New season, new solo maps


Season Three of the 2013 StarCraft II: Heart of the Swawm Ladder goes live May 1, 2013.

With the new season, some housecleaning will take place, as the map pool will be shaken up once again. The solo map pool will say goodbye to Newkirk Precinct, Korhal City and the beloved tournament map Daybreak to make way for several tournament edition maps which will be discussed in this article.

Derelict Watcher TE

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This two-player map features top-notch Protoss-inspired feel and design with spawn locations in the seven and one o'clock positions. A spacious main base allows for strategically-placed buildings to be hidden from plain sight, but also comes with the risk of surprise drops or attacks in fogged-out areas. A small yet comfortable natural expansion allows all races to expand easily for a transition to the mid and late game. Similar to the Metalopolis of old, an option for the third base is near the natural expansion, elevated with a large ramp for entry on both sides. Additional expansions can be found at the top or bottom of the map with a neighboring Xel'Naga tower for vision and destructible rocks to create new attach paths.

While the Xel'Naga towers near the corners of the map provide adequate vision, the center of the map is left unlit with the exception of a beacon or shrine that splits the pathway in two. Vision and control of the central area is crucial to success on this map as attacks can be deflected and defending against flank attacks is no more than a Stimpack away. Furthermore, tight airspace along the edges of the map allows for easier defense of the outer positions.

Early consensus of Derelict Watcher is favorable, with four out of five StarCraft players pleased with the new addition. Its polished appearance and familiar design should help Daybreak lovers move on from their loss.

Klontas Mire TE

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Perhaps the most unfavorable map addition this season due to its dark appearance and poor map design, optimists see Klontas Mire as breeding grounds for new styles of play.

A two-player, symmetrical map with a design reminiscent of Scrap Station, Klontas Mire features a decent-sized main and natural. The third base features a Xel'Naga Caverns-like natural with two attack points and a narrow side alley that leads to the opposing third. Destructible rocks guard an elevated fourth base as the map continues to expand vertically. Without Xel'Naga towers for vision on this map, players need to stay aware of the multiple attack points. Early rushes, run-arounds and flanks are quite common given the layout of the map.

Klontas Mire is the least-preferred map of the three at this time, with close to two out of three players disliking it due to its gloomy look, short rush distance and backdoor entrances.

Zerus Prime TE

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The final solo map to be added to this season's map pool, Zerus Prime is a larger four-player map with forced cross spawns. The main base is wide enough to extend from the natural to the third. Destructible rocks at the natural provide a backdoor route for attacks, but players should have no problems taking a third and defending both attack routes in the mid-game.

A quick glance at Zerus Prime suggests that it is the offspring Cloud Kingdom and Entombed Valley in terms of map design. The layout of the initial three bases, a fourth that expands toward the opponent in a central area, and a pair of Xel'Naga watchtowers that gains vision of the central pathway should be a familiar sight to tenured StarCraft II players.

Initial reviews of Zerus Prime are mixed, with approximately 55 percent of players giving the map a thumbs up. Much of the criticism regarding Zerus Prime involves the map size and layout, which encourages three-base max army turtle play. The destructible rocks at the natural forces players to either aggressively cut off choke points in the middle of the map or defensively turtle within bases, further adding to the argument that such macro maps are "stale and boring." However, maps like Cloud Kingdom and Entombed Valley before this featured many amazing games from pros at the highest levels of play. Hopefully Zerus Prime can recreate the same magic.

We hope you enjoyed the overview of Season Three's new solo maps.

Have fun!

by sawedust


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