“You got my money this time, but it’s the last time” | DICE isn’t reverting its Portal XP nerf, claims it’s working on challenge difficulty

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DICE, the team behind Battlefield 6, is facing a challenge. The game has been out for two weeks and has already sold millions of copies on computers and consoles. Although many players are having fun with the game as it is, there’s a lot of debate and strong opinions about what changes and improvements should be made.

I’m really excited about Battlefield 6, but one thing has me a little worried: the Portal feature. The idea behind Portal is awesome – letting players create their own custom Battlefield experiences on servers. It *sounds* like it could let us all finally play Battlefield exactly how we’ve always wanted, but I’m hoping it actually delivers on that promise.

Although some older activities are still around, the Portal has recently been dominated by players creating simple farms to quickly gain experience, often using bots as targets to help their soldiers level up.

I noticed a big change in how Battlefield 2042 handles progression on community servers starting on Tuesday, October 21st. It seems DICE removed almost all ways to earn progress beyond a simple bonus for finishing a match – things like wins, your score, special achievements, mastery points, daily tasks, and assignments no longer contribute to leveling up your soldier.

DICE responded to the problem of servers being flooded with players just trying to quickly gain experience points. These servers were sometimes preventing other players from creating and enjoying their own gameplay, whether they were playing fairly or not.

Since DICE hadn’t officially explained the changes to Portal, many players started to wonder why they were made. Some even believed that Battlefield 6’s Portal feature was already failing, just weeks after it launched.

A few days after the initial concerns, DICE has released an official update on their Battlefield communication channel (X). Unfortunately, the news about the future of Portal isn’t what many players were hoping for.

DICE has confirmed that Verified Portal modes that don’t use the “Bot Backfill” feature – which adds bots to fill a server and start a match instead of waiting for enough players – will still award full experience points and allow normal progression.

However, custom Portal experiences are not reverting to their original state.

Experiences you create will still offer less progress than official Portal levels, even if bots aren’t playing. This lets you design freely and share your creations while keeping the overall game balanced.

Battlefield Team

I’ve been following the changes to Portal lately, and it’s interesting to see how things are shifting. DICE reported that the updates seem to be pushing players away from PvE servers – they’re seeing a bit of a drop there. But on the flip side, PvP servers are actually getting *more* popular. So, while it’s not ideal to see PvE numbers dip, the rise in PvP is a positive, I guess.

DICE is looking into ways to bring bots back to Battlefield 6 eventually, aiming to fix the problems that led to their removal while still providing a fun experience for players. For now, though, players who liked playing against bots in the cooperative style will be disappointed.

This leads to a couple of major issues.

Currently, most custom servers with the “Verified” status can’t successfully start a game because they lack the ability to fill empty slots with bots. There are many active servers to choose from, but without careful coordination, it’s extremely difficult to gather enough real players to begin a match officially without relying on bots.

Many players prefer playing against the game’s challenges (PvE) rather than competing against others (PvP), and they’re not necessarily using bots just to gain experience quickly. Without a way to improve their characters or accounts, these custom servers tend to fail, as one Reddit user explained after requesting a refund.

Comment from r/Battlefield

DICE, the game developer, admits the problem with bots exploiting Portal XP came about because some challenges were too easy. They state they are currently creating updates to fix these challenges and will share more information as it becomes available.

The future of Battlefield 6’s Portal

A lot of the problems DICE is having with its Battlefield 6 Portal stem from earlier messaging.

Features long-time Battlefield players have been asking for, like a server browser, weren’t included in the main game, but will be available in the Portal mode.

Before the release of the new Battlefield game, many fans noted that the Portal feature in Battlefield 2042 didn’t live up to expectations. They were curious to see how DICE would improve things this time around.

DICE hasn’t made significant changes to the Battlefield formula, and we’re starting to see similar problems emerge with the new game. Battlefield 2042’s Portal feature never overcame its initial difficulties, and I’m worried the same fate awaits Battlefield 6.

DICE states they will keep improving Portal and Community Experiences as problems are fixed, but it’s unclear exactly what that will involve.

FAQ

What is the difference between Verified and Custom Portal servers?

As a researcher studying Battlefield 6, I’ve identified ‘Verified Portal’ servers as those dedicated to the game’s main modes – things like Conquest, Breakthrough, and Rush. These servers were originally intended to provide a consistent, rule-based experience, and for a while, they even allowed bot backfill alongside full XP and player progression.

Custom Portal servers often have unique settings that differ from standard setups. While not all were originally intended for use with XP bots, that’s where most of the problems started.

Does Battlefield 6 have a battle royale mode?

I’m so hyped! It looks like Battlefield 6 is *finally* getting a battle royale mode! From what some players have dug up in the game files, it should be released on October 28th, along with the first season of new content. I can’t wait!

Does Battlefield 6 have a capable anti-cheat?

Early reports show that DICE’s Javelin anti-cheat system is performing effectively on PC. Because it works deeply within the operating system (at the kernel level), it needs Secure Boot to be turned on in order to function.

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2025-10-25 16:40