What is the best Treyarch zombie map? (opinions)

[andydabeast]

There was an interesting discussion in the ZomBros podcast about which Treyarch map is best. There are some objective points I will touch on but it is largely subjective. 

 

This is NOT a popularity contest for your favorite map. The map you think is best, and your personal favorite will probably be different. Please don't just make a one word post, explain your reasoning. You don't need to just pick one map either. 

 

Here is my opinion-

There are three aspects that make each map and the best map needs to cater to each.

#1 is just shooting zombies. Can the map be enjoyed if you just want to kill stuff? Does it flow?

#2 is doing things. Collecting parts, constructing devices, constructing weapons, completing Easter Eggs. 

#3 is the setting and story. Is it immersive? Interesting?

 

I think that the best map will have #1 down great. You can play through the map and have fun without having to worry about #2, but #2 needs to be an OPTION, not mandatory. An example is MOTD. Fantastic #3 setting and story, but getting to Pap is essentially so much effort that you can't really just enjoy zombie killing unless you don't want to pap. #2 is mandatory. 

 

So I think that Der Eisendrache, Ascension, Buried and Origins are the winners. Here is why-

DE is solid on all three points. I have played numerous times without building any bows and it is still a fantastic map. If I want, building the bows is pretty fun. And I always wanted a castle map ;-)

Ascension is lacking in #2 but having good monkey strategy may help that. 

Buried played kinda smooth, but a lot of the map nobody really spent much time in. It had a lot of unique qualities and there were lots of buildables for those who want them and essentially two easter eggs. 

Origins has the staffs as an option and pap is not too hard to open. The setting is awesome and I think it plays great. 

 

PS. my favorite maps are Virruckt, buried, and DE

[ZombiesAteMyPizza!]

I'm going with Moon on this one, hands down. It's the PERFECT balance between all three of these.

 

#1 - Yes. There are so many ways to play this map and it's definitely a map that the strategists all sunk their teeth into and came up with all sorts, and still are with the remastered version. There are slow camping strategies, fast camping strategies, slow kiting strategies and fast kiting strategies. There are some maps where there's only really one or two ways to play them to get to high rounds, but with Moon the possibilities are numerous and the gameplay flows well. At the same time, you've got things to break up monotony like having to take care of the astronaut or the excavators.

#2 - Yes. While there are no buildables on this map, there's plenty to do to get set up and it's not just in the usual "save points, spend points" way. Wise use of the hacking device, planning ahead for getting everyone together to go to Earth to get perks and use the PaP will help you. You can also do the easter egg and earn infinite perks, which will aid you if you're aiming for the highest round possible. However, apart from the co-ordination to go to back to earth, none of this is really mandatory. You could quite easily just go the usual "save points, buy perks, get good weapons from the box, PaP them and play until dead or bored" tactic without any messing around.

#3 - Yes. This was the end of Black Ops 1 and we were unsure as to what this meant for the zombies story at the time. It was a HUGE part of the storyline and the ending of the easter egg changed the course of the entire storyline (some would say for the worse, but you can't argue that it wasn't monumental at the time). There's a lot of story packed into this map - we visited a place where a lot of stuff went on that was instrumental to the storyline; we got to see Sam up close for the first time; Richtofen entered the aether despite Maxis' best attempts to stop him, and he switched bodies with Samantha; and we blew up the Moon. We've had three end-of-season maps now, and the ending to this one rocked the community, whereas the ending for Origins and Revelations both left the community severely underwhelmed.

[RadZakpak]

I think of all the maps Der Eisendrache has the most harmony and flow to it. It's a map that lends itself to so many different ways to play, from camping to training and everything in-between. It's simple enough to be enjoyed by anybody and the easter egg and bow upgrades make it have enough depth for a zombies veteran. Much like the staves, the bows are a key point on this map and are a major appeal for it. Each is unique and useful for certain situations and adds variability to the map. The upgrade process for all of them is also fun and not so tedious like running around the map for the upgraded staves. The map can be as easy or as hard as you want to make it. The Panzer Soldat is better balanced on this map and can be a force to be reckoned with under the wrong circumstances. The easter egg is akin to the classics in terms of steps and for the most part they all make sense. The end boss fight is the best one we've had in Black Ops III in terms of balance. Finally, the end cutscene and story of the map are a major stepping stone in the story of Black Ops III and have resonated with many fans like myself. The only complaint I have is I wish we got to know Dempsey 1.0, or Primis Dempsey for that matter, a little better.

 

So great flow, gameplay, immersion, story, replayability, music, and graphics. For an objective view I think it is one of the best if not the best zombies map to date.

 

However, subjectively for me, Moon will always be my favorite.

[andydabeast]

46 minutes ago, ZombiesAteMyPizza! said:

I'm going with Moon on this one, hands down. It's the PERFECT balance between all three of these.

 

#1 - Yes. There are so many ways to play this map and it's definitely a map that the strategists all sunk their teeth into and came up with all sorts, and still are with the remastered version. There are slow camping strategies, fast camping strategies, slow kiting strategies and fast kiting strategies. There are some maps where there's only really one or two ways to play them to get to high rounds, but with Moon the possibilities are numerous and the gameplay flows well. At the same time, you've got things to break up monotony like having to take care of the astronaut or the excavators.

#2 - Yes. While there are no buildables on this map, there's plenty to do to get set up and it's not just in the usual "save points, spend points" way. Wise use of the hacking device, planning ahead for getting everyone together to go to Earth to get perks and use the PaP will help you. You can also do the easter egg and earn infinite perks, which will aid you if you're aiming for the highest round possible. However, apart from the co-ordination to go to back to earth, none of this is really mandatory. You could quite easily just go the usual "save points, buy perks, get good weapons from the box, PaP them and play until dead or bored" tactic without any messing around.

#3 - Yes. This was the end of Black Ops 1 and we were unsure as to what this meant for the zombies story at the time. It was a HUGE part of the storyline and the ending of the easter egg changed the course of the entire storyline (some would say for the worse, but you can't argue that it wasn't monumental at the time). There's a lot of story packed into this map - we visited a place where a lot of stuff went on that was instrumental to the storyline; we got to see Sam up close for the first time; Richtofen entered the aether despite Maxis' best attempts to stop him, and he switched bodies with Samantha; and we blew up the Moon. We've had three end-of-season maps now, and the ending to this one rocked the community, whereas the ending for Origins and Revelations both left the community severely underwhelmed.

 

I agree with everything you say here! I think I let my preferences get in the way of Moon getting onto my list.

For me I really hate the teleportation crawlers. I hate them.  I won't rant here about them but they really hurt the map for me. Then the combination of the spacemen and the airlocks how you have no way to know if he is right there annoys me too. Spacemen and airlocks separate are fine, but such an annoyance when combined. 

My pet peeves aside I didn't realize how right you are till I read that post. Thanks for that.

[ZombiesAteMyPizza!]

2 hours ago, andydabeast said:

 

I agree with everything you say here! I think I let my preferences get in the way of Moon getting onto my list.

For me I really hate the teleportation crawlers. I hate them.  I won't rant here about them but they really hurt the map for me. Then the combination of the spacemen and the airlocks how you have no way to know if he is right there annoys me too. Spacemen and airlocks separate are fine, but such an annoyance when combined. 

My pet peeves aside I didn't realize how right you are till I read that post. Thanks for that.

 

Fair enough! I suppose my choice is helped by the fact that I love Moon, always have, and was over the Moon (pun totally intended) to hear it was getting a remaster. I never really had an issue with the teleporters as I don't really spend time in the labs and I just take them out quickly if they follow me out, but they're annoying. The spaceman though, yeah, really annoying and somehow they've made him even more of a nuisance with this game. The breathing noise that you could hear several metres away has now been replaced by a radio that you can hardly hear when there are zombies around, and there used to be dirty ways you could get rid of him that have now been patched - it seems like glitching him out is totally patched and the old Superhands method of locking him away using the diggers no longer works cause he respawns if he can't follow a path. Have a Ray Gun Mark II in hand though when you're running around the map and you should be fine, in the earlier rounds at least.

[CerealBro1]

For me that map is Five.

 

1. It is so fun to simply plop down on the sofa and play through a game of zombies and there really are no difficult easter eggs to do to get to things

2. Many different ways to play the map, and the elevators and Defcon switches is extremely innovative and the Thief definitely makes things difficult on early rounds

3. The story was not very direct in this map but it was still there. It showed how the Americans were aware of Zombies and all of the Tech from group 935, and you could see all of their efforts to re-engineer their technology including Rayguns, Wunderwaffe, and the teleporters.

 

Plus this was the map that made me love zombies so I will always be biased about it and all my memories from this map

[RadZakpak]

57 minutes ago, CerealBro1 said:

For me that map is Five.

 

1. It is so fun to simply plop down on the sofa and play through a game of zombies and there really are no difficult easter eggs to do to get to things

2. Many different ways to play the map, and the elevators and Defcon switches is extremely innovative and the Thief definitely makes things difficult on early rounds

3. The story was not very direct in this map but it was still there. It showed how the Americans were aware of Zombies and all of the Tech from group 935, and you could see all of their efforts to re-engineer their technology including Rayguns, Wunderwaffe, and the teleporters.

 

Plus this was the map that made me love zombies so I will always be biased about it and all my memories from this map

Bold choice but I agree Five is awesome. Definitely in my top five maps.

[andydabeast]

1 hour ago, RadZakpak said:

Bold choice but I agree Five is awesome. Definitely in my top five maps.

 

I see what you did there 

[Rissole25]

Although neither are my favourites, I would have to say Moon and Der Eisendrache are perfect maps. The Easter Eggs are done really well on each map, not too hard (Moon does have the RNG problem though). The maps flow really well. All 8 perks on Moon, and Der Wunderfizz returned on DE (before it became a staple in every map after...) Moon has a ton of innovative mechanics, and while Der Eisendrache doesn't have too many, the recurring anti-gravity was nice. As for the story, Moon was the culmination, the main climax of our story. DE was pretty much the beginning of the BO3 story, and while I don't like how it went afterwards, at the time I was really excited.

[anonymous]

Although I self like TranZit the most, it is not the really the best map in my opinion. Sure, the atmosphere, buildables and the bus, one of the best game elements ever IMO, are neat, but looking at innovation, story and possibilities the player can do in this map, it is not so good. 

 

I have 4 candidates. Verrückt, because it really was the first Zombies map as we know it. Multiple hallways you can take, a moving box, Perk-a-Cola's and the power switch. It was also the first DLC, which changed Nazi Zombies from a neat bonus surprise to a real game mode. Ascension was the first map with a real big Easter Egg. Sure, the Der Riese Flytrap and Kino Rocket Egg are Easter Eggs as well, but they aren't comparable to Ascension's "Mystery Man". Treyarch continued this tradition ever since: Time travel will tell, the tower of Babble, High Maintenance, the Big Bang Theory, Apocalypse Averted and many more. The size of the map was also revolutionary, and almost every map after this one had such size: The era of small, multiplayer map-based maps was over. Also, Ascension really changed Nazi Zombies to Zombies: the Second World War was over. We move on one map: Call of the Dead. Yeah, you might not expect this one, but story-wise, CotD was revolutionary. The purposeless traveling around of Ultimis in random locations was over: Ever since CotD, Call of Duty Zombies has a real story. Previously, the story only consisted of some radios and ciphers. A few small seeds planted by Treyarch, without having a real agenda, hoping that the fans would create some kind of story behind it. Richthofen's quest to the Golden Vril Rod was the first step to the story we know today. CotD was also the first map that had no ties with the Campaign (expect Die Rise maybe). Every map after Ascension takes place in either an alternative universe or a fictional future. Call of the Dead has started a Zombies standalone story, without influence of any JFK, Mason, Nova-6, Stalingrad, Siege of Berlin or Reznov. And finally, Buried, this map had so many innovative things. I can't specifically explain them all. But in my opinion CoDZ consists of two kinds of maps: Zielinski's maps (WaW, BO1, Transit, Die Rise) and Blundell's maps (MotD, Origins, BO3). Buried is the only map I cannot place in one of these groups. It was just...a perfect mixure of both. It had all the good things of Zielinski and all the good things of Blundell. You really can see both maps like Verrückt AND maps like MotD in it. The only important thing the map missed was a backstory...

 

So yeah, four maps of which you might not immediately consider as the best zombie map, but they were truly revolutionary.

 

 

[Steelie]

My personal favorite is Der Eisendrache, and Kino will always have a soft spot in my heart.

[andydabeast]

On 6/29/2017 at 2:50 PM, anonymous said:

Although I self like TranZit the most, it is not the really the best map in my opinion. Sure, the atmosphere, buildables and the bus, one of the best game elements ever IMO, are neat, but looking at innovation, story and possibilities the player can do in this map, it is not so good. 

 

I have 4 candidates. Verrückt, because it really was the first Zombies map as we know it. Multiple hallways you can take, a moving box, Perk-a-Cola's and the power switch. It was also the first DLC, which changed Nazi Zombies from a neat bonus surprise to a real game mode. Ascension was the first map with a real big Easter Egg. Sure, the Der Riese Flytrap and Kino Rocket Egg are Easter Eggs as well, but they aren't comparable to Ascension's "Mystery Man". Treyarch continued this tradition ever since: Time travel will tell, the tower of Babble, High Maintenance, the Big Bang Theory, Apocalypse Averted and many more. The size of the map was also revolutionary, and almost every map after this one had such size: The era of small, multiplayer map-based maps was over. Also, Ascension really changed Nazi Zombies to Zombies: the Second World War was over. We move on one map: Call of the Dead. Yeah, you might not expect this one, but story-wise, CotD was revolutionary. The purposeless traveling around of Ultimis in random locations was over: Ever since CotD, Call of Duty Zombies has a real story. Previously, the story only consisted of some radios and ciphers. A few small seeds planted by Treyarch, without having a real agenda, hoping that the fans would create some kind of story behind it. Richthofen's quest to the Golden Vril Rod was the first step to the story we know today. CotD was also the first map that had no ties with the Campaign (expect Die Rise maybe). Every map after Ascension takes place in either an alternative universe or a fictional future. Call of the Dead has started a Zombies standalone story, without influence of any JFK, Mason, Nova-6, Stalingrad, Siege of Berlin or Reznov. And finally, Buried, this map had so many innovative things. I can't specifically explain them all. But in my opinion CoDZ consists of two kinds of maps: Zielinski's maps (WaW, BO1, Transit, Die Rise) and Blundell's maps (MotD, Origins, BO3). Buried is the only map I cannot place in one of these groups. It was just...a perfect mixure of both. It had all the good things of Zielinski and all the good things of Blundell. You really can see both maps like Verrückt AND maps like MotD in it. The only important thing the map missed was a backstory...

 

So yeah, four maps of which you might not immediately consider as the best zombie map, but they were truly revolutionary.

 

 

 

Some great points here!