The Latest Relaxed Game Mode Sparks Heated Debates Regarding Bots, Experience Points, and Wait Times

Over the weekend, Battlefield Studios introduced a fresh playlist called Relaxed Breakthrough. In essence, this mode resembles the standard Breakthrough format but includes a few notable changes:

  • Each team has just eight human participants, with the rest made up of 32 bots.
  • Activities performed by real players grant complete experience points, while AI activities offer lower rewards.
  • Only two locations are available: Cairo Siege and Empire State map.
  • Features like Dogtags, achievements, and career stat updates are disabled.

So essentially, this mode lives up to its title: it offers a casual version of Breakthrough. On the surface, one could assume it's a good idea, since it provides additional choices for players seeking different methods to have fun with the game. But, gaming history have taught us anything, it's that not everyone will be happy. In other words, many Battlefield 6 fans are mad.

Player Reactions: From Fury to Praise

"People want real players. Don't repeat the errors of your competitors," reads one reply to the official announcement. "Truly disappointing concept," says a different user. At the same time, on the Battlefield subreddit, one user remarks, "I have no idea where we are going with this title," while another lists everything they consider 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, some gamers sharing how much they're enjoying the recent addition. "It's very fun to practice, real players keep it from being a complete grind but it's very relaxed," says a forum post. "This subreddit fails to see that there are players who have lives and can't play this game 24/7. Let them find a middle ground," adds a different comment. One reply on Twitter explains that as they're "a battledad with limited time, this is perfect for me," and another applauds the mode for "avoiding intense competition."

Valid Criticisms and Player Input

Despite the support, there are valid points to complain about the new mode. A few folks have pointed out that it will make wait times more extended for different playlists because of the sheer number of playlists in the game already. Similarly, certain regions already encounter mostly bots in the existing playlists. It also seems somewhat counterintuitive that the mode won't start without a required amount of real players, even though it primarily centers on fighting AI opponents.

Finally, one of the biggest complaints is that Battlefield Portal was meant to offer complete rewards, including AI matches, but that was removed when they attempted to remove bot farms from the mode. Thus this new playlist feels like the community compromising halfway, as per forum feedback. A different user describes this mode as the developers "making a mistake significantly, I experienced so much fun in the first couple of days, why did they feel the need to change it?"

Future Prospects: Will Changes Be Made?

If the development team has demonstrated something so far with Battlefield 6, it is that they're listening and acting on player input. Tasks being too difficult were adjusted rapidly, just like the specific battle pass objectives. It is likely that, should analytics shows this recent mode is underperforming to their expectations, they won't be shy to change it again.

Dawn Murphy
Dawn Murphy

A tech journalist with over a decade of experience covering consumer electronics and emerging technologies, passionate about simplifying complex innovations.