My ranking of all Treyarch DLC 3 maps from best to worst (even though no one asked me to)

Buried: This map was so innovative, especially for its time. It took a lot of risks that arguably couldn't have been taken at any other time. The third and final Victis map in its game, it featured the finale of a super Easter egg for either the Maxis or Richthofen side. Fans weren't sure about the Victis maps, considering the underperformance of Tranzit and Die Rise, and I can't blame them, but this map knocked it out of the park. A WW of never before seen proportions, some unique special enemies (the Witches), and a new companion (Leroy/Arthur/the giant). Leroy can do SO DAMN MUCH. Some players are STILL discovering some things he can do. The witches, while risky to navigate, can get you a free perk. The layout was well executed, and the music felt like being transported through time back to the wild west. The WW was the first of its kind, like a jet gun but if it was good. You could not only fly, but you could bring another player with you too. And the infinite ammo aspect of it was done so right, it feels weird to think of it being done anyway else. And, of course, this is THE BIRTH PLACE of the Ray Gun Mk II so let's not forget that.

Der Riese: Oh man, what a legend. Do I even need to explain myself?? This map paved the way for how most zombies maps have been crafted even to this day, not to mention it's the birth place of the Pack a Punch (well, technically lore wise it's Buried but you know what I mean). A mechanic that has been a necessity ever since and has appeared in every map since then except a select handful. It also introduced the teleporter mechanic, something else that has been used quite commonly, and lastly introduced the Bowie Knife. Not AS important but still iconic. This map, like it's predecessors, was terrifying. The sounds, the score, the vibes. All incredible. It's hard not to love this map, especially if you've been playing it as long as it's lived. And how could I forget the FIRST map with an EE, the Fly Trap (now known as the "hide and seek" or "paradoxical prologue") EE.

Maur Der Toten: yes, I know it's jarring and unpopular to rank a CW map RIGHT BELOW a WaW map, but this map is goated. Fans hated Outbreak and Firebase and this map was a pivotal point in CW. Unfortunately, it did feature three bosses that were recycled from Outbreak as well as the Aether Canister mechanic also being recycled from Outbreak. But it still introduced a brand new Wonder Weapon, (and my personal favorite) the CRBR-S, or Cerberus. A beast with 3 heads of Requiem's own creation. There was the base pistol variant, which is most fans' favorite (if it ain't broke), then the three variants were a two shot burst tracer variant (the funnest to use in my opinion), the shot gun variant, and the laser variant. These could be obtained for free with minimal effort required. Any zombie killed with the CRBR-S has a chance to drop an ammo variant, complete with its own ammo supply, making Max Ammos a welcome but not necessary item.

Gorod Krovi: in my opinion the weakest or second weakest of the BO3 maps but that's really saying nothing because all of the BO3 maps are incredible. This map was Nikolai's focus and took place in the city where he lost his wife 🙁 a gut wrenching story surrounding, this map brought a challenge based EE (not as bad as it sounds) and a badass duel wield WW with a dual functionality. One, a yellow cloud that slows the enemies down, the other, a ray gun like weapon (in fact, it's literally named the MK III) that shoots singular, splash damageless bursts. And, if you shoot the yellow cloud with the Ray Gun MK III, it'll create a short term black hole that rips zombies apart until they dissolve into nothing. The shield, the Guard of Fafnir, named after an infamous dragon from Norse Mythology, shoots blasts of green flames that can wipe out crowds of zombies with ease, and is even a useful tool against the flames you'll often find in this kap. The boss fight is nothing short of epic, featuring an honest to God fire breathing dragon, but also a mecha ultimis Nikolai that assists you in the fight, only to turn on you once he learns your intentions. This segue's into a heartbreaking cutscene of despair and grief and trauma, leading up to the game's epic and inevitable conclusion.

Shattered Veil: Well, it's not old news that The Tomb was not received well. While I enjoy the map myself, it absolutely has its flaws, and this map did a great job of fixing the fatigue the fans were experiencing since The Tomb. No original WWs this time around either, unfortunately. However, the Ray Gun Mk II makes an appearance in this map with some new variants. If I had a nickel for every time a DLC 3 released onto an even numbered black ops game that introduced the Ray Gun Mk II to that game that also put it on all of the other (aether) maps in that game, I'd have 3 nickels. The variants lacked charm and personality, but were fun nonetheless. However, I would argue that for the Wunder Waffe, which also returned on this map, we're WELL past this gun only killing 10 zombies at a time. If it was a one shot hoarde wiper like the thunder gun then it would warrant how rare this gun is and how difficult it is to obtain, but maybe this is just me who thinks this.

Shangri La: Firstly, can I just say that the 31-79 JGB-215 is probably the COOLEST wonder weapon of all time? Like you can just tell that treyarch was having a blast in those pitch meetings when they thought up a gun that can shrink zombies so small that you can literally kick them 20 feet and kill them instantly. Incredible. This map also introduced something very unique and hasn't been done since where, once you've completed the EE, it can literally be done again and again. If you want to receive a focusing stone perkaholic for each player in the party, then you can do the EE that many times. Also shout out to Brock and Gary fr. This map also introduced two special enemies, the shrieker and the napalm. Fans maybe didn't like these zombies that much but I would argue they offered a fun and balanced challenge to the map that just added that little bit of spice. This map unfortunately is the only map during bo1's DLC season that didn't introduce a new perk but it did feature not only a power switch but a water switch as well. It introduced a minecart and a waterslide as well for fast travel purposes and a STUNNING sky box set in a gorgeous pocket of the Himalayas. Monkeys offered a fun challenge where you could risk them stealing your power ups for ever if you wanted to try turning any power up into a Max ammo or even a free perk for all 4 players. And if you knife this monkey before it can hit you, you get a nice handful of change as a reward.

Lastly, Alpha Omega: for sure the weakest of all of the DLC 3s but I stand on a very small hill when I say this isn't a BAD map. Without a doubt the weakest DLC in BO4, most of us can agree with that, but I still think it's a load of fun. It introduced 4 new variants of the Ray Gun MK II and added the base MK II into all aether maps on this game (something that was done in the past in bo2 and would be done again in the future in BO6). The variants included an explosive blast variant, a shot gun variant, a fully automatic variant that, when packed, would become duel wield (my personal favorite) and a laser variant that requires no ammo, just some time to recharge. Yes that's right, an infinite ammo ray gun mk II made it into the final draft of this map. The Rushmore system was also very fun to use, equipped with a variety of codes you could play around with that could do a lot of things from halving the cost of the first 3 perks (none for tonic unfortunately), to spawning nuke power ups or giving you free points. Unfortunately these fun codes could only be used once per round and once each per game, but it was still a nice addition. However, the nova jacks and the jolting jacks are a pain in the god damn ass and the crackhead zombies the nova jacks induced were pure shit as well. But then, when you start to hate this map a little, you remember they brought back the galvaknuckles (only to never touch them ever again :/) and not only did they cost 1000 points less, but it was a one hit kill for 4 rounds more than it was on BO2. This also introduced an EE that was only seen one more time after that that allowed the player to skip completely to round 200 and fight off the hoardes of crawlers, dogs, and zombies for as long as they could in the original boundaries of the Nuketown zombies we all knew and lived in bo2. And let's not forget the music on this one either. The round changes graced you with upbeat, funky 60s style music and the game over music was a tune heavily inspired by the Tranzit loading screen music, Love Song for a Dead Man. Now it's apparent that, while this is the weakest of the 7 maps ranked here, it's still got a special place in my heart, despite being a melting pot of recycled assets like half of the bo4 maps were.