While working on my Nightshade Loadout Guide, I got curious whether having a certain cosmetic item can be an advantage or a disadvantage in darkness. So I took a few screenshots.
Notes:
- All of the screenshots in this article are taken at my Suggested Settings.
- You can put the mouse over a screenshot to see the name of the cosmetic armor equipped, and you can click on a screenshot to enlarge it.
- Screenshots with Standard armor also use the default helmet. Other screenshots have a random helmet just to demonstrate that some of the cosmetic helmets also have glowing elements.
Terran Republic
- Standard and Composite Armors have prominent glowing elements on the waist, back and feet.
- Gold Trim has all of the same plus some additional glowing from the gold elements, especially on the shins.
- Pathfinder is okay from the back, but it has the same glowing elements on the front side as the Standard Armor.
- Havoc offers the best concealment, only having glowing elements on the feet.
- AVA has a lot of glowing elements.
New Conglomerate
- Standard and Composite Armor are the least visible. Sigma is just as good.
- Gold Trim does not glow by itself, but it can sparkle and reflect light, potentially drawing eyes to your position.
- Pathfinder has a large glowing element on the backpack, and Nomad Armor has a couple of glowing elements around your waist.
- Important to note that the default helmet has glowing elements on the back. Replace if possible.
Don’t be worried about bright yellow lines – they are not bright in third person:
Vanu Sovereignty
- Standard and Composite Armor are least visible. There are a few glowing elements on the back, but they are not visible outside of close range. Pathfinder is almost as good.
- Darkstar has a couple of glowing elements on the knees.
- Other armors have clearly distinguishable glowing elements that make the player easily visible in the dark, with Lumifiber and Auraxium being the worst.
- Important to note that default helmet has a clearly visible glowing triangular element on the faceplate. Replacing the helmet is highly recommended.
Camo
- No camo or any non-bright camo will work just fine.
- Bright camo will make you more visible.
Decals
Some of the decals also have glowing elements. For the purposes of concealment, it’s better not to run any decals at all.