Highrise

Highrise is a medium-sized multiplayer map in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, set in the United States.

Overview


Highrise is set atop a nearly constructed skyscraper with two office buildings on opposite sides of the map. The center of the map is occupied by an elevated helipad, which many players will try and use to their advantage. Most of the combat on the ground is short to medium range with the construction equipment and in the office buildings. Shotguns and submachine guns are excellent for these offices, but assault rifles are ideal for the sometimes medium-long range combat that occurs in the more open areas. The map is also suitable for sniping, with several vantage points that look over most of, or nearly all of, the map.

A unique feature of this map is its multi-tiered construction; both offices can be accessed by a tunnel underneath, which leads upstairs at various points in between. Near the cranes, there is an elevator shaft with a ladder; behind it is a climbable ledge players can hide behind. Players can access the roof on the South block, and see almost the entire map, although after a few kills these players can easily be taken out and the journey to the roof needs a skillful player that can run and make quick turns on the ledge, while avoiding getting shot. For this reason, a Tactical Insertion is recommended for doing this. Players can climb to the top of the crane at the West side of the map, giving a similar view on the map, and become harder to spot. From that crane, there is access to the ledge above the North tower's office - a Tactical Insertion is also useful here. To get to the North tower, players must climb on to a crane, walk across to the North building, then climb onto one of several window-cleaning platforms and walk across the ledge. There will be a window were Players can crouch under it, there will be a choice if the player wants to go onto the platform (smashing the window) or stay on the ledge.

This map is one of the best places to get the Extended Mags attachment, as there are many good places to kill enemies through cover with FMJ, for example the windows, and office furniture.

Gameplay
From the start, players like to rush forwards and take aim, especially with snipers, to the other side of the map, through the front windows. From there, players can snipe any unaware players rushing forwards through the windows. Thermal Sights can help with this, as well as using powerful assault rifles, especially in Hardcore.

Spawning in the northern building is disadvantageous. Snipers from the south can kill all of the team, especially devastating in S&D, from the spawn: Sniping directly from the windows at the front, as well as from the cubicles in the middle to the other way enemies can run to at the start. This tactic can also be used to pick off "Spawn-Campers" in S&D. Enemies with Snipers and Riot Shields often use the "Spawn-Camp" method

From either spawn, a ledge is accessible, with help from two window cleaning platforms, at the east edge of the map. This is an effective flank route, especially in search and destroy, where it can be used to take a team from behind.

The stairs on the heli-pad offer a view through the gap between the actual heli-pad and the building in which it is situated on. Players can effectively kill players as they spawn as enemies can do little to prevent this.

In the southern building there is a skylight feature in the roof. This can be used to call in care packages, as well as fire a javelin through. It can also be an area to aim a javelin from outside. You can also fly Predator Missiles through the skylight to hit camping enemies or clear the room out for the flag in Domination. This is useful if enemies are camping in their spawn in Search and Destroy, which is common.

Another common tactic is to put on a rushing\stealth class, and run through the underground tunnels. This way a player can eliminate enemies from the start. One must be careful, the enemy may also be doing this. Also, there are brief times in which the player will be vulnerable to fire from above.

Useful Areas
thumb|300px|right|A tutorial explaining how to get onto the roof of the Southern Office Building Highrise is a map famous among players for its many secret areas which are favored by snipers especially, although are used by players using Assault Rifles, especially the long-range rifles such as the M16A4 or SCAR-H.

Perhaps the most famous is the rooftop of the southern office building. This is the U.S. Army Rangers Spawn on Team Deathmatch, and the Attacking side on Search and Destroy. To do so, players must jump from the edge of the building on the east side, and land on a hanging window-cleaning platform which serves as a ladder. They then must proceed to walk along the ledge and jump onto another window cleaning platform and then finally up to a ledge which gives access to the roof. This spot is commonly utilized by players playing Hardcore Team Deathmatch or Hardcore Ricochet: HQ Pro as there is a lack of killcam which means they are less likely to be quickly found out. Using Smoke Grenades can assist in getting to the top, but many players are aware of it and do their best to stop players from getting there. A quick way for players to dismount the roof without Commando Pro is to jump onto the trash can next to the stairs leading up from the Red Pit. This will cushion the fall noticeably and also give the player access to another area, which will be mentioned later on. To counter players that are sniping from the roof, going on top of the crane gives an elevated position from which to kill them.

The Crane on the west side of the map features many areas which also favors sniping. Players can jump onto the beams from the crane off the elevator roof, and then jump to the crane. Alternatively, one can climb onto the ledge next to the elevators, and jump from there. This process is much more discreet, but also requires a fair amount more skill. From there, there are two areas which are accessible. The most common is probably the top of the crane itself. This offers a vantage point over most of the map, bar the underground and further into offices. If the player on top knows where the enemy are respawning, they can position themselves for protection by crouching on either side of the metal. Another area accessible from the crane is a small ledge in the northern tower. It runs across the front, and features several windows and another window-cleaning platform which can be accessed, which looks over the B objective in Search and Destroy. To get here, players must move along the crane toward the tower and jump onto a small ledge, then to a platform, then through a small window.

In the northern tower, a stepladder can be found which offers access to the lighting fixtures above the bar. This can be used to help protect the B flag, which is an influential point, in Domination. It is also a useful place to call in controllable killstreaks as players are unlikely to be found.

By the helipad on the eastern side of the map, there is another window-cleaning platform hanging on a slant. Players can drop down onto it without too much difficulty, and shoot at enemies coming out of the south-east windows. One might place a tactical insertion near the bottom or on the ledge nearby and continuously spawn there, as well. There are many advantages to this spot, one being that enemies are usually unfamiliar with this area and think that you are shooting out of the area directly under the helipad. Also, if the large oil tank above the platform explodes, it rarely hurts the player. However, perhaps the foremost perk to this hiding spot is that, if the player is discovered, they can hop off of the platform onto the ledge on the side of the map. After navigating the rather tricky corner, they can run to yet another platform, this one parallel to the propane shack, and climb onto ground are from there. (This ledge and platform can also be accessed from the main level by dropping down or, in an emergency, jumping to hit the wall and falling onto the ledge)

There are some other spots that can be found in the map, these on the western side. One of them is the large, rusted, metal sign standing on the edge near the south-western windows. They provide good cover from enemies on the crane, and, so long as the player is not in a ghillie suit, provide good camouflage for a player. A player can get to this area in three different ways: One is to jump onto them (Lightweight is recommended) from the roof of the elevators. This is a quick and easy way to get onto them, and allows the player to also run onto the various walls that surround the Red Pits and the power center. (Crouching inside the chain link fence around a generator provides some fair camouflage). Or you can run and jump onto the supporting structure just in front of the South-west windows where the support meets the ground. Another way is to jump from the southern rooftop, as previously mentioned, onto the trash can or the wall. This is, however, quite conspicuous and is not recommended, particularly without Commando Pro.

Trivia

 * This map along with 4 other original maps is special for not having an exit blocked by a vehicle.
 * Despite its urban and mostly CQB combat many gamers choose to use snipers instead for the spawn-to-spawn sniper battle and the chance to use highly elevated positions like the crane and roof.
 * There is a glitch on the map to bring Harriers down to ground level by shooting through the walls of the corner of the south building.
 * On top of the southern tower, there is a group of teddy bears with stars on their chests. A teddy can also be found on the light fixtures on the north building.
 * Highrise is very reminiscent of the Call of Duty 4 map Wet Work. They are both very linear maps and have high up sniper positions on both sides and middle of the map, albeit not as easily on Highrise. Both maps are also infamous for their ease of spawn trapping.
 * It also shares similarities with Pipeline, having two main buildings, an underground passageway, and multiple ways onto the buildings.
 * When on the yellow long catwalks, the player can see that the giant letters on the edge of the level spell out "Kriegler" (Lead Map Designer), a fictional shipping company referenced several times in Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2.
 * On the building with the teddy bears on it where the concrete block is on the side where it says WKM in the lower left hand corner there's a name that says "ALEXANDER ROYCEWICZ 2009", Alexander Roycewicz also made Overgrown and many more MP maps for both Call of Duty 4 and Modern Warfare 2.
 * This map has the most teddy bears in the game.
 * In the elevators, the same IW sign can be seen scratched into the wood, just as in No Russian.
 * Even though the level seems to be on a building that is at least 20 stories high, there are only two elevator buttons.
 * The building is 25 and a half stories tall.
 * Occasionally, though they are barely noticeable, there are several Mi-24s that fly around the map, indicating that the map is staged during the beginning of the Russo-American War.
 * According to the SP-GPS on the US Army Rangers wrists, this map is in New York City, though the surrounding cityscape looks like Chicago.
 * The building to the east of the map (not the side with the building with the pool and tables) the round part at the top is floating above the building, the free-cam can fly right under it.
 * There is a very detailed office outside of the map, which is odd as usually things outside the map aren't detailed because they'll never be entered by any players. It is possible that this area was originally playable.
 * Just south of the map, there are a small collection of office objects on top of the building.
 * There is a mark that looks like a teddy bear on the left building near the R of the Kriegler sign.
 * If the Javelin is shot directly below the edge of the map, the missile won't engage in the climb but instead just speed straight up.
 * The boxes that are found all over the map are filled with candy and cookies. This is also seen on other multiplayer maps, such as Quarry.
 * Despite being set a few years into the future, the desktop computers still contain floppy disk drives, however they could just be old computers.
 * The phones have the letters CoD4 on them, referring to the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
 * In the small shack outside the south building, there is an electrical panel next to the window that does damage if shot at close range. There are also several other panels with the same effect throughout the level, but other panels do not do damage and many of them don't react at all to shots.
 * Even though the map is set in New York City during the Russian invasion, there are signs that have Russian letters. Also the helicopter at the heli-pad is a Russian Mi-8 (Although it was probably how the Spetsnaz were inserted into the area).
 * Due to the map's height, Harriers may, on occasion, fly below the playable area. They are not solid, hinting that they were never meant to interact with solid objects.
 * Throwing the smoke grenade for a care package down into the street will still send the package. However, there is no way to getting to it and the crate will disappear as soon as it hits the ground.
 * Despite popular belief, getting to the roof is not a glitch, Infinity ward intended this, that is why the scaffolding is climbable and there are teddy bears on the roof.
 * On the Ranger Spawn the clock is upside down.
 * Highrise resembles Vertigo, a scrapped map in Modern Warfare 2. Vertigo is only playable through hacking.
 * Vertigo shares the name of an official Counter-strike map, DE_Vertigo, where, like Highrise, its placed on a building and going out of bounds results in death.
 * Underneath the fog (which is just a few thin layers) is an aerial photograph of city streets. It is of very bad quality and the cars are not moving.

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