The Latest Relaxed Game Mode Sparks Heated Discussions Over Bots, XP Rewards, and Queue Times

Over the weekend, Battlefield Studios introduced a fresh game mode called Relaxed Breakthrough. In essence, this option mirrors the regular Breakthrough format but features several key adjustments:

  • Each team includes only 8 human participants, with the remaining filled by AI-controlled opponents.
  • Activities done by human gamers award full XP, while AI activities offer lower rewards.
  • Just a pair of maps can be played: Siege of Cairo and Empire State map.
  • Elements like Player tags, achievements, and career stat updates are disabled.

So essentially, this mode lives up to its title: it offers a casual take of Breakthrough. At face value, you might think there's nothing wrong, as it gives additional choices for players looking for different ways to have fun with the title. But, gaming history has shown one thing, it's that you can't please everyone. Which is to say, a lot of BF6 fans are upset.

Player Responses: From Fury to Support

"Gamers prefer real players. Avoid making the errors of your rivals," reads one reply to the mode reveal. "Absolutely shocking idea," comments a different user. At the same time, on the Battlefield subreddit, one user notes, "It's unclear where we are headed with this game," and another details all the issues they believe to be broken in the game: "Fix bugs, fix drone glitch, correct rocket mechanics, adjust aiming after sprinting, improve hit detection. We don't need this AI-heavy playlist."

However, for every complaint, there are players sharing how much they're enjoying the recent addition. "It's enjoyable to warm up, human participants prevent it from being a complete grind but it's quite laid-back," says a forum post. "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," states another. One reply on Twitter clarifies that as they're "a parent gamer with limited time, this is great for me," while another praises the mode for "avoiding intense competition."

Valid Criticisms and Player Feedback

All that said, players have valid points to complain about Casual Breakthrough. A few folks have highlighted that it could increase queue times even longer for different playlists due to the sheer number of options currently available. Similarly, some areas already encounter mostly bots in the current modes. It also seems somewhat counterintuitive that the mode won't start without a minimum number of real players, despite it primarily centers on fighting AI opponents.

Finally, one of the biggest complaints is that Battlefield Portal was promised to provide complete rewards, even against bots, but that was removed when they attempted to remove bot farms from the system. Thus Casual Breakthrough feels like the player base meeting them halfway, according to a Reddit comment. A different user labels this mode as the developers "dropping the ball so hard, I had great enjoyment in the first couple of days, what prompted them to adjust it?"

Future Prospects: Adjustments Be Made?

Should Battlefield Studios has demonstrated something so far with the latest installment, it's that they're listening and responding to player input. Assignments that were overly hard were adjusted rapidly, as did the specific battle pass objectives. It is likely that, if their data shows this new playlist isn't performing to their standards, they won't be shy to change it again.

Alexander George
Alexander George

Maya Chen is a technology strategist with over a decade of experience in digital innovation and enterprise solutions, passionate about helping businesses leverage tech for growth.

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