The Latest Relaxed Playlist Ignites Intense Debates Over AI Players, Experience Points, and Wait Times

Recently, Battlefield Studios launched a fresh game mode titled Relaxed Breakthrough. In essence, this option mirrors the regular Breakthrough format but includes several notable adjustments:

  • Each team has only eight human participants, with the rest made up of AI-controlled opponents.
  • Actions done by real players award full XP, while bot actions provide reduced XP.
  • Just a pair of maps are available: Cairo Siege and Empire State map.
  • Elements like Player tags, achievements, and stat tracking are disabled.

So essentially, this mode lives up to its name: it offers a laid-back take of Breakthrough. On the surface, one could assume it's a good idea, since it gives more options for players looking for alternative methods to enjoy the game. But, gaming history have taught us anything, it's that you can't please everyone. Which is to say, many Battlefield 6 fans are upset.

Community Responses: Anger to Support

"People want human opponents. Avoid making the errors of your rivals," states one reply to the official announcement. "Absolutely shocking concept," comments a different user. Meanwhile, in community forums, one user notes, "It's unclear where we are going with this game," and another lists all the issues they believe to be problematic in the game: "Resolve glitches, address drone issues, correct rocket mechanics, adjust aiming after sprinting, fix awful hit registration. We don't need this bot mode."

However, amid the criticism, some gamers explaining how much they're liking the new mode. "It's very fun to warm up, real players prevent it from being a total farmfest but it's quite laid-back," reads one Reddit comment. "The community fails to see that there are gamers who actually go outside and can't play this title 24/7. Allow them to strike a balance," states another. One reply via social media clarifies that as they're "a parent gamer with limited time, this is great for me," while another applauds the mode for "avoiding intense competition."

Valid Concerns and Player Feedback

Despite the support, players have constructive reasons to criticize the new mode. A few folks have highlighted that it will make queue times more extended for different playlists due to the sheer number of playlists currently available. Similarly, some areas already encounter mostly bots in the existing playlists. 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.

Lastly, one of the biggest grievances is that a previous feature was meant to offer full XP, including AI matches, but that got canned when they attempted to remove XP farming from the system. Thus Casual Breakthrough feels like the community compromising in the middle, according to a Reddit comment. Another labels this addition as the devs "making a mistake significantly, I had so much fun in the initial release, why did they feel the need to change it?"

Looking Ahead: Will Changes Occur?

Should the development team has proven anything to date with Battlefield 6, it is that they're listening and acting on feedback. Assignments being too difficult got fixed rapidly, just like the specific battle pass objectives. It is likely that, should analytics indicates this new playlist isn't performing to their expectations, they will not hesitate to make further modifications.

Tyler Hall
Tyler Hall

A passionate gamer and tech writer with over a decade of experience in the gaming industry.