The LA Thieves CDL pack skin that came out recently has already undergone major visual changes due to game balance. This skin has caused significant controversy in the Warzone 2.0 community for its purported advantages in being harder to visually detect and for the subsequent switch up in aesthetic appearance.
Why the LA Thieves Skin was considered overpowered
The LA Thieves Skin is considered very desirable by ‘sweats’ given the nearly complete ‘blackout’ visual (other than the ‘LA’ insignia on the chest). This makes any player sporting the skin more difficult to spot out in the wild, thus giving the player an advantage from being detected by enemies. This is particularly important given the short TTK and general slow pace of Warzone 2.0, which makes it crucial to be first to spot your targets in a 1-on-1 scenario.
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What likely caused Activision to change the LA Thieves Skin
Given the amount of data that is collected by a game like Warzone 2.0, Activision likely sees statistically significant results that point to the original LA Thieves Skin being overpowered.
One way to construct a study is the following:
- Create a group of WZ2 users that have similar SBMM ratings
- Split group by those that are using the LA Thieves Skin and those that are not
- Compare performance metrics, such as Placement, KDA, and Accuracy (i.e. if you spot your enemy first, you have an accuracy advantage)
With the above analysis it can be very easy to spot whether the LA Thieves Skin is creating an advantage. Given how quickly the changes were made it’s likely that Activision was persuaded by data to ship the adjustment.
Why users are upset with the change to the LA Thieves skin?
As with any purchase, customers are upset when their goods are ‘not as described’. In this case, the revised LA Thieves Skin (with red goggles and shoulder straps), is quite a departure to the original ‘blackout’ skin.
While users are calling ‘bait-and-switch’, Activision does have a legal note in all of their microtransactions noting that ‘Activision may update, replace, or remove this in-game content at any time.’ It’s certainly a difficult situation to navigate — on the one hand, players should be in favor of changes that promote balance… on the other hand, it is disappointing if you fell in love with the original iteration of the skin.
