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Experience
Characters experience
All characters start at 0 experience and gain levels when they receive enough experience. After gaining 100,000 experience, they reach level 12 and no further experience is gained.
The experience cumulated at each level and the experience required to reach the next level is described in the following table:
Level | Cumulative exp. | Exp. for next level |
---|---|---|
1 | 0 | 300 |
2 | 300 | 600 |
3 | 900 | 1,800 |
4 | 2,700 | 3,800 |
5 | 6,500 | 6,500 |
6 | 13,000 | 8,000 |
7 | 21,000 | 9,000 |
8 | 30,000 | 12,000 |
9 | 42,000 | 14,000 |
10 | 56,000 | 20,000 |
11 | 76,000 | 24,000 |
12 | 100,000 | N/A |
When gaining experience, it is usually earned by all the companions who have joined the player, whether they are in the active party or at the campsite. The only exception is when a character is succeeding a background goal, in which case only that character earns the experience.
If the player's main character has more experience than one or more party members, the player can remove them from the party and add them back, their experience will now be equal to the main character.
Sources of experience
There are 4 sources of experience in the game:
- defeating creatures
- discovering locations
- completing quests steps
- succeeding background goals (which also grants inspirations)
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).
Discovering locations is the only source of experience that scales with the main character level. As a result, the amount of experience granted for visiting an area will be different from one player to another, depending of when each player visits the area for the first time.
The experience rewards are never visible in the user interface in advance. After achieving a task that rewards experience, the game will briefly show the amount of experience earned by the characters above their heads, and will also add it to the Combat Log.
Defeating creatures
The amount of experience rewarded for defeating a creature is determined by:
- the largest number between the creature level and the area level where the creature is defeated
- the reward category assigned to the creature
There are 7 reward categories, which are are not visible anywhere in the user interface. From less to most rewarding:
- Zero (
UUID
40806669-8c6b-4068-8bc4-07e4981bb020 - Civilian (
UUID
c83d6caa-c5c3-4356-b55c-8d634535976c - Pack (
UUID
c1d87aaa-7548-44da-b9dd-d17b027a3885 - Combatant (
UUID
810b5510-6748-4c8e-bef0-d990880ed1dd - Elite (
UUID
4ee02692-eb98-43a6-803f-2da645364568 - Miniboss (
UUID
206b753f-bc3b-46af-98b9-0c711d98c678 - Boss (
UUID
484393d9-eb7b-4b3b-b69b-5fdbfa940403
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.
If the creature level is lower than the area level, then the game uses the area level instead of the creature level to choose the reward. For example, when defeating a level 1 "Combatant" Goblin creature in the level 3 Blighted Village area, the game will use the area level and consider the creature to be a level 3 "Combatant". So it will grant 20 experience.
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 NPCs 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.
Examining a creature doesn't provide its reward category, preventing the player to determine the precise amount of experience it will reward. However, the player can approximate it using the creature level, visible in the Examine window or while hovering the creature. The area level is not provided in the user interface either.
The experience granted by each level and each reward category is described in the following table:
Reward categories | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Level | Zero | Civilian | Pack | Combatant | Elite | Miniboss | Boss |
1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 30 |
2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 75 |
3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 20 | 40 | 50 | 100 |
4 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 40 | 75 | 100 | 150 |
5 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 75 | 90 | 150 | 250 |
6 | 0 | 1 | 50 | 90 | 150 | 230 | 320 |
7 | 0 | 1 | 60 | 110 | 180 | 280 | 400 |
8 | 0 | 1 | 75 | 140 | 220 | 350 | 500 |
9 | 0 | 1 | 110 | 200 | 315 | 500 | 700 |
10 | 0 | 1 | 135 | 250 | 400 | 640 | 875 |
11 | 0 | 1 | 170 | 320 | 510 | 800 | 1,120 |
12+ | 0 | 1 | 210 | 400 | 640 | 1,000 | 1,400 |
The category "Zero" is actually the most used category in the game, it is assigned to 82 creatures.
The following table shows how many times each reward category is used in the game:
Zero | Civilian | Pack | Combatant | Elite | Miniboss | Boss | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Creatures | 82 | 21 | 36 | 47 | 26 | 15 | 12 |
Discovering locations
The amount of experience rewarded for discovering locations (internally referenced as "Exploration Reward") is determined by:
- the main character level
- the reward category assigned to the area
There are 4 reward categories, which are not visible anywhere in the user interface. From less to most rewarding:
- Small (
UUID
4c4c1c60-3362-4e84-84ad-ae1a140b17ee - Medium (
UUID
be4218ef-3a29-4fbf-911a-255ee71d2b35 - Big (
UUID
1e2436a8-309e-4c8f-b77a-a6b1e4889fd9 - LevelBoost (
UUID
85d04f48-87c7-45e0-83c5-fdd5b11465df
Since the amount of experience granted for visiting an area is based on the main character level, the reward will be different from one player to another, depending of when each player visits the area for the first time. So for example, when discovering Crèche Y'llek, which is a "Big" area, it will grant 120 experience if the main character is level 4, 240 experience if they are level 5, 280 experience if they are level 6 and 300 experience if they are level 7.
To maximize the experience reward, the player should level up before discovering a location. For example, in the case of Crèche Y'llek, the difference between going there at level 4 and going there at level 5 is 120 experience. So if the characters are close to reach level 5, the player might consider turning back and looking for other sources of experience, then come back to discover the Crèche once they are level 5. On the other hand, the difference between going there at level 6 and going there at level 7 is only 20 experience, so the player might consider the effort not worth it.
The experience granted by each level and each reward category is described in the following table:
Reward categories | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Level | Small | Medium | Big | LevelBoost |
1 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 100 |
2 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 200 |
3 | 30 | 60 | 90 | 300 |
4 | 40 | 75 | 120 | 500 |
5 | 80 | 150 | 240 | 1,000 |
6 | 95 | 180 | 280 | 1,100 |
7 | 115 | 210 | 300 | 1,200 |
8 | 150 | 275 | 370 | 1,500 |
9 | 210 | 400 | 530 | 2,000 |
10 | 260 | 500 | 660 | 2,400 |
11 | 330 | 630 | 850 | 3,400 |
12 | 420 | 780 | 1,000 | 5,000 |
The category "LevelBoost" is actually never used in the game, and the category "Small" is the most used one, it is assigned to 39 areas.
The following table shows how many times each reward category is used in the game:
Small | Medium | Big | LevelBoost | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Areas | 39 | 15 | 11 | 0 |
Completing quests steps
The quests on themselves don't grant experience on completion, but their steps do. All the quests are divided into objectives, which themselves are divided into steps (internally referenced as "QuestStep"). Each step has its own experience reward. The steps are shown in the user interface, inside the Quest Journal. By clicking on a quest on the left side, all the completed steps for this quest are listed on the right side. The amount of experience obtained for a step is not visible in the Journal. While a step might not be required to complete a quest, it can still grant some experience, usually a small amount.
The amount of experience rewarded for completing a step is determined by:
- the level of the area that triggers the completion
- the reward category assigned to the step
There are 11 reward categories, which are not visible anywhere in the user interface. From less to most rewarding:
- CombatCloseBooster (
UUID
d28b13b0-e0c0-4b5c-b166-ff17e50322cf - CombatCloseMajor (
UUID
fae81b0d-9561-41c4-b71a-883272cfd3da - ProgressBooster (
UUID
bbac01c1-eddd-416a-837b-317944d09413 - ProgressMajor (
UUID
85e62526-1d6d-4efb-8897-c602e530e7bf - CloseBoosterEasy (
UUID
ce7f8aea-6f9a-49b8-a3dd-7fb12d2eb745 - CombatCloseMain (
UUID
7aa9ef5d-b431-4a94-85d9-a68d915d3b64 - CloseBoosterHard (
UUID
67439439-7cba-4077-81e8-3224086fc6f7 - ProgressMain (
UUID
0ccb6004-47e8-4356-9299-2f69fdfcb13d - CloseMajor (
UUID
436a9e5d-2102-4048-964d-2055a295e73e - BypassedCombatMedium (
UUID
86b0c895-49cd-4152-9b1e-dc2acd224025 - CloseMain (
UUID
572cc0bc-ecf3-4a85-84be-10bdd2d60f3b
There is actually a 12th category, "BackgroundGoal", but as its name suggests, it is not assigned to completing quests but to succeeding background goals.
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 HIDDEN_
, a description equals to %%% 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 are also 2,728 quest steps without any reward category. They effectively grant 0 experience on completion.
The experience granted by each level and each reward category is described in the following table:
Reward categories | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Level | Combat Close Booster |
Combat Close Major |
Progress Booster |
Progress Major |
Close Booster Easy |
Combat Close Main |
Close Booster Hard |
Progress Main |
Close Major |
Bypassed Combat Medium |
Close Main |
1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 30 | 50 |
2 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | 15 | 10 | 30 | 50 | 50 |
3 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 35 | 30 | 45 | 70 | 75 |
4 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 50 | 60 | 60 | 100 | 100 |
5 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 30 | 35 | 60 | 80 | 120 | 120 | 200 | 200 |
6 | 10 | 25 | 35 | 35 | 40 | 70 | 95 | 145 | 145 | 240 | 240 |
7 | 10 | 30 | 45 | 45 | 50 | 80 | 115 | 175 | 175 | 290 | 290 |
8 | 10 | 35 | 55 | 55 | 65 | 110 | 145 | 225 | 225 | 360 | 360 |
9 | 10 | 40 | 65 | 65 | 90 | 160 | 200 | 320 | 320 | 525 | 525 |
10 | 10 | 45 | 75 | 75 | 110 | 200 | 250 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 650 |
11 | 10 | 50 | 85 | 85 | 140 | 250 | 320 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 840 |
12 | 10 | 60 | 95 | 95 | 175 | 300 | 400 | 640 | 640 | 640 | 1,000 |
The category "CombatCloseMain" is actually never used in the game, and the category "ProgressBooster" is the most used one, it is assigned to 240 quest steps.
The following table shows how many times each reward category is used in the game:
Combat Close Booster |
Combat Close Major |
Progress Booster |
Progress Major |
Close Booster Easy |
Combat Close Main |
Close Booster Hard |
Progress Main |
Close Major |
Bypassed Combat Medium |
Close Main | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quest steps |
2 | 4 | 240 | 121 | 114 | 0 | 63 | 51 | 167 | 9 | 23 |
Succeeding background goals
The amount of experience rewarded for succeeding a background goal is determined by:
- the reward level assigned to the background goal
There is only 1 reward category, which is not visible anywhere in the user interface:
- BackgroundGoal (
UUID
90f636c0-2d85-46d8-9760-30b57c664f4b
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.
The game will briefly open a window to notify the player when a character succeed a background goal. However, as of patch 6, the experience reward announced in the window is sometimes incorrect. The player can consult the Combat Log to see the actual experience reward.
The experience granted by each level is described in the following table:
Level | Reward |
---|---|
1 | 15 |
2 | 20 |
3 | 25 |
4 | 30 |
5 | 50 |
6 | 60 |
7 | 75 |
8 | 95 |
9 | 135 |
10 | 170 |
11 | 220 |
12 | 275 |
The level 1 is actually never used in the game, and the level 10 is the most used one, it is assigned to 92 background goals.
The following table shows how many times each level is used in the game:
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | Level 5 | Level 6 | Level 7 | Level 8 | Level 9 | Level 10 | Level 11 | Level 12 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Background goals |
0 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 63 | 65 | 40 | 8 | 54 | 92 | 57 | 3 |
Succeeding background goals also grant inspirations.