Change is finally coming to Call of Duty: Warzone's despised Roze operator

If you've played any amount of Call of Duty: Warzone recently, you might've noticed that every other player is wearing the same exact skin-tight black suit. That's the Roze "Near Dark" skin, the most hated face in the game that players can't seem to get enough of. Using the Roze skin doesn't grant any special statistical buff, but her dark attire is essentially the perfect camouflage on a map as dark as Verdansk.

Roze has become one of the most volatile subjects in the Warzone community since the skin gained popularity late last year. Players have been calling for something to be done about it with no communication from Raven or Infinity Ward, but help is finally on the way. Raven Software has finally acknowledged the issue and will make an "adjustment" to the skin in an upcoming update. What exactly does that mean? Raven didn't specify, but we can assume that her outfit will somehow be brightened or changed so that she's more visible.

As you can see below, her current ability to fade into the shadows makes even a basic firefight a sudden struggle to keep track of her movements.

This is what we have to go through with black roze skins Fix your goddamn game. from r/CODWarzone

Using the Near Dark skin has become synonymous in the Warzone community with being an especially "sweaty" player. Some have taken to Reddit to protest the skin's prominence while others have taken it upon themselves to hunt down Roze users like some sort of holy bounty hunter. I get it—I've been killed by corner-camping Rozes more times than I care to count. It's definitely a little therapeutic watching them get crushed.

The issue of readability and "pay-to-win" cosmetics has only become more prominent as competitive shooters have built their business around premium cosmetics. This whole Roze affair probably sounds very familiar to Rainbow Six Siege's struggle with its tan/green Ember Rise uniforms that disappear in front of the game's many beige walls. 

Back in June 2020, Valve added an optional CS:GO setting that boosts player contrast against the environment around them to ensure you always know what you're looking at. Games less concerned with realism like Overwatch ensure that skins never affect readability by slapping a big red outline around enemies and teammates alike.

I think Warzone could benefit from something similar to CS:GO's contrast option or Siege's updated lighting pass from 2017 that brightened its darkest maps. Roze represents the worst-case scenario for giving players so many dark corners to hide in, but basically any dark-colored uniform has the same problem. Maybe Warzone's rumored new map will be a second chance to bring a little light to Verdansk and make Roze a lot less popular.