Antheia

KTV Antheia named after the Greek goddess of swamps, lowlands and minor plants is a more or less Standard 2 players map but with a myriad of highly complex and game changing features, some of them include a central very tight bridge, to a forward and very exposed Rich Third base, some very open central areas, and a central valley reminiscent of Foxtrot, but with the twist that on top of the ramps leading down the valley there are line of sight blockers so battles in these areas can become quite hectic with players abusing the LoS Blockers to gain an advantage over the player that controls the high ground.

This big array of map features generates an environment of “When everything is OP, nothing is“. And the players that are smart to adapt can very easily change the tide of a battle with a few tactical movements, simple things, like doing a small flank over or blocking an important pathway with a few terrain control units can fairly easily change the tide of a battle, which in turn can change the outcome of the entire game.

Going deeper into map details, the core layout of Antheia is built upon ideas sparked by Foxtrot Labs SE, which where then expanded on older maps of mine like Hesperium and Ganymede, here the central high grounds of the map are connected by a very narrow strip of land which is your shortest passage to the other side of the map, there are other ways  but they leave you out of position if the opponent decided to be aggressive towards you while your army is traveling. Because of such a big danger Xel’naga Towers were added to each side of the map, meaning that if you which to attack first you have to make sure you have at least control of one if not both of the Xel’naga towers, because they are key to spotting incoming harass.

Other features of the map include a very exposed gold Third base, this base is unlike many others in the sense that basically no matter what the players tries he will never be able to have a strong position behind of the mineral line of this base because there is no accesible short way around it to stop harassment from ranged units, and the only way to do so is by destroying a set of rocks which will leave the workers in the mineral line exposed to future melee harassment. Yet not all is grim, because by destroying the rocks you are opening a new pathway to a near-by base which when taken helps you create a perimeter around the main base and that way prevent drops to the exposed side of the Main base.

As a mapmaker, my work is to always be searching for new interesting ways to make players have a nice time and suffer, sometimes more than just a bit. But there always has to be a middle point, and given all the strange yet interesting features implemented on Antheia I can’t but feel that I may have crossed the line in some of them, so please let me know what do you consider may need to be toned down, I’ll be eagerly waiting for your feedback.

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Map Information

Map Size: 148×136
Rush Distance: 208
Nat to Nat Distance: 170
Xel’naga Towers: 2
Units that don’t fit through the small bridge: All units can pass.

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Quick Links

TL Thread: SMA KTV Antheia
Reddit Thread: SMA KTV Antheia

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Changelog of the map

V 1.00
♦ Published!