Experience
What is Experience?
Experience is the point system that drives the advancement of many aspects of the game, including but not limited to:
- Leveling of combat classes (Disciples of War and Disciples of Magic)
- Leveling of crafting/gathering classes (Disciples of the Hand and Disciples of the Land)
- Leveling of combat companions (specifically the Combat Chocobo ((Not covered in this guide currently)))
There are many ways in which to earn experience, including but not limited to:
- Killing Monsters/Bosses
- Completing Leves
- Participating in FATEs
- Completing Side Quests, Class Quests, and Main Storyline quests
- Completing Challenge Logs
- Completing Hunting Logs
- Low-Level/High-Level Dungeon & Guildhest Roulettes
- Dungeons, Guildhests and Trials
In addition to all of this, there are various ways in which you can boost the amount of experience you get from any of these particular activities! These come in many forms, specifically:
- Food buffs (Obtained from eating food items)
- Buffs from your Free Company (Obtained by having "Buff Actions" activated by high-ranking guild members)
- Wearing the Friendship Circlet (Obtained by recruiting a friend, or being recruited by a friend - and subscribing for at least 30 days)
- Rested EXP (Obtained over time by resting or logging out in 'Sanctuary' areas ((places with Aetheryte Shards)))
- Armory Bonus (All combat classes lower-level than your highest level combat class will have a +100% EXP buff towards applicable activities until level 50, where it decreases to +50%)
Below are tables that denote the breakdown and application of the various EXP buffs to EXP-gaining activities in the game:
ARMORY BONUS
The Armory Bonus is additional experience granted to any combat class you have that is NOT your highest level class. From levels 1-49, you receive +100% additional experience for secondary classes that are lower level than your highest level character. At level 50, this bonus decreases to only 50%.
The bonus applies to kills, FATEs and leves. The amount of experience granted has nothing to do with the distance in levels from your highest class.
Additionally, the +10% experience from The Heat of Battle II (FC buff) - will stack on top of this buff to provide an additional 10% experience. So the Armory bonus is 110% (armory) + 10% (fc buff) instead of just 100%, while the FC buff is active. This is different from the other bonuses, as they do not receive additional experience from the FC buff.
The Armory Bonus, as previously mentioned - does not apply to non-combat classes such as gatherers & crafters.
Examples:
- Your highest level combat class is 20. You are playing as that class. You receive no armory bonus.
- Your highest level combat class is 20. You are playing as a second combat class that is less than level 20. You are now receiving armory bonus exp.
- Your highest level combat class is 20. You are playing a second combat class that is also level 20. You receive no armory bonus.
COMBAT CLASS EXP TABLE
| Kills | Leves | FATES | Side-Quests | Main-Story Quests | Challenge Logs | Hunting Logs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food | +3% | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| FC Buff: Heat of Battle | +5% | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| FC Buff: Heat of Battle II | +10% | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Friendship Circlet | 20% | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Rested EXP | +50% | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Armory Bonus (pre-50) | +100% | +100% | +100% | No | No | No | No | |
| Armory Bonus (50+) | +50% | +50% | +50% | No | No | No | No | No |
NOTES:
- Friendship Circlet only provides its exp buff up to level 25 (and all of level 25)
- Heat of Battle and Heat of Battle II cannot be stacked
- Two of the same FC EXP Buff cannot be stacked with each other
CRAFTING/HARVESTING EXP TABLE
| Harvests | Crafts | Leves | Side-Quests | Challenge Logs | Crafting Logs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food | +3% | +3% | No | No | No | No |
| FC Buff: Earth and Water | +5% | No | No | No | No | No |
| FC Buff: Earth and Water II | +10% | No | No | No | No | No |
| FC Buff: Helping Hand | No | +5% | No | No | No | No |
| FC Buff: Helping Hand II | No | +10% | No | No | No | No |
| Friendship Circlet | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Rested EXP | +50% | +50% | +50% | No | No | No |
| Armory Bonus | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Grand Company Buff: Survival | +50% | No | No | No | No | No |
| Grand Company Buff: Engineering | No | +50% | No | No | No | No |
NOTES:
- Friendship Circlet does not provide a bonus to DoH/DoL classes
- Armory Bonus does not provide a bonus to DoH/DoL classes
- Earth and Water and Earth and Water II cannot be stacked
- Two of the same FC EXP Buff cannot be stacked with each other
Rested Experience
Rested EXP is obtained by resting or logging out in a Sanctuary. A sanctuary is any Aetheryte you can attune, as such Sanctuaries include; City-States (Gridania, Limsa Lominsa, Ul'Dah, any Aetheryte you can teleport to is also a town that is considered a Sanctuary).
Heres what we know about Rested EXP:
- It increases EXP gain by 50% for applicable activities.
- It can charge up to 1.5 full level bars. Reference
- All activities which benefit from Rested EXP will consume from the same bar
- It takes 4 days to gain the full 1.5 level bars.
- The % of the bar consumed remains the same regardless of level.
- If you queue into an instanced dungeon/guildhest while being in a Sanctuary, you will still accrue rested EXP as if you were in that sanctuary. This means that if you have run out of rested EXP but are still in a Sanctuary, you will occasionally still get a rested EXP bonus whenever an amount "tics" into your rested exp bank.
- Rumor: You may grow rested EXP faster if you are in a Sanctuary as a lower-level class than your highest? (Example: Lvl 50 DRG main logs out as a lvl 1 ROG). Testimony needed.
Challenge Logs & Hunting Logs
- See also: Challenge Log and Hunting Log
Challenge Logs are "weekly" and reset every Tuesday. These logs provide huge chunks of EXP for players who complete their objectives. You will receive a warning of when you are about to "complete" an objective, in case you want to switch to a different class and have them receive the reward.
Hunting Logs do not reset. They provide 1-time bonuses for completing their objectives, with a 1-time mega-bonus for completing an entire section of the logbook. Currently Hunting Logs are only for levels 1-50. There are no logs for 51-60.
Neither of the Logs benefit from any additional sources of EXP buffs.
Daily Roulettes
- See also: Duty Roulette
Roulettes are the largest singular sources of EXP in the game. Participating in a Low-Level Daily Roulette will grant anywhere from 50-90% of a level upon completion (killing the final boss of the random dungeon) while under level 50. This is in addition to the experience obtained from killing the mobs/bosses in these dungeons, and in addition to completing Challenge Logs (which are easier to do in roulettes). The 50-90% range is based on the difference between your current level and the level of the dungeon. If you have been scaled down to a very low-level, you will receive a higher bonus. If you are the same-level or similar to the dungeon you'll receive less of a bonus. This can be done once per day and resets at 8AM PST/PDT.
High-level Roulettes do not reward any experience for monster/boss kills - but will still grant a chunk of bonus EXP upon completion of the dungeon. You can receive this bonus EXP once per day.
Additionally, you may queue for Guildhest Roulettes. These are small "trials" which test basic dungeoneering skills. Upon completion of a Guildhest Roulette, you will receive a large chunk of EXP (not as large as LLDR since it is not as extensive or time consuming). This is about 10-18% of a level. This can be done once per day and resets at 8AM PST/PDT. Further, each time you complete a type of Guildhest for the first time (per class) you will receive additional bonus EXP (one time per class per roulette only).
The following EXP values are granted for successful completion of roulettes for each level. DISCLAIMER: These values may vary based on a number of factors:
- Length of the dungeon
- Difference between your level and the level of the dungeon
- The amount of "new-comers" in the dungeon
- Whether or not you are receiving experience from the mobs or not in the dungeon (such as High-level or MSQ roulettes).
| Lvl | Low-Lvl Dungeon | High-Lvl Dungeon | Main Scenario | Trial | Guildhest | Total Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 118,771 (13.74%) | 184,755 (21.38%) | 158,362 (18.33%) | 90,720 (10.5%) | 28,130 (3.25%) | 67.2% of level |
| 51 | 254,166 (24.01%) | 136,080 (12.85%) | 136,080 (12.85%) | 181,440 (17.14%) | 30,400 (2.87%) | 69.72% of level |
| 52 | 90,720 (7.16%) | 90,720 (7.16%) | 136,080 (10.74%) | 68,040 (5.37%) | 30,950 (2.44%) | 32.87% of level |
| 53 | 207,360 (13.33%) | 172,800 (11.11%) | 207,360 (13.33%) | 77,760 (5.0%) | 30,950 (1.99%) | 44.76% of level |
| 54 | 192,510 (10.23%) | 172,800 (9.23%) | 207,360 (11.07%) | 30,950 (1.65%) | ||
| 55 | 120,960 (5.45%) | 282,240 (12.73%) | 241,920 (10.9%) | 120,960 (5.45%) | 31,800 (1.43%) | 35.96% of level |
| 56 | 241,920 (9.33%) | 282,240 (10.89%) | ||||
| 57 | 234,000 (7.81%) | 276,480 (9.23%) | 276,480 (9.23%) | 138,240 (4.61%) | 30,710 (1.02%) | 31.9% of level |
| 58 | 184,320 (5.38%) | 276,480 (8.07%) | 276,480 (8.07%) | 138,240 (4.03%) | 138,240 (4.03%) | 29.58% of level |
| 59 | 470,166 (12.09%) | 362,880 (9.33%) | 311,040 (8%) | 155,520 (4.00%) | 30,320 (0.78%) | 34.2% of level |
How do I maximize my EXP?
For all 3 roles the optimal method of power-leveling yourself is the same. The difference comes specifically in the queue-times to step 1 & 2. Tanks and Healers have near-instant queues during normal hours, and may not even have time to do Steps 4 & 5. DPS on the other hand, will spend a lot of time in the queue and will benefit heavily from participating in Steps 4 & 5 in the meantime.
NOTE:
- If you are under level 25, do not forget to equip your Friendship Circlet!
The best method for leveling up will be to do the following;
- Low-Level Dungeon Roulette (simultaneously completes weekly Dungeon Challenge Logs)
- High-Level Dungeon Roulette (simultaneously completes weekly Dungeon Challenge Logs)
- Guildhest Roulette (simultaneously completes weekly Guildhest Challenge Logs)
- If you are under level 50, FATE grinding in areas like Northern Thanalan will provide a large amount of EXP due to the 100% Armory Bonus
- If you have rested EXP - queue for the highest level dungeon you can and do "full clears" (kill all the mobs).
- Grind FATEs while waiting in a dungeon queue or if you do not have any rested EXP.
NOTES:
- Doing dungeons that are the same level as your character are a good way to get Combo Kill bonus EXP. If you are the same level as a dungeon, consider queueing normally (non-roulette) until you are a higher level then the dungeon, and then doing the roulette - in order to maximize that bonus.
- Due to the fact that the Hunting Log receives no benefit from the Armory bonus (+100% EXP) - it is no longer a strong source of EXP. You should however still complete it if you intend to get a relic weapon.
EXP Required for each level
This applies to both combat levels as well as gathering/crafting levels. The values for 50-51 are an estimate.
| Level | Exp | Rolling Total | Level | Exp | Rolling Total | Level | Exp | Rolling Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 17~18 | 40,500 | 236,980 | 34 -> 35 | 217,900 | 2,267,080 | ||
| 1 -> 2 | 300 | 300 | 18 -> 19 | 45,700 | 282,680 | 35 -> 36 | 232,320 | 2,499,400 | ||
| 2 -> 3 | 600 | 900 | 19 -> 20 | 51,000 | 333,680 | 36 -> 37 | 249,900 | 2,749,300 | ||
| 3 -> 4 | 1,100 | 2,000 | 20 -> 21 | 56,600 | 390,280 | 37 -> 38 | 267,800 | 3,017,100 | ||
| 4 -> 5 | 1,700 | 3,700 | 21 -> 22 | 63,900 | 454,180 | 38 -> 39 | 286,200 | 3,303,300 | ||
| 5 -> 6 | 2,300 | 6,000 | 22 -> 23 | 71,400 | 525,580 | 39 -> 40 | 304,900 | 3,608,200 | ||
| 6 -> 7 | 4,200 | 10,200 | 23 -> 24 | 79,100 | 604,680 | 40 -> 41 | 324,000 | 3,932,200 | ||
| 7 -> 8 | 6,000 | 16,200 | 24 -> 25 | 87,100 | 691,780 | 41 -> 42 | 340,200 | 4,272,400 | ||
| 8 -> 9 | 7,350 | 23,550 | 25 -> 26 | 95,200 | 786,980 | 42 -> 43 | 356,800 | 4,629,200 | ||
| 9 -> 10 | 9,930 | 33,480 | 26 -> 27 | 109,800 | 896,780 | 43 -> 44 | 373,700 | 5,002,900 | ||
| 10 -> 11 | 11,800 | 45,280 | 27 -> 28 | 124,800 | 1,021,580 | 44 -> 45 | 390,800 | 5,393,700 | ||
| 11 -> 12 | 15,600 | 60,880 | 28 -> 29 | 140,200 | 1,161,780 | 45 -> 46 | 408,200 | 5,801,900 | ||
| 12 -> 13 | 19,600 | 80,480 | 29 -> 30 | 155,900 | 1,317,680 | 46 -> 47 | 437,600 | 6,239,500 | ||
| 13 -> 14 | 23,700 | 104,180 | 30 -> 31 | 162,500 | 1,480,180 | 47 -> 48 | 467,500 | 6,707,000 | ||
| 14 -> 15 | 26,400 | 130,580 | 31 -> 32 | 175,900 | 1,656,080 | 48 -> 49 | 498,000 | 7,205,000 | ||
| 15 -> 16 | 30,500 | 161,080 | 32 -> 33 | 189,600 | 1,845,680 | 49 -> 50 | 529,000 | 7,734,000 | ||
| 16 -> 17 | 35,400 | 196,480 | 33 -> 34 | 203,500 | 2,049,180 |
| 50 -> 51 | 864,000 | 8,598,000 | 51 -> 52 | 1,058,400 | 9,656,400 | 52 -> 53 | 1,267,200 | 10,922,360 | ||
| 53 -> 54 | 1,555,200 | 12,478,800 | 54 -> 55 | 1,872,000 | 14,350,800 | 55 -> 56 | 2,217,600 | 16,568,400 | ||
| 56 -> 57 | 2,592,000 | 19,160,400 | 57 -> 58 | 2,995,200 | 22,155,600 | 58 -> 59 | 3,427,200 | 25,582,800 | ||
| 59 -> 60 | 3,888,000 | 29,470,800 |
Notes:
- As of 01JUN15, it takes 8,296,000 EXP to go from 1 to 50. Add on to this if they ever make changes, for comparison purposes.