The Latest Relaxed Game Mode Ignites Intense Discussions Over Bots, XP Rewards, and Wait Times

Recently, Battlefield Studios launched a fresh playlist called Relaxed Breakthrough. To put it simply, this mode mirrors the standard Breakthrough format but features several notable changes:

• Every squad includes only eight human participants, with the rest made up of 32 bots.
• Actions performed by real players grant full XP, while bot actions offer lower rewards.
• Just a pair of locations are available: Siege of Cairo and Empire State map.
• Features like Dogtags, achievements, and stat tracking are disabled.

In short, this mode lives up to its title: it offers a casual take of Breakthrough. On the surface, you might think it's a good idea, since it gives more options for players seeking alternative ways to have fun with the game. But, if video games has shown one thing, it's that you can't please everyone. Which is to say, a lot of Battlefield 6 players are upset.

Community Reactions: Anger to Praise

"Gamers prefer human opponents. Avoid making the mistakes of your competitors," reads one reply to the mode reveal. "Truly disappointing idea," says a different user. Meanwhile, on the Battlefield subreddit, one user remarks, "It's unclear where we are going with this game," and another lists everything they believe to be broken in Battlefield 6: "Resolve glitches, fix drone glitch, fix IVF rockets, fix [the] bloom after sprinting bug, fix awful hit registration. We do not require this bot mode."

However, amid the criticism, there are players explaining how much they're liking the recent addition. "It's enjoyable to practice, human participants prevent it from being a total farmfest but it's very relaxed," reads one Reddit comment. "This subreddit doesn't understand that there are players who actually go outside and don't play this title all the time. Let them find a middle ground," adds another. One reply on Twitter explains that as they're "a parent gamer with limited time, this is perfect for me," and another applauds the mode for "not being overcompetitive."

Constructive Concerns and Player Feedback

Despite the support, players have constructive reasons to criticize the new mode. Some users have highlighted that it will make wait times even longer for other modes because of the large amount of options in the game already. Similarly, some areas already encounter AI-filled matches in the current modes. It also seems somewhat counterintuitive that the mode does not begin without a required amount of real players, even though it focuses mostly on fighting AI opponents.

Lastly, one of the biggest grievances is that Battlefield Portal was meant to provide full XP, even against bots, but that was removed when they attempted to remove bot farms from the system. Thus this new playlist seems like the community compromising in the middle, according to a Reddit comment. Another labels this mode as the developers "dropping the ball so hard, I had great enjoyment in the initial release, what prompted them to adjust it?"

Looking Ahead: Adjustments Occur?

Should Battlefield Studios has demonstrated something to date with Battlefield 6, it is that they're listening and acting on feedback. Tasks that were overly hard got fixed rapidly, as did the required Redsec challenges. Chances are that, should analytics indicates this new playlist is underperforming to their expectations, they won't be shy to change it again.