Battlefield 2042’s Portal mode has created a very cool Zombie mode. But that only lasted a very, very short time. And behind it all, there is a bigger problem.
If you’ve ever said on a date, family reunion, or business dinner (Hentai is art), you know that feeling: that feeling that you should have taken the other exit on your last mental fork. Battlefield 2042, too, can sing a song about this kind of mistake – recently for example with its new zombie mode, which had to be taken offline immediately after release. And the reason for that is a much bigger issue that has plagued the game since its release.
what zombie mode
Battlefield 2042’s Portal mode not only contains community creations, but also DICE-created modes and playlists. One of them was devoted to the undead: Zombie Survival confronted a team of human players with hordes of zombies that they had to get rid of. A pretty fun activity, but Battlefield 2042’s XP system got the better of the mode
The portal as XP farm
Ever since its release, Portal Mode has been plagued by XP-Farming. In practical terms, this means that people use the customization possibilities of the portal editor to rack up experience points at a breakneck pace and thus unlock stuff faster. This, of course, puts anyone playing regular war modes at a disadvantage and unlocking things there at normal speed.
This is why DICE disabled XP in Portal after release as a contingency solution. In the meantime, there is a gradual solution: you can only get the full XP in Portal matches officially organized by DICE. If you DIY a deathmatch yourself, you will receive less points. In fact, it’s fine, because zombie survival is such an official mode.
But the developers have obviously underestimated or overlooked how easy it is to earn experience points with Zombie mode, as you end up shooting countless stupid bots. At least that’s what Justin Wiebe, senior design director at Ripple Effect, Battlefield 2042’s support studio, confirms:
We removed Zombie Mode and replaced it with Gun Game. We hope to fix it in the future and keep it in line with standard game progression. We’ve also tightened our review process to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Thank you for your patience and understanding
– Justin Wiebe (@JA_Wiebe) January 21, 2022
Not going to lie, this one shouldn’t have gone through our review process. I think our desire to create a fun zombies mode blocked our ability to see something as simple as the impact it would have on progression. I am truly sorry for the difficulties this has caused. https://t.co/01MXOdWGN5
– Justin Wiebe (@JA_Wiebe) January 21, 2022
A major problem
It’s quite possible that Zombie Survival will return in a suitable form – but with less XP distribution. This incident illustrates a bigger problem: Battlefield 2042 progression is simply broken. In regular multiplayer, for example, you have to make a ridiculous number of shots with fighter jets to unlock everything, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
During Battlefield 2042’s review event, the devs assured us they’d know how to handle the danger of XP farms – but that’s exactly what seriously hurts Battlefield Portal, actually the most creative mode in the game. 2042.
The first official season of Battlefield 2042 is still ahead of us. According to leaks, it should take place in March 2022. New content, balancing adjustments and the first Battle Pass await us then. Do you think the game can still take a turn?