Guide: The basics of map building for new players

Alright, a lot of people are on here complaining about the map system and it's understandable. I think every CB tester here will admit that it's not the easiest system to learn. I'm generally not a person who would write a guide, my grammar sucks ect ect so forgive me if it's shit.

Also it's worth noting that I haven't run any maps since OB because I'm playing hardcore and yea... I did however place 3rd in a 1 week a couple months ago and ran a shit ton of maps during that time. I may be wrong about some of this stuff and if you're someone who is running a ton of maps right now and feel that I've made a mistake please correct me.


This guide is meant for new players, most experienced people will probably not learn anything from it and might have something they think should be added to it.


Money

They will cost you boatloads of currency, if you want to have unlimited maps and move up in map level progression you will need to spend a LOT of money on them.

The main orbs you're going to be spending on maps are chisels, alchemy, chaos, scouring, alterations, augmentations, and regals. If you are are a low level you should be saving all of your alterations for when you hit map level. Don't be a greedy bastard spend your orbs on your maps or you will not be able to find new ones/progress.

Building Your Maps

First lets divide our maps into two sections, important maps and not so important maps.

-Important Maps-

An important map is one that your looking to progress from. Say you have 5 level 66 maps and finally a level 67 or 68 map drops. You're going to want the best yield possible from this 67/68 map and to get that you're going to want to use chisels to up the quality of it and turn it into a rare if it isn't one already.

Make sure that you use your chisels before turning the map into a uncommon/rare

So now that you've chiseled it you have two options
1. Alch the map and then use chaos as needed to get the mods you want
2. Use alterations and augmentations to get the mods you want and then regal the map

The goal here is to get the highest quantity % possible that you can still survive as well as getting the best mods possible. I'm going to explain the best mods after the not so important map section.

-Not so important maps-

For this example lets say you have 10-15 level 66 maps, a 67, and a 68. You're saving your 67 and 68 for when you're friends get on or whatever but you still want to run some maps. You're 66 maps don't really matter right now so you don't need to dump a bunch of currency into them.

For these I'll generally only use alts and augs. You still want good mods but like I said earlier you really shouldn't need to dump a bunch of currency into them. Use your best judgement.

When does a not so important map become an important map? I'd say if you get down to 5 or so 66 maps you should start dumping currency into them as you really don't want to run out of maps and you should be looking to find higher ones. If you're not in a hurry to move up to higher maps you probably don't need to spend bigger orbs on 66 maps as it's pretty easy to find someone selling them in the alch-chaos range.

MODS

Ok so you have your important map what mods do you want to roll on it? In general I'd say that you should aim for 2 of the 5 good mods I listed below. However I usually will stop rolling the map if it hits maze/larger area and seems doable.


We'll divide this into 2 sections as well, GOOD mods and BAD mods. I'm not going to go into detail about each mod I'm just going to list off which ones to look out for.

-Good Mods-

-Increased Pack Size - Definitely one of the best mods, pretty self explanatory this will increase the size of magic mob packs as well as normal mobs so it goes really well with +magic monsters

-Maze - Only rollable on indoor maps, increases size

-Larger Area - Only rollable on outdoor maps, increases size

-% Magic Monsters - Increases the amount of magic mobs

-% Rare monsters - Increases the amount of rare mobs, not the best mod though

-2 unique bosses - this one is kind of 50/50 if you roll this on a maze map ummmm have fun?

These are the most obvious good mods, There are some others that are "bad mods" but they increase the quantity more than some other bad mods which make them the good of the bad mods. Man that sentence was rough.

-Bad Mods-

- Players cursed with vulnerability - Makes you more vulnerable, it sucks. Watch out for this when it is combined with increased monster dmg and reduced resistances

- Reduced Resistance - Pretty self explanatory be careful of this combined with mods like monsters deal 80% lightning dmg ect

- Temporal Chains - Yea unless you hate yourself you should probably skip this mod. Sometimes it can be worth doing if the rest of the mods are AMAZING. Even then it's incredibly painful.

- Elemental Weakness - Also bad =P

- Boss attacks faster hits harder - This one isn't too tough but it's worth mentioning. On certain bosses it can be really really rough.

- Mobs deal X% dmg as X element - Like I mentioned before this one can be doable if it's by itself but when combined with certain other mods it can mean a quick death.

I may be forgetting some things, like I said above it's been a little while. If you have something that you think should be added/elaborated on please let me know. This is just a very basic outline that hopefully will help some new players. I think the main thing that new people need to learn is that they will have to spend a lot of currency on maps.


Try to get those good mods, high quantity %, and survive =D. Also I stream regularly at twitch.tv/totaladdict so feel free to drop by if you have any questions/want to tell me how bad this guide is =P

I have been wondering about maps. I quit CB before they implemented these, so never got around to using them. Glad someone took the time to write a guide about how to use these. Good write up, was easy to read and understand.

Yo OP. Good shout. Thank you.

thanx nice guide, tho ive run 4 maps in OB and didnt find even one! i really hope its just bad grace from RNG god, coz if they changed drop rate ill be daaammed :(

i had no problem farming maps in CB

Thanks OP for the initial mini-guide.

This is definitely good start. It would be great if other experienced players share they hints & tips on maps. It would be also great if sections are done in more details eventually.

Yea it could definitely use more detail. Like I said before I'm not really one for writing guides but after reading the forum for a bit earlier today it seemed like a lot of people were having trouble with the map system. After doing some searching I couldn't really find any sort of guide so I figured I'd try to at least outline the basics.

I'll be watching the thread and if any other experienced players have anything to add I'd be happy to add it to the OP. I also might update it over time, it's definitely not a comprehensive guide by any means. Thanks for the feedback =)

Thanks for awesome guide OP.

1 question - what level should I do my first map?

I am lvl 70 ranger on hardcore with 4.1k health, 80 all elemental res, -12 chaos res, and around 45% physical reduction from armor. I have cleared merciless and Piety was pretty easy for my character. I play solo.

I have yet to have a map drop for me, but when I do I don't want to zone in and die (being on hardcore).

Thx!

Good guide - maybe if people took some note of this there would be less qq about map drop rates.

In your list of good mods though I would say though that + rare monsters isn't that great. Even if you roll the max 50% it's only going to add 2 or 3 rares to the map. + Monster pack size is more useful since it adds many more monsters (even if they do drop less items so less chance of dropping another map than a rare mob).

Also in terms on when to use alchs, chaos, chisels & regals - personally I don't think it's ever worth using them on low level (66-68) maps unless you a flush with currency - using alts & augs and getting the right mods should be enough to keep you in low level maps. If you're about to run out of 66's just buy some more off other players, they are already about a chaos each and won't be long before you can get them for an alch - that beats wasting currency on them.

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Oatz wrote:

Thanks for awesome guide OP.

1 question - what level should I do my first map?

I am lvl 70 ranger on hardcore with 4.1k health, 80 all elemental res, -12 chaos res, and around 45% physical reduction from armor. I have cleared merciless and Piety was pretty easy for my character. I play solo.

I have yet to have a map drop for me, but when I do I don't want to zone in and die (being on hardcore).

Thx!

It really varies from build to build. Looking at your stats I'd say you'd probably be fine in a 66 just start with an easier map and take it slow. If it seems too rough you can always back out. If you have extra alchs/chaos and are tired of farming you might wanna look into buying your first map.

"

RandallPOE wrote:

Good guide - maybe if people took some note of this there would be less qq about map drop rates.

In your list of good mods though I would say though that + rare monsters isn't that great. Even if you roll the max 50% it's only going to add 2 or 3 rares to the map. + Monster pack size is more useful since it adds many more monsters (even if they do drop less items so less chance of dropping another map than a rare mob).

Also in terms on when to use alchs, chaos, chisels & regals - personally I don't think it's ever worth using them on low level (66-68) maps unless you a flush with currency - using alts & augs and getting the right mods should be enough to keep you in low level maps. If you're about to run out of 66's just buy some more off other players, they are already about a chaos each and won't be long before you can get them for an alch - that beats wasting currency on them.

Yea you are definitely right. I totally forgot about pack size as I said it's been a while. I edited the OP with pack size. You are right about the 66 maps as well. If your not in a hurry to climb maps it is probably more cost effective to just buy them

There's also a good in-depth video about maps by Kripparian.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB4yg9-P3rU