🔗 Share this article

Over the weekend, the game developers launched a fresh game mode titled Relaxed Breakthrough. In essence, this option resembles the regular Breakthrough format but features a few notable changes:

• Each team includes only eight human participants, with the remaining filled by AI-controlled opponents.
• Actions done by human gamers grant full XP, while AI activities offer reduced XP.
• Only two locations are available: Cairo Siege and Empire State.
• Features like Player tags, accolades, and career stat updates have been turned off.

So essentially, this mode delivers on its name: it's a casual take of Breakthrough. On the surface, you might think it's a good idea, since it gives more options for players seeking alternative ways to enjoy the game. However, if video games has shown one thing, it is that not everyone will be happy. Which is to say, a lot of Battlefield 6 fans are mad.

Player Responses: From Fury to Support

"People want human opponents. Avoid making the errors of your rivals," reads one reply to the official announcement. "Truly disappointing concept," comments another. At the same time, on the Battlefield subreddit, a player notes, "I have no idea where we are going with this game," and another lists all the issues they believe to be problematic in the game: "Fix bugs, fix drone glitch, correct rocket mechanics, adjust aiming after sprinting, fix awful hit registration. We do not require this bot mode."

On the other hand, amid the criticism, some gamers explaining how much they're liking the recent addition. "It's very fun to warm up, real players keep it from being a total farmfest but it's very relaxed," reads a forum post. "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," states a different comment. A response via social media clarifies that as they're "a battledad with limited time, this is perfect for me," while another applauds the mode for "avoiding intense competition."

Constructive Criticisms and Player Input

Despite the support, players have constructive reasons to complain about Casual Breakthrough. A few folks have pointed out that it will make wait times more extended for other modes because of the sheer number of playlists in the game already. On a similar note, some areas already encounter mostly bots in the existing playlists. Additionally, it appears a little backwards that the mode won't start without a required amount of real players, even though it focuses mostly on fighting AI opponents.

Lastly, a major grievances is that Battlefield Portal was meant to provide complete rewards, even against bots, but that was removed when they attempted to eliminate XP farming from the mode. Thus this new playlist feels like the community meeting them in the middle, as per a Reddit comment. A different user describes this mode as the devs "dropping the ball so hard, I experienced so much fun in the initial release, why did they feel the need to change it?"

Future Prospects: Adjustments Occur?

Should the development team has proven anything to date with Battlefield 6, it's that they're paying attention and acting on feedback. Assignments being too difficult were adjusted very quickly, as did the required Redsec challenges. Chances are that, should analytics shows this new playlist is underperforming to their standards, they won't be shy to make further modifications.