Guide to (4) Highway to Baku

Now that my map has reached automatch I thought it might be helpful for me to introduce the map a little and give some tips on how to play it.


Historical Background

The map is not really based on any actual combat that occurred during WW2. The German Forces aimed to reach the oil fields around Baku during Case Blue (Fall Blau) but never made it there. Due to the oil fields mentioned there is a oil refinery in my map, as well as surrounding mountains (inspired by the Caucasus Mountains through which the Wehrmacht tried to advance). The nature is generally a bit "desert-like" reflecting the appearance of the area's landscape along the Caspian Sea. I hope that the visual aspects of the map add something new to the usual maps we are used to.


General map design

The map is split in two parts by a river. The river gives red cover but I placed bushes and other small objects in it to give yellow cover at certain points. All the retreat paths should be covered by this should not become an area that can be used for easily wiping units.



The roads do not provide red cover.

The northern and southern corners of the map provide a big shot and sight blocker that allows you to flank forces in the middle by taking the longer route around the edge of the map.

I really hate maps where team weapons and later Elefant/ISU are overly dominant so there are a number of indestructible sight as well as shot blockers implemented. The bridge walls can not be destructed and the wrecks south and north of the VP can't either. This should make it harder to spam MGs and kill all vehicle play with Pak walls.


The map is mirrored making it balanced for both sides.



Ressource points and VPs

The map is designed in a way to make it possible for both sides to capture all 3 VPs. This should, at least in theory, make it possible to end games quickly if one team is better instead of promoting endless drawn-out games like on Minsk or Poltawa.

The munition points are located relatively far away from your base which again makes the munition points something that you need to fight over. I predict that this will likely cause the average munitions income to be less than on other maps which should help with late game call-in spam (off-map, loiter planes, etc). The munition point is also quite far from the main combat areas which again makes it neccessary to actively pursue it. Players get to choose between focusing all their units on the fuel points and VP areas or spreading out more and contesting the munition points as well.

Both fuel points can be contested although each side has a "safe fuel". It's not that the fuel points are right outside your base but fighting for the fuel should always be possible even for struggling teams. There are two fuel cut-offs that need to be held to connect your fuel to the base. Both are relatively hard to get to so there will likely not be too much cut-off play happening. That being said, the fuel cut-off right at the river can be used to quickly end games when one player dominates "his side". If you manage to push your enemy off the map you can cross the river and decap the point resulting in the loss of fuel for the enemy.




Garrisons

The map has no dominant garrisons. The only usable houses are the ones at the northern and southern munition point. Both of them are not designed to be used for combat and instead are meant to serve as points that can be used for infiltration units. Spawning units here should work perfectly for ambushing units from the edge of the map.

All the other garrisons are destroyed and can not be used. This also includes the bunkers in the south-west. They can not be used/reached and only serve visual purposes.




Strategies

I am not sure yet what strategies and build-orders could be dominant on Highway to Baku. Ideally the map turns out to be quite balanced in terms of favouring long vs. short range infantry, team weapons vs. mobile infantry, heavy tanks vs TDs etc.

The map allows you to either work as a team and mainly stick to your side of the river or each play on one side. The bridge walls should make it quite easy to switch from north to south without being seen and shot at from the enemy. That way you can quickly assist your teammate and go for 2v1 situations.

Emplacements and OKW trucks can not be constructed in the water but building a mortar pit or a forward HQ along the river covered by the trees and the bridge wall should be a pretty good choice.



Due to the shot and sight blockers on the edges of the map it should always be possible to flank the enemy and attack from multiple directions making it hard to lock down everything with MGs.

If you want to watch a really good game played on Highway to Baku I can recommend AE's cast of Kimbo/Asiamint vs. Noggano/Isildur who played a tournament finals game on the map.

Fantastic map. Ty for the guide.

Not tried the map yet, but I think this write-up is great. I might do the same for amilly.

Thanks guys

I had a new issue in one of the new 2v2 maps I think its road to baku (see screen shot) I tried to cap an ammo point but the flag ticker would not reduce. I moved about the point to scout for cloaked units but found none. A couple of minutes later I tried to cap it again and the same thing happened https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197972362321/screenshots/

We need more maps with indestructible blockers. Most maps by the lategame are a massive sea of yellow cover craters with 0 sight blockers remaining.

I'd say Baku is a decent map. I'll see how I feel about it once I get more games on it.

Scorched Earth?

Scorched Earth?

Scorched Earth trap detonates an incendiary trap before making the point uncapable. So that can't be it unless he missed a giant pool of flames.

Not sure but propaganda was not used on my troops at the point. I can’t discount that maybe there was a cloaked sniper somehow and I didn’t move enough to find it. It would be odd though because It would have had to have been very lucky not to be spotted the first time and remained there until I came back and still not been spotted. There was no sniper fire in the game I recall

Thanks guys

Thanks for the good map and the post explaining it.

After i played a good game on it, i said to myself that the name of the map should had been Highway to hell!!!! Now i undersand the choice of the name