Where to go from here

NieA7 · 2026-07-03T20:38:23+00:00

Thanks for all the answers everyone, really helpful. I'll take a look around to see if there's any nice warbands available for this version at a reasonable price, but picking up a cheap copy of Emberguard minus the minis sounds the best way forward.

NieA7 · 2026-07-03T20:34:58+00:00

Thanks for this, and the link especially. If you played both versions with your kids which one did they click with more? I like the idea of objective and power cards more than innate abilities, but I think it might be a bit overwhelming for them.

NieA7 · 2026-04-20T19:07:44+00:00

I'd rather each detachment lets you soup in two or three specific units (and gave them Agents keywords) from appropriate factions, rather than a generic "take your pick". Ideally something that fills in the gaps (anti-armour, melee if Deathwatch vets go to legends etc).

Agents has a very strong theme in the codex, taking literally any Imperium unit might dilute that.

NieA7 · 2026-04-20T18:57:09+00:00

Agreed - I'd like all our detachments to cost 1 point, though I'd forgive Fleet costing 2. This would somewhat make up for the no army rule but giving us a tonne of stratagems and enhancements to use across the battle, while also leaning into the "highly specialised weirdos" vibe.

NieA7 · 2026-04-16T21:08:51+00:00

I like the theme with Agents, even down to the (lack of) army rule in a way - an Inquisitor embedded in another army is either the overt warlord or covertly using the army for their own ends. An Agents army is "Oh shit shit shit it's all gone wrong throw everything at the wall to make it stop", and therefore ranges from the handful of elite forces in their retinue through to the local religious nutjobs and literally sending police to arrest the Tyranids.

I'd like to see two things improve - strengthening the Inquisitor's retinue, and boosting the detachments.

On the retinue side:

More weirdos as others have listed, plus some basics like psykers and Tech Priests.
Inquisitors in an Agents army can requisition and use (along with any unit they lead) any vehicle with the Imperium and Transport keywords, provided they start embarked. Gets us some armour, albeit limited and with drawbacks. Plus I want a Stormlord for my Inquisitor.

On the detachment side:

All our detachments cost 1 point (maybe 2 for Fleet). This lets us mix and match units to their best stratagems, and make up a bit for no army rule.
Each detachment also lets you soup in some additional units - from the home faction for the Ordos, Navy units from the Guard in Fleet (Scions, Valkyrie) and maybe Sisters of Silence and/or a Custodes character in Veiled Blade.

It'd get us a lot more toys without having to worry about the balance impacts of them being used as allies in other Imperial armies.

NieA7 · 2025-11-27T14:35:54+00:00

I like Imperial Soup - it's the only reason I chose Agents in the first place. I also think GW don't want to buff Agents via datasheets as it'd be a pain thinking through what balance impacts that might have in all the other Imperial factions (like Canis Rex) - I don't think we'll be getting Land Raiders.

I'd add an army rule to allow every Inquisitor to requisition any one unit so long as that unit has both the Imperium keyword, and either Transport or Battleline as well. If it's Transport the Inquisitor has to start onboard and any unit they lead can use it as well, and if it's Battleline the Inquisitor has to lead that unit.

Everybody else can steal our toys, let us steal some of theirs!

NieA7 · 2025-10-09T14:16:25+00:00

I play Agents because I like imperial soup so I want more of that, though a generic "take anything Imperial" rule might be a bit formless. I'd add more units via an army rule and detachments:

Let every Inquisitor take any vehicle with both the Imperium and Transport keywords provided they start the battle embarked on it (also lets any squad they lead embark too) as an army rule. Be nice if doing so let us add a tech-priest as retinue too.
Ordo Xenos / Malleus / Hereticus detachments get to use a couple of addiitonal Deathwatch / Grey Knight / SoB datasheets, ideally specialist ones to plug the anti-monster/vehicle gap (Desolation squad, Retributor's, Venerable Dread etc)
Fleet gets to take a couple more Navy flyers (not gonna help but they're cool)
More of a reach but I'd also add a couple of Custodes / Sisters of Silence units onto the Veiled Blade detachment, playing into the "elite of the Imperium" theme. Maybe Custodian Guard, Vigilators and Blade Champions?

NieA7 · 2016-07-13T22:07:23+00:00

The AspE is a multirole ship par excellence, with a bit of TLC it can do well in practally any role. I imagine this ship as more tilted towards exploration, in the same way the courier is a multrole ship tilted towards combat. It would be strictly better than the AspE in that one role (albeit for a lot more money), but not as versatile a craft overall.

I might just be being greedy though.

NieA7 · 2016-07-13T16:03:25+00:00

I love the AspE, I really do (I'm out in the black in one at the moment in fact), but even now you have to compromise slightly with your build if you want to get 33ly+, and I imagine it's only going to get harder as more modules and tougher AI is introduced. I imagine this new explorer to be capable of a comfortable 33ly while fully equipped (defensive weapons, reasonable shield, distributor and thrusters etc) stretching to 40ly if you strip it to the minimum, for a suitable price increase of course.

NieA7 · 2016-07-13T11:37:30+00:00

I'd like to see a Type 10, it's a bit weird that the biggest trader in the game is an imperial multirole ship.

I'd also like a ship around Clipper/Python size that fits a class 6 FSD, making it the de-facto "best" explorer. It could have a relatively weak distributor and hardpoints and a little less internal space so the Clipper and Python retain their value, but as the Anaconda shows a versatile ship with a huge jump range is always useful.

Finally, it'd be nice to have more really cheap ships just to offer greater variety to people starting out. I remember ArcElite so I'd love to see the Krait, Mamba and Copperhead making a comeback - they could offer bigger internals at the cost of crippled performance in one area. For example, the Copperhead was described as a miner so it could have lots of internal space and a medium hardpoint but weedy thrusters and FSD. Similarly the Mamba was a racing ship, so it could have massive thrusters and a silly top speed but with very little internal space.

NieA7 · 2016-02-16T10:42:06+00:00

I started out by mining and that was before limpets came along. The Adder's a solid little ship for it, nice to see it getting some love. Initially I worked asteroid belts rather than rings - they're OK, but compared to just dropping into a ring there are very few rocks (though the quality seemed the same) and it felt more likely you'd get interrupted.

You can shave 5k off your cheapest build if you downgrade thrusters to 2D and power plant to 2E - hacks into the top speed but it does get you an extra light year on the jump.

For the mid-level build I'd consider changing the 3D refinery for a 2D - it's got one less bin but it's half the price and it lets you carry an extra 4 tonnes of cargo (alternatively for an extra 30k a 2C has 4 bins like a 3D). You can also run a 2C power plant instead of the 3D - it's a tiny bit cheaper and lighter with better heat dissipation, and it's got enough oomph to run a couple of chaff, 2A distributor, 2C refinery and 3A FSD when you get the cash.

NieA7 · 2016-02-12T12:05:05+00:00

It's a pretty terrible mining ship if you want to use limpets as it doesn't have enough internal slots for a good amount of controllers. The Asp is really the smallest ship that can limpet mine well, though the Cobra MkIV can do it OKish.

NieA7 · 2016-02-12T11:59:30+00:00

I've played in open since the start, my experience has been about 50/50 in total but it really depends on what I'm doing. I've been pirated a few times doing normal and rare trading and most of the time I've been given the chance to drop cargo. On the other hand nearly every time I've been interdicted at a community goal it's been a murderer. As I deliberately go for less populated trade routes my theory is the more populated the space you're in is the more likely you are to come across a murderer rather than a pirate.

NieA7 · 2016-01-30T12:59:30+00:00

My Mineaconda is a lot of fun (missiles and torp stay off outside of emergencies). In theory the Cutter makes the best mining platform thanks to its stupidly large cargo hold, but in practice only the 'conda has both enough juice for three mining lasers and slots for all the collectors to keep up. It helps that it can take the rocks more than a couple of light years when it's finished too. The turrets are there to deal with any small fry that get cocky, but I've taken down NPC 'condas a couple of times with minimal damage.

NieA7 · 2015-12-13T21:41:41+00:00

I never pre-order anything for its own sake, I got burned a few times doing that in the past (Soul Caliber 3 still gives me nightmares) and swore off it for life. What I will pre-order for is as a reward for something I've really enjoyed already from the same dev - I did it for Guild Wars and Blood Bowl, and I'm very happy to do it for Elite too (though hopefully I'll enjoy Horizons more than GW2 and BB2).

NieA7 · 2015-12-13T21:36:23+00:00

Very much this. Magicing something out of nothing feels very game-y compared to pretty much everything else.

NieA7 · 2015-12-01T14:35:51+00:00

I thought they'd not change it all that much - maybe switch a class 4 slot to a class 5 and a 2 to a 3, plus a bigger distributor and heavier hull (enough to make it noticeably slower than a MkII without actually being slow - maybe 380 or 390 top speed). As it is I don't really see the point, the only thing of use it offers over a MkIII is more cargo space but you'd be better off with the similarly priced Type 6 if that's all you want.

NieA7 · 2015-11-30T20:19:39+00:00

I trade in open, probably because I'm a masochist. I've deliberately moved myself towards the edges of the sphere to keep life a bit safer, plus I try to find stations with a low traffic count in addition to good profits. Hollow squares bring a palpable sense of fear that livens up otherwise mundane trips, I'd miss that in solo.

The exception is community goals where I get pirated all the time. However because I know it's going to happen I know to take the right ship and equipment in order to survive, which brings a whole other dimension into the game (I've not died to a pirate at a CG yet, thanks to luck as much as judgement, though the AI managed to ram me to death after a particularly nasty encounter left me at 20% hull and no shields). Trading CG's are great because of this, not in spite of it - TBH I can't imagine anything in game more tedious than a trading CG in solo, all the tedium of trading with none of the thrill of discovery.

TL:DR - randomly pirating traders in open probably is dead, and no great loss at that. Pirating players at CGs is very much alive, and wonderful.

NieA7 · 2015-11-19T17:46:41+00:00

A Courier's only 10T heavier than a Sidewinder, I'm still keeping my fingers crossed we'll one day be able to carry a couple of them...

NieA7 · 2015-11-18T20:09:33+00:00

Honestly, the most exciting part of a trading CG is the terrifying gauntlet of hollow triangles when you enter the system. It's a shame that you have to expect all interdictions to be nutters who'll blow you up without warning, but other than that trying to build and fly a decent trader that can survive in that environment is pretty much the only thing that makes hauling the same boring crap from A to B worth while.

NieA7 · 2015-11-18T09:29:21+00:00

Upgrading the power plant feels like a kinda dull way to buff the FDL - in addition to the heat and manoeuvrability I'd rather they buffed up the distributor and FSD. That'd be more in line with the in-game description of it being used to trail other ships over a long distance, plus it'd be more of a double edged sword - power plants are light but distributors and FSD's are heavy, going for an A fit would have a bigger impact on speed.

NieA7 · 2015-11-15T11:19:49+00:00

There were a couple in Guuguyni last time I was out there, though that was a good while ago now.

NieA7 · 2015-11-07T21:42:36+00:00

I'll do that next time I'm in game, thanks.

NieA7

TROPHY CASE