Battlefield 6's Casual Game Mode Sparks Heated Debates Over Bots, Experience Points, and Wait Times
Recently, Battlefield Studios introduced a fresh playlist called Relaxed Breakthrough. In essence, this mode mirrors the standard Breakthrough setup but features several key adjustments:
- Each team has just 8 human participants, with the rest made up of AI-controlled opponents.
- Actions performed by human gamers grant full XP, while AI activities offer lower rewards.
- Just a pair of maps are available: Cairo Siege and Empire State.
- Elements like Dogtags, accolades, and stat tracking are disabled.
In short, the playlist lives up to its name: it offers a casual take of Breakthrough. At face value, one could assume it's a good idea, as it provides additional choices for players seeking alternative ways to have fun with the title. But, gaming history has shown one thing, it's that you can't please everyone. In other words, a lot of Battlefield 6 fans are mad.
Player Responses: Anger to Support
"Gamers prefer human opponents. Avoid making the errors of your competitors," reads a response to the official announcement. "Absolutely shocking concept," comments a different user. At the same time, on the Battlefield subreddit, a player notes, "It's unclear where we are going with this game," and another lists all the issues they consider to be broken in Battlefield 6: "Fix bugs, address drone issues, correct rocket mechanics, fix [the] bloom after sprinting bug, improve hit detection. We don't need this bot mode."
However, amid the criticism, there are players sharing how much they're enjoying the new mode. "It's very fun to practice, real players prevent it from being a total farmfest but it's very relaxed," says a forum post. "The community doesn't understand that there are players who actually go outside and don't play this title all the time. Allow them to strike a balance," adds a different comment. A response via social media clarifies that as they're "a parent gamer with limited time, this is great for me," and another applauds the mode for "not being overcompetitive."
Constructive Concerns and Player Input
All that said, there are constructive reasons to criticize the new mode. A few folks have highlighted that it could increase queue times even longer for different playlists because of the sheer number of options currently available. Similarly, certain regions already encounter AI-filled matches in the existing playlists. It also seems somewhat counterintuitive that the mode won't start without a minimum number of real players, despite it focuses mostly on combat against bots.
Finally, a major complaints is that a previous feature was meant to offer full XP, including AI matches, but that was removed when they attempted to eliminate bot farms from the mode. Thus this new playlist seems like the community meeting them halfway, according to forum feedback. Another describes this mode as the devs "making a mistake significantly, I experienced great enjoyment in the first couple of days, what prompted them to change it?"
Looking Ahead: Adjustments Occur?
If the development team has demonstrated something so far with the latest installment, it is that they're paying attention and responding to feedback. Tasks that were overly hard were adjusted rapidly, as did the required Redsec challenges. Chances are that, if their data shows this recent mode is underperforming to their expectations, they will not hesitate to make further modifications.