Call of Duty releases a new premium game every year and is under constant pressure for optimization – even Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 offer many new mechanics and aim to create a new gaming experience. However, a blue dot has been causing discontent among players for the past 3 years.
What is this blue dot about? It represents the marking for allied players. Each team member has this dot above their head, quickly indicating “ah, there’s a buddy in the picture”.
Actually very helpful – although with CoD MW2 the factions are back in the game, the operators do look quite similar at times.
However, these dots are also visible through walls and often cause confusion, and in the worst case, chaos. On smaller maps, this can frequently lead to confusing friends with enemies.
If you need tips for leveling weapons in CoD MW2, check out our video:
CoD MW2: Enemies are perfectly camouflaged by the dot
Why is this such a problem? It happens far too often that the dots are exactly above an enemy. The dot actually belongs to a friend who is lingering somewhere on the map behind the enemy.
A quick glance at the character reveals: “Whoa, a blue dot – that must be a friend”. However, our brain plays tricks on us; it actually is an enemy. A clip on Reddit shows the problem very clearly:
The marking system for allies has been confusing brains for almost 3 years now. The thread collected almost 3,500 upvotes and over 400 comments within 20 hours of its creation (as of 22.11.22 / 10:30 AM).
In the thread, players are also looking for solutions. There are quite a few who suggest completely removing the blue dots from the game. However, players of the hardcore modes speak up – they need the dots to differentiate between friends and foes.
A popular suggestion brings “X-Ray Outlines” into the game. User Unknown_757 writes: “They should outline teammates with some sort of X-ray vision. That way, you’d know how far away they are and also recognize enemies”.
However, some commentators are concerned that this would also disrupt the atmosphere and immersion.
Black Ops 3 (CoD from 2015) used glowing LED signals on enemy bodies – similar to the reflective spoke signals that help cars recognize bicycles better. This made hiding in bushes or other similar foliage significantly more difficult.
Call of Duty, meanwhile, is trying a technological approach. They are playing with the users’ perception, letting certain areas render better to signal the brain – “there is something important here”.
Perhaps the blue dot will soon no longer be needed. Until then, it continues to provide perfect enemy camouflage. If you’re not in hardcore mode, trust the tip from user GreyJedi56: “I just shoot at everyone”.
How would you solve the problem? Which marking for friends and foes do you prefer? Leave a comment on the topic.
Not every player cares about recognizing and eliminating enemies. Some just charge across the map and collect XP, free from the pressure to kill enemies and boost the K/D: Type reaches max level in CoD MW2 without kills – the teammate you always wish for but never get
