Maps

FFA/TDM

The Free For All and Team Deathmatch gametypes share maps, so don’t be surprised to switch servers and find yourself on the same map, but in a different gametype. The weapon locations are the same, regardless of what mode you’re playing.

Cliffside
Cliffside often becomes a game of elevation, of finding the high ground and shooting away at the peons on the ground below. There are any number of hills leading to the upper level of this outdoor map, and you’ll want to find one as soon as you spawn, due to the proliferation of excellent weapons up above. The OICW, sniper rifle, rocker launcher, and machine gun are all placed on the upper level here, so you can expect the small rock alleyway that forms the border of the map will be hotly contested.

After you’ve managed to arm yourself, you can either camp a path leading to the upper level, or attempt to pick off players that spawn on the lowest level of the hills. This map can quickly become a game of the haves vs. the have-nots, where the players who have managed to outfit themselves with the best weapons manage to slaughter anyone who spawns below. This is especially true in team deathmatch; if you’re playing Cliffside on TDM mode, try to capture and hold the high ground if possible.

The grounded freighter is nice eye-candy, but doesn’t possess anything interesting on its deck or inside its bridge. There is an OICW on a small ledge which you can reach by jumping from the tip of its deck onto the mountain, and you may thus be able to use the ship as a sniping platform, but you won’t

Monkeybay
Monkeybay contains two main battle areas, one in a high temple surrounded by statues, and one in a more open mercenary camp a short walk away. Most of the action on this map, at least in games with fewer players, will take place here, but enterprising players can rack up the kills by venturing off the beaten path.

Rule one here is to always keep moving. With sniper rifle placements on opposite ends of the map, you should always act as if you’re being scoped out by Tom Berenger, so run like hell until you drop. If, on the other hand, you want to be on the giving end of the long-range riflery, you can decrease your chances of an early death by getting away from the areas where you pick up the guns. Hunkering down next to a sniper rifle’s location is a surefire way of getting killed within seconds, especially on larger servers. Instead, it’s best to try and find some tall bush to hide in, preferably one that’s not immediately next to a well-traveled road or spawn point. If you head down to the docks area, you can swim across the river to a rocket launcher; if you keep on going to the north side of the river here, you should be able to hide above the treeline, where no one will think to look for you. Don’t push your luck firing at nearby targets, though, as they’ll home in on the sound of your rifle within a few shots.

Speaking of the docks, if you’re interested in a truly superb sniper location, you can take a boat to the northern side of the northern island to locate an eminently climbable path leading to the top of the land mass. After walking down a ways, you should find yourself at or near a prominence a hundred feet or so above the beach, with a perfect overview of the temple and beach areas. You’ll have to make every shot count, as there isn’t any sniper ammo in this area, but if you can reach this location (and it’ll take at least a couple minutes of pure transportation), you should be able to camp away without any worries. Your bullets will still leave a faint tracer that’ll lead back to you, but you should be well out of range of anything except for a rocket launcher (and you’ll have ample warning of anyone attempting to approach it, assuming you watch the beach) and another sniper rifle. You won’t last forever in this spot, but you may do fairly well, especially in FFA games, where everyone will likely be too busy killing the person right next to them to worry about someone who’s well out of sight.

Monkeybay (Night)
The night version of Monkeybay has only cosmetic differences when compared to its daytime companion. A poorly-traveled new path leads down to the beach area from the temple, but apart from that, not much has changed. Your ability to snipe from the prominence mentioned above is unhindered due to the tiki torches that are scattered everywhere; in fact, you’ll actually be even harder to spot in the dark.