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Over the weekend, the game developers launched a fresh game mode called Casual Breakthrough. In essence, this option resembles the regular Breakthrough format but includes several key changes:

• Each team has just 8 human participants, with the rest filled by AI-controlled opponents.
• Activities performed by real players grant full XP, while AI activities provide reduced XP.
• Only two maps can be played: Cairo Siege and Empire State.
• Features like Player tags, accolades, and stat tracking are disabled.

In short, the playlist delivers on its name: it's a laid-back version of Breakthrough. On the surface, one could assume it's a good idea, as it provides additional choices for gamers looking for alternative ways to have fun with the game. However, 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 mad.

Community Responses: Anger to Praise

"People want real players. Don't repeat the mistakes of your competitors," states a response to the official announcement. "Absolutely shocking idea," comments a different user. At the same time, on the Battlefield subreddit, a player notes, "I have no idea where we are going with this game," and another details all the issues they consider to be broken in the game: "Resolve glitches, fix drone glitch, fix IVF rockets, fix [the] bloom after sprinting bug, improve hit detection. We don't need this bot mode."

However, for every complaint, some gamers explaining 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 quite laid-back," reads one Reddit comment. "This subreddit doesn't understand that there are players who actually go outside and don't play this game all the time. Allow them to strike a balance," adds a different comment. One reply via social media explains that as they're "a battledad with limited time, this is great for me," while another applauds the mode for "avoiding intense competition."

Valid Concerns and Player Input

All that said, players have valid points to complain about Casual Breakthrough. A few folks have pointed out that it will make queue times more extended for other modes due to the large amount of playlists in the game already. On a similar note, certain regions often face AI-filled matches in the existing playlists. Additionally, it appears a little backwards that the mode won't start without a minimum number of human gamers, even though it focuses mostly on fighting AI opponents.

Lastly, a major complaints is that Battlefield Portal was meant to offer full XP, even against bots, but that got canned when they tried to eliminate bot farms from the system. So this new playlist feels like the player base compromising halfway, according to forum feedback. A different user describes this mode as the devs "dropping the ball so hard, I experienced great enjoyment in the initial release, what prompted them to change it?"

Future Prospects: Will Changes Be Made?

Should Battlefield Studios has proven anything so far with Battlefield 6, it's that they're listening and acting on player input. Tasks that were overly hard were adjusted rapidly, as did the specific battle pass objectives. Chances are that, should analytics indicates this recent mode is underperforming to their expectations, they won't be shy to make further modifications.