The new Silence: A Comprehensive Review

[LOLKILLERTOTHEDEATH 1,921]

 

Silence. What comes to mind is a medium sized map littered with cover and places to hide, with the unique ability to support most turrets, hulls and game styles. Needless to say, Silence quickly rose to popularity since its introduction in 2010, to the extent that there were three distinct variations of it: Silence, Silence II and Moon silence. The recent update on the 1st of December brought a whole set of new changes to this map, some good and others bad.

 

---

 

 

What Changed?

 

In a nutshell, more area was added to the map. Both the red and blue team bases now have a larger play area, which solved the issue of choked paths. To elaborate, it was difficult moving around in Silence previously. You had to brake, slowly take turns and move carefully, or else you could end up wedged between two walls or flipped over. Thanks to the increased space, that doesn’t happen anymore and it’s possible to go around the map without slowing down much. This applies to both the red and blue teams. Other than more space, there’s now a lot more cover for Magnums to hide behind, which isn’t great because now they can stay hidden and keep on firing away, harassing players left and right.

 

 

 

Changes to the Blue Base.

 

Earlier, I used to love the blue team's base much more than the red team. It had the height advantage, more space and was perfect to hide flags. Also, getting to gold spots easier because all you had to do was jump down. Although these changes didn’t negatively affect the blue base, I do love the red base more now. So what caused this change in my attitude? Read on.

 

 

 

The Highway

 

 

This is my favorite change made to the blue base. Basically, this changed the area behind the flag, where defenders normally hide. Earlier, it was jam-packed and difficult to go from one place to another while using this small pathway, and considering the Titans and Mammoths that camped here, it was nigh impossible. Thanks to the changes, it's now very easy to commute from one place to another. If you plan on using a heavy hull and camping, there are supply drop zones placed conveniently behind the cover. What’s more, is that there’s more than enough cover for everybody, so there's no more pushing teammates off the ledge.

 

 

 

45-45-90 No More

 

 

This is another great thing about the changes to Silence. The “secret” ramp to enter the blue base used to be a lot smaller, and it was a lot easier to flip over when trying to go on it. I cannot tell you how many golds I’ve missed and flags I’ve failed to return because of this one ramp. Consequently, I was quite happy when I saw it was changed to make moving on it a lot more convenient. I assume the biggest question anyone might have about this is why I call it “45-45-90.” The reason for the strange name is because it’s namesake is the famous right angle triangle, with two 45 degree angles. Since it doesn’t look like that anymore, I added the “no more” part. Overall this was a small change that makes a big difference.

 

Crates

 

 

No, this is not a giveaway. I’m talking about the map. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the crates are gone. In my opinion, this is quite helpful, because when the crates were there bullies could more easily stop you from capturing a flag. It was quite easy to get stuck in the whole crate area, especially during a high-speed flag pursuit.

 

 

 

Changes to the Red Base

 

I’ll start by saying that in the past, even if I could join a winning red team, I would be very, very hesitant to do so. Chiefly because of the lack of space and the height disadvantage, coupled with a lack of proper camping zones. The changes to the red base have really made it different from the one  people used to know. It was a cramped place with meager amounts of insufficient space to even move before. So what are some of the new additions that really redefine the red team base?

 

 

 

The Airstrip

 

 

I think Mort’s quote pretty much sums it up. “I Like it, I Like it, I Like it First, Before I Even I saw it I Liked it, You Hate it Compared To How Much I Like it.” In case it wasn’t obvious, I absolutely love the airstrip. It’s the single most beautifully decorated place in the map. Other than the simple beauty of it, it’s also immensely practical. There’s a whole lot more space in the red base now, so you don’t feel like you’re living in Mumbai. There's more cover, making this map lend itself better to Railguns and Shafts. Finally, there are more supplies, making this the perfect place to camp. It is far enough away from the flag that your enemies won’t come here to kill you if you camp, unless you purposely spawn kill them, in which case they’ll come and try to destroy you every single time. Trust me; I speak from experience. I positively love this change and couldn’t ask for anything better than this, and even though I prefer smaller maps, I would play on this map over any other without a second thought. I love it!

 

 

 

The Sewer System

 

 

 

I call it this because it literally looks like those pipes that dump into the sewer. This new area was added alongside the rest of these changes, and it does bring a significant change to the game. This will be the very first spot to provide invulnerability against Magnums. There really are no benefits of camping here, other than maybe the occasional enemy, but now the red team also has a great spot to hide flags, just like the blue team, so it’s fairer.

 

 

 

Overall:

 

I think that these changes really help the map. Silence was a great map and a favorite of many players, but thanks to these new changes, the overall balance of the map is better for virtually any combo. The added space and advantages to the red team were much needed and so this map is a lot more fun to play on.

 

*This is all my opinion. None of it is necessarily a fact. It is just what I have observed so far.

 

Edited December 13, 2017 by LOLKILLERTOTHEDEATH

[Blackdrakon30 2,943]

- Changed some syntax

- Changed some passive voice to active voice

- Changed some word choices

- Capitalized headings

- Synced the verb tenses in comma lists

- Removed some amplified words like "much," "a lot," and "quite." You tend to overuse these, and they don't really help the reader at all.

- Removed some sentence transitions like "However," "Additionally," and "Also," that were starting to feel like clutter.

- Removed some repetitive phrasing like "easier and more convenient to use."

- Removed several unnecessary commas

 

Approved

 

---

 

So I don't have many comments on this, but I would like to point out that the "Sewer System" area was actually in the game before they changed the map. It's been part of the Silence map most of us know for the longest time; it just wasn't really used.

 

Also, despite me listing a whole lot of edits, know that it wasn't badly written. I just am very finicky when I feel like it.  :ph34r: 

Edited December 13, 2017 by Blackdrakon30

[LOLKILLERTOTHEDEATH 1,921]

- Changed some syntax

- Changed some passive voice to active voice

- Changed some word choices

- Capitalized headings

- Synced the verb tenses in comma lists

- Removed some amplified words like "much," "a lot," and "quite." You tend to overuse these, and they don't really help the reader at all.

- Removed some sentence transitions like "However," "Additionally," and "Also," that were starting to feel like clutter.

- Removed some repetitive phrasing like "easier and more convenient to use."

- Removed several unnecessary commas

 

Approved

 

---

 

So I don't have many comments on this, but I would like to point out that the "Sewer System" area was actually in the game before they changed the map. It's been part of the Silence map most of us know for the longest time; it just wasn't really used.

 

Also, despite me listing a whole lot of edits, know that it wasn't badly written. I just am very finicky when I feel like it.  :ph34r: 

Thanks for all the feedback! I shall take it into consideration next time.

[F.I.N.I.S.H.E.R 2,397]

Good read :)

[kaisdf 3,320]

Helpful, some things in there I hadn't noticed...

 

Still prefer Silence 1, but anyway :lol:

[LOLKILLERTOTHEDEATH 1,921]

Good read :)

Thanks!