It’s been three months since Ancient replaced Train in CS:GO‘s Active Duty map pool. The newest map, though, started being played by tier-one and tier-two teams only at the beginning of June, in IEM Summer.
Out of 497 maps played between the top 30 teams in HLTV’s ranking, Ancient has been played 49 times, according to HLTV’s statistics. So far now, no team seems to be completely dominating on Ancient. The current meta of the map focuses around the B bombsite, and the map control of the Ramp and Cheetah’s area often tell how the round is going to roll. For Endpoint’s in-game leader Max “MiGHTYMAX” Heath, one of the teams that played most on Ancient, the meta is already stale.
“I think now that everyone has shown their ideas, and with little change to the map, the meta has cemented itself with teams just taking each other’s ideas and combining them together,” he said in an interview with HLTV.
Natus Vincere’s head coach Andrey “B1ad3” Gorodenskiy disagrees, though. He thinks that the meta is settled “around 70 percent,” and that the changes Valve is going to implement at some point will force teams to rework their game plan.
But what could Valve do to make the map better? There are two main issues, according to the pros HLTV spoke with. The first is that the Terrorists need too much utility and the second is the lack of cover on the A bombsite. Ancient is currently the most-CT-sided map of 2021, with the defensive side having a 54.5 percent win rate after 218 games recorded on HLTV. The numbers are similar to Train, the map Ancient replaced.
“I think one of the main issues is the number of grenades it takes to gain map control as a Terrorist,” Heroic’s in-game leader Casper “cadiaN” Møller told HLTV. “Also, CTs with full utility can block Mid and B in a way where if you want to gain fast control of those areas you will take a lot of utility damage. So I am not sure how to work around it, but it feels like that if you want to run a proper default, you can’t afford to lose anyone if you want to be able to execute late round.”
As for the A bombsite, the problem is that the Terrorists can’t plant the bomb without being susceptible to being spammed, which also turns into an ugly fight for viewers. “Yeah, the A site is just bad,” Ninjas in Pyjamas’ captain Hampus Poser told HLTV.
“Even if you get the site you can’t plant the bomb in a non-spammable position—there is no cover at all. Some more cover in the planting area on A [would be great]. But overall, I like the map. Perhaps there are some small changes needed on the B site, but all in all, I like it.”
The pros are currently enjoying their summer break, which will last until Aug. 15, one day before ESL Pro League Season 14 starts. So far, Valve hasn’t implemented any notable changes to Ancient during the break, but the devs can take a look at the feedback and do so before the big tournaments start taking place again.
