Experience
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Experience is a central game mechanic in Baldur's Gate 3.
All characters start at level 1, and level up when they receive enough experience. Leveling up allows a character to take another level in a class. After reaching level 12, no further levels are gained.
Experience is gained through completing quests, succeeding at tasks, discovering new locations, and defeating enemies.
When a character gains inspiration, they earn a small amount of experience. Experience from all other sources is earned by all characters that have joined the player, whether they are in the active party or at camp.
The amount of experience obtained by defeating an enemy is determined by the enemy level and its category. "Pack" enemies are the weakest category and will provide much less experience than "Boss" enemies. For example, Nere is a level 5 "Elite" enemy, so defeating him rewards 90 experience. His minions are level 5 "Combatant" enemies, so defeating them rewards 75 experience each. Enemies of level 13 and above will provide as much experience as a level 12 enemy.
Defeating an enemy can reward no experience if the player already resolved the encounter without fighting. For example, if the player peacefully talks their way out of an encounter, they will gain the same experience as if they had killed the enemies. Killing them afterwards will not earn the player any more experience. This is to prevent the player to double up on experience.
In many occurrences during the game, the player has the possibility to side with a NPC 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 NPC. 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).
The amount of experience rewarded by a quest or a defeated enemy is not visible in the game before completing the quest or defeating the enemy. Examining an enemy doesn't provide its category either, preventing the player to determine the precise amount of experience it will reward. However, the player can approximate it using the enemy level, visible in the Examine window or while hovering the enemy.
If the player's main character has more experience than one or more party members (thanks to an Inspiration), you can remove them from the party and add them back, their experience will now be equal to the main character.
| Player | Defeated enemy | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level | Cumulative exp. | Exp. for next level | Pack | Combatant | Elite | Miniboss | Boss |
| 1 | 0 | 300 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 30 |
| 2 | 300 | 600 | 5 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 75 |
| 3 | 900 | 1,800 | 10 | 20 | 40 | 50 | 100 |
| 4 | 2,700 | 3,800 | 20 | 40 | 75 | 100 | 150 |
| 5 | 6,500 | 6,500 | 40 | 75 | 90 | 150 | 250 |
| 6 | 13,000 | 8,000 | 50 | 90 | 150 | 230 | 320 |
| 7 | 21,000 | 9,000 | 60 | 110 | 180 | 280 | 400 |
| 8 | 30,000 | 12,000 | 75 | 140 | 220 | 350 | 500 |
| 9 | 42,000 | 14,000 | 110 | 200 | 315 | 500 | 700 |
| 10 | 56,000 | 20,000 | 135 | 250 | 400 | 640 | 875 |
| 11 | 76,000 | 24,000 | 170 | 320 | 510 | 800 | 1120 |
| 12 | 100,000 | N/A | 210 | 400 | 640 | 1000 | 1400 |
| 13+ | N/A | N/A | 210 | 400 | 640 | 1000 | 1400 |