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Over the weekend, Battlefield Studios introduced a new game mode called Casual Breakthrough. To put it simply, this mode resembles the regular Breakthrough format but includes several notable adjustments:

• Every squad includes only eight human participants, with the remaining filled by 32 bots.
• Activities performed by real players grant full XP, while bot actions offer lower rewards.
• Just a pair of maps are available: Siege of Cairo and Empire State map.
• Features like Player tags, achievements, and career stat updates have been turned off.

So essentially, this mode delivers on its title: it's a laid-back version of Breakthrough. On the surface, one could assume there's nothing wrong, as it gives more options for players looking for alternative ways to enjoy the game. But, if video games have taught us anything, it is that not everyone will be happy. In other words, many Battlefield 6 players are upset.

Player Reactions: Anger to Support

"Gamers prefer real players. Don't repeat the mistakes of your rivals," reads one reply to the official announcement. "Truly disappointing idea," says a different user. Meanwhile, in community forums, one user remarks, "I have no idea where we are going with this title," and someone else details everything they believe to be broken in Battlefield 6: "Resolve glitches, fix drone glitch, fix IVF rockets, fix [the] bloom after sprinting bug, improve hit detection. We do not require this AI-heavy playlist."

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 complete grind but it's quite laid-back," reads one Reddit comment. "The community fails to see that there are players who have lives and don't play this title all the time. Allow them to strike a balance," adds a different comment. A response via social media explains that as they're "a parent gamer with busy schedules, this is great for me," while another praises the mode for "avoiding intense competition."

Constructive Criticisms and Player Feedback

All that said, there are constructive reasons to complain about the new mode. Some users have pointed out that it could increase queue times even longer for different playlists due to the sheer number of playlists in the game already. On a similar note, some areas often face mostly bots in the current modes. It also seems a little backwards that the mode does not begin without a required amount of real players, despite it focuses mostly on combat against bots.

Finally, one of the biggest grievances is that Battlefield Portal was promised to offer full XP, including AI matches, but that got canned when they tried to remove XP farming from the system. Thus this new playlist seems like the player base compromising halfway, according to a Reddit comment. Another describes this mode as the devs "making a mistake so hard, I experienced great enjoyment in the initial release, what prompted them to change it?"

Looking Ahead: Adjustments Occur?

If the development team has proven anything so far with the latest installment, it is that they're paying attention and acting on player input. Tasks that were overly hard got fixed rapidly, as did the specific battle pass objectives. Chances are that, if their data indicates this recent mode is underperforming to their standards, they will not hesitate to make further modifications.