Ancient is the newest of the eight callout posts on this board, and the last map in the cluster that still had no dedicated topic. It shipped with Operation Broken Fang on December 3 2020, moved from the Reserves group to Active Duty on May 3 2021 when it replaced Train, and a night version arrived on August 14 2025. Below is the full callout list: 39 names, grouped the way you move through the map.
What the map looks like
Ancient is a bomb defusal map set at an archaeological site in a rainforest. The two sites are signposted as plazas and carry distinct colours: A is orange, B is pale blue. Total CS describes the callouts as the same or very similar in CS2 and CS:GO, so the list below works for both games. The Counter-Strike Wiki calls the layout a "4 leaf clover", the same shape family as Mirage and Dust II, which is useful to know because it means the mid split is the map's central decision rather than a side route.
T side and the route into mid
- T Spawn: where the Terrorist side spawns. It connects to Tunnel and Split.
- Tunnel: the area that connects T Spawn to Water. Ts use it for a B rush or as an alternative route to Mid.
- Water: the space between Tunnel and Ruins.
- Ruins: connects to Doors, giving Ts a quick route to Ramp. There is a box here that covers you against an aggressive CT push.
- Doors: the double doors that lead into T Lower from Ruins.
- Split: connects T Spawn to Elbow and Stairs, and its name comes from the quick access it gives to both Mid and A Site.
- Stairs: connects Split to A Halls.
- Elbow: the connecting area between Split and Mid. This is the usual mid split point, with support coming through Heaven.
- A Halls: connects Stairs and A Main. A good lurker spot when you want to stop a CT push out of A Site.
- A Main: the area that leads into Long from A Halls.
- Long: one of two main entrances for Ts into A Site. You check Boost before you take the site.
- Boost: the spot to the right of Long when entering A Site through A Main. It is called that because CTs boost teammates up there when they hold the site.
- Big Box: a large crate next to A Site. Not to be confused with Single, a different crate nearby.
- Single: a narrower crate placed next to Plat near A Site, enough cover when you defend from Plat.
- Plat: a raised area in the corner next to A Site.
- A Site: the whole region between CT Lane, Short and Big Box, and where the bomb can be planted on A.
- Triple Box: the triple set of boxes towards the back of A Site. A safer plant position when CTs are playing on CT Lane.
- CT Lane: connects CT Spawn to A Site, one of two quick entrances for CTs.
- Temple: a passageway that connects CT Spawn to A Site.
- CT Spawn: where the Counter-Terrorist side spawns. It connects to Temple, CT Lane, Snipers Nest and Alley.
- Snipers Nest: a set of double doors that gives CTs a complete view of Mid. The name is literal.
- Top Mid: the stairs and tunnel that connect Mid to Snipers Nest.
- Pit: the large cubby opposite Tunnels in Mid.
- Mid: the open middle section. It gives Ts access to the A side from either Elbow or Heaven.
- Tunnels: connects Mid to Short, used by Ts when they split A or by CTs supporting Snipers Nest.
- Short: one of two main entrances for Ts into A Site. It connects directly to the site but is harder to push when you have no support from Long.
- Xbox: two crates placed next to Heaven on Mid, giving access into Heaven from Mid.
- Heaven: connects T Lower to Lamp Room and Mid, and it works for a mid split with support from Elbow.
- Lamp Room: connects Heaven to Dark.
- Dark: the small area between Lamp Room and House, with a cubby that CTs can use to surprise a Ts push.
- T Lower: the region between Ramp and Heaven, named for having the lowest height between the two.
- Ramp: the slope that connects T Lower towards B Site, one of two main entrances for a B push.
- House: connects Lamp Room to B Site and is generally considered the harder entry point because of its narrow doorway.
- B Site: the region between Ramp, House and Square, and where the bomb can be planted on B.
- Pillar: the stone and wooden structure on B Site, a strong cover point for CTs defending the site.
- Square: the large square structure between Back Halls and B Site, giving two alternative routes in from Back Halls.
- Back Halls: connects Alley to Square.
- Alley: the area connecting CT Spawn to Back Halls.
Total CS keeps the list to 39 names, but the Counter-Strike Wiki describes the sites in more detail and uses a few names that do not appear in that table. On A, the wiki calls the corridor that feeds onto the site "Donut", says the site sits between two temples and has one entrance straight from T spawn plus one through mid, and lists the boost by A Main, Donut, Temple and the boxes as the places CTs hold from. On B, the wiki names "Cheetah" as the entrance that leads through "Vent" onto the site, and describes the pillar as the anchor for two CT retake paths, one on each side of it.
Two things from the wiki's reception section are worth remembering before you learn the calls. Players complained at launch that there was no safe plant on A, and a September 21 2021 update was the attempt to fix that. The same section also records complaints about foliage blocking sightlines, performance problems, and the map leaning CT because CTs got too much map control for free. None of that changed the callouts, but it explains why the A site retake is the harder half of the map to learn.
FAQ
How many callouts does Ancient have?
39, by Total CS's own count on the map page.
Do the calls work in CS2?
Total CS says this map and its callouts are the same or very similar in CS2 and CS:GO. The Counter-Strike Wiki's update history shows a long line of clipping, gap and visibility fixes on the CS2 version rather than a rename pass.
Is Ancient still in the Active Duty pool?
It is in the Active Duty Group category on the Counter-Strike Wiki, and it moved there on May 3 2021, replacing Train. It arrived in the game as a Reserves Group map.
When was Ancient added to CS2 matchmaking?
The wiki's update history has it added to Competitive mode on August 7 2023, added to Deathmatch and Casual on August 2 2023, and the night version on August 14 2025.
Which callouts am I most likely to mishear?
Big Box and Single are two different crates on A, and Pit is a cubby in Mid rather than the lower area that T Lower describes.
Sources