10 Most Iconic Maps in RTS Gaming

Key Takeaways

• Real-time strategy games rely heavily on well-designed maps to push competitive gamers to strategize effectively.
• Iconic custom and developer-made maps like StarCraft 2’s Abyssal Reef test players’ strategic skills in unique environments.
• Maps like Age of Empires 2’s Black Forest force players to be intelligent with strategies, bridging the gap between turtling and infiltration.

Fans of real-time strategy games will know that an RTS lives or dies on its maps. Whether it’s expertly crafted campaign missions that stick in one’s mind or custom maps that push competitive RTS gamers to their limits, the unique strategies involved in conquering them are what makes an RTS fan tick.

Maps have become iconic for all sorts of reasons: crafted spaces forcing teams into early resource conflicts, new mechanics and novel ideas, or unique strategy encouragement for different army types. Sometimes, it’s just because particularly iconic matches have happened on these maps. These maps, both fan and developer made, are the most iconic examples of classic RTS maps.

10 StarCraft 2 – Abyssal Reef

Narrow Paths

Taking place on a coral reef, this custom map created by SidianTheBard has become well known in the StarCraft community. Narrow strips of land in the flooded reef mean that expansion becomes a hotly contested goal, with players desperately trying to grab rocky outposts and their strategic resources first.

The map was a regular feature of 1v1 brackets in major tournaments from 2017 to 2018, including the WCS 2017 global finals. It’s fondly remembered by many competitive StarCraft players due to its creative, semiaquatic environment.

9 Warcraft 3 – Terenas Stand

Grand Showdowns

Terenas Stand is a two-player map created by Blizzard for Warcraft 3. The map became popular with players as the large open spaces and central mercenary tavern complement rapid and aggressive expansion tactics.

The map has been home to some iconic matchups in competitive play, such as the WSVG 2007 grand final. The original map dropped out of competitive rotations in 2011, but an updated version of the map, Terenas Stand LV, was released with the 1.29 version of the game and was used for tournament play as recently as 2022.

8 Age Of Empires 2 – Black Forest

Can’t See The Wood For The Trees

Age of Empires 2 has some unique strategies that skilled players can employ, and Black Forest forces this kind of intelligent play with narrow spaces hemmed in by dense forests. Walling and turtling strategies are common, but sneaky players can infiltrate villagers into enemy territory early on and turn the tide in the mid-game with harassment and sabotage.

The map has proven incredibly popular in Age of Empires tournament play, featuring since 2002 and still being played competitively today. The Rage Forest tournament series even plays exclusively on this map. For players with Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition, the map has a near identical counterpart named Dark Forest.

7 Company Of Heroes – Angoville

Urban Warfare

Company of Heroes is often praised for its accurate representation of the varying battlegrounds of World War II. Angoville is a great demonstration of that, featuring both urban areas and open farmland. Opposing forces can take advantage of the terrain in different ways. Axis units can make good use of mortars and machine guns from the cover of farm buildings and hedgerows, while the allies can use superior numbers to flank and overwhelm their enemies in the open fields.

In multiplayer matchups, victory often goes to whichever player can secure both of the maps’ fuel points, as this will give them a significant advantage in producing armored units. Matches become a bitter back and forth between controlling one point and harassing the other.

6 Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 – Urban Rush

A Bridge Too Far

Urban Rush from Red Alert 2 is an interesting map and a community favorite. The central raised land mass is connected by four major bridges, creating natural chokepoints for any player trying to seize control of the central air field.

The bridges make for a unique map feature, and that’s one reason why this map has become iconic for 1v1 matches. Build orders tend to favor harassing opponents to buy time and the all important move to control the nearest bridge territory. It makes for some delicate and finely poised battles between players of equal skill.

5 Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War 2 – The Last Stand

All Or Nothing

The Dawn of War games are well known for their epic campaign missions. The use of heroic characters allows for more scripted and curated missions than the average RTS. The Last Stand is one of Dawn of War 2‘s best examples. It’s sprawling mission that ebbs and flows between attack and defense as players move through it.

First, players need to focus on taking out nearby brood nests to cut down the number of Tyranid spawns throughout the mission, before capturing pre-determined points and holding them against oncoming waves of enemies. This culminates in an epic point defense battle, before players finally have to take on the Tyranid Hive Tyrant Alpha boss. It’s a memorable, all or nothing clash.

4 Total Annihilation – Over Crude Water

Metal Maze

One of the original multiplayer maps from the classic RTS Total Annihilation, Over Crude Water is iconic for a number of reasons. The metal grid-like structure of the map is a series of metal bridges connecting a large central section with smaller corner sections, with both land and water underneath.

The map stands out as it was one of the few that allowed the largest player count and area to build in. It’s also one of only three “Core Prime” maps, which means significant gains in metal production. Given that the map also allows for easy energy generation, it means that players have a lot of freedom with build choices. The bridges also cause unique strategic considerations and are one of the factors that makes this map stick in players’ memories.

For players with the 2016 Steam re-release of the game, this map needs to be downloaded separately.

3 Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War 3 – The Storm Prince

The Perfect Storm

Even though it’s the penultimate mission of Dawn of War 3‘s campaign, The Storm Prince really feels like the culmination of what the campaign has been asking of the player. It’s a mission that’s epic in scale, asking players to take control of all three factions one by one and apply what they’ve learned throughout.

First, players need to work with two Eldar heroes and a small force to get to and establish a base, leading to a tense battle. Then, they’re asked to defend as Orks before building an attacking force of their own. Finally, the mission culminates in a last stand with the Space Marines, an epic battle of attrition in which all but a few warriors fall. It’s a long and hard-fought mission that even eclipses the game’s final scenario.

2 StarCraft 2 – Lost Temple

An RTS Fan Favorite

Ask a player of StarCraft 2‘s early competitive scene about iconic maps, and Lost Temple is sure to come up. The original map, created by Scott Mercer for StarCraft, was one of the competitive scenes’ most popular maps, and StarCraft 2‘s version is held in similar high regard.

It was a regular feature of competitive ladder matches between 2010 and 2011, before being replaced by a revised version called Shattered Temple. The map is interesting, as elevated positions allow for easily defensible player bases, but open areas in the center of the map lead to hotly contested wars for additional resources.

1 StarCraft – Aeon Of Strife

Dawn Of The MOBA

One of the most interesting aspects of custom map creation in open-ended map editors is that whole new styles of play can be created. This has led to more than one example of developers and modders being inspired by custom maps to create entire new games and even genres. StarCraft‘s Aeon of Strife map might be the most iconic example of this, leading in part to the creation of Defense of the Ancients and the entire MOBA genre. The concept of Aeon of Strife was that players controlled a single hero unit, fighting against lanes of enemies and trying to destroy the opposing team’s core.

It wasn’t as refined as the games it inspired, but the in-mission hero upgrading, enemy lanes and overarching goal of destroying the enemy’s structures were all there. The original map was created by Gunner_4_ever for the original Starcraft in 2002, but it is widely credited as the inspiration for WarCraft 3‘s Defense of the Ancients map.