Battlefield 6 is taking a hardline stance on Portal XP farming, and let’s be honest, it was only a matter of time. DICE has officially announced new restrictions on how XP progression works across different types of Portal experiences. The headline? Bots are getting the boot, at least when it comes to earning full progression.
If you’re hoping to rack up kills in low-effort lobbies packed with bots, you’ll need to lower your expectations. Only specially approved “Verified Experiences” without bots will now offer the full suite of rewards: account XP, weapon XP, and so on. Any other Custom Experience, bots or not, will now offer a reduced progression rate.
Let’s rewind: Why are bot servers such a big deal?
Portal was supposed to be Battlefield 6’s secret weapon, a playground for community-created content, full of nostalgia and creativity. And while it delivered that in chunks, it also quickly turned into a grind-fest factory.
Thanks to Battlefield’s famously sluggish weapon progression, clever players started cooking up game modes loaded with bots and inflated ticket counts. These servers turned into easy-farm zones where kill counts soared and XP rained down like confetti. Not surprisingly, it only took about a week for developers to catch on.
In response, DICE initially cracked down on the most egregious XP farm servers and even gave the core game a little XP buff to ease the pain. But clearly, that wasn’t enough.
What qualifies as a “Verified Experience” now?
With the new rules in place, only these so-called “Verified Experiences” will keep rewarding full progression. Want an example? Think infantry-only Breakthrough, Hardcore rule variations of core modes, or curated map rotations. These experiences tweak gameplay without dismantling balance — and more importantly, they don’t include bots.
Verified Experiences are easy to spot. They’re marked by one of two creators: BattlefieldOfficial or BFPortalOfficial. Anything outside that sphere means reduced progression: end of story.
Can you still use bots? Sure, just don’t expect fast rewards
Not all is lost for folks who actually enjoy blasting through AI. You can still build or join Custom Experiences with bots, but now, xp gains will be throttled. Same goes for any non-verified Custom Experience, even if it’s bot-free.
DICE acknowledges that removing bots from meaningful progression is a trade-off. In their Reddit post, they allude to a possibility of bots returning to the XP table someday, but only after they explore “potential solutions that address current issues.” Translation: they know it’s not perfect, and they’re not done yet.
What about the rest of Battlefield 6’s undercooked progression?
Here’s the elephant in the room: XP aside, Battlefield 6 is still facing major criticism for how poorly its challenge system is integrated. Many players find that completing certain objectives in standard multiplayer borders on the impossible. And unfortunately, the new update has nothing to offer on that front … yet.
The devs promise they’re “actively working on updates for challenges,” but there’s no timeline on when we’ll see meaningful improvements. Until then, if you’re chasing unlocks or climbing the weapon tier ladder, you’ll want to stick to the main game and Verified Experiences for reliable XP gain.
The grind continues, but now with fewer shortcuts
This update isn’t just a crackdown: it’s a reset. Battlefield 6 is signalling that it’s not afraid to make unpopular but necessary decisions to preserve what balance it has. For players who spent countless hours grinding in bot zones, it’s definitely a blow. But for those who want a fairer, more skill-based progression system, this might finally be a step in the right direction.
Portal’s potential is still massive. But if it’s going to thrive, it needs firm boundaries. And with these latest changes, DICE is drawing the line: no bots, no XP farms, no exceptions. Now it’s time to see if the community and the mode itself can evolve together.