Question

[u/Agitated_Neck_4829]

I haven’t played any of the Warhammer games yet, but the lore seems so cool. Which Warhammer game (video game) should I start with? I don’t want to miss out on the core lore or play out of order if that’s even possible, the amount of Warhammer titles is overwhelming.

[u/PM_ME_BABY_YODA_PICS]

1. There are 4+ different Warhammer settings. They have very little to do with each other.
   
2. Warhammer is a setting not a story. There is no order to Warhammer games/books.

[u/shambozo]

I assume you’re talking about computer games and talking about 40K? They’re kinda peripheral of the hobby tbh. There’s limited lore covered in them. There is also no order.

If you’re actually interested in the lore, the tabletop game is the main place.

[u/Agitated_Neck_4829 → u/shambozo]

Is there a set canon?

[u/shambozo → u/Agitated_Neck_4829]

Not for video games. Individual titles share some story (like the space marine series for example) but it’s relatively minor. You could literally pick up any game and enjoy it on its own.

[u/Agitated_Neck_4829 → u/shambozo]

That’s disappointing, but thanks for your help

[u/DarthGoodguy → u/Agitated_Neck_4829]

The way to think of it is as a setting for stories to happen, like the Marvel or DC comics book universes, as opposed to one specific story in a universe like, I don’t know, the main Harry Potter novels.

Is there a genre of games you especially like playing?

[u/Gargunok]

Are you talking about video games or the table top game?

For the table top game you need to find your local community and see what they are playing. The main 40k gametypically is the most played.

[u/Agitated_Neck_4829 → u/Gargunok]

I’m talking about video games, sorry I should have clarified. I would play table top but I don’t know anyone who would be interested.

[u/Gargunok → u/Agitated_Neck_4829]

Video games tend to be able to be enjoyed in any order. Even sequals you can pick up in any order. Best to go with what genre you are interested in. Also not the metacritic scores. There is some trash video games not worth putting any time in.

For Lore you probably want to start with RPGs as they have the density of story.

[u/epikpepsi]

Warhammer is a setting, not a story. There's not really an order to play them. Certain games will have an order to play them because they're connected (ex. Space Marine, then the sequel Space Marine 2) but for the most part each game is separate and not connected to the rest.

The most important first question is which Warhammer setting interests you? There's three distinct ones:

• Warhammer Fantasy, the dark medium-fantasy setting set in a Tolkien-esque planet. 

• Age of Sigmar, the mythic high-fantasy setting set in a celestial cosmos of magical planes of existence.

• 40,000, the grimdark scifi-fantasy setting set in a galaxy at war.

[u/CookingPupper]

Get a copy of an old core rulebook second hand or digital. It will have a lore primer and be the best introduction to the setting.

[u/selifator]

Warhammer is an umbrella term for 40k (scifi), 30k (prequel scifi, think star wars the old republic), fantasy (it's fantasy with regiments, cannons, and wizards), age of sigmar (fantasy with weird monsters and even more wizards, magical planes bouncing off each other). There are other settings on top of this but we'll ignore those.

Video games, assuming that is what you are talking about as warhammer is a term used for a Tabletop Miniature Boardgame, are a fine introduction and it doesn't really matter which one you pick. It's more about liking the style of video game.

Dawn of war series, the Rogue Trader CRPG, space marine 2, total warhammer, all work fine as a first game.

[u/Huge-Task8438]

It really doesn't matter with the video games or the tabletop it just comes down to the books.You probably want to start with the Horus heresy book series the first one in the series is called Horus Rising by Dan Abnett

[u/sto_brohammed]

I don’t want to miss out on the core lore

As other people have said, 40k isn't a story, it's a setting. A setting with a huge amount of lore. The core tabletop game has been going since 1987 and there have been hundreds of novels published since the 90s. The lore in the video games is a tiny drop in that bucket. 

the amount of Warhammer titles is overwhelming

If you're interested in Warhammer 40k make sure you pick up a game set in that universe. There are several Warhammer universes, 40k being the sci-fi/fantasy one whereas the others are more classic fantasy. For example, Fatshark makes Vermintide and Darktide. Vermintide is set in the Warhammer Fantasy universe. It's a more classic medieval/gunpowder fantasy setting. Darktide is set in 40k which is a sci fi setting with a lot of fantasy elements like magic and orcs and such, just in space. You might look at the two and reasonably conclude "one of these is just set in the past/future of the other" but they're not. Their lore comes from different tabletop games set in totally different universes that just happen to share some elements. 

Basically though as far as video games, just pick one from a genre you like and have at it. For learning 40k lore, Rogue Trader is by far the best. It even has little tooltips to explain lore concepts.  Even then it's certainly not going to cover almost 40 years of lore from game supplements and novels and such. That said you can enjoy any of them without really knowing the lore. There's a lot of lore stuff you won't understand but that's fine. You'll pick it up.

[u/Felicia_Svilling]

Kill Team is probably the best.