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Over the weekend, Battlefield Studios introduced a new playlist called Relaxed Breakthrough. To put it simply, this mode resembles the regular Breakthrough format but includes a few notable changes:

• Every squad includes only eight real players, with the remaining made up of AI-controlled opponents.
• Actions done by human gamers award complete experience points, while AI activities provide reduced XP.
• Just a pair of locations can be played: Cairo Siege and Empire State.
• Elements like Player tags, accolades, and stat tracking have been turned off.

So essentially, the playlist delivers on its title: it offers a casual version of Breakthrough. On the surface, you might think there's nothing wrong, since it gives more options for gamers seeking different methods to have fun with the title. However, if video games have taught us anything, it's that not everyone will be happy. In other words, a lot of Battlefield 6 fans are mad.

Player Reactions: Anger to Praise

"Gamers prefer real players. Don't repeat the errors of your rivals," reads a response to the mode reveal. "Absolutely shocking idea," comments a different user. Meanwhile, in community forums, a player remarks, "It's unclear where we are going with this game," while another lists all the issues they consider to be broken in Battlefield 6: "Resolve glitches, address drone issues, fix IVF rockets, fix [the] bloom after sprinting bug, fix awful hit registration. We don't need this bot mode."

However, amid the criticism, some gamers sharing how much they're enjoying the new mode. "It's enjoyable to warm up, real players prevent it from being a complete grind but it's very relaxed," reads one Reddit comment. "The community doesn't understand that there are gamers who have lives and can't play this title all the time. Allow them to strike a balance," adds a different comment. A response on Twitter clarifies that as they're "a battledad with busy schedules, this is great for me," and someone else applauds the mode for "avoiding intense competition."

Valid Concerns and Player Feedback

All that said, players have valid points to criticize the new mode. A few folks have pointed out that it will make queue times even longer for different playlists because of the large amount of options in the game already. Similarly, some areas already encounter AI-filled matches in the current modes. Additionally, it appears somewhat counterintuitive that the mode won't start without a minimum number of human gamers, despite it primarily centers on combat against bots.

Finally, a major complaints is that a previous feature was promised to offer full XP, even against bots, but that was removed when they attempted to remove bot farms from the system. Thus Casual Breakthrough seems like the player base compromising halfway, according to a Reddit comment. Another describes this mode as the devs "making a mistake so hard, I experienced great enjoyment in the first couple of days, why did they feel the need to adjust it?"

Looking Ahead: Adjustments Be Made?

Should the development team has proven anything to date with Battlefield 6, it is that they're paying attention and responding to player input. Assignments being too difficult were adjusted very quickly, as did the required Redsec challenges. It is likely that, if their data indicates this new playlist isn't performing to their expectations, they will not hesitate to make further modifications.