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

• Every squad includes only 8 real players, with the rest filled by AI-controlled opponents.
• Actions done by real players award full XP, while AI activities provide lower rewards.
• Only two maps are available: Siege of Cairo and Empire State map.
• Features like Player tags, achievements, and stat tracking have been turned off.

In short, the playlist lives up to its name: it offers a laid-back take of Breakthrough. At face value, you might think there's nothing wrong, since it provides additional choices for players seeking different ways to enjoy the title. However, gaming history have taught us anything, it's that not everyone will be happy. Which is to say, many Battlefield 6 players are upset.

Player Responses: Anger to Praise

"People want human opponents. Don't repeat the errors of your rivals," reads a response to the mode reveal. "Absolutely shocking concept," comments another. At the same time, on the Battlefield subreddit, a player notes, "It's unclear where we are headed with this title," and another lists everything they believe to be problematic in Battlefield 6: "Resolve glitches, fix drone glitch, fix IVF rockets, fix [the] bloom after sprinting bug, fix awful hit registration. We don't need this bot mode."

On the other hand, for every complaint, there are players sharing how much they're liking the new mode. "It's enjoyable to practice, human participants prevent it from being a total farmfest but it's very relaxed," reads a forum post. "The community fails to see that there are gamers who actually go outside and can't play this game all the time. Allow them to strike a balance," states a different comment. One reply via social media explains that as they're "a parent gamer with busy schedules, 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 could increase queue times even longer for other modes because of the sheer number of playlists currently available. Similarly, certain regions already encounter AI-filled matches in the current modes. It also seems a little backwards that the mode won't start without a minimum number of real players, despite it primarily centers on combat against bots.

Lastly, a major complaints is that a previous feature was meant to provide full XP, even against bots, but that got canned when they attempted to remove bot farms from the mode. Thus Casual Breakthrough seems like the player base meeting them halfway, as per forum feedback. A different user describes this mode as the devs "making a mistake significantly, I experienced great enjoyment in the first couple of days, what prompted them to change it?"

Looking Ahead: Will Changes Occur?

Should the development team has proven anything so far with the latest installment, it's that they're paying attention and acting on feedback. Assignments being too difficult got fixed rapidly, as did the required Redsec challenges. It is likely that, if their data indicates this recent mode isn't performing to their expectations, they won't be shy to change it again.