MW3 finally removes controversial ‘Groot’ skin in new update, but only temporarily

One of the most annoying Call of Duty skins in recent memory, the Gaia or “Groot” skin as most call it, has been removed from the game—temporarily.

The operator skin for Nova, which arrived in Modern Warfare 2’s season six as part of a collaboration with Spawn, has been tweaked before but is still a cause for concern among players and the developers. As such, it can’t be equipped anymore in Modern Warfare 3 or Warzone, as Sledgehammer previously announced would happen. That day has come.

“Adjustments to improve the visibility of the Gaia Operator Skins are underway,” Sledgehammer said in the patch notes. “Until these changes can be released to all players, these items will be unavailable to equip in MW3.”

Gaia has been causing havoc ever since it was added to the game as part of season six’s battle pass, mostly due to its poor visibility in both multiplayer and Warzone settings. Players have been complaining about it for months, and you’ve most likely seen it in your matches, too.

The skin is gone for now and should be fully fixed if and when it returns to haunt your dreams online once again. But, hey, if Sledgehammer wants to keep it out of MW3 entirely, that wouldn’t be the worst thing, either.

The patch notes for today’s update also highlight the big fix to EOD Padding, which now makes “incoming explosive damage” be “properly clamped at 80 percent of the player’s maximum health.” The gear, or perk, has been known as Flak Jacket in previous CoD games and is supposed to protect players from lethals and rockets.

The next big update in MW3 will be season one, which launches next week on Dec. 6. It will bring new maps, new operators, a battle pass, and wholesale changes to Warzone, along with new Zombies content as well.