Battlefield 6's XP farm crackdown is having all the right effects, and the dev just got even more ruthless

In the grand scheme of things, there really isn't that much to complain about with Battlefield 6. Especially when you compare it to its predecessor… It's a return to form for the series, and while there've been a couple of small pain points, you know as well as I do that constant grumbles surround even the best FPS games. One such frustration involves XP farm servers, which were letting players zoom through weapon and attachment unlocks but were also cluttering Portal with samey, soulless, bot-farming experiences rather than unique, creative ones. Last week, Battlefield Studios' crackdown began by increasing the XP gained in regular game modes to disincentivise XP farms, and starting to hide Portal experiences that were blatantly built for that purpose. Now, it's getting even firmer.

In a new community update, Battlefield Studios says that its efforts to clamp down on XP farms are having all the right effects in regards to what people are playing on Portal. "At an initial glance, we've started to see a decline in PvE servers with fewer active players, while PvP servers, where players compete against one another, are becoming more active. PvE options are still available through Custom Experiences, but Verified Experiences with full XP are starting to better reflect our focus on player-versus-player gameplay." That's excellent news indeed.

This comes after it reduced the amount of XP you could earn in certain types of Portal experiences in Battlefield 6, and today it's confirmed another similar measure. "Verified Experiences with 'Bot Backfill' disabled continue to grant Full Progression and XP," it confirms, but it warns server owners that if they want to be a 'full XP' experience, they'd "need to be unpublished, have 'Bot Backfill' disabled, and then republished." Any unverified experiences will continue to earn reduced rates of XP, regardless of whether they include bots or not. Battlefield Studios says that this "keeps creative freedom and allows you to express yourself within Portal while maintaining progression balance."

Battlefield 6's initially sluggish progression wasn't the only thing driving people to the best BF6 Portal codes for farming, however. Challenges were also way too hard to complete for anyone unable to seriously grind. EA acknowledges this, and says "we are actively working on updates for challenges and will share details as progress is made in this area."

Now, I'm personally giving a big thumbs up to this crackdown, but I'm fully aware that there are plenty of fans unhappy with this. As mentioned, challenges are very tough, and even with the uplift in XP rates in traditional game modes, getting the best Battlefield guns and attachments can still take quite a while.

Those with less time to spend in the game are irked that XP farms are being squeezed, as they saw it as the only viable way to get the gear they want. I sympathize, to an extent. In a competitive PvP game, locking gameplay elements behind account levels can be frustrating if you're not playing regularly enough. But simply gifting everyone all the guns and attachments in the game doesn't feel rewarding, either.

For more of the best multiplayer games, check out our expert recommendations. Or if you just love the thrill of charging into battle, here's our guide to the best war games.

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