Over the weekend, the game developers launched a fresh playlist titled Casual Breakthrough. To put it simply, this option resembles the regular Breakthrough setup but includes several key changes:
- Every squad has just eight human participants, with the remaining made up of AI-controlled opponents.
- Actions done by human gamers grant full XP, while AI activities provide lower rewards.
- Just a pair of maps can be played: Siege of Cairo and Empire State map.
- Features like Dogtags, achievements, and stat tracking are disabled.
So essentially, the playlist delivers on its title: it's a laid-back take of Breakthrough. On the surface, one could assume it's a good idea, since it gives additional choices for gamers seeking alternative ways to enjoy the game. But, gaming history have taught us anything, it is that you can't please everyone. In other words, a lot of Battlefield 6 players are upset.
Community Responses: Anger to Support
"People want human opponents. Don't repeat the errors of your rivals," reads a response to the mode reveal. "Truly disappointing idea," comments another. Meanwhile, in community forums, one user remarks, "It's unclear where we are headed with this game," while someone else lists everything they consider to be problematic in the game: "Fix bugs, fix drone glitch, fix IVF rockets, fix [the] bloom after sprinting bug, fix awful hit registration. We do not require this AI-heavy playlist."
On the other hand, amid the criticism, there are players sharing how much they're enjoying the new mode. "It's very fun to practice, human participants keep it from being a complete grind but it's quite laid-back," reads a forum post. "This subreddit fails to see that there are players who have lives and can't play this title all the time. Let them find a middle ground," adds another. A response on Twitter clarifies that as they're "a battledad with limited time, this is great for me," while someone else applauds the mode for "not being overcompetitive."
Valid Criticisms and Player Feedback
All that said, players have constructive reasons to criticize the new mode. Some users have pointed out that it will make wait times more extended for different playlists because of the large amount of options in the game already. On a similar note, some areas often face mostly bots in the existing playlists. It also seems a little backwards that the mode won't start without a minimum number of real players, despite it focuses mostly on fighting AI opponents.
Finally, a major complaints is that Battlefield Portal was meant to offer complete rewards, even against bots, but that was removed when they attempted to eliminate bot farms from the mode. Thus Casual Breakthrough seems like the player base compromising in the middle, according to forum feedback. A different user labels this addition as the devs "dropping the ball so hard, I had so much fun in the first couple of days, what prompted them to change it?"
Looking Ahead: Adjustments Be Made?
If the development team has demonstrated something to date with Battlefield 6, it's that they're paying attention and responding to player input. Tasks that were overly hard were adjusted very quickly, as did the specific battle pass objectives. Chances are that, if their data indicates this recent mode isn't performing to their standards, they will not hesitate to change it again.
