Battlefield 6's Relaxed Game Mode Sparks Heated Debates Over Bots, XP Rewards, and Queue Times
Recently, Battlefield Studios introduced a new game mode called Casual Breakthrough. In essence, this mode resembles the regular Breakthrough setup but features several key adjustments:
- Every squad includes just eight real players, with the rest made up of AI-controlled opponents.
- Activities done by real players award complete experience points, while AI activities provide lower rewards.
- Only two locations can be played: Siege of Cairo and Empire State.
- Features like Player tags, accolades, and stat tracking are disabled.
So essentially, this mode delivers on its title: it offers a laid-back version of Breakthrough. At face value, you might think it's a good idea, as it gives additional choices for players seeking different methods to enjoy the title. However, if video games have taught us anything, it is that you can't please everyone. In other words, a lot of BF6 fans are mad.
Community Responses: Anger to Praise
"People want human opponents. Don't repeat the errors of your competitors," 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," while someone else lists all the issues they believe to be problematic in the game: "Fix bugs, fix drone glitch, correct rocket mechanics, fix [the] bloom after sprinting bug, improve hit detection. We do not require this AI-heavy playlist."
On the other hand, for every complaint, there are players explaining how much they're liking the recent addition. "It's enjoyable to practice, human participants prevent it from being a total farmfest but it's very relaxed," reads one Reddit comment. "The community fails to see that there are gamers who have lives and can't play this title all the time. Let them find a middle ground," adds a different comment. A response on Twitter explains that as they're "a battledad with busy schedules, this is great for me," while someone else praises the mode for "not being overcompetitive."
Constructive Criticisms and Player Feedback
Despite the support, players have constructive reasons to complain about Casual Breakthrough. A few folks have pointed out that it will make wait times more extended for other modes due to the sheer number of options in the game already. On a similar note, some areas often face 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 complaints is that a previous feature was meant to provide full XP, including AI matches, but that got canned when they attempted to remove bot farms from the mode. Thus Casual Breakthrough seems like the community compromising in the middle, as per forum feedback. Another labels this mode as the devs "making a mistake significantly, I had so much fun in the initial release, why did they feel the need to change it?"
Looking Ahead: Will Changes Be Made?
Should Battlefield Studios has demonstrated something so far with Battlefield 6, it is that they're paying attention and acting on player input. Tasks being too difficult got fixed very quickly, as did the specific battle pass objectives. It is likely that, if their data indicates this recent mode is underperforming to their standards, they will not hesitate to make further modifications.