What to do while leveling
How to Level Up Efficiently
Mix events, story, and exploration as you progress toward level 80.
A common mistake
You can move freely between renown hearts, events, story chapters, and exploration. If hearts become repetitive, try another activity or region.
Start by checking the Character Adventure Guide.
Press H and open Achievements to find it. Basic activities such as exploring, defeating enemies, and gathering award extra experience. Work on these objectives alongside nearby events and your story.
You can still complete hearts as you pass through. Just drop the idea that every heart must be finished before you leave the map.
Leveling tips that are easy to miss
Use food and utility buffs
Food and utility effects occupy separate buff slots, so you can use both. For example, +10% kill experience from food and +10% from a utility item give a combined +20%. Check the required level and price, and use another when the buff expires.
| Type | Item | Effect | Duration | Before buying |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food for leveling | Bowl of Apple Sauce | +10% experience from kills | 30 minutes | No level requirement · check the current Trading Post price |
| Food for level 80 | Soul Pastry | +15% experience from kills, plus Power and Concentration | 45 minutes | Requires level 80 · check the current Trading Post price |
| Utility item | Rough Sharpening Stone | +10% experience from kills, plus a small Power increase | 30 minutes | No level requirement · check the current Trading Post price |
Soul Pastry drops during Halloween but can be bought on the Trading Post year-round. Other food and utility items are available; these are simple examples for maintaining a kill-experience buff. Compare current prices before buying. Soul Pastry requires level 80, so while leveling choose food you can use, such as Bowl of Apple Sauce. Free accounts have restrictions on Trading Post purchases.
Reinforced Armor: pick it up in town
Interact with an NPC or object marked by an anvil (⚒) to receive Reinforced Armor. It increases health and defense for up to 12 hours. Collect it when you visit town to make combat easier. It is free.
Guild hall experience buff
If your guild has unlocked the experience enhancement and you can enter its guild hall, visit Nathan the Bartender in the Guild Tavern for a free experience buff. It provides up to +10%, depending on how many enhancements the guild has unlocked. It stacks with food and utility effects.
Recommended activities for leveling
Mix these four activities as you progress toward level 80. The first two are especially useful.
- Earn experience on completion: the amount depends on level and participation rank.
- No party required: defeat enemies, escort NPCs, or help with other event objectives to earn participation.
- Each participant receives experience; party members do not split a shared reward.
- On failure, receive half the experience and coin for your participation rank, but no karma.
- Personal-story mission experience is calculated from the mission’s level, with a base award of 27% of the experience for that level.
- The first chapter opens at level 10; another opens every ten levels.
- At level 80, continue with Living World and expansion stories.
- Waypoint discovery: 2.61% XP, calculated from the area’s level.
- Vista: 3.75% XP, calculated from the area’s level.
- Point of interest: 1.56% XP, calculated from the area’s level.
- Slow as your only leveling method.
- Gather from nodes you pass while traveling.
- Use materials for crafting or sell them.
Explore areas at or below your character’s level. Lower-level areas reduce your attributes but still award experience appropriate to your level. Entering a higher-level normal map does not raise your level; return to a lower-level area if its enemies are too strong.
Useful unlocks as you level
New features open as your character levels up. Knowing the main milestones makes the process easier to follow.
| Level | Unlock |
|---|---|
| 2 | Weapon skill slot 2 |
| 6 | Weapon skill slot 4 and the off-hand weapon slot |
| 8 | Weapon skill slot 5 |
| 10 | Weapon swapping and the first personal-story chapter |
| 11 | First utility skill slot |
| 21 | First specialization slot |
| 31 | Elite skill slot |
| 45 | Second specialization slot |
| 71 | Third specialization slot |
| 80 | Wizard’s Vault |
Leveling up fully restores your health. If you are close to a level during combat, earning it before being defeated can help you survive. Keep an eye on your experience bar during a difficult event.
When to use a Level-80 Boost
Some packages or events provide a boost to level 80. Think about when it will be most useful.
Save it for a later character.
For your first character, this guide recommends leveling normally to learn your skills and combat. A boost opens many skills and traits at once, giving you much more to learn immediately.
A boost is recommended from your second character onward. Once you know the game’s systems, it is a useful way to bring another profession to level 80.
Try the profession before committing: Use the boost item to enter its trial in the Silverwastes. The trial temporarily makes you level 80.
You can cancel the trial. Choose Undo Trial to return to your original state. The boost becomes permanent when you choose Consume and complete its confirmations. Once consumed, it cannot be reversed.
What order should I play the story in?
While leveling, follow your Personal Story for the story sequence. At level 80, Living World and expansion stories continue in this order.
- Personal Story: after the tutorial, chapters begin at level 10.
- Living World Season 1: permanently free.
- Living World Season 2: purchase separately or in a bundle that includes it.
- Heart of Thorns (expansion 1)
- Living World Season 3
- Path of Fire (expansion 2)
- Living World Season 4
- Icebrood Saga (Living World Season 5)
- End of Dragons (expansion 3)
- Secrets of the Obscure (expansion 4)
- Janthir Wilds (expansion 5)
- Visions of Eternity (expansion 6)