Lots to chew on here! We’re going to deviate a bit here, but that’s part of why we have these conversations in the first place. Over the years of playing these games I’ve found I’m far more tolerant of things than many others as there’s only 1 of these maps I actively dislike, and then only for certain modes (Time Park). TT is a slightly different story though, which I’ll bring up when you post about it.
Garden Warfare: For me, GW has the best map aesthetics but as you indicate here, are dominated by Peashooters and Foot Soldiers on the high ground, and some long open sight lines that make Cacti very annoying, although I find Cacti worse on certain TT map points more than the non-TT maps. I’ll cover them in the order I printed them out on this sheet back in 2019 to remember the taco from GW2 on 8-27-2019! Ops in GW are fun but quite challenging and the greed issue with coins and no sharing of vanquishes for bosses and such make the Ops less fun than GW2’s.
- Zomboss Estate: love this map’s look although I wish we had a choke point through the center of the actual mansion as it limits flanks based on where the fights are breaking out. Good map for Ops as you can channel the zombies based on which garden spot you grab.
- Garden Center: I prefer the changes Aqua Center makes in GW2, but this map has a nice look if a bit too sniper friendly.
- Suburban Flats: The inspiration for BfN’s Daisy Drive. Love this map as it has some high ground, but much of it is easily accessible for characters other than Peashooters and Foot Soldiers. Lots of avenues to battle in and some lines for sniping but places to hide from them too. One of my favorites.
- Jewel Junction: Another favorite as it has the train that you have to avoid (reminds me a bit of that TF2 map with the train that precedes this one), lots of places to flank and another one with more accessible high ground.
- Sharkbite Shores: Decent map, especially for Ops, but not as memorable for me as many of the others. Can be super annoying if the Foot Soldiers/Peashooters take the very high ground in the center.
- Crash Course: This map is another absolute favorite of mine, especially at night. The mix of again, more easily accessible high ground, the low ground under and near the bridge in between the subdivision and the golf course, the wreckage from the crashed Zomblimp. Love it!
- Port Scallywag: This map has some camping and high ground issues. It’s not a bad map and another winner as far as the looks and style though.
- Chomp Town: Another favorite, and great for Ops. It does have some sniping issues due to how it’s laid out and a Sunflower linked to a Cactus on one of the big roofs can be a major pain for the zombies.
Garden Warfare 2: Barring Time Park, I largely disagree with those that don’t like the GW2 maps as much as GW. Ops in GW2 are the peak of all 3 games thanks to fixing the greed issue of GW and being difficult enough to be interesting and exciting without being too difficult or too easy on normal difficulty. I also love finding all the gnomes in these maps. I actually love the purple zombie coloration as it really makes things feel zombie controlled, but I’m apparently in the minority there. The mix of plant and zombie controlled areas are a personal favorite of GW2.
- Z-Tech Factory: This one is odd for private matches of team vanquish as the bots get lost, but for MP matches or the other modes, this one is solid fun and the teleporters add a lot of mobility. When the Zombot goes berserk it adds a nice wrinkle to the situation as well.
- Lunar Landing: Love the mix of normal and low gravity here. The various space ships look nice and I love the golf course. That one garden/graveyard point deep inside the base is a great spot to use for Ops too. Lots of love from me here.
- Time Park: A map that is widely reviled for good reason. The concept is fine, and it’s not terrible for gnome bomb and suburbination as you can’t camp on those modes as much as team vanquish and vanquish confirmed, but it’s too easy to camp on the vanquish modes, and playable on Ops, but the AI can get lost. My least favorite map of GW2 and of all 3 games.
- Frontline Flats: Top tier for me. The cannons help you get into battle quickly, the wall openings and tunnel create nice choke points, it has high ground but most can be reached by almost any character, neat layout and the mix of plant and zombie appearance is a great. Rough on Ops as all 3 spots are exposed to stray AI shots.
- Frosty Creek: This map gets more ire than it deserves in my opinion. As a Midwesterner, I can appreciate all the snow and there’s a lot of cross chasm shooting from the 2 opposite high grounds. The tunnel in the middle gives you some cover as well. Great for Ops.
- Colizeum: This one isn’t a favorite but it’s not bad, just not as interesting as usual. Good design around the outside so that while a lot of focus ends up in the colizeum itself, you can get some big fights around the outside too, especially in Ops.
- Sandy Sands: Love the Zgyptian aesthetic and most of the high ground is readily accessible. Good sniper lanes without being obnoxious about it. Great for Ops. The sand storms fit but I find them annoying to be honest.
- Aqua Center: The zombified version of Garden Center. Tactically better designed with the changes that give you more cover and make snipers less oppressive, but I think I prefer the original for looks. Another great Ops map.
- Zen Peak: Love this map’s looks with its eastern style and gorgeous sky box. Nice mix of high and low ground and a few sniper lanes that don’t dominate but are still strong for the Deadbeards and Cacti. Ops here give some very different styles thanks to how its laid out.
- Boney Island: Another winner as far as style and looks, but not a personal favorite. I like it more for ops than other modes, but it’s not bad. The AI has a weird habit of hanging out by the lava which can make things too focused on that ledge.
Battle for Neighborville: As we’re talking about non-TT maps here, it fares better than it does on the TT front. I like how gnome bomb lets you choose whether or not to pick up the gnome and they fixed that weird GW2 bug where the disarm/defend message bugs out and displays the wrong one. Suburbination is a mess as the change that makes the losing team lose even more was a terrible idea, and that has to be reverted for the next game. Mixed mode being pulled from all platforms, to only remain for weekly modes and private matches was the harbinger of the game losing support before it ever got fully fixed, and it’s still sad we never got more characters and Ops phase 3. Ops in BfN are straight up bad; super beans not having spotting icons, spotting icons in waves where no mobs actually spawn, lack of themed enemies, lack of pot/bot options, and so on. I’m not a fan of sprinting either, and had they given different characters different speeds like almost every other hero shooter out there, GW and GW2 included, as well as damage drop off, these maps would have been more fun.
- Colossal Fossil: The running mine carts add a nice wrinkle. I rather like this map to be honest, and works reasonably well for Ops (barring the one time we got a dill pickle stuck in the ceiling and only our lone Super Brainz could hit it so it took awhile to get this one done). Most of the fighting is in the cave but lots around the outside as well.
- Rocky Flats: The hot cheese means we have far too many people suiciding to prevent vanquish credit (Note: this is an issue in GW and GW2, especially in GW where you can respawn too easily, but the cheese makes it worse than normal); like Paladins and some other games like this; you should get credit for a player that you’ve damaged and they’ve been vanquished by terrain like that or being knocked off the map to prevent those people that pull that. This map is ok but looks better than it plays.
- Funderdome: Not a normal mixed mode map, but when we had those events to have team vanquish in this map it was really fun. Small and tight, the matches were fast and furious. It does have the same issue with the goop that Rocky Flats has with the hot cheese, but it’s a good time and I actually liked the battle arena mode and hope we get better success with it in the next game.
- Oozevoir: Laid out in a similar way to Colossal Fossil with a big central area and less important peripheral areas, this map was a neat idea that doesn’t work out all that well, although it’s ok for Ops. Not a favorite and could use a redesign as the idea is solid, but the execution is only so-so.
- Daisy Drive: Based on the classic Suburban Flats, this one is a favorite from BfN. Lots of rooftops, a mix of high ground and low ground, and enough cover and open areas to make sniper and counter-sniper play viable. My favorite BfN non-TT map.
- Z-tech Factory: The Ops spot isn’t a favorite to be sure and I’ve had lots of teammates get knocked off by the AI. The factory itself is too ‘normal’ looking and should be more zombified. It’s not a bad map for fighting on, kind of a middle ground for me.
- Runiy Ruins: This map is odd for a non-TT map as it’s either larger than most, or due to how its designed it feels that way. I like having the gnome influence in evidence here and the Op spot is decent, with above average pot/bot placement spots, but if you get a super bean boss, it can take forever to find it as the spotting icon is broken for them and it can be a pain to find it. Decent map overall, but could use a few extra high ground spots, like maybe some climbable gnomoliths.
- Pressure Pier: This one is quite good barring the lack of high ground to add that extra bit of verticality I like to see that mars it. You can get some nice running fights between the wrecked ship, up unto the beach, and then into the buildings nearby.
