Swallows? mabye.... got your attention? might as well read on =]
Now thats out of the way its just my oppinion... Here are my reasons...
Now thats out of the way its just my oppinion... Here are my reasons...
1. Its full of errors...now dont get me wrong, its a cool tool to toy around with when coming up with an army idea and looking around through the rules and stats.....but they do get it wrong too much for comfort..so just check the codex before refering to the 3rd party program
2. You need a PHD in English, and 40k for that matter, if you are not familiar with it.....I've been playing this game over half my life, and over a decade fyi, and I still dont understand half of what its trying to say...
2. You need a PHD in English, and 40k for that matter, if you are not familiar with it.....I've been playing this game over half my life, and over a decade fyi, and I still dont understand half of what its trying to say...
4. It breaks up units so you cant even tell what is part of what half the time. Whenever I get an army builder list I just put it down and ask my opponent to explain his army to me in front of me and if I see something I dont know I ask for a statline or what it does exactly
5. A clear, clean piece of paper is much easier to read. Especially if set up like any army list on my blog. It takes 15 seconds to read and its way easier to spot things on it which you dont know so if you do run into something unfamiliar its easy to ask what it is instead of shuffling through the 6 or 7 pieces of paper reading through half of the crap on the list to see what it does (if its even correct in the first place)....which takes me to reason #6...
6. It posts upgrade wargear with standard wargear.....how the hell are you suppose to tell which is which when reading the list to tell if its correct....amongst the other jumble of filler...
7. People preach army builder is easier and makes it so you dont need to buy every codex to check rules on the spot.....well I always thought you and your opponent need to bring your repective army's codex to the game..."oh wait except all the rules here are correct and not assumed to be right"
8. Its a 3rd party source, not GW.....if GW made this a part of the game I'd understand but callling someone a cheater by not having an army builder list ready for you and you dont know what a unit does and you lose a game makes you a douche.....a royal douche (la douche de royale for my french friends :] ).....and if anyone ever said that to me id let them know that and find someone else to play...if its a tournament ill accept thier forfietureof the game due to refusing to play me.....and thank them for the battle points you get from a massacre...then go make fun of them at the bar :)
9. It costs money...people generally spend more than they can on this hobby...this includes me....this is why I never got the program in the first place....no cash....literally zero at first....now technically negative do to student loans.
9. It costs money...people generally spend more than they can on this hobby...this includes me....this is why I never got the program in the first place....no cash....literally zero at first....now technically negative do to student loans.
10. If you feel the need to know every single ability of every single piece of wargeer for one specific army go on AB and make a list based on everything in the book for you to reference....oh wait I though GDubs made something like this except its easier to read....and is in color....and has pictures too =D....I think it starts with a C but I dont remember its name....mabye its Cofex.....or Cedix.....hmmmmmm
11. I can do everything Army builder does with a calculater, some good hobby thought time, my nice colored detailed codex...and a comfy chair.....all for the good price of free....
Ok stop now if your skipping some of the above to troll me in the comments here and listen!
Army Builder isn't a bad thing at all. I listed my reasons above why I do not use it and I believe in those things. I shouldn't be forced to buy an independant program just to play the game with you....It is a cool little source for at home info but it belongs as a home source for game knowledge and quick list building...but not official listing...Now I will get army builder if....
1. they include before the list is detailed out like they have it now a bare bones list similar to how I write them on this blog....just the units, the upgrades, and the points....no more....and without all of the boxes....a simple list...no more
2. Its free or cheaper....get an ad service on it or something...just dont charge me for something that is free to do with a codex
3. They stop breaking up squads so you can't tell what is part of what
4. GDubs endoreses it or they admit on the list to not use as official rules since it is unofficial and error prone...please debate the single fact that it is unofficial and error prone and say that it should be the direct source of info at a tournament....
none on this later...well mabye....tollers beware! (now back to my nice happy articles, trust me Im a nice guy)
I agree with most of your points... On the other hand I am an avid armybuilder user. It's a tool, an easy way of chucking an army together, even tweaking points to get the most out of your build. It is not, however, a crutch. It appears that you've met people for whom armybuilder is the be-all and end-all.
ReplyDeleteMy local club is accepting of AB lists on club nights, but insist on a properly laid out list on word etc at tournaments, and I understand that because the rosters AB put out are sometimes confusing and hard to check. I work out my armies in AB, then go oldskool in adding up the points and writing out my list. I even put some effort into font and army symbols/styling.
While not without it's flaws, and apparently misguided users, I thing armybuilder is an excellent tool, and no more than that.
Army Builder is mainly just poorly designed. It's ugly, obtuse and there is no way to get the printouts to be any better than ugly and obtuse.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, a graphic designer on staff would go a long way towards making it better.
@Farmer Geddon- I completely agree
ReplyDelete"1. they include before the list is detailed out like they have it now a bare bones list similar to how I write them on this blog....just the units, the upgrades, and the points....no more....and without all of the boxes....a simple list...no more"
ReplyDeleteArmyBuilder has a 'tournament list' feature that does just that, here is an example of a daemon list of mine:
1750 Pts - Chaos Daemons Roster
Total Roster Cost: 1742
HQ: Skarbrand, The Exiled One (1#, 300 pts)
1 Skarbrand, The Exiled One, 300 pts
Elite: Fiends of Slaanesh (6#, 190 pts)
6 Fiends of Slaanesh, 190 pts = 6 * 30 (base cost 30) + DG: Unholy Might x1 10
Elite: Bloodcrushers of Khorne (1#, 40 pts)
1 Bloodcrushers of Khorne, 40 pts
Elite: Bloodcrushers of Khorne (1#, 40 pts)
1 Bloodcrushers of Khorne, 40 pts
Troops: Bloodletters of Khorne (5#, 80 pts)
5 Bloodletters of Khorne, 80 pts = 5 * 16
Troops: Bloodletters of Khorne (5#, 80 pts)
5 Bloodletters of Khorne, 80 pts = 5 * 16
Troops: Daemonettes of Slaanesh (12#, 168 pts)
12 Daemonettes of Slaanesh, 168 pts = 12 * 14
Troops: Daemonettes of Slaanesh (12#, 168 pts)
12 Daemonettes of Slaanesh, 168 pts = 12 * 14
Fast Attack: Seekers of Slaanesh (18#, 306 pts)
18 Seekers of Slaanesh, 306 pts = 18 * 17
Fast Attack: Seekers of Slaanesh (18#, 306 pts)
18 Seekers of Slaanesh, 306 pts = 18 * 17
Fast Attack: Screamers of Tzeentch (4#, 64 pts)
4 Screamers of Tzeentch, 64 pts = 4 * 16
thanks for chiming in Pat, but I cn argue that I never see this feature being used....actually Ive never heard of it before or have seen it meaning people do not use it that often or atleast show up with it. This is good to know
ReplyDeleteI feel that AB users in general do not use the stream lined feature in order to purposly obfuscate what is actually in there. I personaly have been playing longer than AB has been in buisness and feel no need to ever use it. I find it remarkable, that an over costed, error prone spread sheet could still be doing so well in the free market. Especially when GW gives you a free download as what an army roster should be....and this is the template I have always used. If someone wants to use AB, thats fine, but as some blogs have been hammering the use of the product as mandatory for tournies.....not any I run, thats for sure
ReplyDeletei dont think AB should be required for ANY tourney. I think they just need to require a typed, clearly detailed army list so people know EXACTLY what is in an army.
ReplyDelete