The Latest Relaxed Playlist Ignites Heated Discussions Regarding Bots, XP Rewards, and Queue Times
Recently, Battlefield Studios introduced a new game mode called Casual Breakthrough. In essence, this mode resembles the standard Breakthrough setup but features several notable changes:
- Each team includes just eight human participants, with the rest filled by 32 bots.
- Actions performed by real players grant complete experience points, while bot actions offer lower rewards.
- Only two maps can be played: Cairo Siege and Empire State map.
- Features like Player tags, achievements, and stat tracking have been turned off.
In short, the playlist delivers on its title: it's a casual version of Breakthrough. On the surface, one could assume there's nothing wrong, as it provides additional choices for players looking for different ways to enjoy the title. But, if video games has shown one thing, it's that not everyone will be happy. Which is to say, a lot of BF6 fans are mad.
Player Reactions: Anger to Praise
"People want real players. Don't repeat the mistakes of your competitors," reads one reply to the official announcement. "Absolutely shocking concept," comments another. At the same time, on the Battlefield subreddit, one user remarks, "It's unclear where we are going with this game," while another details everything they consider to be broken in Battlefield 6: "Resolve glitches, 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, there are players explaining how much they're liking the recent addition. "It's very fun to warm up, real players prevent it from being a complete grind but it's very relaxed," reads one Reddit comment. "The community fails to see that there are players who actually go outside and don't play this title all the time. Allow them to find a middle ground," adds another. A response via social media explains that as they're "a battledad with limited time, this is great for me," while another praises the mode for "avoiding intense competition."
Valid Criticisms and Player Input
All that said, players have valid points to complain about the new mode. A few folks have highlighted that it will make wait times even longer for different playlists due to the large amount of options currently available. Similarly, some areas already encounter mostly bots in the current modes. It also seems somewhat counterintuitive that the mode does not begin without a minimum number of real players, even though it focuses mostly on combat against bots.
Lastly, a major complaints is that a previous feature was meant to provide full XP, including AI matches, but that was removed when they attempted to remove XP farming from the system. Thus this new playlist feels like the community compromising halfway, as per a Reddit comment. Another labels this mode as the devs "dropping the ball significantly, I experienced great enjoyment in the initial release, what prompted them to change it?"
Looking Ahead: Adjustments Be Made?
If the development team has demonstrated something so far with the latest installment, it is that they're listening and acting on player input. Assignments being too difficult got fixed very quickly, as did the specific battle pass objectives. It is likely that, should analytics indicates this new playlist isn't performing to their standards, they won't be shy to change it again.