*ADDED* more info about respawn times and spare clips for power weapons and all other weapons. Let me first off say that i am aware that they're are a couple of other weapon placement guides out there. This guide was made all by me with all of my opinions, and techniques, from my experiences. You may not agree with parts of my guide and that's ok. This is my first guide i've ever written so it might be a little rough. and please remember that nobody is perfect so this may not be perfect. thanks evan12075's Ultimate Guide to Weapon Placement As many of you may or may not know, weapon placement is one of the biggest factors to making a good map. Wherever you put any weapon, it will always have a huge effect on gameplay. So this guide is here to tell you how to place weapons, and how not to place weapons, along with a few helpful tips. -Power Weapons- Power weapons are probably the hardest and most important weapons to place. We'll start off easy on this section by listing weapons that can be considered power weapons. Considered power weapons are usually: -Rockets -Spartan Laser -Shotgun -Sniper Rifle -Beam Rifle -Energy Sword -Gravity Hammer -Fuel Rod Cannon -Sentinel Beam Weapons that can be considered power weapons in some cases include: -Machine Gun Turret -Plasma Cannon -Flamethrower -Mauler -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now i will go over these 4 weapons that can be considered power weapons. Machine Gun Turret/ Plasma Cannon: These weapons should ONLY be placed in maps that support vehicles to provide balance (so vehicles don't own) Turrets/Plasma Cannons completely take out ground units VERY easily. ------------------- Flamethrower: This weapon can only be considered a power weapon when it is being used and closed/small areas. If you get in the same room with the flamethrower, your toast. but in big open areas, the flamethrower isn't as powerful because it can easily be countered with a BR ------------------- Mauler: This weapon can actually be considered a power weapon on any map, but it is mainly the power weapon for MLG maps. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That settles classification. Now, the only easy thing about power weapons is... ever power weaponed can be balanced/ cancelled out by another power weapon. This means you want to have a balance of power weapons on a map unless it's for a special gametype. This means it's usually not good to have an odd number of power weapons, because one team can take control of all the weapons and they win. That being said, you CAN put an odd number of power weapons on a map, that is only if you do it right. -Placement of Power Weapons- The Golden Rule of Power weapons (in a typical forged foundry map) is: do not exceed more than 4 more weapons or less than 2. (keep in mind, big maps such as Last Resort CAN exceed more than 4 power weapons due to the size of the map.) Forges on big maps such as Avalanche may include more than 4 power weapons due to the size. -Respawn Times, and The Spare Clip Another important rule is, all power weapons should have longer respawn times than most weapons. you dont want the power weapons available the whole game. if so, then the team controlling the power weapons will always win own pwn whatever. also keep in mind, low ammo can bee good some times. Especially on a typically forged foundry map. on the typical foreged foundry map, the size of the map can't afford to have 2 or 3 clips. if this happens, the shotgun stays in play for longer, and who ever is controlling, will indeed own. this also goes for the sniper rifle, and the rockets. however, ammo and respawn times go hand in hand. if the rockets only have 2 shots, your gonna want to have them respawn faster, because the less ammo, the less time the rockets are in play. this also goes for all other power weapons. when there is normal ammo in a power weapon, it has a suggested respawn time of 180 seconds and 150 in some cases. with low ammo it should be 120-150 seconds. So I will go over how to place power weapons based on scenarios. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For Team Maps/Games: [] If there is 2 power weapons- [] Simple. Give one power weapon easily grabbable to each team. [] If there is 3 power weapons- [] Also pretty simple. Give one power weapon to each team and put one in a Neutral Area (I will go over Neutral areas later) [] If there is 4 Power Weapons- [] This is where it gets a little tricky. Definitely give one power weapon to each team. then put one power weapon in a neutral area. as for the 4th weapon... you can either put it in an area that you want people to go to that may not be used if there wasn't a weapon there, or place it in another neutral area. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -FFA Weapon Placement- Now... Placing Power weapons in FFA maps is a little more tricky. it will take some thought and you will play around with this a little. but mainly in FFA maps, you want to put power weapons in neutral areas. you NEVER want someone to start with a power weapon right next to them. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Multi Gametype Weapon Placement- So your map supports Team games and FFA? this is where weapon placement gets very hard, and very tricky. your gonna spend a lot of time on this. In team games there is a power weapon that spawns with each team, so that means 2 people are gonna spawn with power weapons right next to them. well that is gonna make 2 people over rule the FFA game. So how do you fix it? simple. add something that will cancel out the weapons in the other spawns. Invisibility and Overshields are very effective counters to power weapons. but keep in mind while placing these, that you don't want to make Team games Unbalanced for team games. If you simply can't add invisibility or overshields, don't worry, there's alternatives. If the map has 3 or more power weapons, make the FFA spawns that don't get a power weapon close to the neutral power weapon spawn (or simply make them spawn right next to the neutral power weapon) Another alternative is to make the FFA spawns without power weapons spawn with equipment that can also cancel out the power weapons. The bubble shield is a very good piece of equipment as well as the regenerator to cancel out power weapons. -Placing Power Weapons in Neutral Areas- This usually takes some time and playing around to figure out. When you place a power weapon in a neutral area, there's going to be a rush for it at the beginning of the game (unless it doesn't spawn at the start). Since there will be a rush for it at the beginning of the game, you don't want the weapon to be placed closer to one team's spawn than the other. This next tip is a little technique i like to do that doesn't seem very official. [] First off, place the power weapon in the neutral area that you think is the best. [] Second. Go to your closest Starting spawn points for each time, and time how long it takes to get to the weapon using the shortest route. That seems a little ridiculous, i know, but it works and i've used it in all of my maps. The times that it takes to reach the weapon don't have to be exactly the same, i say they have to be within 2 seconds of each other. -A Deeper Look at Every Weapon- (notify me if there's a weapon you want me to observe here) ------------------------------- [] Battle Rifles/ Carbines- These are most people's favorite weapons to use and they are probably the best non-power weapons. make sure there's at least 2 BRs or Carbines on a map, and place them in High Traffic areas (areas where people walk through a lot) or near respawn points. also make sure these spawn pretty fast. MLG has Battle Rifles spawn at 10 seconds and normal maps should have BRs respawn at 20-30 seconds and Carbines at 30-60 seconds. ------------------------------- [] Assault Rifles- I know it's the starting weapon, but always make sure you have at least one assault rifle hanging around somewhere in case someone runs out of ammo. have these respawn at 30 seconds. ------------------------------- [] Plasma Pistol- Not ever really thought of as a great weapon to most. but this weapon has it's strong points. It can always be a very effective close range weapon with a charged shot and beat down. Usually this can only last a couple kills though because charging the pistol and waiting drains the ammo. can easily be countered by a BR, or Assualt Rifle. Actually can be countered by almost any weapon. The Plasma Pistol is also a very effective weapon in maps that involve vehicles. A fully charged plasma blow at a vehicle will shut it down where you can easily switch to your other weapon and take out the driver/drivers. Plasma Pistols should ALWAYS be placed on maps with vehicles in it, but only have one or two of these laying around in most cases these should spawn every 45 seconds ------------------------------- [] Plasma Rifle/SMG/Spiker- These dual wielding weapons are very effective close range weapons. They can easily take out a BR, Sniper, or Laser at close range. Always have at least 2 plasma rifles/SMGs/Spikers on your maps, but never exceed 6. these should also spawn every 45 seconds in most cases. ------------------------------- [] Magnum- This weapon is USUALLY not effective, but if an experience player has dual wielding these, it can be very effective (mostly if he's aiming at the head). Dual Wield Magnums can take out BRs at close range. it's nice to have at least one pistol laying around the map for those perfectionists who run out of ammo. it is not required to have a magnum on your map. have magnums respawn at 30 seconds. ------------------------------- [] Needler- This weapon is one of the most powerful "non-power weapons). The needler can be used at medium and close range, but if it's being used right it can also be effective at long range. The homing needles can deliver a quick blow and catch someone by surprise. be careful while placing these on your map. Only place 1 or 2 needlers on a map and NEVER exceed 2 needlers. if 1 needler is placed on the map, place it in a neutral area, if 2 are placed on the map, give one to each team. The needler can get over powering at times. so. if there is one needler on the map keep the clips at default. and have the respawn at 60 seconds. if there is 2 needlers, take away one clip from each and make these respawn at 90 seconds. ------------------------------- [] Brute Shot- The Brute shot is an explosive weapon mostly effective at close range. a skilled brute shot user can make it more effective at medium range. the Brute Shot is a great counter to almost ANY weapons besides rockets and sword. you should almost always have one brute shot on your map and NEVER exceed 2. But also BEWARE, if your map has some holes in it people might be able to escape your map. The Brute Shot is a pretty powerful "non-power weapon" like the needler. so the same rules apply to this as the needler. if there is one brute shot, default clips and 60 second respawn, if there is 2 on the map, take one clip away and a 90 second respawn for each. Well that's all from me for now, Make sure to check this thread occasionally for changes or added tips. thanks for reading my guide to weapon placement and i hope it helps!
This seems like a good guide, maybe not as in depth as others, but very useful if someone wants a good, all around guide to weapon placement that doesn't take a day to read and understand. One thing though. Whilst I agree with your FFA power weapon tips, there often isnt much opportunity to implement them. There are very few FFA only maps (for the ones that do exist, your advice is right on the money), most are team maps as well. Look at the bungie default maps for example, on guardian, one player spawns right by shotgun, one spawns right by invis, and one spawns right next to the OS and the sniper. The same is true in multiteam, like in Last Resort, the teams that spawn at Froman and the bottom of invis tower basically get their choice of power weapons (Sniper, shotgun). Balancing weapons for initial FFA spawns is really tough unless its an FFA only map. Nice guide though, a good addition to the FH tut compendium.
thanks for the wonderful feedback, i can use some of the stuff you said to make it a little better and little more "in depth" as you said. i will add more to FFA weapon placement right now.
Good tutorial, but you may want to mention not really placing a smg and plasma weapon on small map next to each other. As you can lower the shield and in a small area the smg will kill them easily. So separate them, I know most people won't do that but you know just encase.
Thanks. Added 2 sections. Placing Weapons on Multi Gametype maps and A deeper look at every weapon. (notify me if there's a weapon you want me to observe here)
I like what you've added about multi gametype maps, it makes alot of sense, and I' going to bear in mind when building my next map. I must admit I hadn't thought about using equipment to balance spawns, its a nice trick that could work nicely if enough thought goes into what equipment to choose. Good work.
Not true at all. Dual Magnums, if the player using them is skilled enough, always beat a Battle Rifle or Carbine up close.
I'd actually agree with this, a magnum is a powerful weapon in the right hands, just like every weapon in H3, especially when dual wielded. I hadn't noticed this.
I really didn't notice this until awhile ago, when I was playing on an FFA map, Reverence (I think anyway). Anyways, the map had MLG weapons for the most part, but there were two sets of dual magnums on it. I found out how good dual magnums are against BR's.
There is no exact limit to how many power weapons can be placed. It all depends on the map. Look at the pit. 2 snipers, 2 Shotguns, 4 Maulers, Rockets, Sword, that's a whopping 10, not to mention the Camo and Oversheild. It all depends on the map. But a nice guide nontheless. It inspires me to raise the bar with mine.
i do realize that some maps by bungie do have more than 4 power weapons, i think i mentioned something about Last Resort. but anyway this weapon guide is mostly for typical forged foundry maps. and foundry itself isn't as big as the pit or some other maps. and usually forged foundry maps block off parts of foundry making them even smaller, so a typical forged foundry map shouldn't have 5 power weapons jammed in the map. Also something about the pit. the shotguns aren't as powerful in the pit as they would be in other levels, there's a lot of turns and corners which is the shotguns strong point, but there is also A LOT of open areas where BRs and Snipers can easily cancel out the shotgun. but then again, thanks for the feedback, i'll be sure to mention that this is for typical forged foundry maps and such.
Thank u very much Evan12075 Because I make Team maps a lot and this In formation could come in handy a lot I will give feed back for this.
thanks man. I've added more information on respawn times and spare clips. those of you that have read it might want to give it another read through
Yea, ever get screwed in a guardian FFA game when you spawn on the elbow? Someone always seems to spawn 5 feet closer to the OS than you, and then if you try to run from OS then you'll be finished off by the player who spawns at green. So yea, almost no FFA map is perfect. Most of your guide makes sense, but I disagree with there being a golden rule for power weapons. It all depends on where they are, how useful they are, and what the respawn times are. I also disagree with what you said about putting turrets only on vehicle maps. The movement penalty makes a turret not very effective against a sniper or player with nades/BR/cover. And I personally don't think the mauler is a true power weapon, any more than you might consider the BR a power weapon. Maulers are generally a welcome addition to any map, provided that you don't add too many (usually not more than 2), while putting multiple swords on a map is destined for disaster. As long as the map is balanced, the number of power weapons really doesn't matter too much (except in extremes).
I see what your saying about the power weapons rule. but think about it. most of the bungie maps (excluding Last Resort, The Pit, Valhalla, and Sandtrap because they are bigger maps) do follow that rule. Guardian: Gravity Hammer, Sniper, Shotgun. High Ground: Laser, Shotgun, Sniper Rifle, Rockets. Foundry: Rockets, 2 Sniper Rifles, Shotgun. Isolation: Rockets, Sniper Rifle, Shotgun. Snowbound: Laser, Beam Rifle, Shotgun. Those are a couple examples. And about the turrets. Turrets mainly become a problem in objective games. if theres a turret mounted at the base it can take out any ground unit even if they have a BR. Pretty much the only thing that would be able to counter that turret would be power weapons. a selection of power weapons too. mainly the rockets and the laser. And It doesnt really make since to have a turret not mounted at a base unless it's near the middle off to the side on an overseeing ramp maybe (like the one seen in Valhalla). Because of how over powering turrets can get, they should only be placed on vehicle maps to counter the vehicles. Now the Mauler. I only said it's considered a power weapon in MLG.
Sig Everyone's going to disagree. But a general rule stands..if you got balance, the number of power weapons can get pretty high. Especially depending on how your map plays.
i guess everybody WILL disagree like u say. I even gave examples of some medium sized maps and their power weapons to show that they follow the rule too... anyway. thanks for the comments guys and i really hope this guide helps with future maps.