The Latest Casual Game Mode Ignites Intense Discussions Over Bots, Experience Points, and Wait Times
Recently, Battlefield Studios launched a new playlist titled Casual Breakthrough. In essence, this mode resembles the standard Breakthrough setup but includes a few key adjustments:
- Each team includes only eight human participants, with the rest made up of AI-controlled opponents.
- Actions done by human gamers grant full XP, while bot actions provide lower rewards.
- Only two locations are available: Siege of Cairo and Empire State map.
- Features like Dogtags, accolades, and career stat updates are disabled.
So essentially, this mode delivers on its title: it offers a laid-back version of Breakthrough. At face value, you might think there's nothing wrong, as it gives more options for gamers looking for alternative ways to enjoy the title. However, gaming history has shown one thing, it is that you can't please everyone. Which is to say, a lot of BF6 fans are upset.
Player Reactions: Anger to Support
"Gamers prefer real players. Don't repeat the errors of your rivals," reads a response to the official announcement. "Absolutely shocking concept," comments another. Meanwhile, on the Battlefield subreddit, one user notes, "I have no idea where we are going with this title," while someone else details all the issues they consider to be broken in Battlefield 6: "Resolve glitches, fix drone glitch, correct rocket mechanics, adjust aiming after sprinting, fix awful hit registration. We do not require this AI-heavy playlist."
However, for every complaint, there are players sharing how much they're liking the new mode. "It's enjoyable to warm up, human participants prevent it from being a total farmfest but it's very relaxed," reads one Reddit comment. "This subreddit fails to see that there are gamers who actually go outside and don'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 busy schedules, this is great for me," while another applauds the mode for "avoiding intense competition."
Constructive Criticisms and Player Feedback
All that said, players have constructive reasons to criticize Casual Breakthrough. Some users have pointed out that it will make queue times even longer for other modes due to the large amount of options currently available. Similarly, some areas already encounter mostly bots in the current modes. Additionally, it appears somewhat counterintuitive that the mode won't start without a minimum number of human gamers, even though it primarily centers on combat against bots.
Lastly, a major complaints is that Battlefield Portal was meant to provide complete rewards, even against bots, but that was removed when they tried to eliminate bot farms from the mode. Thus Casual Breakthrough seems like the community compromising halfway, according to forum feedback. Another describes this mode as the developers "making a mistake significantly, I experienced so much fun in the initial release, why did they feel the need to change it?"
Looking Ahead: Adjustments Be Made?
Should Battlefield Studios has demonstrated something so far with Battlefield 6, it's that they're listening and responding to feedback. Tasks being too difficult were adjusted very quickly, just like the required Redsec challenges. Chances are that, should analytics indicates this new playlist isn't performing to their expectations, they will not hesitate to change it again.