Modern Warfare 2 players blast “horrendous” thermal scopes

Ryan Lemay
Modern Warfare 2 character holding gun up high

Finding the right scope in Modern Warfare 2 comes down to personal preference, but players stay away from thermal scopes because of a visibility issue.

Modern Warfare 2 streamlined editing weapons while also adding new layers of customization. In Call of Duty Vanguard, players chose 10 different attachments. MW2 cut that number down to five, making editing weapons less daunting.

Vanguard players also complained about how long it took to unlock every attachment for a weapon. Activision attempted to address those concerns in MW2, allowing players to unlock attachments for multiple weapons simultaneously, but users slammed the “mind-boggling” system.

MW2 players questioned another attachment design choice, as “awful” muzzle flash s plaguing thermal scopes.

MW2 character
Thermal scopes were extremely popular in classic CoD titles, but they have fallen to the wayside recently.

Modern Warfare 2 players demand thermal scope patch

A Reddit user posted a clip using a thermal scope in the shooting range. Muzzle flash is light created by the muzzle blast of a rifle. When a gun is fired, the gasses from a muzzle cause visible combustion.

Muzzle flashes create signatures that can be picked up from thermal scopes, and unfortunately, Modern Warfare 2 is too realistic for its own good. The overwhelming muzzle flash makes it impossible to see what you are shooting at when using a thermal scope in MW2.

One player responded, “They are horrendous in this game. Any fire or bright lighting will blow out your thermal scope and make it useless. Windows can block the line of sight, and muzzle flashes make them unusable.

A second user added, “the thermals in this game look so good but aren’t practical to use.”

Community members also voiced concerns over sniper glint and nameplates appearing through smoke, rendering thermal scopes useless. “They don’t seem to be worth using at all in this game.”

We will provide an update if the developers address thermal scope visibility.