Best edition of 40K?

[Relic]

2nd edition and I still have the lot in the loft

Agree wont touch other editions ( rogue trader is a different story)

[Lawful Evil]

 Seems like the winners are 2nd and 3rd ed. 3rd being a little harder for me to track down at the moment.

...why not use what you like the best from all editions? Try them and see what YOU like, and customize as needed. Thats the best part about using older rules editions, you are not trying to keep up with the latest meta army or tournement play rules and can make it your game.

I think that's the direction I'll be going, or at least tweaking the edition I settle on. I guess I was just hoping for an easy fix, a working game that I could play with minimal changes.
I really wanted to play a game where marines performed like marines, eldar and orks like eldar and orks and Tau are unheard of...
The reason I didn't just use one of the many great generic sci fi rule sets that exist these days is I wanted to play some 40k, not sci fi battles with marine troop stand ins. I grew up with 40k all around but never got to play it.

Thanks for the replies, gents. I read and considered them all. Food for thought.

[warburton]

If you can get 3rd edition it has the army lists in the main rule book (though they later released codexes for all armies, and there were many "Chapter Approved" extras along the way) so you sould get started fairly quickly.

3rd edition was fun and streamlined for large battles though I recall gunline armies shooting each other up were the order of the day with not a lot of manoeuvre going on - though that may have just been my group.

2nd was my favourite - crazy and unbalanced (though not so much if you use the codex lists that came in the boxed games rather than the later released codexes) but fun. I always felt that 4 turns was not enough time to fit in all you wanted to do to win; but any more would have taken far too long to play, I suppose!

I have no desire to play the current editions. I lost interest around v5. The huge walkers and all the flyers just don't fit in 28mm - they belong in Epic (yes, I am old school!). I am now rebuilding my 2nd edition armies and hopefully can convince my brother or someone else to join in for some old school games, as seems to be the fashion of late.

Also, I must admit the current aesthetic does not work for me. I am unashamedly a fan of "The Red Era" and I like the bright green bases and bright saturated colours (though even I don't paint bolters red!). The current look of the universe just doesn't excite me and never has sadly.

[Elbows]

Only played 2nd through...maybe 4th?

2nd hands down.  However, a number of caveats.

-More complex rules.
-Lengthy games.
-Powerful characters.
-Horrible if you want to play tournaments, as cheesing out a force was super-simple.

However, add a few simple restrictions (point values on characters etc.), and if you're gaming with buddies for fun, it can't be beat.  Extremely full of character, and every army felt 10x more unique than today where a troop selection feels like any other.  Surely you can find/download wargear cards in PDF (probably fan-made ones too).  Necromunda was pretty good, and if you're into that - definitely consider 2nd.

Not to mention a bunch of 2nd edition codexes had lists which included a lot of vehicles/figures which were not available back then, but are today (Wave Serpents etc. which were only available from Armor Cast etc.).  So you can probably flesh out a bunch of stuff.

With some fudging of the army lists you could also easily play a "true" squad of Space Marines.  Make each marine the equivalent to a Chapter Master or something and you could field a squad of ten marines against a huge wave of baddies.  When removed from a tournament genre, I think 2nd allows for the most flexibility, fun, and goofiness.  It has a particular charm.  I still have a brand new condition Eldar codex complete with vehicle and wargear cards...and I hesitate to let it go even though I no longer game anything GW related.

[emperorpenguin]

3rd edition for me, as with many others on here because I had the most fun playing it. It was streamlined enough to play battles where 2nd was a skirmish.

I played hundreds of games of 3rd but only 2 of 4th, that was the edition which burned me out

[King Tiger]

I think I got burned out half way through 4th, I always noticed in 3rd as well you had a larger selection of armies to fight, I fought against everything equally, but once 4th hit it was all mech marines (who were stupidly easy to beat yet everyone did them), 5th I played twice and it was rubbish, 6th is a joke.

[Vermis]

Going on a slight tangent: I stumbled across an article about Kroot (I still like Kroot) and found out that 6th ed has overwatch, going to ground (I think), and supporting fire. Decent tactical stuff, I think. Does this improve 6th ed 40K, or is it spitting into the wind?

[Westfalia Chris]

Going on a slight tangent: I stumbled across an article about Kroot (I still like Kroot) and found out that 6th ed has overwatch, going to ground (I think), and supporting fire. Decent tactical stuff, I think. Does this improve 6th ed 40K, or is it spitting into the wind?

We've played a couple of 6th ed 40k after it was released, and considered it quite an improvement while not affecting game balance too much - the overwatch variant in particular is reasonable enough and not too much of a killer, but I had great fun shooting up chargers with some ridiculously six-heavy dice rolling.

Personally, I still think 2ed played at point sizes between 1000 and 2000 points was the best game, especially if you put some limits on the game-breaky stuff like the more exotic wargear and psychic users. Still trying to get my local group interested in giving it a try once more. But 6th edition, apart from the horrendous number of special rules and their interaction, is as good as the 3ed core rule concept is going to get, IMHO, and can provide for a fun and fast game.

[cheetor]

....apart from the horrendous number of special rules and their interaction...

Thats the deal breaker for me.  My days of keeping track of things like that just so that I can play a "proper" game are long over, even though there is a weird sort of appeal in playing a tournament game with someone when you both know those interactions inside out.  But its not the sort of kick that I want to get from a tabletop wargame with tape measures and lovingly painted miniatures that take months to complete.  A CCG maybe, but not my hand painted toy soldiers.

After more or less totally skipping 4th and 5th ed I tried to play 6th ed when it came out.  My opponent was an old gaming buddy just as familiar with the rules of the prior versions as I am.  We got as far as the special rules and decided to play something else instead

[Chico]

I've played every edition, I have to say 2nd is my favourite and is fairly balanced (Except Psykers). RT for me gets a firm 2nd placeif you don't fancy 2nd Ed but it's alot more complex.

[sundayhero]

I never played GW games except Necromunda ( ) but all this topic would make me searching for a 2nd ed too 

[aliensurfer]

I've played every edition, I have to say 2nd is my favourite and is fairly balanced (Except Psykers). RT for me gets a firm 2nd placeif you don't fancy 2nd Ed but it's alot more complex.

and you can use that Genestealer cult army of yours in the older editions 

[whiffwaff]

2nd Ed (assuming thats the one that came after RT and had the Blood Angel with Power fist on the box cover).

Fantastic fluff, stupid green bases for everything, Psyker cards, Objective cards, no stupid core / heavy / assault army list restrictions, lots of fun, silly orks, too many card weapon templates, buckets of dice and individual hand to hand combat.

Hours and hours of fun. 

[Kitsune]

Going on a slight tangent: I stumbled across an article about Kroot (I still like Kroot) and found out that 6th ed has overwatch, going to ground (I think), and supporting fire. Decent tactical stuff, I think. Does this improve 6th ed 40K, or is it spitting into the wind?

Overwatch is a different rule given the same name.

6th ed was alright at first, but its far too bloated and overcomplicated now.

[Ray Earle]

If I had to be pushed, it would be 2nd. Smaller armies than the later editions, loads of great background, brilliant all round.

Love rogue trader too, but objectively 2nd is 'better'.