2nd Starcraft

Overall I think these maps are a step in the right direction balance-wise as compared to the last set of Blizzard made maps added to the ladder pool. There are a lot of similarities in various aspects of the terrain compared to the last update, however these maps have been more refined. All of the maps have a smaller easier to defend choke points at the natural expansion which is definitely a plus.

Some of these maps have question balance at some positions, however if the maps are edited to have cross position only spawn I think the maps have good potential. Also find it very curious why blizzard keeps making 4 player 1v1 maps, while neglecting 2 player maps.

Replacing Maps

The biggest problem I see with the maps next season is how blizzard goes with replacing the maps. There are two ways I see them doing this. One, replacing the older ladder maps as they have been played on either since beta or the release of Starcraft II or two, replacing the unpopular and imbalanced maps such as Slag Pitts, Delta Quadrant, and Scrap Station. I foresee a horrible map pool if they decide to go with the first option. These new maps are more like the second version of season 2s meh maps. They are noticeably better, however could definitely use improvements. If they replace maps like Xel’naga Caverns and Metalopolis the next laddering season could be very scary.

Test Map 1

An easy to take gold as a third was a nice addition to this map however I dislike the fact that it is cliffable because it gives a definite advantage to the player spawning counter-clockwise. It can be easily dropped and shut down. This means it would be more advantageous to take the farther gold as a third while the opposing player will get the close gold as their third easily. I think cross spawns on this map will be very cool to play, but a fourth might be a bit difficult to take.

I really like maps with multiple watch towers so it can give both players a chance to have control of a watch tower, however I’m not sure of the positioning of these watch towers. They seem like they cover a large amount of the map and with the high ground it could give an advantage to terran in tvz.

Test Map 2 Kerrigan’s Wrath?

This map seems like a refined version of Backwater Gulch to me. I would prefer a single small choke point at the natural however the destructible rocks do not seem as if they are placed in an awkward horrible position. This maps includes a very easy to take third base which is completely safe tucked behind your natural until the rocks a broken down. The gold is also a viable third, but much more open, which is of course what blizzard usually likes to do. To protect it would be imperative to break your own rocks and open another path to your natural. I do not think there needs to be rocks blocking the gold expansion for this reason. At least this map seems to have somewhat reasonable destructible rocks as compared to maps in the past.

Test Map 3

I question the balance of this map. At cross spawns it seems to be good as there is a clear option for taking expansions, however with close ground spawns the gold is the only option for a third and it is much more open and farther away from your base making it harder to defend.

This map does have an interesting watch tower placement as it seems you could easily block the tower. To kill the opposing players unit you would have to walk around though. Kinda interesting.

Test Map 4

Blizzard marked this as the “Macro Map” because of its easy to take third base, however this can be misleading because it has the same third expansion flaw as test map 1 only the second option for the third base is farther away making it a more noticeable flaw than on the first map. At cross positions I see this map being very fun to play on though.

The gold expansions are placed in the center as on Xel’Naga Caverns, which usually make them very terran favored with the option of the planetary fortress for terran, however with the easy high ground harassment this is less of an issue.

2v2 Map Overview

I love the fact that blizzard is using more maps with multiple team spawns. It puts more of an emphasis on scouting and makes it harder cheesy strategies like 6 pools and cannon rushing. The shared choke points are necessary to allow teams without zerg player to be able to defend the standard 2v2 cheesy aggression.

2v2 6 Player Test Map

This map is the first 2v2 map with a backdoor that isn’t horrid. Sure backdoors are extremely annoying and almost always imbalanced, but this map features a backdoor that is close to your normal choke point so the defending player cannot be caught horribly out of position like on maps such as Red Stone Gulch, Gutterhulk, or High Orbit. The natural choke point does seem small considering it’s a 2v2 map and could lead to retarded turtling you see in team games. Hopefully the backdoor will prevent this.

2v2 8 Player Test Map

This is a classic example of “blizzard balancing.” If we make an expansion for one player that is extremely easy to take we don’t need to give the other player a natural expansion. This means one player has to do some weird one base play and hope that it will secure them a second base. On top of that the middle located blue expansion is the second players “natural” except it is cliffable from a main base. Blizzard completely failed when making this map. I could go on, but I feel that the amount of fail is self evident…

EDIT- Added map images as well as a replacing map section and a 2v2 map section