Experience

Experience (commonly abbreviated exp. or xp) is a unit of measurement used to quantify the player characters' progression through the game. Characters start at 0 experience and can gain up to 100,000 experience, which is the experience required to reach level 12. Experience is rewarded for defeating creatures, discovering locations, completing quests and succeeding background goals. When the characters receive enough experience, they level up, improving their statistics and allowing the player to further specialize their characters.
== Character 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:
Character Level	Cumulative XP	XP for next level	Change from previous
1 	0 	300 	
2 	300 	600 	
3 	900 	1,800 	200%
4 	2,700 	3,800 	300%
5 	6,500 	6,500 	211%
6 	13,000 	8,000 	171%
7 	21,000 	9,000 	123%
8 	30,000 	12,000 	113%
9 	42,000 	14,000 	133%
10 	56,000 	20,000 	117%
11 	76,000 	24,000 	143%
12 	100,000 	N/A 	120%
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.
When companions join the party, their experience is set to equal that of the main character. If the player's main character has more experience than one or more party members, the player can usefully remove them from the party and add them back. Conversely, this can make a companion lose any extra experience, though they will retain any resulting level-up.
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.
==Experience Sources==
===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 least to most rewarding:
*Zero ()
*Civilian ()
*Pack ()
*Combatant ()
*Elite ()
*Miniboss ()
*Boss ()
All the creatures start with the base reward category "Combatant". Every creature can then be overridden to another category, either downgraded to "Pack", "Civilian" or "Zero", or upgraded to "Elite", "Miniboss" or "Boss". For example, the level 1 Imp creature in the Nautiloid has no specific reward category, and the type to which it belongs (Fiends) neither, so its reward category stays "Combatant". By contrast, most Humanoid commoners are downgraded to "Civilian", children are downgraded to "Zero", and important enemies are upgraded to "Miniboss" and "Boss".
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, 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. When defeating a level 1 "Pack" Shadow-Cursed Raven creature in the level 5 Ruined Battlefield, the game will consider the creature to be a level 5 "Pack". So it will grant 40 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 , 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.
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 for the purpose of succeeding , 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).
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	Reward categories	Reward categories	Reward categories	Reward categories	Reward categories	Reward categories
Creature level or area 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===
When entering some locations for the first time, the party will be rewarded with experience. There are 65 such locations in the game.
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
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.
There are 4 reward categories, which are not visible anywhere in the user interface. From less to most rewarding:
*Small ()
*Medium ()
*Big ()
*LevelBoost ()
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	Reward categories	Reward categories	Reward categories
Main character 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.
There are 794 quest steps that reward experience.
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 ()
*CombatCloseMajor ()
*ProgressBooster ()
*ProgressMajor ()
*CloseBoosterEasy ()
*CombatCloseMain ()
*CloseBoosterHard ()
*ProgressMain ()
*CloseMajor ()
*BypassedCombatMedium ()
*CloseMain ()
For example, in the quest 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 , a description equals to 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 either by talking down the teacher or healing them after the non-lethal 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 , 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 reward category, "RecruitCompanion", which is rewarded for recruiting the following companions: , , , and . Each recruitment rewards 30 xp. Recruiting and the non origin companions doesn't reward any experience.
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 	Reward categories	Reward categories	Reward categories	Reward categories	Reward categories	Reward categories	Reward categories	Reward categories	Reward categories 	Reward categories
Area level	CombatCloseBooster	CombatCloseMajor 	ProgressBooster 	ProgressMajor 	CloseBoosterEasy 	CombatCloseMain 	CloseBoosterHard 	ProgressMain 	CloseMajor 	BypassedCombatMedium	CloseMain
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:
 	CombatCloseBooster	CombatCloseMajor	ProgressBooster	ProgressMajor	CloseBoosterEasy	CombatCloseMain	CloseBoosterHard	ProgressMain	CloseMajor	BypassedCombatMedium	CloseMain
Queststeps	2 	4 	240 	121 	114 	0 	63 	51 	167 	9 	23
===Completing Background Goals for Inspiration===
Background Goals are completed by making choices which fit the party characters' backgrounds. There are 393 goals in the game, split between 12 backgrounds. Accomplishing background goals also grant inspirations.
The amount of experience rewarded for finishing 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 ()
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 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 completes 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.
Unlike other sources of experience, only the character who the background goal is for earns the experience. This means that over time some characters may level up before others. If a levelled-up companion is removed and re-added to the party, they keep the level but lose any excess experience.
The experience granted by each goal level is described in the following table:
Goal 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
Backgroundgoals	0 	2 	8 	1 	63 	65 	40 	8 	54 	92 	57 	3
==Notes==
Category:Gameplay mechanics