Experience point An Experience Point ( abbreviated EXP or XP ) is a unit of measurement for character level advancement . Advancing to the next level requires a fixed amount of experience points which is determined by . In " World of Warcraft " , you can gain experience by killing mob s , completing quest s , exploring , Battleground s , or collecting materials with a gathering profession such as Mining or Herbalism ( but not Skinning ) . Raid s can give XP , but in very low amounts . This is based on the concept that as characters defeat stronger enemies , they gain combat experience that allows them to improve their skills . This system is adapted from D & D and is present in some form or another in almost all role - playing games . XP To Level . The experience needed for a given level is specified by a formula that takes in to account several different factors . Up to level 10 , it takes 8 * CL kills of creatures of your same level to advance to the next level , where CL is your Current Level . At level 11 , the " difficulty reduction factor " added in patch 2 . 3 . 0 will kick in , thus reducing the XP needed to level . At level 30 the " difficulty factor " ( from the original game release ) will kick in , which increases the number of kills needed to level . At level 60 , the expected XP from killing a mob of your level increases drastically , as it is assumed that you will be killing mobs in Outland . This increases XP required to level . However at the same time , another reduction factor ( active 60 - 70 only , added at the release of WotLK ) goes into effect reducing the XP needed . At level 70 , the expected XP from killing a mob of your level increases drastically again , as it is assumed that you will be killing mobs in Northrend . The 60 - 70 XP reduction factor expires also , thus causing a large jump in the XP needed to level . Quest XP . The following formula for quest XP was obtained by studying the XP rewards provided for various quests and various levels on the long defunct www . wowdbu . com ( since 2008 ) . Some lower level quests ( Quest _ Level < 10 ) seem to give full XP only for Character _ Level < = Quest _ Level + 4 , differing by 1 level with the table above . For the table , see Mob difficulty colors . In respect to current level , higher level quests do yield a larger relative xp gain . However , in the time it takes to do these harder quests it is possible to do several of the lower quests . Each to their own , but don ' t confuse the absolute value of xp gained as a number with the relative xp gained as a percentage of current level requirements . One strategy is to avoid reds , miss most oranges and focus on a mix of yellow and greens . If you are meant to do them then you will find you have time later . If by then you have already moved on , there are plenty of shiny new quests in the next zone . Also , bear in mind that by completing higher as opposed to lower level quests , you will reach a point where the quests below you are grey and there are no new quests to complete . All that ' s left is the grind . . . Match the green and yellow quests and there is more than enough to see you questing all the way through the game . XP Modifiers . There are multiple ways to earn bonus experience points for completing the same task as one without any . These include : Rested , Recruit - A - Friend , a buff from an Adventurer ' s Journal , and Bind to Account Heirloom modifiers . Rested Bonus - Normally , the experience bar is filled purple for the amount of XP a character has . When a character is in the Rested state , the bar will be filled blue and all experience gains ( except quests ) will be doubled ( 2x ) . A character will gain the bonus if they stay inside of an inn or capital city . The longer one stays inside , the more the XP they can receive before returning to a normal state ( shown by a transparent - blue bar follwed by a marker , positioned after the filled bar of XP already gained ) . Recruit - A - Friend - ( note : read more here : Recruit - A - Friend ) After successfully recruiting a friend for a trial period , both you and your recruit will receive a 3x XP bonus for all XP gains ( does not stack with Rested Bonus ) as long as you are both in a party and close enough to each other within the game . Adventurer ' s Journal - ( Applies only to characters below level 85 . ) There is a chance that after reading an Adventurer ' s Journal ( created by a Scribe ) , you will receive a buff that grants a 10 % increase to XP gains from killing mobs and from quests . Bind to Account Heirlooms - ( note : Read more here : Bind to Account and Heirloom ) Players can purchase armor that binds to the players account ( including all character on all servers and factions as of Patch 5 . 4 . 2 ) . Heirloom armor pieces ( not counting trinkets ) allow greater Experience gains while wearing them . The experience bonuses from the helms , cloaks , shoulders , chestpieces and rings stack with each other and with the Rested bonus , and affect experience gains from Quests , but do not stack with Essence of Wintergrasp . The experience bonus benefits of the heirloom shoulders , chestpieces and ring only apply up to level 80 . The helm and cloak will continue to provide their experience benefits through level 85 . With helm , shoulders , chest , cloak , and ring equipped , a character of level 1 - 80 would provide a character 40 % increased experience from quests and kills , falling off to 15 % from 81 - 85 . Mob Gray Level . Killing a mob stops giving XP if the level of that mob is too low . The level of the mob by its portrait will become gray . this is called the Gray Level , and occurs depending on your character level . The full formula for the Gray Level is rather complicated , so here is a table . Mobs at or below the level given in the table do not give XP . Level Locking . If you do not want to gain XP ( ex . for the purpose of making a Twink ) , you can visit or to turn off all experience gains . It costs to disable and another to enable it . Money instead of XP at max level . When a character has reached the highest level attainable ( 60 for , 70 for , 80 for , 85 for , 90 for , 100 for , 110 for ) they will receive money instead of experience points from completing quests . As far as can be determined , for all of these versions the conversion formula is : Players who have turned off their experience gains by visiting or do not get any money in compensation for the XP they would otherwise gain .