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

• Each team includes only 8 real players, with the remaining made up of AI-controlled opponents.
• Actions done by human gamers grant complete experience points, while AI activities provide lower rewards.
• Just a pair of maps can be played: Siege of Cairo and Empire State.
• Features like Player tags, achievements, and career stat updates are disabled.

In short, this mode lives up to its name: it's a casual take of Breakthrough. On the surface, you might think there's nothing wrong, since it provides additional choices for gamers seeking alternative ways to have fun with the game. But, if video games have taught us anything, it's that not everyone will be happy. Which is to say, many Battlefield 6 fans are upset.

Player Responses: From Fury to Praise

"Gamers prefer real players. Avoid making the mistakes of your competitors," states a response to the official announcement. "Absolutely shocking idea," comments another. Meanwhile, on the Battlefield subreddit, a player notes, "It's unclear where we are headed with this title," and someone else details everything they believe to be problematic in the game: "Resolve glitches, address drone issues, fix IVF rockets, fix [the] bloom after sprinting bug, improve hit detection. We don't need this bot mode."

However, amid the criticism, there are players explaining how much they're enjoying the recent addition. "It's enjoyable to practice, real players keep it from being a total farmfest 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 title 24/7. Allow them to find a middle ground," adds a different comment. A response on Twitter clarifies that as they're "a parent gamer with limited time, this is perfect for me," and someone else applauds the mode for "avoiding intense competition."

Valid Concerns and Player Feedback

Despite the support, there are valid points to criticize the new mode. Some users have highlighted that it will make queue times even longer for other modes due to the large amount of options currently available. Similarly, certain regions already encounter AI-filled matches in the existing playlists. It also seems somewhat counterintuitive that the mode won't start without a required amount of human gamers, even though it primarily centers on fighting AI opponents.

Finally, a major complaints is that Battlefield Portal was meant to offer complete rewards, 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 meeting them in the middle, as per a Reddit comment. Another describes this mode as the developers "dropping the ball significantly, I experienced great enjoyment in the first couple of days, what prompted them to change it?"

Looking Ahead: Adjustments Occur?

Should Battlefield Studios has demonstrated something so far with Battlefield 6, it's that they're listening and acting on player input. Assignments being too difficult got fixed rapidly, as did the required Redsec challenges. Chances are that, if their data shows this recent mode is underperforming to their standards, they won't be shy to make further modifications.