topology
Chokepoint balancedraft
Also known as: Choke tuning, Attacker-defender economy
Definition
Tuning the narrow passages between contested areas so that holding one is efficient but not decisive. In practice this means giving each objective at least two approaches, limiting how many defender angles cover a single entrance, and making the cost of forcing a choke legible before the attacker commits.
How to spot it
Count entrances per objective and angles per entrance. Then ask what an attacking team can do about a held choke: if the answer is only shoot through it, the choke is a wall. If the answer includes taking a different lane, or forcing a rotation, or spending a resource, the choke is balanced. Watch where rounds actually end for the real map.
Why it works
Symmetric fights are decided by aim, and aim alone gets boring for everyone but the best player in the lobby. A tuned choke turns each round into a resource question instead: how much is this passage worth right now, and what do we give up to take it. Defenders get the satisfaction of an efficient hold, attackers get a real decision, and the map stays unsolved across thousands of matches. Get it wrong in either direction and the map becomes either a stalemate or a coin flip.
Levels using this (1)
Derived from level entries, not maintained here.
- de_dust2Counter-Strike · 2001
Each site has two attacker entrances and defensible angles, and mid gives attackers a rotation option that stops either lane from being a coin flip.
Related
Sources
- articleDavid Johnston's writing on designing de_dust2
- gdc-talkCompetitive level design talks on attacker and defender balance