The Latest Casual Game Mode Sparks Heated Debates Over Bots, Experience Points, and Wait Times

Recently, Battlefield Studios launched a fresh playlist titled Relaxed Breakthrough. In essence, this mode mirrors the regular Breakthrough setup but includes a few notable changes:

  • Each team has only eight human participants, with the rest made up of 32 bots.
  • Activities performed by real players grant full XP, while bot actions provide lower rewards.
  • Just a pair of maps can be played: Siege of Cairo and Empire State.
  • Elements like Player tags, accolades, and stat tracking are disabled.

In short, the playlist lives up to its title: it's a laid-back version of Breakthrough. On the surface, one could assume it's a good idea, since it provides more options for players looking for alternative ways to enjoy the game. But, gaming history has shown one thing, it's that not everyone will be happy. Which is to say, many Battlefield 6 fans are upset.

Player Responses: From Fury to Praise

"People want real players. Avoid making the errors of your competitors," states a response to the mode reveal. "Absolutely shocking idea," comments another. At the same time, on the Battlefield subreddit, one user remarks, "I have no idea where we are headed with this game," and someone else lists all the issues they believe to be broken in the game: "Resolve glitches, address drone issues, correct rocket mechanics, adjust aiming after sprinting, fix awful hit registration. We don't need this AI-heavy playlist."

On the other hand, amid the criticism, some gamers sharing how much they're enjoying the new mode. "It's enjoyable to warm up, real players keep it from being a total farmfest but it's very relaxed," reads a forum post. "This subreddit doesn't understand that there are players who have lives and can't play this game all the time. Allow them to strike a balance," states another. A response on Twitter clarifies that as they're "a parent gamer with busy schedules, this is great for me," and another applauds the mode for "avoiding intense competition."

Valid Concerns and Community Feedback

Despite the support, players have constructive reasons to criticize the new mode. Some users have pointed out that it will make wait times more extended for different playlists because of the sheer number of options in the game already. On a similar note, certain regions already encounter mostly bots in the existing playlists. It also seems a little backwards that the mode won't start without a minimum number of real players, despite it focuses mostly on combat against bots.

Finally, a major grievances is that Battlefield Portal was promised to offer full XP, even against bots, but that got canned when they tried to eliminate bot farms from the system. So this new playlist seems like the community meeting them in the middle, as per a Reddit comment. Another labels this addition as the devs "dropping the ball significantly, I had so much fun in the initial release, why did they feel the need to adjust it?"

Future Prospects: Will Changes Be Made?

Should the development team has demonstrated something so far with Battlefield 6, it's that they're listening and responding to player input. Assignments being too difficult got fixed very quickly, as did the required Redsec challenges. It is likely that, should analytics indicates this recent mode isn't performing to their standards, they will not hesitate to make further modifications.

Trevor Boone
Trevor Boone

A tech journalist and software developer with over a decade of experience covering emerging technologies and digital transformation.