Review Top Rated: eSports Maps

[Hex 11,520]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the official maps for eSports were first being chosen, the organizers were probably looking for something that could provide an exciting setting, fast-paced game and secluded bases that were not too different from each other. In combination, these characteristics ended up making some maps in the game most popular among format players. Let's take a look at some of them!

 

 

The maps listed below are not in any order - ascending or descending. Each has its own defining characteristics that provide for an excellently balanced game while keeping each viewer interested in what the player might do next. Therefore, each map's review below should be taken into account as to its own, and not that it might not be comparable to some other map.

 

 

Red Alert

 

 

Red Alert has been one of my favorites ever since two years ago - when I got to first play in it. Its beautiful environment with drastic ups and downs, impressive highs and lows and the infamous tunnels and bridges make Red Alert one of the most strategic and fast-paced maps you will ever play in. I mean, I still remember the day when I took my newly-brought Hornet for a drive in this very map in some format game, and I loved it so much I struck off Madness from the top of my best maps list and put Red Alert there instead. Back then, I was playing with this group of friends who really wanted to be professional players some day; and the best thing was that we actually won that game. I don't exactly remember what went on in it, some normal captures and the usual killing, but something happened which made me form a liking for this map.

 

eSports professionals also favor this map quite a lot, which is mainly because of some sneaky little tricks you can use to get your shots on the enemy and especially for the red team, a dank way to score their objectives. Most people would already know this by know, I mean, come on, it's been years people, but you can pass the flag from tank to tank behind the middle building next to the red flag - it's quite a swift movement and comes in the advanced basics of map strategy for high-end players.

 

Offering extremely hard-to-do shots - and I'm sure you guys have seen these happening from time to time in live broadcasts, the likes of those like the tunnel one which flows between the middle building and the raised platform of the red base all the way to the ramp that leads to the red flag, the one going through the small spaces between platforms and cliffs and last but not least, the ramp edge shots like those from the shorter bridge or the from the ramp in the red base, Red Alert is also a favorite among daredevil players who can't help but show their skills off to the enemy team. It's quite a funny thing actually, the players who do not know, end up knowing how to counter in the end and finally get to kill the person that had been bullying them the entire game...

 

Some interesting facts:

• Red Alert was created by the player niak_ris.
• It first appeared in the game on July 31, 2009.
• It is also one of those maps with the highest number of Gold Box drop zones, a whopping thirty!

 

Bridges

 

 

Bridges has also been one of my most vouched-for maps in the game. I don't know, something about it makes me feel cozy and conformable to play in - maybe because I have learned all the secret places you can shoot each other in the map or maybe its because of its general landscape. Whatever the case, I'm sure most would vote for Bridges over any other map in the game. Frequently popping up in the battle list and full of legendary players from the latest eSports scene, this map has also become a sensation for casual players in the game who try to play and shoot in the same way as the professionals do whether it be a cheeky ramp rock shot or a direct one spanning from one end of the map to the other.

 

It's the fact that the map offers a huge number of opportunities for newer players to practice their skills. You can do just about anything in the map: direct shots, peek shots, ramp shots, swerves, flicks in the middle ranges to melees, hit-and-runs in the close quarters and precise sniping in the long - everything! Heck, one could also utilize some of the lesser known areas of the map from which shots can be made. Examples of these are the shot originating from the hut in the adjacent area of the red base which flows under the middle ramp and goes to the bridge next to it, the shot while going under the bridge next to the blue flag, which also leads to the middle, and shooting towards the ramp in the adjacent side of the blue base where players normally would like to do rock shots from.

 

Nonetheless, Bridges is also one of the few maps in the eSports category which require an advanced set of strategy and decisions to be made on point, in situation or in scenario, whatever you want to call it. There's just so much going on in the map at the same time, you can't expect things to go according to plan that you assumed the enemy team would do days before the match. I think that's brilliant and allows for a exciting game every single time.  

 

Some interesting facts:

• Bridges was created by the developers themselves.
• It first appeared in the game upon release.
• It features sixteen Gold Box drop zones.

 

Molotov

 

 

Molotov's unique geography with its distinctive buildings and their locations make it one of the most strategic maps to play in. Aside from the structural ingenuity, the map also features a bridge, two ditches and a variety of ways one can utilize to get in and out of the enemy base.

 

I still remember a couple of years back when we had our Plasma Fights games - in the Ranking Cups eSports scene in which we first as a team played on this map. It felt claustrophobic at first but as soon as I eased into in the days leading up to the game in practice matches, it sort of gave me a whole new feel to the game. It felt like it was crunchy yet opportunistic at the same time because every building, even if it was very near another one and could easily become the reason of you being killed by for example a few strategic ricocheting balls of plasma or some nicely strafed Twins' shots, provided a whole new challenge to overcome in the battle. 

 

You could use one building to peek enemies with Twins or take your chances with angles and geometry with Ricochet, it was up to you to decide how and when you should shoot, hide, peek and so on. Maps like these are a rare find, and Molotov might just be the perfect example of such maps!

 

Some interesting facts:

• Molotov was also designed and created by the developers themselves.
• Similarly, it appeared in the game upon its release.
• It features seventeen Gold Box drop zones.

 

Station

 

 

With containers, pipes, broken walls, houses, corpses, pillars and concrete blocks, Station is a mere playground for experienced and casual players alike. It's dynamic build and straightforward structure allows one to get their shots to land directly in the enemy base, and at times, straight in their face.

 

But what I love about this map that is not overrated by any means, instead it's hugely the opposite! It provides not only just few but a lot of places and areas from where you can practice shooting from various different angles and try to get your Railgun game much stronger than before - examples of these are are basically over and from the side of corpses, between the containers, base-to-base edge shots from the ramp, prediction shots from where the enemy would normally try to go and capture the flag and arguably the most important of those: the platform shots, the lot of them from one end to another.

 

So, if you have ever thought about really improving your game and everything to with it, like aiming, timing and so on, then dear reader, head over to the map and #MakeStationGreatAgain once more!

 

Some interesting facts:

• Station was designed and developed by the player Flanagun.
• It launched way, way back on July 8, 2010.
• Seemingly a small map, it actually contains twenty-three Gold Box drop zones!

 

Zone

 

 

Zone has remained a favorite among... literally everyone! It's great for duels, tandems and if you're looking forward to a thrilling game, even a space-themed game won't hurt here - except the fact that maybe you won't stand a chance against a full team alone, someone will get a shot on you no matter what, or will they keep flipping into oblivion?

 

Just recently I was looking for a six-versus-six battle in some map like Barda or Bridges, but quite unexpectedly I ended up joining one in Zone. One might think, what were you thinking, but trust me, it was both one of the funniest and strategic games I had ever played. One simply couldn't kill someone and walk up to the enemy base, grab the flag and come back - you literally had five other people to look for! What I did was simply camp on the ramp next to my flag and kept making shots by rocking my hull on the top edge or the ramp itself, and ended up with a nice crystal total of almost three thousand.

 

Whatever the mode, I'd safely place my bet that this map also serves as a great practice arena where you can work on your short and long distance aiming, cross-shooting, trick-shooting as well as driving through claustrophobic places and swerves/flicks which in the long run, end up being really important for winning games.

 

Some interesting facts:

• Zone was developed by the player GT-Razer.
• It also debuted a long time ago on April 23, 2010.
• It hosts a good total of eighteen Gold Box drop zones.

 

 

And so there you have it. If you are active in eSports, which map is your most favorite or the one you like to play the most. Let us know!

 

[BRO0088 1,724]

Nice

[r_Given6 859]

Great one. The best thing about such articles is that it's more about description than numbers and ratings that I usually skip through.

[Pyre 3,485]

Molotov is da best :D

[DragonOfStorms 2,706]

I'm not really active in eSports, but I love Red Alert. I'm not a fan of Bridges though. Too many bad MM experiences.

[Adab 2,897]

Nice & Interesting.  ;)

 

And, I just came to know that the maps "Zone" & "Station" were developed by Players.  :)  :ph34r:

Edited May 8, 2019 by adab_online

[Viking4s 10,791]

I'm not really active in eSports, but I love Red Alert. I'm not a fan of Bridges though. Too many bad MM experiences.

Bridges is great  and could be even better without the funny invisible hit boxes.

[Person_Random 4,991]

Maybe you could say "trivia" instead of interesting facts, and also color it so I can find it a little easier.

Edited May 11, 2019 by Person_Random

[Rhys 0]

Molotov has always been a map for me, too bad there is no MM for it, still it's a great map, sandbox is better for me in XP/BP, but Molotov is more dynamic and allows the players to learn its tight spaces and get around them, also a great map for OMP and general Parkour. : )

[Bydo 20,126]

great article . I finally found some time to read it.. all those maps are great , they had good snipping locations that others still have not figured out.. too bad there not in MM system . it would be more fun.. ( I understand one of them is but the others are not ) .