bolofoo
2016-09-18 06:37:22
One of the most integral parts of the Counter Strike competitive scene is the maps that make up the competitive pool. As Counter Strike’s history has shown us many times in the past, even minute changes to the pool can cause ripples that can dramatically affect the landscape of the professional scene. In this article I will take a look at the current competitive map pool and not only evaluate the merits of each individual map but also outline the two biggest problems that I believe are currently facing the competitive playlist in the modern era.
Dust2 has been around in the Counter Strike scene for such a lengthy period of time that for some Dust2 is synonymous to Counter Strike itself. Be that as it may despite Dust2’s prominent relationship with Counter Strike numerous personalities within the scene have called for dust2 to be next on the rework chopping block. The reason for this is due to Dust 2’s illustrious history with the Counter Strike scene the entire meta game of the map has seemingly been figured out.
The tips and tricks, the intricate nuances, the defaults -- pretty much every aspect that makes a Counter Strike map so beautifully unique has been broken down and analyzed. Despite the gameplay going stale to a certain degree, De_Dust2 in and of of itself is not a poorly designed map nor one of the biggest problems currently present within the competitive map pool.
Cache is the child of esteemed Counter Strike personality Volcano. Originally introduced into the Competitive playlist through Operation Breakout, Cache has risen through the ranks and become a staple map within the competitive scene. Cache currently finds itself in a unique position within the scene. The metagame of Cache has evolved from its early stages, where the map was deemed to be CT sided, and now exists in a continuum where the Terrorists enjoy a significant advantage in the game.
This newfound T sidedness of Cache truly came into play at MLG Columbus, where Terrorist sides on Cache averaged 10 rounds throughout the entire tournament. Regardless one of the most beautiful aspects of Cache as a terrorist sided map is the fact that the map itself does not stifle variety in terms of tactics. Cache brings a unique terrorist sided flair to the map pool and looks to be one of the staples of the competitive playlist moving forward.
Mirage had been present in the echelons of Counter Strike for a long time, and in Counter Strike Global Offensive it finally managed to become an official bomb defusal map. In its current state Mirage exists as a Counter Terrorist sided map that frequently finds itself utilized by teams throughout the various levels of professional Counter Strike.
As a map, Mirage provides multiple avenues for a variety of teams to find success and as such throughout history some of the greatest teams in the world have tended to choose Mirage as their home map. Mirage has been an essential part of the Counter Strike Global Offensive map pool up until this point and it doesn’t seem like there is a reason for things to change in the coming days.
Overpass makes up a singular part of the trio of maps known as the Custom maps. Out of all of the customs Overpass is the least played at the higher end of the scene. At the last major, ESL Cologne 2016, Overpass found itself tied for the unenviable position of least played map with the new look Nuke.
It must be stated however that the reason that Overpass found itself in the same position as Nuke in terms of play time differed from the reason that Nuke found itself in the same position. The reason Overpass finds itself seeing a lower amount of play at the higher end of the scene is due to the fact that Overpass is the map in the competitive playlist that requires the most tactical depth in order to succeed.
That tactical depth that is required to succeed in Overpass plays a large part in why Overpass has found itself to be one of the least played maps in the pool, as teams who do not have a strong tactical foundation tend to find themselves floundering on the map. Overpass is an integral part of Counter Strike’s competitive playlist as it brings an additional spice of tactical diversity into high level Counter Strike.
Similar to Overpass Train is also one of the maps that finds itself grouped into the category of Custom maps. Usually teams that have adapted Train into their competitive pool have an advantage over the large amount of teams present within the competitive scene who are unable to play Train at an adequately high level.
In and of itsel,f Train is a map that rewards teams with interesting strategical sides to them evidenced by how two of the greatest teams of all time on Train have been Luminosity and Natus Vincere. An interesting similarity between Train and its sister map Overpass is the tactical depth that is present within both maps. The way Train is laid out the map allows a variety of interesting tactics to be played out and thusly brings unique and exciting gameplay into high level Counter Strike.
This most recent iteration of Nuke, which played a large part at the most recent major, has been a complete and utter failure. The rework for Old Nuke was intended to fix any of the issues that existed within the map. Sadly what ended up spawning as result of the rework can only be likened to Frankenstein’s monster.
Valve, in New Nuke or Newke for short, has created a poorly optimized abomination with several issues that prevent it from becoming a sufficient map for the professional scene. One great example of an issue that holds back Nuke from being a good map is the ability to plant on top of the silos as it simply gives too large of an advantage to the terrorist sides in post plant situations.
It does not take an expert fine combing through intricate details in order to come to the conclusion that this recent rework has been an abject failure. One of the easiest routes to improving the current competitive map pool is through either improving Newke or simply removing it.
Cobblestone is the third and final map that is designated as one of the “customs” within the competitive playlist. However that designation is where the similarities between Cobblestone and its custom siblings ends.
If one were to describe Overpass and Train as beautiful children than without a doubt Cobblestone would be singled out as the ugly stepchild of the group. While the unique map designs of Overpass and Train effectively allow a variety of different playstyles to clash on their stages the case of Cobblestone is something entirely different. The rework of Cobblestone has unleashed a map into the competitive pool that effectively limits the tactical depth of teams on the map.
Due to the poor design of the map one of the core mechanisms that Counter Terrorist sides use to succeed is effectively cut. Counter Terrorist sides are usually inclined to go out and hunt for information on what tactic the Terrorist sides are cooking up yet on the fields of Cobblestone this is impossible. As a map Cobblestone not only stifles different types of gameplay but also produces extremely generic gameplay regardless of the professional teams that are facing off. The most important measure that Valve should look to take in order to improve the competitive playlist is to do to Cobblestone what was done to Old Yeller many years ago.
While it would be unfair to describe the current state of affairs in regards to the Counter Strike as a map pool it would also be wholly false if one were to claim that the map pool was in a good place. Currently the competitive playlist contains a complete failure of a rework, Nuke, and a map that limits tactical diversity and breeds similar gameplay every time it is played, Cobblestone. Though people may complain that the gameplay on Dust2 has grown stale and that something needs to be changed the precedence of that matter must take the backseat when the map pool is faced with problems like reworked Nuke and Cobblestone.
While five out of the seven maps in the competitive playlist can be argued as bringing healthy gameplay into the competitive scene, yet there still remains work to be done to evolve the competitive map pool into one that the Counter Strike community truly deserves.
Follow the author on Twitter at @Jwong2903 for more CSGO pieces.
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