Countering the IRNV scope in Battlefield 3

If you’ve been playing Battlefield 3 with any regularity, you’ve probably encountered a few dozen situations in which you were sniped from across a field while hiding in a bush behind a pillar of smoke.

Maybe your killer has incredible prescience, or perhaps just amazing eyesight. Perchance he’s running the game on really low graphics settings, and half the screen-obscuring glare associated with DICE’s shooter doesn’t even render for him?

Or, more than likely, he’s using Infrared Night Vision.

Infrared scopes, often referred to as IRNV do just what they sound like: instead of showing a visual profile of what’s in the distance, they show a heat profile. Suddenly, opponents and their vehicles are lit up like a Kwanzaa log, ripe for the picking. Or whatever you do with a Kwanzaa log.

Now, IRNV does have downsides. The scopes don’t have zoom functionality, so choosing them automatically means giving up your precious sniping aspirations. The picture shown isn’t of the best quality for distance surveillance anyway, and let’s be honest… if you wanted to play for hours staring into a heat scope, you’d boot up Aliens vs Predator 2.

Regardless of the tradeoffs, the scope’s ability to render camouflage and terrain moot is what’s typically considered total bullshit. And while a hard counter doesn’t yet exist, altwpn of GameFAQs discovered an interesting quirk of the game’s later unlocks:

Spec Ops camo actually makes your clothing invisible to the IRNV.

While this development is quite unexpected, I suppose it makes sense. But before you get too excited, understand there are a few caveats.

• Only the actual camouflaged parts of your uniform will be invisible; guns/skin still glows
• In some cases, SO camo leaves only your head glowing, making it easier to get headshot
• Wearing black clothing may make you more visible to players not using IRNV scopes
• Spec Ops Black Camouflage is unlocked at Captain rank, level forty fucking two

All said and done, most players won’t be equipping their Sam Fischer wardrobes any time soon, and even when they do, the advantage gained might be minimal. Will IRNV scopes eventually get nerfed? Maybe. In the meantime, start grinding out those ranks. Those Recons aren’t going to stab themselves in the neck, you know!

Example image

The power of science meets the joy of murder.

See more example images from altwpn here.