its been literal ages since i posted a forum topic, but i decided this would be worth it. recently i saw a vid from chrono where he ranked the custom maps from this game in a tier list, so i wanted to give my own take on it too (you can check out the video here: https://youtu.be/f3XtAo4eB2Y0). so, going from the order of maps in the tier list selection:
i will rank the maps that i remember playing. i will not deduct rating for flatter textures, but good ones help for sure. my full tier list will be at the bottom of this post.
1. area 1: lets start out with the pros, i think its a good map to use automatic guns in and the pillars are a good way to add depth on the ground to a rather very small map in which most other tiny maps fail to do. thats it. if you have gravity gun, m67, and shield, you can grav your way to the top platform of the enemy base, and just farm without any punishment. i think its the most farming map of warmerise history, because when you spawn, the enemy already has not only the height advantage, but also you cant see them until theyve already got you to low health. it doesnt matter how good your aim or movement is, if you joined late into the game, and in the losing team, the enemy team has already set up all the spawn trapping and theres nothing you can do about it. pretty much the deciding factor of which team wins the game is which one spawn traps the quickest. f tier.
2. cosmos base: i barely remember playing this map, but i really digged the theme of it. theres rarely custom maps in this game with a cohesive and fitting theme. that said, if i recall correctly, usually the pathways would just lead you to the same area, and it was easy to spawn kill. c tier, almost b.
3. croydon: again, its been years since i played this map, but really good visual design. its mostly the design that carries this map, but some chokepoints like the tunnelway that would lead you up to the blue team (or was it red?) i thought was good, i think its the only map in the game where the major chokepoint between two teams has verticality. my two major compaints are that despite the map being large, the actual space feels very confined and claustrophobic. the other complaint is that its pretty easy to get lost because despite the good design, there isnt anything to indicate whether you are in the blue or red side, because ironically the design is too consistent, and the veeeery long tunnelways make it worse. yeah the tunnelways are too long, but at least its after you engage with the enemy and decide to explore the enemy side. b tier slightly above c.
4. dapyramid: the layout looks really stupid first and foremost. i appreciate that theres verticality with the ramps going up to the top base, but its too damn steep to make useful combat out of it. the top base is just spawns the team way too close with each other, but funnily enough the weird long ramps leading up to it helps to not make it a spawn killing nightmare. you have a major advantage in this map with a gravity gun, moreso than most other maps. if you spawn at the bottom and you dont have a gravity gun, itll take forever to make to cover and youll probably get spawn killed. but at least its not instant like on area 1 due to how far away the platforms are from the spawn to spawn kill with cover. f tier but not the worst f.
5. dark arena: forever since i played this map, but i remember you had the go and walk around crouching through the pathways (like in secret lab red base where you have the boxes to stand up on and then crouch walk inside the small pathway towards the sniper tower), and that was basically all you did until you met the enemy team. correct me if im remembering this wrong and im confusing it with bdf's other map, but if im not, then it was a boring map to play in. f tier.
6. die rise: very popular map, the main things it has going for it are that its vast to explore, the visuals are good, and that i can tell a lot of the design took time to make because of the vast amount of content. rest, eh. if you dont have gravity gun a lot of that fun exploration bits are taken away, and its mostly a sniping map. and yeah spawns can be annoying because of how tall the buildings are, either lucky or unlucky depending on whether you have an auto or a sniper. b tier almost c.
7. doors: i have to get the main flaw out of the way, it is way too claustrophobic. now that being said, its very good for how small of a map it is. the tiny doorway in the center prevents spawn killing, and it makes you shoot with angles in mind like jumping up in your base to shoot the enemy team, or if you have to shoot someone through the doorway at an angle because they are hiding behind it at the opposite direction of you, or hiding behind the platform where they spawn in. a complaint i have though is the tunnels that make its way to your base and where people can shoot you from behind. there is no punishment for it as the tunnels are easy to get through and very narrow where there isnt much fighting you can do with movement or aim, if the person is walking towards your base in the tunnel and sees you before you see them and shoots you, they dont even have to aim because of how narrow the tunnels are and youre instantly dead. if the map creator is reading this, id suggest you take a page out of secret labs book and make the tunnels wider and add some spawns in chokepoints so that it could add extra depth to the map instead of it being one dude who walks with total clearance through the tnnels and easily kills people from behind. that being said, very high replayability and i love when a map like this is populated, so fun to play with auto in it. a tier.
8. drearyblock: its been a long while since i played this map but i remember it well because of how much i enjoyed playing it. its one of the few if not only sniper heavy maps where you can just aim and shoot without having to worry about bs like the fences blocking your shot in secretlab, third person peaking behind platforms like onlysniper, and also not having to worry about getting spawn killed because the spawns are below the sniping platforms. i also like the open area in the center of the map where anyone can walk through and make it to the other base and not just those with gravity gun, this also allows it to have more styles of weaponry compared to other sniper heavy maps. the center is also great for auto 1v1s just because its open without any obstruction. a tier.
9. future: i remember playing this map once and it was in a duel tourney, it had a pretty big exploit where the other person could shoot you where you couldnt see them. f tier.
10. icos: quite a fun sniper map, the platforms that connect the buildings are a nice touch too. meh everything else. b tier.
11. knight templar: rarely ever played it, the knight theme is neat and theres some cool sniper spots that most other maps dont offer due to the buildings, but every sniper is pointed at you if you spawn at the entrace. b tier bordering c.
12. maze 2018: useless map, easiest to get lost in (i wanna shoot people not go in a maze), and most of the time (as in almost the entire round) no action. f tier.
13. modern city: very good map, great for all playstyles whether you do auto or sniper. the midsection is where most of the fun is, where you flank the enemy team or get on top of the platform to shoot. very action packed map as well, even if you are a sniper you have a lot of people to shoot at and other snipers to duel who are on the same top platform as you. the biggest gripe is yes spawn killing but most of the time you have enough space to move around and also have enough time to see where the enemy is while spawn protected, which isnt the case for a map like area 1. theres a reason why a certain group of people moved from modern city to area 1 to spawn kill, it is a big risk to spawn kill the enemy if they arent guests playing on a school laptop. very high replayability, maybe the highest ive ever had on a map in this game, theres a reason why its so popular. s tier.
14. nuketown: fun map to auto people from the distance, fun to run around and kill people, but i dont like that the rooms in the buildings are so tight and small, gives a stark contrast to the rest of the map where theres good distance between players. b tier almost a.
15. onlysniper 2020: probably the best of the onlysnipers design wise, it does the sniping part very well. the clear walls make sniper battles pretty intense from person to person because both can see where the other person is going, so the shots have to be precise and quick. the humvee adds nice variation to the tempo of the game, and its a good risk/reward because youre using infinite ammo auto against snipers but youre totally still which makes you an easy target. i like the addition of the flying thingies, i think this was a necessary addition to the onlysniper maps so that people of all play styles can play. spawn killing with spawn teleporting isnt as easy to do with the original onlysniper because of the obstacles, and theres already a free way to get there with the flying things, so it discourages spawn killing and you have to get to those with the ladder so its again a good risk/reward ratio as its easy to snipe people going up ladders. the gripes i have with this map the spinny things on the lower platform are useless and the flying thing doesnt work all the time. and also once you do actually get to the enemy team, the area is too small so its easier to spawn kill compared to being in the base of the og onlysniper. a tier bordering on b.
16. onlysniper 2021: adds unnecessary depth to the formula, and the map is actually too big where it makes the "onlysniper" bit bad. there is travel in the shots and you have to lead your aim and aim higher like you would in maps like the road, i dont want a map like that i want to snipe. and speaking of the depth it does add, its not good depth, its just more people pointing snipers at you from different directions when you spawn, which is annoying to deal with. what it does good though is it prevents spawn killing better than any of the other onlysniper maps, but i get bored pretty easily playing this map and im sure most others do too. f tier.
17. onlysniper original: nostalgic. s tier. #freepampa
18. outpost: been a while since i played this map but i remember it took a while to get from one building to another even with gravity gun, everything was too spaced out. fun to use jet in tho. c tier.
19. rabwah: great map, i love the containers or whatever theyre called, makes for very good ground level sniping experience with people peeking and what not. the main flaw tho is how much of an advantage it gives to gravity gun users, they can easily run through the map and go on the top platform and shoot below where others cant. but the map is spacious enough with the obstacles where that hardly ruins the experience for other players. s tier.
20. ruins: played it one day, i just remember it being fun tbh. b tier.
21. sniper war: simple depthless sniper map, any other map does it better. f tier.
22. snow war: dont complain about mines and nade spam until youve played this map. f tier.
23. soltero: unique design and concept, but its wayyy too big. c tier.
24. spacex: nice theme, good map design, but with the way that most of the battle takes place in the top chokepoint, a lot of that design isnt being made use of. id suggest to the creator to expand that area or expand the entire map, the areas are a tad tight. high potential map tho. c tier.
25. the island 5: its like a worse onlysniper due to the distance. bottom f tier.
26. theisland 2016: deadass the only recent time i had genuine fun, as in laughing fun, playing this game. i wondered why is this map always nearly full even during times where every other map is empty. i got my answer. it gives me flashbacks of playing the road when i just started playing this game as a kid. next thing i know i played the single map for hours without even realizing. so, first and foremost, just like the road, its not combat heavy, its way too big for that. of course it lacks artifacts, but just going around the map with some guest who goes all over the place with the humvee and then crashing it or colliding it with the enemy humvee and sends it flying is fun af. a good break from kids moaning in secret lab. idk its like this map really highlights the npcness of guest players and its amusing to watch. another thing i really like is how to get the jet. no idea if this is intentional, but you have to first get the jetpass and then walk around the mid base carefully to then climb up the ladder to go to the jet. its pretty intense because if you misstep you fall on the water, so theres a pretty big risk to getting the jet. there is a way to ruin this map and thats by going to the enemy base either by coins or humvee and once reaching there to hide behind the region near the water using tpv to see the spawns and spawn kill. i think the creator should spread out the spawns and add more humvees to combat this. s tier.
27. voyager: good design, theme, and artifacts, but its big enough where its just preferrable to be a sniper player and theres already too many sniping maps. c tier.
28. zone 69: pretty generic sniping map but the main difference is is that the way to make it to the enemy team without catching fire is going up top and thats a choke point in itself. its also closer range than most other sniping maps which allows for autos. decent map. b tier. it reminds me of this older custom map from 2016 i believe but that one was done way better and was addicting to play in as a sniper. if yall remember what it was leave a comment.
the tier list:
