Battlefield 6's Casual Game Mode Ignites Intense Discussions Regarding Bots, XP Rewards, and Queue Times

Recently, the game developers introduced a new game mode called Relaxed Breakthrough. In essence, this option mirrors the standard Breakthrough setup but includes several key changes:

  • Every squad includes only 8 real players, with the remaining made up of AI-controlled opponents.
  • Actions done by human gamers award complete experience points, while AI activities provide reduced XP.
  • Just a pair of locations are available: Siege of Cairo and Empire State.
  • Elements like Player tags, accolades, and stat tracking have been turned off.

In short, this mode delivers on its title: it's a laid-back take of Breakthrough. At face value, you might think there's nothing wrong, since it gives additional choices for gamers looking for alternative methods to have fun with the game. But, gaming history has shown one thing, it is that not everyone will be happy. Which is to say, a lot of Battlefield 6 players are mad.

Community Reactions: From Fury to Support

"People want real players. Don't repeat the errors of your rivals," reads a response to the official announcement. "Absolutely shocking concept," comments another. At the same time, on the Battlefield subreddit, one user notes, "It's unclear where we are going with this title," while someone else lists all the issues they believe to be broken in the game: "Fix bugs, address drone issues, correct rocket mechanics, adjust aiming after sprinting, improve hit detection. We don't need this bot mode."

On the other hand, amid the criticism, there are players explaining how much they're liking the new mode. "It's enjoyable to warm up, real players keep it from being a complete grind but it's quite laid-back," says a forum post. "The community fails to see that there are players who have lives and don't play this title all the time. Allow them to find a middle ground," states another. A response on Twitter clarifies that as they're "a parent gamer with busy schedules, this is perfect for me," while someone else applauds the mode for "not being overcompetitive."

Valid Concerns and Player Input

Despite the support, there are valid points to criticize the new mode. Some users have highlighted that it will make queue times even longer for different playlists because of the sheer number of playlists currently available. Similarly, certain regions already encounter mostly bots in the existing playlists. It also seems somewhat counterintuitive that the mode won't start without a required amount of human gamers, even though it primarily centers on combat against bots.

Lastly, one of the biggest complaints is that Battlefield Portal was promised to provide full XP, including AI matches, but that got canned when they attempted to remove XP farming from the mode. So this new playlist feels like the community compromising in the middle, as per forum feedback. Another describes this mode as the devs "dropping the ball so hard, I had great enjoyment in the initial release, what prompted them to adjust it?"

Future Prospects: Will Changes Be Made?

Should the development team has proven anything so far with the latest installment, it is that they're paying attention and responding to player input. Assignments that were overly hard got fixed rapidly, as did the required Redsec challenges. Chances are that, should analytics shows this new playlist isn't performing to their standards, they will not hesitate to make further modifications.

Robert Armstrong
Robert Armstrong

A theoretical physicist and science writer with a passion for making complex concepts accessible to a broad audience.