Recently, the game developers introduced a fresh playlist called Relaxed Breakthrough. In essence, this mode resembles the standard Breakthrough setup but features a few notable adjustments:
- Each team has only 8 human participants, with the rest made up of AI-controlled opponents.
- Activities performed by human gamers grant full XP, while AI activities offer reduced XP.
- Just a pair of locations can be played: Cairo Siege and Empire State map.
- Elements like Player tags, achievements, and career stat updates are disabled.
In short, the playlist lives up to its name: it's a casual version of Breakthrough. At face value, you might think there's nothing wrong, since it provides more options for gamers seeking 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, a lot of Battlefield 6 fans are upset.
Community Reactions: Anger to Praise
"People want real players. Avoid making the errors of your rivals," states one reply to the official announcement. "Truly disappointing idea," says another. At the same time, in community forums, one user remarks, "I have no idea where we are going with this game," and someone else lists everything they believe to be broken in Battlefield 6: "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."
However, amid the criticism, there are players sharing how much they're enjoying the new mode. "It's enjoyable to practice, real players prevent it from being a complete grind but it's very relaxed," reads a forum post. "This subreddit doesn't understand that there are players who actually go outside and can't play this game all the time. Let them strike a balance," adds another. A response via social media clarifies that as they're "a parent gamer with limited time, this is perfect for me," and someone else praises the mode for "not being overcompetitive."
Valid Criticisms and Player Feedback
Despite the support, players have constructive reasons to criticize the new mode. Some users have pointed out that it will make wait times even longer for different playlists because of the large amount of options currently available. Similarly, some areas already encounter AI-filled matches in the existing playlists. It also seems a little backwards that the mode does not begin without a minimum number of real players, even though it primarily centers on combat against bots.
Lastly, a major complaints is that Battlefield Portal was meant to offer full XP, even against bots, but that was removed when they attempted to eliminate bot farms from the system. So this new playlist feels like the player base compromising halfway, according to a Reddit comment. A different user labels this addition as the devs "making a mistake significantly, I experienced so much fun in the first couple of days, what prompted them to change it?"
Future Prospects: Will Changes Occur?
Should Battlefield Studios has proven anything to date with Battlefield 6, it is that they're listening and acting on feedback. Tasks being too difficult were adjusted rapidly, just like the specific battle pass objectives. It is likely that, should analytics indicates this recent mode is underperforming to their expectations, they will not hesitate to change it again.
