I longarm quilt and use Batiks in pretty much every quilt I make. I’ve never heard of Batiks breaking a needle. I do make sure I have a new, sharp needle in my machine for each new project ( unless I’m doing a few small quilts- then I may do a number of them before the need for a new needle)
i also use Sharps needles for hand appliqué. I tend to do a lot of appliqué. The only time I’ve ever had problems getting needles through my fabrics was when I tried glue or fusible on my pieces- learned my lesson and I never use glue, and only fusible if I’m doing machine appliqué. Never any problem due to Batiks though