The Latest Relaxed Playlist Sparks Heated Discussions Over AI Players, Experience Points, and Queue Times

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

• Each team includes just 8 human participants, with the rest filled by 32 bots.
• Actions done by real players award full XP, while bot actions offer lower rewards.
• Just a pair of maps can be played: Cairo Siege and Empire State.
• Features like Player tags, accolades, and stat tracking have been turned off.

So essentially, this mode delivers on its title: it's a laid-back take of Breakthrough. On the surface, one could assume there's nothing wrong, as it provides more options for players seeking alternative methods to have fun with the game. But, if video games have taught us anything, it is that you can't please everyone. Which is to say, many Battlefield 6 fans are upset.

Player Reactions: Anger to Praise

"People want human opponents. Don't repeat the mistakes of your competitors," states a response to the official announcement. "Absolutely shocking idea," says another. At the same time, in community forums, one user notes, "It's unclear where we are going with this title," while someone else details everything they believe to be problematic in Battlefield 6: "Fix bugs, fix drone glitch, correct rocket mechanics, fix [the] bloom after sprinting bug, fix awful hit registration. We do not require this bot mode."

On the other hand, amid the criticism, some gamers sharing how much they're liking the new mode. "It's enjoyable to warm up, real players keep it from being a total farmfest but it's very relaxed," reads one Reddit comment. "This subreddit fails to see that there are players who have lives and can't play this game 24/7. Let them strike a balance," states a different comment. One reply on Twitter clarifies that as they're "a battledad with limited time, this is great for me," and someone else applauds the mode for "not being overcompetitive."

Valid Criticisms and Player Input

Despite the support, players have valid points to criticize Casual Breakthrough. A few folks have highlighted that it will make wait times even longer for other modes due to the sheer number of options currently available. On a similar note, some areas already encounter AI-filled matches in the existing playlists. Additionally, it appears somewhat counterintuitive that the mode does not begin without a required amount of real players, even though it focuses mostly on fighting AI opponents.

Lastly, a major grievances is that a previous feature was promised to offer full XP, even against bots, but that got canned when they tried to eliminate XP farming from the system. So this new playlist feels like the player base compromising halfway, as per a Reddit comment. Another describes this addition as the devs "dropping the ball so hard, I experienced so much fun in the first couple of days, why did they feel the need to adjust it?"

Future Prospects: Adjustments Occur?

Should the development team has demonstrated something so far with the latest installment, it's that they're listening and acting on player input. Tasks being too difficult were adjusted rapidly, as did the required Redsec challenges. It is likely that, should analytics indicates this new playlist is underperforming to their expectations, they will not hesitate to make further modifications.