Guide: How to get Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 online working on Linux, SteamOS, Steam Deck

Introduction

This guide explains how to get Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 working online on Linux, SteamOS, and Steam Deck. The instructions assume the games were acquired through Steam.

These older titles utilize PunkBuster for anti-cheat, rather than EA’s newer EA Javelin Anticheat. A common issue on Linux platforms is that the outdated PunkBuster version included with these games often results in players being kicked from online matches. This problem can be resolved.

For SteamOS users, accessing Desktop Mode is a prerequisite.

Battlefield 3 Specifics

Battlefield 3 utilizes a browser-based menu system. Launching the game opens a new browser tab to the Battlefield 3 web menu. To join a game on Linux, it is necessary to modify the browser’s user agent to spoof Windows. Tools like User-Agent Switcher and Manager (Chrome / Firefox) can achieve this.

A working user agent string example is:

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/138.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 Edg/138.0.3351.55

Following this, PunkBuster must be updated for both Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 to prevent being kicked from matches.

Updating PunkBuster for Battlefield 3 and 4

Important: Before proceeding, launch each game at least once. This ensures PunkBuster is initially installed and allows protontricks to locate the installation directory.

1. Visit the PunkBuster website and download the latest Windows version. Extract “pbsetup.zip” to obtain “pbsetup.exe” in your Downloads folder.
2. Install protontricks, available on Flathub. On KDE Plasma / SteamOS in Desktop Mode, it can be found via the Discover software installer.
3. Since the Flatpak version of protontricks is being used, open a terminal (e.g., Konsole on KDE / SteamOS) and set an alias for easier command execution:

   echo “alias protontricks-launch=’flatpak run –command=protontricks-launch com.github.Matoking.protontricks'” >> ~/.bashrc

4. Close and re-open the terminal for the alias to take effect.
5. Execute the appropriate command in the terminal to launch the PunkBuster updater within the game’s Proton environment:
   

   For Battlefield 3:

   protontricks-launch –appid 1238820 ./Downloads/pbsetup.exe

   For Battlefield 4:

   protontricks-launch –appid 1238860 ./Downloads/pbsetup.exe

6. An EULA will appear; click “I Agree”. The following screen will then be displayed:

   

7. Click “Add a game” and select the desired Battlefield title. The location should be automatically detected if the game was run previously.

   

8. Click “Add Game” to initiate the update process.

   

9. Upon completion, the newer version will be displayed. Click “Quit”.

   

If automatic detection fails, the installation path can be manually entered. Remember to use Windows-style backslashes and include the main drive folder, such as “Z:\”.

Troubleshooting EA Ownership Verification

A potential issue involves EA being unable to verify game ownership, presenting a message similar to this:

To resolve this, ensure all game processes are closed and fully stopped in Steam.

Locate the game’s Proton compatibility data folder and rename a specific file. For Battlefield 3, the default file path is:

~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/1238820/pfx/drive_c/ProgramData/Electronic Arts/EA Services/License/71067.dlf

The “~” symbol represents the home folder. The Steam folder is typically hidden; it can often be revealed by pressing CTRL+H.

Rename the file to:

71067.dlfBACKUP

Alternatively, deleting the file is also an option, as EA is expected to provide a new, functional one.