Warhammer 40k is due for a massive update this year, in the form of a brand new edition of the venerable sci-fi wargame. In a positive turn, Games Workshop is making moves to modernize how objectives work on the battlefields of the far future, giving us a rundown of its plans in an update on the Warhammer Community blog.
If you're like me, you'll know objectives as tokens on the battlefield, marked by a snazzy mini if you're lucky, around which units fought to congregate in a frantic effort to accrue victory points. The placement of these tokens could sometimes make for strange games, where half of your army was forced to sprint into a coverless killing field with the hope of securing victory.
In the upcoming 11th edition of Warhammer 40k, objectives will now take the form of terrain features, allowing infantry to hunker down behind them for some much-needed cover. What's more, infantry, beasts, and swarms can benefit from the new Hidden rule, allowing them to be undetectable to the enemy so long as they're 15'' away from enemy combatants and haven't fired recently.
This means that, no matter your Warhammer 40k faction, hunkering down is far more viable than it's been in previous editions. If you want to take objectives from your enemy, you'll need to be aggressive and commit your forces in close range.
Vehicles aren't left out of the mix, however. Thanks to the new terrain rules, vehicles can move through lighter terrain features like low walls, scrub, and treelines without slowing, making it easier for them to get into position to capture objectives.
Speaking as a Warhammer 40k veteran, these rules look poised to shake up the stolid, ranged stalemates of the past, giving generals more incentive to take dynamic action and commit their forces to close engagements over contested terrain. I can't wait to see the new rules in action.
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