(OLD) Warhammer 40,000:The App Reviews

by RyanBreaker

Gave the dumb $3 subscription a try for the builder (you have to swipe right to see the subscription for just OLDWarhammer40000 , not the more expensive Warhammer+) and wow. For something they’re charging for, unacceptable. There are bugs in the point calculation (create detachment, add something to it, delete detachment, points don’t update), there’s an annoying welcome screen EVERY TIME OLDWarhammer40000 is launched from cold, creating armies for Combat Patrol doesn’t even work right with no option to go by power levels that I can find, and even worse no in-app functionality to report these issues or bugs.

I’m not sure how, but the completely free AoS app works significantly better, including its army builder. I fear though it’ll only somehow get worse if they did start charging for it (not that our $50+ books should be enough to pay for it, though…).

by Emordius

OLDWarhammer40000 is clearly unfinished, devoid of useful features such as searchable rules, the complete rules, scenarios, power points, and more! The search it has for the codexes is useless without exact wording and spelling and even then often has no results. Why is this a paid app? II have to buy the books AND pay for OLDWarhammer40000 and still can’t use a search? The core rules is just a link to a web page with the already free pdf, so no using it offline. And through OLDWarhammer40000 it can’t be downloaded or searched. Maybe with a few months more development and the army building feature it might be worth $5 a year but not a month. I’ll stick with BattleScribe. GW seems to have no intention of creating a consolidated database of current rules and points, everything is still divided into many separate, unsearchable and incomplete books.

by The Grey Legion

GW has updated it, yes. But to say it was an update would be very misleading. I have been subscribed since June, waiting for the updates they have promised, but while they have come through on a few things, many of the main features that they sold it as never materialized. That said I do understand that many will get some use out of it... right up till their codex gets updated and they now have to buy a new one. It’s a great idea, but so poorly executed.
If you like reading the lore, this isn’t for you. If you want to play crusade (something I really wanted included, but no rules for it here) this isn’t for you. If you have an army that is or will soon be updated to 9th edition, this isn’t for you.
The only people I can see this being for is if you like having digital access to the main rule book (well an index of it anyway, good for rule searching), or you want to take a peak at what 8th edition army rules look like. And if its the later reason then just use battle scribe, its free and wont automatically become locked out when a 8th army is replaced by 9th. So dont waste your time and money like I did. But hey, its up to you.

by Chris Lively

First off I don’t see how to report bugs. Given the amount of data and the likelihood of error there should be a way of pointing out the problems. I bring this op because there are a lot of stratagems labelled as “core” when they just apply to space marines.

Second, it’s structured exactly like the books. The main issue with the physical books is that the rules for a given army are scattered across those books. It should be structured by army. For example, if I go to Drukhari I should see the data sheet for the Reaper right next to the Ravager. I should see all of the stratagems for the army in one place. As it stands I still need to go though all the books.

This feels like they are just trying to replicate the existing book model online instead of taking a step back and thinking about what the electronic format can do.

by Waffleworldmaker

Now I know a lot of people hate GW for existing and criticize them for everything they do, but this is not one of those times. OLDWarhammer40000 ’s UI is a nightmare and it’s genuinely a pain to use. Furthermore there’s stuff missing (chapter command relics) and the search bar doesn’t let me type three letters without freezing OLDWarhammer40000 . Also all the data sheets are in alphabetical order- which is okay- but not in order of battlefield role (HQ, troops choice)Organized by battlefield role is standard practice by GW, which means that while this issue in and of itself isn’t major, it shows OLDWarhammer40000 was made neither in house nor by people who were familiar with Warhammer. Another example of this- all necron units are called by their name, other than warriors which is labeled “necron warriors” this means whoever created OLDWarhammer40000 was either not paying enough attention to get the names right, or they didn’t know any better. Once again this shows that OLDWarhammer40000 was outsourced to the lowest bidder who was not at all familiar with Warhammer. OLDWarhammer40000 is an absolute downgrade from PDFs in every conceivable way.

by Sirretsof

Honestly the creators of OLDWarhammer40000 need to quit and start over, it’s absolutely ridiculous that Warhammer has been around this long and you can’t even get a decent app. Every time someone does come up with a great idea that could actually help you guys you sue them and then you come out with this garbage. You want us to pay a $5 a month subscription fee and you app isn’t up to par. You’ve raised prices in store for what? You need to scrap OLDWarhammer40000 and start over and have it for free for the community until you completely finish OLDWarhammer40000 that would make a lot more sense BattleScribe is a better option in my opinion you can create battle forged armies and get information for your units for FREE and until you guys understand that, OLDWarhammer40000 will continue to be an absolute failure. Completely disgusted Gameworkshop completely. Give the people what they want not what you think is best because obviously you still have no clue since 1987. The world is changing put more focus into the future instead of comics. I’m really upset with you all.

by Dann L

Been a subscriber since august, now that OLDWarhammer40000 finally updated with actualy useful features (or at least they say it has been but since I can’t access it, who knows) I go to use OLDWarhammer40000 and I am met with a subscribe now to use features of OLDWarhammer40000. But I already am, there is no “reactivate my purchase” option like every other subscription app. So I continue on with the free version thinking it will just load the paid features once it loads. Nope. I try again but tap subscribe thinking it might trigger it to realize I already am a subscriber, nope. Says I already am subscribed. So I would have to unsubscribe then get charged an additional sub fee for the month I already paid for but then had to unsubscribe.

Go spend you money on a third party app who has actualy spent time making a functional app. More so than this one. GW is becoming the EA Games of tabletop gaming.

by El Traverino

This is the worst thing to happen to Warhammer 40Kin years. They completely removed digital codexes because OLDWarhammer40000 was supposed to replace them.

It does not.

It doesn't do anything right. There are errors everywhere. You are literally paying $5+ per month to beta test a broken app for GW.
OLDWarhammer40000 stands alone atop a mountain of broken promises, lies, and missteps regarding 9th edition’s release. OLDWarhammer40000 would be great if it did what it says on the tin. Sadly it does not.

And sure we can blame the Pandemic if we want. But the why even release this broken app? And why charge a subscription for it before it works?!?

Shame on you GW.

Now players are expected to bring a full suitcase of rulebooks to games because they cant get codexes on their tablets or phones - and OLDWarhammer40000 that was supposed to replace them - simply does not work. 9th Edition has a ton of rulebook bloat already. And OLDWarhammer40000 is the “excuse” for why GW has made the rules for this edition ENTIRELY unmanageable.

Sure download OLDWarhammer40000 if you want, but do not pay for this broken mess. Battlescribe does way more for free, than this does at $60+ per year.

The worst part is how much GW has lied about OLDWarhammer40000, and how we cant have difital codexes anymore because of it.

by J-Kava

OLDWarhammer40000 is a trash heap plain and simple, it sounds harsh but it’s true. The original launch was missing a huge chunk of core information much of which still hasn’t been added (crusade and so on). Then there’s the whole thing that I never saw advertised that even if you were a subscriber you STILL had to pay for each new codex to unlock its content, and god forbid you get a codex second hand. The fact that I have paid a monthly subscription since launch but still had to drop 60 bucks on the new marine codex is insane.
Then the army builder dropped today and it’s pathetic. Missing tons of upgrades and war gear, no ability to select psychic powers, no custom factions, stratagems, or an ability to select a warlord from what I can tell even though OLDWarhammer40000 keeps telling me I need one. And it’s also riddled with bad interface choices and bugs, after checking it out for 10 min I confidently canceled my subscription.

by ScottC-Pa

I purchased the subscription and was instantly in love with the content available. Getting all the data sheets and strategems instantly is great. However when I closed OLDWarhammer40000 after the first time, I cannot get back to the content I subscribed to. OLDWarhammer40000 says I’m logged in but asks me to subscribe now or use the free app... I hit subscribe it gives me a manage my subscription or continue option hitting either will not allow me to get access. It is really frustrating in that every time I press I’m already subscribed, it kicks me back to the home screen. The most infuriating is the is no where to trouble shoot or to get a straight answer. I’m not going to cancel, because I do love OLDWarhammer40000, but I really wish the developers would have a more user friendly access to the account I am paying for. I will remain optimistic that this is just new app bugs that will be addressed. So here is to hoping....

by Ripley1207

Download OLDWarhammer40000 . First thing is my password doesn’t work. Enter it and copy and paste it several times. Doesn’t work. Logon to the websites just fine. Try again, doesn’t work. Uninstall and tries again. Works only when copying and pasting my password in, even if I type it in correctly it doesn’t work.

Next I try to use OLDWarhammer40000 . Ahh, cannot do anything with it without subscribing. Well I’m not currently playing 40k and haven’t played in well over a year and want to get back in. Sure I’ll pay some money to view the rules and data sheets to decide what army to build since I sold all my stuff to put a down payment on a house. Nah, app says “F*** you, I don’t want your money but I’m not going to let you look at anything.”

Talked to eight of my friends (only people I know who still play) and they all have and had the same experience with OLDWarhammer40000 and just use the books and other apps.

by Happensix

It’s a handy enough app to quickly look up data sheets in a pinch, but it’s a long way away from being useful at the game table. While a list builder is still a ways off, it’d be useful at the very least to be able to sort things by faction (stratagems are still spread out over several books), datasheets by role and favorite certain things as scrolling through alphabetical lists is just silly.

And that’s all when OLDWarhammer40000 works, which it currently does not do since the release of iOS14. It seems like OLDWarhammer40000 cannot register any clicks other than on the bottom navigation, which bars you from opening codexes or datasheets.

Between that glitch and the general lack of usability, it seems like the team isn’t actively using OLDWarhammer40000 themselves. The last update was a month ago. There are better, more coherent collections of information out there and better, usable list builders.

I wish I could support GW in moving to the digital space—I’d love to have a consolidated place for codexes and inevitable updates—but it’s impossible to recommend anyone pay for this right now.

by Cowomo404

I was excited when GW announced they 40K app, thought it was about time! A little disappointed that it’s a monthly subscription, GW track record with subscription apps is terrible white dwarf digital was canceled twice mid-subscription 😵 this has the potential to be cost effective over time if you pay full price for books, problem is unless your new to the game its likely you already have 8th edition books, and some of us have ALL of the 8th edition books so OLDWarhammer40000 currently provides no additional value for +$60 /yr. once some of the 9th Ed books are out then maybe but GW needs to make this work nicely on iPad and soon desktop. I heard buying physical will allow digital unlock, if true and with the battle forge this good be a winner. Right now, not so much.

by Big BRoy

This could be soooooo good. The images are great and the regular updates to rules are awesome. Having digital copies of all your books just because you bought them is amazing. Sadly, the list building and stability is absolutely atrocious. I can’t even view the Primaris Captain without it crashing. List building doesn’t let you use any of the free slots that you should have from multiple Lts, or command squads with a captain, or apothecaries when you have a command squad. Not only that, it doesn’t give options for custom sub factions. If these are part of the game, why aren’t they in the builder? If this could be fixed, it would all be fine, but I can’t even build a list without it giving me errors that don’t exist because it doesn’t work. Hey GW, if you wanna compete with BattleScribe, make a functioning product.

by Thomazz1570

I decided to give OLDWarhammer40000 a chance for one simple reason: I don’t like to wait days for an army builder to update for a new codex. I play several armies and that means I get a new codex every 6 months or so. I like list building and want to dive right in with those exciting new rules. If anyone should have been able to deliver an army builder on day 1 of my Drukhari codex being released, it’s GW. That they could not deliver on that in a complete and satisfactory way was very disappointing. Some stuff IS there for it. The many exciting things about the codex, are not. And basic functions like how to make an HQ a warlord are irritatingly difficult to access. It’s not a priority. Fire whoever is related to this apps failures, swallow your pride, and try again would be my advice. The only reason I give it two stars is because I like the look of it and I KNOW they can do better. (I love the AoS app)

by MotoErgoSum

When selecting load outs for individual units OLDWarhammer40000 frequently crashes. There should be separate selections for left and right arm and two-handed weapons that don’t allow a secondary should disable the options to take another weapon.

Kill Team Cassius shows up as a 9 unit kill team for 260 points but then the tally for the army shows 395?! The codex says 260 and the other two units are Chaplain Cassius and Codicier Natorian, but their points add up to 195 so I have no idea where they’re getting 395.

There is also little guidance in terms of which detachments are appropriate for the various army sizes. The notifications for validation are handy on a basic level but there are bugs. I take Supreme Command Detachment and add Watch Master but OLDWarhammer40000 still says I can only take one supreme commander unit. Don’t put units in the list that aren’t valid! It’s a simple keywords filter bug.

Aside from that, this WILL be a great app when the bugs are worked out. It’s just irritating that you have to subscribe AND buy codexes to unlock content. IMO it should be either you subscribe OR buy codexes to permanently unlock all content for a faction/chapter. It would be really nice if we could unlock content at a discounted rate for codexes we have no plans to ever buy but still want to play as other factions.

by Odineous

Okay finally battle forge is here and it works... sort of. I was able to create a roster and organize it and add weapons and relic (singular intentional). I’m very happy to see it. Unfortunately, it’s got a long way to go... all pregame stratagems were not available including relics of the chapter. Couldn’t actually add the second relic for artisan of war. Couldn’t figure out how to name the army. If you can it wasn’t intuitive for me. Organization of units is as bad as army book organization.
On the positive side points were correct and I was able to change load outs and squad sizes.
Overall this feels like what probably should have been available at launch. Unfortunately, launch was 5 or 6 months ago and now it’s just borderline acceptable. So upgraded from 1 star to 3 stars. Still got a ways to go. Also the rest of OLDWarhammer40000 is still annoying and difficult to navigate and make sense of anything, kinda feel like taking it back to two stars but meh.

by Mantis Man 23357

Now OLDWarhammer40000, from how it is, is actually pretty solid in my opinion. The price is steep for what Is basically the only useful part of OLDWarhammer40000 for the moment but it provides a lot of content. Having access to every rule side of a codex from 8th and psychic awaking book for 5 dollars is pretty good, even though that has issues on its own. No army builder yet which is probably the most important part of OLDWarhammer40000.

However, the issues are what make me want to give OLDWarhammer40000 a one star review. Even though I’m a subscriber, OLDWarhammer40000 won’t recognize me as a subscriber and won’t let me have access to the content I subscribed too. Another issue I’m having with OLDWarhammer40000 is that everything is in alphabetical order. At first this sounds great until you get to something like stratagems from let’s say, psychic awakening: Saga of the Beast. Everything is in alphabetical order for stratagems and they bunch it all up together, meaning it’s a mess to sort through things. I would much rather have it separated by army, like space wolves and orks THEN stratagems. This also applies to the units but I find it less of a issue, just wished they filtered it by their unit role at least.

Honestly, this would be a 2.5 but if I had to pick between 2 or 3, I would pick 3. App has so much potential and is getting fixed, but that shouldn’t stop mean it doesn’t get a bad review for the state it’s currently in.

by BryGuy4Life

I think since the initial release of OLDWarhammer40000 it has greatly improved and reducing the monthly cost helped a ton as well. My only ask and why I gave 4/5 stars is because my friend and I personally love to play with power not points cause it’s quick and easy. In the battle forged list builder there is no way to see the total power of the list. Which is dumb because they are basic integers that I’m sure can be assigned to each object (unit) and be reported back to the user easily. It exactly like points being calculated only way easier cause you only have 1 value per unit. Please hot patch in the option to toggle between points and power of the list!

by Juggsofman

5$ a month for All the books in one easy to use digital application, That’s great value. Compare to buying all the books, that’s Hundreds of Dollars and lots to slog around just for a few quick references and opposition research. OLDWarhammer40000 is clearly superior here.

A lot of people mention BattleScribe, but BattleScribe doesn’t contain the stratagems, while OLDWarhammer40000 does, along with a lot of other useful peripheral rules to the game.

Lastly is all the nerd neck scrubs who have a perpetual irrational hatred for GW. Many didn’t even buy the Subscription but gave a poor review. Many said the subscription service wasn’t working, it works fine. These inane critics just didn’t update their apps, and instead of taking personal responsibility decided to blame GW. Then there’s the unwillingness to support the community, they don’t want to support OLDWarhammer40000 financially to help it grow and improve. They also don’t want to support it with honest reviews and instead focus on downvoting it to validate their own insane biases. Which can detract newcomers to the hobby from getting a useful product. But the best part is when you download OLDWarhammer40000 and buy the subscription these rejects Aren’t Included. 5 Stars!

by Shauntel56

At the time of this review GW is asking for $5 a month to utilize rules in a digital format. You’ll still have to buy the various books you’d need at the normal codex or supplement price but can then use them within OLDWarhammer40000. Eventually they had promised an army builder feature that isn’t present currently. They are asking you for 5 dollars a month to use an app that at this point is in every way inferior to a free app called battlescribe(you can donate under 5 dollars a year to use OLDWarhammer40000 without ads). If you’re looking for a reason to subscribe and utilize the features of OLDWarhammer40000 I couldn’t recommend doing that. To sum it up it is an inferior product to what is currently available elsewhere at a price premium.

by Joenathanp

While OLDWarhammer40000 does provide a lot of data that’s about it. The data isn’t organized well and some data sheets are even outdated. OLDWarhammer40000 is organized by Codexes and Psychic Awakening books (which can contain three different factions in some cases) rather than consolidating a factions information into one section. This made it pretty hard to navigate the first time around. You could also just use the search function to find what you need. But wait, the search function is terrible. It only finds exact matches and does not smart suggest anything. It feels like they hired the cheapest app developer you could get on the market and spit something out before it was ready.

by Deathwing Terminator

It literally has no purpose. Promised army builder? Not there. Have to purchase each book separately AND pay a subscription fee to actually use OLDWarhammer40000 . Rules are poorly organized. Key rules are cut out so you can’t access or find them. Want to play space marines? Better know where each rule is in each book, or you can’t find them. In all seriousness, get BattleScribe.

Want me to pay a subscription fee? All rules, No exceptions, Day one. Day one army builder. Don’t try to charge me $5 a month when you don’t even have a functioning system. I’m not buying every bloody codex so I can look at my opponents rules, especially if I’m paying you a subscription fee!

by Semper United

I bought OLDWarhammer40000 and subscribed because having all of the rules easily available is a nice thing. And while it is not the most intuitive experience, it’s acceptable. However, once I closed OLDWarhammer40000 , and reopened it later, it does not recognize my subscription. It just keeps asking me to subscribe. And even when I hit the subscribe button, nothing happens.
This is even more concerning, when other companies, like Corvus Belli, have been doing apps for their miniature games for years, and for free, with zero issues. OLDWarhammer40000 is a 3-4 star if it was working properly, but since I can’t access the content that I paid for, it’s a 1.

by Cfh935

OLDWarhammer40000 has a lot of potential. The items that were available were organized in a way that was easy to search through. Was released to early without all the major features available. I was able to use OLDWarhammer40000 for a few hours but then it no longer recognized my subscription even though it was verified as active in iTunes. Customer service says it can take ten business days to address which is ridiculous for a monthly paid subscription.

Wait for a month or two until they figure this out

by Dupiello

So I am still excited about OLDWarhammer40000 and it’s potential. While there are known problems with OLDWarhammer40000 , I still downloaded and paid for a subscription as soon as it was available on iTunes. However I was only able to use the subscription once. Now whenever I try to access OLDWarhammer40000 , I’m asked to subscribe again. Appears an update is needed to auto-authenticate users against iTunes. Rating will change when this is fixed but right now my only option is to access content under the “free” abilities.

by Rainstater

I like the idea of OLDWarhammer40000. It has a ton of potential at becoming my do everything Warhammer 40K app. Access to codex with full color images and being able to add my hard copy 9th addition codex too it is amazing... but one of the main features is “coming soon” and the other feature of having access to all current codex via subscription is broken and every time I launch OLDWarhammer40000 it asks me to sign up for the subscription again.

by Halfmad Falcon

OLDWarhammer40000 , in its current state, isn’t great. However, GW is being very transparent with its construction and is taking feedback seriously. I’m really looking forward to how OLDWarhammer40000 grows as 9th edition continues!

One complaint that hasn’t yet been addressed yet is the addition of codexes with your subscription. I believe that, if I’m going to pay $5 per month, I should have access to any and all codexes as they release without having to first buy the book. Players like myself will buy the books regardless!

by Thehoj

So love what yalls do and i want to support yalls as much as possible!

So i ran into the SAME problem i had with azyr. I pay for the subscription and it keeps telling me that i do not have one. It keeps prompting me to subscribe even though the money has left my account. It wont keep me subscribed longer than a couple hours, and it will not move pass the subscription page. This was the same problem i had with azyr and I wanted to cancel the subscription even though it didnt work. Now 1$ a month is not a problem so i kept paying but this is different. I REALLY want this to work guys! Please address this issue. I was very disappointed to see that it had the same affect as azyr and not gonna lie gave me some apprehension about OLDWarhammer40000 . I dont want to lose faith! Keep up the good work and hope to see this addressed.

All praise the omnissiah!

by Xeildor

I never thought this day would come. Honestly, GW developing an app was a hopeful dream after digging through FAQs and ERRATA for so long.

Once OLDWarhammer40000 was announced, I thought I was being TOO wishful to think they would update OLDWarhammer40000 along with the FAQs and ERRATA, yet low and behold, OLDWarhammer40000 is right in line with the current FAQs. In my eyes, everything has been a success so far. Thank you GW!!

The updates they have mentioned is enough to keep me subscribed, as long as GW is DILIGENT with there updates, and COMMUNICATES any issues they are experience with there subscribers, OLDWarhammer40000 will do very well.

by Zombie Bukkake

OLDWarhammer40000 is great! The layout is perfect and easy to read. I can’t wait to see what the Battle Forged section is going to be like. Honestly, I am tired of using Battle Scribe and can’t wait to be able to use OLDWarhammer40000. For all the people complaining about having to pay, wake up. This is the world we are in. Everything is app based now and the companies that make them need to make money on them so they can continue to make them. Stop expecting everything to be handed to you. Great job GW!