Titanfall 2: Angel City Screw Up

Titanfall 2 may be one of the best games I’ve played this year, but it’s also a game I find incredibly infuriating at times. If you’ve read my review and my post about map design, you’ll know I consider the multiplayer maps of Titanfall 2 to be its weakest component.

Compared to the original game, the maps do not appropriately balance the multi-layered gameplay of Titanfall. The perfect balance between pilot and titan that existed within the original has been shot to pieces and as a result, matches are now dominated entirely by titans.

And perhaps that was the intent. But it’s not a design philosophy I particularly care for and it’s not one I feel plays to the core strength of the game. I was hopeful, however, that future maps would see a return to the map design philosophy of the original game, where verticality is key and where a careful balance between pilot and titan ‘terrain’ is struck. If not new maps, then at least ‘remastered’ versions of original Titanfall maps.

Which is why I was so looking forward to the release of the first major Titanfall 2 update which included the remastered Angel City – one of the best maps from the original game. But then I played the map and to my horror, realised they’d only gone and f**ked it up.

I’m talking specifically about the Amped Hardpoint mode. If you’ve read my review, you’ll know I’m not really a fan of the ‘amped’ aspect, or the placement of the objective points on the majority of the maps. Because on the majority of the maps, 2 or even all 3 of the objective points are fully accessible to titans, or within a clear line of sight of titan fire.

Amped Hardpoint, just like Attrition and Bounty Hunt, is now a mode entirely dominated by titans. Whichever team can call down their titans first will nearly always dominate and win the match, as they can simply ‘park’ their titans upon 1, 2 or even all 3 objective points.

And because of the lack of pilot terrain, it’s incredibly easy to kill pilots attacking these points. As a result, a team without titan control in Amped Hardpoint will always lose. You may argue this was true in the original game, but very few maps in the original had more than a single point accessible to titans or titan line of fire.

In the original, titans served more of a ‘support’ role within the mode, whereas in Titanfall 2, it’s just another mode where titans completely dominate the play. And this is even more pronounced due to the new ‘amped’ mechanic, as parking a couple of titans on points early will rapidly gain a team an unassailable lead.

In the original game, Hardpoint matches would rarely be complete stomps, but in Titanfall 2, complete stomps one way or the other is a regular occurrence due to the objective placement and the amped mechanic. It totally kills what was my favourite mode in the original game, and what should have been my favourite mode in the sequel.

Which brings us back to the ‘remastered’ Angel City, one of my favourite maps in the original, particularly for the Hardpoint mode. I was quite excited to jump back into this map and mode in Titanfall 2 even though I’m not fond of the ‘amped’ aspect, because at least (I thought) we’d return to a more appropriate objective placement. When the match began, I made a fast line for Hardpoint A only to realise … it was no longer there.

It seems some chucklef**k decided to relocate the objective point to an exterior location fully accessible to titans, bringing the map more in line with this new and terrible design philosophy whereby every map and mode should be dominated by titan play. I can’t understate how angry I was when I realised what they’d done. They took a map that was perfectly f**king balanced and ruined it for no good reason.

And how did that game play out? Just as I expected it to – the other team were able to rapidly gain a titan advantage, park their titans on both A and C (amping both points) and won within a matter of minutes. Hardpoint matches are no longer about controlling points or co-ordinating with your team to assault or defend – they’re about grabbing quick, early kills to earn your titan as rapidly as possible so your team can dominate the game.

As fantastic a game as I think Titanfall 2 is, I also think it’s being held back by a map design philosophy that runs contrary to what makes the gameplay so unique and appealing – the delicate balance between pilot and titan. Whenever I play Attrition, Bounty Hunt or Amped Hardpoint, I just feel like I’m only playing as a pilot to earn my titan as quickly as I can because if I don’t, defeat is almost certain.

In the original game, I could play entire matches without calling down my titan, because pilot gameplay could be just as effective due to the way maps were designed. One held no great advantage over the other if you knew what you were doing. But in Titanfall 2, the opposite is true.

This post was intended to be a fairly short rant, but I really couldn’t help myself. I love Titanfall 2. It’s great. It really is. But it’s a game I’m coming to hate as much as I love due to this backwards design philosophy that is actively working against the strengths of the game.