Map feedback and balance discussion

[DaSud]

I am not the best to speak on this topic as I am not at the top of the ladder, and as such do not have the best insight and all the maps unlocked, so I am hoping some of my betters can speak to their experiences as well.

What I have been noticing though is that certain maps seem to have some biases towards certain COs which can give them a very strong advantage in a matchup against a different type of CO.

First example I'll make is middle oasis ( https://youtu.be/glreacieQbw ). The middle is filled with tiberium, and as such it is a very aggressive map, the action focused in the middle tiberium patch as that's where the harvesters are. I feel like Jade is at an advantage over other COs as catalyst missiles are almost always going to be headed into tiberium patches, and often scoring bonus damage on harvesters which adds up over time.

On two capture node maps, I feel like COs with aoe abilities like Solomon tend to have an advantage. One example might be great divide ( https://youtu.be/nWdiD_kjg6Y ) although on this map there is a specific terrain advantage for Kane as well, specifically behind the rock at the top and bottom of the map, which can cut off economy while forcing the enemy to push through a defended capture to do anything about it. On the flip side, one ion cannon right before a capture can be insta win if it clears the enemy capture (since there is no third tiebreaker capture). On battle quadrants ( https://youtu.be/_CMLf6brU1s ) Solomon is a pretty clear favorite, Jade isn't bad either since the missile clips one of the capture points and can do free harvester + possible army damage. In the linked replay, every single capture is won via ion, demonstrating how good this ability is on these type of maps.

I feel due to the random selection of the maps and the inability for players to veto maps, maps should be as CO neutral as possible to keep the playing field even. Often maps themselves control the meta, and certain map features can set the standard for gameplay. A good example in Starcraft is most competitive maps featuring chokepoints that allowed Terrans to perform a wall-in ( https://youtu.be/tVdhSyNdU3o ). This was due to Terrans having issues dealing with rushes from other races, and this maneuver essentially putting a minimum time in place before a rush can happen (this was expanded on in Starcraft 2 with supply depots that could raise and lower, acting as a gate).

Anyone else that can add please do.

[JadeXyan]

the occasional CO advantage isn't too awful but wow is Broken Mesa just the worst map ever, you want to talk about an advantage for Jade, just give me some artillery and a massive shield of tiberium to hide them behind while hitting almost all of the platforms.

Also we can't have a map veto since you only get 2ish maps per sector that you can play on till you max out sectors so you'd veto one map and never play on anything but the other effectively (aside from facing people in higher/lower sectors anyway), really the solution here is likely to redesign/replace the worst offenders. I'd also like for the map pool to be cumulative over time to negate this a bit better via wider map selection but I'm betting that's not happening.

[Fuzzjonesy]

Agreed that whole map pool should be in play, and that they should also tack on a choosing system.  There are plenty of examples for how this can work in a competitive context.  Would go a long ways towards balancing out CO advantages on particular maps while also increasing variety and fun.

As for likelihood of this going in, yeah, who knows.  The regular game balance update messages are great!  It's invaluable to the invested player to understand what's coming and why; keeps interest and builds trust.  Similar updates for the direction of the game and upcoming features would be similarly appreciated.