Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has taken some flack from players for having “pay-to-win” skins. One of those skins that’s been causing the most problems within the community lately is the “Gaia” outfit which people typically refer to as “Groot” from the Guardians of the Galaxy given its tree-like structure. While some people wanted it so that they could play as Groot, it’s becoming much more common now that players are using it because of its built-in advantages. The skin itself is quite dark which, when combined with the right environments in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, can make it exceptionally difficult to see a player who’s using the cosmetic.
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Players using this new Gaia skin are finding that they can then get the jump on others and play better as a result. Of course, no one can say definitively if this is intentional. Gaia was a battle pass skin, so some have already suggested that it was made this way to incentivize players to buy the battle pass and therefore increase spending. The skin was first released in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and since people are able to carry over their content from that game to the newer Modern Warfare 3, it’s now wreaking havoc in the latest Call of Duty game as well.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3′s Gaia/Groot Skin
Posts within the Modern Warfare 3 subreddit and elsewhere on social media have often lamented the fact that this skin still exists in the game as well as the fact that the game’s devs haven’t done anything more to address the situation despite the repeated complaints. For context, the skin was technically nerfed once already in the past with a previous Modern Warfare 2 update with that patch adding “VFX to base skin that reflects the same level of visibility as BlackCell skin” while also accounting for “Improved visibility compensation,” but even after the fact, players still want it changed or removed entirely.
If you’ve been fortunate enough to not see the Groot skin too often in Modern Warfare 2 or Modern Warfare 3, the post below which also came from the new game’s subreddit provides a better example of why people want it changed. In this particularly dark and textured area of a Modern Warfare 3 map, the skin does an exceptional job of blending in with the environment, especially when compared to more vibrant cosmetics like the bright red crash test dummy.
It seems unlikely the skin will be completely removed, but there may be further tweaks made in order to increase its visibility. Fans complained that Modern Warfare 2 feedback was largely ignored by Infinity Ward, but Sledgehammer Games has been great at communicating and evaluating criticism this year. If there were to be changes made, we’ll most likely see them outlined in a set of patch notes for a future Modern Warfare 3 update.
