PRIESTESS - UPDATE 2.0

So it's been a while since I've updated this map, and in that time I've been surprised to see it become my most popular map. At this point I've got over 1k bookmarks on waypoint! The map has also been featured in several map showcase videos, which I've added to the main post above. I still consider myself new to Forge, and this is the first map I've made that seems to have a following...Holy crap guys, I'm humbled.

As a result I've almost been afraid to touch this map for a little bit. I'm sort of OCD about moving things around, refining little parts of weapon placement and adding detail to my maps constantly (so much so that posting updates every time I do seems obnoxious). With Priestess, I got to a point of feeling like I needed to let it sit and stew for a bit. Now that I've done that, it's time to update a few things. Here's what's new in version 2.0:

- Rebuilt the platform in top mid, mostly to make it look nicer. I felt the old platform was functional, but left a bit to be desired visually. I built a new platform out of wood blocks that looks better and is a little bit larger than the old one. I've also added a triforce to this platform to reinforce the Zelda theme.



- Replaced the Boltshots on dock side with BRs.

- Removed the lightrifle that spawns under the statue in bottom mid and replaced it with a Closed Fist Boltshot, which is partially hidden underwater.

-Moved the location of the underwater Plasma Pistol to be a little bit closer to mid, in an effort to make it more obvious. I want this to be a somewhat secret weapon, but it was a bit too secret in the old build.



- I added an SMG on the back side of the 'harp' in mid. This is across the platform from the Hydra spawn now. I noticed in play tests that the map was light on automatic weapons, and I 'm hoping an SMG in mid can help teams make flag pushes.

- I've also added two Song of Peace Suppressors in the spots where the turrets spawn in Slayer. The turrets are gone in Slayer and I wanted to give a reason to move to these locations and recreate some of the effects of turret gameplay in Slayer mode without the OP-ness of the turrets themselves. I'm hoping the Suppressors will do that a little bit.



- Added a new 'extra sneaky' path on dockside. If you jump into the water there are some rocks you can clamber and jump across that keep you hidden while you pass Fuel Rod House. You can die here if you mess up the jumps and land in the water, so be careful...



- One of the biggest things (which is not pictured here) is that I've reworked the spawning on this map quite a bit. On my past couple maps I've taken a different approach to spawning than I did before. Essentially I've started absolutely saturating my maps with spawn points, having a little less regard for placing them out of the way and relying more on the spawning system choosing a safe location from a large pool of available spawn points. The map basically has a ring of spawn points around the edges now, upwards of 60 in total. This new method has been KILLING it on my other maps, so I'm hoping gameplay will be improved on Priestess as well.

- Last but not least, I also did a number of things to touch up aesthetics on the level. These include adjusting lighting throughout the map, changing to a yellow brick texture instead of a gray one, adding more ships in the background, switching the docks to a wood texture, and even adding elite bodies on the rocks to give the illusion of beached seals.