The Active Duty Map Pool in competitive CS:GO has been changed, the developers Valve announced today. Valve has removed Train—one of the most iconic and oldest maps in the pool. Following the removal the developers announced that Ancient, a relatively unknown map, will be its replacement. But this map will not be used in the upcoming Regional Major Rating events, Valve said in response to Fnatic player Jesper “JW” Wecksell.
What Ancient looks like in the map pool
Thanks to everyone who took part in Operation Broken Fang. As of now the Operation has concluded. Players have until May 15th to spend Operation Stars.
We have a few updates today, beginning with the Active Duty Map Pool—Train has been removed and Ancient has been added.
— CS2 (@CounterStrike) May 3, 2021
The new map has undergone some changes, however, to be made fit for purpose in the pool.
“The A Site has been re-worked and CTs now have two ways to get to the site while a plateau has been added for long gun fights into tunnels,” Valve said. “B site has received minor tweaks.”
Ancient could be somewhat familiar for CS:GO fans since it features a similar design to Aztec with the cobblestone theme throughout. The Operation Broken Fang update in December 2020 introduced the Valve-created map.
Valve has introduced a new case with 17 new skins for players to collect. The Snakebite Collection offers a new brightly colored M4A4 and a striking red pattern on the USP-S skin. The AK-47, Desert Eagle, Galil and MP9 have also received a new skin in the collection.
Players could also try their luck to win a pair of Broken Fang set of gloves.
We’re also releasing the Snakebite Case, featuring 17 community-designed weapon finishes and introducing CS:GO 360 Stats, which continues the stats page and Round Win Chance report introduced in Broken Fang. This and more in today's Blog Post: https://t.co/18qBRWQqoE pic.twitter.com/LHWhR5UJPs
— CS2 (@CounterStrike) May 3, 2021
Several other maps were introduced to the other game modes, too. Mocha and Grind are now available to play in competitive scrimmage while Calavera and Pitstop are now available to play in Wingman.
And there’s new chickens, of course. The breakable animals have been given a black and white themed redesign compared to the previous beige color.
