A method and apparatus for efficient deployment of nodes in a network includes obtaining first data that indicates first locations of nodes in a network and terrain data that indicates height of terrain at terrain locations. The method further includes determining an exploration region for a first node and dividing the exploration region into subregions. The method further includes determining a proxy location for each subregion that is a location corresponding to a characteristic of the terrain data in the subregion. The method further includes determining a value of a parameter that indicates a contribution of the first node at each proxy location to network fitness. The method further includes assigning a second location to the first node based on the determined parameter value at each proxy location. The method further includes relocating the first node from the first location to the second location.