Driving on Rat's Nest can be a real pain. The map is pretty much a square with a few paths to take in the middle of it, if you're feeling brave. The key to surviving in Rat's nest is to practice. Practice the map, know how to find quick escape routes and cut the corners right without slowing down or hitting walls. Enemies pretty much spawn in three locations; back of the enemy base, the enemy window, and beside sniper. There is also a spawning area down by rockets. However depending on the variant the spawn system for that location will change. There are neutral spawn points there on slayer and spawn zones on objective. Know the location of the spawns and the power weapons and you should get good runs in.
At the beginning of the match your team mates should be going to sniper, rockets, and to the middle. The direction you take depends on the preference of your team and the driver. However, on multi-flag, a lot of teams do not like a hog to be run on this map. This map is very versatile and drivers should be ready to play as needed. Gunners should remember to look forward at all times to be prepared for going around corner. Ground pounders need to make call outs on power weapons, take out any enemy trip mines, and keep the enemy team pushed to the outside of the map.
The routes in Rats Nest are pretty self explanatory. You really have only a few options. Cutting through the middle can be rewarding as long as you don't get grenaded off the edge. At the beginning, always turn the direction the hog is closest to. This is the rocket spawn corridor. Help get a hold of the rockets. Some drivers like to run in front of the enemy base and do a u-turn at the end of the corridor to make continuous passes. However, remember that the enemy will spawn around the corner by the Sniper Rifle and are easy to mop up. Avoid power sliding through multiple enemies because barriers can slow you down and cause you to get boarded.
This list will be in order of most dangerous to least dangerous:
The Rocket Launcher spawns on the outer circle of the map, near the open. The rockets should be secured at the beginning of the map and checked on periodically throughout the game. Hog teams should remember that the map isn't very big so Rockets will wander throughout the corridors and hide on the outside edges around corners.
The narrow corridors offer very little maneuvering to avoid grenades. Avoid barreling into a lot of enemies and keep some distance. There is very little room to hide in the corridors so if the Gunner has a straight shot you can keep your distance. Each side presents different cover for enemies to hide behind and stick you with. So assume everyone has a sticky. Don't be afraid to turn around and go the other way.
Most enemies will lay the trip mine near a corner around their base. It's easy to get a damaged warthog to explode when the come barreling around the corner. There is no true defense against this, you have to go around the corner, but you have to be careful. Take the corners wide and avoid hitting walls. If you see a trip mine let your gunner know to shoot it so you can pass through safely.
Most teams don't bother taking them onto the outer rim, but they can be devastating on the open cliff side of the base and in any corridor if you get flipped. Keep your distance and avoid turning when being hit by one.
There are several places for an enemy to hide behind and board you. Avoid slowing down if possible and do not try and splatter enemies that are near objects. If you get stopped by one it makes it a lot easier to board a warthog.
The Gravity Hammer is not too much of a threat, but if caught off guard by a sneaky Spartan, try and get out of the range of his hammer. If you are flipped by it, try to immediately get away from him, because the second swing is surely going to cause a big explosion.
| 1. Window Spawn | 4. Bridge | 7. Rockets |
|---|---|---|
| 2. Sniper Spawn | 5. Invis | 8. Behind Their Base |
| 3. Mauler | 6. Turret | 9. Lobby / Kitchen |