Ground Maps - A polite request for a BR review/ discussion

Game Discussion General Discussion
1

As the title suggests. With recent player frustrations about the quality of maps, rotation frequency and size of maps, I believe now would be a good time to review some of the BR caps placed on some of the maps.

As new maps are costly and time consuming to implement, a good short term solution would be to adjust some of these caps. This would allow us to remove some of the maps from higher tiers that are just inappropriate for vehicle capabilities at those tiers - ie much better mobility, auto cannons and higher muzzle velocities, and simultaneously refresh the stagnant feeling ground has at the moment.

Having had a flick through all of the maps available, there seems to be some red Herrings that could remedied almost immediately to positively impact the player base. Now, not everyone will be happy, but for the majority of the player base, I hope, this could be an improvement.

Some examples:

Carpathians - Current BR 2.3+ - Proposed 2.3-9.0
Advance to the Rhine - Current 1.0+ - Proposed 1.0-8.0
Fulda (Conquest 1 & 2) - Current 9.7+ -Proposed 6.7+ (to align with other Fulda maps of same size)
Ardennes - Current either 3.7/6.7+ -Proposed 3.7-8.7
Poland - Current 1.0+ -Proposed 1.0-8.7
Battle of Hurtgen Forest - Current Various but no upper limit -Proposed capped at 8.7
American Desert - Current 5.0+ -Proposed 3.0-10.3
Normandy - Current 3.7+ -Proposed 2.3 - 10.3
Pradesh (domination 1) - Current 7.7-8.7 (why) -Proposed 8.7+
Sinai - Current 1.0+ -Proposed 1.0-7.7
Seversk 13 - Current 1.0+ -Proposed 1.0-7.7
Red Desert -Current 9.7+ -Proposed 8.7+
Japan -Current 1.0+ -Proposed 1.0-8.7

I think you get the point. These are just examples/ ideas. Some of the BR caps are inconsistent and don’t make the most sense. But general purpose is to keep higher tier vehicles off of smaller maps. Should help with things like the early game spawn rush, the Gepard fatigue, make ATGM carriers great again, more interesting engagements.

I personally don’t hate small maps at higher tiers but there are so many that the experience gets washed out. Perhaps rather than applying the upper cap to all variants of a map, to apply it to some. This will keep some more variety and play to the people who enjoy them, whilst simultaneously pleasing the player base that’s looking for a refresh.

Apologies for the formatting, all done on my phone

8 Likes
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5.3 Max

7 Likes
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I agree for the smaller ones but 8.7 for that one bigger variant

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I played 6.7 German and almost every time it was a stomp.

I just seat my self in the single point cap zone and if the team doesn’t die too fast, we just kind of win and I get a bunch of kills.

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Overall I agree. More maps should be limited at higher tiers, and high tier maps should be dropped down slightly to allow for them to be playable for more tanks.

These are the only 2 I disagree with. I’d change that Pradesh variant to be 8.0+, and Sinai should be capped at 9.3 or 9.7. I find it to be fairly good and playable in 8.X and even 9.3 tanks, and I don’t think it should be removed for earlier MBTs.

I’d also like to suggest restricting Sun City to 8.7 at most, but I’d prefer it be removed entirely.

1 Like
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It seems each new map they make is an attempt to have it work for as many BRs as possible, and it miserably fails almost every single time, and older maps usually don’t work for higher BRs since they were made back when T-10, M103 and Leopard Is were top tier.

Every game mode suffers from it, less so in air, very noticeable in ground but naval maps are INSANELY BAD and CLEARLY reminiscent from the days naval was a single tech tree and most maps were first made for the tiny coastal vessels, actually THE most unbalanced maps I’ve seen in-game.

And well, new maps are introduced, they’re bad, sometimes pretty or ridiculously unbalanced, and nothing ever happens.

🤡.

8 Likes
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All good points, I don’t disagree. I played a match on Sinai a couple days ago with US 8.7 and it was Chaos . Wouldn’t mind slightly lower tier vehicles going to Pradesh either. Not sure it’s appropriate for anything <8.0 though, maybe some wheelie boys

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Having recently started playing Naval - some of the maps really make me scratch my head. Why am I in engagement range in my spawn? Like what genius thought of that

2 Likes
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Remember when Flanders was added with an old and modern version? We need that for all new maps, except instead of just changing a crashed Zeppelin to a crashed Galaxy, the modern version should be far larger.

7 Likes
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I would probably stop playing if Sinai and Carpathians got BR capped. They are perfect maps.

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Fair enough, they’re in my top 5 maps don’t get me wrong but I find at high/top tier they’re insufferable. It’s too easy to get into dominant positions with the vehicles capabilities that high up, some of the time through no fault of the loosing team

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It’s this “one size fits all” mindset that may have been passable a very long time ago. But, as more and more vehicles have been added, changing the dynamics of the matches a great deal, even with several new maps, it just doesn’t work anymore.

For ground maps, the layouts, terrain/obstacles might work well at some BR ranges that are set up and be entirely inadequate for others, this is problematic. But the static spawn points and identical capture points at every turn don’t really help much either.

It would seem like taking the existing maps, rearranging spawn & capture points to a degree that would be more “playable” for different BRs and even just to add variety would be a good solution.

Example: Tunisia, used to have 3 spawn points, basically one for each capture point . . logistically
They cut it back to 2 spawns for each side. And with the vast amount of players just letting the game pick their spawn and going to the default near the city(I still do not understand this), most games . … 2/3’s of the map is ignored most of the time. It’s better now, but again, this map doesn’t bode well once you get past a certain BR.

Air battles, specifically in AB which I play most, it is the same basic problem. While the terrain doesn’t matter that much, the spawn points and their location do.
Try taking an IL-2 out on Rocky Canyon and go for the Thunderer award . .
Even without enemy planes you’d be hard pressed to get 20 ground kills before the timer ran out,
it’s that big . . .
image

Nothing below low jet status should ever even see this map. Maybe if the spawn points were adjusted to suit the BR, but most aren’t.

I constantly get jet spawns flying 4.7 BR props leading to spending 60% - 70% of my time flying from spawn to the action . . . I stopped playing Air RB because of that stuff early on . . . lol
Ain’t nobody got time for that . … . . it just gimps the scoring and makes a lot of matches unenjoyable.

But the sad thing is I’m afraid, what we would hope/ask for in adjusting the maps and BR ranges that play them would have a time/effort(cost) obstacle that just makes it not very feasible or likely to happen . . . which is too bad . . . but… way of the world.

Why make 10 variations of a map that suits the most BRs when you can make 2 variants
and just let it roll?

C’est la Vie

5 Likes
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Yeah lmao, just notice how most maps have a perfectly balanced and clearly symmetrical area for coastal vessels’ spawns but the rest of the map for anything destroyer+ is just the enlarged landscape, 0 thought. They just expanded the playable area for larger ships.

1 Like
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It would be nice to be able to ban as many maps as we like. There are about 6 that I won’t play…i simply “Return to Hanger” when they are offered and grab another country’s tank. Giving more control over maps probably works better for the other players as well because they aren’t losing a player right out of the gate.

15

Exactlyyyyyy

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And Attica 1.0-2.3

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Carpathians, Ardenne, Poland, Hurtgen, American Desert, Sinai especially, and Japan are all great maps that shouldn’t be artificially restricted.

Pradesh should be made available to 5.7s, it shouldn’t be nerfed at all.
Red Desert should go lower as well.

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Sinai does not need restrictions, it’s probably the best map in the game right now.
Small Poland shouldn’t be seen above 8.3
I don’t like Hurtgen or Japan personally but they’re fine on any BR
Carpathians is heavily dependent on the skill of players. Sometimes it feels extremely unbalanced at high tiers, sometimes it’s amazing. On lower tiers it’s just fine in general.

But
Ardennes either needs a serious spawn rework or should be capped to just below where LRF’s become prevalent. That map is not fun when you can’t even leave spawn safely without getting tapped.
Eastern Province I’d rather see gone completely, but alas. Eastern Europe however is just far too cramped above 6.7. It needs to get out of high-tier matchmaking.
Pradesh/Red Desert work best either 8.7 or 9.3 up. WW2 matchmaking is not suited to their size and would give the cold war tanks around those BR’s too great an edge.

Attica I can’t comment on because I’ve had to use my perm-ban on that piece of garbage because it’s an fps black hole the likes of which I cannot comprehend (no seriously, why does that map in particular just tank it so badly)

6 Likes
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While I understand your sentiments, it’s just not feasible and defeats the whole purpose of “Random Battles”. Think of it like real soldiers, they did not have any choice in what, where or when they were sent to attack anything. We are actually given far greater freedom of choice than any real military personnel ever had . . . I mean everyone playing is literally their own General.

The “game” part of it all is . . .learning to make line up’s/presets that you can use on any map/mode that the game gives you for a match, regardless of the BRs or any of that stuff and you should find ways to win the battle, scoring as much as you can with what you have on hand . . that’s the game part.

Unfortunately a great many become obsessed with the “grind” and acquiring new vehicles(and of late “speed grinding” to top tier as if that’s all that matters . . it has become “meta” the past 4 - 5 years)
And they seem to lose sight of a good portion of the game and how to play it.

Granted, we all like different things and most are not going to play every mode, vehicle type or nation, and that’s ok. Find what you enjoy and do that . . . this is the way.

But the concept of “mass banning” maps would only lead to players focusing on certain maps to try and bypass the randomness and get past the progression model the game has had ever sine I started nearly 12 years ago.

It is not in Gaijin’s best interest for players to swoop up to top tier, play a while and get bored and quit.
They want us to progress, sure . . . just at a slower pace than most players would like . .

That is also, part of the game . . . ☻

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I love going to B on the large version and everyone ignores me and I snipe them