Before the release of Battlefield 2042, Battlefield Portal was the most exciting mode for fans. Currently, however, Portal is plagued by major issues. MeinMMO tells you what’s going on and what the reasons are.
Even before Battlefield 2042 was playable, fans and the press agreed: Battlefield Portal is the most exciting mode in the game. Given the many problems of Battlefield 2042 itself, Portal was the mode that could save the game for the community.
The ability to create almost limitless custom game modes and scenarios through Portal has already excited fans as a concept. A clever yet quirky wingsuit training course in Portal has even impressed DICE employees (via reddit).
But Portal currently has major problems. Now fans are worried that the creative workshop Portal is doomed if the developers do not take action. We tell you what the biggest issues of Portal are – and whether the developers are doing anything about them.
Players lack the motivation to play Portal
What is the problem? One of the biggest problems with Portal is that players lack the motivation to play it. This is due to the rate at which you earn XP in Portal matches:
- There is a limit to the XP you can earn for your account from Portal games.
- On Portal servers, you receive less XP for the same actions than in the other modes of Battlefield 2042.
- There is no XP for weapons, vehicles, or specialists in Portal.
Since you earn little to no experience points in Battlefield Portal, players see no reason to play it. As Reddit user alaskancurry says: “The [lack of XP] is the reason why I don’t play Portal” (via reddit).
What is the solution? At the release of the game, you could earn just as much XP in Portal matches as in the other game modes of Battlefield 2042. However, because Portal was quickly full of XP farm servers, DICE heavily limited and partially disabled XP in Portal.
If these limitations were removed, players would have more reasons to play Battlefield Portal.
Is the solution coming? Justin Wiebe, one of the developers of the Portal mode, announced on Twitter on November 25, 2021, that these XP caps are to be abolished. However, he did not give a date for it:
Portal feels like “Demos of old games”
What is the problem? Through Battlefield Portal, players have access to maps, weapons, factions, and soldiers from 4 Battlefield games:
- Battlefield 2042
- Battlefield 1942
- Battlefield Bad Company 2
- Battlefield 3
Although all content from Battlefield 2042 is available in Portal, the selection for the 3 Battlefield classics is limited. From each of the old games, only 2 maps are available. The weapons, vehicles, and attachments are not a complete list, just a ‘best of.’
This is too little for players. Especially since Battlefield 2042 is so unpopular among fans, they want more content from the beloved classics. What is currently offered feels like “demos of old games”:
Portal becomes very boring very quickly when you only play the demos of old Battlefield games. With only 2 maps [per game] and not all weapons/vehicles/attachments. If we only had all weapons/vehicles/attachments and about the 6 best maps per Battlefield game, then everyone would play Portal.
kikoano on reddit
What is the solution? As Reddit user kikoano says, fans want more content from the old games. Whether this will happen remains unclear:
For Battlefield 2042 itself, more content is expected to come through battle passes and seasons. What exactly this content will be, and whether Battlefield Portal will receive new content as well, is currently still unclear.
Is the solution coming? According to an unconfirmed leak from industry insider Tom Henderson, the following content is expected to come with each season:
- 1 new specialist
- 2 new maps for Battlefield 2042
- 2 new Portal maps
- An update for the Hazard Zone, which is expected to run through a story
- 6 to 8 new weapons for each mode
- 2 to 3 new vehicles for each mode
- 100 season levels
However, this information is based on leaks and has not been confirmed by any official source. Therefore, it is still unclear whether Portal will actually receive new content.
The servers are empty and disappearing
What is the problem? The 2 described problems lead to a 3rd problem, and that is probably the biggest: The servers of Battlefield Portal are too empty. And once a server is completely emptied, it also disappears from the list.
In Germany, this leads to the following picture in the server browser of Portal:
Most servers are either poorly populated or have too high ping. Only inefficient XP farm servers can still successfully attract players.
Once a server is completely emptied, it also disappears from the list. For a Portal game mode to be played again, a player must create a new server with that game mode.
Players from Australia and New Zealand even say that Portal is already “dead” despite crossplay. This is also due to the fact that they face the most server problems in all games for geographical reasons (via reddit).
What is the solution? On social media, players are wishing for DICE and EA to make it possible to rent private servers. This feature was present in old Battlefield games and was very popular. Thanks to private servers that could be rented in old Battlefield games, these still have a thriving – albeit small – community today.
Is the solution coming? There are no private servers in Battlefield 2042. There are also no signs that the developers want to change this in the foreseeable future.
This particularly frustrates fans on reddit:
- HowardBunnyColvin writes: “This is the thing I hate most about the direction of the new Battlefields. [The developers] are happy with SBMM [skill-based matchmaking] and don’t want any more private or clan servers. It’s so stupid” (via reddit).
- DoctorDates says: “For some reason, you cannot buy private servers for BF2042. Ridiculously stupid decision by DICE, but that’s already known” (via reddit).
The biggest problems of Battlefield Portal are therefore the lack of motivation for players, a too small selection of maps and weapons, and resulting server emptiness. Whether and how the developers will intervene is currently still unclear.
Thus, the mode that was supposed to save Battlefield 2042 is suffering itself. How do you find Portal so far? Are you having fun with the old games in a new look? Or is what is offered too little for you? And what creative game modes have you already discovered? Let us know in the comments.
Another major topic in the community is currently the lack of support for mouse & keyboard on consoles. You can find out more about it in our article:
Battlefield 2042: 10,000 fans sign petition, demanding mouse and keyboard on PlayStation & Xbox
Another major topic in the community is currently the lack of support for mouse & keyboard on consoles. You can find out more about it in our article:
Battlefield 2042: 10,000 fans sign petition, demanding mouse and keyboard on PlayStation & Xbox
