Ashes of the Singularity II Maps Guide

Ashes of the Singularity II ships with a set of hand-built maps and a custom battle generator. The map you play changes the correct build order more than the faction you pick: a small snow map rewards an early push, a large canyon map rewards expansion and artillery.

These are the maps confirmed at launch, plus the map principles that apply to generated battlefields.

Twin Lakes

A small snow map. The name comes from the two frozen lakes that split the playable area into lanes. Small maps mean short travel times: your first fight can arrive before your second production building finishes.

What to do:

• Build production before a second expansion.
• Scout the lane next to your base; the lakes make flanking predictable.
• Expect early infantry and light vehicles, not super units.
• Keep a turret at the lane entrance, not in the middle of your base.

Twin Lakes is a good map for learning multiplayer because the games are short and the feedback is immediate.

Crossroads Night

A medium desert map at night. The night setting reduces visual range and makes scouting more valuable. The map's name comes from the central crossroads, which is the natural first contest.

What to do:

• Take the crossroads before the enemy does.
• Use scouts aggressively; the night hides army movement.
• Artillery is strong around the crossroads because the approaches are open.
• Expect a mid-game fight over the center, not a rush.

Crossroads Night rewards players who can hold a central position without overcommitting. If you take the crossroads, build turrets around it and keep your army mobile.

Scorched Divide

A large canyon map. The canyons create long, winding approaches and a few wide lanes. Large maps reward economy and artillery; the player who takes more regions usually wins.

What to do:

• Expand early and often. The map is big enough that a fast second expansion is safe.
• Build artillery to cover the canyon exits.
• Use aircraft to scout and to bypass the long approaches.
• Expect the game to last longer than on Twin Lakes.

Scorched Divide is the best map for a Turinium game because the long approaches make generator positions defensible.

Ashfall Caldera

A small map built around trenches and gullies. It is the most terrain-dependent map in the launch set: armies are funneled into chokepoints, and splash damage is king. The dedicated map guide covers the tactics.

Custom battlefields

Instant Action includes a custom battle generator. You choose the map size, the number of players and the victory settings, and the game builds a battlefield. The practical advice for generated maps:

• Check the region layout before you build. A map with few regions is a fast map.
• Check the chokepoints. A generated map with wide-open lanes favors mobility; a map with narrow lanes favors artillery.
• Set the Turinium timer deliberately. A short timer turns any map into a brawl.

Map size and game length

The launch community reports that most games end by destruction before the Turinium counter fills. On small maps that is almost always true; on large maps the win condition is more relevant.

How to read a new map

When you load a map you have not played, look at three things before you build:

1. The nearest resource nodes. If the closest node is contested, build production first.
2. The lanes. Count how many ways an army can reach your base. Two lanes is defensible; four is not.
3. The center. If the center is rich, expect a fight there; if it is poor, the fight will be on the flanks.

That three-minute read is worth more than any build order copied from a guide.

For the next step, read Ashes of the Singularity II Ashfall Caldera Map Guide→.

FAQ

How many maps are in Ashes of the Singularity II? The launch set includes Twin Lakes, Crossroads Night, Scorched Divide and Ashfall Caldera, plus custom generated battlefields.

What is the best map for beginners? Twin Lakes. It is small, the lanes are clear and the games are short.

Are custom maps supported? Instant Action includes a custom battle generator with map size, player count and victory settings.

Sources

• Strategy and Wargaming first impressions ↗
• Steam store page ↗

Official source: Ashes of the Singularity II on Steam ↗