The Latest Casual Playlist Sparks Heated Discussions Over Bots, Experience Points, and Wait Times

Recently, Battlefield Studios introduced a new playlist called Relaxed Breakthrough. To put it simply, this mode mirrors the standard Breakthrough setup but features a few notable changes:

  • Each team includes just 8 real players, with the rest filled by AI-controlled opponents.
  • Activities performed by real players grant full XP, while AI activities provide lower rewards.
  • Only two locations can be played: Siege of Cairo and Empire State map.
  • Elements like Dogtags, accolades, and career stat updates are disabled.

So essentially, this mode delivers on its name: it's a casual take of Breakthrough. At face value, you might think it's a good idea, as it provides additional choices for players looking for alternative methods to enjoy the game. However, if video games has shown one thing, it is that you can't please everyone. In other words, many BF6 players are upset.

Player Reactions: Anger to Praise

"People want real players. Avoid making the errors of your rivals," states one reply to the mode reveal. "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 game," and someone else details all the issues they consider to be problematic in the game: "Resolve glitches, fix drone glitch, fix IVF rockets, fix [the] bloom after sprinting bug, fix awful hit registration. We don't need this bot mode."

On the other hand, amid the criticism, some gamers sharing how much they're liking the new mode. "It's very fun to warm up, human participants prevent it from being a total farmfest but it's quite laid-back," says one Reddit comment. "The community fails to see that there are gamers who actually go outside and can't play this game all the time. Let them find a middle ground," adds a different comment. One reply via social media clarifies that as they're "a battledad with limited time, this is great for me," and another applauds the mode for "avoiding intense competition."

Valid Concerns and Player Feedback

All that said, players have valid points to criticize Casual Breakthrough. Some users have pointed out that it will make wait times even longer for other modes because of the large amount of playlists in the game already. Similarly, certain regions often face mostly bots in the existing playlists. It also seems 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 grievances is that a previous feature was promised to provide full XP, including AI matches, but that was removed when they tried to eliminate XP farming from the system. So Casual Breakthrough seems like the player base compromising halfway, as per a Reddit comment. A different user describes this mode as the developers "making a mistake so hard, I experienced so much fun in the initial release, what prompted them to change it?"

Looking Ahead: Will Changes Occur?

If Battlefield Studios has demonstrated something so far with Battlefield 6, it's that they're paying attention and acting on feedback. Tasks being too difficult were adjusted very quickly, as did the required Redsec challenges. Chances are that, should analytics shows this recent mode isn't performing to their expectations, they will not hesitate to change it again.

Patricia Austin
Patricia Austin

A seasoned gaming industry analyst with over a decade of experience in slot machine technology and casino operations.

Popular Post