ESOTERICA
[es-uh-ter-i-kuh] -plural noun
1. Things understood by or meant for a select few.
2. Things belonging to a select few.
3. That which is private; secret; confidential.

The Forerunners built this facility in a remote area for a reason. Who knows what secrets it hold? 4-8 players.

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Hello fellow forgers! I bring you Esoterica, my first Halo Reach creation released. Esoterica is a medium sized asymmetrical map created between Alaska and Montana (in Forge World of course!), and is built in a way so that Red Team's base is in the canyon, and Blue Team's base is on the coastline. It is supposed to resemble a secret Forerunner facility hidden in a cove, built into the mountains. With the backstory out of the way, let's go on to everyone's favorite part; the pictures! I know it's not easy to find your bearings just by looking at unfamiliar pictures of the map, so I will try my best to explain the picture, and help give you a better feeling of the map's flow. The captions are placed below the pictures, and should do a good job of "showing you the tour".

This is of course an overview of Esoterica.

Here's a shot of the Red Base. In the center you'll notice the elevator that leads to the Red Team sniper tower. On the right side you can see a cave entrance that also leads to the sniper tower, protected by a mounted machine gun.

This is a shot of the Blue Base. They too have an elevator that leads to their own sniper tower, but unlike the Red Team's sniper tower, unless you have a jetpack handy, the only way up there as a Red Team member is via the elevator. Also, it's not shown here but the Blue Team flag spawns behind the mounted machine gun.

This is a view from right behind and a little bit above Blue Team's mounted machine gun. From here, you can see the double archway rocks on the right side, which lead to...

...the cave entrance on the Red Team's side of the map.

Here's another shot of the double rock arches (on the right) that lead to the cave entrance (on the left). On the bottom left of the picture, you can also see a ramp. That ramp leads to...

The Red Base. Going through this entrance leads you not just inside the Red Base, but also the same level as the Red Team flag.

Here's a shot from inside the Red Base. The Blue Team can come through the front door, or they can jump in from the roof, made possible by the open air double level roof design.

Here's a picture of that open air double level roof design of the Red Base. Players can follow the path on the left side of the picture, and that leads them onto the roof.

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I spent roughly 3 weeks creating this map, making sure all aesthetics, as well as all weapon and spawn placements are on point. Soft and Hard Kill Zones are where they should be, and I'm confident that this map cannot be "broken". The distance between both teams' flags is not that far, but I'm hoping that the way I have placed the Respawn Zones help balance the gameplay for both sides. I feel that this map flows great, especially for an asymmetrical map. Red Team's half is built defensively, and Blue offensively, by design. It's hard to tell from the pictures above, but this part of Forge World lends such perfect natural inclines in the environment, and I feel it creates great lines of sight, and adds to the defense/offense dynamic without making one side feel overpowered. Of course, I had limited testing, so your mileage may vary. If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to let me know.

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Weapons on map (respawn time:extra clip)
5x DMR (30:1)
2x Sniper Rifle (90:1)
2x Needle Rifle (30:1)
1x Rocket Launcher (60:0)
1x Shotgun (60:1)
1x Needler (30:2)
1x Magnum (30:2)
1x Grenade Launcher (90:3)
1x Plasma Launcher (90:na)
2x Mounted Machine Gun (120:na)
4x Frag Grenades (15:na)
8x Plasma Grenades (15:na)

CLICK HERE to download Esoterica.