Reasonings:
S-TIER:
- Lunarbase offers enough vertical play and alternate routes that every class has an area of the map where it shines, and coordinated play is relatively balanced between offense and defense as long as the map population is appropriate (<9v9)
- Echobase has one of the better vertical areas in the game, where Imps can use mandos and sith to pressure rebs on the catwalks while also being at a disadvantage if rebs manage to take too much space. Also, the objective is good to play around, where you can choose to defend it directly from the hangar or flank from other routes.
- Citadel is
only S tier due to updates made by Frenzy which have not made it to live. The
current version I would probably put in B tier, as one route to the capture point is basically empty with no cover, and the central capture point is basically unusable sans deka or mando rushing it.
- Onderon forces defenders to spread out to defend secondary objectives, and allows for very fast rotations from attackers. There's a slight lack of cover near the tower objective, and Imp spawn can be camped somewhat, but the balance between offense and defense in competitive play and rapid counterplay means it gets S tier.
- Deathstar straddles A and S tier; while the ability to reach the control room from multiple routes and new elevator have given attackers a number of ways to approach the Falcon, droidekas can practically invalidate the lower corridors from being approached, and there are multiple narrow hallways, especially the Comm Room staircases, that can easily be camped with fire nades and SBDs to make attacking hard. Also, the ultra-long sightline in Main corridor to the Control Room Elevator can be held open by a teammate while a disruptor picks off opponents from a distance too far to counterplay. However, it's still probably the most played map in the game, and the quick final objective necessitates teamwork and awareness to defend, so I kept it in S tier, as long as deka is not being abused.
- The updated Fuel Depot (with slippery roofs and added cover) allows for varied attacking strategy and a number of ways to defend the two objectives, each offering numerous ways for different class builds to shine (i.e. bowcaster wookiee is stronger attacking the ship, while melee wookiee is stronger attacking the hangar). The map does have some clutter and is a bit sniper-heavy, but otherwise is a strong map.
A-TIER:
- Telos only has a couple issues: The ultra-long sightline that allows snipers to shoot from near the shuttle all the way down towards the benches near the cantina entrance, and the narrow ramp that leads from the cantina to the shuttle itself. The first allows for a disruptor to have unparalleled long-range dominance with little counterplay besides avoiding it, especially if a teammate is boosting it behind some cover, and the second allows for an SBD, concussion nades, lightning sith, and fire nades to hold the area extraordinarily easily. Otherwise, the offense/defense dynamic is still fairly balanced, and the ability to change strategies between rushing the shuttle or rushing the ramp to the 2nd hack is very fun.
- Theed also is a very interesting map in that defenders cannot simply run back to the final objective: they have to hold the courtyard. However, this is problematic for a couple of reasons: Mandalorians can fly and gain height advantage over almost any Jedi class, allowing them to rocket or snipe enemies from beyond audible range. Also, disruptors don't have much counterplay early in the level. However, both of these issues can be overcome with the right strategies and patience. However, droideka makes Theed extremely difficult to attack, and if Imperials survive to retreat to the final objective, it is very difficult to attack effectively. Regardless, the map incentivizes rebs to kill as many as they can early in the game and to take map control, and it's also a uniquely large and open map.
- Corellia is problematic for three reasons: The hangar has very little cover in the center, the cargo room has too many tall objects that give defenders an automatic height advantage, giving mando rockets and snipers insane value, and the vents are
tiny. The vents allow basically two people to prevent rebs from reaching the catwalks above; a disruptor at the other side of one vent and an SBD playing close up to the other, using its body to prevent attackers from jumping up. However, Corellia still has multiple secondary objs that cannot be camped easily and forces defenders to rapidly switch from defending the cargo room to defending the hangar at a moment's notice, which adds dynamic gameplay.
- Yavin (
with beta edits) is hard to judge. 50% of the map near Imp spawn is unused, which makes it difficult to understand why the runup to action is so long. Also, the fog makes snipers hidden in fog especially powerful. However, the map has an interesting dynamic of being more open and having a frontal assault with bomb carriers. The map demands teamwork both to aggress and defend, with counterplay for most tactics, so it goes in A tier.
I would put the public version of Yavin in B or C tier, due to it funneling all attackers through only two gaps under or beside the wall.
- Scarif is special because it has two distinct objective sites and multiple ways to get to each site. However, the map suffers from two things: the bushes make enemy visibility horrid on occasion, and sense nearly invalidates the size and branching pathways of the map because it can nearly see from spawn to spawn. However, in terms of dynamic gameplay and team coordination required, Scarif is nearly unmatched
- Smuggler (at 6v6 or smaller) is a great map, with both sides needing to play offense and defense, as well as rapid rotations and height changes between areas. However, the map is not S tier due to its small size limiting playability as well as how easily respawns can be camped.
B-TIER:
- DOTF (classic_b) suffers from too-long hallways, defenders having innate height advantage, the ability to waste time in generator with mandos, and a throne room with only two entrances and an excess of campable cover. In essence, if Imps play to win on defense, they should win 9-10/10 times. Still, in open, it's one of the few maps capable of supporting high pop (>12v12) without feeling too cluttered, and niche tricks like arc bouncy pistols may help you counter some of the sniper issues. However, if Imps have a deka who knows what they're doing or a stack of fire nades, just disconnect. It won't go well.
- Nar Shaddaa: Basically only B tier, because Lower is just 4 hallways with little dynamic counterplay underground, and having control of the tower with snipers aboveground is so powerful. However, preventing Imps from falling back to the final obj is a great choice, and the map would play quite well if it weren't for Mandalorians being able to fly aboveground and fire nades preventing the hack in Lower in conjunction with the electrical hack being so strong.
- Alderaan: Maneuverability is awkward on occasion, with lots of clutter but not a ton of cover. Also, defenders have a nearly constant height advantage, making grenades incredibly strong. However, can be playable at low pop.
- Dxun: Suffers from odd geometry and sightlines, as well as a timing issue where imps can defend the entrance to the secondary obj before rebs even reach the door, making it almost impossible to get in if played correctly. However, a 3-pronged approach to the final objective makes camping inadvisable, and there is a good amount of rotation and coordination required to be played well.
- Jabba: Bit of a meme map, but if played seriously can be fun. The main issue is that the lower area to the left of reb spawn is almost impossible to push if Imps try to hold it and have enough fire nades. Additionally, dropping Jabba down the hatch can be difficult to deal with if Imps have enough fire nades to cover the hole and teammates to stall upstairs. However, Imps don't have an innate height advantage, and almost no two rounds will play out the same way if Jabba is taken a different way, which is unique and worth mentioning.
- Mustafar: Honestly, I'm not sure if it deserves B tier, it could go in C. The open bridge areas near Imp spawn with no attacker cover, the long and narrow doorways that funnel in attackers and make rage wookiee overpowered, the tiny objective room that has a number of hiding spots that attackers cannot check without entering, all of these are major hindrances to gameplay. However, the map is fun enough in open, and enough nades in attackers' hands can somewhat offset these issues, which is why it's in B tier.
- Endor: Number 1 thing holding it back is the invisible door glitch. Next is the open outdoors area, though what purpose it serves I'm not sure. The objective is also a bit cluttered and not really a dynamic double objective like Lunarbase. However, the map has a decent amount of cover inside the building for both attackers and defenders, and there are flanking options if defenders jump out of the window or if attackers want to pinch the objective from two directions.
- CTF Deathstar: Best thing is lots of routes. Most annoying thing is lots of routes, meaning you either go main and find all the action or go elsewhere and get into enemy spawn with no backup. Also, CTF has its own set of issues regarding defense and how strong camping is. However, I think it's the best CTF map, and damn well has less funneling than some other maps.
Selections from C-TIER and D-TIER:
- Kamino: Useless outside area with a huge runback, and the final objective has only 2 approaches through fairly narrow hallways that make sonic nades pretty useful, conc nades more useful, and melee wookiees even more useful. Also, just to enter the building, imps need to file through two or three tiny doors. Tiny doors suck!
- Star Destroyer: You can prevent rebs from getting out of the hangar or secondary objective area by holding, again, two doors. Side route has two doors, making it a huge killzone funnel. Even if you get past those areas, the final objective room has height advantage for defense, with mandos able to perch on top of rafters or turrets, and the hack is almost totally exposed, making it difficult to do the obj at all.
- BOC: Huge open area, defending R2 is basically impossible, the tram is a timewaste, blah blah blah blah. WHY ARE THERE SINGLE FILE ELEVATORS THAT TAKE 10 YEARS TO GO UP??!?!?!?! It's just camp city.
- Jedi Temple: The council hack is a huge waste of time to get and takes you out of the action, the door from Library to Interception is tiny, Science Hall has no cover, there's almost no rotating for offense or defense, decontamination takes ages and makes flanking the beacon really slow, Imp spawn is a huge open room with 0 cover for.... reasons? I'm tempted to put it in D tier now.
- Cloud City: Side route is campable with mandalorians perched on a ledge and is practically uncounterable, especially since you then walk right into a crossfire. Main is basically also just an open space, and the objective is so slow it's basically impossible. Imp spawn is huge for no reason incentivizing timewasting, half the map is unused, etc etc etc. I should've put this in D tier.
- Commtower: Tiny doors, narrow bridges and hallways, imps can rush grass before rebs get there and bottleneck the entire team with a fire nade. Bridges allow mandos to fly behind pillars so you're never safe. Defense 10/10 ez go next.
- Starkiller: DOTF has similar issues, but this one is even worse. The hallways are even longer with even more dubious amounts of cover, and the central junction has 0 cover. Actually, 80% of the map has 0 cover. The torture room leads to a narrow staircase that is easily cut off by a fire nade and a sniper/SBD combo, and the objective takes ages.
- Tantive, aka elevators and narrow hallways. Both are bad for gameplay, since you get bogged down in them and can't approach certain areas without being camped.
- Republic Cruiser: If rebs successfully retreat to the final objective without the elevator killing them, winning is basically assured. The elevator is easily camped on defense and rotating between the main approach to the bridge and the floor above takes almost a minute, which makes it practically useless since Sense 3 exists. You walk straight into nade hell and a crossfire with snipers in the back ready to pick you off, defense 10/10 ez go next.
- Enclave: Put a mando on the ship, a fire nade on the elevator, a deka in the side corridor with a disruptor, and rebs are stonewalled. Defense has constant height advantage and every path to the ship is either up a ramp or in a narrow hallway, maybe both. Defense 10/10 ez go next.
- Coruscant Chase: If defense stays indoors with a jedi and rage wookiees camping the entrances, they win. 80% of the map goes unused, defense wins 10/10 ez go next. Also, what is the point of separating the vertical areas so much? You basically bottleneck gameplay at the elevators and prevent rotation from almost any class besides jedi and mando.
- Tatooine: Snipers are dominant, but beyond that, defense just needs to camp one tiny door and a hallway to win. A fire nade completely destroys any reb rush through the door, and imps have a crossfire and height advantage from the ship on anyone trying to come out of the hallway. Defense 10/10 ez go next.
GENERAL MAP ISSUES:
- Long narrow hallways: Say hi to the fire nade, the disruptor, the droideka, and the SBD.
- Tiny doors: Fire nades, rage wookiees, Jedi corner camping, snipers
- Defensive height advantage: Basically the only map where this doesn't apply is Echobase, and that's because a Mando and Sith rush can contest them on even ground, and also a Sith can shark players through the floor if they're not careful on those walkways. Otherwise, defense nades reign supreme, gg /ragequit. Also, see Mandos on Theed rooftops with snipers and rockets.
- Huge runups to the action: Makes respawn classes depreciate in value and also takes away from the fun. Also means a lot of the map goes unused later in rounds.
- No paths for rotation: See Jedi Temple and why running back through spawn just to go a different path takes forever and drains away fun.
- No cover: See Jedi Temple, Science Hall.
- Campable OBJs: See dotf_classic_b, Theed final obj. Bigger/more entrances are better.
- Lack of paths overall (not just rotation-wise): See Star Destroyer, and how only 2 paths means defense can just prefire a couple doorways and win.
