Base Maps
Reviews of all the maps from the base game.
Dawnbreaker
Set in a futuristic city, with skyscrapers, this map starts out at the break of dawn and soon becomes day. I’ve always been partial to maps that take place in low light conditions, because I don’t have to put up with Supernova Sun.
There is plenty of vehicle and infantry combat. Taking out choppers with tanks, rooftop combat at B flag is something I enjoy a lot. After the levolution event, some underground tunnels become accessible, which can be used by infantry to navigate between capture points. This provides multiple flanking routes - sign of a well designed map.
The MAA’s existence has been questioned on this map, but I think skilled chopper pilots can navigate through the map taking cover behind buildings. What I never understood was the presence of jets on this map. They have a very limited impact on ground combat (may be a good thing).
Grade: A
Flood Zone
This map set in a Chinese city, and it is a paradise for rooftop campers and little bird pilots, with plenty of tall buildings to choose from to either set up shop or take cover from stinger missiles. As much as everyone likes to hate rooftop campers, I think its a viable strategy if used correctly. I found that the best ways to counter those who are perched on the roof is by using either the XM25 Airburst or the transport chopper.
This is one of those maps where the levolution really changes the ground combat. Once the event is triggered, the center of the map is flooded, and this allows for some great RHIB gameplay.
Flood Zone mainly caters to infantry combat. The area around B and C flag is a maze and success requires good map knowledge. This is an excellent example of a 64 player map with vertical gameplay done right.
Grade: A
Golmud Railway
Tanks, jets, choppers, MAAs, M142, and jeeps - all make an appearance here. This is one for the old school Battlefield players.
There is a lot of infantry combat around the A, B and C flags. This part of the map is like a Bad Company 2 map in itself. One could play an entire round of conquest and not venture away from this area. Vehicles dominate the rest of the map and snipers looking to get that 1000m headshot, and not help the team in the process, can camp far away in the hills.
D flag on this map is actually the train itself, which moves from one side of the map to the other depending on which team is holding the flag. I think they should have allowed players to navigate within the train carts, but sadly that is not possible. It is however possible to run on top of the carts, Indiana Jones style!
Grade: A
Hinan Resort
The highlight of this map is of course the resort in the center. The levolution event involves demolishing different sections of the resort. Once triggered, a section collapses, and so does the game performance.
Frame rate could dip below 20 FPS, and the collapsed section of the map is plagued by invisible walls.
While I love the concept, and the ambitious design, I cannot ignore the problems. A patch released by DICE Sweden was supposed to have addressed some of the issues, but it seems to have made little to no difference. This map is a wasted opportunity in my opinion.
Grade: D
Lancang Dam
- Why can the MAA from one base, shoot choppers at the other base?
- Why is there no cover at C flag?
- What was the point of the levolution?
- Why is there an attack chopper on this map?
- Why is the section of the map behind the dam not playable?
- Why is the performance of the map so unpredictable?
Grade: D
Operation Locker
Yet another missed opportunity here. They could have turned the prison section from the single player campaign into a multiplayer map. The single player level had a huge outdoor area, but that’s nowhere to be seen in Operation Locker.
The interior has a whole section of prison cells spanning multiple levels near the C flag that are not playable. A couple of entry points from the outside into the C flag would have made this map so much better, and it could have still been appealing to those who like to play Battlefield: Call of Duty.
Instead they went for a linear choke point design, which is only marginally better than Operation Metro.
Grade: F
Paracel Storm
This is an absolutely beautiful map, with a great levolution event, but it is ruined by the Commander mode. Fortunately, I played on servers that turned off Commander mode.
A & B points are crucial to winning the game. I am not so sure that the MAA should have been tied to point B. Given the location of the point, infantry will gather there anyway. There are other parts of the map that are relatively unpopulated. An MAA would be a great asset to fight for.
Naval combat is excellent on this map. Attack boats can be very powerful. Its a well balanced map for all kinds of gameplay.
Grade: B
Rogue Transmission
The dish in the center of the map is the most distinctive feature of this map. Many epic Battlefield moments took place on and around this structure.
My main complaint with this map again is the fact that the gunship and MAA are tied to the same point like in Paracel Storm. Leveloution would result in invisible walls, just like in Hainan Resort.
Other than these two issues, the maps plays out extremely well more often than not.
Grade: B
Siege of Shanghai
The levolution event on this map is by far the best in Battlefield 4. It changes the map in many ways. The team controlling the tower has every reason to fight and make sure its not collapsed because it gives that team the ability to travel other capture points easily.
I feel this map is a great example of an urban battlefield. There is plenty of land combat and the attack boat is occasionally useful. I think this part of the gameplay was very under developed, but that didn’t make the map less fun for me. Like most of the maps in the game, vertical gameplay is excellent.
Using a SRAW to take out a chopper from one of the rooftops is a great feeling.
Grade: A
Zavod 311
Infantry combat at its best along with Flood Zone, but its more closer to my idea of a Battlefield map because of the presence of heavy armor.
While the destruction on this map is fantastic, it can lead to vehicles getting stuck on broken tree trunks, invisible walls between C & D flags.
It is one of those rare maps that allow every class can be useful on this map provided the player goes for the objective.
Grade: A
China Rising
Review of all the maps in China Rising expansion.
Altai Range
This beautiful and gigantic map has a lot to offer, especially LAVs. They are everywhere! There is a lot of infantry combat to be had at the central capture point as well.
However, like all China Rising maps, Altai Range suffers from technical issues, and the Supernova Sun is back, because the community demands more lens flare. Making your way up the mountain from F flag to D flag is blinding, so its easy picking for snipers perched on top of the mountin. Not sure if adds anything other than frustration to the gameplay experience.
The bomber is an interesting addition to the map, and in the hands of a good player, a kill is almost guaranteed.
All in all, solid vehicle based map, which needed a little bit more polish.
Grade: B
Dragon Pass
DICE wasted an opportunity with here.
It could have been an amazing large scale map, but what we got was a total techincal mess. There are bugs and glitches everywhere, and they are not fixed to date.
Popping textures, concrete trees, bad geometry (invisible walls), transparent rocks, portals to limbo (falling through the map), its got everything! It makes me wonder how this map ever made it to release.
In addition to the technical problems with the map, it also suffers from some typical DICE design issues such as lack of cover on capture points which really undermines infantry combat. They also made the very bizzare decision to make the river very shallow on certain parts of the map, which leads to jet skis getting stuck - not sure what they were trying to accomplish here. For these reasons and more this map earns a well deserved F on my list.
Grade: F
Guilin Peaks
An excellent map, set in the Guilin Peaks, this is the first forest map in Battlefield 4.
There is not a lot to complain about here. The conquest large version of the map plays out pretty well, more often than not. I do not recollect many lopsided games on map because it is very easy to get out of the base and evade the enemies even if they manage to get close to the base.
The one thing I would have done differently is the placement of cover which allows campers to directly into the flag spawn area. A & E flag, for example, become open hunting grounds where friendlies can spawn within line of sight of the enemy quite easily. What little cover there is, can be destroyed, and this will lead to spawn killing.
More often than not, this is not a problem in a 64p 1000 ticket game. It does eventually become a problem on higher ticket servers.
Grade: B
Silk Road
This map is a paradise for snipers and tankers. Its one of the best vehicle based maps in the game. Presence of transport vehicles, especially the dirt bikes makes this map a lot of fun to play because they are perfect for using jeep stuff!
There are a couple of capture points that could use more cover (it wouldn’t be a DICE game if there was adequate cover!), but that’s not a huge issue on this map. The center of the map offers a lot of infantry combat.
This is the best map in the expansion, and I’ve had a lot of good games on it.
Grade: A
Second Assault Maps Review
Review of all the maps in Second Assault expansion.
Caspian Border 2014
The classic map from BF3 makes a return. DICE did the right thing and removed the blue filter that plagued most of the maps in BF3, and without it, the map looks beautiful.
Just about all the changes done to this map are positive. The environmental destruction, layout of the capture points, a wall with guard posts instead of the fence, are all excellent changes.
There is plenty to do for both infantry and vehicles, which is a sign of a well balanced map. Overall, I think including this map in the expansion is a good idea. This is not something I can say about the rest of the maps in this DLC.
Grade: A
Gulf of Oman 2014
This classic map from Battlefield 2 makes a return to Battlefield 4. It is the third time this map has been included in a major Battlefield game, and honestly I am not sure why. Its not a terrible map, but it is by no means special. Strike at Karkand would have been a much better choice. There are plenty of other maps in Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 3 that were better this…but DICE went with this instead…
When this DLC was first released, I actually enjoyed this map quite a bit. I liked the long range sniping, and playing as a tanker is a lot of fun on this map, but there are certain aspects of it that appear to be under developed.
The attack boat doesn’t have a whole lot to do, and the shallow waters on the west side of the map make it a pain to navigate. It is useful in keep the enemy attack chopper in check every now and then, but that’s really it.
By far the most annoying feature of this map, is the storm. It was fun for a few rounds, and then the novelty wore off very quickly. It rolls in too early in the round, and it stays for the rest of the round. If it was something that was random, and it stayed for a minute or two, I would be fine with the idea. I just did not like the way it was implemented, and it made the map less fun for me.
Grade: C
Operation Firestorm 2014
This map was a sniper pradise in Battlefield 3.
I think its a pretty solid map, but I am not sure it why it was picked. There were plenty of maps in Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 3 that were better than this. Markhaz Monolith (Aftermath), Wake Island (Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 3), Kubra Dam (Battlefield 2) to name a few, would have been better choices in my opinion.
I like how they changed the time of day setting on this map. In Battlefield 3, it was a sunny afternoon with the supernova sun, but in Battlefield 4, it appears to be dusk, and while there is plenty of light, there is no sun, which is excellent. Its balanced pretty well, and I haven’t had too many lopsided games.
Grade: B
Operation Metro 2014
I hate this map.
This map represents everything that is wrong with Battlefield. When I heard that DICE picked this abomination, ignoring many other maps that thoroughly deserved a remake, I was disappointed.
Its not just that that they picked Operation Metro, its that they did not address the problems with the older version. It is still unbalanced towards one side, and the few extra flanking routes they added don’t have much of an impact on the gameplay, and the outdoor section is fairly useless because if the Russian team is fighting outdoors, it probably means they are losing.
This map would have benefited from 5 capture points and a non linear layout. This would have still offered great infantry combat without the choke point mess we currently have.
I am more disappointed that DICE wasted an opportunity to make a great infantry only map, and instead went for the low hanging fruit. The sad thing is, this is still not the worst Battlefield map.
Grade: F
Naval Strike Maps Review
Review of all the maps in Naval Strike exapansion.
Lost Islands
One of the most beautiful maps in the entire series.
There is plenty of infantry combat, long lines of sight for snipers, and attack boats can make a meaningful contribution.
I absolutely love the A flag setting. Playing as a recon with a spawn beacon, tugs, and a suppressed carbine is a lot of fun.
Choppers also get to do some work attacking the transport vehicles, and taking out snipers on the hills. Its a great map for all classes.
Grade: A
Nansha Strike
A large beautiful map where attack boats and jets control the waters.
Taking off from a carrier towards the center of the map to fight some infantry battles is a lot of fun. Unlike Lost Islands, infantry can’t do a whole lot on a couple of capture points because they are fairly open, and it is up to the attack boats to capture and hold these points.
The center is where all the action happens. The cover around C flag is not adequate, and it gets destroyed very easily. It requires a team effort to capture and hold this flag because of its open layout, and its visible from D and E flags.
I really like this map, and a few tweaks could have made this a whole lot better.
Grade: B
Operation Mortar
Beautiful map with terrible performance.
This is a real shame because I love the layout of this map. Both sides approach the central island from the sides, and fight to control the top, which is crucial for victory.
There are land and sea vehicles on this map, but the top of the mountain is mostly infantry, but attack and transport choppers can be very useful.
The problem with the map is the performance. I’ve rarely played a round on this map without sevvere sturring issues. It was particular awful at launch, which is a shame because I love the layout and the gameplay it offers.
Grade: D
Wave Breaker
This is the best map in the expansion for me. The interior of the submarine bay is so well done. That part alone could be a map in most FPS games. You could spend the entire round not leaving the interior bay.
Once you venture out of the submarine hangar, there is a gigantic open map, and it is possible climb up the hill that houses the hangar, and snipe at gunner on attack boats.
Choppers and boats play a major role in the outdoor areas. Boat combat is great for the most part. The attack chopper can be a powerful asset to the team that manages to get it. I have never been able to hold on to the chopper for too long. Its difficult to get a hold of it because it spawns out in the open and its an easy target.
The beautiful visuals and the excellent map design make this the best map in the expansion for me.
Grade: A
Dragon’s Teeth Maps Review
Review of all the maps in Dragon’s Teeth exapansion.
Lumphini Garden
Set in a gigantic garden modeled after the real life Lumphini Park in Bangkok, this offers some great infantry combat. There are a few problems with the design that can lead to one side getting spawn trapped.
I loved sniping on map. There are some long lines of sight and it can be an effective class to play.
The area around B capture point is not well designed in my opinion. There should have been more cover, and the spawns tend to be unfair. The game will sometimes spawn the player in a tiny room across the pond, and if the point is being contested it often leads to a quick death.
The scripted envvironment destruction is quite good, and the side that has control over the train tracks has the incentive to prevent the destruction. With some slight changes to the layout and some cover to move between A and B, this map could have a lot better than it is.
Grade: B
Pearl Market
This is the best map infantry map in Battlefield for me.
The layout is fantastic, and its got a complex network of lanes and indoor areas, and good map knowledge is really pays off. The vertical gameplay is fantastic, and while it is not as fun as Dawnbreaker, Siege of Shanghai or Flood Zone, its still great. I happen to like vertical gameplay, when it is done right, because it can offer a way to flank enemies and I don’t have to rely on the map designer providing specific lanes to flank. I can make my own lane.
This is one of the best maps to play as an aggressive recon. Spawn beacon and tugs have never been more useful. Shotguns will shine here, and for those that do not like them, this is sure to send them into a fit of rage.
Slow firing ARs can still be effective, when used in the right spots. I played with the CZ-805 quite a bit, and it can be very useful when engaging enemies (even snipers) from rooftops. All in all, this fantastic map provided hours of fun.
Grade: A
Propaganda
We get to play in the Supreme Leader’s courtyard, the PLA fight the evil imperialist American forces.
This is an excellent map for infantry and tank combat, but it has the same problems as Lumphini Garden, in that it is possible for one side to overwhelm the other side and completely spawn trap them. I have not experienced this too often, but because there are very limited ways out of the spawn, teams can find themselves in a situation where they cannot get out.
Not a whole lot for snipers to do here, but all other classes can be effective. Traveling between capture points is easy enough, there is adequate cover, and the quad bikes come in handy.
Grade: B
Sunken Dragon
The center appears to be modeled after the Sea Palace restaurant in Amsterdam. I love the fact that Battlefield 4 allowed for DICE to get creative with the level design, something that historically accurate settings don’t allow for.
The center and the parking garage is where all the infantry action happens. Choppers can be useful, but the low map ceiling always bothered me (I am also not a good pilot). I understand they did this to prevent players from getting on the rooftops of the buildings which have no other access points, but I would have preferred they made the rooftops accessible either through elevators or paradrop spawns. This would have allowed for a higher ceiling, and choppers can easily deal with rooftop campers. I feel that DICE missed an opportunity here.
I feel DICE needed to open up the map a little bit more towards the edges to allows players to escape the base and provide some cover around the center capture point to allow for flanking. The lack of this would at times lead to unbalnced gameplay.
Grade: B
Final Stand Maps Review
Review of all the maps in Final Stand exapansion.
Giants of Karelia
This map is set in Karelia, presumably the Russian part of the region. It somewhat deviates from the theme of the expansion and presents us with a lot of greenery. This is a vehicle heavy map, with all major vehicles included. Sort of reminds me of Golmud Railway, which is always a good thing.
The center capture point is set inside a mech factory, with lots of lanes, and plenty of places to hide, and an opportunity for some interesting vertical gameplay. I love playing here as an agressive recon.
The rest of the map is vehicle heavy. It is also a good map for attack choppers. I’ve had a lot of good rounds as a tanker, gunner and AA. I am glad they included the AA, but there is only one on the map, which spawns near the center. This becomes a much contested capture point in the beginning because of this. If the enemy team has a good attack chopper pilot, and they manage to get the AA, it can be tough.
Grade: B
Hammerhead
Beautiful map with a frozen lake and a couple of research facilities (I think) in the center.
This large map is excellent for choppers and land vehicles. Tanks and LAVs are great for the outdoors, and attack choppers can be very effective. There is no MAA on this map.
The network of corridors connecting the research facilities is great for infantry battles. The facility seems to be built on a frozen lake, and in certain areas, the frozen surface can be broken down, and this can prevent tanks from passing through. I thought this was a neat addition to the map.
Grade: B
Hangar 21
This is one of my absolute favorite maps in the entire Battlefield series, not just Battlefield 4.
The complex level design in the hangar bay, the launch pods, snow covered mountain with the hangar inside it…its like a Bond movie.
I would never miss an opportunity to play this map, even though there are design choices that are extremely annoying.
Just like Dawnbreaker, I am not sure why jets exist on this map other than to the ram into attack choppers. Speaking of which, there is only one attack chopper on this map, and it spawns out in the open. I am fine with this because its risk vs. reward, however, because of the map layout, it is much easier to seek cover as one team compared to the other. The team that spawns closer to the mountain does not have as much cover for the attack chopper. Not sure why DICE would design the map in this manner. Also, enemy jets can follow the attack chopper all the way to their base. The stationary AA hardly seems to bother jets. Poor design of map boundaries in my opinion.
However, I hadly ever played this map for vehicles but for the infantry combat in the hangar bay. Its so well desgined. The three capture points near the mountain can be their own map! It allows for so many different kinds of gameplay choices. Also, triggering the titan launch and killing enemies who are trying to make their way into the hanger from below is a lot of fun.
DICE have delivered a fantastic map and a fantastic expansion as their final premium DLC.
Grade: A
Operation Whiteout
This is a large frozen desert, somewhat like Silk Road, but not as vehicle heavy. There are no tanks or jets on this map. I love the design of the interiors at B capture point. Great place to play as an aggressive recon.
The map is also great for sniping. E and F capture points have some great place to setup a nest. The northwest section of the map feels like its set on a different planet. Its very beautiful.
E capture point could have used more cover, but in general, this is a very well designed map.
Grade: B
Community Operations Map Review
Review of Operation Outbreak in Community Operations expansion.
Operation Outbreak
This map is designed with a lot of community feedback, and there were some great ideas submitted, and also some awful ideas. I watched the development progress from a whitebox to the final version. It was a great experience.
The final result is a very well balanced map, that most infantry players would love. The temple area is very well designed. The forest area which is dense in the beginning but will get destroyed as the round progresses.
Tanks and LAVs are will keep vehicle players happy, but this is mostly catered towards infantry players. Assault and Support are the best classes on this map for me. Being an engineer was handy when there is a good tank driver around, or if I was driving the tank.
I thoroughly enjoyed this map. Its a fantastic effort by DICE.
Grade: A
CTE Maps Review
Review of maps in CTE.
Golmud Railway Night
I had a lot of fun on this map, but I feel this map would not have been liked by the community especially if it was played in Normal Mode. 3D spotting would absolutely ruin the experience.
It is a very interesting take on this map, but I can understand why this was never released. It was a fun experiment. I had a lot of fun playing it in CTE in classic mode, but it was clear to me that it wouldn’t work very well out in the public.
Grade: B
Infiltration of Shanghai
I only ever played this map once in CTE, and I have no footage of it. I regret that because I felt it would be released soon, and I was waiting to play the finished version. Little did I know that it would die in CTE.
Like all night maps, this is best played in Classic Mode (without 3D spotting). It looks absolutely beautiful. There were talks about removing access to the high rises, and I felt that was a bad choice because its the high rises that seperate Siege of Shanghai from any random urban map. I couldn’t wait to play in the center tower at night.
Sadly I will never get to experience that.
Grade: -
Pearl Market Night
This map should have been picked for Night Operations in my opinion. The presence of vehicles in night maps, combined with 3d spotting just doesn’t work very well.
Combat on this map was very intense, and taclights are extremely viable attachments.
As a big fan of Peral Market, i so wish this map was available in the retail version of the game.
Grade: B
Night Operations Map Review
Review of Zavod 311 Night in Night Operations expansion.
Zavod 311 Night
I thought Zavod 311 was an excellent map. Its got a great mix of infantry and vehicle gameplay.
The night version however does not work very well in my experience. Out in the public, Normal Mode ruins the gameplay. There is no tactics involved. It is possible to snipe at long range because of 3d spotting. All you have to do is shoot at dorritos.
I definitely felt that the vehicles were out of place.
Another bizzare design choice they made was removing the stair access to the tower at F. This meant the only way to get to the top was bvy a chopper. So if the idea is to prevent camping, why have choppers? I made no sense gameplay wise…
I am glad DICE released free DLC to everyone, but from a gameplay perspective, this is not a great map for me.
Grade: C
Legacy Operations Map Review
Review of Dragon Valley 2015 in Legacy Operations expansion.
Dragon Valley 2015
This is it. The best map in the game. What a way to close the Battlefield 4 chapter.
I was worried that DICE would pick an infantry map for this expansion. The open poll results had me a little worried because Grand Bazaar and Noshar Canals got a whole lot of votes. I do not think those are bad maps, I just did not want them remade because I could easily find servers with those maps in rotation.
However, DICE had the right idea in mind when they decided that for Legacy Operations, they would pick a map from Battlefield 2. I felt that most of the maps from the game would work well because by and large, we did not have Metro like maps in that game. Strike at Karkand actually won the poll, and I would not have been unhappy with a re-imagined version of it. In hindsight, they made the a choice by not going with it because Dargon Valley 2015 turned out to be a fantastic map.
I am not even sure where to begin describing this massive map. There is a large scale vehicle gameplay, and but there is also plenty to do for infantry. It just goes to show how well they designed it. There are 8 flag points on this map! It is the ideal Battlefield map for me. Sniping is a very viable on this map. The TDM version of this map is a re-imagined version of Noshar Canals from Battlefield 3.
As I wait for Battlefield 2018 to be revealed, I am hoping DICE can make a game with more maps like this.
Grade: A