I hadn’t given this topic much attention with my busy doings last month — but over the last week I have come to a couple conclusions about where my hobby is – and how this relates to the new pending 9th ed situation. I have yet to watch or read through any of the flood of videos or floods online posts regarding 9th. I have played 40k since the RT era – so new rules and game changes is normal for anyone in the 40k hobby. I will wait to see how things turn out when the rules actually drop and folks start playing with them on a regular basis.
My initial thought and feelings were… MEH – I really dislike rules changes and the constant adjustments to things as I get older lol. I barely play 40k – so it feels like every time I do I have to relearn or just plain learn new rules or FAQ rulings on whatever I play. So this will just be another one of those things I have to learn if I plan to play a game of 40k.
What this means for my 40k hobby? Well I have already made the decision that I will probably play 9th ed. But, I will stop collecting and building any new armies for 40k. I have already sold two major portions of the Adeptus Mechanicus army I had been slowly collecting over the last couple years. And I currently have the rest of the stuff up for sale locally. The eldar will remain in my collection – and I have several armies of Eldar for 40k. So when I play 9th – it will be with the Eldar I already have.
This was one of those things I have had on my yearly reviews over the last few years. The need to de-clutter my hobby – and to try and focus my time better for more playing time. 40k has been something I always go back to – and I really enjoy it when I do. But, I can’t keep up with the changes to the game or the armies. When I try to build a new army like the Adeptus Mechanicus I end up feeling more behind by the time I am close to finishing collecting before I start actually building things and painting. This army is still in their boxes and on their sprues … so I can sell them at a slight loss – without feeling too bad about it.
I get that GW needs to keep changing and promoting sales for their games. But I think that 40k has probably gone beyond my willingness to “keep-up” with the game. With the stuff I have already sold I can order another 3D printer – this time an FDM printer for more general items that are less detail critical that I use my resin printer for. This feels like a better use of my time and money for my hobby as I keep leaning more to painting and terrain building than actual play.
I am sorta pleasantly surprised that I feel this way about a game I have played for 30 some years. I feel like I have grown to know better what I appreciate about my hobby – and what I can be happy with focusing on. GW has given me the impetus to take a step back and evaluate my continued participation in the hobby as far as 40k is concerned. I will probably hold out on buying the new rules until I am actually planning on playing 40k on a regular basis.
-d
Hobby decluttering is a great idea, as is just sticking to one army across editions of a game (easier said than done!). Sure you will no doubt add new units and characters as rules change and new stuff is released, but that’s still both cheaper than starting a new army, and allows you to keep your focus on one faction.
I agree – I am sure they will come up with more stuff for me to buy lol. I just don’t want to make it easier for them to entice me lol.