Operation Métro

Operation Métro is a multiplayer map featured in Battlefield 3. It is set in Paris, France and is featured in Conquest, Rush, Team Deathmatch, Squad Rush and Squad Deathmatch modes. Operation Métro initially takes place in a park, but soon moves to the Paris underground metro system, followed by a Cafe surrounded by apartment buildings and the Paris Stock Exchange. The factions pitted against each other are the United States Marine Corps and the Spetsnaz of the Russian Ground Forces. Being the smallest and most linear map in the base game, explosive standoffs are common. The map's choke points are commonly destroyed, leaving many open areas. Other areas are left untouched, and have potential to provide great ambush points. The many hallways and few vertical areas make funnels for people to build-up in when going on the offense.

Background
The attacking Marine platoon is supporting a French paratrooper force that will surprise the Russians by air-dropping behind enemy lines. Reports indicate the French Air Force is suffering heavy casualties due to a series of anti-air batteries around Chardonnay Park. With limited air support, the French are struggling to mobilize enough forces into the central districts of Paris. Heavy fighting is expected as US forces push to secure the financial district in central Paris. Russian Surface-to-Air missiles in the outskirts of the park are likely to be the first target as the US Marines attempt to gain control of the airspace ahead of the main ground assualt.

Stage 1
Both M-COMs are in Generator sections powering Russian SAM Radar sites. Alpha is located near the bridge between the park and the defender's spawn point. Bravo is located on a playground surrounded by green panels. Both are in fairly open areas, but have small walls to take cover behind, around them.

Stage 2
The M-COMs are in the lower layer of the Subway Station, making them closer to each other. B is in a construction area while A is in a restroom. The area is very linear and filled with chokepoints. Subway cars and tipped over objects provide most of the cover. An area that defenders often become isolated to is the passage above A M-COM, and behind the B M-COM.

Stage 3
The B M-COM is located near a locker room while A is located in a kiosk. The M-COMs are located in the second floor and there are only three paths to access the second floor. One leads to the elevators and is the farthest path from the objectives. Another one opens up to the center of the floor and is slightly closer to Alpha. The final path leads from the side to both the elevators and a narrow corridor that leads to Bravo. There is also a ticket booth between Alpha and Bravo and a kiosk behind Bravo.

Stage 4
The A M-COM is located in the left building in the outside, while B is located between buses in the road overlooked by the Euronext Paris exchange. There are 3 exits to the metro; straight ahead, to the right and to the left. One is partially blocked by a bus, one has a building to one side, and another leads to the road. Once outside, there are two main paths which lead to Bravo. One is a stairway and the other is a ramp. There are also two more stairways between the two main paths. There are several buildings overlooking Bravo. Between these buildings is a square in which Alpha is at a close proximity.

Stage 1
Stage 1 takes place in the Ticket Hall. The M-COM is placed in the same spot as the B M-COM in Stage 3 of Rush.

Stage 2
Stage 2 takes place at the Cafe. The second and last M-COM is placed in the same spot as the A M-COM in Stage 4 of Rush.

Bases
Like Damavand Peak, Operation Métro in Conquest mode is a very linear map. There are three flags in this mode. Since Conquest and Conquest 64 have the same map with no changes a lot of these strategies can apply to both.

RU Deployment
The Russian Deployment is in the Euronext Paris exchange building and overlooks an avenue and Cafe. The avenue also has some cover provided by destroyed cars and buses. Many stairs and a road lead to the Cafe and Ticket Hall respectively. This area is open, and a weak russian team can easily be pushed back in to the deployment area, as the road, stock exchange, and area between them is generally well covered by the buildings surrounding the Cafe flag.

A: Cafe
The flag is located in the centre of an open plaza, this is surrounded on both sides by two apartment buildings. The flag can be captured from most of these buildings. As mentioned before the US team can "spawn trap" the Russian team by setting up in the buildings and covering the generally open area between the deployment and the flag.

There are also 3 hidden rooms where the doors are blocked off, you can jump into or destroy walls in order to get in. These rooms are often called metro glitch rooms by server admins, they are not, they have been designed to add another strategy to the game. Destruction has been added all throughout BF3; so, players will have to constantly change strategy and work around building destruction.

B: Ticket Hall
The flag is located in the middle of a large open hallway, there are three entrances on the east, and another three from the west. . Behind the flag is a set of escalators that lead straight to C. To the left is a set of stairs that lead down a level which leads you to the same long room as the excalators. The stairways are one of the biggest choke points in this map

C: Platform
This flag is located in a large room with many pillars and signs.Many hallways and tunnels lead to the US deployment.

US Deployment
The US team will start near the park in the subway tunnels. There are two subway tunnels running parallel to each other. There are many hallways linking the tunnels together. All lanes lead to the Platform.

Team Deathmatch
The Team Deathmatch variant takes place in the Cafe and Ticket Hall areas.

Squad Deathmatch
The Squad Deathmatch variant takes place in the Park. There is no IFV spawning.

Designer Thoughts
"Operation Métro is the map from E3 and the Open Beta, so some of you are familiar with it already. It is a map that perfectly illustrates that we want to take our players on a journey. Especially in Rush, you can see how Operation Métro is almost three maps within one: You start out in a lush park, then move into a bombed-out section of the subway tunnels, to finally emerge in a dense urban environment outside the Paris stock exchange. It's a map that asks you to constantly adapt your class and load out for the diverse situations you will find yourself in."

Trivia

 * In the park some newspaper stands say "Battlefield 3 Rocks". There also is an "EA Post" newspaper, referring to Electronic Arts.
 * After the JDAM destroys the tunnel entrance, several randomly generated shouts of US troops can be heard. These are the same from Operation Guillotine.
 * In the third M-COM Stage there is a "runner bag" from Mirror's Edge in a blocked off area. There is also a interactive photobox next to the objective B.
 * If you stand at the spot where the JDAM is supposed to blow a hole in the ground, the JDAM will kill you. Even shortly after the explosion when the player runs into the smoke, it might happen that he is killed randomly.
 * The GPS data provided by the EOD Bot's display shows that Operation Métro corresponds to an area between the Paris Stock Exchange (Bourse du Commerce) and the Place du Louvre (east of the famous museum). However, the game map (attacking from west to east) does not correspond to the real-world map (path from north to south).
 * Operation Métro was the map used during the Battlefield 3 Alpha and Beta. DICE later redesigned the map for balancing purposes, with the LAV-25 being removed from the attackers' side.
 * A sandcastle with a Swedish and Norweigan flag on top can be seen near the playground near M-COM Bravo in the first base of the map played in Rush. This is because the developers of Battlefield are Swedish
 * Some of the soda cans on the map say "Dr. Petter" on the label, a reference to the real-life soda brand Dr Pepper.
 * The Russian deployment in conquest is the La bourse de commerce, which strangley also appears in the campaign.
 * The map features a large amount of advertising signs for ingame brands, these are most noticeable in the subway station areas and the streets near the Paris Stock Exchange building. This signs are a mock of real life clothing and accesories fashion brands like Chloé and Giorgio Armani.
 * On the Xbox 360 the game freezes after a long period of time, of at least 20-30 minutes, forcing you to re-start the console.
 * The passport photo machines, standing in the subway station are useable by pressing the [use]-button. A flash appears when used.

Videos
Video:Battlefield 3 Operation Metro loading screen music|Operation Métro Theme Tune. Video:Operation Métro Cinema Round-Trip|Tour around most part of the map.

Operation Métro