You could check out my barrens maps (even though I made them while I was still very unskilled).
Tile usage is one of the most important things in Barrens tile set (in the screenies I saw some custom tiles? Why?)
Objects that require pathing: totems/large rubble/craters/fences/large rocks/trees
Notes - craters and large stones can also use customised pathing (allow units to walk on them)
Objects that do not require pathing: small rubble/small/rocks/small/craters/geysers/bones/corpses/small bushes/small cactuses/dry grass/braziers/torches/thorny vines
Notes - You can also make large geysers that require pathing with cool effects.
Notes - Make sure the bones on the ground do not clip the ground too disturbingly.
Notes - Color the bushes the way you want (use Ashvenvale/Felwood bushes) and size them the way you want.
Notes - For dry grass find a custom model or use River Rushes model and colour it.
Notes - Scale down Viny Thorns a lot to make them look like dried out roots.
Objects that can be easily modified in editor: totems/large rubble/fences/trees/passive buildings
Notes - You can make totems very large to make them stand out. More important is however to make a new doodad of them and roll/pitch them so they look angled/fallen. If you make the totems lay on the ground they do not require pathing yet give nice expression.
Notes - Using large rubble can be hard but if you lower it beneath the ground you can make only the very top of it show, making it look like ancient ruins that has been overrun by nature and covered in sand, this neither, requires pathing but gives nice feeling.
Notes - Fences, especially the wooden onces can be used well, pitch and roll them and remove the pathing from them and add it later on, if required. Fallen/angled fences makes the area feel more insecure and risky.
Notes - Trees can be used in various ways. You can use canopy(or why not normal) trees and scale them down and lower them under the ground so only the leaves show, this makes them look like a flora on the ground. Another way to make bushes here. Always remember (if not melee map) to add variation of tree that is fallen and a variation that is almost fallen (angled) and place them here and there (not too much). This fits very well in the dry, sand-filled ground of Barrens. Remember to add pathing later if required.
Notes - Make doodads and use models of neutral passive buildings (Wildkin/harpy nests etc) and scale them the size you want. Make them have no pathing and place them (on top of hills/rocks where player can't reach). They give feeling that the area is inhabited (or was) but the cruel environment has driven the creatures elsewhere (fits very well to Barrens).
Hope this helped.
