The Blackout map is one of the most compact, varied, and busy battlegrounds in this fledgling battle royale genre. With a high number of named locations boasting decent loot, risk/reward zombies areas, and hidden areas that promise some of the best loot if you can manage to access them before anyone else. As Blackout is a battle royale game, a lot of its elements spawn in random locations so very little is guaranteed, but knowing the spots with high spawn rates will make your life a lot easier.
Knowing all the best loot spots and key vehicle spawns is crucial to conquering the Blackout map and securing a win, so we've gone ahead and prepared our own version of the map showing you where to find zombie areas, helicopters, secret areas and items, and even where loot crates occasionally spawn.
We'll also give you a rundown of some of our favourite places to drop across the Blackout map in case you and your friends are struggling to settle on a routine drop spot.
Here is the Blackout map:
Best loot spots in Blackout
These are some of our favourite drop spots, offering good loot and relative safety.
Lighthouse
It's getting increasingly popular, but Lighthouse remains one of the best places to land in Blackout provided you wingsuit and parachute skills are up to it. To control this frenzied area you need to land on the highest gangway, get a gun, and secure the top of the tower. If you can seize this position you should have no problem methodically working your way down to the ground floor and wiping any other enemies out.
If you manage to survive all of this you can count plenty of great loot. Lighthouse is also one of the five zombie areas on the map, so you can get your hands on a Ray Gun or spawn in a Mystery Box full of the best loot if you zombies spawn here and you can clear them out. Lighthouse also has the advantage of being in the very corner of the map, meaning you can safely assume no one will be chasing the circle from behind you.
Offices by Hydro Dam
Hydro Dam can be a very unpredictable and dangerous place to drop in Blackout: it's surrounded by high cliffs, is hard to safely leave, and the loot is spread out across a series of large buildings. So instead of going to the dam itself, you can land at the two office buildings northwest of Hydro Dam for a safer start to the game. You will likely have to fight one other group here, but once that's settled you have heaps of loot and can move over to the top of the dam and start picking off enemies from up high. You also have lots of options as to where you head next: the dam, the mansions towards the west, the warehouses to the south, or across the dam and up down to Asylum.
Secret bunker beneath Fracking Tower
In the middle of Fracking Tower you can find a trio of silos adjacent to a raised platform. Drop on the platform and look for a switch, which will open a pair of blast doors. Inside you'll almost always find a loot stash, not to mention plenty of other top tier loot around the floor. Head through the tunnel and back out onto the surface then clean house across the rest of this named location.
Haunted house near Asylum
In the northeast corner of Asylum you will find a rather spooky house. It doesn't hold much loot, can be quite busy, and is next to also very busy maze and main asylum building – so why would we go here? If you parachute down on the eastern side of the building and land on the porch then you can get into the first story of the building before most people can even get through the front door. Hoover up all the loot and then clear out the ground floor (or wait for someone to push upstairs and catch them by surprise). From here you're in a good spot to sneak into the main asylum building and rack up a couple more kills. Alternatively, you can head to the road east of Asylum and loot the various houses along it for a safer start.
Cranes above Cargo Docks
Landing on one of the two cranes above Cargo Docks requires some parachuting prowess, but offers you a safe start to the game and enough loot to get going. Once you've grabbed everything you can start shooting at enemies below – it's best to watch other players fight it out and then finish off the victor as they loot.
Once you've notched up a couple of kills can jump up onto the railing and wingsuit down onto the ship or docks area to carry on killing and gathering gear. There's a chance for a loot stash to spawn underwater below each of the buoys and very occasionally on the ship itself so be sure to check these spots before moving on.
Turbine
The desert region of the map is usually pretty quiet because all the loot there is spread out across huge distances. However, if you drop at the cluster of buildings just south of Turbine and find some gear and an ATV, you can quickly visit the various wind turbines and prefab buildings in relative peace. The turbines themselves have a high chance of spawning various stashes, so you will likely find good armour, a Trauma Kit, some equipment as you scour the hills in search of loot.
Nuketown bunker
This spot is quite well known and can be dangerous, but the potential for loot is as high as some of the busiest drop spots in the game. You'll want to land at the southern entrance, just up from the beach. Charge in, grab as much loot and equipment as possible and then lay low in one of the rooms directly beneath the island's cul-de-sacs and wait for enemies to push toward you. Grenades, Mesh Mines, Razor Wire, and 9-Bangs can be used to great effect in these tight spaces, and once you've secured the island you will have more loot than you know what to do with. Nuketown also reliably spawns boats and land vehicles, and occasionally a helicopter.
If you're looking for more COD battle royale advice then we have a Blackout weapons guide to help you pick all the right gear, as well as a rundown of all the Blackout perks in the game. One thing we forgot to mention is that as these are our favourite loot spots in Blackout, you may end up facing someone from team PCGN in the process – sorry in advance.