Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint is finally receiving AI teammates almost a year after release. It adds another layer to a thriving game that rewards variety and experimentation.
Each time I write about Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint, a strangely protective feeling washes over me. As flawed as the release may have been for some, Breakpoint has received that special Ubisoft treatment where minor and major improvements have only served to make the game even better than its initial promise.
The Terminator came to Breakpoint earlier this year, bringing a fun event to the game along with new cosmetics. A short time later, Episode 2 launched and injected Splinter Cell into narrative along with two new classes, an entirely new way to play the game, and a more complete vision about how Breakpoint could be a full-fledged Ghost Recon game.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint is fully coming into its own. Despite the time it has taken to get to this point, a new update is bringing the game further in line with what players wanted and expected of a sequel to Wildlands. The major change? AI teammates are coming to the game as one of the first promised features and the most highly requested addition by the game’s community.
Those who played Ghost Recon Wildlands and relied on AI teammates won’t find any drastic changes in Breakpoint. Instead, the feature has nearly been copied over and supplemented with a several crucial improvements.
For solo players, the addition of AI teammates drastically alters the difficulty and flow of Breakpoint. I spent most of my time playing the game on its most extreme difficulty. During the launch period, this meant I was fighting hordes of unrelenting enemies that could take me down with a few bullets. I would become gravely injured frequently and have to fight for my survival. Without the aid of teammates, I was forced to take down opposition with deadly accuracy. A discovered body or a missed shot would result in entire camps going on the alert and actively seeking me out. This also meant I poured all my efforts into the medic class because it had a revive drone and meant an occasional extra life.
Breakpoint was nearly impossibly difficult like this. Mistakes sucked. But I still had a great amount of fun engaging with the several survival mechanics Ubisoft had put into the game because they edged me that much closer to victory. And with the sheer amount of things to do in the game, it was a grueling path. Integrate the Ghost Experience that was added to the game a few months ago and Breakpoint could become one of the most hardcore tactical shooters available.
AI teammates take a significant amount of the sting out of the hardest moments in Breakpoint. There are three additional people avaible to revive you and time perfect shots with. Players are no longer vulnerable when driving vehicles. Orders can be given to take extra precautionary measures in fights. It really is a game changer.
Teammates can be ordered around using a new order wheel. Teammates will regroup to your position, hold their current position, can be sent to a designated position and look for cover, or engage with enemies in sight while looking for cover. These instructions can also be given while using the binoculars or a drone, enabling players to move the team around from better vantage points. Orders are important because they allow players to manage their team in the midst of stealth insertions or all-out attacks where silence is thrown out the window.
Where Breakpoint‘s AI teammates separate themselves is in how they can be customized. At any time, players can toggle the option to activate AI teammates at the lobby tab of the menu, regardless of the situation. Feeling confident by yourself? Got in over your head? A push of a button can turn the tide. It works in harmony like the Ghost Experience, allowing better customization for players who wish to tailor the game to their current mood or standards. The physical appearance of a teammate can also be altered, allowing players to customize using the game’s extensive options. You can have an entire squad of Terminators, everyone can rock the same t-shirts, or dress them up as you see fit to have a colorful team of Ghosts. I’m glad Ubisoft included this option rather than how Wildlands kept the same skin for each teammate.
Players now can select what primary weapon each teammate will have, transforming how that Ghost will act during combat situations. In its original form, Breakpoint offered hundreds of weapon options but because players had to go at it solo, engagements often were easier to play out using a sniper and an assault rifle. Now, your teammates can provide distance cover while you sneak into a camp with a shotgun. If a stealth approach goes to hell, expect your team to fend off the opposition based on what weapon they have in their primary slot. It’s an inspired touch to see this addition to AI teammates to help gunfights flow better based on what is going on.
Gunsmith additions and improvements may not apply to specific groups of players but take on new relevance when those customization options can be copied over to teammates. It makes all guns in the game more viable for whatever way you wish to play.
Of course, the comfort of AI teammates brings an entire new warmth to Breakpoint. Knowing that my three partners will infrequently comment on a stealth kill or engage in a bit of chatter helps the game feel less lonely. If I don’t see an enemy, they might mark one. If I go down, they will struggle to revive me. And let’s not forget the sync shot. Few things replace the surgical method of taking down four enemies at a time with pinpoint accuracy. Except now, players can also use sync shot drones that have been available since launch to take out a maximum of 7 targets. There are some massive locations in Breakpoint that are riddled with guards. They go a lot faster now with all the extra firepower.
Looking back on my time with Breakpoint, there are several times where I noted how helpful some extra guns would be. I remember one mission asked me to defend a woman trying to hack a computer out in the open on a Skell campus. I had to not only protect her but not die from the constant flood of enemies and eventual helicopters coming in for the kill. Again, when playing on the hardest difficulty, this mission was near impossible just because death was so easy to come by. Eventually I cheesed the mission by landing a helicopter in front of the terminal, blocking enemies from getting to me and instead focusing my attention on shooting down the helicopters. If I had AI teammates, I wouldn’t have had such a hard time. The same applies for missions that often forced me into a vehicle.
At its core, I don’t think the addition of AI teammates drastically changes the fundamentals of Breakpoint. Instead, it allows players to further customize how they tackle the game and what kind of difficulty they may encounter as the game progresses. Whether hardcore or casual, Ubisoft is making the right changes to supporting the improvement of the game.
As an added bonus to this update, a new live event is arriving to further incentivize players to test out the advantages of AI teammates. From July 16 to July 29 the Resistance live event will be active, giving players a new set of missions and a reward track to earn. The event focuses on the battle between the Outcasts and the Sentinels. Trey Stone, a leader of the Sentinels, the militant force that patrols Auroa, orders an attack on a rebel Outcast location. Not wanting to show weakness, Harui Ito, leader of the Outcasts employs the help of players in a series of missions that will take the fight to the Sentinels while growing the Outcast presence.
Over the course of nine handcrafted missions, players will engage in three different kinds of encounters. Hostage rescues ask the players to reach a location where Outcast hostages have been taken prisoner. Hostage rescues require stealth on the part of players because if detected, hostile forces will begin executing the hostages. Using AI teammates, it’s much easier to identify and eliminate opposition without triggering the alert. The trick is safely bringing all hostages to the extraction point while remaining quiet. Convoy ambush is similar to other convoy attacks in Breakpoint where the player can set up traps in line of the convoy and wait for explosions. After retreating from the road, it’s easy enough to further blow up any vehicles and take out other troops. Finally, camp assaults can be bombastic and explosive or quiet… or a combination of both. Once clearing out the camp, players need to hold the location with Outcast forces as Sentinels attempt an attack. Players can bring Outcast forces into the fray or release them from cages to cause further chaos and unrest.
Resistance functions similar to other live events in that players can access the specific missions from the menu and tackle them at any point. The main difference is that as players progress further in the event, Outcast forces will grow in presence across the map. They will fight against Wolves and Sentinels, much like the rebel forces in Wildlands did.
14 time-limited rewards are exclusively available during the live event and can’t be earned after it is over. However, the Strike Designator mortar that is rewarded after finishing every mission in the live event can be claimed even after the event’s end because those missions will remain in the game. The mortar allows players to target an area on the map that Outcasts will launch a strike on. It’s an ability carried over from Wildlands and one that I appreciate the return of.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint is a constantly growing game that the developers have continuously evolved and improved on. Later this year another episodic content drop is likely to arrive to give players yet another reason to dive back in. Any player who has steadily played Breakpoint since launch has likely exhausted most of the missions the game has to offer. With the introduction of live events and new gameplay features, new and old players have great reasons to engage with the content. Rocky launch aside, Breakpoint has shown strength and resistance, becoming another Ubisoft title that only gets better with time. And like each time I fall back into this particular Ghost Recon experience, I can’t wait to go back in.
