Least favourite map?

[MoonSheep]

After running a few blue cave missions and then the KHTF red cap mission which is ridiculously cramped, I’d like to hear your thoughts on worst map in CoX

 

My nomination would be the arachnos base style maps - They make no logical sense, e.g there is no steps up to the lifts and often connecting areas have a ledge between them. Do arachnos climb around their base? If they have all this power and money why don’t do they design it properly?

[srmalloy]

5 minutes ago, MoonSheep said:

If they have all this power and money why don’t do they design it properly?

Because of Lord Recluse's light sensitivity, the bases have to be kept so dark that the construction crews can't see what they're doing.

[SteelRat70]

Not necessarily an individual map, but as it's clear that maps are made from joining bits together, the bit or "map component" that does my nut in is that multi-levelled cave section that is common with Lost and CoT missions.  Lots of levels, lots of nooks and crannies; solo you can spend more time looking for mission completing final mobs than in the rest of the mission itself, especially in "Defeat Boss and his crew" missions.  In addition it's generally spherical shape means lots of possibility for a mob to get KD'd pr KB'd under an overhang and then get stuck in the wall or roof when it gets up.  If you don't have any sort of fly power, it can be very difficult finding the way out once you get in as well!

Ugh.

[Uun]

While the Arachnos maps won't win any awards from Architectural Digest, they're far from the worst. The blue caves were designed by monkeys on crack. That 5-level wedding cake room in the blue caves is awful, as is that other multi-level room where you have to loop around to the upper level to find the passage down that leads you out. I like the aesthetics of the Oranbega maps, but there are a few that are just way too big. You always get them on defeat alls or find the 21 magicians. There's also that ridiculous room with the spiral path leading to the top of the tower.

[Snarky]

As Uun rightfully pointed out the two cave maps are hard.  I get this “unfair” feeling when I get one where I might have gotten a tiny two arm cave map. 
 

But how many of you have experienced the time sink of the Arachnos “reactor room”.  This beauty is wide open and probably 15? Stories tall.  Ramps and mobs everywhere.  I got this map on a flashback badge run with no travel powers looking for a glowie once.   There are elevators you have to know about to take you to platforms the ramps do not go to…..

Edited January 22, 2023 by Snarky

[Luminara]

1 hour ago, MoonSheep said:

My nomination would be the arachnos base style maps - They make no logical sense, e.g there is no steps up to the lifts and often connecting areas have a ledge between them. Do arachnos climb around their base? If they have all this power and money why don’t do they design it properly?

 

For the same reason the walls are made of chicken wire.  They were all designed by Richter when he was 5.  He probably wanted blanket forts, but decided that "metal stops bullets".

[Greycat]

Most Arachnos maps, but probably highest among those is the reactor (or whatever it's supposed to be) room... especially when there's a "kill all" or "lead hostage out" in there.  Just so much wasted or otherwise annoying vertical space.

[Monty Haull]

2 hours ago, Snarky said:

But how many of you have experienced the time sink of the Arachnos “reactor room”.  This beauty is wide open and probably 15? Stories tall.  Ramps and mobs everywhere.  I got this map on a flashback badge run with no travel powers looking for a glowie once.   There are elevators you have to know about to take you to platforms the ramps do not go to…..

I remember this map!  I first encountered it during a patron mission.  You can't see very far and if you fall off the ramp ...

[Go0gleplex]

Pretty much all of the dark ones, my vision isn't what it used to be after all. 😉 

 

I've been in the engineering field for several decades and can see a certain level of practicality in both the Arachnos and Council bases in their construction. Arachnos have all the ledges to allow for multiple firing points in a low light environment and dark uniforms, spiders striking from all around. The mesh is also deliberate for visual disorientation as well as lighter to transport, faster to assemble, and provides flexible attachment points for, piping, conduit, and other appurtenances. 

 

The maps that actually bother me due to my profession are several of the city sectors such as Skyway and Boomtown. A lot of engineering and physics do not/would not structures. *chuckle* The downsides of a former workaholic...too closely tied to work. lol

[tidge]

One of my least favorite maps is the Orangeban massive complex that is used as a "Rescue 8/12 whatevers from the Circle of Thorns/Malta". There are simply too many hiding places for the folks in need of rescuing, such that I find it difficult to even clear the map such that the 'red triangles' will appear. It is a combination of map size, geograpy, and hidey-holes that I find extremely frustrating.

[Snarky]

17 minutes ago, tidge said:

One of my least favorite maps is the Orangeban massive complex that is used as a "Rescue 8/12 whatevers from the Circle of Thorns/Malta". There are simply too many hiding places for the folks in need of rescuing, such that I find it difficult to even clear the map such that the 'red triangles' will appear. It is a combination of map size, geograpy, and hidey-holes that I find extremely frustrating.

yeah, one Blueside mission has (i think i remember this horror correctly...) rescue seventeen!!!

[Luminara]

The one that bothers me is the office map with something like 17 floors.  It doesn't bother me because it has 17 floors, it bothers me because 10 or 11 of those floors are nothing but a short corridor to the next elevator.  They aren't populated with critters.  They have nothing interesting or engaging in them.  They exist solely to add time to the mission.  It's lazy design, and as an explorer-type player, the least rewarding to play through.

[TheZag]

I dont like maps with branching elevators,  especially when its a kill all.  I usually get everything on the first pass but when something gets missed its a pain to backtrack and retrack and backtrack and front track and side track through all the elevators to find a few enemies.

 

[Oubliette_Red]

5 hours ago, Snarky said:

As Uun rightfully pointed out the two cave maps are hard.  I get this “unfair” feeling when I get one where I might have gotten a tiny two arm cave map. 
 

But how many of you have experienced the time sink of the Arachnos “reactor room”.  This beauty is wide open and probably 15? Stories tall.  Ramps and mobs everywhere.  I got this map on a flashback badge run with no travel powers looking for a glowie once.   There are elevators you have to know about to take you to platforms the ramps do not go to…..

 

Definitely my least favourite map.

 

I explored every nook and cranny of Morrowind so the cave maps never bothered me and I actually liked the one with the hidden hook-back. When I first started playing it took me a while to ignore the water pools in the cave maps because I was worried I might be overheard by mobs. I later found out at a HeroCon why the cave maps were reminiscent of Morrowind cave maps... but he made me promise not to tell.  ^.^

 

[tidge]

2 hours ago, Luminara said:

The one that bothers me is the office map with something like 17 floors.  It doesn't bother me because it has 17 floors, it bothers me because 10 or 11 of those floors are nothing but a short corridor to the next elevator.  They aren't populated with critters.  They have nothing interesting or engaging in them.  They exist solely to add time to the mission.  It's lazy design, and as an explorer-type player, the least rewarding to play through.

 

Can I just say this? I like it when the office building maps start on "floor five", so I know exactly what to expect.

[cranebump]

Cake rooms in cave maps, and Crey Labs where you have multiple vators on one floor and you have to backtrack.

[Clave Dark 5]

Any map that the speed runners leave most of the team behind on, facing spawns that are red or purple and likely to trounce us for the unpardonable sin of not taking stealths.

[MHertz]

Least favorite maps: outdoor city maps with hostages.

[LegionAlpha]

The last room and it is the "cake" area. Kill all mission is the worst, multilevel of doom and there is always one hiding.

Edited January 23, 2023 by LegionAlpha

[DougGraves]

There is at least one cave room that has "hidden" exits.  They have weird ramps going up and down and in some weird side nook is a passage leading out.

 

I can explore the room for 10 minutes before finding the passage - and there is no indication that it exists.

[lemming]

On 1/22/2023 at 4:46 AM, Snarky said:

But how many of you have experienced the time sink of the Arachnos “reactor room”.  This beauty is wide open and probably 15? Stories tall.  Ramps and mobs everywhere.  I got this map on a flashback badge run with no travel powers looking for a glowie once.   There are elevators you have to know about to take you to platforms the ramps do not go to…..

That is my most hated room though thankfully, it comes up rarely.

 

Full maps:

• The last map for the shard TF that is a foggy cave.
• Oranbega, mainly because of those gd torches.
• Any map with the surgery curtains that are made out of toughonium

 

 

[srmalloy]

On 1/22/2023 at 4:22 AM, SteelRat70 said:

as it's clear that maps are made from joining bits together,

And when you get a 'black wall' across a hallway -- you see it more often in the yellow office maps that were added for CoV -- it's a sign that the segments didn't get lined up right, and the rendering engine thinks the hall ends at the joint. The collision mesh is more robust, which is why you can just walk through, but it can be a surprise if there's a spawn on the other side.

[Snarky]

1 hour ago, srmalloy said:

And when you get a 'black wall' across a hallway -- you see it more often in the yellow office maps that were added for CoV -- it's a sign that the segments didn't get lined up right, and the rendering engine thinks the hall ends at the joint. The collision mesh is more robust, which is why you can just walk through, but it can be a surprise if there's a spawn on the other side.

I cannot recall ever encountering this

[Meknomancer]

The 'new' Praetorian maps. Open a door. Walk 2 feet. Open another door. Walk round a corner. Open another door. Repeat for 5 minutes til you encounter a mob. Then start over. 

[SaintD]

Whoever made the tiny caves and the Arachnos reactor tile hated all human life.

 

....that person left an apprentice who made the Praetorian mega sewers.