As you probably allready know, recently a new map was added called “Manor” in celebration of the “Defender of the Fatherland Day”. However after playing the map for a couple hours I can confidently say that it’s not a very good map. Let me Explain.
The map forces you into stupid chokepoints.
Infantry is forced through one or two tight hallways. This is because it is one singular building with a lot of open space around it. If infantry tries to go outside of the building they are likely to get shot. Another reason is that most of the building is litteraly one hallway that goes toward B from both sides. The map essentially becomes a game of “Who has the most grenades to throw, who has the better automatic weapons and who can put down their machinegun nest first.” A.K.A. a meatgrinder.
There is also an option for players to flank the entire enemy team contesting the B objective by moving up a pair of stairs to the first floor, move across and go down again.
Tanks are also forced into a singular chokepoint. Because of the spawns and the layout of the map they can only really stay on the outer side of the building. Here they are often picked off by infantry and AT guns.
To at least partially solve this, I think it might be wise to distribute caps differently.
For example, first point should be in the middle of the courtyard (there is already fortification built, so it would also make sense).
Second point should remain the same, on the first floor while second point should go to the second floor to avoid unexpected flanking (for example, you know you should expect enemies from the second floor, if cap there gets contested).
Such cap distribution would also make attics usable for snipers and AT sniper (tanks would play a role in contesting courtyard), so that might also solve the issue with a lot of classes simply not being viable on map.
It is just just a rough idea tho, it may also produce a disaster (controlling certain cap for extended periods of time would be impossible and who controls courtyard would also gain considerable advantage on the B point).
I would be interested to know what you guys think about such cap distribution (this map will remain SMG mainly disaster unless it is extended considerably and caps distributed accordingly, but at least it would also create space for other classes) before actually presenting it in feedback thread (to avoid swamping it with discussion).
Honestly just moving B to courtyard is enough, imo
You can still use CQC to go through the manor to A/C, but you’ll need tanks to enter the courtyard. Meanwhile snipers can use the 1st floor to snipe into the courtyard.
And manor itself might be safer route for infantry equiped with flamethrowers/SMGs and other close distance weaponry (so both teams would eventually fight inside of manor at smaller scale). I like that, but it is a shame that whole entire second floor will not be used at all (aside being a route to attic).
That may be possible too and I admit doing it the way you already suggested on official thread would be elegant, but I was wondering if it possible to give the place a bit more purpose instead of the generic two caps near each team spawn and one in the middle. Game is already full of that generic approach (pretty much every conquest so far got one near and one far spawn with middle being main battlefield more or less).
I may be overcomplicating things of course.
You either do this, or have all 3 be equally far from the two spawns, which would result in having most of the manor be useless as then B would where it is now, with a second cap in the woods, and the 3rd being in the courtyard
if you move ONE of the two caps up by a floor, then the issue will be that one side will have to travel further to cap their point, leading to some initial ticket loss to that side which will lower that side’s winrate.
Having two caps very close to each other but on different floors will result in that being the only area that will get played because if you control the other point, but not these two points, you will still lose, so there would be no reason to ever go to the third point.
So the only question is about where to move B, either outside the manor and in the forest, in a different part of the big building part, or in the courtyard. And I think that in the courtyard, you would get the best results. As then the cap becomes as difficult to contest as the capture points that are near either spawn (the latter being hard to contest as it is easy for a respawning player to walk to it)
Ok, I can see your point now as forest might again make snipers useless because of the environment, gates (while having some cover in trenches) are too exposed and courtyard is at least fortified.
Courtyard B it is then.
First impression of the map is that I like it, but it was a lemming graveyard.
I stuck to moving through the attics all game and ended up with 1 death at the very end. Nobody ever tried coming up into the attics after me, it was just both teams zerging B the whole time and ignoring everything but the same corridor while I was popping out of the ceiling to kill a squad, steal a gun, and go back to my hidey-hole.
Germans really need to get better about checking attics.
