Maps that annoy you for trivial reasons

[RikOz]

Does anybody else find certain maps that just bug you for a silly reason?

 

For me, it's this map right here:

 

 

This is the main floor of this map. The floors reached by the elevators are always the same. The mission entrance is at the top of this map.

 

My "problem" with this map is the entire bottom section, including the elevator and the floor it leads to. It's all completely extraneous because every single mission I have ever gotten that uses this map is completely resolved by the second elevator. Regardless of specific mission requirements.

 

For example, the mission that finally prompted me to post this required me to click on four glowies and defeat a named boss. In this instance, the first elevator led to one glowie. The second elevator led to the remaining three glowies and the named boss. Mission complete.

 

In all of the times I've seen this map, there has never been any need to venture into the lower section or enter the last elevator unless I decide I simply want to clear the entire map. It just seems like a waste.

[Techwright]

Resolved by very specific two elevators utilized, or resolved by any two elevators used?   I can see the first as annoyance, the second adds a dash of player-choice variety, though admittedly it would be better if there was a random number of elevators used each time.

[RikOz]

37 minutes ago, Techwright said:

Resolved by very specific two elevators utilized, or resolved by any two elevators used?   I can see the first as annoyance, the second adds a dash of player-choice variety, though admittedly it would be better if there was a random number of elevators used each time.

Interesting question. I always take the elevators in the order I find them. Next time I get this map I'll try running down and using that bottom elevator first and see what happens. I always figured the spawn points were chosen when the map loads, but we'll see.

[Xalon]

That one and the never ending caverns that have like 5-6 levels going down. Also, any of the early Council cavern maps. Just ooof. The part with the 3 levels of water sectioned off with generators and scaffolding.

[Snarky]

6 hours ago, RikOz said:

Does anybody else find certain maps that just bug you for a silly reason?

 

For me, it's this map right here:

 

 

This is the main floor of this map. The floors reached by the elevators are always the same. The mission entrance is at the top of this map.

 

My "problem" with this map is the entire bottom section, including the elevator and the floor it leads to. It's all completely extraneous because every single mission I have ever gotten that uses this map is completely resolved by the second elevator. Regardless of specific mission requirements.

 

For example, the mission that finally prompted me to post this required me to click on four glowies and defeat a named boss. In this instance, the first elevator led to one glowie. The second elevator led to the remaining three glowies and the named boss. Mission complete.

 

In all of the times I've seen this map, there has never been any need to venture into the lower section or enter the last elevator unless I decide I simply want to clear the entire map. It just seems like a waste.

There is a story arc (redside, Cap contact?)  that gives this as a kill all, then again with a special requirement (which is indeed resolved in the 2nd elevator…). 

[srmalloy]

3 hours ago, Xalon said:

The part with the 3 levels of water sectioned off with generators and scaffolding.

A while back I discovered that there's actually a fourth level in the 'pool room' — from the entrance, go to the left side ramp to the lower level; when you go down the ramp into the main area, angle to your left, and you'll drop off the ramp, where you will be able to get under the ramp you were just on, where there is a '+' shaped area between the lower pools and under the walkways of that level. I found out about it when there was a lieutenant stuck down there as the last mob of a defeat all mission. 

 

Update: I happened to get the pool room on a Council map just now, and was able to screenshot the entrance to the real bottom level:

And even more entertainingly, although it wasn't a 'defeat all' mission, I found a Council mob there, in this bottom area under the lower pool level:

Edited Wednesday at 03:10 AM by srmalloy
Update with pictures

[Mr_Enigma]

Oh man, the blue cave "layer cake" room (although this one probably doesn't meet the thread requirement of hating it for trivial/silly reasons).  Each layer has so many holes in the floor to fall down to a lower layer (either you or the mobs you're fighting).

 

This room is better now that jetpacks are so available, but I wouldn't say that resolved my problems with it.  Before jetpacks my characters with super speed hated that room.  It was just an exercise in frustration.

[Biff Pow]

The streets layout in the main city maps get pretty annoying if you look at them too long.

[TygerDarkstorm]

My trivial annoyance is the office maps. Why is each floor halved with stairs to which we then take an elevator to move to another floor. The stairs halving a floor are also not ADA compliant since the elevators take you to a completely separate floor and not the second level of a single floor.

[MrAxe]

What insane architect designed the offices?

[MTeague]

It's even crazier when you realize how few of these "offices" have desks, chairs, cubicles, anywhere a person could actually pretend to accomplish anything. Even the high tech labs, apparently, every scientist is on their feet every hour of every workday, and they all really enjoy sharing the small handful of terminals that exist. Oh, and having no cafeteria or break room of any kind.

[biostem]

I don't know if it's more an issue with the maps or how players navigate them, but there are a bunch of office maps where you make a sharp turn, there's an open door with a room opposite of the direction you make that turn, and hardly anybody actually checks said room for enemies, invariably aggroing them and often resulting in many deaths... At least check if a room has enemies first!

[Paradox Fate]

2 hours ago, MrAxe said:

What insane architect designed the offices?

 

They are truly the Backrooms of the 90's.

With no windows on top of it.

[srmalloy]

3 hours ago, MrAxe said:

What insane architect designed the offices?

Maurits C. Escher, of course...

[srmalloy]

6 hours ago, biostem said:

but there are a bunch of office maps where you make a sharp turn, there's an open door with a room opposite of the direction you make that turn, and hardly anybody actually checks said room for enemies,

This is the room cluster often leading to an elevator where you have rooms to the left and right before the hallway turns left, with the right room having stairs curling back to a walkway over the hall to the left room, with the lower hallway making two right turns before a door to the right, then another right and a left turn? There's usually a spawn around the left turn, with another in the room to the right, and when you have hostages you need to rescue, they can spawn in the right room to the left of the stairs, and in the left room in the back left corner and/or on the elevated walk to your left, with another possible hostage position in the back left corner of the third room. The spawn locations are pretty standardized, and you get used to where you need to look. 

[JKCarrier]

On 9/23/2025 at 1:32 PM, RikOz said:

 

The bottom part of this map, what I call "The Swastika Suite", always annoys me when it turns up. I get irritated any time I have to keep coming back to the same central area over and over again. Another one on the tech maps is that bit where you have the four connected rooms, each with a big glass booth in the center. Very monotonous when you have to circle around each one in turn looking for hostages or glowies.

[Spaghetti Betty]

I have a few annoyances with lab maps myself! There's one specific set piece which is a tiny room with an elbow ramp, some computers lying around with a tiny nook and some piping overhead.

 

I can't tell you how many times I've tried jumping up to tag a mob on the upper level only to bonk my head on that piping! I just want to pull the mob down!

 

I don't like the Lab Equipment room either, the one separated into quadrants with the chambers in the middle of each quarter. It never fails that there's a lingering bystander or two hiding around one of those preventing a Defeat All from clearing.

 

You also have to get insanely creative with LoS pulling in some of those rooms. As a melee AT main, this is just another splinter into how long it can take to get through some of the larger instances of labs.

 

And don't get me started on the GR lab maps! I hate those more!

Edited yesterday at 03:12 AM by Spaghetti Betty

[Gulbasaur]

17 hours ago, MrAxe said:

What insane architect designed the offices?

Infiltrating Paragon City as an evil architect under Arachnos has unironically been part of my character backstory for years on my Fortunado. 

[mechahamham]

I respect the Layer Cake Room for what it is: a trap to split teams. It's very effective at its task. Telling your team 'work down and then up to the top' is really all you need to keep it manageable.

 

The Council Caves water room can die in a fire. If I never encountered that room again, it'd still be too soon.

 

 

[RikOz]

18 hours ago, JKCarrier said:

The bottom part of this map, what I call "The Swastika Suite"

LOL, that's more or less what I call it, too :D

 

17 hours ago, Spaghetti Betty said:

I don't like the Lab Equipment room either,

I had to ask one time what purpose that "Lab Equipment" serves aside from being something for blasters to inadvertently tab-target and waste attacks on. Was informed that getting caught in the explosion can result in a random buff or debuff.

 

48 minutes ago, mechahamham said:

I respect the Layer Cake Room for what it is: a trap to split teams. It's very effective at its task. Telling your team 'work down and then up to the top' is really all you need to keep it manageable.

Yup, that's how I do it (always solo, though). Jump down to the bottom level and then work my way to the top.

[OmegaOne]

Pretty much every blue cave map. Too claustrophobic.

[srmalloy]

5 hours ago, RikOz said:

I had to ask one time what purpose that "Lab Equipment" serves aside from being something for blasters to inadvertently tab-target and waste attacks on. Was informed that getting caught in the explosion can result in a random buff or debuff.

And MMs have to be somewhat proactive about henchman control -- they're stupid enough to go in after the lab equipment and die in the blast.

[Techwright]

19 hours ago, mechahamham said:

I respect the Layer Cake Room for what it is: a trap to split teams. It's very effective at its task. Telling your team 'work down and then up to the top' is really all you need to keep it manageable.

 

 

Down-then-up is only effective until the knockback enthusiast on your team starts yeeting the opponents into the center space.  Then you're headed back down again.  For this reason, I'd personally prefer to start top and work down.