Earning XP
Every way your character can earn experience - roleplay, time on the sim, fights, quests, crafting, awards and events - with the limits on each, and where to see what you've earned.
For playersExperience, or XP, is how your character grows. It adds up over time, and when it reaches the next level on your sim’s level chart, you can level up. Your sim decides which ways of earning it are switched on and how much each gives. This guide covers all of them, so some parts may not apply to you.
How XP works
- It’s a running total. Each level on the level chart needs a total amount of XP. Levelling up never spends it, so your XP keeps counting up.
- Your active character earns it. XP goes to whichever character is active when it’s given.
- Some of it arrives quietly. XP for roleplay, time on the sim and approved awards doesn’t come with a message. Check your sim’s website to see it, as below.
- With jobs, your XP goes to your current job. See Jobs.
See your XP
The HUD doesn’t show an XP number. It shows your level: the line under your name on Home, such as [Lv:4-Fighter], is the level your XP has reached. When that’s higher than the level you’ve saved, Home shows Level Up Available.
Your sim’s website shows everything. Sign in and look at the Home page:
- Each character’s card shows its level, how much XP is left to the next level, its XP and how much it earned this week. When a level is waiting, it says so, for example “Level 4 ready - level up on your HUD”.
- The Your XP card adds up your characters’ XP and this week’s, shows a chart of the last 30 days, and lists Where it came from and the Latest XP you earned.
For every entry, open the character’s page and its History tab. The Experience log lists each time XP was given or taken, newest first, with what it was for. “This week” counts from Monday.
Roleplay
If your sim rewards roleplay, it counts your emotes in scenes with other players.
What counts
- Emote on your RP Channel. To see which channel that is, press Settings, then Set Channels.
- Make each emote at least 20 characters long. Shorter ones aren’t counted.
- Roleplay with other players near you. A scene is you and the people within about 20 metres of each other.
Your HUD sends your sim the length of each emote, a fingerprint of its text, where you were and who was near you. The words you wrote are never stored.
Your sim may only count some regions. Roleplay anywhere else earns nothing.
When a scene pays
A scene ends once it’s been quiet for half an hour. Your sim then scores it. The usual rules:
- The scene must last at least 5 minutes, from its first counted emote to its last.
- At least two players must each have at least two counted emotes.
- An emote counts if it’s at least 2 minutes after your last counted one.
- The same emote doesn’t count again for a day, and an emote two people both posted counts for neither.
- Up to 30 of your emotes count in one scene.
The XP usually shows up on the website about 35 minutes after the scene’s last emote.
How much a scene gives
- Your emotes: each counted emote is worth 1, plus 1 for every 100 characters. A 250-character emote is worth 3. Very long emotes stop adding more at 1,500 characters.
- Your time: the minutes from your first counted emote to your last. The first half hour is worth the most, about 15 XP. An hour is worth about 26 and two hours about 38.
- Bigger scenes: 3 players add 10%, 4 players 15%, and 5 or more 20%.
For example, a 40-minute scene of 15 emotes of about 250 characters gives 63 XP with two players, or 70 with three.
The limits
| Limit | Usually |
|---|---|
| One scene | 75 XP |
| One day | 150 XP |
| One week | Past 250 XP, roleplay earns less and less |
Past the weekly limit, extra roleplay still earns a little, but less the more you do. With the usual numbers, a week of roleplay gives about 300 XP at most. The week starts on Monday. On the website, XP past the weekly limit shows as Emote Reward, Soft Cap Limited.
Some sims also pay a little money with roleplay XP.
Time on the sim
If your sim uses it, your active character earns XP every hour you’re on the sim, usually 5 XP an hour, for up to 20 hours a week.
- You earn nothing while you’re set to AFK.
- Your sim may only count some regions.
- It’s given quietly. Check the website.
Some sims also give a small amount of XP to every character of anyone who’s spent an hour or more on the sim in the last week.
Fights
If your sim gives XP for fights, you earn it when a fight against NPCs ends. Fights between players and sparring give none.
Your sim picks how a fight is worth XP:
- For each NPC that went down, usually 2 XP each, and 10 more when every NPC is down.
- By monster: each monster has its own XP, shared by the players who beat it.
- By level: each monster is worth more the higher its level is than yours. A monster at your level is worth 40 XP, four levels above 160, and four levels below 10. One much weaker than you gives nothing. The XP is for a group of four, so a smaller group gets more each.
Local chat says what everyone got, for example “Ilsa Fenn gains 40 XP from the fight.” Your sim can cap fight XP each day or each week. Chat says when you’ve reached it.
Quests
A quest can give XP when you reach a stage or finish it. The conversation, or chat, says “You gained 100 XP.” A quest can take XP away too: “You lost 25 XP.” See Quests and NPCs.
Crafting
If your sim uses Crafting XP, every item you make gives your character XP, usually 10. Some recipes give more and some none, and your sim can cap it each day. A Ruined or failed attempt gives nothing. The craft’s notice on the HUD shows it, for example “XP: +10 XP”. See Professions and Work Hours.
Awards and events
- XP reports: ask staff for an award for good roleplay. Press Reports, then XP Report, on Home, or file it on the website under Awards. When staff approve it, everyone on it gets the award’s XP the next time awards are paid, usually within 15 minutes. It’s given quietly. See Events and rewards.
- Events: when staff approve an event you took part in, the HUD says, for example, “[Event] Your part in The Harvest Fair was approved - the influence comes with the next award run.” Your XP follows with the next award run.
- Your sim can cap how much award XP you get each week.
Staff
Staff can add, take away or set your XP. You’re told, for example “Ash Rowan has added 50 experience to your character. New total: 2590”. Changes by staff show in your Experience log with who made them.
Sims where XP grows with your level
Some sims, often ones played the 5e way, measure XP against your level. A full roleplay scene, an hour on the sim or a quest is worth the same share of a level whether you’re level 2 or level 12, so the XP for it grows as you do. The limits still count your roleplay the same way.
When you reach a level
When your XP reaches the next level, Home shows Level Up Available. Finish the level up on the HUD to spend your new points. See Levels, perks and respecs.
On some sims your saved level goes up by itself as you earn roleplay XP. Your perk points come with it, and the HUD’s Level Up page then only spends your stat points.