This post is inspired by https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20180316-00/?p=98255, specifically by the part where the patch branch needs to be merged to the feature branch "as ours".
The VSTS web interface does not seem to provide any dials here, all it has to say is:
But maybe it is still possible? Is there a configuration option that allows it or maybe it is possible through REST API?