Curse

JR · Feb 16, 2007, 01:57 AM // 01:57

CA/TA Map Guides -- Ascalon Arena (Annihilation)

General Layout

The Ascalon Arena is the smallest arena, presenting a simple battleground around a low-lying tar pit, with a plain field on one side and ridged paths on the other.

Teams spawn in the northeast (A) and the southwest (B) of the map, on opposite sides of a large tar pit in the center (E). Towards the northwest is a more level area inbetween two unused resurrection shrines (C, D); the other side of the map has an elevated, ridged terrain with narrow pathways along the outside wall (G) and a perch overlooking the tar (F).

The Maps

Terrain Quality

Besides the generally sloping nature of this arena, scattered across the floor and ridges are lots of impassable stones, bushes and broad trees that can block your path - especially when positioned against the ridges, make sure to move well around them to avoid nasty surprises. In the open area, watch out for the resurrection shrines - the structures don't offer any cover from projectiles, and since you can't move around them it's easy to get blocked in the niches by a pursuer.

Hazards

The center area of the Ascalon Arena has a large pool of tar (E), slowing down anyone running through it. Every three seconds the effect from standing in the tar is renewed, and lasts five more seconds after the last application once you've reached dry land again. While slowed down by tar your movement rate is reduced by 30%; speed buffs will still have effect.

Because speed buffs are not hindered by the tar, kiting through it is mostly a bad idea - you increase your response time to get back in range with opponents or allies, and if anything it helps your attackers by letting them catch up with you the moment you hit the tar. Prekiting around it can have a moderately beneficial effect (keeping the tar between you and casters either forces them to run around it, or get bogged down while you move out of their range). With ranged opponents on the elevation (F) overlooking the tar, avoid the tar altogether: you won't be able to move out of range fast enough, and you won't be able to dodge incoming projectiles either.

Strategy

Investigating your opponent

Because of the small size of the arena, by highlighting the opponent names (default key is ctrl) you can determine their team composition right at the start (unless they actively hide in the back, but that causes a delay for them when the match begins), and this gives you a short time to adjust your regular approach to suit the battle you're expecting. Keep an eye on maintained enchantments or other skills being cast while waiting for the match to start, and keep in mind that any skill you're using yourself is revealed to the opponent just the same.

Choosing your approach

There are two seperate areas to distinguish in this arena: a ridged southeast side and a relatively level northwest side. Teams that rely on line-of-sight for their setup do best to steer the fight towards the northwest side: the open area gives no opportunities to hide, and it's easy to position yourself on the outer edge, which due to a slight slope gives a height advantage over the area along the tar. When moving into this side for this purpose, stay back a little: if you aggressively charge in, you're likely to meet the other team when they're still halfway between their base and the center, giving them an initial height advantage instead.

The ridged area in the southeast is positioned significantly higher than the rest of the map, allowing teams to fight a down-hill battle against teams coming in from the center. The pathways between the ridges are relatively cramped, with lots of terrain clutter further decreasing the kiting options. The ridges themselves work to some extent to break line-of-sight in selective cases, but none of them are very well suited to kite around: the side ridges are too long, and kiting around the central ridge takes you straight through the tar pit. Melee-heavy teams benefit from fighting in this area however, and caster-heavy teams may want to take shelter here for the opportunity to hide from physical interrupts.

-[iQ]Silmor