Battlefield 6's Casual Game Mode Ignites Heated Debates Over Bots, Experience Points, and Queue Times

Over the weekend, Battlefield Studios launched a new game mode called Relaxed Breakthrough. To put it simply, this option resembles the regular Breakthrough setup but features a few notable adjustments:

  • Each team has only 8 real players, with the remaining made up of 32 bots.
  • Activities done by real players award complete experience points, while bot actions provide lower rewards.
  • Only two locations are available: Cairo Siege and Empire State map.
  • Features like Player tags, accolades, and career stat updates are disabled.

So essentially, the playlist delivers on its name: it offers a laid-back version of Breakthrough. On the surface, one could assume there's nothing wrong, since it provides additional choices for gamers seeking alternative ways to have fun with the game. However, 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 upset.

Player Reactions: From Fury to Praise

"Gamers prefer human opponents. Avoid making the errors of your competitors," states one reply to the mode reveal. "Truly disappointing concept," comments another. At the same time, in community forums, one user remarks, "I have no idea where we are headed with this game," while someone else details everything they believe to be broken in the game: "Fix bugs, fix drone glitch, fix IVF rockets, fix [the] bloom after sprinting bug, improve hit detection. We don't need this bot mode."

On the other hand, amid the criticism, some gamers sharing how much they're enjoying the new mode. "It's very fun to warm up, human participants keep it from being a total farmfest but it's quite laid-back," says one Reddit comment. "The community fails to see that there are players who actually go outside and can't play this game all the time. Let them strike a balance," adds a different comment. A response via social media explains that as they're "a parent gamer with busy schedules, this is perfect for me," and another praises the mode for "not being overcompetitive."

Constructive Concerns and Community Feedback

All that said, players have valid points to criticize the new mode. A few folks have pointed out that it could increase wait times more extended for different playlists because of the large amount of options currently available. Similarly, some areas already encounter mostly bots in the current modes. Additionally, it appears a little backwards that the mode does not begin without a required amount of human gamers, even though it primarily centers on combat against bots.

Lastly, one of the biggest grievances is that Battlefield Portal was promised to provide complete rewards, including AI matches, but that was removed when they tried to eliminate XP farming from the mode. Thus Casual Breakthrough feels like the player base meeting them in the middle, as per a Reddit comment. A different user labels this addition as the devs "making a mistake so hard, I experienced great enjoyment in the first couple of days, what prompted them to change it?"

Looking Ahead: Will Changes Occur?

If the development team has demonstrated something so far with Battlefield 6, it is that they're listening and acting on player input. Tasks being too difficult were adjusted rapidly, as did the required Redsec challenges. Chances are that, should analytics indicates this recent mode isn't performing to their standards, they will not hesitate to make further modifications.

Michael Nelson
Michael Nelson

A seasoned gamer and storyteller, Elena shares her adventures and tips from years of exploring virtual worlds.