Battlefield 2042 doesn’t officially release until November 19, but some players already have access to the full game via early access or Xbox Game Pass/EA Play’s limited trial. The newest title in the long-running Battlefield franchise has been amping up for a massive release, and one thing players have been amped about is Battlefield Portal. Using this, people can create their own personalized multiplayer experience by pulling elements from Battlefield 2042, Battlefield 1942, Battlefield Bad Company 2, and Battlefield 3. The possibilities are endless, and some of the more devious souls out there have found a way to turn the hunters into the hunted.
As soon as players were given a way to create their own maps, many decided to create XP farms. Simply slaughtering bots armed with knives is an easy way to level up quickly and unlock better gear at rapid speed–no matter how cheap it may be. This isn’t newsworthy, but what is worth mentioning is the particular genius way some people are messing with fellow players. In the Portal, players can search for games to join, and many are, as expected, looking for XP farms. When jumping into these games, these poor souls are left to wonder why they only have a knife, and why small teams of incredibly well-armed human soldiers are wiping them out without remorse. That’s right–these players are the crops, and they are ripe for the pickin’.
Tyler Wilde at PC Gamer broke down this horrible turn of events in the most hilarious way possible. “What’s really funny is that not everyone leaves after discovering that only a handful of players in the server are XP farming and they aren’t one of them. I’ve stuck around and watched players desperately run at their tormentors with knives over and over. Somewhere along the line, a rumor must’ve started that typing “/switch” or “/swapteam” into chat puts you on the other team, because there’s a lot of that. It does not work. I’ve also seen strings of players type “/gun,” apparently hoping that the command will give them a gun. It does not,” he said.
In response to this, DICE is attempting to alter the effectiveness of said XP farms, and are also freeing up more servers for Portal. You know, for people who want to be more creative.
Battlefield 2042 is scheduled to be released on November 19, 2021, on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Those with EA Play or Xbox Game Pass are currently able to try the game for 10 hours, while those who pre-ordered the Gold or Ultimate editions of the game can play the full game now with no strings attached.
