Ok I was seriously questioning whether or not I should make this post, but I couldn’t let such a great idea go to waste. The map itself is gorgeous and I don’t think its without promise (Icebound went from the bottom now its here lol)
Why does this map play like garbage you ask? Well, let me explain what makes a good map in Gears (some of this holds true for almost any game.
Features of a good map:
- a win condition (a strategy that consistently gives you an edge, think Allfathers when top mid is raised or asylum upstairs)
- a counter to said win condition (anyone remember Overpass? yeah, it didn’t have this lol)
- proper incentive to move around the damn map (this map has like 1 decent power weapon, absurd)
- a good mix of positioning versus skill (shouldn’t just be a lancer fest for example)
- a defining feature or “gimmick” that makes the map stand out typically helps, like the lasers on exhibit or the train on asylum.
What makes Pahanu play poorly is that it has none of those things, which is crazy for a Gears map. Hell, even Overpass had a power position, its crazy that a developer for Gears of War even made this map, I was playing with friends and they thought it belonged in an Alien vs Predator game lol.
So what’s the solution? The sad reality of this map is that its built from the ground up to be mediocre, not just the size (this map should be added to FFA btw) but the lack of any real depth in its design is really bizarre, but all that aside I do believe there are some simple and some difficult changes that could be made to make this map play much better.
- Power Weapons
Maps are almost always defined by weapons on the map itself, everybody remembers trenches mainly because of the Digger/Oneshot, everybody remembers Canals for its snipe v snipe battles, etc. That being said this map has some extremely weak pickups considering its size. Dam has more Power Weapons than this map and its far smaller.
Markza>Sniper (there needs to be a meaningful counter to lancer fire on this map ok? besides, snipe duels fun)
Flashbang>Incendiary/Frags (Flashbangs are practically worthless on a map this size)
- Aesthetic Changes
Pahanu should be a night map, Period. the foliage/swampy areas of the map are meant to give players methods to flank or sneak up on foes, reducing the light makes these elements stronger and more useful. There are multiple areas of this map that are already well lit which would just stand out better in a darker atmosphere (middle of the map, fireplace, that cool lightning bug area, etc) and it would simply reduced visibility at longer ranges making lancer fire less effective (can I hear an Amen?)
I am aware that such a change is drastic, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
- Map Layout Changes
The most obvious change would be to make more power positions on the map, I personally think a more elevated middle (where the lancer GL spawns) is the most straightforward change that could be made, Other changes would require some serious complexity adding more foliage in general across the map (which would undoubtedly hurt performance) or adding little treehouses or something.
Conclusion: Pahanu is a disgrace, not just to Gears, but to every man woman and child that designed and tested it. For the Love of Gears please ask for second/third/fourth opinions on maps before you put them out, there is no way in hell that such a cool looking map (which probably took like 3 times as long as asylum) couldn’t have been made better from the start, just make sure to ask each developer that creates a map for any mode (other than escape) if it has even 3 of the 5 rules I mentioned for good Gears maps, if it doesn’t, they either need to redesign it again or be assigned somewhere else. If you desire to experiment make a great Asymmetrical for goodness sakes.
