Fans of the franchise who have played most games know that some maps are more exciting than others. Put all the games in the Call of Duty series together, and people get a plethora of great maps, some gripping, and some a little disappointing. So for those marathon Call of Duty players, we have collected the best and most exciting maps in all Call of Duty games.
Updated November 10, 2022 by Chase Hinton: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is out, bringing with it a range of new maps. While it is difficult to predict which of these newcomers will be the most highly regarded in a year’s time, things are starting to take shape in the community. This article has been expanded to highlight one MW2 map along with a handful of other classics.
Crown Raceway (Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 2022)
It is too early to definitively state which Modern Warfare 2 maps will stand the test of time. The title launched with 15 maps, including five Battle Maps, and overall the game offers quite a strong selection. If forced to select one standout map, it would have to be Crown Raceway.
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Set around an F1 track, Crown Raceway makes creative use of its unique setting, allowing players to take advantage of the cars’ noises to hide their movement. Densely packed and offering plenty of options for vertical positioning, Crown Raceway is an imaginative map and a great addition to Call of Duty’s legacy.
Strike (Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare)
This map looks like any other that people would expect from Call of Duty, but Strike has a really nice flow to it. The points of defense are placed perfectly, everything is done intentionally and smoothly.
There are a few crucial choke points on the map, and those are designed beautifully with a ton of options for each type of player. With the trio of buildings, surrounded by open streets, this map serves as an intense gameplay experience with a lot of different opportunities.
Rust (Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2)
This is one of the best and most famous 1-vs-1 maps in the series. Although it’s one of the simpler and smaller maps, Rust is loved for its unique layout. There’s one main building, which, when conquered, can be the key to the game.
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There are a lot of excellent covers, and it’s a nostalgic map for any CoD fan. It’s a timeless classic, and always fun to play, even after knowing the entire layout like the palm of your hand. It’s known for incredibly fast-paced games, so the well-seasoned players have an advantage on these small grounds. But once a player has momentum, they have to act fast.
Raid (Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2)
Raid is a popular Call of Duty map, as the setting is quite unique. It takes place in a huge mansion that follows the three lane setup very well, with the central courtyard, a swimming pool, and a roundabout on either side.
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Chances are that players will be taken out by a sneaky sniper after just joining the game, but if they can avoid that, it’s a great map for any type of player in the long run. It’s fast-paced, very competitive, and has a great flow in the design.
Hackney Yard (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019)
Before the release of Shoot House, Hackney Yard was the oasis of Modern Warfare. Gunrunner was pretty great, and Azhir Cave has its fans, but amid all the controversy of that title’s maps on launch, Hackney Yard was always there to save the day. There isn’t anything too special about Hackney; its color palette is fairly bland, but that was intentional for 2019’s aesthetic.
Ironically, it fits the bill as a pretty standard three lane, but with the experimentation of 2019’s maps falling flat, the comfortable familiarity of Hackney always kept it fun. Shoot House may be the best remembered by the MW2019 community, but Hackney Yard will always be there on a bad day just waiting to be the perfect pick-me-up.
Nuketown (Call Of Duty: Black Ops)
Some fans can be sick and tired of this map being everywhere, as it’s featured in most games since the first Black Ops. But despite it being done to death, there’s no denying that it’s a great map. This picturesque neighborhood is one of the smallest maps in the series but is very fast-paced and action-filled.
It’s not the best map for snipers, but they do have some great options to chose from. Nonetheless, teammates will be furious at that one player who insisted on being a sniper. People either love it or hate it. It has a very concrete style due to its size, there’s not a lot to do. Just try to survive. Other than that, it’s a very picturesque location.
Shoot House (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019)
Like Nuketown, Shoot House is a three-lane design that makes up for its format with some creativity and brilliant execution. It wouldn’t be a stretch to call Shoot House Infinity Ward’s take on the idea of a Nuketown map, as they have quite a bit in common that makes them both great to play on. The lanes are super defined, even more so on Shoot House as it doesn’t share the openness of its cousin. On top of that, it has a second-floor area to be used as a power position. It even has a sight line that spans the entire center lane, perfect for farming mounted kills during the camo grind.
Every turn funnels players into chaotic action, making it a hectic alternative to the slower-paced and sentinel-ridden gameplay of Modern Warfare 2019. The game had some good maps at launch, but the full package came up below average. When Shoot House was added, the map was a breath of fresh air that revitalized the community in the game’s favor.
Cliffside (Call of Duty: World At War)
Being less rigid in its lanes, Cliffside has the added bonus of using elevation as the key. While most maps prioritize a level playing field broken up by higher or lower paths, Cliffside throws that idea off of, well, a cliff. The entire map is set on a slope that gives one team an inherent height advantage that the other must contend with or steal by pushing up far enough to swap spawns. Cliffside excelled in objective modes like Domination or the World at War original War, putting that imbalance to good use.
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The history of Cliffside wouldn’t be complete without its iconic trick shots. Back when the CoD culture was dedicated to insane clips and over-the-top stunts, the bounce glitch was king. This was a thing in Modern Warfare as well, but Cliffside’s bounce spot revealed a very populated part of the map to exploit. It wasn’t even that hard to pull off either, and seeing someone attempting a bounce shot on Cliffside was commonplace. Sadly, those glitches are patched as soon as they appear now, but they’re always fun while they last, and Cliffside is evidence of that.
Jungle (Call of Duty: Black Ops)
Treyarch’s maps generally follow a similar formula, but they differentiate themselves with unique presentations, labyrinthine passageways, or both. Jungle doesn’t have the most striking visuals, nor does it take after the rat’s nest mentality of some of its kin, but it does have a mountain placed right in the middle. Shotgun users beware, Jungle is a sniper’s heaven in the most literal sense. Far more open than many of Treyarch’s maps, Jungle stands apart from its contemporaries by channeling the elevation weirdness of Cliffside to great effect.
Jungle plays topography, setting the map on rolling hills or suspended bridges with the famous mountain in the middle providing a full view of nearly half the map. Putting claymores on the way up made it nearly impenetrable, too, making it a seriously advantageous spot. It also made anyone up there a target, forcing the enemy team to deal with them. The Jungle peak adds priorities to even basic modes like team deathmatch, allowing this map to always have a flow with something to do.
Hunted (Call of Duty: Black Ops 3)
Black Ops 3 stripped away the jerky thrust jumps of Advanced Warfare in favor of a more gradual, floaty boost jump, then worked all of its maps around this change. Hunted was the best map for Black Ops 3’s movement, with a giant chasm in the middle forcing players to fly around it if they wish to use much of the center lane.
Boost jumping forced Treyarch to expand the scope of their design, increasing the distances players had to move and adding verticality in spades. Hunted also had the best use of water, having the waterfall in the center take players to multiple paths in the center lane or as a sneaky entrance to one side. Zooming around in Black Ops 3 never felt better than on Hunted, and the one-off objective modes like Safeguard and Uplink played beautifully on it.
Brecourt (Call Of Duty 2)
This legendary map was originally designed based on an actual military engagement, and it feels like it too. Fans love to revisit this map as a nostalgic experience, when they held their breath as running along the hedges, waiting for someone to take them out.
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The map is smartly designed, has a great flow and pace, and is great for any type of player. It offers great places for those who run into an open fire and great opportunities for snipers as well. It’s one of the most exciting mas in the series and is a timeless classic in first-person shooter games everywhere.
Castle (Call Of Duty: World At War)
Located in picturesque Japan, this behemoth castle is a fan-favorite in the series. Castle is very complex, but not too big, so offers decently fast-paced play. It’s a great map for any style, with the building serving as sniper-heaven, and a lot of excellent covers on the way.
Any player can feel accomplished on this map, and everyone gets a chance to play before being taken out in the first 2 seconds, which is always nice. This is one of those maps that players love to revisit and explore different ways to enjoy the game. Vanguard also brought back Castle and succeeded in polishing it even further.
Numa Numa (Call of Duty: Vanguard)
At the end of the day, all fights will bring players back to the middle of the Numa Numa map, but everyone approaches it differently. This map brought out mixed feelings from fans, as it’s a tricky one to master. The empty, lifeless, and muddy environment leaves no place for snipers, therefore leaving out an entire niche of players. On the other hand, this is the charm of the map too.
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It leaves a place for better strategies, holds massive amounts of hiding places (such as holes, slopes, hills), and allows players to decide how to approach the situation. Gamers can be more passive, going from one hiding spot to the next, or let out the entirety of their rage and go head-first into close-range combat.
Highrise (Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2)
Most Modern Warfare 2 maps are great. They have a great flow, and they each have a unique style and feeling to them. Possibly the best in this game and one of the best in the series is Highrise. This map is a sniper’s playground.
There are two main offices, and the open area is split into three spaces: helipad, generator, and underground. Players can easily navigate themselves through the map, and it’s super fun to play on. The only downside is that because Highrise is sniper heaven, players can easily get killed two seconds into the map.
Terminal (Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2)
The Terminal is a true classic map in Call of Duty. Every fan knows this map, and they usually love it. The map builds around the airport terminal, with a small outdoor section that leads to the inside of a passenger plane.
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There are plenty of covers, and great options for snipers as well, so it’s a great fit for any style of play. This map shines when it comes to objective game modes such as Domination and Search and Destroy. Overall, it’s beloved by any type of player, and the setting is unique and well-thought-out.
Hijacked (Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2)
Hijacked is set on a yacht in the middle of the ocean, making it one of the most creative and visually appealing maps in the franchise. It offers fast-paced gameplay but doesn’t have the problem most maps have – that the player dies in the first 5 seconds of the game.
It’s also great for any type of player, from the snipers to those runnin’ ’n gunnin’ players. It’s a rare map where any kind of person can find success if played right. All in all, it’s beautiful, it’s fast-paced, but it can be played by anyone.
Crash (Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare)
The best Call of Duty maps usually follow the same pattern. They all have a great flow to them, they’re easy to navigate through, and they’re great for any type of player. This is also true for the Modern Warfare map Crash. This map is known to be the best in Call of Duty 4.
There are a lot of options for snipers to sneak around, and the map is fairly easy to dominate once players get to the top of a building. But this doesn’t mean that it’s an easy map to conquer, as the B Domination flag situated in the middle of the map is notoriously hard to capture. This varied map is perfect for any player, and fans love revisiting it for a thrill, as it never gets boring. There’s also a Winter Crash, where instead of helicopter sounds, Santa Claus says “ho ho ho!” and jingles his bells.
Eagle's Nest (Call of Duty: Vanguard)
There is very little separating CoD: Vanguard’s best maps. They’re both incredible maps but in very different ways. Eagle’s Nest demonstrates a never-before-seen level of map design in the franchise. The map has an amazing flow and shuts out any form of confusion.
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Because the “two sides” are located opposite of each other, it makes room for strategizing, and also adds some suspense, as the map also features some strategically located windows from which players can spy on the other side. Also, while Eagle’s Nest does contain a fair amount of destruction (for the enjoyment of players), it feels much more contained and controlled. There are no frustrating and confusing sequences where 40 people are jammed into a single room with dangers in every corner, instead, Eagle’s Nest provides just the right amount of breakables with an equal amount of shelter people can take when needed.
Hotel Royal (Call of Duty: Vanguard)
Hotel Royal is without a doubt one of the most ambitious maps in CoD. The details of the map combined with the overall map design make it one of the best in the franchise. It features a full kitchen and lounge area, along with many other facilities players can explore and utilize. But of course, there’s an extremely expansive map outside the Hotel as well, where players can flank on the streets, or use the rooftops and ledges to contest.
While this is very impressive and certainly practical, the real fun begins inside the building. This is where Hotel Royal becomes the polar opposite of Eagle’s Nest, as here, players can’t avoid being jammed into tight rooms, with walls and doors exploding around them. It’s one of the most exciting maps in Call of Duty, and so incredibly detailed, that players just can’t get enough of the environment itself.
Call of Duty: Vanguard is available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.
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