I agree with the vast majority of this. DE is my 2nd favorite map on BO3, and my #3 overall. I think it overall improved on Origins, especially the BO3 version; having better balanced wonder weapons, a considerably better EE, and various quality of life improvements.
I mostly agree with your negatives, especially that DE Panzer was a step down from its Origins counterpart, which was my favorite miniboss. The Void RNG can be aggravating, but I don’t otherwise think it’s a big deal; balance on the other hand has room for improvement, but even the weakest bows (being fire and void) are still high-round viable, which cannot be said of the Lightning/Fire staffs. The early round waits can be annoying, but it beats spending ages holding last zombie.
I agree with the 9.5 ranking, I’m generally tight about not giving very many maps scores above 9, but DE does deserve it. My biggest issue with the map is how easy it was, much of that being down to OP gums, and so much being thrown at players.
KaiserRoll823
Still waiting on Noah’s fire bow tutuorial
Kanj0Bazooie
It’s not my favorite map, but if we’re looking at things objectively, I think it’s the *best* map. Perfect for both casual players and the more experienced player who want more of Origins’ and Shadows’ collectathon style gameplay. There’s a ton to love here, and there’s a *bit* that’s not ideal, admittedly.
Agreed, the difficulty of obtaining the upgraded bows is all kinds of screwed up. Most of em are fine, but then the Fire Bow wants to make sure nobody but trickshot experts grab it. This isn’t helped with it probably being the *worst* of the four, imo. I feel like there should be a button to speed along the rocket test so I can just pick up the Ragnarok part already, yeah. And lastly (for me), no ways to get free perks without gobblegums, or doing the whole EE. This is an issue with BO3 as a whole, with some exceptions.
As for the pros? Man, this map is gorgeous. I like the color blue, I like castles, I like dragons, I like fantastical shit. This map, both aesthetically and in gameplay is looking to be an Origins 2. And I think it more then succeeds in that regard. The feedable dragons, obviously taking inspiration from Mob, while they *can* be tedious to feed if you try and min-max your run, are a short, simple, and understandable way to get the Wrath of the Ancients. One of the most genius things about DE is just how player friendly it is. If you just want to PaP your guns and not worry about any EE’s, or just use the unupgraded bow, that can easily be done, and you’ll still have just as good a time. But, if you want to go that extra mile, and go for the upgraded bows, you absolutely can. The upgrade processes themselves are more skill based compared to the ones on Origins, which I prefer. Not that there isn’t any code deciphering, but largely the objectives you have to do are reliant on how good you are as a player. And the rewards are wonderful, with all the upgraded bows being wonderfully designed, fun to use, and much more universally viable for high rounds then the staffs. The DG4 is also a really fun specialist weapon, one that can get you out of a tight spot with ease. The Wundersphere’s are so good, man. Every decently sized map should have some form of fast traversal throughout it, and these are both the fastest in the series, and the most convenient. Really fun to use, too. The return of Electric Cherry is always appreciated, though like I said in my Shadows writeup, the lack of wholly new perks on BO3 is really disappointing. The EE is pretty good! Takes some inspiration from Moon’s in places, but puts a new spin onto it. The EE cutscene (and the plot in general) is really enticing, this is definitely the map where the plot really kicked off for a lot of people. The Panzer, while he’s a small step down from his Origins counterpart, is still great to see, and is a boss Zombie you always gotta look out for. And lastly (though, like with many maps, I could keep going), the plunger! Why is it here? No clue. But I’m very glad that it is.
There’s so much to enjoy about DE. Like I said in the beginning, if we’re looking for what exactly a Zombies map needs to make players of all skill levels and playstyles happy, I think this is the best Zombies map. But it’s not one of my favorites, oddly enough. Nowhere near the tier, of course, but there are plenty of maps I’d sooner play, personally. That’s just a me thing, though. 9.8/10, really good time
Sarcastic_Rocket
“best layout of BO3” no you lost me there. It’s a two route map that loops back to the starting room, the fast travel is great and the atmosphere, but purely the layout it’s just a bigger altered Kino. Having a the rocket area be so disconnected from the rest of the map with no real reward to it knocks the already basic layout down.
7 Comments
Same as mine (9.5/10)
9.8.
I agree with the vast majority of this. DE is my 2nd favorite map on BO3, and my #3 overall. I think it overall improved on Origins, especially the BO3 version; having better balanced wonder weapons, a considerably better EE, and various quality of life improvements.
I mostly agree with your negatives, especially that DE Panzer was a step down from its Origins counterpart, which was my favorite miniboss. The Void RNG can be aggravating, but I don’t otherwise think it’s a big deal; balance on the other hand has room for improvement, but even the weakest bows (being fire and void) are still high-round viable, which cannot be said of the Lightning/Fire staffs. The early round waits can be annoying, but it beats spending ages holding last zombie.
I agree with the 9.5 ranking, I’m generally tight about not giving very many maps scores above 9, but DE does deserve it. My biggest issue with the map is how easy it was, much of that being down to OP gums, and so much being thrown at players.
Still waiting on Noah’s fire bow tutuorial
It’s not my favorite map, but if we’re looking at things objectively, I think it’s the *best* map. Perfect for both casual players and the more experienced player who want more of Origins’ and Shadows’ collectathon style gameplay. There’s a ton to love here, and there’s a *bit* that’s not ideal, admittedly.
Agreed, the difficulty of obtaining the upgraded bows is all kinds of screwed up. Most of em are fine, but then the Fire Bow wants to make sure nobody but trickshot experts grab it. This isn’t helped with it probably being the *worst* of the four, imo. I feel like there should be a button to speed along the rocket test so I can just pick up the Ragnarok part already, yeah. And lastly (for me), no ways to get free perks without gobblegums, or doing the whole EE. This is an issue with BO3 as a whole, with some exceptions.
As for the pros? Man, this map is gorgeous. I like the color blue, I like castles, I like dragons, I like fantastical shit. This map, both aesthetically and in gameplay is looking to be an Origins 2. And I think it more then succeeds in that regard. The feedable dragons, obviously taking inspiration from Mob, while they *can* be tedious to feed if you try and min-max your run, are a short, simple, and understandable way to get the Wrath of the Ancients. One of the most genius things about DE is just how player friendly it is. If you just want to PaP your guns and not worry about any EE’s, or just use the unupgraded bow, that can easily be done, and you’ll still have just as good a time. But, if you want to go that extra mile, and go for the upgraded bows, you absolutely can. The upgrade processes themselves are more skill based compared to the ones on Origins, which I prefer. Not that there isn’t any code deciphering, but largely the objectives you have to do are reliant on how good you are as a player. And the rewards are wonderful, with all the upgraded bows being wonderfully designed, fun to use, and much more universally viable for high rounds then the staffs. The DG4 is also a really fun specialist weapon, one that can get you out of a tight spot with ease. The Wundersphere’s are so good, man. Every decently sized map should have some form of fast traversal throughout it, and these are both the fastest in the series, and the most convenient. Really fun to use, too. The return of Electric Cherry is always appreciated, though like I said in my Shadows writeup, the lack of wholly new perks on BO3 is really disappointing. The EE is pretty good! Takes some inspiration from Moon’s in places, but puts a new spin onto it. The EE cutscene (and the plot in general) is really enticing, this is definitely the map where the plot really kicked off for a lot of people. The Panzer, while he’s a small step down from his Origins counterpart, is still great to see, and is a boss Zombie you always gotta look out for. And lastly (though, like with many maps, I could keep going), the plunger! Why is it here? No clue. But I’m very glad that it is.
There’s so much to enjoy about DE. Like I said in the beginning, if we’re looking for what exactly a Zombies map needs to make players of all skill levels and playstyles happy, I think this is the best Zombies map. But it’s not one of my favorites, oddly enough. Nowhere near the tier, of course, but there are plenty of maps I’d sooner play, personally. That’s just a me thing, though. 9.8/10, really good time
“best layout of BO3” no you lost me there. It’s a two route map that loops back to the starting room, the fast travel is great and the atmosphere, but purely the layout it’s just a bigger altered Kino. Having a the rocket area be so disconnected from the rest of the map with no real reward to it knocks the already basic layout down.
DE is a masterpiece