Well most obviously try space marine 1,its on sale now. There is also boltgun. Its a retro doom like shooter. There is also the Rogue trader game for a broader warhammer world rather than Just space marines. On that note there is also mechanicus. Its a turn based tactical game similar to xcom. In it you play as a Group of techpriests raiding a necron tomb. (necrons are a sort of ancient terminator space egyptians with advanced technology and mechanicus are a cult that worships technology). For more Grand strategy there is also gothic armada for fleet combat. For rts games you have obviously dawn of war 1 and 2 (and 3 but most people dont like it). Now for broader lore you can look up videos on YouTube, luetin is pretty good as far as it goes, but its pretty long. If you want a more general look at lore check out videos made by a youtuber naked Bricky, he covered both all the factions and all the main space marines. Do you want some book recomendations to that too?
Chaos gate is amazing. I think better than Xcom. Obviously biased though, been painting ork boyz and space marine in poorly ventilated basements since the late eighties.
Love the game just wish that genre didn't boggles my mind trying to keep track of my entire roster of marines and who was upgrading what and where...and gear.
A good start would probably be to try out the first *Space Marine* before you get the sequel.
Also, *never, ever, ever, ever preorder video games*. Just as matter of principle.
Yeah commenting just to second the last part of your comment.
Pre-orders have a negative effect on the gaming industry and often lead to disappointment in consumers who do preorder as the product rarely lives up to the hype they create for it.
It wasn’t that they were worth the hype it’s that at one point pre-ordering was actually necessary since people were using physical media. In the modern era of digital downloads pre-ordering is a flat out scam.
As someone who lived and did that. The majority of them were worth the hype because they couldn't just throw out an update, or some dlc, their game sank or swam and their profits were dictated by that. And while yes, limited supplies blah blah blah physical media, it was also about the experience imo, my friends would meet at the mall jacked up on some form of caffeine or energy drinks in prep for the binger we were about to do with the game we'd been waiting for.
That's fair.... lol I saw the pack on owlcats website and it does seem like a pretty sweet bag, model ship, poster, cassia statue and other goodies but good lordy that price tag 🤮🤮
I got a statue with Spider-Man 2, God of War: Ragnarok I got the Jotunheim edition which came with statue and a ton of stuff. The alloy mini and giant Mammoth with Forbidden West 2 is gorgeous. Batman statue from Arkham Knight looks sweet! I have most the Fall of Reach stuff but the statue broke during a move. Then Borderlands 3 came with a whole box of stuff. I’m pretty sad I missed out on the physical final fantasy 7 remake stuff.
Good shite, that honestly makes me happy, some games are still doing it... tho besides spider man and God of war arent the rest of those games multiple years old?
Edit: only Spiderman is less than a year old. Everything else is 2-7 years old 😬
2nd edit: what is fall of reach? Google says it's a halo book lol
Sorry just Reach I have the Legendary edition. Final Fantasy 7 came out this year. Elden Ring had physical stuff.
I don’t pre order just anything. But big releases for franchises I like. I love the physical stuff. When I started being able to display it I really enjoyed it more. Usually they announce collectors stuff shortly before pre-order then depending on franchise it sells out same day.
Edit: the Spider-Man 2 box was huge; so is the statue it actually stores most of my vehicles knights and terrain in one side, and then a whole bunch of mostly empty sprues that it’s easier to leave stuff on than organize properly in the other. I could probably easily fit multiple armies in there.
I stopped buying physical because of the lack of goodies. I like to add to my shelves of stuff lol. Thank you :) I guess I just need to uncrawl out from my rock and pay attention for the big titles. Like the above mentioned sm2 I hope we get a statue or something for this bad mama jamma
If you are in the EU, US, UK or Aus and a game offers an early access window usually a few days before the official launch then there is zero risk involved in preordering.
You are protected by your statutory rights that day you are entitled to a refund of any product if it has not released or launched and you have paid early for it.
In the games industry this is regardless of play time and supercedes any agreement made between you and the retailer.
If you can play 71 hours out of a 3 day headstart you are still entitled to a full refund before the launch.
"Never preorder" is a stupid term used by people who don't know their rights. These are often people who will buy the game on day one the minute it launches. At which point you may as well preorder and get the extra crap they usually offer since you will have the same rights to a refund after the launch.
There are many other caveats but if a game offers a headstart period you are simply missing out on a fully unlocked demo to test for the duration to determine if the game is for you.
If there is no headstart I generally won't preorder
If price is not a problem, I recommend you buying Warhammer 40k Core Book, there are inside rules for the tabletop game yes, but mostly contains the official lore of the universe and the different factions.
This should always be the top answer every time this question gets asked. The core rulebook gives a very comprehensive (and quite well written) overview of the setting and all the factions, all accompanied by gorgeous artwork. There is literally no better introduction
Play the game. The first time you play you'll get a bunch of stuff wrong but so did everyone when they started. So just play the game and eventually you'll get a grasp on things. If you have a local games store start there.
I’m not interested in playing the tabletop game though, if that’s what you’re recommending. Others said I should check out the first space marines and earlier games so I’ll probably do that.
This video is what got me sold on the hobby. I had heard about it here and there, but watching this, I knew that I wanted to be involved
https://youtu.be/xCGKPRiJp84?si=J8cUjwEScye3qngZ
There is a part two as well
The first one is pretty good and should be on sale on Steam sometimes. It plays a LOT like Gears of War if you've ever played that; it's a third-person shooter so taking cover is a big part of it and there is a fairly even balance of melee and ranged combat. Very gory and lots of cutting up Orks with chainswords.
Get the first one on sale though if you do get it because it's not that long a campaign and multiplayer is pretty dead.
It paints the Imperium and especially the space marines as a fair bit more reasonable and moral than they actually are, but it's still a good introduction to this very grimy, industrial setting.
If you like first person games, I'd definitely look into Darktide and its (probably better) Fantasy sister game, Vermintide 2. There's also lots of Warhammer strategy and RTS games if you're into that sort of thing.
Is the first one on Xbox? I’ve never actually played Gears of War but maybe I should check that out too. Thank you for all the info, I’m really baked and about to hop into some research when I get home
Space Marine probably is man, might be on gamepass. Gears is absolutely great though, from the gameplay to the story and the world and the multiplayer. Gears 2 is my favourite but all three are great. If you have an Xbox you absolutely should play them. Can't speak for the sequels like 4 and 5 though
Bricky video [here](https://youtu.be/xCGKPRiJp84?si=HkTRgdNiColR3A-m) it has a part two.
Edit these vids gives you basic info on all factions and races.
I started my journey for this addiction by ordering Horus Rising audiobook but you kinda want to know at least something from the lore.. and if you are in this for the minis and table top wargaming can't help you there mate. I'm hopeless can't paint for shit even assembling one whole mini with glue and those tiny tiny parts is impossible for my shovelhands I think you're supposed to start this hobby when you're six and still have tiny childhandfingers
Yeah, honestly, I’m only interested in lore and the video games. No time in my schedule to paint minis lol but my brothers paint D&D minis, idk how they do it lol
Honestly, watch one of those super condensed “lore in 5 minutes” videos, pick out a few things that seem interesting from that, and do a deeper dive there.
I learned a ton from just figuring out what factions seemed cool, and then learning about them and their interactions with the universe, and that should lead you down some solid paths.
I'd reccomend reading the "Eisenhorn Omnibus" by Dan Abnett. It's a trilogy of novels about an Inquisitor (basically an FBI agent of the human empire) and his career travwlling across the breadth of human space hunting down a cult.
If you're totally initiated to the 40k universe it's IMO the best way to wade in. Abnett is a great author who does very textured worldbuilding and he does a very good job of making the 40k setting feel plausible and human.
I would also reccomend starting with the Gaunt's Ghosts novel 'Necropolis', also by Dan Abnett. This is the first book you should read in an excellent series that follows an Imperial regiment (ordinary human soldiers) across a 20 year campaign. There are 2 novels that precede Necropolis in the Gaunt's Ghosts series, I would strongly *strongly* **strongly** reccomend you skip them. They're pasted together from the shorts Dan Abnett wrote for Inferno Magazine a long time ago and the quality/style is very different from the rest of the series. You will miss 0 plot points or background starting with Necropolis.
I’m going to recommend Space Marine 1 it’s a 3rd person hack and slash/shooter similar to gears or war
The main character is also going to be returning and you can get him as a miniature in the space marine board game
The other biggest and best of the games is Dawn of War series (the first one is universally loved and then it gets more mixed opinion for 2 and 3)
Thank you, I’ll check out Space Marine 1. I’m telling myself that I’m only interested in the video game aspect but people are saying otherwise, and that I will soon be in financial ruin if I get into this
I started recently with little to no experience. I actually found the first 3 HH (Horus Heresy) books the most useful explanation of the trans-human nature of Astartes. Forget what happened between the third book and ‘up to date 41k’ - the groundings and lore given by 3 HH books sets the tone very very well
Old books from resale shops (even out of data’s rule books have great lore) or new books if you can afford them. Not YouTube… most of them either have it wrong or just make up stuff for clicks/drama.
every video game is designed with a broader audience in mind than the already existing base that knows what warhammer is
so, buy space marine 1, play that to get a sense for the characters and the world they're in. dawn of war will introduce you to a lot of the same/similar factions with other PoV characters
if you then get interested in specific factions, characters, nouns or verbs, go to lexicanum dot com
if you like to read or listen to audiobooks, black library has supplemental works to dive into
Playing the first space marine game with my friend who was already into the lore was a great way to start. If you like reading I’d start with the Horus heresy. Horus Rising the the first book in the series and it provides a lot of context for the imperium, Astartes, and the culture around warhammer. If you looking just to play tabletop there’s no better way than just play with some friends. Argue, read the codex’s while you play. Stuff like that.
*Gaunt's Ghosts: Necropolis* was the first I heard of Warhammer. [The hive city is a great way to be introduced to the scale of conflicts in 40k.](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Vervunhive)
If you like shooter games I recommend Boltgun. Got it for my switch and feels like I'm playing the ol' DOOM games with a Warhammer skin, it's very fun. Darktide is also a recent release where you team up with 3 other people to take down hordes zombies, cultists, monsters and demons.
I do highly recommend Vermintide 2. It is not 40k though, it is Warhammer Fantasy, which is like the medieval version of 40k, but it is a blast to play. I've put most of my hours into Vermintide. If you have a good enough computer then Total War Warhammer 3 is a phenomenal strategy experience, but again, this is fantasy and not 40k.
Other than that, Dawn of War 1 is a classic experience and can run on even the most potato of computers.
I actually thought this Channel was Attenborough's grandson's 40k Youtube channel the AI was so good. [(2) Scholar's Lore - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Scholarslore). You will LEARN EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!
Well most obviously try space marine 1,its on sale now. There is also boltgun. Its a retro doom like shooter. There is also the Rogue trader game for a broader warhammer world rather than Just space marines. On that note there is also mechanicus. Its a turn based tactical game similar to xcom. In it you play as a Group of techpriests raiding a necron tomb. (necrons are a sort of ancient terminator space egyptians with advanced technology and mechanicus are a cult that worships technology). For more Grand strategy there is also gothic armada for fleet combat. For rts games you have obviously dawn of war 1 and 2 (and 3 but most people dont like it). Now for broader lore you can look up videos on YouTube, luetin is pretty good as far as it goes, but its pretty long. If you want a more general look at lore check out videos made by a youtuber naked Bricky, he covered both all the factions and all the main space marines. Do you want some book recomendations to that too?
Chaos gate is amazing. I think better than Xcom. Obviously biased though, been painting ork boyz and space marine in poorly ventilated basements since the late eighties.
Love the game just wish that genre didn't boggles my mind trying to keep track of my entire roster of marines and who was upgrading what and where...and gear.
A good start would probably be to try out the first *Space Marine* before you get the sequel. Also, *never, ever, ever, ever preorder video games*. Just as matter of principle.
Yeah commenting just to second the last part of your comment. Pre-orders have a negative effect on the gaming industry and often lead to disappointment in consumers who do preorder as the product rarely lives up to the hype they create for it.
I miss the times when they were worth the hype.
It wasn’t that they were worth the hype it’s that at one point pre-ordering was actually necessary since people were using physical media. In the modern era of digital downloads pre-ordering is a flat out scam.
As someone who lived and did that. The majority of them were worth the hype because they couldn't just throw out an update, or some dlc, their game sank or swam and their profits were dictated by that. And while yes, limited supplies blah blah blah physical media, it was also about the experience imo, my friends would meet at the mall jacked up on some form of caffeine or energy drinks in prep for the binger we were about to do with the game we'd been waiting for.
Honestly I preordered just for the model
I pre order every collectors edition I can for what I want. Why? Because the little statues and shit make me happy in my hobby room.
I haven't seen a preoder with legit collectables in years..its all digital sound tracks and digital artbooks now??
Rouge trader just had one with the statue of the navigator cassia
I only recall seeing digital stuff for it on steam, and held off because of that, but googled it and holy shiit did they really ask $324 for it?!??
Yea.....Warhammer...I know there was more than just a statue but yea.....warhammer
That's fair.... lol I saw the pack on owlcats website and it does seem like a pretty sweet bag, model ship, poster, cassia statue and other goodies but good lordy that price tag 🤮🤮
I got a statue with Spider-Man 2, God of War: Ragnarok I got the Jotunheim edition which came with statue and a ton of stuff. The alloy mini and giant Mammoth with Forbidden West 2 is gorgeous. Batman statue from Arkham Knight looks sweet! I have most the Fall of Reach stuff but the statue broke during a move. Then Borderlands 3 came with a whole box of stuff. I’m pretty sad I missed out on the physical final fantasy 7 remake stuff.
Good shite, that honestly makes me happy, some games are still doing it... tho besides spider man and God of war arent the rest of those games multiple years old? Edit: only Spiderman is less than a year old. Everything else is 2-7 years old 😬 2nd edit: what is fall of reach? Google says it's a halo book lol
Sorry just Reach I have the Legendary edition. Final Fantasy 7 came out this year. Elden Ring had physical stuff. I don’t pre order just anything. But big releases for franchises I like. I love the physical stuff. When I started being able to display it I really enjoyed it more. Usually they announce collectors stuff shortly before pre-order then depending on franchise it sells out same day. Edit: the Spider-Man 2 box was huge; so is the statue it actually stores most of my vehicles knights and terrain in one side, and then a whole bunch of mostly empty sprues that it’s easier to leave stuff on than organize properly in the other. I could probably easily fit multiple armies in there.
I stopped buying physical because of the lack of goodies. I like to add to my shelves of stuff lol. Thank you :) I guess I just need to uncrawl out from my rock and pay attention for the big titles. Like the above mentioned sm2 I hope we get a statue or something for this bad mama jamma
They announced a statue a year ago. I think it was a bust of Titus.
But imagine, you're able to play this game four whole days before everyone else (that didn't pre order this game.)
If you are in the EU, US, UK or Aus and a game offers an early access window usually a few days before the official launch then there is zero risk involved in preordering. You are protected by your statutory rights that day you are entitled to a refund of any product if it has not released or launched and you have paid early for it. In the games industry this is regardless of play time and supercedes any agreement made between you and the retailer. If you can play 71 hours out of a 3 day headstart you are still entitled to a full refund before the launch. "Never preorder" is a stupid term used by people who don't know their rights. These are often people who will buy the game on day one the minute it launches. At which point you may as well preorder and get the extra crap they usually offer since you will have the same rights to a refund after the launch. There are many other caveats but if a game offers a headstart period you are simply missing out on a fully unlocked demo to test for the duration to determine if the game is for you. If there is no headstart I generally won't preorder
Find a cold dark spot in your house. Open up YouTube and search 40k lore. Profit???
This sounds very profitable
you will never financially recover
If you have free time and like listening to longer explanations of 40k topics then I recommend Luetin09.
Okay, thank you
For GW
If price is not a problem, I recommend you buying Warhammer 40k Core Book, there are inside rules for the tabletop game yes, but mostly contains the official lore of the universe and the different factions.
This should always be the top answer every time this question gets asked. The core rulebook gives a very comprehensive (and quite well written) overview of the setting and all the factions, all accompanied by gorgeous artwork. There is literally no better introduction
Gonna check it out rn, thanks!
Yaassss, you'll love it man, I guarantee!
Thank you, I’ll check it out
Play the game. The first time you play you'll get a bunch of stuff wrong but so did everyone when they started. So just play the game and eventually you'll get a grasp on things. If you have a local games store start there.
I’m not interested in playing the tabletop game though, if that’s what you’re recommending. Others said I should check out the first space marines and earlier games so I’ll probably do that.
Alot of the books don't explain things as that would be annoying to long term fans so the games and YouTube videos are probably the best start then
Okay cool and thank you!
This video is what got me sold on the hobby. I had heard about it here and there, but watching this, I knew that I wanted to be involved https://youtu.be/xCGKPRiJp84?si=J8cUjwEScye3qngZ There is a part two as well
I love this video (and part 2) and I recommend this also.
If you want to start learning stuff about the lore, I recommend starting with the videos on the different factions/Space Marine legions by Bricky
Thank you!
I highly recommend playing space marine one and the dawn of war series as well as bolt gun
The first one is pretty good and should be on sale on Steam sometimes. It plays a LOT like Gears of War if you've ever played that; it's a third-person shooter so taking cover is a big part of it and there is a fairly even balance of melee and ranged combat. Very gory and lots of cutting up Orks with chainswords. Get the first one on sale though if you do get it because it's not that long a campaign and multiplayer is pretty dead. It paints the Imperium and especially the space marines as a fair bit more reasonable and moral than they actually are, but it's still a good introduction to this very grimy, industrial setting. If you like first person games, I'd definitely look into Darktide and its (probably better) Fantasy sister game, Vermintide 2. There's also lots of Warhammer strategy and RTS games if you're into that sort of thing.
Is the first one on Xbox? I’ve never actually played Gears of War but maybe I should check that out too. Thank you for all the info, I’m really baked and about to hop into some research when I get home
Space Marine probably is man, might be on gamepass. Gears is absolutely great though, from the gameplay to the story and the world and the multiplayer. Gears 2 is my favourite but all three are great. If you have an Xbox you absolutely should play them. Can't speak for the sequels like 4 and 5 though
Started myself a week ago and would recommend the eisenhorn books. Pretty well written.
Thank you
I love this community sometimes, no gate keeping just, here this is what we like and we think is a good place to start.
Everyone was truly very happy to share and I felt really welcomed. Of course, I’m overwhelmed by all the recommendations but love it at the same time.
Here we go again...
😂
Bricky video [here](https://youtu.be/xCGKPRiJp84?si=HkTRgdNiColR3A-m) it has a part two. Edit these vids gives you basic info on all factions and races.
I loved Space Marine 1 but this screenshot is actually making me wish we could play as one of those Cadians.
What are cadians?
The imperial guard, the regular human soldiers.
Oh okay! Thank you
Search youtube for Lorehammer or Yourhammer with Tom and Ben! All the 100% true Warhammer facts you'll ever need!
Thanks
Well slap me silly if this wasn't a sponsored ad
They should hire me for their marketing team then lol
Lore: Vaults of Terra YT Channel Feeling: Dawn Of War 1 Community: Any local facebook group or store that sells the minis :)
Thank you
Books
I started my journey for this addiction by ordering Horus Rising audiobook but you kinda want to know at least something from the lore.. and if you are in this for the minis and table top wargaming can't help you there mate. I'm hopeless can't paint for shit even assembling one whole mini with glue and those tiny tiny parts is impossible for my shovelhands I think you're supposed to start this hobby when you're six and still have tiny childhandfingers
Yeah, honestly, I’m only interested in lore and the video games. No time in my schedule to paint minis lol but my brothers paint D&D minis, idk how they do it lol
DON'T PRE-ORDER
NOTED!
🫡🫡
The Dawn of War series was my introduction to the setting. Just skip DoW 3 and you'll be good
Thank you
Honestly, watch one of those super condensed “lore in 5 minutes” videos, pick out a few things that seem interesting from that, and do a deeper dive there. I learned a ton from just figuring out what factions seemed cool, and then learning about them and their interactions with the universe, and that should lead you down some solid paths.
I like this idea, thanks
I'd reccomend reading the "Eisenhorn Omnibus" by Dan Abnett. It's a trilogy of novels about an Inquisitor (basically an FBI agent of the human empire) and his career travwlling across the breadth of human space hunting down a cult. If you're totally initiated to the 40k universe it's IMO the best way to wade in. Abnett is a great author who does very textured worldbuilding and he does a very good job of making the 40k setting feel plausible and human. I would also reccomend starting with the Gaunt's Ghosts novel 'Necropolis', also by Dan Abnett. This is the first book you should read in an excellent series that follows an Imperial regiment (ordinary human soldiers) across a 20 year campaign. There are 2 novels that precede Necropolis in the Gaunt's Ghosts series, I would strongly *strongly* **strongly** reccomend you skip them. They're pasted together from the shorts Dan Abnett wrote for Inferno Magazine a long time ago and the quality/style is very different from the rest of the series. You will miss 0 plot points or background starting with Necropolis.
In your wallet. You will learn a lot about bad financial decissions.
I’m going to recommend Space Marine 1 it’s a 3rd person hack and slash/shooter similar to gears or war The main character is also going to be returning and you can get him as a miniature in the space marine board game The other biggest and best of the games is Dawn of War series (the first one is universally loved and then it gets more mixed opinion for 2 and 3)
Thank you, I’ll check out Space Marine 1. I’m telling myself that I’m only interested in the video game aspect but people are saying otherwise, and that I will soon be in financial ruin if I get into this
Play space marine 1 Darktide Rogue Trader Dawn of war 1 and all expansion campaigns, followed by dawn of war 2 and all expansion campaigns Mechanicus
Thank you for the recommendations!
Np, id love to know what you think if you try any and what you end up trying
New to Warhammer, I'm so jealous. There is so much to be discovered. Enjoy the journey,. FYI, Erebus is just misunderstood, he's a nice guy really.
r/fuckerebus
I started recently with little to no experience. I actually found the first 3 HH (Horus Heresy) books the most useful explanation of the trans-human nature of Astartes. Forget what happened between the third book and ‘up to date 41k’ - the groundings and lore given by 3 HH books sets the tone very very well
Which ones are those?
Old books from resale shops (even out of data’s rule books have great lore) or new books if you can afford them. Not YouTube… most of them either have it wrong or just make up stuff for clicks/drama.
every video game is designed with a broader audience in mind than the already existing base that knows what warhammer is so, buy space marine 1, play that to get a sense for the characters and the world they're in. dawn of war will introduce you to a lot of the same/similar factions with other PoV characters if you then get interested in specific factions, characters, nouns or verbs, go to lexicanum dot com if you like to read or listen to audiobooks, black library has supplemental works to dive into
YouTube. Lots of stuff on YouTube.
Playing the first space marine game with my friend who was already into the lore was a great way to start. If you like reading I’d start with the Horus heresy. Horus Rising the the first book in the series and it provides a lot of context for the imperium, Astartes, and the culture around warhammer. If you looking just to play tabletop there’s no better way than just play with some friends. Argue, read the codex’s while you play. Stuff like that.
*Gaunt's Ghosts: Necropolis* was the first I heard of Warhammer. [The hive city is a great way to be introduced to the scale of conflicts in 40k.](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Vervunhive)
https://youtu.be/Zrm5pUT94-k?si=Ef2pqHrd1CYvBguY
Just raw dawg the entire Horus heresy series without any outside context besides the books 👍
40K Darktide is very immersive game about the Chaos god Nurgle. You might need a strong PC for it tho
Space Marine 1 or the Warhammer 40,000 recruit starter set
Play the games tbh. I started with Dawn of war and it kinda spiraled from there
https://youtube.com/watch?v=aSdlRRYS9-s&si=s-7GXBRc1r0Dq99T
If you like shooter games I recommend Boltgun. Got it for my switch and feels like I'm playing the ol' DOOM games with a Warhammer skin, it's very fun. Darktide is also a recent release where you team up with 3 other people to take down hordes zombies, cultists, monsters and demons. I do highly recommend Vermintide 2. It is not 40k though, it is Warhammer Fantasy, which is like the medieval version of 40k, but it is a blast to play. I've put most of my hours into Vermintide. If you have a good enough computer then Total War Warhammer 3 is a phenomenal strategy experience, but again, this is fantasy and not 40k. Other than that, Dawn of War 1 is a classic experience and can run on even the most potato of computers.
I actually thought this Channel was Attenborough's grandson's 40k Youtube channel the AI was so good. [(2) Scholar's Lore - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Scholarslore). You will LEARN EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!
Thank you! I think I’ll do this as opposed to the core book which is like $70
It's called Text To Speech....