Burning Sea

Burning Sea is one of the most complicated maps every created. Not only does it have land warfare, but the river systems throughout the map make it one of the cruelest and unforgiving maps in the game.

The map is split into three sections; "The Mainland", "The Kill Zone" and the "Outer Isle". The description for the map has been edited over 34 times until a Developer finally locked the description so it would never be edited again.

"There is a small island known as Perla Isla which lies just south of the entrance to the Panama Canal. The United Warriors and the Roaring Tigers have been fighting for control of this area for some time. Your team has been sent to secure this island where a large tanker ship has been attacked and run aground. Leaking burning oil, the ship is the latest victim of enemy forces that have seized this area. This specific island is now a haven for the enemy who are interdicting friendly ships. It's time to take control of this place once and for all."

South of the "Outer Isle" you can actually see the ship. While it isn't on fire it is one of the few maps whose detail actually confirms the actual description. This map also has 4 sets of docks. While you can only go onto three of them the most south eastern one used to contain a secret weapon that only developers could retrieve. This weapon has since been removed from the game. Rumor has it it was a 300 round machine gun called "Bulrang". Others say it was a 30 round RPG. Yet others say that it actually wasn't even a gun but a type of grenade that when it exploded more grenades came out.

"The Kill Zone" is where 76% of all deaths occur. The surrounding rivers make hidden mines even harder to find. As an easter egg The boat in one of the rivers use to be able to be rowed. That has since been removed. Most of the deaths here are from mines or grenades. The Easter Docks are a haven for snipers and the ruined buildings are an easy hiding spot for RPGs.

"The Mainland" is the only piece of land that does not include a flag. It's only purpose is a stronghold for that team. This map was created to purposely give an unfair advantage to the team on the isles. Because you cannot die from drowning in the game teams could crouch under the waters in brush. Bullets receive no impact when firing from the waters.

The one thing that makes this map one of the most dangerous maps in the game is "The Mosquitos". This is an add-on to this specific map to deter campers. After 10 kills in the same spot your 11th kill will actually kill yourself.

Statistics on the map:

• 64% of all deaths are explosives, RPGs or Mines
• There is actually a map of this area located in one of the buildings
• The entire "Outer Isle" used to be playable it was removed because of it's altitude. You could snipe the entire map from there.
• There is a glitch to get to the ship that was never fixed

If you have any tips, ideas or questions please leave a comment below.

Deep Freeze

Deep Freeze is the second most common Death Match game played (ranking lower than Shipping Yard) and lost it's amount of play due to the map updates on June 6, 2012. Approximately 76 games are played each day and is one of the most common games to find random grenade kills.  Deep Freeze was a late map to come out due to the fact that people were more focused on higher experience earning map styles like conquest.

When entering the game the images displayed are recent images and are actually focused on the view of team 2. The map layout is sectioned into 9 sectors.

The most action packed sectors are 2 and 8 meaning that these areas are excellent for placing mines.

When entering the game the mission statement is as follows:

Ellesmere Island sits at the upper reaches of the Northern Hemisphere where Ice, Land, and Sea merge into a single frozen mass. The forces of Ironstone Security Specialists and The Shadow Corp have become entangled in a bloody conflict to secure a valuable find of rare earth minerals. The Shadow Corps elements have begun digging fortifications into the icy wastes of northern Ellesmere Island while the teams of Ironstone Mercs have moved in to secure the rich mineral interests for their clan's employers. In the freezing polar temperatures all hell has broken loose as the various forces maneuver to control the terrain and dispatch their adversaries. Gunfire echoes across the ice fields and frozen mountain valleys as the clans struggle to hold and secure the victory for their side.

This section though refers to the old map type when players battled on an iceberg like map.  The map change was only put into place to make it resemble the shipping crates in Shipping Yard, rather than the desolation in the iceberg.

This new style gives the ability to hold better sniper fights along with nerfing the ability to kill 5-7 people with RPGs.

Taking apart the map little by little Ellesmere Island is in a totally different hemisphere making these two teams appear to be Russian in origin. Ironstone Security Specialists or the ISS are an actual Russian Spec-Ops used in deterring terrorists. So we can assume that the Shadow Corps are a terrorist branch looking for the rare minerals.

The most recent map makes the ISS team one and Shadow Corps team two. The most common weapons used are shotguns and heavy machine guns for their mowing capability. Grenades are used not for just kills but also as a damaging smoke grenade blocking enemy field of view. Both teams have an equal amount of hiding positions and fox holes.

Sectors 7 and 9 are strong points for team one, and sectors 2, 3 and 5 seem to be heavily populated by team 2.

If you have any questions, tips or ideas please leave a comment below.

Shipping Yard

Shipping Yard is one of the most common Death Match games played and ranks higher than Deep Freeze since the map updates on June 6, 2012. Approximately 83 games are played each day ( higher than the average 76 games set by Deep Freeze). Shipping Yard was one of the first maps developed and is the second map to be played per day (behind Dust Quarry).

When entering the game the images displayed is the old image on the old map. The layout used to be the image below.

The following saying explains the current map situation:

A battle to control the Panama Canal Zone is heating up, with intense battles between competing forces. The Roaring Tigers and the United Warriors have been fighting tooth and nail to control the zone. Nowhere is this truer than at Baha de Pelcanos main cargo depot on the western end of the canals. Here, your job is to eradicate enemy forces that currently hold the depot and it's valuable cargo.

This map's true location is actually the main cargo depot at the Bay of Pelicans (Baha de Pelcanos meaning Bay of Pelicans in loose Spanish) in the Panama Canal Zone.

Taking this apart piece by piece, the Roaring Tigers and United Warriors are the fighting forces in this battle. Now the caption says that you are fighting in a depot near a canal. Nowhere is there a canal. There is a train going through the center of the map that may possibly lead to a canal. However this is not the tropical area the caption portrays. It takes on a city look with floating paper and debris.

Team one is played by the Roaring Tigers and team two controls the United Warriors. Both sides have an equal chance in all fields of combat except one. Setting up mines and turrets for kills seem to be the easiest on team 2's side mainly because of the twists and turns. Team one however has more cover opportunities because of the two cardboard boxes.

There is one create to re-supply at. The Black-Ops create is located in the center of the map between the two trains. People from team 2 usually are able to resupply more easily than their opponents.

For more information, tips, or ideas please leave a comment below.