Modern Warfare 3's new update brings player outlines

Modern Warfare 3 enemy outlines experimental playlist (Image via Activision edited by Sportskeeda)

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) has recently taken up a new approach to address the visibility issues in the game and introduced an experimental enemy outline. It might seem a bit too much, but the developers at Sledgehammer Games are of the opinion that the community should get to decide if this should be an integral part of the new shooter title.

However, there are a few tweaks that might be necessary to avoid creating an unwanted advantage.

Modern Warfare 3 is a fresh title and has managed to migrate over a massive amount of users with the help of its unified platform and carry-over content. The visibility of enemy operators has become one of the biggest issues, as the maps and terrains can sometimes blend in with the characters. Hence, the outlines could be a great asset in creating a balanced playing field.

This article will discuss the possibility of outlines being permanent in Modern Warfare 3.

What are the new player outlines in Modern Warfare 3?

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The devs have ingrained outlines in an experimental environment to provide the player base with a hands-on experience of its effectiveness. The preliminary update ingrained blue highlights for allies and a red outline for enemy operators while playing in the multiplayer mode. However, the outlines do not always remain visible to make sure that there are no balancing problems in the future.

The red outlines will reportedly only be visible when a player directly Aims Down Sight (ADS) on an enemy operator. It seems similar to the way name tags and markers work in Modern Warfare 3, which requires you to point at the enemy for a few milliseconds before it highlights the name in red, usually with a dot ping over them.

Regardless of the way that the outlines currently function, it will surely be quite different if and when the feature goes live on all multiplayer game modes. This could easily be one of the strongest solutions to deal with over-detailed maps with varying terrains and darker corners.

You could quickly clear out unknown areas by simply ADSing and peeking instead of taking 50-50 chances.

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The presence of such outlines can also be great in discouraging players from camping and abusing one-shot sniper or shotgun metas. While it is one of the more popular playstyles, the fast-paced nature of MW3 could become more balanced with the enemy highlight feature instead of repeatedly pinging operators.

Combined with the new Tac Map pings, the enemy outlines could also be a great tool to bring in new players and create a linear learning curve. The devs could also introduce specific modes where this feature is available and not in others to draw a boundary for casual and competitive players.

Fans can keep an eye out for Call of Duty and Sledgehammer Games’ Twitter (X) pages for announcements and news. Be sure to follow Sportskeeda for more recent updates.