Counter-Strike is a game of information and utility usage. When the information loop is disrupted, frustration can seep through. On many of Counter-Strike‘s tan-colored maps, it looks like blood splatters can make one of the T-side models blend in with the walls.
Many veteran CS players have keys that will clear decal visibility, effectively wiping blood off the walls so they can see enemies. Currently, this function isn’t in CS2. Therefore, the Phoenix Terrorist skin completely blends in on walls close to where someone was injured.
This is far from the first problem with visibility in CS. Several player models with green in their color palates blend in perfectly with Ancient. Tan player models can blend in with new Inferno, Mirage, and Anubis. This kind of camouflage is definitively an unintended mechanic and one that fans deeply detest.
While to the uninitiated it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, milliseconds decide CS2 gunfights. The slightest bit of hesitation or inconsistency in the visual experience can get even the most experienced players killed. In an esport and game that prides itself on consistency and effective utility usage over getting cheap Splinter Cell-like kills, the player models don’t have a place.
So, certain skins for player models are bad. There’s just one problem: they’ve already been sold to players and are unlikely to be completely eliminated from the game. Valve has no intention of deleting content that players paid for from the game entirely, as shown by its reaction to how the skins market in CS:GO transferred over to CS2. Put simply, the skins are more than likely going to be in the game for the foreseeable future. Better get a new glasses prescription, you’re going to need to be able to see some hard-to-see players to win in CS2.
