🔗 Share this article

Over the weekend, the game developers introduced a fresh playlist titled Casual Breakthrough. In essence, this mode resembles the standard Breakthrough setup but features several key changes:

• Each team includes just 8 human participants, with the remaining made up of AI-controlled opponents.
• Actions performed by real players award full XP, while AI activities offer lower rewards.
• Just a pair of maps can be played: Cairo Siege and Empire State.
• Features like Dogtags, achievements, and career stat updates are disabled.

In short, this mode lives up to its name: it's a laid-back take of Breakthrough. On the surface, you might think there's nothing wrong, as it provides more options for players seeking alternative ways to enjoy the game. But, if video games has shown one thing, it's that you can't please everyone. In other words, many BF6 fans are mad.

Player Responses: Anger to Support

"People want human opponents. Avoid making the errors of your rivals," reads one reply to the mode reveal. "Truly disappointing idea," comments a different user. Meanwhile, on the Battlefield subreddit, a player remarks, "It's unclear where we are going with this title," while someone else details everything they consider to be broken in Battlefield 6: "Fix bugs, fix drone glitch, correct rocket mechanics, adjust aiming after sprinting, fix awful hit registration. We do not require this bot mode."

On the other hand, amid the criticism, there are players sharing how much they're enjoying the new mode. "It's enjoyable to practice, real players keep it from being a total farmfest but it's very relaxed," says a forum post. "This subreddit fails to see that there are gamers who have lives and can't play this title all the time. Allow them to find a middle ground," states another. A response via social media clarifies that as they're "a battledad with busy schedules, this is great for me," and another praises the mode for "not being overcompetitive."

Valid Concerns and Player Feedback

Despite the support, there are valid points to complain about Casual Breakthrough. Some users have highlighted that it will make queue times more extended for different playlists because of the large amount of options currently available. On a similar note, some areas already encounter AI-filled matches in the existing playlists. Additionally, it appears somewhat counterintuitive that the mode won't start without a minimum number of real players, even though it primarily centers on combat against bots.

Lastly, one of the biggest complaints is that a previous feature was meant to provide complete rewards, even against bots, but that got canned when they tried to remove bot farms from the system. So Casual Breakthrough seems like the community meeting them in the middle, according to a Reddit comment. Another labels this addition as the developers "dropping the ball so hard, I experienced so much fun in the initial release, why did they feel the need to adjust it?"

Looking Ahead: Will Changes Occur?

Should Battlefield Studios has proven anything to date with the latest installment, it's that they're listening and acting on player input. Tasks being too difficult were adjusted rapidly, just like the specific battle pass objectives. Chances are that, if their data indicates this recent mode is underperforming to their standards, they won't be shy to make further modifications.