Experience points

Experience points (abbreviated XP) are a measurement of a character's advancement towards a new level. They are gained by killing enemy AI, completing missions, or through use of epiphanies. You gain one level and five skill points every 1000 experience points, unless you have skill point debt or credit (more about this in Skill points). There are items in the game which allow you to discover how many experience points are needed for the next level (oracles). For the most part, these items are not frequently used, because the amount of XP from one level to the next is not large. Additionally, your event chat tells you how many XP points are needed to level every time you gain XP.

Methods of Gaining XP

• The most common way of gaining XP is through defeating AI opponents. If you are equal to their level you will gain 200XP per kill, being below their level gives you more (up to a maximum of 510 per kill, unless you are killing AI from an experience boosted zone like subspace), being above gives you less (as low as 0).

• Missions have a set level that determines how much experience you receive. If you are at that level or below you get the maximum XP, if you are above you get less. Missions do not get bonus XP from any source.

• Some items can give you experience when used, most notably epiphanies from subspace monthly missions. These items are neurobound and give exactly 1 level when used. They also have a maximum use level beyond which you can no longer use them. They do not get bonus XP from any source.

Source of XP bonuses

Note: Only AI kills benefit from bonus XP.

• Gear can be obtained with Intelligent and Super Intelligent mods that give a +(1% + (0.1% * techlevel)) XP bonus. For example a tech 21 piece of gear will give +(1% + (0.1% * 21)) or +3.1% XP bonus. On weapons, only the currently selected weapon will apply the bonus.

• Pan-Universal Neural Artificial Plasticizers are an item that, when used, gives a global 5% XP bonus that can stack with other bonuses and other Pan-Universal Neural Artificial Plasticizers. They can be purchased from Free Market for 1 space point or very rarely scooped from random spawns in random galaxies.

• Some events involve a global XP bonus, usually a double (100%) XP bonus. Such events are a good time to level up new characters.

• Junkyard Revelation Pills are a tweak you can buy from The Junkyard for 25 million credits. They give your ship a 10% XP bonus for 1 hour. This stacks with other XP bonuses except for other XP auras.

Experience Points Formula for AI kills

If in any case the formula gives a number higher than 510, only 510 experience will be gained per ship doing the attacking. The exception is when the AI had an XP bonus attached to it, this increases the cap by the same amount of the XP bonus. For example, subspace AI have a 5 times XP bonus. The maximum XP you can get from a subspace AI is 2550, not 510.

If you are lower than level 10

• Killing something lower level than you:
  • 200*((target'slevel+1)/(mylevel+1))^2

• Killing something higher level than you:
  • 200*((target'slevel+1)/(mylevel+1))^.9

If you are level 10 or higher

• Killing something lower level than you:
  • 200*((target'slevel+1)/(mylevel+1))^5

• Killing something higher level than you:
  • 200*((target'slevel+1)/(mylevel+1))^.9

Mission Experience

Missions can be thought of as giving the XP that a kill of a certain level would give, except using the mission's stated XP instead of 200 in the formula. To get this "level", simply use the experience formula above in reverse. The exception is if the level of the mission is equal to or above your level, in which case you get the stated XP on the mission.

Example: a level 100 mission that gives 1000 XP. If you are level 100 or less you get 1000 XP; if you are level 120 you get 1000*((100+1)/(120+1))^5 = 405.2 XP; if you are level 200 you get 1000*((100+1)/(200+1))^5 = 32 XP.