I played Skeleclipse (event version of Skangus) for the community Holographic Harvest operation and found its layout highly satisfying. Given they're the same layout, I have to commend both for the wide battlefield where robots can invade from multiple heights and angles from the robot start alone. This means losing the frontline lets Sniper bots rule the roofs and keeps you alert.
There are 3 main paths chosen to be in play (caves, center, roofs), my favorite has to be going roofs. It creates this dramatic defense digging your heels in at the rooftops, staving off hordes of Giants and crit-boosted Direct Hit Soldiers that'll snipe you out of existence with a barrage of death. And since the map's pretty small, your success does matter holding this staging area.
The small ammo kit supplement this as well, I found myself building farther back like a quarterback Sentry supporting with the Wrangler when the path went down center or caves. There was a medium ammo kit below me which was a risky move that seemed to work out in the end. You're always pretty close to the robots which makes everything risky and team wipes so potentially fatal, specifically on Spooky Sprockets (which is Skeleclipse exclusive).
The bomb hatch had 3 gates in a protective U shape that detour bots around it but opens for Tanks to deploy for. This was creative, I found the gates bought time for robots where a defense is scrambling to kill Giants, but I also found it blocked Sentries from targeting as they aim center mass (which is blocked by a fence). If that was intentional, there is a small cubby behind the bomb with a raised platform a Sentry can avoid this with.
This made Sentry placement crucial for what was needed (defensively watching bomb or aggressively forward, required to reposition if a robot gets past). Skangus is mostly the same visually as Skeleclipse, they're both executed well with what's shared. The skunk sanctuary was unique, the magic mushrooms around the map looked bizarre yet somehow fitting, and the architecture pieced together well. There are lots of signs that tell a story and I like that.
And I don't see a download for Skeleclipse, but just briefly: that map was the highlight of the operation: an arid wilderness scorched by a blood moon, highly appropriate for the Spooky Sprockets mission. Spooky Sprockets was a proper Expert mission that really should be in a difficulty of its own as "Master" proving you've mastered Mann vs Machine. When I completed that mission, I was in high spirits for the rest of the night. Unforgettable experience.
