Small PSA: Finale of Carnival 1

I’ve seen a lot of people gravitate towards the gate next to the Medicae in the Carnival 1 (also known as Mercantile HL-70-01) finale and I just don’t agree with it. There are a few problems with holding in this position that I want to highlight here, and give an alternative position to hold out.

Note that the following screenshots were taken in the middle of the finale so they aren’t going to be perfect but I hope they give the general layout of the area.




Hadron here. Pay attention to these screenshots. Notice a few things:

  • Enemies from long range have free reign to snipe you without much risk of return fire
  • Enemies are funneled into one direction, but it is a very wide direction
  • You constantly have to keep tabs on the gate behind you, otherwise you get sandwiched
  • A single bomber can easily doom you all if the hordes are dense enough
  • Disablers can round a short corner and easily jump you

This all points to a bad holdout spot and I’m not sure how it became meta and commonplace. I’ve seen people argue over not using it which annoyed me enough to make this PSA.

My ideal holdout spot is seen if you take a direct 90 degrees to the right, up the staircase next to the dropdown into the finale arena, and another right next to the dumpster. This spot is great:





Notice a few key points:

  • Ranged enemies still have relative impunity, but there is cover in the form of the dumpster, pillar, and stairs
  • Trash mobs like to spawn in the doors which makes them easy pickings before they come out, and only ever run in from one direction, the small chokepoint next to the exit of the stairs
  • You have an escape route via direct dropdown into the middle of the arena
  • EDIT: This escape route drops down directly next to player respawns
  • Disablers have a longer distance to travel before they get in range, giving you more time to shoot them

It’s good, try this one. You may be surprised at how effective it is.

2 Likes

the gate spot is close to the medicae and has easy cover, you dont need to hug the wall the entire time but yes its good to see a new strat

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That spot was the hold out area when the map was first released and players easily got overwhelmed there. Players moved to the gate left of the medicae because that location provides better cover from gunners b/c they almost never move down the stairs.

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I think that the arena has so much wasted potential because we have absolutely no incentives to move around in it, thus the 1-2 usual camping spots everyone uses. There should be some points of interaction you have to go to during the finale, like gates to close or the typical mini games at different points of the arena. It’s a pity, because I quite like its atmosphere and layout.

2 Likes

Aren’t we OP or what? Have some fun, go and beat the crap out of them where they are.

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Fair enough. :smiley:

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Ive told people a million times not to stand next to the gate and they dont ever listen. Idk why in the world people started doing that but it makes zero sense. I always try to direct people up top and they rarely ever come or we end up split. The spot you chose is good because you habe walls around you and often times even if you go up top its not enough cuz it doesnt break enough lines of sight and you can end up with snipers all around you.

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