Workshop that only seems to be getting worse with time. I can only hope they come to respect their fanbase and customers within my lifetime, but that seems unlikely at this point.
The only *real* complaint I have with this app is that it lumps all of your unit’s wargear selections into one card, making it so that my two units of Cadian Shock Troops share a profile. This forces me to sift through compounded lines of text to find the weapon I’m using, and is somewhat inconvenient as a learner and newcomer to 40K.
In addition, the Command Bunker cards don’t show how many of the weapons are in the squad itself, so I have to keep multiple mental notes of how many weapons are in each of my units, alongside strategizing and keeping track of the many stratagems at my disposal. This is yet another hurdle for new players like me, as I tend to spend a very long time making sure I’m not using too many or too little of one weapon selection.
So if those are my only two grievances, then why the two stars? It’s because the official Warhammer 40K App is trumped by BattleScribe, a free app that does all of the things mentioned above and more, all the while having the gall to push a horrible business model that is very obviously not popular.
Games Workshop is leaving unit data sheets out of this app deliberately, and has admitted as such to it on their Facebook page. Entries are incomplete, poorly formatted, and multiple units are missing for factions that are not Space Marines (TM), who have the highest release rate. This also leaves aside that the app is only free for now, and as the physical books drop, data will be removed from the app, requiring shelling out $25+ (since the codes are in the physical books) for each subset of data that had been removed. Avoid at all costs, because GW certainly wants to make it cost a bundle.
Additional addendum: the most recent update has indicated that the Tau Empire codex is “fully complete.” This is factually untrue, and has been accompanied by multiple units being moved to “legends” status, which are no longer valid at competitive levels, will no longer receive updates of any kind, and are not included in the app in any form. These units are likewise still (as of right now) being sold through their webstore, so not only is the statement facetious, but is deliberately done to sell products for a form of play that Games Workshop cultivates, but said products cannot participate in.
I paid for this app to have list building convenience and access to faction rules and data cards, I was sold as you gain access to all factions and as 10th is progressing it seems this is not true and falsely advertised. Why am I paying for the app of o have to buy every codex or data cards for each faction to use it? If that’s the case then the app should be free. Or it should be as it was advertised, paid access to all data sheets and rules in one place, I would even pay a bit more if this was the case, however 60 for the year with no acess to anything but list building capabilities is not worth at all, ( there are free apps for this function alone), the whole point was to have access to ALL DATA, if you raise the price to 100 for the year and include all the data and rules for the game it would be worth. But currently this app is false advertising and sub par to what it could be, not what is was sold as when originally was released, listen to your fan base ( who keeps you in business and loves the lore and game) not your investors (those that do not love the 40K universe and will dilute the brand for short term profit)
I enjoy the app and the gui is much cleaner than competitors. Command tower was a great update in the right direction. Some stuff could be improved, such as export options (being able to import a list your friend sends you would be nice), but overall its a solid layout and user experience. Until you want to check if that rule your opponent just used is accurate, in which case the app becomes worthless and you need to go check the free alternatives anyways. I’m hoping they decide that WH+ users should get full access to the app, but if they don’t I’ll be canceling my subscription when it’s current period ends as I have to use the free apps more and more to supplement this anyways during a game. For reference the paywall for the full app will eventually be a 60$/year subscription + around 1500$ (21x60 for codices, 5x35 for supplements, and +60 for new faction codices) if they don't raise codex prices before the edition ends.
I’m enjoying the app. Building an army in cathartic but I know with the release of more codexes I’ll have to buy them for the codes. I’ve made my peace with that pay wall fact. I will say what we have right now is nice.
I’d recommend players buying the index cards to honest. It has all your army weapons, rules and abilities. It goes well with your codex and if you don’t have one released for your army yet it’s still good to have. Don’t skip on that!! They are pretty cheap if your not a space marine lol.
I do have a question though about the dataslate. Will the point/ rule changes be added/ updated into the base app? My group don’t use them right now but if the app changes my army will drop in points. That’s not what’s bothering me, I just want to know if the app will factor that in later in an update and not be a “key document”. I don’t even see the September dataslate.
I’d like some info on that please!
The app itself is solid and well thought out. I also appreciate the continual addition of features by the dev team (like command bunker).
Where I do have an issue is the pricing and the value proposition over time. I don’t have an issue with GW charging for this app. It takes money to pay a team to manage/develop it, I get that. The problem is that unless you buy every codex that comes out, over time the value you are getting for your money that you spent on the app gets lower and lower. When I first bought the app, I paid $60 and had access to all faction data. I now have access to 4 less factions, and that number will continue to grow over time. By the end of the edition, I will have access to only one faction (the one I play), and will likely have paid the same price at renewal for the app. It just feels bad as a customer to get less and less over time for what you paid for. In my opinion, the release of content on WarhammerTV does not make up for this, mostly because it’s so infrequent.
That being said, I would strongly suggest GW rethink what or how they charge for this app. I think the cost for a yearly subscription should be at least halved, to account for the diminishing value over time. Either that, or rethink how the codex paywall is handled/priced. Allowing to one to pay a nominal fee to access codex info for factions in the app would be a good start.
This app is a must have for the table. Quickly find datasheets, rules, and have the information at hand without rifling through piles of cards or turning pages for minutes halting the flow of the game.
Could it use an auto rotate feature? Yes.
Could it benefit from syncing across devices? Yes.
Would a way to group leaders with their units make things less chaotic? Yes.
Would a way to mark units as eliminated and get them out of the way make it easier for end rounds to run more smoothly? yes
There are many slight additions/tweaks that would make this app even better but as is, it is a boon.
People who complain that they have to pay for the WH+ sub to make the fullest use of this are entitled and whiny. It’s $60 per YEAR… you just spent that on 3 minis that you won’t open for months… get over yourself, and stop being a petulant child a rating bombing this.
I love the recent update with the battle bunker. One thing that I think everyone would like to see is a way to access your opponents army or list during a game on your phone. It might be tough to implement, but it would be great if you could share your battle bunker page with your opponent for a set time period. This way you could access the rules and data sheets for codex armies without having to purchase them or hand your book/phone back and forth.
Duden Fard
ettenart
Kyle Malinit
ShasOFish
Allskintattoo
Gshsbucbddhs
PaladinAtti
Signifer34
The Guardian of Rage
evan89009
