CoD players argue whether Modern Warfare 3’s IO skin should be banned in ranked

A Call of Duty skin is once again causing strife within the player-base as some think it gives players an unfair advantage, while others think everyone else just needs to be better at the game.

In a Reddit thread from Jan. 21, user qwertymnbvcxzlk shared a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 clip from a ranked match of them running into a room, only to be gunned down by an enemy player they didn’t notice who was lying on the floor. The user bemoaned the enemy’s choice of skin, asking, “Why is this skin even allowed in ranked? Game would be so much simpler if we just used the ranked skins with black and white.”

The skin in question, the IO skin, isn’t actually new. It was added in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 as part of its fourth season, with it locked exclusively to the paid battle pass. What’s interesting is, at the time, some players ridiculed it as a “pay-to-lose” skin (via Dexerto) since its color changes between black and white depending on where you’re standing. Ergo, it makes you stick out and easier to spot. As it turns out, it can allow for camouflage opportunities.

“Ranked should really only be default skins or dedicated ranked skins you can equip,” argued Fleeeeed. “I’m personally a defender for all of that bundle shit and goofy stuff but people using some stuff like that is just not right imo.” The skin being something you had to pay for naturally attracted complaints of Activision’s monetization of CoD, with NuclearLavaLamp saying the skin exists “Because Activision wants money and stopped caring about gameplay long ago.”

However, there’re just as many who see no issue with the skin and say they spotted the IO skin in the clip easily, meaning the blame is squarely on qwertymnbvcxzlk. “You didn’t even look around, you just ran inside. He was laying right there, not even behind cover. You can’t blame the skin for lack of awareness,” said Icy_Tangerine_6271. Another user, Sypticle, is clearly frustrated with how often this complaint comes up: “Bro, can we stop with these posts? I can easily see him and honestly got frustrated that they didn’t see him as they walked in, and this is including the compression Reddit adds.”

This isn’t the only CoD skin to attract such controversy. The Gaia skin, or Groot skin as some fans call it, was met with similar complaints about poor visibility, although developer Sledgehammer Games actually decided to do something about it. Late last year, it was temporarily removed from Modern Warfare 3 so its design could be adjusted, and according to CharlieINTEL, it was added back in just last week.