Ranking Every Halo Wars 2 Map

A comprehensive ranking of all multiplayer maps in Halo Wars 2, including Fort Jordan, the Battlegrounds map for Blitz Firefight, and Terminus Firefight.

S Tier

Sentry

Not only the best Halo Wars 2 map, but the best Halo Wars map between both games:

• Map designed for turtling - given to Team Respawn for the sole purpose of turtling
• Two tiers of highly defendable bases with height advantage
• Can take center node for line of sight against air
• Works best with two tiers, UNSC or Banished or double Banished combo
• Can hold Sentry with four starting bases (your base, teammate's base, and two X-Bows)
• Don't need any other expansion bases on the entire map
• Featured in Super Turtle playlist, including a five and a half hour game

A Tier

Badlands

• Favors turtling (not as much as Sentry)
• Expo base is in the middle between you and your teammate
• Position is both highly defendable and easy to attack
• Can still fly across from bottom for vulture spam
• Need to be prepared if you overextend
• Overall really great map

Mirage

• One of the free DLC maps (Fissures and Mirage)
• One of the more sweaty maps because it's so small
• 2v2 map that's more arena-based
• Great for grudge matches or 1v1/2v2
• Requires tactical play and careful control of the center
• Very easy to lose if not careful - hard to come back once momentum is lost

Rift

• Higher skill ceiling players and tournaments favor Rift
• Great for grudge matches and tournaments
• Similar to Mirage - requires strategic thinking
• Lots of minis that can be stolen
• Design that should be seen more often in Halo Wars 2 maps

Vault

• Has scaling problems like Frontier - cutoff parts in smaller player counts
• Much better map in 3v3 - barren areas in 2v2 that don't make sense
• Center power node has teleporters that jump you to other side
• Can get great turtles on Vault if you get a line down across center of map

Terminus Firefight

• Only one map added to Terminus Firefight
• Enjoyable game mode with many options
• Problem is lack of maps (same as Blitz) - would be better with more variety
• Enjoyable for first-time players

B Tier

Fissures

• One of the free DLC maps - many people don't like it
• In 3v3, it's almost biased with 2v2 and 1v1 battle sets
• Expo is right in the middle between both sides
• Favors good teamwork and coordination
• Towers and covers provide great line of sight against air spam
• Nothing that makes this map epic - just a general map

Frontier

• Map with mixed experiences - great games and bad games
• Designed for largest audience (3v3), then cuts off parts for 2v2
• Can see cutoff parts with camera and get stuck
• Really like the healing spires on Frontier - placed almost out of the way
• Nothing all that awesome about Frontier

Bedrock

• Awesome map that really shines in 3v3
• Great for leaders that favor siege (Anders and Pavium)
• Great triple Pavium super turtle
• Way map is designed might be better in 2v2 than 3v3
• In 2v2, really focused in middle with four bases
• Great symmetrical map

C Tier

Ashes

• Falls victim to teleporters (like Highway)
• Teleporters ruin all the fun that would otherwise be a great map
• Teleporters take you behind someone's other base - easy for vulture spam to snipe base
• Completely dead area on one side with forerunner ramp - waste of space
• Easier to defend against teleporters on Ashes than Highway
• Can cheese with leader powers if someone goes through teleporter

D Tier

Highway

• Sole reason for D-tier: the teleporters
• Teleporters absolutely ruin this map
• Map is way too long - takes forever with slow-moving vehicles like Scorpions
• Have to go through teleporters because it takes so long to traverse
• Would be great map if teleporters weren't there
• Teleporters go perpendicular - always jumps to other side
• Can use teleporters to steal minis at beginning of game

Battlegrounds (Blitz Map)

• Only one map for entire Blitz game mode
• Blitz would have been better without microtransactions
• More thought needed with deck design and card collection
• Weird thing: can see through fog of war on this map all the time
• Not sure if intentional or not - noticed in beta and at launch

F Tier

Fort Jordan

• Map added entirely out of already used Halo Wars 2 assets - no new assets
• Meant to be gift to Halo Wars team and community - hyped up greatly when first came out
• Map is way too big - not scaled properly
• Takes all afternoon to go from one side to other
• Often see people just playing air game because that's only way to navigate map
• Same size map no matter if playing 1v1, 2v2, or 3v3 (very different from other maps)
• Lots of technical problems: black screen, no ground visible, base doesn't spawn sometimes
• Appreciate gesture of bringing back beloved Halo Wars 1 map (Fort Dean), but Fort Jordan isn't it

Summary

Here's the complete tier ranking of all Halo Wars 2 maps:

• S Tier: Sentry
• A Tier: Badlands, Mirage, Rift, Vault, Terminus Firefight
• B Tier: Fissures, Frontier, Bedrock
• C Tier: Ashes
• D Tier: Highway, Battlegrounds
• F Tier: Fort Jordan

Halo Wars 2 has map variety, but not as great as Halo Wars 1. Only one banger (Sentry) and a lot of maps need some work. That said, Halo Wars 2 maps are at least fun and enjoyable for new players and returning players to this day. Halo Wars 1 maps are almost all S or A tier - they're just so good.