Wasteland

Lore & Background

In the broad setting of the Tribes universe, Wasteland occupies a stretch of land long stripped of vegetation and purpose. What remains are the bones of whatever once thrived here: half-buried concrete slabs, rusted girders jutting from the dirt, and low ridges of packed gravel that break the otherwise flat horizon. The map's emptiness is deliberate in its design—there is no dense cover to hide behind, no vertical jungle canopy to break up sight lines. Instead, the terrain rewards players who understand the rhythm of the Tribes movement system: a long sprint, a well-timed jump, and a glide that carries you over a ridge or into a pocket of broken structures before you hit the ground again.

The map's layout funnels combat along a small number of broad corridors while still offering flanking routes through the scattered debris fields. Elevated positions—low mesas, the tops of collapsed structures—provide temporary dominance over the lanes below, but holding them is precarious. The open sky means a player gliding into position is visible for a long stretch, and the lack of true verticality means that once you are on the ground, you are exposed. Wasteland is a map that punishes hesitation and rewards momentum.

Within the community of Tribes players, Wasteland has a reputation as a map that separates players who understand spacing and timing from those who simply spray and hope. The wide, flat stretches make it a natural arena for the long-range duels and coordinated pushes that the franchise is known for, while the scattered cover pieces create micro-fights that can swing a larger team engagement.

In Their Own Story

The wind off the flats carries grit that stings the eyes and coats the visor in a fine grey film. You crouch behind a slab of concrete that was once a wall, maybe a foundation, maybe nothing at all. Three of your tribe are pushing the central lane, their boots kicking up rooster tails of dry dust. You watch the ridge line. A shape breaks it—small, fast, gliding in from the north flank with the parachute still catching air. You have two seconds. You take them. The glide path is long, the landing is committed, and the flat ground between you and the ridge offers no mercy. You line up the shot, breathe, and let the sprint carry you forward before the dust settles.

Reader's Guide

Wasteland plays as a wide, relatively flat arena with a central spine of broken structures and low ridges, flanked by open dirt fields on either side. The primary action occurs along the central corridor, where teams contest the elevated positions—mesa tops, collapsed structure roofs—that give a height advantage over the lanes below. Holding high ground is powerful but transient: the open approach means any player committing to a push is visible for a long distance, and the flat terrain means a well-timed glide can carry an attacker over a ridge and into your back before you react.

The flanking routes run through the debris fields on the north and south edges. These are slower, more exposed paths, but they let a small squad bypass a central engagement and hit a holding team from an unexpected angle. The terrain punishes players who camp in a single spot for too long; the lack of true verticality and the wide sight lines mean that a stationary player is a target. Momentum is king here—keep running, keep jumping, keep the glide arc tight.

The map rewards teams that coordinate pushes along the central lane while a small element screens the flanks. It punishes teams that split too thinly across the wide open ground, because the flat terrain means there is very little to break up a coordinated attack. In community shorthand, Wasteland is often described as a 'sprint map'—a place where the movement system is the weapon as much as the gun is.

Did You Know?

• The Tribes franchise is built around a movement system where players run, jump, and glide with a parachute, making map design focused on open sight lines and multi-lane approach paths rather than tight corridors.
• Tribes maps are typically large enough to support full team engagements of up to 16 players per side, with the terrain acting as the primary tactical variable rather than scripted events.
• The franchise's distinctive 'tribes' branding reflects its team-based identity: players are not lone operators but members of a squad sharing a common color and objective.
• Because the movement system allows sustained gliding over long distances, maps like Wasteland are designed with approach paths that are visible from far away, making positioning and timing as important as aim.