Creature Inhabitants:
Basking Cephaladon, Blitzleopard, Crowbill Sloth, Glaciopod, Mammoth Bird, Obsidian Grub, Reaver, Spotter, Steamadon Trapjaw, Tyrant
Aviary
Potential Map Effect with Hunter Win:
Cargo Ship, Clear Skies, Scent Masking, Medbays
Potential Map Effect with Monster Win:
Second Monster, Carnivorous Plants, Hostile Wildlife, Mutated Plants
Mapping recent speciation on Shear, the ERI installed a paleobotany observatory. This huge domed structure is built under a glacier that thaws out the millennia-old ice, allowing the seeds frozen below to bloom and blossom and grow again for the first time in millions of years.
This window into the ancient ecology of Shear attracts more than just scientists. Birds whose ancient migration patterns once carried them over this area have returned, giving the scientists an opportunity to study both the dangerous Batrays and the less threatening Phantoms.
The Aviary map is very unique, as it has two distinct environments. In the middle is the aviary, which is very green, with Phantoms flying high above. Through tight tunnels on the northeast and south, a frigid ice setting offers a whole new look, with a different selection of wildlife. With three distinct zones, the Hunters can eliminate each as they search for the Monster, but numerous tunnels allow the beast to slip in and out of each unnoticed. Split up the team if necessary, and keep an eye out for scattered birds, as that can drastically reduce the search area. The narrow tunnels are great locations for any traps. The Power Relay is smack dab in the middle of the aviary, wide open on all sides.
Distillery
Potential Map Effect with Hunter Win:
Birds, Medbays, Fair Weather
Potential Map Effect with Monster Win:
Phantoms, Mutated Plants, Storms
Entrepreneurial independent businessmen set up shop here in an abandoned chemical factory to make illegal…er, *authentic* simulated scent-masking chemicals. Because their product is many times cheaper than the stuff the Corps sells to the colonists, the colonists are not motivated to rat them out.
A huge distillery that stretches from the west to the south offers an indoor area that a Monster can easily get lost in. The far north is an all-natural environment, with a cave that offers some isolation. Plenty of water through the middle and south can confuse Hunters as the Monster moves between the zones. Mostly surrounded by water, the Power Relay is located on a landing pad in the far south. The area is fairly wide open, but there are plenty of equipment and structures to hide behind.
MedLab
Potential Map Effect with Hunter Win:
Birds, Scent Masking, Clear Skies
Potential Map Effect with Monster Win:
Phantoms, Hostile Wildlife, Carnivorous Plants
The refinery where SALVERON industries manufactures Generyst™, this facility is fitted with a special rocket capable of remote-deploying the company’s patented remote-healing pods.
This is where Salveron’s Medbays are produced, which is a possible map effect for the next map in Evacuation. The main facility sits in the middle of MedLab, with a mostly natural environment around the outsides. Watch out for the Steamadons on the west side, as they obscure your view with their steam. The Power Relay is located atop the central structure on a small circular platform. It is open from all sides, allowing Hunters to knock a Monster off from afar.
King’s Fort
Potential Map Effect with Hunter Win:
Armored Turrets
Potential Map Effect with Monster Win:
Armored Minions
Housing and defending most of the administrative personnel on NORDITA’s Shear colony, King’s Fort acts as a secure bunker for NORDITA executives in case of emergency. This assumes the emergency arrives in the form of a Sol Guard frigate or rival Corp Pirates rather than, say, an invasion by alien monsters from another dimension.
King’s Fort is the Defend map in the ice biome. Three lanes give the Monsters access to the first generator, which is fairly open to long-distance attacks. A tunnel that opens up once the first objective is destroyed contains a couple Glaciopods that should be removed quickly so the Monster does not receive too much free armor. Two paths lead to the second generator, though the left requires some climbing. To the far southeast, the Monster can spend some time feeding if necessary. Just beyond the second generator, the Monsters must pass through a narrow corridor before wrapping around to the power source in the middle of the map. It rests on the ground, with no upper or lower level. Traps should not only be placed along the incoming paths, but also around the temporary NORDITA facilities on the south side. Minions will often climb over them to avoid the main entry points.