A note here: there are currently well over 2,000 multiplayer maps, nearly 1,300 modified multiplayer maps, and nearly 500 maps with bots to play against. I was extremely active during the first two years or so of CE, but I have gone six months or more at a stretch without even checking on the maps when other things were simply more important in my life. These are the maps that I have played and can testify for as being quality maps. There are probably scores of equally good maps that I have NOT played, and many of my favorite maps were released before the days of Halomaps, and consequentially may not have ratings or very many reviews.
Blood Islands - Arguably the first "good" map released, and the only one played for a long time. Straightforward design featuring two large bases on a small archipelago. Heavily focused on sniping and Banshee dogfighting.
Night Camp CE - Another early map, and the first one that I would consider good enough to be an official map. Consists of a U- shaped canyon with a neutral base at the top and an underground tunnel at the back allowing a variety of possible attack paths. Works best for CTF games with a focus on coordinated, quick assaults.
Claustrophobia - An excellent and very small map set in a space station and making good use of contrasting light and dark areas. Very fun even for 1v1 matches on any game type. Focus is on surprise close-quarters combat.
Gallowspole - Very similar to Timberland, but geared more for fast paced gameplay. Features a neutral base, underground tunnel for surprise attacks, and a deep canyon connecting to the tunnel to escape vehicle and sniper fire. Suitable for any gametype with a focus on quick vehicular assaults.
Fissurefall - A complicated and beautiful Forerunner structure set in a rock cavern. Works best for CTF, since there are innumerable assault paths, and the bases are notoriously difficult to defend from sneak attacks. Narrow bridges over a bottomless pit add an extra challenge.
Wartorn cove - Two very large bases attached to a neutral open area via narrow passageways. Works best for CTF, although the focus of the map is on the prolonged battle over the control of the neutral area--offense is impossible without it. Skilled players on both sides can lead to very long and high-casualty matches. Several variants exist, although 3 and 4 are the most balanced. This map had 24/7 dedicated servers for the first 4-5 years of CE, but is never played now.
Cliffhanger - A beautiful mid-size map made for CTF. Features two large bases set on opposite sides of a cliff. Best suited for stealthy, quick CTF games.
Quagmire - A map set in a swamp with very low visibility. Good for CTF and slayer with a focus on coordinated stealth attacks.
New Mombasa Classic - Set in an area inspired by the Halo 2 E3 trailer. Well designed and captures the feel of urban combat very well. Focused on vehicular combat, heavy weapon battles and sniping.
Yoyorast Island
Yoyorast Island 2 - Both set in a mind-numbingly complex island featuring a highly convoluted vehicle race track and innumerable nooks for sniper battles. Ideal for CTF games and race, although one capture will typically take 10-30 minutes due to the complexity of the map.
Immure - A large but straightforward map featuring a new fighter plane. Ideal for CTF and still played on occasion.
Church - A Gothic cathedral with a beautiful interior and a passage to the underworld below. It was under construction for years and released too late (late 2007) in CE's life to see much play. Best suited for slayer with at least 8 players.
Sciophobia - A deceptively small space station that is mind-numbingly complex and features innumerable small spaces and alternative routes for surprise attacks. Best for Slayer and CTF with focus on stealth. Saw a very small number of games, and is almost never played anymore.
Precipice - A beautiful map released very late (2011) in CE's life, and too large for any game that ever took place on it. Features a huge structure built into a bottomless canyon, with several bridges between the bases. Due to its enormous size and complexity, best for slayer or CTF with 12-16 players, although 32-64 could comfortably fit in theory.
These maps are regular multiplayer maps that stand out by doing something innovative, although few are well-suited for competitive play.
Haloball - This is an early map that went outside the norm to do something different: bring soccer to Halo. The map is a soccer stadium, and opposing teams must hop in warthogs to push a giant soccer ball into the opposing team's goal. It was very popular in its day, but is seldom played now.
Hugeass - This is the most popular map for Halo CE, and is still played on occasion today. Each team has a base that is a straight rip of the longsword bay at the very end of the campaign. This leads out to a 25 square kilometer playing field with no cover and some rolling hills. This was an order of magnitude larger than any other map released (except for an unplayable map designed as a test map), and featured a number of new vehicles, all of which are excessively fast to compensate for the insane size of the map. This map achieved fame and notoriety because the player could fly the Longsword - a medium sized spaceship armed with heat-seeking, rapid fire rockets and a nuke that could wipe out large sections of the map at once.
Coldsnap - A sequel to Hugeass set in an icy environment with a bit more in it. The vehicles are too powerful and the map is too large for serious gameplay, although CTF was popular until fairly recently.
Extinction - A take on the Hugeass concept, but the bases are divided between human (base is a crashed PoA) and covenant (base is a disabled capital ship). Each team has their own vehicles, most of which are excessively overpowered. Played frequently until very recently.
GHZ-SP - A fun map where you play as Sonic the Hedgehog in first person on a track inspired by Green Hill Zone. Has a catchy remix of the song playing in the background.
The Land of Hyrule v0.2 - Built as an extension of the canned Zelda project, this is a mod that duplicates Hyrule field and its neighboring areas from the Legend of Zelda game, Ocarina of Time. Each area is set to play the correct music from the game. Fans of the game can take a trip down memory lane, and those who are unfamiliar can take a while to explore one of the largest maps (with stuff in it) ever made for CE.
Maps for competitive play
----------------------------------------------------Blood Islands - Arguably the first "good" map released, and the only one played for a long time. Straightforward design featuring two large bases on a small archipelago. Heavily focused on sniping and Banshee dogfighting.
Night Camp CE - Another early map, and the first one that I would consider good enough to be an official map. Consists of a U- shaped canyon with a neutral base at the top and an underground tunnel at the back allowing a variety of possible attack paths. Works best for CTF games with a focus on coordinated, quick assaults.
Claustrophobia - An excellent and very small map set in a space station and making good use of contrasting light and dark areas. Very fun even for 1v1 matches on any game type. Focus is on surprise close-quarters combat.
Gallowspole - Very similar to Timberland, but geared more for fast paced gameplay. Features a neutral base, underground tunnel for surprise attacks, and a deep canyon connecting to the tunnel to escape vehicle and sniper fire. Suitable for any gametype with a focus on quick vehicular assaults.
Fissurefall - A complicated and beautiful Forerunner structure set in a rock cavern. Works best for CTF, since there are innumerable assault paths, and the bases are notoriously difficult to defend from sneak attacks. Narrow bridges over a bottomless pit add an extra challenge.
Wartorn cove - Two very large bases attached to a neutral open area via narrow passageways. Works best for CTF, although the focus of the map is on the prolonged battle over the control of the neutral area--offense is impossible without it. Skilled players on both sides can lead to very long and high-casualty matches. Several variants exist, although 3 and 4 are the most balanced. This map had 24/7 dedicated servers for the first 4-5 years of CE, but is never played now.
Cliffhanger - A beautiful mid-size map made for CTF. Features two large bases set on opposite sides of a cliff. Best suited for stealthy, quick CTF games.
Quagmire - A map set in a swamp with very low visibility. Good for CTF and slayer with a focus on coordinated stealth attacks.
New Mombasa Classic - Set in an area inspired by the Halo 2 E3 trailer. Well designed and captures the feel of urban combat very well. Focused on vehicular combat, heavy weapon battles and sniping.
Yoyorast Island
Yoyorast Island 2 - Both set in a mind-numbingly complex island featuring a highly convoluted vehicle race track and innumerable nooks for sniper battles. Ideal for CTF games and race, although one capture will typically take 10-30 minutes due to the complexity of the map.
Immure - A large but straightforward map featuring a new fighter plane. Ideal for CTF and still played on occasion.
Church - A Gothic cathedral with a beautiful interior and a passage to the underworld below. It was under construction for years and released too late (late 2007) in CE's life to see much play. Best suited for slayer with at least 8 players.
Sciophobia - A deceptively small space station that is mind-numbingly complex and features innumerable small spaces and alternative routes for surprise attacks. Best for Slayer and CTF with focus on stealth. Saw a very small number of games, and is almost never played anymore.
Precipice - A beautiful map released very late (2011) in CE's life, and too large for any game that ever took place on it. Features a huge structure built into a bottomless canyon, with several bridges between the bases. Due to its enormous size and complexity, best for slayer or CTF with 12-16 players, although 32-64 could comfortably fit in theory.
Interesting/noteworthy maps
---------------------------------------------These maps are regular multiplayer maps that stand out by doing something innovative, although few are well-suited for competitive play.
Haloball - This is an early map that went outside the norm to do something different: bring soccer to Halo. The map is a soccer stadium, and opposing teams must hop in warthogs to push a giant soccer ball into the opposing team's goal. It was very popular in its day, but is seldom played now.
Hugeass - This is the most popular map for Halo CE, and is still played on occasion today. Each team has a base that is a straight rip of the longsword bay at the very end of the campaign. This leads out to a 25 square kilometer playing field with no cover and some rolling hills. This was an order of magnitude larger than any other map released (except for an unplayable map designed as a test map), and featured a number of new vehicles, all of which are excessively fast to compensate for the insane size of the map. This map achieved fame and notoriety because the player could fly the Longsword - a medium sized spaceship armed with heat-seeking, rapid fire rockets and a nuke that could wipe out large sections of the map at once.
Coldsnap - A sequel to Hugeass set in an icy environment with a bit more in it. The vehicles are too powerful and the map is too large for serious gameplay, although CTF was popular until fairly recently.
Extinction - A take on the Hugeass concept, but the bases are divided between human (base is a crashed PoA) and covenant (base is a disabled capital ship). Each team has their own vehicles, most of which are excessively overpowered. Played frequently until very recently.
GHZ-SP - A fun map where you play as Sonic the Hedgehog in first person on a track inspired by Green Hill Zone. Has a catchy remix of the song playing in the background.
The Land of Hyrule v0.2 - Built as an extension of the canned Zelda project, this is a mod that duplicates Hyrule field and its neighboring areas from the Legend of Zelda game, Ocarina of Time. Each area is set to play the correct music from the game. Fans of the game can take a trip down memory lane, and those who are unfamiliar can take a while to explore one of the largest maps (with stuff in it) ever made for CE.
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