Feedback from playing a few matches and many scrims on the map (sorry for huge walls of text just wanted to get my thoughts out, hopefully some of it is helpful):
- Please for the love of god fix the fps issues i get TERRIBLE fps looking at mid on this map
- Agree with aelkyr, pack availability is AWFUL, I get not wanting there to be a medium hp that's available during a team fight over mid, but it really feels like there is so much territory to cover just to find a pack, it almost makes it better for the soldier going behind because both packs are so far back and are around corners. Not sure where exactly the packs should be but bagel for example at least has a pack available on the side that is closer to mid but makes it less awful on medic because if you take spam on mid you can just pick it up, whereas on this map you're just SCREWED because you won't ever want to run back all the way to the packs. Via you can scout speed back to cliff easily and cliff is a good area to re-commit from, but on this map it's the opposite you would never want to have to go through the choke or up from the lowground again, you give up all your positioning and just lose mid if you try to get health. Via it plays into the passive mid where you can have soldier/scouts on china and cliff and demo playing passive on slope and the med can get a pack easily without completely leaving. Feel like this map design is just flawed to be honest.
- The whole upper area feels so claustrophobic and useless, it's like a shittier version of viaduct china except u can't see anything as a sniper and it's super awkward to ever push through the up top area because it's just a big doorframe where demos can easily put traps on (you can have sticks above the lower door that will kill you if you walk through either upper or lower which is really dumb and poor design). Pushing cliff on via is open and easy with lots of area to dodge, and doesn't have two doors right on top of one another (is that a thing on ANY map??)
- Also, agree that demo spamming on mid is really strong, it's such a small sightline if you're on your side of mid by the box, then can shoot the enemy roof on the left easily too.
- One soldier going behind can be good because the packs and distraction value, but unlike viaduct or bagel, there isn't really a flank to push or any interesting other areas to go. You can't go behind with two people (scout/soldier) because it just gives you insane lowground or super telegraphed re-entry
- House is the default way to exit which at least makes it useful, but I would argue it's a really bad terrain for fighting and just poor map design, if the best way to retreat is into there it means the other options must be very bad (which they are). I almost feel like removing the guard rails on batts and making it like via would be better for the map because that area is so useless, it would make sniper way too strong though most likely. I think the big issue there though is that the map is too big, the distance from one batts area to the opposite is huge and there's just so much terrain to cover. Not the best feedback sorry but maybe something to play around making the mid overall less giant or maybe just getting rid of the second story door instead of the rail because it's bad anyways and would make sniper less aggressively op. Right now sniper is basically useless because the sightlines are so bad, I think making it at least exist is probably good.
- Roof control is a big part and I will say it is a lot less interesting terrain to fight over than most other maps, snakewater up top or sunshine tower or the little huts are cool to fight over because they have different things to stand on and jump over, this map just has two giant slanted roofs which are the same flat surface for their entirety. I do like that they got shortened (slightly) but might be something to consider changing, bagel's flank areas at least are actually separate and you can push through them, although arguably it's better to only have one flank area like viaduct that both teams have to go through (my opinion)
- The cave area underneath the roofs is really dumb, if you hold properly it's almost impossible to force a medic (with a 4 man sack) because there are only two doors and a pocket and demo can completely block them off. Feels really lame, at least on via if you hold house the other team can get on to point and cap or send people behind easily to do good flanks and kill the people not in house, and there are 3 doors and not as much space so harder to hold as tightly. Via also has the alternative hold on cliff which has different pros/cons, but on this map it's either hold in one enclosed box or hold in the other one even further back which has one more door and no real advantages (house). Don't have much ideas on how to. change it, just feel like it's not a very interesting dynamic.
- Overall I didn't hate the map that much, there were some cool team fights and it was playable at least, but it really doesn't feel like a very interesting map, it's basically just a DM server because you can't coordinate any meaningful flanks and it's so easy to just chase down people behind since they have nowhere to go. The FPS problem is also a huge reason why it's just not fun to play, I normally get 300+ fps but on mid on that map I drop down below a hundred and it feels awful. I'm going to be honest, not sure why people like this map. It's definitely an easy map to win on if you simply have better DM, so I'm sure that's why ascent likes it lol (im sure laz does some genie shit with flanks and makes it work but I still think the map isn't very well designed around flanks)