[Issue 60] [Review] Regenesis: Canyon, Deck-9, Magadan

[Flexoo 6,980]

Within the recent past, a shocking announcement splashed the News section and excited a lot of tankers. Three forgotten maps that propose a potential for some truly engaging battles have been resurrected from the ashes and added back to the map list. Canyon, Deck 9 and Magadan inscribed into the historical memoirs back in 2010 and returned after a two-year break.

 

History

 

As you may already know, Canyon, Deck 9 and Magadan can't be really classified as totally virgin maps. They all appeared on the menu quite a long time ago, to be precise June 4, 2010, in the case of Canyon and Deck 9. Both were created by a gifted map-maker called @M0ONL1ght who also crafted maps like Zone or Gravity. His maps might not be the most popular ones, but he definitely managed to create a playground with unique props and structure that many other maps don't possess. When it comes to Magadan, we do not have the knowledge of the exact release date or author of the map, but the map is approximately as old as the other two on the list and we may also assume it was created by someone from the developer's team.

 

Throughout their history, these maps never reached the popularity peak of likes as Polygon or Silence, but you could often spot few battles marked with their name. Prior to their removal, battles on Canyon and Deck 9  had been created because of the unique map structure that offered a very interesting and distinct gameplay experience and wide possibilities in parkour. Magadan battles had been extremely scattered, almost non-present, and we can definitely consider this one as a riddance-worthy map.

 

Even though a map removal was a thing in the past, the decision to obliterate these maps was quite shocking and unexpected. The official reasoning offered by the developers was the overall low activity on them which actually didn't provide sufficient explanation considering the fact there were other lesser played maps at the time. Despite the multiple pleas to avert this decision, all three maps have been removed on May 20, 2014.

 

Since we all know TO doesn't usually go against their own decisions, we anticipated these maps will never come back and stay alive only in our memories. However, Tanki never fails to amaze us, and so with the plethora of other updates, these three maps have been restored by Patch #429. All of 'em happen to be playable till present day and since I am fully aware that this history talk may induce sleep, let's skip ahead.

 

 

Overview

 

All three maps stayed faithful to their previous designs and offer hugely the same gameplay experience as they did in the past. Magadan and Deck 9 are small compact maps that can host a max of 8 players, making for a 4v4 team mode battle or max 8 players Death match. Canyon is more of a medium map offering a larger area to play with a maximum capacity of 12 players.

 

All three are available from Warrant Officer 1 which also represents the highest rank limit to unlock a map in Tanki Online. You can also enjoy all four battle modes (CTF, CP, TDM, DM) on Deck 9 and Magadan. Canyon is kind of specific and offers only CTF and Death match modes. Why is CP not available in Canyon is, for now, a mystery, but it's presumably due to its non-uniform layout.

 

                                                               

       |                |       

 

                Canyon                                           Deck 9                                         Magadan                                                      

 

Map Alignment

 

Each map is absolutely unique, offering totally different environment than the other. Needless to say, Magadan resembles a symmetrical square and thus being the most balanced map from the bunch. As @Blackdrakon30 mentioned in his early review, Magadan almost mimics Garder's arrangement having four ramp hillocks placed around the map's middle which is similar to Garder's four passages. Two mildly elevated platforms (one in each base) are placed closely behind the hillocks and form the base for flag holders. The map is also stocked with few additional walls, mainly around the corners, which offers an extra coverage and a toehold for shoot-and-hide tactics.

 

Canyon and Deck 9 have profoundly different bases which also impacts the gameplay experience depending on the team you join. The smaller Deck 9, composes of central building bordered by narrow paths around the perimeter with tunnel stretching under it (blue flag is placed here). The tunnel is directly accessible from the red base through the 'ambush hole' and also contains an escape route abreast the ambush hole. The red base is much more open to attack with heaping ledges that lead up to the building and serve as a refuge for red team defenders. The red flag is located farther behind the middle ledge in the quite open area. There are also two channels behind the red flag, serving as a spawn area, but they lack in width for any defensive purposes.

 

The most expansive one and my personal favorite, Canyon, is a hodgepodge of numerous uphills, vaults, and delves making it a slightly topsy-turvy, yet a worthy map (upvote for that rhyme!). Canyon is named after its dominant feature that practically cuts the map into two halves. The higher half, which I will refer to as red team's base, has three floors - underground chamber, which is a spawn zone of red team, has a direct access to the canyon in the middle, the main floor which is also the spawning place of red team and contains the red flag and lastly the upper level that provides an excellent view of the blue base. The second half is the blue team's base. It's more open and in my opinion slightly disadvantageous. It consists of a cauldron in the corner where the blue team's flag is placed and the famous ramp in base's middle.  

 

 

Implemented Changes

 

Canyon, Deck 9 and Magadan are hugely unchanged. The only change I have been able to spot in Canyon are the revised supply drop and gold box drop locations. Since the predictable drops update wasn't in the play in early 2014, supplies have been often distributed through the same place mainly in the canyon area. With the reintroduction of the map, supplies and gold box drop locations now have a wider spread around the whole ground.

 

Deck 9 returned to his prehistoric design from 2010 and received the middle ledge in the red base with direct access to the heart of the blue base through the assault hole. This ledge Has been later removed from the map leaving the side paths the only openings to the bases. This old-new implementation shifted the dynamics of Deck 9 battles and gave the red team the opportunity to enter the blue base quicker and use the surprise factor in the attack. On the other hand, the blue team received a much shorter and much more effective flag escape route.

 

Magadan resembles the old 2014 design and just like in the case of Canyon received only a small tweaks and supply and gold box drop locations' revision. I would actually welcome more changes implemented to this map as its symmetrical design sort of forces me to yawn. I dimly remember the times when Magadan looked entirely different, and I would actually welcome if this older design has been brought back to spice otherwise boringly looking map.

 

 

Interesting Map Features

 

Canyon

 

The Ramp

 

 

The dominant feature of Canyon, its famous ramp is sometimes (or should I say oftentimes) the sole reason tankers create a battle on this map. Although it being a little stale and overused, you can do a number of air flips, make some flip shots or even get a truly epic jump kill.

 

Underground Chambers

 

 

This underground spawn area of red team witnesses fierce battles between the incoming or escaping attackers and the spawning or camping defenders. It's almost non-stop invaded by the blue team and hosts a huge number of confrontations, often being of crucial importance.

 

The Uphill

 

 

Albeit I don't have any pursuits in overcoming obstacles to get that sentimental viewpoint, I always admired this upper level of the red base for that great view of the map. It doesn't only grant an excellent camping spot, but I can also imagine this spot featured in some blatantly awesome parkour video.

 

The Channel

 

 

...

 

...

 

... I couldn't resist.

 

 

 

This particular area was always one of my favorites. You can sit there and literally harvest points by killing the spawned tankers entering the canyon or the never-ending torrent of 'parkourists' coming from the ramp. I can't omit the gold box rush inside the canyon, you will get some fine catches if you time your jumps right.

 

Deck 9

 

Ledges

 

 

One of the fun elements in Deck 9 is shooting and driving over, under, across (insert any other eligible way) the ledges. It's absolutely necessary to master your shooting and moving around this predominant map feature to be successful in this environment. It requires a little using to, but that just make it far more intriguing and challenging. 

 

The Tunnel

 

 

Ah yeah, the tunnel, or maybe more specifically a fundamental part of the blue base. I am listing this one, probably because of that dynamic action that occurs here. The base is easily accessible, yet it often calls for good timing and skill to escape the ever present defenders. 

 

Magadan

 

Ramps

 

 

Well, there's really not much to mention here other than the ramps. In the end, it's Magadan's main feature and at the same time its best one. As I said already, I personally consider it as less interesting, but I can identify myself with tankers who like the quick-paced gameplay around the middle. After all, shooting from the ramps and consecutive backing off or jumping down makes the experience a little more worthwhile.  

 

 

Gameplay

 

Canyon

 

Standard Battles

 

Standard battles on Canyon (everything goes, supplies and drops are on) are very sporadic and you will more likely find more parkour or format battles around the servers. It's a pity since battles on Canyon are very diverse giving a chance to shine to any kind of equipment and combination. Canyon is best suited for medium hulls that can take some hits and still bug out at a decent pace. Bulkier hulls will do well as snipers in the upper area or as a flag defenders in bases. Light hulls should utilize their speed and serve as either quick offensive threads or guerilla raids. When it comes to turrets, anything does the trick, but my personal favorites for this map are mid range Smoky, Hammer, and Thunder which are suitable for mid ranges, narrow paths, and varying map ambient. in a nutshell, gameplay is relatively fast, with decent funds and exp. ration, however, the specific environment of Canyon sometimes lead to stalemates, especially in CTF where capturing or returning the flag can be quite problematic.

 

XP/BP

 

This format rules the non-parkour battles for a reason. It's quite engaging and requires a little bit of strategy and environment knowledge to master all the ramps, terrain roughness, and trapdoors especially in non-supply battles. Planning the attack is necessary to succeed and you are often forced to co-operate to get anywhere near the flag.  Sometimes the game turns to stalemate as the terrain greatly supports campers, nevertheless, it's a great map to train peekaboo tactic, offensive pressuring and tactical approach.    

 

Parkour

 

Let's not even talk about all the OMP parkourists on the ramp, because seeing these guys rehearsing the same old trick again and again and again is just making me sick. I personally worship Canyon and I consider it a great parkour-worthy map, but I would definitely welcome something slightly new than ramp side flip. There are buildings, garage, water tower and a wall that can be only reached while parkouring. You can even try to use the ramp in co-operation with two or three other tankers and fly to the other side of the map and somehow land on the garage in the corner. I don't even know if this can be executed, but the Masters of Parkour finals persuaded me it is.

 

 

Deck 9

 

Standard Battles

 

As a small map, Deck 9 is perfect for dynamic battles filled with confrontations behind every corner. It's practical for any type of hull, light hulls, and medium hulls are great in quick assaults, heavy hulls will prove foolproof in defense and flag/point guarding. Deck favors majorly close and medium range turrets. I would avoid using Shafts and even Railguns, as they lack in reload speed for quick moving gameplay. Deck 9 offers a really quick offensive gaming experience.

 

XP/BP

 

Is Deck 9 predestined for XP/BP? I would say yes! One visit on RU1 will assure you that it became an instant hit. XP/BP is the most common format played on Deck 9. Battles are engaging, fast-paced with quickly raising funds. The map is relatively open with a minimum of really effective camping spots or defensive positions further supporting an offensive style rather than stalemates. You will mostly run into CTFs with disabled supplies or enabled supply drops, less into CP or Death match modes. Format battles on Deck fill quickly and offer a huge experience point gain and rewards in relatively short span of time. 

 

Parkour

 

Two main map features to conquer (well, the only features I can think off) are the building in the middle and the hummock abreast of it. I am not at home in parkour stuff, but laying few mines on the ledges and performing a 'Sandwich trick' will surely get you up on the house and hammock easy-peasy. You will definitely need someone to accompany you, Deck 9 is not meant to be an OMP parkour map. In tandem, you will most likely be able to climb both the house and hammock.

 

 

Magadan

 

Standard Battles

 

I am repeating myself when I say this map is dynamic, but the truth is that it is the features all three maps have in common. Magadan as a symmetrical map presents a balanced gameplay suitable for the majority of combinations. It's pretty straightforward, with a minimum of enclosed areas. When fully stocked with players it offers a decent quick-paced gaming, best for CTF and Death matches.

 

XP/BP

 

Well, it's quite rare to see a Magadan XP/BP, but this map is definitely convenient for this format, especially because of the fair conditions provided by its design. The balanced symmetrical arrangement grants a suitable environment for duels or tandem battles.

 

Parkour

 

Rotate your turret so it forms a 90° angle with your hull. Equip Speed Boost and drive on the ramp. Shoot while being in the air and make a side flip. Voila. You're welcome! In all seriousness, my naked eye doesn't see many other parkour possibilities in Magadan. The whole area is accessible by normal means, there are no buildings or other elevated elements eligible for landing and doing even the hardest trick just to touch down the ground is not enough visually appealing.

 

 

Supply Drops and Routes

 

Canyon

 

 

 

 

Supply drop zones' count:

 

Double Damage - 4                                       

Double Armor - 3                                            

Speed Boost - 4

Repair Kit - 1

 

 

 

Supplies lie practically behind every Canyon's corner, and thus you can easily squeeze the potential these boxes offer. There is a total of ten supply drops. Both teams have one from each supply type present in their base (excluding Repair kit), which makes for balanced conditions in every map. However, there is also one from each supply type on the upper-levell path behind the pole that is only accessible to reds and drastically overpowers their side. It's a huge flaw of this map and the only possible way to reduce the inequality on blue side is to grant blue team access to the upper path from their base.

 

If you play for reds you can follow two supply routes. First one is the supply route in the upper Canyon's level starting with Speed Boost and ending with Double Damage. Since it's available to reds only, you won't have any problems dueling enemies for drops. You can easily collect them and jump on the house below from where you can easily enter the blue base and go straight for the flag. You will most likely expose yourself to enemy fire, but since you can safely grab Double Armour, you will be able to tank few hits. Second supply route starts at the red flag. Take the Double Armour and follow with nearby Speed Boost. You can also collect the Double Damage if you spawn near water tower, but if you do not, don't waste time by driving to it, you will loose your precious supply time.

 

Blues have only one supply route. You may start by taking Speed Boost behind the ramp and afterwards seize the Double Damage on the lug and Double Armour in front of the caldron or follow the same routine backwards. After that, you should directly invade the blue team which might be an obvious thing to do, but frontal attack often yields abundant harvest. However it's safer to go the other way, grab the Repair Kit below the ramp and enter the enemy base from the underground chambers.

 

Deck 9

 

 

 

 

Supply drop zones' count:

 

Double Damage - 2

Double Armor - 2

Speed Boost - 2

Repair Kit - 2

 

 

 

Deck 9 has two supply drop zones from each type. They are equally distributed between both bases and considering the overall small area of Deck 9, you can effectively reach and use them  in succession. Giving tips how to use supply drops wisely would be ridiculous in this case as it's painfully obvious what supply route you should follow. Whether  you play for reds or blues, grab one of the primary supplies (Double Armour or Double Damage) and consecutively equip the opposite one. Speed Boost is not that much essential because you are not reliant upon speed to travel huge distances here. Leave the Speed Boost to slower hulls, so that they can cope with more dynamic attackers.

 

Magadan

 

 

 

 

Supply drop zones' count:

 

Double Damage - 2

Double Armor - 2

Speed Boost - 2

Repair Kit - 2

 

 

 

Similar to the Deck 9, Magadan also has two drop zones from each supply type. In contrast to Deck 9, locations are dispersed differently. Repair Kits, Double Damage and Double Armour boxes are placed in the corner area while the middle is almost empty and contains only Speed Boosts. Double Armors and Double Damage boxes are inverted in bases, so you won't take two supplies of the same type in one supply route.

 

Speaking of supply routes, they are just as obvious as in case of Deck 9. Hold firm to the corners to grab the supplies of the upmost importance and use the inbuilt walls as cover while driving towards them. Ignore the Speed boost drops or at least do not prioritize them. Speed Boosts are in the middle area, you're the most vulnerable here, so stay in the corners and proceed from there. 

 

Gold Box Drop Locations

 

Credits for pictures of the Gold box drop locations: @MiZ0o0

 

Canyon

 

 

In team modes, Canyon's gold box drop locations hugely favor the reds, and thus if you want to have a better shot at gold hunting, I hugely advise you to join the red team. As you can see, there are a total of 6 Gold Box drop locations. Two are situated on the upper level path behind the pole. They are easily approachable from red base and if the gold sign ever appears there, it's 90% sure that red player will grab the coffer. Third gold box spot is located between the water tower and house in the red base. Again, it's a slightly favorable position for red team as it's still a part of the red base, but it gives blue team a far better chance than previous two.

 

Other two spots are set directly in the canyon. Since they are in the middle, it may look as the chances of both teams are equal, however the famous ramp shifts the odds to blue team with its height dominion. Last gold box location is near the pipes. It's probably the most balanced one from the bunch, but considering the height I would again adjudge the advantage to reds. Indeed, this gold box drop distribution looks unbalanced, but I can't really blame the development as Canyon is unique and finding any neutral ground with even chances for both teams is almost impossible.

 

Deck 9

 

 

Deck 9 bears a resemblance with Canyon when it comes to number of gold box drop locations. You can count them six, four in red base and 2 in blue base. This may look strangely uneven. In fact it is since reds have majority of drop zones in their base and can easily take a run and jump on the pile ups when the drop spot appears in blue base. However, eyes deceive and you should not trust them. Soon, you will notice that this layout isn't as discriminatory on the second look. Reason for that is the extremely small area of 300 square meters. It often doesn't matter what team you play for, as you will spawn and forward to the spot very quickly. When hunting for Gold box in Deck, you have to time your approach and more importantly get a toehold for good jump or a favorable place near the drop.  

 

Magadan

 

 

Magadan has surprisingly big amount of drop zones, a total of 10 distributed mainly around the ramps. Since Magadan is a symmetrical map, drop zones are spread fairly for both teams. Four drop zones are placed around middle in sort of ellipse, one is placed behind every ramp and two are placed in the corner area near the billboards. Gold box hunting focuses mainly around the ramps as total of 8/10 gold boxes can be caught if you jump in right time.

 

You should aim to occupy a fitting position on one of the ramps. Never stay way too behind as others may drive in front of you and block you in the key moment, but you also don't want to tower above as you may be exposed to enemy fire. Try to preserve a middle ground and push any possible opponents near or in front of you. The corner drop zones are made for heavy bulky hulls and Dictators that can sit on the spot and take advantage of their weight and height.

 

This comes little later than the update itself, but I still guess it may come around helpful. I hope you'll use this newly acquired information in your future battles on these maps and squeeze the max from this review. See you on the battlefields, tankers!

 

Edited January 20, 2017 by Flexoo

[bc200214_777 582]

Nice article :D

[Truthteller 4,204]

Great article!

[eSport 486]

Yea good to know :)

Edited January 19, 2017 by eSport

[anuclearbomb 220]

There was a change on canyon, there used to be a tunnel from red base to blue base, which was removed.

[Zenyth 6,494]

I love your descriptions of Canyon