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Over the weekend, Battlefield Studios launched a fresh game mode titled Relaxed Breakthrough. To put it simply, this mode mirrors the standard Breakthrough format but includes several key changes:

• Each team includes just 8 real players, with the remaining filled by AI-controlled opponents.
• Activities done by real players award full XP, while AI activities offer reduced XP.
• Just a pair of locations are available: Siege of Cairo and Empire State map.
• Elements like Dogtags, accolades, and stat tracking are disabled.

So essentially, the playlist delivers on its title: it offers a casual take of Breakthrough. At face value, one could assume there's nothing wrong, since it gives more options for players seeking different ways to enjoy the game. However, if video games has shown one thing, it is that you can't please everyone. Which is to say, many Battlefield 6 players are mad.

Player Reactions: From Fury to Praise

"Gamers prefer real players. Don't repeat the mistakes of your competitors," reads one reply to the official announcement. "Absolutely shocking idea," comments another. At the same time, in community forums, a player notes, "It's unclear where we are headed with this title," and someone else lists everything they consider to be broken in the game: "Resolve glitches, address drone issues, correct rocket mechanics, fix [the] bloom after sprinting bug, fix awful hit registration. We don't need this AI-heavy playlist."

However, for every complaint, there are players explaining how much they're liking the recent addition. "It's very fun to warm up, real players prevent it from being a total farmfest but it's quite laid-back," says one Reddit comment. "The community fails to see that there are gamers who actually go outside and can't play this title all the time. Allow them to strike a balance," adds another. One reply via social media explains that as they're "a battledad with limited time, this is perfect for me," while someone else praises the mode for "not being overcompetitive."

Valid Criticisms and Player Feedback

Despite the support, players have valid points to criticize Casual Breakthrough. A few folks have pointed out that it will make wait times more extended for other modes because of the large amount of playlists in the game already. On a similar note, some areas already encounter mostly bots in the existing playlists. Additionally, it appears somewhat counterintuitive that the mode does not begin without a required amount of human gamers, even though it focuses mostly on combat against bots.

Finally, a major grievances is that a previous feature was promised to provide complete rewards, including AI matches, but that was removed when they attempted to remove bot farms from the mode. Thus Casual Breakthrough seems like the community compromising in the middle, according to forum feedback. Another labels this addition as the developers "making a mistake so hard, I experienced great enjoyment in the initial release, what prompted them to change it?"

Looking Ahead: Adjustments Be Made?

Should Battlefield Studios has demonstrated something so far with Battlefield 6, it's that they're paying attention and responding to player input. Assignments being too difficult were adjusted rapidly, as did the required Redsec challenges. It is likely that, should analytics indicates this recent mode isn't performing to their standards, they won't be shy to make further modifications.