Modern Warfare 3 players divided over potential enemy outline feature

Ryan Lemay
enemy visibility in MW3

The MW3 devs announced a test run for enemy player outlines, and community members aren’t sure how to feel.

During the Modern Warfare 3 beta, players complained about visibility problems, which made it hard to differentiate between friend and foe. Sledgehammer Games responded by adding nameplates above an operator’s head, and this change appeared to solve any issues.

However, the devs don’t plan on stopping there and took a page from another popular FPS game to achieve its goal. Overwatch has an experimental mode that allows players to try out potential new balance updates, game modes, and rule changes.

To potentially avoid backlash, as we have seen in previous Call of Duty titles, MW3 added its own experimental mode. And the first new feature under the microscope is enemy player outlines.

Modern Warfare 3 zombies

MW3 community members question need for enemy player outlines

As part of the November 15 update, the MW3 devs revealed: “Be on the lookout for an Experimental Playlist in the coming days, featuring enemy Player outlines!”

CharlieIntel also reported: “The first Experimental Playlist in Modern Warfare 3 MP will be a mode where players have outlines enabled. This would be when you ADS on a player, a red outline will appear for enemies.”

While some players argue this will help improve visibility, others aren’t as eager to get on board.

COD leaker TheGhostOfHope responded: “Nametags and general visibility are already good. Why do we need something as cheesy as enemy outlines?”

On the other side of the aisle, a second MW3 player fired back: “The visibility in this game is atrocious. I got kids snaking and holding crazy head peaks with no name tag showing above their heads.”

Whatever the devs ultimately decide to do, community members want their voices to be heard. “There better be a survey or voting system to give feedback in-game,” a third user clamored for.

We will provide an update when the experimental playlist goes live. For now, stay locked into the rest of our MW3 coverage.

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About The Author

Ryan is a former games writer for Dexerto. Ryan graduated from Ithaca College in 2021 with a sports media degree and a journalism minor. He gained experience as a writer for the Morning Times newspaper before joining Dexerto as a games writer. He mainly writes about first-person shooters, including Call of Duty and Battlefield, but he is also a big FIFA fan.