The purpose of the bots is to get the server running. 8 players = too many

This is in response to that BF news from yesterday that  they set it up verified experiences so the server cannot start without 20 players without bots or 8 players without bots.

I will be as blunt yet respectful as I can:

Most Players do NOT have the patience for wait for others to come in a server without some matchmaking bringing a lot of them to the server.

So it falls to the backfill bots to get the server in a functional state without trying  the patience of either older players with limited play sessions or younger players with an attention span reduced by small formant video spam.

So there should be enough bots for the server to be functional even with 1 human present. You are on the right track by making bots give less xp so it is more efficient to fight other players. So there should be NO reason to need to wait for the massive number of 7 more players to start the round.

Players always seek the path of least resistance, so in that context, they will go for the server which already has enough players to be running smoothly and they will avoid a new server with 1 to 5 players in which are doing nothing but starting at the screen or being semi afk while waiting for a few more people to reach 8.

TLDR:

Do not be daft, 8 players to start is too many for anyone who does not have a large cycle of friends and platoon bros who are active at the same time and want to play the same exact mode and map.