Caustic Finale
Creator: Hellraider || First Published: 05/11/2008 || Players: 2 || Size: 18x18
Categories: S-Rank, Hall of Fame, Live Play, Mixed Base, Standard
Rating: 8.24 in 299 ratings
For design map discussion or to get suggestions from other users, visit the AWBW Discord Chat!
Comments:
Tyrael (05/31/2008 12:32pm | Edited: 05/31/2008 12:33pm):
I suggest the two cities in the SE corner be turned into one city located two spaces above
the bottom one so it's more contested (and so that lone-infantry stalemate in the corner
where one sits on a city and the other on a mountain for weeks is avoided ;) ).

Blablabla fun, several fronts, maybe a bit chokey in the NW/SE corners but won't stalemate,
there's plenty of other places to fight on.

I thought it already was noteworthy'd... :(
Fix'd :)
Ploumeur (10/22/2008 01:37pm):
The map is a good mix between open areas and chokey ones. Sami, Sturm, Javier and Kindle
have their own advantages and disadvantages there.

Excellent map as a quasi-ground only and diagonal one. 10/10.
rast2 (12/26/2008 10:55pm):
if it matters, OS sturm can recon rush the NE factory.
mrapex (02/18/2009 08:14pm | Edited: 02/18/2009 08:15pm):
yep rast, but thats the case with most maps
Mattimus (09/16/2009 06:00pm):
Wow, fun map! Shangri-La may still be better IMO, but definitely S-worthy!
jethro (01/23/2011 01:03pm):
what r the silos for if u can't use them?
FunkyChunk (05/17/2011 08:48pm):
Same thing the reef is there for, decoration
xushu (10/12/2011 11:31am):
I think that this map would be better without the four bases, but that is me. Also, the towers
draw a lot of early attention, which is dull after the third or fourth time you play on this map. 8/10
...... (04/15/2012 10:54pm):
this is more of a decration map the ports and silos are useless and blue moon has an
advanteg beacuse they are much closer to the towers
Headphone (05/11/2012 07:08pm):
I think 4 bases is just fine for a mixed base setup. Tanks are generally better for this setup, but
the extra infantries make arties better than usual. 9/10 from me.
blanci1 (06/19/2012 06:05am | Edited: 06/19/2012 06:09am):
@xushu... i agree... it might be more fundamental/basic in some sense.... it would be
great to make a map like you suggest... with one army having one base at top and bottom
and the other army having a base at either side... (and no air). Thats a very basic idea
different from usual face to face combat. The central original idea of this imo. Its hard to
believe it hadnt been done before ! ? (see the mixed base forum topic for list of such maps)

BUT immediately after we have made such a map, we might then think what happens when we
double up on the bases... then we get back here! So i think heres no need to throw stuff
out when we can have both ! This present map would probly work in a somewhat different
way, and also gets going faster.
Rockoe10 (09/12/2012 08:18pm):
An amazing map! Just look at the statistics and its a dead even FAIR map. Love the silo's :P
great touch.

10/10
Boomyz (08/19/2016 04:13pm):
You know you have a good map when it's suggested to another map maker to use as reference! Nice map!
That map maker would be me by the way. Myes, quite.
Improving (07/15/2021 11:41pm):
Best map so far
walkerboh01 (09/13/2021 04:14pm):
This map is in the Hall of Fame as one of the most influential standard competitive maps of its era (approx. 2007 - 2010).
KingJavy004 (09/29/2021 05:48pm):
this map heavily favors blue moon. Its extremely hard to defend the orange star hq while its super easy for blue moon with the
set of mountains below it. I suggest that orange star hq has mountains to defend it as well
Silvera (10/01/2021 09:13am):
@KingJavy004
The map is symmetrical other than the starting infantry. Orange Star's HQ has just as many mountains defending it as Blue Moon's HQ does.
Yellowash (10/23/2021 02:43pm):
Yeah its completely symmetrical. Surprisingly, OS has the lead in win % statistics (53% / 47% and 1152 / 1020 victories) as of today. I really like this map since it has several possible game-determining strategies.
Tomate (11/18/2021 02:46am):
One of the trickiest maps to play, and I love it for it

The key for victory imo is to keep up enough of a board presence on the entire map while also
keeping up with whatever medium tank war is going on in the top right

COs that get extra movement (especially for infantry) feel really good on this map, as you csn
suddenly start a big push in multiple places and overwhelm your opponent. Even if they can
stop most of these pushes, they will probably lose a property or two
nn30 (12/19/2021 07:25pm):
Fun map. One of my favorites.

I've been having fun checking stats of different maps to see if one side or the other is advantaged. This one favors red
(statistically speaking)

https://www.medcalc.org/calc/test_one_proportion.php
mirddes (04/12/2022 08:34am):
Nice use of symmetry
Weenie Hut (05/07/2022 03:32pm):
Imbalanced map. 1/10
fddcsjxk (07/01/2022 08:56pm):
Part of MBO Top Cut
https://challonge.com/MBOTopCut
Red-Halo (07/02/2022 12:08am):
Pretty good map, nearly as good as Spann Island.
omphalos (07/22/2022 06:16pm):
I gave this map its 100th rating. Ten out of ten.
anderbean (08/24/2022 02:03pm):
hello? i want to play on this map and a play request is alredy there so hurry up!
COMMANDERWOLF (08/30/2022 07:21pm):
Dude, it is better than Spann Island, by far.
JuniperAndFriends (09/05/2022 06:14am):
This map successfully trolled me.
Lost and Found (09/06/2022 02:52pm):
Personally I prefer Spann Island on a Unicycle over this map, but to each their own.
headphone2022 (09/27/2022 11:33pm):
Echo Ridge might beat out this map, someday.
Sunrise (10/26/2022 02:02am):
If you are playing Javier, it might be worth it to try and take both Com Towers. If you pull it off, it will put your enemy on the backfoot.
likegel (11/24/2022 06:16am | Edited: 11/24/2022 06:18am):
It is certain that Orange Star will gain an advantage, because it has an advantage on the HQ side, so it can directly attack
the opponent's HQ by expanding its advantage.

The problem is that there are too few cities and there is a lack of air force. Sami can easily take advantage of the lack of
funds to expand the infantry advantage. In particular, the two towers are close together. Once they are lost, the advantage of
frontal combat will be completely lost.

In terms of symmetry, the Blue Moon is a disadvantage (the reason is stated above). The compensated infantry is not on the
HQ side, so must find a way to seize the control of the two towers.

It is obvious that Sami, no matter the blue moon or the orange star, can use his occupation ability to fight a beautiful battle.

To sum up, I give 1 rating. I hate it. The infantry wrestling in the upper right corner lacks controversial cities and needs to
defend HQ
likegel (11/24/2022 06:22am):
I suggest replacing HQ with two laboratories. The location of the tower and the city close to the factory should be exchanged to
give the commander with weak occupation ability a little buffer
Unggoy Slaya (12/02/2022 12:31pm):
Everyone on other maps: OMG ITS SO CHOKY WAAAAAA

Everyone on Caustic Finale: The Chokepoints here really enhance the use of artillery making them the absolute best unit to
open with. Unlike every other map in the GL. What a refreshing take. Yes, we all love slowly being pushed by an artillery and
two infantry on the flanks while our 4 tanks can do literally nothing about it.

Not saying the map is terrible, just find it ironic what people find acceptable vs not.
likegel (12/10/2022 05:57am):
In fact, for the Army alone, long-range troops do have advantages, both in attack capability and defense (money lost after
being attacked), which are higher than tanks of the same price.

The disadvantage is that the mobile power and attack range (the attack range of the melee unit is an additional one of the
mobile range, so it is easy to protect the soldiers in the front).

According to the original design, the helicopter has the ability to suppress long-range units, but in fact, only attacking rockets
(only 3/10 of the rockets are left) can achieve 1000 benefits.

And if artillery is the optimal solution, this map, in the hands of those familiar with tactics, will become a one-sided war
situation. The blue moon has the advantage of first coming out of artillery, and the orange stars will lose their ability to
compete for towers. (From the perspective of consequentialism, more people choose sami and directly occupy the base of
the blue moon)

Relatively speaking, I prefer wargrove and cavalry (similar to tanks). It is easy to kill most units at one stroke, including long-
range troops. However, the design of the catapult and Titan giant is not very smart. I rarely see people coming out of these
two units. (Directly designed to double the damage to Titans and buildings, and learn better. Similar to other RTS games)

In addition, there is no air force, eagle and max to break through the defense line with helicopters. The first time I played, I
didn't notice this, so I chose Eagle. For this point alone, I will not give high rating.
TheAngryViscount (01/13/2023 06:10am):
What kind of Eagle player doesn't check for airports before playing Eagle?
TheAngryViscount (01/13/2023 06:15am):
The HQ forest line being in range of rockets placed on the HQ is a nice touch if you just want to play passive on that front. The map does have an issue though when Adder pops his super power, he can potentially launch a base rush assault from his own base in the HQ corner with a Neotank and just blast a hole in the line if you are even slightly negligent on that front.

The port meme is nice I guess.

Mechs are such a trap on this map without APCs, with how fast you can swap fronts the mechs can't keep up.
Zeitghast (01/21/2023 12:29am):
You pick Eagle here for the SCOP, but either way you won't benefit that much due to lack of airports and other Tier 2 COs are
better.
likegel (01/25/2023 10:06am | Edited: 06/29/2023 05:08am):
I actually wasted time communicating with rookies. If he could understand meta, he wouldn't have only 800 ratings

In fact, even if there is no airport, Eagle's ability is still worth T1.

Of course, only for SCOP, HF map can illustrate this point.

Only for this map, there are 8 bases, but there are few cities, and the proportion of infantry warfare is very large (it is
equivalent to low found), @TheAngryViscount

On the contrary, only one mech is needed to scare away tanks and recon, and even to cross
mountains. In addition, with ports and battleships, valleys and (cheap) artillery, the role of tanks is actually very low.

But this high-quality match shows.

In addition, as I said before, the tower is too far away. Sami has a chance to steal your tower. In addition to the intensive
infantry war, it is difficult for other commanders to protect their territory from Sami except VB. Javier has no
chance to occupy his own tower
Forgotten Infantry (03/04/2023 10:30pm):
HF is an entirely different ball game so I I won't discuss that.

Sami is considered T1 in League due to have insanely powerful she is in CF. Javier needs to get to his tower with the
second infantry after the first one to cap the base. You have to change up your build and capping order when you play
Javier and even then it is risky. Then again VB is banned in T1 CF so he is probably the best pick.

Mechs doesn't work here as front shifting happens at a dime and your sluggish mechs won't be able to react quickly enough
to the shifting front. Plus due to how many bases there are, it is guarantee there are plenty of infantries ready to mess up
your mechs.

Battelship is a pretty situational pick as matches tend it be over before you can build one. However if you can be able to
cap their port and build a battleship there, you can shell down their entire HQ area. I imagine this only being possible with
Sami SCOP; if your opponent capped your port the old fashion way, big chances are you are already in trouble.
ROY WILD (03/07/2023 11:02pm):
suggest the two cities in the SE corner be turned into one city located two spaces above
the bottom one so it's more contested (and so that lone-infantry stalemate in the corner
where one sits on a city and the other on a mountain for weeks is avoided ;) ).

Blablabla fun, several fronts, maybe a bit chokey in the NW/SE corners but won't stalemate,
there's plenty of other places to fight on.

I thought it already was noteworthy'd... :(
Fix'd :)
Ploumeur (10/22/2008 01:37pm):
The map is a good mix between open areas and chokey ones. Sami, Sturm, Javier and Kindle
have their own advantages and disadvantages there.

Excellent map as a quasi-ground only and diagonal one. 10/10.
rast2 (12/26/2008 10:55pm):
if it matters, OS sturm can recon rush the NE factory.
mrapex (02/18/2009 08:14pm | Edited: 02/18/2009 08:15pm):
yep rast, but thats the case with most maps
Mattimus (09/16/2009 06:00pm):
Wow, fun map! Shangri-La may still be better IMO, but definitely S-worthy!
jethro (01/23/2011 01:03pm):
what r the silos for if u can't use them?
FunkyChunk (05/17/2011 08:48pm):
Same thing the reef is there for, decoration
xushu (10/12/2011 11:31am):
I think that this map would be better without the four bases, but that is me. Also, the towers
draw a lot of early attention, which is dull after the third or fourth time you play on this map.
8/10
...... (04/15/2012 10:54pm):
this is more of a decration map the ports and silos are useless and blue moon has an
advanteg beacuse they are much closer to the towers
Headphone (05/11/2012 07:08pm):
I think 4 bases is just fine for a mixed base setup. Tanks are generally better for this setup, but
the extra infantries make arties better than usual. 9/10 from me.
blanci1 (06/19/2012 06:05am | Edited: 06/19/2012 06:09am):
@xushu... i agree... it might be more fundamental/basic in some sense.... it would be
great to make a map like you suggest... with one army having one base at top and bottom
and the other army having a base at either side... (and no air). Thats a very basic idea
different from usual face to face combat. The central original idea of this imo. Its hard to
believe it hadnt been done before ! ? (see the mixed base forum topic for list of such maps)

BUT immediately after we have made such a map, we might then think what happens when we
double up on the bases... then we get back here! So i think heres no need to throw stuff
out when we can have both ! This present map would probly work in a somewhat different
way, and also gets going faster.
Rockoe10 (09/12/2012 08:18pm):
An amazing map! Just look at the statistics and its a dead even FAIR map. Love the silo's :P
great touch.

10/10
Boomyz (08/19/2016 04:13pm):
You know you have a good map when it's suggested to another map maker to use as reference!
Nice map!
That map maker would be me by the way. Myes, quite.
Improving (07/15/2021 11:41pm):
Best map so far
walkerboh01 (09/13/2021 04:14pm):
This map is in the Hall of Fame as one of the most influential standard competitive maps of its
era (approx. 2007 - 2010).
KingJavy004 (09/29/2021 05:48pm):
this map heavily favors blue moon. Its extremely hard to defend the orange star hq while its
super easy for blue moon with the
set of mountains below it. I suggest that orange star hq has mountains to defend it as well
Silvera (10/01/2021 09:13am):
@KingJavy004
The map is symmetrical other than the starting infantry. Orange Star's HQ has just as many
mountains defending it as Blue Moon's HQ does.
Yellowash (10/23/2021 02:43pm):
Yeah its completely symmetrical. Surprisingly, OS has the lead in win % statistics (53% / 47%
and 1152 / 1020 victories) as of today. I really like this map since it has several possible game-
determining strategies.
Tomate (11/18/2021 02:46am):
One of the trickiest maps to play, and I love it for it

The key for victory imo is to keep up enough of a board presence on the entire map while also
keeping up with whatever medium tank war is going on in the top right

COs that get extra movement (especially for infantry) feel really good on this map, as you csn
suddenly start a big push in multiple places and overwhelm your opponent. Even if they can
stop most of these pushes, they will probably lose a property or two
nn30 (12/19/2021 07:25pm):
Fun map. One of my favorites.

I've been having fun checking stats of different maps to see if one side or the other is
advantaged. This one favors red
(statistically speaking)

https://www.medcalc.org/calc/test_one_proportion.php
mirddes (04/12/2022 08:34am):
Nice use of symmetry
Weenie Hut (05/07/2022 03:32pm):
Imbalanced map. 1/10
fddcsjxk (07/01/2022 08:56pm):
Part of MBO Top Cut
https://challonge.com/MBOTopCut
Red-Halo (07/02/2022 12:08am):
Pretty good map, nearly as good as Spann Island.
omphalos (07/22/2022 06:16pm):
I gave this map its 100th rating. Ten out of ten.
anderbean (08/24/2022 02:03pm):
hello? i want to play on this map and a play request is alredy there so hurry up!
COMMANDERWOLF (08/30/2022 07:21pm):
Dude,
JewishBanana (03/08/2023 03:23pm):
Good points @ROY WILD! Crazy no one has brought those up before.
Witte711 (06/18/2023 03:38pm):
Don't get tunnel vision and neglect the top right of the map. It's really easy to get your base killed there. I've lost too many
games that way. It's really a superb map. Very big fan
DanielMoreno (11/13/2023 11:36am):
If you check the CO stats of this map, you'll notice Kindle is
unquestionable in tier 2, simply better. With over 65% both in low and
high ratings. It's sad there's no other viable option whithin that tier.
Meta Rexy (12/21/2023 03:22am):
Extend the bridges to the missile silo. Time for a REAL caustic finale.

Do it, no balls.
dj_zmx (01/07/2024 12:32pm):
Definitely one of my favourite maps and I'm glad to see it added to the live queue. The time scramble is insane, I love it.
SonjaTheSuperior (01/21/2024 12:25pm):
@dj_zmx Pretty sure the map is in live queue, it is S rank and has the live play tag.
Creative (03/18/2024 05:36am):
Apparently a literal S-Rank map can lose Global League category with enough complaints, whether troll/invalid or valid. Why
do you guys hate one of the famous map and 80 only S-ranked map (which is almost impossible to get unless you find cure to
cancer) in AWBW so much that it's out of GL by your complaints ?
PurpleBookHorse (05/25/2024 09:44pm | Edited: 05/25/2024 09:50pm):
Worst map ever. I will never play this map again. 1/10 Probably won't play anything else from this map maker. I'd rate it 0 if I could.
wilkyb2 (08/20/2024 05:57pm | Edited: 08/20/2024 09:10pm):
you idiots play on a lot of really shitty maps, but this one is actually S tier
someguy333 (10/27/2024 11:32am):
How do I play?
pomparomp (11/28/2024 05:24am):
These towers are really annoying
yonedaslammer (12/13/2024 12:31pm):
elegantissimo
Totentanz (01/14/2025 12:22pm):
I've never played a match on this map that wasn't an absolute blast. This is probably my favorite non-fog map out there. 10/10 map truly.
Soulscollector (03/13/2025 01:06pm):
Lass move up to tier 2??? is this map really favour lass that much?

duke0802 (04/24/2025 12:42am | Edited: 04/28/2025 12:20pm):
Just to spice up the map even further, they should enclose the two missiles with
pipeseams and see if people want to invest in trying to open them for missile
shenanigans. I think the best thing about this map is brawling is inevitable and
unavoidable so it favors day to day superiority i.e. Sami, Von Bolt, Kindle etc.



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