Battlefield 6's Relaxed Game Mode Ignites Heated Discussions Over Bots, XP Rewards, and Wait Times

Over the weekend, the game developers introduced a new playlist titled Relaxed Breakthrough. In essence, this option resembles the regular Breakthrough setup but features a few key adjustments:

• Every squad has only eight human participants, with the rest made up of AI-controlled opponents.
• Actions performed by human gamers award complete experience points, while bot actions provide lower rewards.
• Just a pair of maps are available: Cairo Siege and Empire State.
• Elements like Player tags, achievements, and stat tracking are disabled.

So essentially, the playlist lives up to its name: it's a casual take of Breakthrough. On the surface, you might think it's a good idea, since it provides more options for gamers looking for alternative methods to enjoy the title. However, gaming history has shown one thing, it is that not everyone will be happy. In other words, many Battlefield 6 players are upset.

Player Reactions: Anger to Support

"People want real players. Don't repeat the mistakes of your rivals," states one reply to the official announcement. "Absolutely shocking idea," comments a different user. Meanwhile, in community forums, one user remarks, "I have no idea where we are headed with this title," and someone else lists everything they consider to be problematic in Battlefield 6: "Fix bugs, address drone issues, correct rocket mechanics, adjust aiming after sprinting, fix awful hit registration. We do not require this bot mode."

However, amid the criticism, there are players sharing how much they're liking the new mode. "It's very fun to warm up, human participants prevent it from being a complete grind but it's very relaxed," reads one Reddit comment. "This subreddit fails to see that there are gamers who have lives and don't play this game 24/7. Allow them to find a middle ground," states a different comment. A response on Twitter explains that as they're "a battledad with limited time, this is perfect for me," while someone else applauds the mode for "avoiding intense competition."

Valid Concerns and Player Input

Despite the support, players have constructive reasons to complain about the new mode. Some users have highlighted that it could increase queue times even longer for different playlists because of the large amount of options currently available. On a similar note, some areas already encounter mostly bots in the existing playlists. Additionally, it appears a little backwards that the mode won't start without a minimum number of human gamers, despite it primarily centers on fighting AI opponents.

Lastly, one of the biggest complaints is that a previous feature was meant to provide complete rewards, including AI matches, but that got canned when they attempted to remove XP farming from the mode. Thus this new playlist seems like the community compromising in the middle, according to a Reddit comment. A different user labels this mode as the developers "dropping the ball significantly, I had so much fun in the initial release, what prompted them to change it?"

Looking Ahead: Adjustments Occur?

Should Battlefield Studios has proven anything so far with Battlefield 6, it is that they're paying attention and acting on player input. Tasks being too difficult got fixed very quickly, just like the required Redsec challenges. It is likely that, if their data indicates this new playlist is underperforming to their expectations, they won't be shy to make further modifications.