Karma claims Modern Warfare is giving some CoD pros “false hope”

Daniel Cleary
Karma and Modern Warfare character

Three-time CoD world champion Damon ‘Karma’ Barlow has claimed that Modern Warfare and its ‘slide cancel’ mechanic is giving some pro players “false hope” in the Call of Duty League.

Karma is considered one of, if not the, best Call of Duty players of all time and has been consistent across multiple titles in recent years, however, the former OpTic star has not been too impressed with the franchise’s latest release.

After he made his shock announcement on June 4, revealing that he would be leaving the Seattle Surge and retiring from competitive play, Barlow opened up on the current state of competitive Modern Warfare.

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Karma wearing 3 rings
Karma has won the world championship in three separate Call of Duty titles.

During the latest episode of the Codcast, a show hosted by former pros Nameless and Pacman, Karma explained that the slide canceling, which has been abused by certain pro players, has become quite an issue.

Slide canceling‘ is a mechanic in Modern Warfare that provides players with a slight speed increase by resetting cooldown on the tactical sprint and also allows players to ADS (aim down sights) quicker after moving.

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After being asked who were the most frustrating players that he has competed against, Karma immediately highlighted some of the rising stars that had grown accustomed to this new technique, naming members of the Dallas Empire in particular.

“In this game playing like Shotzzy, Huke or anyone who slides, Illey. There’s so many, anybody who is good because they’re f****ng ‘click, click, X’,“ he explained, mimicking the slide cancel button combo.

The 26-year-old later added that, while it seemed to be improving their gameplay in Modern Warfare, it could come back to bite them in future titles. “I’m not playing so it doesn’t matter what I say, but like this game is giving false hopes, false hope!”

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He also revealed that he was baffled over the fact that certain teams have even won championships partly due to this new movement mechanic, claiming that “it’s mind-blowing even though it’s online.”

“Some of the people that are insane in this game is just f***ing outrageous,” Barlow admitted, taking shots at some of CoD pros. “They better pray that you can slide next year and do all this weird s*** because it is going to be different.”

Despite much of the backlash over the mechanic from Karma and other pro players, it seems likely as if slide canceling will be sticking around for the rest of the season after Automated Tac Sprint was included in the recent ‘gentlemen’s agreements’ list to make it less of an issue.

About The Author

Daniel is former Dexerto weekend games writer, as an expert in various multiplayer games in numerous genres. His expertise also expanded into gaming content creators, and the rise of streaming and YouTube stars, as well as esports professionals.