This post is mainly directed towards @popstarfreas, however I am making a public post in suggestions about it so you can comment, leave feedback, add anything extra and anything else you feel like is right to be included here. Some of your time will be used here if you are in for a full read, this won’t be short at all.
I will be analyzing all my self created zombies maps here based on different levels and factors that I personally believe matter the most when it comes to making a map a certified map to earn XP and DP, as well as pointing out from my experience, others’ feedback, own testing etc. anything else worth noticing. Let’s begin.
Glass Castle
The first map I ever made, released around September-October of 2020. Smallish map with a fine variety of weapons and accessories to choose from.
This map has a unique feature of its own; the doors cannot be opened by any kind of mob, not even from those that are able to open doors. This interaction allows for some safety inside the castle, as long as no one opens the doors randomly and aimlessly.
The only weapons in that map that can pass through blocks are the projectile of Storm Spear, an early game weapon that deals little damage and Terra Blade which has been modded to shoot First Fractal’s projectile, a weapon close to late game, hardly obtained before round 12.
The melee class has some other modded weapons as well in the main weapon chest, but are also hardly obtained before round 6, which is when they are needed. Melee class thrives in early game, later ranged class need to protect them from ranged and flying enemies while they try to gather some points in order to obtain the first modded weapon that allows them to attack from range, which is Fiery Greatsword, modded to shoot the projectile from Flower of Fire twice per swing and costs 15,500 points.
This map’s difficulty would be best set at medium, as without a well coordinated team, some teammates might lead you to your death, led by their greed and hunger to fight, no matter how weak you are. The map is decently playable with at least 4 people.
The HP chest is quite expensive as well, so the map’s theme can live on, it is hard to buy lots of HP in the map, so it should be taken into account. Shaman is of course the window here.
The strongest weapon in this map should be the Celebration Mk2 in the ranged class, which is also the most expensive one and (most likely) cannot be obtained before round 17 the least due to its high price.
Synopsis: The map is just right at the moment, no changes have been needed to be done for a long time and probably never need again. Even if you get the Bat Hook to go on the floating clouds you are still an easy target, the map needs a good strategy and synergy with your teammates.
Personal rating:
| Least XP Multiplier | Least DP Multiplier | Max XP Multiplier | Max DP Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Mystic Library
This should still remain my best map so far, its theme is seen as a favourite among players. Released around a month after Glass Castle, this map still makes quite an impact in the gamemode, as it also still remains the map with the most items, being over 500(!).
There is only one safe spot in this map, but it is barely used, and even so cannot be reached without performing a specific parkour that you need to spend a few points in order to achieve it for the Well Fed buff. This map is targetted around evolving your weapons, the later tier the more damage but also the higher the costs of them. With a bunch of weapon varieties to choose from, the prices alongside the damage values - as well as knockback and use time - are reasonable and balanced. If anything, at least for now there is no weapon with unreasonable prices tied to damage values, most likely all upgrades are done at the right time and offer the just right amount of damage needed at that part of the game.
All weapons can reach crazy damage values at max tiers, but they are not easy at all to obtain. Even if you get the cheapest weapons to max tier, which can be done mid game (estimated rounds 12-15), they will fall off quite soon. They may do absurd damage which surpasses 500 and 600 even, but they will not be of great use for long, which leaves you to two resorts; you can either continue with it and fully upgrade armor or rely on your teammates for the main forces and DPS on mobs that outscale you.
The key for this map is composure, strategy and teamwork, everything will fall off in a snap if any of those 3 is poor.
The map’s layout does not allow you to hide (except for that one spot, the secret room but as I mentioned it is barely of use, can even be called useless or pointless), it forces you to be active and on the run all the time. The zombies are able to climb all platforms in the map, as well as flying and ranged enemies can knock you out from the parkour parts of the map, no staying away from melee mobs.
Not very often, but from time to time if I see a weapon being abusable and extremely beneficial towards gaining points or clearing mobs fast, I perform necessary updates in the map which always target at fixing said problems and offering more choices to players, things never go overboard.
Synopsis: Yes, you can have Wand of Sparking with 600 damage midgame, and Zenith can reach over 500 damage, but the more powerful a weapon is, the more expensive it is. You could say that mid tiers of the final two weapon chests are nearly impossible to reach due to its absurd prices. The most expensive upgrade is for Last Prism and reaches 2 million points, in exchange for the most insane damage in any zombie maps (maybe except Cryptic Castle). That upgrade could be obtained at least on round 28, no round earlier. Why did I say all these here? Because as I mentioned, I want to really emphasize that every price tied to its weapon’s damage value is balanced and reasonable.
Personal rating:
| Least XP Multiplier | Least DP Multiplier | Max XP Multiplier | Max DP Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.7 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.9 |
Christmas Night
Unavailable in public pool.
Pirate Harbour
The new madness of this gamemode, this small pirate themed map. Even though this (and the next) have been out for a while, I have done any necessary changes at the moment to keep them steady for a long time at least. No further updates need to be done currently. Let’s continue.
The ranged class excels from round 6, similarly to Glass Castle, but instead melee class can buy some weapons to attack from range from early, not limiting themselves to defensive playstyle and making ranged players the carries. There are no absurd weapons in this map.
The final weapons are Chlorophyte Saber, Eventide and S.D.M.G. for ranged class and Meowmere, Daybreak and Solar Eruption for melee, all of which can be obtained at round 13 the earliest separately, only if you focus on each weapon’s chest entirely. Normal obtainment round should be 16. However, avoiding dying in the map to stack all those points can be tricky.
The map has a favour towards players only on round 12 and 13. The map has a Pirate Captain banner, which gives them defense and bonus damage against them, whom appear only on said rounds.
The map also possesses a flying mount, The Black Spot. It can be obtained at round 12 if early but it is needed only if you have a strong enough weapon to scout around the map at ease with the mount and kills the mobs, so you need to invest strategically on it.
Synopsis: There are few safe spots in the map where you can sit and regenerate health, the HP chest costs 20,000 for 100 HP, making you again invest strategically. The map relies on teamwork and decent variety on each class. It is for the best if the players and classes are as even as they can be.
Personal rating:
| Least XP Multiplier | Least DP Multiplier | Max XP Multiplier | Max DP Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Miner’s Duplicity
The first paragraph about Pirate Harbour also applies to this map, however, this map is 100% over with and no further changes need to be done for certainty.
The map targets around being a second version of Miner’s Deceit, offerinh a bit more armor and weapons, as we as introducing drills class. I believe I have succeeded in making an alternate version of it almost perfectly. The prices are close to same as the original map, no extreme weapons have been added as well.
Just as Miner’s Deceit, this map begins being hard to proceed after round 11. Even if I have added a decent ammo chest and rather expensive HP chest (1,450 for 2 HP, being 7,250 for 10 HP) alongside better armor and accessories and even the Mechanical Cart, the map poses the same difficulty and challenge as the original map.
Synopsis: Miner’s Deceit is wide and Miner’s Duplicity is tall. They both contain the same theme and energy and don’t think I need to add anything else as it is obvious at this point to compare each.
Personal rating:
| Least XP Multiplier | Least DP Multiplier | Max XP Multiplier | Max DP Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Specific message for popstarfreas
I would like at least Glass Castle and Miner’s Duplicity to be valid for XP and DP gains. If you get some time these days to examine the maps even closely after this, here are the recommended amount of people you will need for each map:
- Glass Castle: at least 3 people - 2 games
- Mystic Library: at least 4 people - 3 games
- Pirate Harbour: at least 3 people - 2 games
- Miner’s Duplicity: at least 5 people - 1 game
