Experience: Difference between revisions

* succeeding [[Backgrounds|background]] goals (which also grants [[inspiration]]s)

In many occurrences during the game, the player has the possibility to side with a creature for the purpose of succeeding a quest, then kill them afterwards. In doing so they effectively gain the experience from succeeding the quest and the experience from defeating the creature. For example, the player can side with [[Nere]] for the purpose of succeeding [[Free True Soul Nere]], then kill him and his minions afterwards to obtain the maximum of experience as possible (in addition of obtaining both the quest rewards and his items).

Defeating "Zero" and "Civilian" creatures grants respectively 0 and 1 experience at any level. "Pack" creatures are the next weakest category and will provide much less experience than "Boss" creatures. For example, [[Nere]] is a level 5 "Elite" creature, so defeating him rewards 90 experience. His minions are level 5 "Combatant" creatures, so defeating them rewards 75 experience each. Creatures of level 13 and above will provide as much experience as a level 12 creature.

Killing a creature will reward no experience if the player already resolved the encounter without fighting. For instance, if the player peacefully talks their way out of an encounter, they will gain the same experience as if they had killed the creatures. Killing them afterwards will not earn the player any more experience. This is to prevent the player to double up on experience. When resolving the encounter peacefully, the player gets the experience for the creature they interacted with, as well as the experience for all the nearby creatures who would normally join the fight if the player decided to attack. For example, when entering the [[Crèche Y'llek]] and attacking [[Far'aag]], the 3 other [[Non-player characters|NPC]]s in the room join the fight. Killing them grants 75 each, since they are level 5 "Combatant" creatures, for a total of 300 experience. Instead of attacking, the player can persuade Far'aag to let them pass, which also rewards the party with 300 experience. Killing the 4 NPCs afterwards grants 0 experience.

For example, in the quest [[Find the Blood of Lathander]] occurring in [[Act One]], one of the steps is ''"We learned that a powerful holy relic, the Blood of Lathander, could be somewhere nearby. We should keep an eye out for it as we explore the monastery."''. Its reward category is "ProgressMajor" and its completion triggers inside the [[Rosymorn Monastery]], which is a level 5 area. So completing this step grants 30 experience.

Some steps reward experience but don't appear in the Quest Journal. They are internally distinguishable for having an objective prefixed by {{c|HIDDEN_}}, a description equals to {{c|%%% EMPTY}} and their reward category is one of the "Booster" ones. For example, there is a hidden step in the Classroom of the [[Crèche Y'llek]]. If the party saves [[Varrl]] either by talking down the teacher or healing them after the non-leathal injury, they will complete the step and the Quest Journal won't mention it. Its reward category is "CloseBoosterEasy" and its completion triggers in a level 5 area, so completing this hidden step rewards 35 experience.

Some steps also override the level of the area that triggers the completion (internally referenced as "LevelOverride"). For example, in the last objective of the quest [[Discover the Artefact's Secrets]], there are three mutually exclusive steps. Two of them override the area level, which is 5, to 6. Their reward category is "CloseMajor" and the override changes the reward from 120 to 145 experience. There are 21 steps in total in the game that override their area level: 4 steps that override it to level 2 and 17 steps that override it to level 6.

There is actually a 12th category, "RecruitCompanion", which is rewarded for recruiting the following companions: [[Shadowheart]], [[Astarion]], [[Gale]], [[Wyll]] and [[Karlach]]. Each recruitment rewards 30 xp. Recruiting [[Lae'zel]] is part of the main quest {{Quest|Find a Cure}}, has the reward category "ProgressMain" and rewards 20 xp. Recruiting the non [[origins]] companions later in the game doesn't reward any experience.

Goals are succeeded by making choices which fit the party characters' [[background]]s. There are 393 goals in the game, split between 12 backgrounds. Succeeding background goals also grant [[inspiration]]s.

The level is related to the story progression, so goals that trigger later into the game usually have a higher level than goals that trigger at the beginning of the game. The level is not visible anywhere in the user interface For example, the goal "Honing the Darkness" for the background [[Acolyte]] is a level 6 background goal, so it grants 60 experience.