0
Problem 1: Draw Distance
Boreal vault has a really bad problem of "disappearing" terrain on lower settings even when you are quite close.
For example, here's how much the terrain changes just by moving 1 meter back and forth. This is only about 400 meters away. The fighting at this entrance is a critical do-or-die moment on this map. Giving the enemy a chance to spot you through the terrain or smashing all your rounds on an invisible hill can make a world of difference.
(sorry for the crappy image quality, but you get the idea)
This is a bit of an issue on the other entrance as well, but not as bad. It's also a problem on that mountain ledge right outside the defenders spawn. Players will visible to the attackers but in truth be under cover. So it winds up being very difficult to counter-snipe them up there because you keep hitting dirt.
Problem 2: Firing line of Doom.
This IMO is one of the biggest problems on the map. Defenders can set up this absolutely brutal firing line right on the hills outside of the base entrance. It makes attacking against an organized team, extremely difficult. It's not uncommon for a couple of players to die in the first 5 seconds of the engagement because you have nearly 12 mechs all pointing at that gate.
On other maps like Emerald taiga where gates are also somewhat close together, the firing line can be circumvented by a split push. However on Boreal, both gates can be defended by 1 forward facing firing line.
Attackers need some serious help here on the initial push.
Problem 3: Transitioning from the Outer-Base to the Inner Base
You can divide Boreal vault into 2 phases. Each phase involves hard-pushing into brutal firing lines.
Phase 1 is what I described above where you have to push through the gates and secure a foothold.
Phase 2 is pushing from the outer base and into the inner base.
This can be extremely hard on players. The cliffs surrounding the inner base force attackers to push through narrow paths. Meanwhile they are getting smashed by LRMs and players on that high mountain right outside the defender spawn point. (a mountain with significant draw distance issues)
Also by the time you reach the inner base, any defender you have killed have just respawned in fresh mechs and are ready to receive your battered mech. Oh and they've got 6-7 turrets backing them up now.
Improvements:
I think a big problem with a lot of maps in Faction Play is that defenders can climb up the tall hill protecting their spawn and shoot down at the enemy. Countering those players is difficult because they have respawning mechs and giga-killer dropships proecting their backs. IMO, I would just make those hills unnavigable. Or put terrain/structures in the way to block LOS more. Those spots are just too strong and unassailable unless you're just smashing the defenders all the way into their spawn.
Another issue I would address is making the gate-push more forgiving. I'm sure you guys can think of something, but I do believe something needs to be done there so teams aren't losing multiple 100-tonners in the opening 10 seconds of a push.
