Fire Base: What’s new with Nuke?
After Valve announced Operation Wildfire and shipped the revamped Nuke with it, there have been a good number of changes to the map in order to make it friendly to players at all levels of play, while at the same time creating a better balance between the Counter-Terrorist and Terrorist sides of the map.
Some of the changes included architectural fixes, bombsite redesigns and path creation among others, thus creating completely new physical factors that can affect how teams approach this map on both halves of the map.
Esports by INQUIRER.Net asked Francis “Tankz” Catangay from Strategic AC Gaming to weigh in his thoughts on the new map as well as the implications of these changes on the overall state of the game.
A Palatable “Newke”
Given that the iconic map is back, casuals and professionals alike are curious as to how “Newke” will play out. Besides the change in the overall structure of Nuke, the updated version has been retouched with a brighter set of colors.
Francis “Tankz” Catangay of Strategic AC Gaming is one of Philippines’ first-person shooter veterans, having played titles such as CrossFire and CS:GO at a high level locally, had something to say regarding these changes:
Yes, I’m happy that Nuke is finally back. It’s been a while since I’ve played on that map in terms of matchmaking/tournaments. Valve really took their time to see what changes they can make for it to be more balanced.
Tankz isn’t alone in his assessment. To date, other, personalities such as Hatton of “Giff me chakra” fame, Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostylev, and Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth have liked the redesigned map for its dynamic map setting as well as its optimized colors.
.@Xyp9x "It's exciting to see if we're still going to be a dominant CT side on de_nuke, considering the changes on the map and in the team"
— Astralis (@astralisgg) February 18, 2016
Road Widening: Creating New Options for the Terrorist Side
The area called “Outside” has been a linchpin of many strategies for the Counter-Terrorist site due to its ability to deny pushes into Secret (the underground pathway to B), Mini (the garage that directly leads to the A site) and the Heaven/Hell area, which offers access to both bombsites.
Streamlining the pathways and creating more accessible places in that area now allows Terrorists to have an easier time controlling Outside. Before, the attacking side needed elaborate smoke timings in order to be able to access one of the three places stated above.
Today, it is much easier as Tankz explains: “There are many changes on the map. The whole map is rearranged and it is now more playable for the T-side because it is easier to execute on a site. For example, in the Outside area, you can now go to the upper silo without a boost.”
“The Catwalk area is now connected to Heaven, which means that you can now sneak your way above the roof,” he added.
In the past, people needed to boost themselves in order to be able to have a chance to even access Silo, but as Tankz states, the changes have made it possible for the T’s to do it without breaking a sweat.
Overall, he opines that “the general widening of the map” was the best thing that happened thus far.
Road widening does indeed work wonders in CS:GO!
Can the Terrorists finally stand a chance?
Nuke has been known to be a notoriously CT-sided map to the point that anything beyond a three-round win on the T-side is either considered to be a God-sent miracle or a result of next-level strategy.
Though many have been saying that the changes have been friendly to the T’s, Tankz expressed caution on the matter:
I really can’t say for now that it is really more playable for the T sides because of the changes but I can somehow assume that it might change some defense style for the CT because there is more space to cover for them and check where the T’s are planning to execute.
Will this map be played in official tournaments?
Tankz: Also, It’s a pretty new map so maybe we can give it a month to see if it will go again to the official tournament maps and let’s see what professional players can come up with.
Nuke is one of the pioneer maps of the CS franchise, so I’m glad that Valve finally rearranged it for all the players to much enjoy both sides of the game.
Conclusions
It has been only a couple of days since Nuke has been reintroduced into the game. It is clear that it is better-looking, less static and physically accessible than ever before.
Will it get back its iconic status again as the map of great games? It will take quite a long time to have that mantle, but one thing is clear:
Nuke is back, and it is here to STAY.
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