Two weeks ago, players rejoiced when developer Raven Software announced that Call of Duty: Warzone's hated Roze skin would finally be addressed in the next patch. For months, the popularity of the Roze Rook skin had been a source of great frustration, as Roze players had been exploiting the outfit's pitch-black appearance to disappear into the dark backgrounds and shadowy corners of Verdansk. With this skin, it was very easy to blend into the interior of the building, and unfortunately that has not changed since season 3 began.

I had hoped that the change in lozenges would mean some changes to the uniforms and their colors, but it turns out that Raven was not thinking that drastic. Last week's Season 3 patch notes state that "Roze has been adjusted where there is a light source to improve visibility for operators. My first impression is that Roze's visibility is only an issue in dark locations, so increasing visibility in bright locations is not an issue. The post-patch look outfits are still dark.

This is almost the same conclusion that Warzone analyst TheXclusiveAce reached in his recent breakdown of Roze's post-nerf visibility. The changes adopted since Season 3 began seem to have more to do with the new Verdansk '84 map than with the Roze skin itself.' The 80s remix map is brighter overall, and there is no doubt that the interiors of the buildings are more brightly lit. This, of course, means that there are fewer opportunities for the roze player to be in the dark, but there are still plenty of general areas where she will struggle mightily.

Ace cites a slight improvement in a situation where it has been nearly impossible to see Lozée. It is no longer impossible to see her, but it is far from a reasonable situation.

The problem here is Warzone's global lighting; even after the big rewind that melted the icy river in Verdansk and made the sun shine a little brighter, Warzone is still a dark fucking mess. Any operator in dark clothing can hide in a dark corner and find success. Look's skin only represents the worst example of a larger problem.

To nerf dark clothing forever, Warzone needs to change its look more holistically. In a competitive shooter, darkness is the enemy of legibility. Ubisoft learned this lesson when they brightened up the global lighting in Rainbow Six Siege in 2017. I still think the game looked better before the change, but the improvement in readability was well worth it.

I would accept the same trade-off in Warzone.