Forget the players, the main deciding factor for victory in gang beasts in 80% of the maps here is map knowledge and survivability. I'm gonna give my opinion on the best/worst maps for fun and having a good fight.
Maps Tier List
The four main factors for a stage being fun are as follows:- Interesting Mechanics(such as vents).
- Fairness(No map is really "fair", but a map that doesn't kill you for just standing around might be more fun than one that does)
- Unique Dynamics(the stage changing during the fight).
- Edges and Eliminations(Maps that opponents can suicide you easily, called "Walk-offs", will be lower than ones that require the ability to throw or at least outsmart your opponent.
18. Buoy
There's a lot of fun to be had on buoy. A lot of charm went into this map, and I like that. However, the drowing mechanic seems busted at times. I done randomized tests with friends on this map, and sometimes, a Beast who is beaten up and just been KO'd stays longer in the water than a freshie. That's not very cool. Also, many times I have tried jumping from platform to platform, and once out of the water and handstanding to flip onto the edge, I just get KO'd and slide in and die. This stage is a great concept, and if the water was a bit more forgiving and less random, it would be higher. Unfortunately, something has to line the bottom of the barrel, and I choose to put the one that doesn't quite work right, ever.
17. Billboard
This map is final destination, if final destination was on a slant, was easy to suicide opponents on, could collapse randomly, and punished you for trying to play hard. A map that encourages people to sit tight and not fight is not much fun at all. Sometimes people climb over the billboard and try to camp there. While climbing is not too hard, and getting over isn't too hard, many a gamer would appreciate the camera to rotate more on this map so you can actually see the fights on the backside.
16. Elevators
I will preface this by saying this. A close range encounter in a working elevator with nobody dropping your cables is the closest thing you can get to a fair fight. It's not too easy or too hard to break glass and boards to toss your opponent out, and there's plenty of fun. But if I'm penalizing Buoy for not working right, goddamn I'm doing the same to Elevators. This map will sometimes make your elevator janky and sometimes drop. Often, it might teleport any player into the building behind the elevators, essentially making them unkillable, even if they want to die. Sometimes, the elevators will go down a lot, graze you into the blast zone to kill you, then lift back up. So many bugs on an otherwise good map.
15. Crates
Now, the previous maps can be fun, but for the life of me I can't EVER get any enjoyment out of crates. The ropes have a ridiculous amount of target priority, making it nigh impossible to get from one to the other because your stupid beeefboy won't stop clinging the ropes and sucking his thumb and urinating his striped trousers. Trying to hit a flying headbutt or something? Well, too bad. The game decided you should go attack that rope; Either dropping the whole container or making you torpedo off the edge, usually both. I know other maps have suspending ropes like this, but unlike those maps, you actually need to cross between the ropes to get from one crate to another. Otherwise, this stage is an icon and a staple of the Gang Beasts legacy, and I feel bad for having to put it so low where it truly belongs.
14. Chutes
The concept of chutes is fine. Don't get hit by the big shmeats falling from the heavens, throw your concussed opponents into the big chutes when a meat spawns. It's never that simple, however. Because the creators thought: What if we added a small safe zone in the back that is covered with railings and difficult to remove people from?
The match just ends up as a big fest to kill the campers who go up to the safe zone.
13. Train
This map is about as consistently annoying as it gets. Fun map, for sure. And I wouldn't call it unfair, either. The game shows you where the tracks are going, and when the train turns, physics is still applied, so hang on. However, if you wanted FUN, this map isn't quite up there. A perfect example of how more moving parts does not mean a better map. You're constantly forced to pay attention to the map and how it changes, and it's never a fun outcome. Very rarely do I win on train and think, "Wow, I really outplayed that boy/girl. I'm so freakin good, look at me flex my giant muscles." However, this map can also be a nice change of pace if your friends are all speed demons who spam dropkicks, since the map will give them good slap in the face for you.
12. Subway
Eat fresh. A fresh whoop to the tuckus, maybe. First, I'd like to commend this map for having elimination be more than "OOPS YOU FELL OFF HAHAHA!." This map has a lot of fun side things if you're just fooling around with your friends; Basketball with the cones, try to open the doors, beat the everliving crap out of them, but mostly, people will be picking you up, walking off the stage, and then trying to climb out. And of course, you're gonna grab them, because like HELL you're gonna let some chump throw you out like this. The train comes, kills everyone, and all that's left is the dipster still playing basketball with the cones. Outstanding.
11. Girders
We've reached the point where I no longer have many bad things to say about maps, but rather, I will point out good things. The only bad thing here is that the floor can collapse in some areas. Awww, BOO HOO. Really, this map is just great for good, agile, dynamic fights, and has a few nice extras thrown in.
PS, you owe it to yourself to clock someone in the face with a brick. Better yet, if you spin around with out, tap lift and then release, you can throw it pretty far to bash their head in.
10. Vents
Vents is the first map and only map with air gliding, which is like the swimming except fun and also doesn't always put you at risk of death. Also, if you get pushed too far to the sides while floating, you'll get sucked into the side fans. This map has a lot you can do to change it, like removing panels and collapsing bridges and fighting under the blades. However, it's not placed higher because someone's gonna end up a sore loser, everyone will fall off, and then it's a matter of who can climb, or who has the most stamina. Good map, but the rest are better.
9. Lighthouse
Many people point to a specific map to be the "Basic Final Destination" map, and I'll talk about that when we get there, but I usually explain that Lighthouse really is the final destination. Yes, the floors can collapse and the rails can fall, but if you know how to throw, this is your map. Nobody is safe from danger and even though it's a smaller stage, there's plenty of running room, distance, windows to climb through, and the terrain is nice and flat and fun until it's not anymore. It's about as standard as a Gang Beasts map gets, and I think it is the true final destination map, that has the perfect blend of using the map and skill beats luck to constitute a perfectly fair fight.
8. Towers
Towers is a thin, circular walkway with a staircase in front. This is the closest you can get to a 2D fight, since Billboard is a giant pile of rubbish. The rails fall only when you sorta want them to, which is nice, the stairs are sturdy unless you touch the bottom, in which case they will start collapsing, and the only noticable downside is how often little poos-poos babies run away using the giant circle to try to time enemies out for five minutes straight...Don't be a coward. Always TRY to win, even if your opponent is better. Because that's how YOU get better.
Top 7 Maps
7. Incinerator
I was real on the fence between this one and the next two, because in my eyes, they are all A tier. Incinerator will be last of them for a few reasons. First, the conveyor belts and the invisible barrels. The conveyor spits out barrels, and some of them come out invisible for whatever reason. Second, it's the biggest out of the the three maps(this one and the next two), and it has no shortage of campy spots, many of them are on the second floor. Besides that, it has a lot of fun terrain to fight on, is the perfect map to go ham and pull out all the stops, and it never has it's shortages of good moments.
6. Grind
This iconic map is not higher for one reason: Pink Goop. The Pink Goop is led into by a slanted ramp, one that you can jump up, and is very hard to eliminate experienced players. Besides that, it has plenty of areas to eliminate opponents, it has a good figure 8 design with 2 *almost certain death* grinders in the center, and one *not so certain death* grinder on each side wall. It's a great map with a lot of good moments, but I feel the next 5 are just that much better.
5. Trucks
For me, Incinerator, Grind and Trucks are all mid A tier. Great maps, consistently fun and balanced, each with maybe one flaw. Trucks has a similar mechanic to Containers, where you can actually go IN the truck. The difference is that, where going into the container is certain death, going into the truck is the opposite. Don't be a truck camper, just cuz it's there doesn't mean it's fun. The dodging of the signs, climbing up and jumping from truck to truck, lifting opponents up so you may begin sacrificing your consciousness to remove another player, everything about trucks is pure charm. I also think it has the best music as well.
4. Gondolas
Gondolas is a small map with a lot packed in it. You can interact with the panels on the gondola, the ropes on the bottom, the ropes on the top, the plank, the side walls, and it's got a lot of charm. Unlike many maps, it's actually really hard to suicide opponents, since there's only 2 openings on the sides which flap down and give the person being suicided a ledge to hold that can lift them up easier. There are no true downsides, except if you're a whuss. If you're a whuss, you probably dislike the lack of distance and running room. To you, I say...Game on.
3. Blimp
We're in the top 3. When I was making this list, I didn't really envision Blimp being top 3. But I kept saying, "Naw, it's a bit better than that one..." and for good reason: It's the dream map for anyone who loves fighting on ledges and walls. The whole map is one big round ledge, essentially, and if you know how to climb or jump-climb, you know how satisfying it is to get eliminations on this stage. This map has the most unique terrain in game, where you're never really on a flat edge unless you're on the tail end, about to be eliminated. I see this map and I don't see a single downside. It's extremely hard to suicide people on unless they're already hanging off the edge, and it's still very consistent and fun to brawl and fight on.
2. Ring
"WHAT?! How is ring not number one?" - said nobody who has played every map in this game. Ring is an extremely good map, no doubt. It's number 2 for a reason. This is the map most people associate with final destination. No tricks, no gimmicks, just over the top rope, battle royal match. The actual amount of variation comes from the players, as fighting against the ropes or in the turnbuckle is different from fighting in the center. The map has huge dogpiles that happen every so often because of how safe the map is, and because of that, people do their craziest moves here without risk of elimination. Always extremely fun and balanced.
But it's not number one, mainly because it lacks that little bit of variance. Nothing about the map is dynamic, save for the tiny jiggle the ropes might do. The unbreakable ropes. This stage is for skill against skill alone to see who is the most aggressive and potentially dangerous fighter. But it doesn't tell you who the smartest fighter is, or who the best fighter is.
1. Roof
I think this won't be a super controversial opinion. Roof is, in my highly regarded opinion, the best map in Gang Beasts. It has plenty of different terrain and lots of fun areas to fight in, and it's a big map that is actually rather difficult to run away from an enemy on, due to it's verticality and obstacles. However, the main goal is the same, always. Toss your opponent over the SOLID BRICK railing and down to the street below. The map is always fun, and there's always new things to learn and do on it, while simultaneously giving a very fair fight with a good deal of dynamic things to change with the stage, whether it be tipping over signs to create new areas to throw enemies over, breaking the glass sunroof to toss enemies there, or just destroying the security camera for looking at your fat butt for too long.
