How did Regiment Creation go? Did you choose a pre-made Regiment, or did you make your own? In Regiment Creation, are there certain options you would choose every time? Are there certain options you would never choose?
Overall, we really like the Regiment Creation system. It not only gives the characters all a common base and background, it also helps to shape the kind of game you want to play. A Line Infantry regiment will be a very different experience than an Armored regiment for instance.
We prefer to make our own regiments, because it lets us bring our own color to the 40k universe which is fun. As a GM, I enjoy "world-building" and this is a chance to create the players' homeworld, even if we never see it. That said, I would like to see a pre-made Schola Progenium Storm Trooper regiment. The background for the Storm Trooper speciality says there is only one of these (I think maybe two, one Recon and on Drop Troops) which all Storm Troopers are seconded from. It would be handy to have this.
I didn't find any options we would always take, though for my group since they are new the setting, I tend to lean toward Imperial World as a generic homeworld.
Generally, the only options I think I would never take are Armored regiment and Hunter-Killer regiment, both because we favor infantry over armor as a roleplaying experience. Die Hards and Iron Discipline seem a little weak, only granting a single aptitude. I'm still not sure how beneficial that really is. Fieldcraft, as I have said elsewhere, is confusing… it doesn't grant the Fieldcraft aptitude, but does grant a "Fieldcraft" trait which is a different thing entirely. My players got very confused and even after pointing this out several fimes, still kept thinking they had the Fieldcraft aptitude during character creation. Perhaps this Doctrine could be renamed Scouts or better yet, actually grant the Fieldcraft aptitude?
Standard Regimental Kit is largely ok, though one thing I noticed and didn't like is that while I can upgrade a unit's standard weapon, I can't upgrade its standard armor. The reason it came up actually is another issue, Light Infantry get's "flak jacket" as standard kit but there is no "flak jacket" in the Armory chapter.
Which Specialities did your group choose? Are there certain Specialities your players gravitate toward or avoid? Once your starting group has been assembled, do any specific Specialities feel too powerful to begin with? Too weak?
First round, my players made a Medic, a Sergeant, a Weapon Specialist and a Heavy Gunner.
The Medic and Weapon Specialist both went together very smoothly, no problems.
Heavy Gunner "needs some tweaking" according to the player writing them up. She questioned why they didn't get Finesse, in order to make Ballisitic Skill an easy characteristic advance or Strength, since they're lugging around this huge gun. The whole business with not getting the talents to use all your standard kit options was also mentioned. We think they should get weapon training for their regiments prefered heavy weapon.
The player making the Sergeant threw up her hands in frustration and declared it totally broken and impossible. She couldn't take the recommended skills or talents because she didn't have the right aptitudes for them. She pointed out that Combat Formation, which she wanted, was the only Talent which didn't have a Characteristic for one of it's Aptitudes, pricing it out of reach. Iron Discipline, as discussed on another thread, is useless. She was simply unable to create a good sergeant using the rules.
Which brings us to Comrades. My players ignored them when buying advances and it wasn't until I have them a "free" 300 exp to be used only for buying Comrade talents that they even considered them. I did this to make them look at the Comrades at all. My players would much rather develop their own characters than spend points on a minion with minimal abilities. We really think the Comrade rules need to be revamped.
All my players chose Guardsman specialites for their frist attempt, feeling that the Support Specialities "needed to be from another Regiment, didn't they?" We wondered how "mixed Regiment" groups would work. No one wanted to play an Operator, but my group is more interested in footfloggers than tankers so that makes sense. We're going to sit down later this week and make some Support Specialists, just to try them out.