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Experience point

An experience point (often abbreviated as XP or EXP) is a unit of measurement in role-playing games (RPGs), both tabletop and video-based, used to track and quantify the advancement of a player character through levels of proficiency and power.^[1] Players accumulate these points by completing objectives such as defeating adversaries, solving puzzles, or fulfilling quests, which in turn enable characters to "level up," unlocking enhanced abilities, increased statistics, or new skills.^[2] This mechanic serves as a core progression system, rewarding player engagement and simulating character growth through accumulated experience.^[3] The concept of experience points originated in tabletop RPGs during the early 1970s. Dave Arneson, a wargame enthusiast, first introduced the idea in his Blackmoor campaign—a proto-RPG played with a group in Minnesota—where characters earned points for successful actions across sessions, allowing them to advance in capability after reaching thresholds.^[3] Arneson developed this over six months in 1971, building on the Chainmail wargame rules by incorporating progression based on performance in combat and exploration.^[3] Gary Gygax, collaborating with Arneson, refined and formalized the system for the inaugural edition of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules (TSR).^[3] In D&D, XP were primarily awarded for vanquishing monsters and acquiring treasure, with levels determined by cumulative totals that escalated exponentially to reflect growing challenges.^[3] Experience points quickly transitioned to digital formats in the late 1970s and early 1980s as computer RPGs emerged, directly inspired by D&D's framework. Early examples include PLATO system games like dnd (1975), one of the first digital RPGs, which implemented XP for character leveling amid dungeon-crawling adventures.^[4] Commercial titles such as Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (1981) and Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness (1981) popularized the mechanic in personal computing, where players gained XP through combat and quests to improve attributes like strength and hit points.^[5] By the late 1980s, Japanese RPGs like Final Fantasy (1987) adapted and globalized the system, emphasizing grinding—repetitive battles to farm XP—for character class progression and story advancement.^[5] In modern video games, experience points remain a foundational element across genres, evolving to suit diverse playstyles while retaining their core role in progression. Massively multiplayer online RPGs (MMORPGs) like World of Warcraft (2004) expanded XP systems to encourage long-term engagement, with players earning points from quests, exploration, and group activities to reach high-level caps, often supplemented by rest bonuses or daily rewards.^[5] Variations include skill-specific XP in games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011), where points are allocated to individual abilities rather than general levels, or hybrid systems in action titles like Destiny 2 (2017), blending XP with gear upgrades for power scaling.^[2] Beyond traditional RPGs, XP has permeated other genres, such as prestige levels in first-person shooters (Call of Duty series) or achievement-based points in mobile games (Puzzle & Dragons, 2012), often designed to extend playtime and monetize progression.^[5] Despite criticisms of repetitive grinding, XP mechanics continue to drive player motivation by providing tangible feedback on mastery and achievement.^[6]

Fundamentals

Definition and Core Concepts

Experience points (XP or EP) are numerical values awarded to players in role-playing games (RPGs) for completing tasks, defeating enemies, or achieving in-game goals, serving as a quantified measure of a character's growth and skill improvement over time.^[7] These points represent the accumulation of a player's accomplishments, enabling progression through enhanced abilities, attributes, or levels that reflect increased competence and power within the game world.^[8] In essence, XP mechanize the abstract concept of "experience" gained from gameplay, transforming narrative and mechanical successes into tangible advancement.^[7] At their core, XP operate through additive accumulation, where points earned from various activities sum up across sessions to meet predefined thresholds for advancement.^[7] This process often incorporates diminishing returns at higher levels, as the XP required to achieve the next progression milestone increases progressively, demanding greater effort relative to earlier gains.^[9] A basic formula for these thresholds can be expressed as the total XP needed for level n being \sum_{k=1}^{n} base_{XP} \times multiplier^k, where base_{XP} is a starting value and multiplier (typically greater than 1) scales the requirement exponentially to simulate escalating challenges. This structure ensures sustained engagement by balancing accessibility for beginners with depth for advanced play. Simple XP award structures commonly assign fixed numerical values to specific actions or entities, such as a set amount per defeated enemy based on its type or difficulty, allowing straightforward calculation and immediate feedback during gameplay.^[8] These awards accumulate without loss unless specified by game rules, emphasizing persistence and long-term investment in character development. XP differ from related concepts like score points, which focus on competitive or session-based performance metrics for ranking and high-score tracking, whereas XP emphasize progressive, irreversible growth tied to narrative and mechanical evolution rather than transient competition.^[8] This distinction underscores XP's role in fostering player investment in ongoing campaigns over isolated achievements.

Role in Game Design

Experience points (XP) serve as a core mechanic in game design to motivate player engagement by providing quantifiable markers of progress, encouraging replayability through the pursuit of incremental achievements and long-term investment in character development. Designers utilize XP to structure risk-reward dynamics, where players weigh challenging actions against potential gains, fostering strategic decision-making that enhances immersion and satisfaction. This pacing mechanism allows for controlled advancement, ensuring that gameplay evolves gradually to maintain interest over extended sessions without overwhelming new players.^[10] Psychologically, XP systems leverage progression loops rooted in operant conditioning, where repeated rewards reinforce player behaviors and create habitual engagement. The accumulation of XP leading to level-ups triggers dopamine release, delivering bursts of pleasure that amplify the sense of achievement and motivate continued play. This feedback mechanism taps into intrinsic rewards, making abstract growth feel tangible and compelling, particularly in level-based progression where milestones provide clear validation of effort.^[10]^[11] Balancing XP requires careful tuning of gain rates to avoid frustration from overly slow progression or exploits through rapid farming, often incorporating soft caps on daily acquisitions or varied sources to promote diverse playstyles. Designers implement hard caps or diminishing returns to prevent stat inflation and artificial difficulty spikes, ensuring sustainable pacing that aligns with intended gameplay duration.^[10] In comparison to non-XP systems like skill-based progression, XP is favored in genres such as RPGs for its emphasis on numerical, verifiable growth that simplifies tracking and rewards consistent participation over pure mechanical mastery.^[10]

Historical Development

Origins in Tabletop Games

The concept of experience points originated in the early 1970s within the context of tabletop role-playing games, pioneered by Dave Arneson in his Blackmoor campaign. Arneson, a wargamer from the Twin Cities, modified the rules of the medieval miniatures game Chainmail (published in 1971 by Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren) to create a system where individual characters could progress through accumulated points representing skill and power gains. In Chainmail, units were valued by static point costs for army composition—such as 1 point for light foot soldiers or 5 points for heavy horse—but lacked any mechanism for ongoing improvement or experience tracking. Arneson introduced experience points to simulate character development, awarding them for recovering gold pieces and defeating foes, which allowed players to advance from starting roles like heroes to superheroes. This innovation shifted the focus from mass battles to personal adventure and growth, laying the groundwork for role-playing elements.^[12]^[13] Gary Gygax, collaborating with Arneson, incorporated and refined this experience point system into Dungeons & Dragons (OD&D), first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules. In OD&D's core ruleset, outlined in the Men & Magic booklet, experience points served as the primary measure of character improvement, earned mainly through treasure acquisition at a rate of 1 experience point per gold piece value recovered and brought to safety. Monster defeats contributed additional points based on the creature's hit dice, typically 100 points per hit die, though adjusted by the relative levels of the dungeon and characters involved—for instance, a 7 hit die troll yielded 700 base points, scaled by a fraction like 7/8 for an eighth-level party on a shallower dungeon level. Advancement required exponentially increasing totals, as shown in class-specific tables: fighting-men reached second level (Warrior) at 2,000 points, third (Swordsman) at 4,000, and fourth (Hero) at 8,000, doubling roughly each time up to lord status at 120,000 or more. While no explicit ratio was mandated, the mechanics weighted treasure heavily—often comprising the bulk of awards due to its direct 1:1 conversion and the abundance of valuable hoards in monster lairs—encouraging exploration and cunning over pure combat, with monsters providing supplementary gains equivalent to about 10% of total potential in balanced adventures.^[14] The system evolved with the release of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) starting in 1977, culminating in the Dungeon Masters Guide (DMG) of 1979, where Gygax formalized experience points into a more intricate framework. Monster awards became detailed with calculations in the Monster Manual and DMG Appendix E assigning base values per hit die (e.g., 5 points for 1 HD, escalating to 900 for 10+ HD), plus bonuses for special abilities (25–3,000 points for traits like energy drain) and hit points (1–14 points each). Full points required slaying the foe, while driving off or capturing yielded one-tenth; the DMG highlights combat's centrality as a key source of experience alongside treasure. Treasure retained its 1:1 gold-to-experience ratio but was adjusted downward if guardian monsters were weaker than the party (e.g., 5 gold pieces yielding only 4 experience points), and magical items added variable awards (e.g., 400 points for a +1 sword). This formalization integrated both treasure and monsters as primary drivers, with treasure continuing to provide the majority of XP in typical adventures, while detailed monster awards encouraged balanced encounters rich in both foes and spoils.^[15]

Adoption and Evolution in Video Games

The adoption of experience points in video games began with early computer role-playing games (CRPGs) that directly adapted mechanics from tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, including mainframe implementations such as the PLATO system's dnd (1975).^[16] Among the first commercial CRPGs, Rogue, released in 1980, implemented XP in a digital format, awarding points for defeating monsters to enable character leveling and improved stats within its procedurally generated dungeons, emphasizing permadeath and replayability.^[17] This marked a shift from static tabletop scenarios to dynamic, randomized environments where XP accumulation drove progression amid high risk. Similarly, Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord in 1981 translated D&D-style XP into a multi-party dungeon crawler, distributing points among survivors after combat to advance individual character levels and attributes.^[18] The Ultima series, starting with Ultima I in 1981, further integrated XP with broader skill systems, allowing players to gain points primarily through combat while tying advancement to virtues and open-world exploration in subsequent titles like Ultima IV (1985).^[19] By the late 1980s, Japanese RPGs popularized XP grinding as a core loop; Final Fantasy (1987) exemplified this by using turn-based battles to earn XP for party-wide leveling, making repetitive enemy encounters a staple for powering up classes and unlocking abilities.^[20] These milestones established XP as essential for character growth, evolving from simple accumulation to narrative-integrated rewards. As hardware advanced into the 1990s, XP systems shifted toward faster, more accessible loops in action-oriented genres. Diablo (1996) accelerated this in action RPGs by combining real-time combat with randomized loot and XP gains, creating addictive short-burst progression cycles that prioritized rapid leveling over complex planning.^[21] The rise of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) like EverQuest (1999) scaled XP for group dynamics, adjusting rewards based on party composition and difficulty to balance solo and cooperative play across vast shared worlds.^[22] Technological innovations continued to shape XP distribution. Procedural generation, pioneered in roguelikes like Rogue, influenced later titles by randomizing enemy placements and encounters, ensuring varied XP yields per run and enhancing replayability without manual level design.^[23] In the post-2010 era, mobile games simplified XP mechanics for casual audiences, often automating gains through daily quests and auto-battles in titles like those in the Clash series, reducing grind intensity to fit short sessions while maintaining progression hooks.^[24]

Progression System Types

Level-Based Progression

Level-based progression systems in role-playing games (RPGs) rely on accumulating experience points (XP) to reach predefined thresholds, triggering discrete level advancements that enhance character capabilities. Upon reaching a level threshold, players typically receive immediate boosts to core statistics such as strength, agility, or health points, alongside unlocking new abilities or spells that expand gameplay options. These thresholds often follow non-linear curves to balance early-game accessibility with late-game challenge, ensuring progression feels rewarding yet demanding. For instance, XP requirements may increase exponentially to prevent rapid over-leveling, maintaining engagement across play sessions.^[25] In classic RPGs like Dragon Quest (1986), the system employs a relatively uniform scaling for early levels, where cumulative XP for level 2 stands at 7 points and level 3 at 23 points, providing straightforward advancement tied to combat encounters. This design emphasizes consistent stat gains per level, such as incremental increases in hit points and attack power, fostering a sense of reliable growth. Similarly, Baldur's Gate (1998), adapted from Dungeons & Dragons rules, uses tiered XP tables where requirements escalate progressively—reaching level 2 requires 2,000 XP for fighters, with subsequent levels granting improved hit dice, saving throws, and class-specific perks like weapon proficiencies.^[26]^[27] These examples illustrate how level-ups serve as pivotal milestones, directly correlating XP investment with tangible power spikes. The primary advantages of level-based progression include clear, achievable milestones that motivate players through visible progress and structured rewards, extending game longevity beyond raw skill by gating content behind levels. However, limitations arise from potential plateaus, where steep XP curves create grinding periods that can lead to disengagement if not paced well; hybrid approaches, such as partial XP carryover from incomplete levels in some designs, mitigate this by preserving momentum across sessions. Compared to skill-based alternatives, level systems offer holistic jumps in capability but risk uneven pacing without careful tuning.^[28]^[25] Mathematical modeling of these systems often employs polynomial or exponential functions to define XP thresholds, ensuring balanced pacing. A common quadratic progression for XP needed per level takes the form

\text{XP}_\text{needed} = A \cdot \text{level}^2 + B \cdot \text{level} + C

where coefficients A, B, and C are tuned for desired growth rates—positive A creates accelerating difficulty, promoting strategic play in higher tiers. Exponential models, such as \text{XP}_\text{needed} = a \cdot \text{level}^b with b > 1, further emphasize late-game investment, as seen in many RPG designs to align with content scaling. These formulas allow designers to simulate progression curves, verifying that level-ups align with narrative beats and mechanical depth.^[25]

Skill- and Activity-Based Progression

In skill- and activity-based progression systems, experience points (XP) are granted directly to individual skills or activities through targeted use or completion, enabling modular advancement where each component levels independently without relying on a unified character level. This approach contrasts with traditional level-based systems by emphasizing player-driven specialization, as seen in the Elder Scrolls series starting with The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall in 1996, where skills such as combat, magic, and stealth increase through repeated application—continued use advances proficiency in specific areas.^[29] Quest completion or specific actions can also trigger XP awards to related skill categories, like gaining Alchemy XP from crafting potions during story missions in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.^[30] A prominent example is RuneScape (2001), which features 23 skills—ranging from Fishing to Runecrafting—each accruing XP independently via associated activities, such as mining ore to level Mining, with higher skill levels unlocking advanced tools, areas, and quests.^[31] Similarly, EVE Online (2003) employs a skill points system where players allocate points to over 100 skills for passive training over real-time periods, allowing offline progression in areas like spaceship piloting or industry without active play.^[32] These systems promote customization and specialization, enabling players to tailor characters to preferred playstyles, such as focusing on stealth over combat, while fostering deeper engagement through meaningful action-reward loops.^[33] However, they carry risks of uneven progression, where neglected skills may lag, potentially limiting versatility in multifaceted challenges. Skill caps are often governed by formulas like max_XP = base * (1 + investment_factor), scaling total XP requirements based on prior advancements to balance growth.^[34] Modern variations extend this to granular activities, as in Destiny (2014), where weapon proficiency advances through XP earned from using specific arms in combat, unlocking enhancements like improved handling without affecting overall character levels.^[35]

Alternative Advancement Models

Alternative advancement models in experience point systems deviate from traditional level-based or skill-specific progression by integrating XP into more flexible, narrative-driven, or convertible structures that emphasize player choice and open-ended growth. Free-form models, for instance, use XP to facilitate narrative or open-world advancement without enforcing strict level gates, allowing players to progress through story branches, exploration, and environmental interactions. This approach prioritizes conceptual depth over numerical thresholds, enabling characters to evolve based on contextual achievements rather than predefined milestones.^[36] In the Fallout series, launched in 1997, XP earned from quests, combat, and discoveries leads to levels where players allocate skill points to improve abilities and select perks every few levels, allowing player choice in specialization while influencing narrative paths and open-world exploration in a post-apocalyptic setting.^[37] Similarly, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) uses spirit orb rewards from shrine completions tied to exploration and puzzles, fostering non-linear progress through heart and stamina upgrades for traversal and combat without any XP or level system, rewarding curiosity over grinding.^[38] Cash-in models treat XP as a convertible resource, where accumulated points can be spent directly on permanent upgrades, skill reallocations, or in-game currency, offering greater customization at the cost of potential permanence. Path of Exile (2013) exemplifies this with its refundable passive skill tree, where leveling via XP grants skill points for the tree, but players can respec nodes using refund points from quests or orbs of regret, effectively converting prior investments into adaptable builds. This system allows for experimental progression, as points are not locked but can be "cashed in" for reconfiguration.^[39] Hybrid models in multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBAs) further illustrate alternatives, blending temporary XP boosts with session-based advancement to accelerate short-term gains. In League of Legends (2009), XP boosts—either time-based (doubling base XP earned per match) or win-based (adding fixed XP per victory)—enhance summoner level progression, unlocking rewards like champions and emotes without altering core combat mechanics, thus providing burst advancement for competitive play.^[40] Critiques of cash-in systems highlight risks of pay-to-win dynamics, particularly when real-money purchases enable faster XP conversion or refunds, potentially unbalancing free-to-play economies by favoring paying players in upgrade acquisition. For example, in games like Path of Exile, while core mechanics remain accessible, the availability of tradable refund items through microtransactions can indirectly accelerate advancement, raising concerns about equity in long-term progression. Conversion rates in such systems often incorporate multipliers based on item rarity to balance costs, though specific formulas vary by title to prevent exploitation.^[41]

Mechanics in Video Games

Earning and Spending Experience

In video games, experience points (XP) are primarily earned through combat encounters, where defeating enemies grants XP based on their difficulty relative to the player. For instance, in World of Warcraft, killing mobs provides the bulk of XP, with amounts scaled by the creature's level and the player's current progress. Quest completion offers structured rewards, often providing substantial XP upon turning in objectives, as seen in the same game where quests can yield thousands of XP depending on complexity. Exploration rewards, such as discovering new areas or gathering resources like herbs and ores, also contribute XP, though typically in smaller increments to encourage world traversal.^[42] XP earnings are frequently modified by factors like difficulty settings and party composition to balance progression. Higher difficulty modes often apply bonuses, such as the rested XP mechanic in World of Warcraft, which doubles gains for up to 1.5 levels' worth after sufficient downtime in safe zones. Party scaling adjusts rewards to prevent exploitation; for example, in multiplayer RPGs, additional group members may reduce individual XP per kill but increase overall efficiency through shared encounters. A common formula for XP gain in many RPGs incorporates these elements:

\text{XP gain} = \text{base\_reward} \times \left( \frac{\text{enemy\_level}}{\text{player\_level}} \right) \times \text{efficiency\_factor}

where the efficiency factor accounts for modifiers like difficulty or party size.^[43]^[44] Spending XP typically involves accumulating it toward thresholds for leveling up, where total XP determines advancement rather than direct allocation. These thresholds often follow exponential curves to pace progression; a representative formula from design practices inspired by classic RPGs is the XP required per level:

\text{XP required} = 500 \times (\text{level}^2) - (500 \times \text{level})

Upon reaching the threshold, stats improve, and excess XP resets or carries over minimally. Respec systems allow indirect spending by reallocating points earned from prior levels, often at a cost; in Borderlands, players use in-game currency at New-U stations to freely reassign skill points without losing total XP. Loss mechanics can deduct XP, such as death penalties—in Dark Souls, players drop all unspent souls (functioning as XP) at the death site, losing them permanently if dying again before retrieval, which heightens risk without a fixed percentage drain.^[44]^[45]^[46] Genre variations influence XP accumulation timing. In turn-based games like Pokémon, XP is awarded post-battle based on the defeated opponent's level and other factors; the total XP required to level up follows growth rate curves, such as the medium-fast rate given by \lfloor (4 \times L^3)/5 \rfloor where L is the target level, with gains shared among party members. Real-time games, such as World of Warcraft, enable continuous accumulation during ongoing actions like combat or resource gathering, allowing fluid progression without discrete pauses.^[47]^[42]

Leveling Effects and Perks

Upon accumulating sufficient experience points, characters typically undergo a level-up process that grants immediate enhancements to core attributes, such as increased health points (HP), damage output, or mana pools, alongside access to new spells or abilities that expand gameplay options.^[48] In games like Fallout 4 (2015), leveling up allows players to allocate points to SPECIAL attributes (Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, Luck), which in turn unlock perks providing specialized bonuses, such as improved V.A.T.S. targeting accuracy or enhanced crafting capabilities.^[48] These rewards are designed to reflect character growth, making progression feel tangible and rewarding while tying directly to player choices in combat, exploration, and role-playing.^[49] Perk systems often introduce branching decision trees unlocked at specific XP milestones, encouraging strategic build customization over linear advancement. For instance, in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011), the perk constellation map organizes abilities into skill-specific trees where players spend earned perk points to unlock nodes, such as the "Armorer" perks that reduce armor weight or the "Impact" perk that staggers enemies with spells, with prerequisites ensuring balanced specialization.^[50] This structure promotes replayability by allowing diverse archetypes—like stealthy assassins or destructive mages—without guaranteeing dominance in all scenarios.^[51] Such systems mitigate the risk of uniform player power by requiring trade-offs, where investing in one branch may weaken others.^[28] Leveling effects extend beyond individual stats to influence broader gameplay dynamics, including scaled enemy difficulty and access to new content areas that match the player's enhanced capabilities. As characters advance, core attributes often follow growth formulas like attribute = base + (level × growth_rate), providing linear progression that maintains predictability while allowing for exponential variants in more complex titles to simulate escalating power curves.^[52] This scaling ensures that higher levels unlock challenging quests or zones, such as fortified settlements in Fallout 4 that demand upgraded perks for survival.^[48] Developers balance these effects through mechanisms like perk rank limits—e.g., perks in Fallout 4 cap at up to 10 ranks—to prevent overpowered builds that could trivialize content, with all perks requiring level 272 to fully max out.^[53]^[28]

Specialized Features like Remorting

Remorting mechanics represent an advanced progression feature in many multiplayer online games, particularly originating from text-based MUDs, where players reset their character's level and attributes after reaching the maximum threshold to gain enhanced benefits like accelerated experience point gains or access to alternative classes. This system encourages replayability by allowing veterans to explore new builds while retaining some prior achievements, often through a quest or automatic trigger upon hitting a specific milestone, such as one experience point beyond the cap. For instance, in early MUDs like Achaea (released in 1997), remorting enables players to restart with bonuses tied to their total lifetime experience, fostering long-term engagement in persistent worlds.^[54]^[55] In modern video games, similar reset systems adapt remorting for broader audiences, such as Diablo III's seasonal mode introduced in 2012, where players create fresh characters that start at level 1 with no gear or progress, earning experience points anew to unlock season-exclusive rewards and leaderboards before transitioning to the eternal realm at the end.^[56] Prestige systems extend this concept beyond initial leveling, permitting post-max-level resets to bank experience for higher-tier perks; a seminal example is Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007), which pioneered prestige by resetting player ranks in exchange for iconic emblems, extra custom classes, and doubled experience rates, significantly impacting multiplayer longevity.^[57] These features often incorporate formulas to quantify bonuses, such as

\text{Remort_bonus} = \text{total_XP_earned} \times \text{retention_rate}

, where the retention rate (typically 10-50% in MUD implementations) applies a multiplier to future experience gains, thereby shortening grind times for endgame content like raids or high-difficulty challenges.^[54] In World of Warcraft's Legion expansion (2016-2018), the Artifact Knowledge system functioned analogously as an XP-like progression tool, progressively increasing Artifact Power acquisition rates up to 25 levels (and later infinite tiers) to catch up alt characters or extend play post-level cap, culminating in enhanced relic empowerment for mythic encounters.^[58]

Player Strategies and Practices

Grinding and Resource Farming

Grinding in video games involves the repetitive execution of low-risk activities designed to accumulate experience points (XP) steadily, often through defeating the same types of enemies or completing similar tasks without significant narrative advancement. This practice emphasizes consistent, incremental progress over varied gameplay, allowing players to optimize their character's advancement in a controlled manner.^[59] A classic example is mob farming in EverQuest (1999), where players repeatedly target clusters of non-player character enemies, or "mobs," in designated zones to harvest XP rewards, leveraging the game's persistent world to establish efficient kill patterns.^[59] Similarly, in Borderlands (2009), loot grinding ties directly to XP gains, as players cycle through enemy encounters to acquire better gear while simultaneously leveling up through combat yields. Farming strategies focus on maximizing efficiency, such as plotting optimal routes through game environments or configuring automated, low-effort setups to achieve high XP-per-hour rates. In massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), away-from-keyboard (AFK) farming enables passive accumulation by positioning characters in safe areas where they automatically engage respawning foes, though this relies on game mechanics that tolerate minimal player input.^[59] These approaches prioritize quantitative metrics like XP/hour to minimize time investment while sustaining progression.^[59] Psychologically, grinding can foster addictive loops through mechanisms like the sunk cost fallacy, where prior investments in time compel continued play despite diminishing enjoyment, creating a cycle of anticipated rewards.^[59] However, prolonged sessions heighten burnout risks, as repetitive tasks lead to cognitive fatigue and reduced performance, potentially causing players to disengage entirely.^[60] Game designers counter these issues with mechanics like diminishing returns on XP yields, where repeated actions in the same area yield progressively less benefit to encourage variety and prevent exploitation.^[59] Such power-leveling tactics, often involving group assistance, may briefly reference grinding but accelerate it beyond solo repetition.^[59] Power-leveling is a collaborative strategy in which high-level players assist lower-level ones to rapidly accumulate experience points by tackling content that exceeds the novice's capabilities, such as dungeons or raids where the experienced player performs most combat duties. This practice emerged as a common player-driven method in level-based MMORPGs to bypass solo grinding, allowing newcomers to catch up quickly and join group activities sooner. In World of Warcraft, for instance, high-level characters often "carry" low-level players through instances like early raids, enabling the beneficiary to earn substantial XP from kills and completions that would otherwise be inaccessible.^[61] Experience sharing mechanics formalize this collaboration through party systems that distribute XP among group members, often with bonuses to encourage teamwork. In Final Fantasy XIV, launched in its current form in 2013, party XP is divided among participants, with certain modes providing fixed EXP yields independent of party size or level disparities to promote inclusive play. Guild Wars 2, released in 2012, incorporates a mentor system where high-level players can downlevel to join low-level events or quests, granting the group an indirect XP boost through faster clears while scaling rewards to prevent overpowered gains. These systems prioritize participation, where each member's contribution—measured by damage, healing, or proximity—affects their individual share. To balance these features and prevent exploits like excessive carrying across vast level gaps, developers implement level deltas that adjust XP allocation based on relative player levels. For example, if the level difference exceeds a threshold (often 5-10 levels), the lower-level player receives reduced or no XP, while higher-level contributors earn minimal rewards to discourage abuse. A common conceptual formula for shared XP in such systems is shared_XP = total_XP × (participant_factor / group_size), where participant_factor accounts for individual involvement (e.g., 1.0 for full contribution) and group_size normalizes the split, ensuring equitable distribution without inflating totals. In Guild Wars 2, this is reflected in event XP scaling, such as a level 50 player in a level 25 event receiving base_XP × level_scaling_multiplier × participation_bonus, where the multiplier (e.g., 0.07 for underleveled content) curbs excessive gains from mismatched groups. These safeguards maintain progression integrity while fostering social acceleration over solo repetition.

Automation Risks and Botting

Botting, or the use of automated scripts to gain experience points (XP) in video games, involves software that simulates repetitive player actions such as combat, resource gathering, or quest completion without human intervention. These bots are particularly prevalent in massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), where they enable continuous grinding to accumulate XP and in-game currency, often in large-scale "bot farms" running multiple accounts simultaneously. For instance, in RuneScape, pre-2011 bot farms used scripts to automate tasks like fishing or mining, leading to widespread exploitation until Jagex's "Bot Nuke Day" in October 2011, which banned approximately 98% of bots through advanced detection updates.^[62] The primary risks of botting include permanent account suspensions or bans, as developers enforce strict prohibitions in their terms of service (ToS). In World of Warcraft, botting violates the end-user license agreement by using automation software, resulting in mass ban waves; for example, Blizzard suspended over 100,000 accounts in 2015 for bot-related activities. Economically, bots disrupt in-game markets by flooding them with farmed resources and XP-derived items, devaluing legitimate player efforts and enabling real-money trading (RMT). Detection methods rely on behavioral analysis, such as monitoring self-similarity in player actions—bots exhibit repetitive patterns unlike human variability—and server-side heuristics to identify anomalous efficiency in XP gain.^[63]^[64] Developers counter botting through comprehensive anti-cheat systems integrated into their ToS, explicitly banning third-party automation. Blizzard's Warden software, deployed since 2005 in World of Warcraft, scans for known bot signatures and monitors system processes to prevent unauthorized scripts from automating XP farming. Post-2020 advancements incorporate AI-driven detection, such as machine learning models analyzing time-series data from player inputs to distinguish bots from humans; a 2025 study on MMORPGs introduced human-AI collaborative frameworks for unsupervised bot detection using contrastive learning and clustering. Jagex's rules similarly prohibit macroing and botting, with ongoing updates to behavioral monitoring tools.^[65]^[66] Broader impacts of botting extend to community integrity, creating unfair advantages for bot users who rapidly level characters and dominate high-XP activities, frustrating legitimate players and eroding trust in multiplayer environments. Major scandals, such as the 2023 bot waves in Old School RuneScape, highlighted how bots comprised approximately 25% to 33% of logged-in players at any given moment, leading to player-led initiatives to report and disrupt bot operations amid developer efforts to ban millions annually. As of 2025, Jagex continues aggressive anti-bot measures, banning over 67,000 accounts weekly on average. These incidents underscore the ongoing challenge to game economies and social dynamics, prompting calls for enhanced AI defenses.^[67]^[68]^[69]

Applications Beyond Video Games

Use in Tabletop Role-Playing Games

In Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition (2014, revised 2024), experience points (XP) are primarily awarded for overcoming challenges, such as defeating monsters in combat, with values determined by the creature's Challenge Rating (CR) from official tables. For example, a CR 1/8 creature grants 25 XP, while a CR 1 creature grants 200 XP, and these totals are divided equally among party members.^[70] The system also supports milestone leveling as an alternative, where the Dungeon Master (DM) grants a level upon achieving significant story goals, such as completing a major quest, rather than tracking precise XP totals.^[70] To reach level 2 from level 1, a character needs 300 XP under the traditional method.^[70] Pathfinder First Edition, launched in 2009 by Paizo Publishing, employs a more traditional XP system akin to its Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Edition roots, awarding points for defeating enemies or resolving challenges based on their effective CR, with totals divided among participants. Level advancement requires accumulating specific XP thresholds, such as 1,000 XP for level 2 or 3,000 XP for level 3, adjustable for slow, medium, or fast progression rates. In contrast, Pathfinder Second Edition (2019) emphasizes accomplishments across encounters, exploration, and social interactions, granting fixed XP per player—such as 40 XP for a standard encounter at party level, 10 XP for a minor accomplishment, or 30 XP for a moderate one involving roleplaying—culminating in 1,000 XP needed per level.^[71] Cyberpunk RED, published in 2020 by R. Talsorian Games, replaces traditional XP with Improvement Points (IP) awarded by the GM at session's end for mission success, roleplaying depth, and embodying character playstyles, with amounts at the GM's discretion.^[72] Group dynamics in these systems heavily rely on DM (or Game Master) discretion to balance XP awards, ensuring fair progression across varied party sizes and playstyles. In Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition, encounter XP budgets guide this, with Low thresholds of 50 XP per level-1 character (totaling 200 XP for a party of four) scaling to High encounters at 150 XP per character, adjusted by environmental factors.^[73] Pathfinder editions similarly adjust XP for party composition, dividing totals by the number of players (e.g., reducing by a factor of 5 for larger groups in First Edition), while Cyberpunk RED's IP distribution considers collective mission outcomes alongside individual roleplay.^[71] This flexibility allows GMs to reward creative non-combat solutions or session participation equally to combat victories. The use of XP in contemporary tabletop RPGs has evolved from rigid, math-heavy calculations in early editions toward streamlined alternatives like milestone leveling to minimize bookkeeping and emphasize narrative flow. In Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition, this shift explicitly supports milestones to avoid constant XP tallying, a change from prior editions' combat-focused mandates, promoting balanced pacing over granular tracking.^[70] Systems like Pathfinder Second Edition and Cyberpunk RED further this trend by tying rewards to broader accomplishments and roleplay, reducing reliance on encounter-specific formulas while maintaining progression tied to group achievements.^[71]^[72]

Influence on Other Media and Systems

The concept of experience points has extended into non-video game media, particularly board games that incorporate role-playing elements. In Gloomhaven (2017), players earn experience through card actions during scenarios and receive bonus points upon successful completion, which allows characters to level up and access new abilities, enhancing strategic depth in cooperative play.^[74] This adaptation draws from RPG traditions to make progression tangible in a physical, narrative-driven format.^[75] Mobile applications have adopted XP-like systems to foster habit formation and engagement. Duolingo (launched 2011) awards XP for completing language lessons, integrating it with streaks to encourage daily practice and league competitions, which has boosted user retention by making learning feel rewarding.^[76] Similarly, Habitica (2013) treats real-life tasks as quests, granting XP for completing to-dos and habits, which levels up avatars and unlocks rewards, turning productivity into a gamified RPG experience.^[77] In educational contexts, XP analogs promote skill development. Khan Academy uses energy points to reward effort in exercises and videos, pushing learners toward challenging content while badges mark milestones, though these emphasize persistence over pure mastery to avoid demotivating high achievers.^[78] Corporate training programs often incorporate XP for module completion, such as in platforms where employees accumulate points to unlock advanced content or certifications, increasing completion rates by up to 50% in some implementations.^[79] Culturally, XP influences productivity tools and competitive tracking. Habitica exemplifies how XP metaphors gamify self-improvement, with users reporting higher motivation through RPG progression.^[80] In esports ecosystems, event organizers like Slingshot Esports use XP trackers for participant progression in tournaments and workshops, rewarding attendance and achievements to build community involvement beyond in-game play.^[81] Despite these successes, XP systems in real-world applications face limitations when oversimplified. Improper point allocation can lead to superficial engagement, where users prioritize quantity over quality, reducing long-term retention as extrinsic rewards overshadow intrinsic value.^[82] Adaptations often lose RPG depth, causing stress from competition or demotivation if progression feels arbitrary, as seen in educational gamification where points fail to align with complex learning goals.^[83]

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