• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

A Warhammer 40k question

neo raider

Member
Hello everyone

I wanted to ask you Warhammer fans on how or where do i get into the world and games because i really dont know what to play or watch to get started

i tried looking around but it's so confusing
 
What ever genre of game you like is the one you should start with as 40K games span a swath of game genres.
If you force yourself to play a genre you dont like it might mar you view of the whole universe.

As for understanding the universe.....after you play that first game and get hooked into the universe, you could probably just buy some of the books, you dont really need to go far back as the universe is currently active so wherever you start is fine generally.
Just assume the wars have been going on for a while.



P.S
Dawn of War is a good starting point as it comes with quite a few campaigns,(it has all the expansions) races and explains quite a lot of the lore.
This is only if you actually like RTS games.

Otherwise follow the advice of the first paragraph pick a genre and play that game.

P.P.S
Chaos Undivided!!!!!!
 
Last edited:
Here's all of the warhammer games on steam


The standout ones are

Dawn of War Series
Space Marine 1 and 2
Rogue Trader
Mechanicus
Boltgun

I personally loved Boltgun ( retro FPS) and SM 1 (Third Person Shooter) the most, but if you like turn based, Mechanicus is for you, CRPG - Rogue Trader, and RTS - Dawn of War.
 
Last edited:
Yeah it can be overwhelming for sure. There is an insane amount of material.

My advice would be to look up some basic overall lore explanation videos on YouTube. There are a lot of great, condensed videos that explain the overall basics of the lore without getting lost in the intricacies. You get the basic gist of the universe and the important characters and just go from there depending on which factions appeal to you.

Game-wise it completely depends on what games you enjoy playing. Unfortunately a lot of 40k games really aren't all that good. I'd recommend Space Marine (third person shooter), Battlesector (realtime strategy) or Chaos Gate (X-Com like).
 
There are lots of genres that has 40k games. If you want to get a taste and idea of the universe with Space Marines then try out Space Marine 1&2. They are extremely fun and you'll learn some of the lore. The first couple of Dawn of War games are good, you'll be exposed to a lot of factions and such. Rogue trader as mentioned above is a great game to get into, the expansions are worth it too.

If you are into books there are plenty of very good ones from all different perspectives.

Watch some into lore videos on youtube and get a better idea of the universe and how things work.

Don't play the tabletop game unless you have $$$ or a 3D printer. Shit is just way to expensive. Fun but expensive.
 
I am not much into 40K but Rogue Trader is an excellent game and I really liked it. Highly recommend this one if you are into CRPGs.

Space Marine series is also good as others have said. I also have some RTS and Turned Based strategy games that I got with various bundles but never got into them.

Oh, Boltgun is good for a Boomer Shooter.
 
If you like books or audiobooks, I'd try some of them to get a feel for if it's for you or not, some of the terms and events might go over your head a little, but alot of them are short and give you a good feel for the universe and it's tone and themes.
 
thank u guys for the suggestions

i will start with space marine and rogue trader

Hell yeah strong choices.

You may have already planned this... but honestly I would go straight to Space Marine 2.

I absolutely love Space Marine 1, I played it back in the day 15 years ago, and its fantastic. But IMO its really showing its age even in the remastered version.

I think Space Marine 2 is just better all around and feels better and looks better and is a better experience.

You dont necessarily need to play SM1 to understand whats going other than some easter eggs a few references.

Id play SM2, and if you love it then go back and try SM1.

Rogue Trader is fucking awesome, if you like BG3 style games then its a must.


Also because SM2 was such a success, its getting a lot of Lore love in the upcoming material. So its probably good to get to know those characters and that narrative for future stuff.
 
Last edited:
I'd say Dawn of War and Space Marine are the best for a beginner to the franchise myself
I second this! I knew 0 about WH40K when I played Space Marine and not only I had a ton of fun but it also made me interested in the lore.

Dawn of War is super cool and with all the expansions I would bet it's the most complete WH40K game out there.
Plus the game is fucking fun, being basically a proto-Company of Heroes but in a cooler setting.
 
Last edited:
Watch a few lore videos on YouTube, read the Warhammer 40k wiki on things you find interesting and then play some 40k games. Dawn of War 1/2, Space Marine 1/2, Rogue Trader. If you are really into it read a few books. Gaunts Ghosts or Eisenhorn are good starting points.
 
Last edited:
Watch a few lore videos on YouTube, read the Warhammer 40k wiki on things you find interesting and then play some 40k games. Dawn of War 1/2, Space Marine 1/2, Rogue Trader. If you are really into it read a few books. Gaunts Ghosts or Eisenhorn are good starting points.

Horus Heresy is the best starting point, honestly. It's a prologue but a prologue that lasts 30 books.

Not all books are worth reading but the first few and Siege of Terra are incredible and an awesome foundation to 40k.

If not 30k, then Devestation of Baal. Metal as fuck.

klaher-baklaher-bloodangels2.jpg
 
You may have already planned this... but honestly I would go straight to Space Marine 2.
I was gonna pick up sm2 aswell but was like eh im waiting for a sale

If you like books or audiobooks, I'd try some of them to get a feel for if it's for you or not
I do like audiobooks on long drives so Ill probably listen to a few

Watch a few lore videos on YouTube
*watching*

Horus Heresy is the best starting point, honestly. It's a prologue but a prologue that lasts 30 books.
30!!
 
Last edited:
Dawn of War definitive edition as it contains all the expansions
Dawn of War 2
Dawn of War 2 Chaos Rising
Dawn of War 2 Retribution
Dawn of War 4 not released yet
Warhammer 40k Battle Sector
Rogue Trader
Space Marine 1
Space Marine 2
Total Wars Warhammer 40k not released yet
 
Hello everyone

I wanted to ask you Warhammer fans on how or where do i get into the world and games because i really dont know what to play or watch to get started

i tried looking around but it's so confusing
Have you tried it with mechanical precision?
 
Does the original Dawn of War and its expansions actually contain any lore entries because from what I remember it was pretty sparse not to mention very outdated?

Rogue Trader has basically an in-game encyclopedia where you can learn all sorts of things about the universe.
 
Last edited:
Darktide is what got me into WH40k.
The game is just a tiny window into the universe and the "story" is more like a setting, but the atmosphere and gameplay mechanics are so good that after having played the game for multiple months I wanted to know more about this universe and who or what a "Nurgle" might be, as a "Beast of Nurgle" is a commonly encountered boss. This caused me to watch lenghty lore videos about the war in heaven, the god-emperor and the primarchs, the Horus heresy and the four chaos gods, one of which turned out to be Nurgle. All because of a mindless FPS with top-notch atmosphere, masterfully crafted gameplay mechanics, weighty melee combat and an extremely high skill ceiling. I highly recommend the game.
 
I love many of the warhammer and 40k games. However, the best gateway drug for it?

Hmmmm probably Space Marine 1 and 2. Likely gonna be 2 these days.
Dawn of War is still solid but it has aged for sure. Any of the Dawn of war games aside from maybe 3 but the originals are so good. Probably my personal gateway drug into 40k.

Rogue Trader is an excellent rpg but it is more side universe feeling in my eyes rather than the real gateway into the universe.
Battlesector feels like the one game that gave me closest to tabletop vibes. However, probably not the best to get into everything with unless you REALLY want something close to the traditional experience.

I say start with DoW or Space Marine and branch out from there. Lots of good options especially once you are hooked.
 
Beware of games with WH40k name attached. Majority of WH40k games are actually quite shit, unless you are an absolute die-hard WH40K, and that still doesn't guarantee you will like the game. Most of these games are made by indie devs, so the quality of these games aren't up to par. And majority of them are CRPG.

But if you want a really good story with decent content, I'd recommend Rogue Trader.

If you want to just blast things, Space Marine 2

If you want an RTS, Dawn of War Remake and Dawn of War 2.
 
I started off with Firewarrior on PS2. Enjoyed a lot of Dawn of war when i had a PC later on. Great strategy based game.
Firewarrior is a bit dated tho..

I did play space marine 1 but dont remember anything about it. Space marine 2 is something you dont want to miss, incredible game. And if you enjoy all of the games mentioned and get into warhammer, try the mobile game tacticus. Has stolen way too much of my time.
 
Yeah it can be overwhelming for sure. There is an insane amount of material.

My advice would be to look up some basic overall lore explanation videos on YouTube. There are a lot of great, condensed videos that explain the overall basics of the lore without getting lost in the intricacies. You get the basic gist of the universe and the important characters and just go from there depending on which factions appeal to you.

Game-wise it completely depends on what games you enjoy playing. Unfortunately a lot of 40k games really aren't all that good. I'd recommend Space Marine (third person shooter), Battlesector (realtime strategy) or Chaos Gate (X-Com like).
This is the right answer - look up lore primer on YouTube, then decide given your favorite genre. Rogue Trader expects you to know somethings about the universe.
 
This is backwards, you don't GET into WH40k, IT gets into YOU!

Before you know it you'll be praising the omnissiah and the emperor of mankind in no time.

and don't think that WH40k is something that can be learned quick, I've been in it since 2000 and I'm still learning.

It's supposed to be overwhelming. I have no doubt that in 100 or more years, WH40k will probably be the largest IP with the most extensive novel collection to date in mankind history.

Currently official published material stands at around 800 or so.

My advice is mainly opposite of what people will tell you do to with "watch the general overview youtube stuff", whatever it was that caught your eye about WH40k read up on that. Everything ties together eventually, but that way you can narrow your focus, stay interested, and start gleaming the larger picture overtime.
 
Top Bottom