Here are my thoughts on Halo’s Big Team Battle Maps so far and my personal recommended changes.
First off, of the four initial maps shipped with the playlist, the only one I enjoy playing is Deadlock. The others, in my opinion, have a very awkward flow of gameplay that make the experience…mediocre?..at best. I’ve had fantastic games on Guillotine, in particular, but even when I’m going 30-2 I don’t have as much fun as I do on some of the new maps introduced. Antifreeze and Recurve, in particular, are not great maps. Antifreeze Capture the Flag is probably one of the worst games you can play in Halo 5, as the flags rarely move past their bases and the game typically has 5 minute or more standoffs where the enemy flag is in your base and vice versa. Without a Warthog, it really feels like getting a flag anywhere is a chore.
I really do enjoy the new maps. Eagles Nest is one of the finest maps I’ve ever played in any Halo game. The two level design and balance between vehicle and infantry combat makes for really entertaining games, and the design of the rocket spawn area is amazing considered it was created entirely in Forge. Wreckage (I may have the wrong name there…) is also a great map, and actually makes playing Strongholds a fun mode. These two maps, in particular, really outshine anything else in the playlist and it’s a shame the playlist didn’t have both of them at the beginning. I’m hoping (fingers crossed!) for a developer made version of these maps in Halo 6.
I haven’t played enough of the other new community maps to provide much feedback. I’m hoping that 343 will remove Antifreeze from map rotation all together, and just keep Recurve for the occasional game of the Capture the Flag.