What's the verdict on the new map ground zero?

Yep a little too dark and the side beacons are annoying to get to if you don't have a flying/jumping/super OP meta fast bot to get there. I'm finding myself ignoring those beacons as half the time you will change them only for an enemy to go and reclaim it so you waste time just dawdling around everywhere.

The map does not really require skillful planning so it just becomes a FFA style battle. Head to centre area and just brawl it out or bounce around like a pinball between beacons.

Still, I'd rather that than Yamantao anytime of the day.

Yeah, I think I like it. I'm not a fan of the aesthetic - too dark, too alien - but it suits my playstyle very well. I agree with most of what others here have said.

I could not find a map of Ground Zero, so I did my best to make my own.  (I also found a secret DOM / BR sniper position on the map too and don’t forget to cap the “purple” beacon  ). Hope this helps the community…



PS. The new Yamantau map is not all you guys bash-on-it to be… there are some really cool positions to fight from, it’s mostly balanced from both drop points (Cdr. Crimmins , do your stats say otherwise?)  and there’s an ice ledge terrain hazard.  All in all, it’s much more balanced with the redux. YMMV

Thank you, but you, sir, are the true artiste!
<=== my forum icon is by gus169 (TM).

The Sham is balanced, it’s just that Yamantau was so much better. When I watch old videos on it you realize how much they squashed the vertical and how much terrain they took away… for what reason? It’s a shadow of the original IMO. I miss Yamantau. Pity I’ll never get to play on it again. 

Good to know you have the balanced stats to prove it. Thank you.

What I remember about the old Yamantau map when it came out, and I played on it a maybe a year, was that is was totally unbalanced for one side/drop-point and knife-fighting was next to non-existent due to it being a super-snipers paradise.   All in all, IMHO, re-sizing and re-balancing the new Yamantau was one of the few good things Pixonic has done to the game.  Oh well, haters gonna hate. Thanks again.

IDK… here is the old Yamantau map vs the new Yamantau map.

They moved A forward and B back. Removed the easy access ramp to Center between E and A (the old strong side). Reduced the sniper platform from in front of C. And shortened the map overall.  I don’t really see any “multiple levels” in either map… but when I played the old map I was 100% F2P when the Aries-train was finally challenged by the Leech-through-wall meta… having neither, I left the game thereafter, only to return in 2021.

OLD ===>


NEW ===>

A has been moved up twice. The old map you have there was the changed map. Originally A was farther back way out on a catwalk.

Even back then, there was no ‘good’ side. Both had their advantages and disadvantages.

I really enjoyed the vast space though. But we can’t have that.

You can see it in this early Adrian video. As well as attacking beacons from below. Man those weapons sounds were something else. 

The old Yamatau did not have the extra ramps to the side bridges in the center of the map, meaning the only way to get up on them in that area of the map was the treacherous center beacon. It made the beacon even more of a choke point than it already was, and meant skirmishes in the snow were not uncommon, unlike now where everyone funnels to center in some way.

I am fine with the extra ramps, but the downsizing of the map, death pits, and beacon repositions were entirely unnecessary. People complain about the map being a stalemate sniper fest, but with how fast and utterly indestructible modern meta bots are, I feel that sentiment is rather dated.

Back on topic to Ground Zero, it think it is a good addition to the game as all maps are, but I do think there is some wasted potential. As I said in a previous post and many others have pointed out, the aesthetic of the map feels kinda cheap and tacky, and easily is its worst aspect. If Pixonic toned it down a little, or played into it more like making the map have unlevel terrain akin to the background image or making the purple tornado more substantial (heals you, teleports you to random positions, moves around, literally anything other than a stationary map hazard), the map would feel more cohesive. Pixonic hyped up this map as the reason Earth was abandoned in the lore, but its visuals do not really communicate that.

On the other hand, I do really like its gameplay though. The crowded, more amorphous beacon placements make more battles even more hectic than Dead City or Valley, and the two far beacons serve as anchors to reward map awareness (go there if nobody is defending them). The small size means meta bots will dominate by being able to go anywhere in seconds, but they kill me no matter the map so I do not hold that against Ground Zero. Gameplay matters the most, and this map nailed that for me, justifying it in spite of its visuals.

I gave up on beacons a few years ago to focus on one game mode (cheaper and quicker than building bots for three modes), so yeah. As far as tdm goes, the side ramps make the map much more challenging for my prismas. The center isn't as fun as it used to be, but short ranged stealth bots have more options. Not a map for tanks anymore. Speed and range rule.

Too dark for my taste.