Mapping Strategies Go Here Only

The maps themselves. It’s time to learn the maps in depth: from places to snipe from, to high-traffic choke points, to spawn points, and more. We’ll be following the game’s standardized grid layout to explain various points of interest on each map, to keep things familiar.

Array

Array is easily one of the largest maps in the game, with plenty of open areas for those who prefer long-range sniping, and also smaller choke points for those run-and-gun enthusiasts; as long as you choose your route well and stick to it you can play your own way here.

Running through D3 and D4 is a treacherous path, with both sides having decent cover points to stop incoming enemy traffic that may happen to move this route. If you’re on the Black Ops team moving this route from the start, you should always expect a sniper to be on the crane found in the D2 block—he’ll have a clean shot on you once you reach the cars. If you’re on the Spetsnaz team, be sure to throw Flashbangs before making the dangerous journey, using possible hit markers as a warning sign of things to come. Both should also always be sure to blow up the cars before you run this path, or a well-placed grenade will maul down anyone unlucky enough to be caught in the vicinity.

One of the more dangerous points to watch out for is the tower on A3, as it’s usually being occupied by snipers. The narrow path running through A2 is generally a way to go in order to neutralize this threat as it has plenty of cover to handle the situation, but you should always keep that tower in the back of your mind. From this tower you can shoot into the windows of the array, or guard points A & B in a game of Domination.

The array tower itself is one of the highest traffic areas of this map; with plenty of close quarters combat to be had. There are two conventional ways into this area: one in the lower right corner of C2, and the other in C3. There’s always the window at C2, and the tunnel from C2 that wraps around to the C3 entrance.

Each set of windows gives a nice view of their respective areas, but you should only take a quick peek through and move on, since this area is too high-volume to attempt to snipe from. Combat inside is mainly of a close quarters nature, so if that’s your preference then here’s your area.

The road that runs around the north side of the array is probably the most dangerous path on the map since you can be attacked from just about anywhere. You should try and spend as little time as possible in this area, unless you like looking at killcams.


Cracked

Of all of the maps in Black Ops, Cracked is likely the most hazardous to traverse. This map has much to offer all play styles; both CQC and long-range areas are found in abundance, so unless you excel at both you’re much better off sticking to certain locations of the map rather than making the journey around it. Not to worry, though, as there are plenty of solid locations throughout the map regardless of what your preferred style of assault may be.

If you’re still new to this map, one of the first things you should do is learn the various routes around it. There are a lot of buildings, which can save you from a needlessly dangerous excursion through some of the more open and dangerous areas. Be extremely careful on the main roads that run horizontally through the C and D blocks of the map, as they can be attacked from just about anywhere. If you find yourself forced to journey down these roads, be sure to blow up the cars and use them for cover if need be, but it’s advisable to try and use the buildings to keep yourself out of the open instead.

There is a building near each team’s spawn point that can cover the C2/C3 middle ground from their respective windows, but be careful when using them as both have windows that can be climbed into. To enter the southern building at D2/D3 simply climb the car, and from the car jump onto the awning. For the northern building at B2, you can climb the boxes in front of it, or climb the truck and jump through the side window. If someone is holed up inside either of these, it’s helpful to know how to take them down without triggering any defenses they may have at the door.

The building at C3 is a commonly used vantage point as well. It has multiple access points which makes it exceedingly difficult to hold down, but it can give clean firing lanes on various high traffic areas at the same time. You should learn your way around this building so that you can flank out enemies who may decide to occupy this area.

One place to keep in mind at all times is the courtyard that crosses between C3/C4 and D3/D4. If you do find yourself having to cross here then you’d be wise to make it a very short visit, as there are just too many vantage points that can fire on it. Be especially wary of the windows of the buildings found at E4 and the rooftop of the building at D4 taking this path.


Firing Range

Firing range is the first map that we’ve covered that caters specifically to the run-and-gun demographic: you either move from position to position or you die. A lot.

There is a sniper tower at C3, but it’s easy to hit with a grenade as it is small and enclosed, so if you’re keen on picking people off from here Flak Jacket Pro is a great idea. Directly in front of it is a small perch located on the opposite side from the ladder. From here, you can run across the wooden beam to access the building found at D3, should someone be holding down that area.

A vast majority of the fighting on this map usually takes place in the C2/3/D2/3 area, so sticking to the high ground in these areas can be beneficial. If you decide upon the plywood building in the C2/C3 area, be sure to keep in mind that it has multiple entrances and the wood is thin so that bullet penetration will become an issue if you begin to take fire.

When passing down the left side of the map, be wary of the building at the back of B2 as well as the trailer at D2—both will have open shots at anyone who may venture down this route. Practically all of the cover in this route is extremely thin, so be cautious of that fact if you end up in a firefight here.

Other points of interest for picking off unsuspecting prey are the tiny hole in the path crossing from E4 to E3, and the building in the northern part of C4 which can make the journey across the north eastern path of the map a dangerous one.


Nuketown

Nuketown is tiny; there are bathrooms that are bigger than this map. Opinion is pretty firmly split when it comes to this map: you either love it or you hate it. Realistically, close-range weapons rule this map with an iron fist, as it’s just too small to even consider sniping. There are fenced areas found near each team’s spawn, which can be nice places to hide and pick off anyone who happens to come around the houses located on their respective sides of the map—just remember that they’re thin and can be shot through with relative ease.

To the untrained eye the two houses are identical; truth be told, that’s not the case at all. In terms of tactical use, the house located at B3 has a preferable layout. In the kitchen is a table that you can hide out on, picking people off as they run through, and there’s a couch in the living room that you can hide behind for the same purpose.

Meanwhile, you can also shoot people who would hide behind the desk in the upstairs of the house at D3 through the window from B3, which is something that cannot be done from the other house. If you’re going to hole up one of the houses, definitely try to take the one at B3.

The center of the map is probably the most dangerous area to be caught in, since you can literally be shot from anywhere. Try to use the vehicles for cover if you must cut through the center, or stick to the outskirts and pick people off who would try to travel this path themselves; the C4 area is great for this task as it has enough cover to make things happen.

One final thing to note about this map is that there’s a secret short cut for RC-XD cars in the fence at B2 and D2; it’ll take some practice driving a car through this area, but it can be highly effective in avoiding being blown up as you’re essentially driving the car from spawn point to spawn point.
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Welcome back to the CoD Black Ops Map Guide. In Part 1, we went over Array, Cracked, Firing Range and Nuketown. In this installment we’ll be covering all the ins and outs of Crisis, Grid, Hanoi, Havana and Jungle.


Crysis

Because of its layout, anything can happen on Crysis. Team communication is extremely important; without it, your teammates will be slaughtered by ambushes. There is no such thing as a safe path on this map.

The most common hot spot is the building at D3; you’ll never play a game on this map that doesn’t have a lot of activity here. In the building, you’ll find that downstairs has far too many entrances to cover, but upstairs is a lot more comfortable to work your way around.

When upstairs, be mindful of the tower found in E4; it has a clear shot through all of the windows into the upstairs, so always check for snipers when making a pass or you may find yourself dying before you know what hit you. Placing a motion sensor or claymore near the stairs usually isn’t a bad idea either, as it can give you a valuable heads up as to when your position has been compromised.

When in a pinch, you can jump off the building’s balcony and head south into the building at E3, using it as a place to regenerate health as well as losing pesky assailants in the process before re-entering the building from one of the many access points.

If you’re heading from the south to north on the map following the left side, be aware of the cliff at B3; there’s almost always someone here waiting to take advantage of anyone who would dare take this route. Luckily, dealing with this situation isn’t too difficult—there are just too many vantage points here for one man to cover. Use the narrow path at the northern corner of C2 & C3 and you’ll be in the perfect place to slap your enemy with a grenade.

The underground tunnels are a different story entirely—there are almost always people corner-camping down here. The best advice is to use this area only to access other areas of the map, and do it as quickly as possible. There are just too many access points to consider trying to set up a choke point inside.

You can, however, set up choke points outside these entrances to stop anyone trying to traverse them on their way out without putting yourself in too much danger. As for the beach itself, it’s far too open to hole up in. You can climb onto the tanks and attack people as they pass by, but outside of that there just isn’t much here other than the ladder to the cliff found at B3.


Grid

Grid is another map where it’s wise to stay on the move. There are plenty of spots where you can stop to pick off a few targets, but nowhere is safe for long because of all the entrances into each of the buildings.

One of the first things you will notice on this map is that there’s is very little cover outside—especially on the east side of the map. Because of this, it’s generally a good idea to stick to the buildings to traverse this map, or you’ll find yourself getting picked off frequently.

At the same time, you should keep in mind that each building has multiple points of entry, so attempting to bunker down inside of them can lead to you being flanked from multiple angles at any given time. A tough layout to work with, to say the least.
There isn’t too much out of the ordinary on this map; some of the more frequent camping sites include the long tunnel at D2/E2, the tiny building on the southern end of D2/D3, the upstairs section of the northern building spanning B2/B2/E3, and sometimes C5.

You should also watch out for corner-campers inside the buildings. Basically, stay on the move, pick up kills as you run, and try your hardest to stay out of the middle ground running through C3 since you can be hit from all directions if you’re caught there.


Hanoi

Hanoi has something for everyone, with buildings that are great for close combat, and windows that give a vantage point that’s great for picking off targets at a distance.

You should try to never take the path between the buildings in the middle of the map that runs through B2, B3, C3, and C4 as you’ll find yourself taking fire from the windows of said buildings. When maneuvering on this map, try and stick to the outskirts and pick off targets as you’ll find your life span cut down drastically if you enter this area for too long.

If you’re keen on being in either area, you can crouch under the hangman’s nooses in B2/B3 or climb across the bush garden found in C3 to stay at least somewhat out of the public eye. One area of note is the building at C1; it’s commonly used as a sniping building against people as they frequently travel through C2 to get out of the combat zone.

Always expect someone to be in that window ready to take you down—even if you don’t see anyone, it’s not a bad idea to chuck a spare grenade up there if you happen to have one. At the same time, if you want to snipe from here yourself be sure to equip Flak Jacket Pro to handle the reverse end of that situation.

The courtyard in the northeastern portion of the map is another good area for picking off targets. You can sometimes manage to sit directly under the searchlight in the corner found at A4, which gives you a clear view over anyone who’s climbing the ladder to enter the building at B4 and also gives you a clean shot at anyone currently spawning in C4/D4.

If you go this route, a silencer and Ghost Pro are both essential; the darkness already makes you slightly more difficult to see, so coupling this with you not showing up on enemy radars should help you easily pick up a few kills. The buildings themselves are pretty straightforward; the windows will give you a clear shot at people running through the courtyard, while providing cover from those high-traffic areas.

The buildings aren’t the easiest area to bunker down in, thanks to their multiple entrance points, but with a responsible team it can be done; just remember that some of the windows can be climbed in via crates.


Havana

On Havana, remember that it’s very easy to be locked down at your spawn if you aren’t careful. As such, it’s important to stop any attempts at this tactic as early as possible or you’re in for a very frustrating experience.

There is one thought you should get into your head early on in this map: stay off the center street at all costs. There are far too many points with visible sights on this path to make it even close to viable. There are sniper towers at A3 and E3 which have perfect lines of sight down the street—as well as to each other.

When sniping from these buildings, it’s most common for enemies to creep up from the right side (if you’re inside looking towards the street) and as such it’s best to lay a claymore on that side to defend yourself. A good place to set up shop if you want to pick off stragglers is the fountain found at C2; you can hit them as they come out of the buildings that surround it, obviously keeping spawn location in mind to decide which direction to pay attention to.

Setting a motion sensor here can help out dramatically. This works best if the enemy has the southern spawn, as there’s only one entrance from the south unless they wish to travel the treacherous main road. If you happen to be passing through this area, it’s always a smart decision to use one of your flashbangs before continuing or else you’ll suffer the aforementioned fate yourself.

Both big buildings towards the center of the map have balconies and one main door to defend the upstairs. If you plan on using this as your place for attack, you should probably claymore the entrance. The windows have good views of the central battlefield, while also having angles on the building opposite of them, but you should be wary of using the balconies themselves as you’ll leave yourself exposed from multiple angles.

If you are trying to clear out one of these buildings, lay down a radar jammer downstairs to deactivate all enemy equipment inside, it’ll take care of that pesky claymore problem.


Jungle

Jungle is a rather open style map with areas perfect for any style of play. This map has one area that is pretty much certain death: the valley that spans C3 below the cliff. There are far too many angles you can be hit from to ever even consider taking this route for any reason. It’s literally always better to use the paths found at C2 or C4 to travel from top to bottom or vice versa.

The big sniping point on this map is the cliff above the valley of death found at C3. The ladder to reach it can be found behind it at C4, and that ladder is the only access point. Should you decide to be up there, it is strongly suggested that you bring Flak Jacket Pro as you’re almost certain to have grenades flying at you constantly.

There’s a patch of grass that will partially hide a claymore right in front of the small rock you have to jump onto in order to reach the ladder; this will cover your flank. The best two vantage points for taking people down from the cliff are behind the big rock at C2 or at the ruins found in C1/C2, as both have the best firing angle on anyone up there.

You’ll find a burned down village in the D2/D3 area which is a very common hot spot; try and stick to the outside edge when going this route—there will likely be enemies in the various huts and this will cut down on the angles which you can be attacked from. Flash grenades can help here as well, as hit markers will give you a heads-up that there are enemies in this location.

The hut at the corner of D3 is a commonly used location for enemy activity as it has access to the bridge, and is the perfect place to chuck grenades at the cliff found at C3. This area can be held down, but it requires strong teamwork.
The northern path from B2 thru B3 into B4 is the other major route to keep an eye on in this map.

As you enter from C2 you should throw a flash grenade to check for hit markers as people commonly camp in B3—specifically in the hut and on the slanted iron roof. Crossing the bridge found here at B3 can be especially treacherous, and should be avoided unless absolutely necessary.

In the next and final installment of the Map Guide, heading your way in a few short days, we’ll be covering Launch, Radiation, Summit, and more. Stay tuned!

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Welcome to the third and final installment of the Black Ops Map Guide Series. The five maps that we’ll be covering are the last, but certainly not the least, in the game—and they offer some of the most interesting gameplay options of all the available maps.


Launch

Upon spawning, you should be extremely wary of going to the elevated path found crossing from D2 thru D3 into D4, as this becomes a major traffic area. If you’re near it, a well placed Frag or Semtex can pick up a few free kills, and if you have to cross it you should definitely throw a flash grenade over the hill to disorient anyone who may be on the other side. And there will definitely be someone there.

One thing you must remember on this map is the missile itself—the map is called launch for a reason. This sucker will launch after the match has gone on for a specified amount of time, killing anyone who’s too close to it down in the B3 area. When it launches, it will also shake the view of people nearby and the smoke will blind everyone in the vicinity.

This is a very good area to hold down even with this hazard, though, as it has catwalks at B2 and B4 with very nice sniping lanes. You should also keep in mind the fact that someone can drop down from the above section at B3 onto the small raised platforms in the launch area.

The other three elevated places of interest are the two rooftops accessed by ladders at D3 and D4 and the crane found in D3. These are commonly used, but aren’t too difficult to combat due to the open nature of the rooftops themselves. There is also a smaller catwalk that wraps around the silos found between D3 and D4; it’ll allow you to slightly conceal your movement through this area of the map. If at all possible, though, you really should avoid C3 and D3 as these are the most dangerous areas to be caught in.


Radiation

Radiation is a favorite of many players. What makes it different from the rest is that practically the entire map is used in the battle, so you should always be prepared before entering any new area.

There are sniping points commonly used near both spawn points: the building at C2 and the more open structure found at B4. These two locations have very solid lines of sight (including direct shots towards each other) and both have only one entrance apiece, making them easy to hold down.

If you’re using either of them, you should consider using Flak Jacket Pro, as random grenades may find their way towards you. The structure at B4 can maul anyone walking in front of the large building located at the north end of the map, while the building found at C2 gives a clear shot at the catwalk across C3 and through the upstairs windows of the large building.

The large building mentioned above is a very common hot spot on the map. There’s a conveyer belt found near the B2 entrance that leads to the catwalk at A2/A3, but there’s a drop-off at the top of it that will lead to your death if you don’t jump when you reach the top, thus making this a common place to leave claymores.

The catwalks on the southern side of the map are another high traffic area, with claymores usually found near the stairs going around the back towards the switch to activate the blast doors. When taking this route, you must keep an eye out for anyone who may be in the building at C2. It should be noted that a lot of people like to hide under the stairs at C3 and pick people off as they run past.

The last point of interest on this map is the underground area, which is accessible via five points of entry: the walkway at C4/C5, the ladders inside the tiny buildings at C4 and C3, the stairs at C2, and finally the blast doors in the middle of C3. This area has far fewer angles to be shot from than the area above it, and as such is the smarter path to take if you’re going to attempt to flank the enemy.

As a side note, in Domination it helps out greatly to close the blast door (the switches can be found upstairs in the main building or the catwalk at D3/C3) when defending the B flag as it cuts off the easiest to access entrance.


Summit

Summit is another small map with a lot of close-range action. You should definitely leave your sniper rifles at home and stick to the more CQC-oriented weaponry.

This map has a few places that you can use to conceal yourself, including the lone ski lift cart (the only one that shows up on the map) found at B2. To access it, run and jump from the catwalk in front of it towards the only opening the cart has. You should bear in mind that the cart does rock left to right, which will affect your aim, and you’re pretty much a sitting duck while up there. Other common hiding spots include near the stairs at C2, the wraparound at B4, and the catwalk between D3 and D4 leading to C4.

The vast majority of all combat will take place in the large building found at C3. A few people may pick targets off on their way to this building, but this is where you’ll find most of the bullet casings by the end of the battle.

There are multiple ways into this building on both the top and bottom floors, so you should always stick to cover and watch the angles to make sure you’re not visible. If you’re on the bottom floor, you should try and keep out of view of the windows above, hopefully remaining undetected until the enemy makes the mistake of coming down the stairs.

When on the top floor, you should peek through each of the windows before making your next move, to hopefully spot any would-be attackers downstairs. This isn’t a building that can be held easily, so you should usually flank from the outside in, rather than through the building.

One final point of interest on this map is the building at B3, as a decent squad can hold it down relatively well without too much effort. Should your enemy attempt this, a couple of flashbangs will make it a relatively short outing for them.


Villa

One of the things you must always remain cautious about when it comes to this map is the buildings; they have some rather dangerous lines of sight over the map.

The building at D4, overlooking D3 and D2 (where most of the fighting takes place) is a perfect example of this. If you decide to use this window yourself then it’s a very good time to equip Flak Jacket Pro, since you’re bound to see grenades flying towards you.

If the enemy doesn’t have a spy plane up and you know someone is coming your way, there’s a corner near the stairs—if you stay there, your assailant won’t see you until it’s too late. If you enter this building downstairs you should watch out for anyone hiding behind the bar or in the second room.

Another building you have to watch out for is the one at B2. This one has two windows and clear lines of sight towards E2 and B3/B4 (including a clean shot on anyone on the balcony of the villa). Like the last building, this one only has one path up to the second floor, making it easily defendable. It lacks the solid hiding spot found in the D4 building, though, so if your perimeter is breached it’s not quite as easy to set up an ambush on your unsuspecting attacker.

The final major building of interest on this map is the one the map is named after, the villa itself. One thing to remember when entering the villa is that the second floor has a tactical advantage over the first, so it’s advisable to pick an upstairs entrance whenever possible to avoid being a sitting duck.

The balcony of the villa can be a great vantage point if the enemies are using the courtyard to travel the map, but be aware of the building at B2, as they can snipe you clean off it with relative ease. Another point of interest inside the villa is the window overlooking D4/D5. This is a frequently overlooked area, so you can easily make a few unexpected kills from it.

When you’re not working the buildings, you should try to travel using the outer edges of the map to avoid getting caught in the thick of things. One shortcut that’s commonly overlooked involves the windows in the garage at E4, which can be used to access D4. You can even hide out in the section outside the windows and pick off unsuspecting enemies who try to access the building at D4.

WMD

The final map found in Black Ops, WMD, is probably also the largest and most daunting of them all. There are several spots to snipe from, while there are also plenty of buildings to force close quarters combat if that’s what you prefer.

One thing you should always watch out for is the catwalk at A4 (which is accessible via a ladder at A3), as it gives a huge field of view. While this spot is easy to counter, it is still something that should be kept in mind as a sniper here can rule a large chunk of the battlefield. At the same time, you should also be aware of the possibility of a sniper on the perch at D3.

When making the journey across this map, one of the first things you’ll notice is that there is very little cover when not inside the buildings, except for on a few of the more narrow pathways. With this in mind, it’s generally a good idea to travel through the buildings if you want to avoid taking fire from multiple directions at once.

Whenever your team is spawning near the silos at B4/B3, you should be wary of the building at B2, as its very commonplace for enemies to camp here and attempt to spawn-kill as many targets as they can before retreating. At the same time, when rushing into this building, you should always expect a claymore upstairs if you think there may be someone there.

The windows in the building at C3 are practically always occupied, so tossing a random grenade as you pass usually is not a bad idea. You should also generally expect someone to be camping near the doorway on the righthand side of the building, so this is a good place to flash and clear, or even put a claymore in the doorway on your way in. Beyond this, you can climb in through the window on the east side of B3, or use the broken brick wall to access the awnings found on the southern end of the building.

The building that stretches from B4 to D4 is another hot spot, since it’s a common route between the two main spawn points. You should be cautious when traveling through here, once again throwing a flash grenade to test the waters before entering, but this building is rather straightforward. Just don’t spend too much time here.

To the right of the entrance at B4 you can climb up onto the perch for a decent spot to pick people off from, but staying here too long will make you a sitting duck. There’s a ladder by the side entrance at C4 that’ll lead to the perch on the opposite side, with a catwalk that leads around to the building at D3.

Another way to access this catwalk is to climb up at the corner of the tiny section of building that sticks out from the D3 building, then climb up to the walkway from there. On the lefthand side of the map is the narrow path from B2 to E2, which is a good place to ambush people as they pass.

You can pick them off from the small ledge next to the stairs at D2 or use the small building at on the southwestern corner of C2 to ambush them as they cross your path—most people ignore this building. The final points of interest to keep an eye on are the rooftops (like the one at D3) and the building at E3, where people commonly camp to pick off people as they pass through.

Get out there and get fighting!