Infinity 3rd Edition
Corvus Belli has just announced that they will be releasing a 3rd Edition of their popular skirmish sci-fi wargame Infinity. You can watch this announcement straight from the horse’s mouth in this video created by Beasts of War below.
My first reaction to news of 3rd Edition was a small measure of sadness. I’m not bothered that Corvus Belli has decided to re-release their game, just that I never even finished painting my Infinity army before they did so. Yes, another unfinished project. Maybe when I finish painting my Deadzone stuff.
Other than my shame I didn’t pay much attention to the new edition until the above video landed in my Youtube stream. I’ve watched the first bit to learn how the new edition will affect me.
The first thing I took out of this video is that the 3rd Edition rulebook replaces only the 2nd Edition rulebook and not Human Sphere or Campaign Paradiso. There is a big FAQ covering the 2nd Edition book but not the other two books. They were written by a more mature company and although they have lots of complex rules are more direct and easy to understand. I was a little skeptical when I first heard this but as 2nd Edition was released three after Human Sphere I’m going to say that Corvus Belli is fully capable of doing this.
I really like this idea. 2nd Edition was an imperfect translation that has needed a new version almost from the day it was released. Now that Corvus Belli has so many years of experience with the game the 3rd Edition rules should practically sing.
Another important point made in the video is that the background presented in 3rd Edition will be the same background as appears in 2nd Edition. Since Human Sphere and Paradiso are extensions of the storyline and are intended to still work with 3rd Edition new players will not lose a chunk of the timeline by starting in the 3rd Edition “universe.” For example, the Tohaa, introduced in Paradiso, will not appear in the 3rd Edition book.
This doesn’t mean that the Tohaa won’t be getting any shiny new toys. The Tohaa versions of anything new introduced in 3rd Edition will be available free online, as will the main rules. If the rules for 2nd Edition hadn’t been available free online I don’t think I would have invested in Infinity.
The most of the video is a preview of new and redesigned troop types coming in 3rd Edition. I’m not interested in previews so I didn’t watch it although I can see how it would be of interest to many people.
So, to recap:
- 3rd Edition replaces 2nd Edition but Human Sphere and Campaign Paradiso are still valid.
- The storyline won’t be advanced by 3rd Edition. There won’t be new troop types for the Tohaa in the book but there will be new troop types available online for free.
- Like all previous books the rules from 3rd Edition will be available online for free.
I think Corvus Belli demonstrated how to best refresh a game without starting from scratch. The most famous example, Games Workshop, is notorious for releasing new editions which invalidated all their previous material. Infinity fans should rest assured that this won’t happen to them and should be universal excited for the new edition. I know I am.
Any readers play Infinity? Leave a comment below to let me know what you think about the new edition.
I’m cautiously optimistic about third edition. I stopped playing Infinity a while ago because of a certain roughness I found with the basic rules and extra complexity introduced by the expansion books. I’m hoping that they can polish up the rough edges and get rid of some needless complexity.
I’m curious as to which bits you found complex. For me I had trouble with all of the keywords. It made reading troop profiles difficult because so much of what they did was keyworded elsewhere. On the other hand I know that keywords are the best way to handle so much complexity and I’m sure if I played regularly they would have sunk in.
I think the rule clarification I’m most looking for is reaction shooting timing. If you ARO someone it says you can attack them at any point during their activation. However the common consensus is that you can only attack them during their first action. I disagree and I think that the confusion stems from improper translation.
The nested keywords like Valour with other keywords contained within it, and inconsistent use of Level (x) bother me. Also some skills just need a clean up and simplification. Reading the FAQ on Camouflage gives me a headache.
ARO could use some clarification on timing I agree. My main problems was if I even showed a toe out of cover it seemed my model and his fireteam would disappear in a missle launcher inferno. Maybe we weren’t playing with enough terrain but once an enemy missile launcher had a good vantage point, game over. I would be happy if certain weapons couldn’t shoot in ARO.
I haven’t played too many games on Infinity but I’m not sure if Rocket Launchers should work like that. What is making them so powerful?
You must delcare your ARO action after the fist action t=you see them do, if you choose to do nothing then you can not change this reaction later.
for example if you see a model move, you may decide you wish to shoot them, they then take the second action, maybe shoot back.
but if you decided not to react to the first action (might not want to come out of camo hiding for example) then when they spend the second action you can not react to it.
You ARO action how every is resolved at the end of the second action.
So you might of choosen to shoot them when they moved, but if they move again for the second action you can choose to shoot them at any point along this movement line.
This means if at the end of the second movement they are closer and you could shoot them there for working out ranges if you like.
the only exception to this is if you do not see them when they made the first action and only became visible during the second action, you can then declare ARO to this second action as it is the first action you have seen them do.
They are template weapons, so my first guy takes a 14 Dmg Armour Piercing (half armor) and Explosive (3 armor saves) hit. Then some of my linked fireteam teammates (trying to stay in his zone of control and still be in cover) take a 14 Dmg Explosive hit under the template.
It’s realistic as missile/rocket launchers, panzerfausts, etc. are extremely deadly, But its also extremely frustrating to lose a good chunk of your force when you stick your nose out of cover.
Maybe it’s the way I play, maybe it’s the people I play with, but I just usually don’t have a good time playing Infinity. I would really like to enjoy it as I love the models and the background. I feel the game punishes bad tactics rather then rewarding good tactics. Just my gut feeling rather than anything concrete.
I can see your point. It’s still a face-to-face roll between your linked fireteam vs. a single ARO from the missile launcher. The template is only placed with the AROing model wins that roll.
I’m not sure if it’s strictly in the rules but we always play where people declare the intention of their move to avoid the “one foot out of cover issue”
So, you’d say: I’m moving this guy to this cover but not in LOS. This way a small placement error isn’t a gotcha. The alternative is for competitive players constantly walking around the table and checking line of sight to their models every move.
Hey Tyler, I was just asking if anyone was playing Infinity 3ed at Kessel Run the other day. Do you know of anybody who is running any games? I’d really love to give it a try.
Not that I’ve heard. I’ve been out of the scene for a bit, my last batch of Raphael brushes were trash and I promised I won’t suffer with them anymore. Timing has been problematic as when I have cash there’s always something in a local store that grabs my attention.
To be honest, the rules are free. You could always proxy as a test. Let me know if you do and I can join you. I haven’t looked closely at 3rd Ed yet.