Only time will tell what map comes out on top (I certainly wouldn't have guessed that Warehouse would be the undisputed Pandora Tomorrow favorite), but Aquarius certainly seems to have all the fixings for a classic map. Each area and room sports its own unique features and feel. It's not too big, it's not too cramped, and it's not balanced too far to one side or the other. Whether you're a mercenary or a spy, Aquarius has everything you want, and that's why it's been selected for our first Map Strategy article. It's time to stop admiring the map and start working out how to win while you play it. We'll alternate between spy tips and merc tips. Enjoy.
That just looks cool.
Merc Side: Extraction Woes Aquarius is very friendly for extraction objectives, so it's even more important to guard against things getting extracted. One easy way is for one merc to concentrate on setting up mines on the extraction briefcases (there are three on the map). While a spy may be able to get the disk, he's very likely to blow himself up on the way to delivering it.
Spy Side: Storm Extraction The closest objective to the spy's spawn point is the Office. It's also an extraction objective, which makes it a perfect target for a first strike. You can get to the door within about 10 seconds of spawning, so storm this objective at the beginning of the map.
There's one major thing to note here: Make sure you head in with both spies. You can get to the door quickly, but it takes 10 seconds to hack the door and get to the objective. That means one spy needs to play defense by shocking and smoking out the mercs when they come to kill the hacking spy.
Merc Side: Greek Temple The closest objective for a spy is the Office, but there is plenty of warning if spies actually go there (they need to hack the door to get in). The Greek Temple objective is wide open and nearly as close to the spawn point. It also opens up the door leading to the Tech Room if it's neutralized. You are well advised to blitz the Greek Temple first, and set up plenty of spy traps around its perimeter.
The merc is all-seeing.
Spy Side: Sabotage and Smoke If you're going to hit the Tech Room (it's a sabotage objective), try to make it the second objective (it can't be the first, since you need to neutralize the Greek Temple to access it). If you do sabotage it as the second objective, the room fills with steam, which makes it incredibly difficult for the merc to move through, as well as making it a great room to hide in if you're trying to escape from a merc. It becomes a spy haven, which can be crucial for setting up your attack on the third objective.
Merc Side: Beware of Gratings There are ventilation gratings scattered throughout Aquarius. In the beginning, they are nearly all closed, and it's important to keep them that way. Be very mindful of tossing grenades near these gratings, as that destroys the cover and grants the spies easier access to different areas.
Spy Side: Co-op Near the Greek Temple objective is a co-op move opportunity. A little icon pops up in the bottom left corner telling you to press the White button to set yourself up for a co-op move. This allows you to give your partner a boost up onto the rafters in the room. That's not only a great hiding spot, but also it grants you ceiling access to other rooms, which makes it much harder for the mercs to spot you or know where you are.
The mine works again.
General Tip It's important to understand that every objective a spy completes alters a function of the map itself. Here's a quick list of each objective and what it affects. For spies, this is crucial to understanding what systems you can activate or turn off to limit the mercenaries. Mercs need to be aware of what map function they have just lost.
Pirate's Room Objective: Completing this turns off some of the lights around the map, giving the spies a little more breathing room when it comes to hiding.
Tropical Fish Room: Dropping the disk off activates the sprinkler system in the level, which can provide a visual distraction, as well as fog up the mercenary's visor.
Tech Room: As mentioned before, this fills up the Tech Room (and a few other places) with steam, causing all sorts of havoc for the mercenaries.
Office: This disk turns off the alarm lasers throughout the map, making it much easier for the spies to move about without constantly stopping to chaff or shoot lasers.
Greek Temple: This simply grants the spies access to the Tech Room.
After a few weeks of playing Aquarius or any other map, much deeper and more complicated strategy becomes apparent. That said, if you're looking for a little edge on winning the battle for Aquarius, these tips will get you started.
