Shield Ball

Shield Ball
Shield Ball is a small map designed for Oddball games only. It takes place in the open area of Rat's Nest where you can see the Pelican. A grid of shield doors has been set up so that they float a couple feet off the ground. This means that players can throw grenades underneath the shield doors to injure of kill the ball carrier hiding on the other side.

I never used to play a lot of Oddball because the games were always very predictable. The ball carrier would just run away like a chicken or camp behind a shield door and wait to beat someone down with the ball if they got too close. Neither scenario was much fun for me. But now, the ball carrier attacks as much as he is attacked. He can camp behind a shield door, but the enemy can easily place a grenade between his legs or shoot at his feet. The result is an Oddball "dance" where players constantly go back and forth through shield doors, dodge grenade tosses, and circle each other.

Within each shield door square, you'll find a grenade. There are plenty on the map but they all respawn after 20 seconds, not the default 10 seconds. This is because I did not want to create a scenario where you can corner the ball carrier and throw an infinite number of grenades at him. In a one on one game, you may find yourself without any grenades to throw. Go to another square or try to shoot the ball carrier. In larger games, there will usually be someone just spawning with the default 2 grenades. Tactical players will use careful grenade tosses to "herd" the ball carrier toward a teammate.

At each end of the map you'll find a Power Drainer. This can be incredibly effective because a thrown Power Drainer will sail right through a shield door. Follow it up with a well-placed grenade under a shield door for an easy kill.

Map Overview


Map Overview, angled


Beneath the Shield Doors


One final note: make sure you're actually through the shield door before you toss that grenade.


I have to admit, I have not done a lot of testing on this map. In fact, I've only played a single game of one on one, standard Oddball (it was 5 in the morning and he was my only friend online in Halo). It was really fun and we both decided that it would be good as a team game too. I'd be interested in how this plays with other Oddball variants. Anyone want to try Rocketball?

My enemy throws a grenade at me


My view of that grenade... bonus points for getting my emblem in there


Bungie.net Link: Shield Ball

 

Re: Shield Ball (Oddball map)

I played a 1 on 1 game of Rocketball here. It was pretty fun but too easy for the ball carrier to drop the ball and kill the other player quickly. Therefore, there wasn't really a drawback of holding the ball. Still haven't played Team Ball here yet. I'm looking forward to it.

 

Re: Shield Ball (Oddball map)

Yes. When I was making my Pyramid map, I put a shield door next to a wall on Foundry, but the walls on that map do not hit the floor at a 90 degree angle. Instead, it slants out for a foot or two and then goes straight up. The result was a sliver of unprotected space between the wall of the map and the shield door. I realized you could bounce a grenade off the wall at an enemy on the other side. I thought it was awesome, and it led to me floating a couple of shield doors off the ground in another spot on that level, to prevent the flag carrier from camping the shield doors. Then, I realized it would be cool for Oddball.

Anyway, I'm glad you guys like the map. Let me know if this feature shows up in any of your own maps, I'd like to check it out.