Battlefield 6's Casual Game Mode Ignites Heated Discussions Regarding AI Players, XP Rewards, and Queue Times

Over the weekend, Battlefield Studios launched a fresh game mode titled Relaxed Breakthrough. To put it simply, this mode mirrors the standard Breakthrough setup but features a few key changes:

  • Each team has just 8 human participants, with the rest filled by 32 bots.
  • Actions done by human gamers grant full XP, while AI activities offer lower rewards.
  • Only two locations are available: Siege of Cairo and Empire State.
  • Elements like Player tags, accolades, and career stat updates are disabled.

So essentially, the playlist lives up to its title: it's a casual version of Breakthrough. At face value, you might think there's nothing wrong, since it provides additional choices for players seeking different ways to have fun with the title. But, if video games has shown one thing, it's that you can't please everyone. Which is to say, many BF6 players are upset.

Community Responses: Anger to Support

"People want human opponents. Don't repeat the mistakes of your competitors," reads one reply to the official announcement. "Absolutely shocking idea," comments another. Meanwhile, in community forums, one user remarks, "I have no idea where we are going with this game," while another lists all the issues they consider to be problematic in Battlefield 6: "Resolve glitches, address drone issues, correct rocket mechanics, adjust aiming after sprinting, fix awful hit registration. We do not require this AI-heavy playlist."

On the other hand, amid the criticism, some gamers sharing how much they're enjoying the recent addition. "It's enjoyable to practice, human participants prevent it from being a complete grind but it's very relaxed," reads a forum post. "The community doesn't understand that there are gamers who have lives and can't play this game 24/7. Let them strike a balance," states another. A response via social media explains that as they're "a parent gamer with busy schedules, this is perfect for me," while someone else praises the mode for "avoiding intense competition."

Constructive Concerns and Player Feedback

All that said, there are constructive reasons to criticize Casual Breakthrough. A few folks have pointed out that it could increase queue times more extended for different playlists because of the large amount of options in the game already. On a similar note, some areas already encounter AI-filled matches in the existing playlists. Additionally, it appears somewhat counterintuitive that the mode won't start without a required amount of real players, even though it primarily centers on combat against bots.

Finally, a major grievances is that Battlefield Portal was meant to provide full XP, even against bots, but that got canned when they tried to remove bot farms from the system. So this new playlist feels like the player base compromising halfway, according to forum feedback. A different user describes this mode as the developers "dropping the ball significantly, I had great enjoyment in the initial release, what prompted them to adjust it?"

Future Prospects: Adjustments Occur?

If the development team has demonstrated something so far with Battlefield 6, it is that they're listening and acting on feedback. Tasks being too difficult were adjusted very quickly, just like the required Redsec challenges. It is likely that, if their data shows this new playlist is underperforming to their expectations, they won't be shy to make further modifications.

Charles Jensen
Charles Jensen

Elara is a tech journalist and AI researcher with over a decade of experience covering digital transformation and innovation.