Battlefield 6's Casual Playlist Ignites Heated Discussions Regarding AI Players, XP Rewards, and Queue Times
Recently, Battlefield Studios introduced a fresh game mode titled Relaxed Breakthrough. In essence, this mode resembles the regular Breakthrough format but includes several key adjustments:
- Every squad has just 8 human participants, with the remaining filled by 32 bots.
- Actions performed by real players grant complete experience points, while bot actions provide reduced XP.
- Just a pair of maps are available: Cairo Siege and Empire State.
- Features like Dogtags, accolades, and stat tracking are disabled.
In short, this mode delivers on its name: it offers a casual version of Breakthrough. On the surface, you might think it's a good idea, as it provides more options for players looking for alternative methods to have fun with the title. However, if video games have taught us anything, it's that you can't please everyone. Which is to say, a lot of BF6 fans are mad.
Player Responses: From Fury to Praise
"Gamers prefer real players. Don't repeat the mistakes of your competitors," reads one reply to the mode reveal. "Absolutely shocking idea," comments a different user. Meanwhile, on the Battlefield subreddit, one user remarks, "It's unclear where we are going with this title," and another lists all the issues they believe to be problematic in Battlefield 6: "Fix bugs, fix drone glitch, correct rocket mechanics, fix [the] bloom after sprinting bug, improve hit detection. We do not require this bot mode."
However, for every complaint, some gamers sharing how much they're enjoying the new mode. "It's very fun to warm up, real players prevent it from being a complete grind but it's very relaxed," reads one Reddit comment. "This subreddit fails to see that there are players who actually go outside and can't play this game 24/7. Allow them to strike a balance," states a different comment. One reply via social media clarifies that as they're "a parent gamer with limited time, this is perfect for me," and another applauds the mode for "avoiding intense competition."
Valid Criticisms and Community Feedback
All that said, there are constructive reasons to criticize Casual Breakthrough. Some users have pointed out that it could increase queue times even longer for other modes because of the sheer number of options currently available. Similarly, some areas already encounter mostly bots in the existing playlists. Additionally, it appears somewhat counterintuitive that the mode won't start without a required amount of real players, even though it focuses mostly on combat against bots.
Lastly, one of the biggest complaints is that a previous feature was meant to offer full XP, even against bots, but that was removed when they tried to remove bot farms from the mode. Thus this new playlist seems like the player base compromising halfway, according to forum feedback. Another describes this mode as the devs "making a mistake so hard, I had so much fun in the first couple of days, what prompted them to adjust it?"
Future Prospects: Adjustments Be Made?
If the development team has demonstrated something so far with Battlefield 6, it is that they're paying attention and acting on feedback. Tasks being too difficult were adjusted very quickly, as did the specific battle pass objectives. It is likely that, should analytics shows this recent mode isn't performing to their expectations, they won't be shy to change it again.