“RIP BF6 Portal” — DICE nukes Battlefield 6’s Portal server XP as it contends with bot farms and unbalanced challenges

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Battlefield 6 has quickly become popular, attracting millions of players in just its first two weeks. It recently reached over 650,000 concurrent players on Steam, and currently has close to 400,000 playing at any given moment.

Players are generally enjoying the game, though most agree there’s room for improvement in certain areas. There’s been a lot of discussion about its current condition, but the overall feeling is positive.

DICE, the game’s developer, has been quick to address player feedback, releasing multiple updates to fix problems and improve gameplay balance.

The newest update, released today, significantly reduces the amount of experience players earn in Portal matches. This is likely the most impactful change made so far.

As I’ve been reviewing the custom server list, I’ve observed a trend: many servers only advertise a 150% match completion bonus, suggesting they aren’t fully utilizing the available completion bonuses. It seems a lot of servers aren’t completely enabled in that regard.

Winning bonuses, match scores, and awards don’t contribute to your player progress anymore. Additionally, earning masteries (which unlock customization items), completing daily missions, assignments, and challenges won’t work in certain Portal game modes.

DICE implemented these updates because servers designed for quickly gaining experience points (often called ‘XP farms’) became extremely popular on the game’s server list after launch. The sheer number of these farms is now making it difficult for players who just want to play the game normally with friends to get access.

The recent change to the Portal server is causing problems for many players, not just those using bot farms. Even if you’re playing legitimately, you might notice a significant slowdown in your progress. The effects are rolling out slowly, so it’s hard to say exactly how much things will be impacted until the change is complete.

XP farming servers appeared because Battlefield 6’s challenges were too difficult and time-consuming to complete in normal gameplay. Players needed a way to progress, and these servers offered that solution.

Looking to get the last sniper rifle quickly? Instead of playing the game normally, you can just spend time in an XP farm, repeatedly defeating easy-to-kill bots to level up.

DICE recently updated the game with improvements to how players advance, released late last week. They also announced they’re investigating concerns about experience farming, but the challenge system wasn’t changed in this update.

Haven’t I seen this XP farm fiasco in another Battlefield game?

The issue with earning experience points in Battlefield 6 isn’t new for DICE. Battlefield 2042, which first introduced the Portal system, had the same problem when it launched.

The fix? Reduce the experience points earned from using the Portal, making it pointless for anything beyond casual play. We’ve seen this happen before.

It’s unclear why DICE believed this launch would be successful, particularly knowing the game’s initial issues weren’t fully resolved. This creates two key problems for Battlefield 6.

The game’s challenges feel unfair and aren’t very fun. For example, the first challenge for the Assault class – getting 30 kills with the adrenaline syringe – was so frustrating that I immediately stopped using that item altogether.

Also, the removal of the Portal feature is a significant loss. DICE had promoted Portal as a solution to the missing server browser, and as a long-time Battlefield player, I’ve always felt a server browser is essential for a complete gaming experience.

It’s understandable that players are frustrated. Many are questioning DICE’s decision to limit custom servers when the real issues haven’t been fixed, as discussed on Reddit.

Comment from r/Battlefield

Many players are wondering why DICE won’t let people rent dedicated servers and host their own games beyond the Portal mode. Meanwhile, some believe Portal won’t be around for much longer.

Comment from r/Battlefield

Looking at it calmly, I’m hoping this is just a short-term fix by DICE while they work on properly balancing the game’s difficulty, which is what’s causing people to exploit the XP system.

After players shared their concerns, the developers of Battlefield 2042 made significant improvements to the game’s core challenges. However, the Portal mode, a unique feature allowing custom game creation, never fully bounced back from the issues it had when the game first released.

Considering the similar situation happening with Battlefield 6, DICE has a significant challenge to ensure Portal remains popular and engaging for players.

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2025-10-21 23:40