Hey Tyric, welcome not only to 40kOnline and Eldar but to the wargaming hobby in general. By the way do you have the Codex yet?
Generally most people in the wargaming community are nice, friendly people. In my 6 or so years of playing I have only met one utter douche bag (compare this to online PVP based games where every second person makes themselves into an egocentric arse). So I thought I'd introduce you to some of the more active/big named forum members.
You've already met Irisado. She's a walking encyclopaedia of Eldar background. You'll often see the term "fluff" used, this word means background/cannon. If you've got any questions about Eldar fluff or what they were like in previous editions of the game she can be very helpful.
Whilst I've never spoken to the following gent directly via PM, Lazarus seems to me to be one of the more serious gamers and into tournament play his knowledge/skills are quite sound IMO.
This forum is quite good as it has a very active painting, conversion and rule question sub forums. You'll probably have a fair few rules questions not only to begin with but odd things can occur you don't know how to resolve later on. Feel free to ask any questions there or if you're shy PM a user named Hymirl. This guy IS the rulebook, I swear.
I don't know if you're aware but people often record their games and post them on youtube there are some really good ones out there too. One of my favourites to watch is from a guy on this forum named NightMoor (
EldarCorsair - YouTube), he has a fully painted army, the videos are easy to follow and he posts new battles once or twice a week.
These people might be helpful to you but don't let this small list limit you, the Eldar section of these forums (can't comment on the rest as I only play Eldar exclusively) is a real community I'm often getting great ideas or tips from other users here.
Now I've done some introductions I'll mention the hobby. Whilst other people are giving you general tips for playing Eldar I thought I'd broaden your horizons about the hobby in general. I'm going to assume it was either the looks or the background that piqued your interest in the Eldar (and IMO the Eldar are the most interesting/diverse and plain sexy of all the armies not just in 40k but in any gaming system). The three big aspects are painting, fluff and the actual game itself. Everyone gets something different out of all of these, personally I love all three but you may hate painting and fluff, and you know what? That's perfectly fine too it's your game as much as it is mine. These are some things I wished people introduced me to when I first started playing.
When I first started painting the models turned out terrible and I've progressed to the point where I think my army looks pretty good, so don't feel down if at first your army doesn't look as good as models on display in shops etc.
The following website is FANTASTIC for inspiration
CoolMiniOrNot - The Internet's largest gallery of Painted Miniatures and also google images also helps. If you've got a question on how some of the effects are achieved show the guys in the painting section of these forums and they can help you out.
If youre interested in the background Games Workshop has a subsidiary company called Black Library. From what I've read the books range from ok to quite good (obviously you won't be reading a timeless classics but sci fi war stories).
The Black LibraryThe biggest obstacle with the hobby I find is the price and buying from Games Workshop directly is probably the worst way to go about things. Ebay is great for finding things for cheap (also rare items if you get into collecting miniatures later on). Buying from online retailers is also a great way to do things. Depending on which country you live in, head over to the general 40k section of these forums and ask for some good/credible shops.
I'm not sure what Black Libraries prices are like throughout the rest of the world, I live in Australia and for me it is cheaper to buy from The Book Depository in the UK. Free shipping worldwide and at least half the price of what they ask for here in Games Workshops.
Free shipping worldwide on all books from The Book DepositoryHope you found something useful out of all this and weren't deterred by the walls of text. Best of luck.