Call of Duty: Warzone has had a problem with its Roze “pay to win” skin for some time – but now it seems more popular than ever.
Last year, the Rook skin was sold as part of Season 5’s premium battle pass (it was a level 100 unlock) and it didn’t take long for players to accuse it of being a “pay to win” microtransaction. The problem has to do with the appearance of the outfit: it is completely black with no reflective surface, which means it is very difficult to detect in dark areas of the game. Even Roze’s eyes are surrounded by black face paint.
Anyone who has played Warzone knows that there are many dark areas on the map to hide. Playing Battle Royale on solos can seem like a particularly exaggerated time. Add to this skin Roze’s Rook, and you could end up in situations like this:
> ROZE is a fair and balanced skin … from r / CODWarzone
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Roze’s Rook skin has been a problem since it was launched, but it recently made headlines after being used by participants in the $ 250,000 Twitch Rivals tournament (the one that led to cheating charges).
Redditor caribou_drew drew attention to a lobby full of Roze skins waiting to enter the Warzone tournament. The image was taken from the live broadcast of one of the tournament participants, NRG player Jordan “Huskerrs” Thomas:
> God, I would like them to remove this theme from the r / CODWarzone game
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It now appears that Warzone is home to more “sweaty” skins from Roze than ever before, with some prominent Call of Duty content creators, as well as community members calling for their removal – or at least a change in their appearance.
War zone soils are more toxic than League of Legends. I played 4 games and each enemy was wearing Roze’s completely black skin. Everyone but one of them sat in a dark corner the entire time and did nothing until I passed them.
– Drift0r (@ Drift0r) January 26, 2021
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I can confirm that there were 14 cheaters and 67 Roze skins hidden in the trees. https://t.co/3z2ObI4C2b
– Westie (@MrProWestie) January 22, 2021
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Currently, Call of Duty players are bringing out clips of the entire war against players wearing the Roze skin – even squads full of them.
> There is nothing more satisfying than putting a team full of Rose skins in their place … 🙂 by r / CODWarzone
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And, of course, memes are in full force:
> Such coordination of r / CODWarzone
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@Activision @CallofDutyUK @CODLeague I see that you received some complaints from players about cosmetic skin from certain operators, also known as “tower”. Was it a dominant choice in the recent tournament? Please see my reformulations for your consideration. Tell me what you think? #warzone pic.twitter.com/0i3biL8BXG
– Old Man Junky (@geekmethod) January 25, 2021
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I don’t think it is likely that Activision will remove the Roze’s Rook skin from the game, as it was sold through a premium battle pass. But the current custody of the war zone, Raven Software, is now under pressure to change its appearance so that it is considered balanced for the battlefield. Perhaps he will be banned from tournaments.
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The saving grace here is that this Tower skin cannot be purchased today, as it was a fifth season battle pass reward. Will Activision sell it through the game store at some point? If they did, it would probably be a death.