Gaming
Nuke’s back, with a few new routes around the map, but what are the consequences?
It's been a long time since de_Nuke was in competitive play, and now that Train has had the renovation it deserved, it was time to turn Valve's keen eye on everyone's favourite nuclear plant. Accompanying the long-awaited release of Operation Wildfire – and a surprise increase of every CS:GO Major prize pool to $1m – Nuke returns to active duty with a new lick of paint, and some fancy new features.
As one of the more unique Destruction maps, with both bomb sites stacked on top of one another, Nuke has a lot of vertical space to work with. This makes rotations between the two sites into a frenzy of drop-down vents, ramps, underground passageways and ladders. While a lot has been done to simplify these routes and clean up the overall design of the place, some smaller changes could offer options to tip the scale in a team's favour during pro play. So here are the alterations we like for de_Nuke and why they had to happen.
The keys to Heaven
Bombsite A was always a little too much of a freebie for CTs. Any terrorist hoping to get a quick entrance to the above ground hangar risked everything on taking out the snipers in Yard, entering Hut, or opening a squeaky door to a million waiting angles in the rafters. Now, partially thanks to an extended central catwalk hindering a lot of those sight lines, and preventing CTs occupying half the rafters, Terrorists can have a safer time ingressing onto the site.
On top of that, an extra ladder on this catwalk lets attackers get up close and personal with defenders camped in Heaven, the CT sniper nest above A. As a little bonus, they can now plant the bomb on top of the canisters, buying themselves precious extra seconds in a clutch defuse scenario. Tipping the scales a bit in the Terrorists' favour on A was definitely a necessary improvement, given the ease with which it could be held before. And there are a few other places the Terrorists have been given a helping hand, too.
When two become one
Faced with a hard A take, B was usually the site of preference for attackers to try on this map, opting to peek the inevitable sniper at the bottom of ramp because at least you knew where they'd be. However, once the call had been made that B was lost and rotations were needed, the CTs had so many ways in they were practically crawling out of the walls. In one particular route, they literally crawled out of the wall via two separate vent entrances to the B site.
This has been halved now, as the H-shaped vent system becomes an S-shape, with one entrance above and one exit below. This increases the rotation time and reduces the number of ingress points for CTs to take, meaning you can no longer be double-peeked by two rotating defenders from behind the grates. There are a few more alternative routes to both sites too, which could help both sides out depending on how they control the outside of the facility.
One up, one down
Roof access was always more of a gimmick on Nuke, seemingly there just for bunnyhoppers to show how well they could air strafe onto the silo. Now, paths have been made easier to traverse for vantage points on the T side. There's even a chance for a one-way drop onto the extended outdoor catwalk, which leads around to Heaven for lurking attackers to get behind the lines. The same route can be taken from the low ground, through yard and then up onto the roof of Hell (or Locker Room), making control of the outside much more important than camping indoors.
The tunnels, too, have had an upgrade, restoring their connection with the B site through the entrance at Secret in the CT side of the yard. Where the Toxic closet used to be, a doorway into the B site now exists for both sides to more quickly get to the underground room.
All of these changes seem to more dynamically affect the flow of the map, depending on where control is exerted the most. If CTs lose the outside early on, attackers can come from far more angles than before, while limiting the number of options for rotating defenders. Not to mention the art overhaul makes the whole map look utterly rad.
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