What to know

  • XP from Portal matches, including match score, win bonuses, and accolades, no longer count towards player progression on many servers.
  • Mastery XP, daily missions, assignments, and challenges are now disabled on servers flagged for bot XP farming.
  • These changes aim to curb rampant XP farming exploits that flooded Portal with bot farm servers after launch.
  • The nerf affects both XP farming servers and some legitimate Portal servers, frustrating players who used Portal for progression.

Battlefield 6 launched with a Portal mode heavily exploited by XP farming servers using bots to quickly farm experience points and bypass the game's challenging and slow progression system. Recognizing this, developer DICE implemented a patch that drastically reduces or removes progression XP rewards from Portal experiences where bots are present, aiming to discourage cheating and restore balance.

Why the Portal nerf was necessary

After Battlefield 6's launch, many players turned to Portal servers with bots as a shortcut to unlock weapons, attachments, and complete difficult challenges without genuine gameplay. This led to an influx of bot farm servers dominating the Portal server list, preventing normal players from finding legitimate servers and diminishing the intended community experience.

What was changed in XP and progression

  • Players no longer earn XP from wins, or accolades in many Portal servers hosting bots.
  • Mastery XP essential for weapon unlocks is also blocked on these servers.
  • Daily missions, assignments, and other progression-based challenges tied to Portal modes are effectively disabled.
  • Some legitimate Portal servers hosting bots also experience these restrictions, causing frustration.

Impact on gameplay and community reaction

The nerf means Portal, which was promoted as a versatile community-driven sandbox for custom Battlefield gameplay, now struggles to fulfill its promise of normal progression. Some players are frustrated that DICE chose to nerf Portal XP instead of rebalancing the overall challenge design or enabling more dedicated non-Portal servers. Others hope this is a temporary measure until a better solution is found.

Portal Experiences nerfed to the ground
by u/Tethrys_ in Battlefield6

Ongoing adjustments and future outlook

EA and DICE continue working on backend updates to improve matchmaking, reduce bot servers, and support healthier community experiences. Additional patch notes are expected soon that will clarify broader changes. Meanwhile, players must adapt to reduced XP rewards in Portal and may need to rely more on traditional multiplayer modes for progression.

Battlefield 6's recent Portal XP nerf was a necessary step to control rampant XP farming exploits but has also limited progression in legitimate Portal experiences, presenting challenges for players seeking to use Portal as a main progression avenue. DICE's future patches may better balance this system over time.