The Latest Casual Game Mode Sparks Heated Discussions Regarding AI Players, Experience Points, and Queue Times

Over the weekend, Battlefield Studios launched a new game mode titled Relaxed Breakthrough. To put it simply, this mode mirrors the regular Breakthrough setup but includes several key changes:

  • Each team has just 8 real players, with the remaining made up of 32 bots.
  • Activities done by human gamers award complete experience points, while bot actions provide reduced XP.
  • Just a pair of locations are available: Cairo Siege and Empire State.
  • Features like Dogtags, accolades, and stat tracking are disabled.

In short, this mode lives up to its name: it offers a laid-back version of Breakthrough. At face value, you might think it's a good idea, as it provides more options for gamers looking for different ways to enjoy the title. But, gaming history has shown one thing, it's that you can't please everyone. Which is to say, a lot of Battlefield 6 fans are mad.

Community Reactions: From Fury to Praise

"Gamers prefer real players. Avoid making the mistakes of your competitors," states one reply to the mode reveal. "Truly disappointing concept," says a different user. At the same time, on the Battlefield subreddit, one user notes, "I have no idea where we are headed with this game," and another details all the issues they believe to be problematic in the game: "Resolve glitches, fix drone glitch, correct rocket mechanics, fix [the] bloom after sprinting bug, improve hit detection. We don't need this AI-heavy playlist."

On the other hand, amid the criticism, there are players sharing how much they're liking the recent addition. "It's very fun to practice, real players keep it from being a total farmfest but it's very relaxed," reads one Reddit comment. "This subreddit fails to see that there are gamers who actually go outside and can't play this title all the time. Let them find a middle ground," 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," while someone else praises the mode for "avoiding intense competition."

Valid Criticisms and Player Feedback

Despite the support, players have valid points to complain about Casual Breakthrough. Some users have highlighted that it will make queue times more extended for other modes because of the large amount of playlists in the game already. Similarly, certain regions often face mostly bots in the existing playlists. Additionally, it appears somewhat counterintuitive that the mode does not begin without a minimum number of human gamers, despite it primarily centers on fighting AI opponents.

Finally, a major complaints is that a previous feature was promised to offer full XP, including AI matches, but that got canned when they tried to eliminate XP farming from the system. Thus Casual Breakthrough feels like the community compromising in the middle, as per a Reddit comment. A different user labels this mode as the developers "making a mistake so hard, I experienced so much fun in the initial release, what prompted them to change it?"

Future Prospects: Will Changes Occur?

If Battlefield Studios has demonstrated something to date with the latest installment, it is that they're paying attention and acting on feedback. Tasks that were overly hard got fixed very quickly, as did the required Redsec challenges. It is likely that, if their data indicates this new playlist isn't performing to their standards, they won't be shy to make further modifications.

Eric Mcintyre
Eric Mcintyre

Elara Vance is a business strategist with over 15 years of experience in corporate consulting and entrepreneurship, specializing in digital transformation.