Each base is conducive to traditional FPS gameplay, with 'two entrances, an open ceiling, and sloping paths to the roof'. The map is balanced but lopsided in terms of tactical advantage, with the Red team having access to a ridge, while the Blue team is located near a tunnel system in the canyon wall. The canyon's interior is a 'vast expanse of undulating landscape and scattered pieces of natural cover', with a base on each end for the Red and Blue teams. Blood Gulch takes place in a box canyon on a Halo ring that is enclosed on all sides by high natural walls.