Experience point

An experience point (abbreviated EXP or XP) is a unit of measurement for character level advancement. Advancing to the next level requires a fixed amount of experience points which is determined by a formula.

Gaining levels is based on the concept that as characters defeat stronger enemies, they gain combat experience that allows them to improve their skills. This system was established in the 1970s by the classic pen-and-paper RPG Dungeons & Dragons and is present in some form or another in almost all role-playing games.

In World of Warcraft, you generally get XP from killing mobs and completing quests, but you can also get some from exploring, gathering herbs, mining, collecting fragments with Archaeology and opening chests. Since patch 3.2.0, XP is awarded also for completing objectives and actions that yield honor in Battlegrounds (honorable kills not included).

Many heirloom items grant greater XP gains while wearing them. The XP bonuses stack with each other and with the rested bonus. The effect of some of these items stops at level 80, while some remain active all the way to 85.

If you do not want to gain XP (for the purpose of e.g. making a twink), you can visit Behsten (Alliance) or Slahtz (Horde) to turn off all experience gain. It costs to disable XP gain, and another  to re-enable it. Disabling XP gain does not affect the gain of guild experience or guild reputation from turning in quests.

Mob gray level
Killing a mob stops giving XP if the level of that mob is too low. The mob name will have turned gray. The mob level at which this happens is called the Gray Level, and depends on your character level.

The full formula for the Gray Level is rather complicated, so here is a table. Mobs at or below the level given in the table do not give XP.


 * A Gray Level of 0 means that no mobs are gray at that character level.
 * The lower the Gray Level (bigger difference between character level and the gray level) the better for the player, as it means more mobs to give XP.
 * For character level 6-39 there is a little jump in favor of the player every 10 levels.
 * For character level 40-59 there is a little jump in favor of the player every 5 levels.
 * At character level 60 there is a big jump to the disadvantage of the player.
 * For character level 60-85 the Gray Level is simply 9 levels below the character.

Quest XP
The following formula for quest XP was obtained by studying the XP rewards provided for various quests and various levels. Character_Level <= Quest_Level + 5 : Quest_XP = (100 %) or Full_Quest_XP Character_Level = Quest_Level +  6 : Quest_XP = ( 80 %) or ROUND(Full_Quest_XP * 0.8 / 5) * 5 Character_Level = Quest_Level +  7 : Quest_XP = ( 60 %) or ROUND(Full_Quest_XP * 0.6 / 5) * 5 Character_Level = Quest_Level +  8 : Quest_XP = ( 40 %) or ROUND(Full_Quest_XP * 0.4 / 5) * 5 Character_Level = Quest_Level +  9 : Quest_XP = ( 20 %) or ROUND(Full_Quest_XP * 0.2 / 5) * 5 Character_Level >= Quest_Level + 10 : Quest_XP = ( 10 %) or ROUND(Full_Quest_XP * 0.1 / 5) * 5 Some lower level quests (Quest_Level < 10) seem to give full XP only for Character_Level <= Quest_Level + 4, differing by 1 level with the table above.

For the table, see Mob difficulty colors.

Blizzard has awarded full xp for the completion of a quest of any colour except grey. See Wow-Europe. The level at which a quest becomes green is exactly the same as for mobs.

In respect to current level, higher level quests do yield a larger relative xp gain. However, in the time it takes to do these harder quests it is possible to do several of the lower quests. Each to their own, but don't confuse the absolute value of xp gained as a number with the relative xp gained as a percentage of current level requirements. One strategy is to avoid reds, miss most oranges and focus on a mix of yellow and greens. If you are meant to do them then you will find you have time later. If by then you have already moved on, there are plenty of shiny new quests in the next zone.

Also, bear in mind that by completing higher as opposed to lower level quests, you will reach a point where the quests below you are grey and there are no new quests to complete. All that's left is the grind...

Match the green and yellow quests and there is more than enough to see you questing all the way through the game.

Money for experience at top level
When a character has reached the highest level attainable (60 for, 70 for , 80 for , 85 for ) they will receive money instead of experience points. In this case the normal gold reward a quest may give is not awarded. However, the xp to gold conversion always results in a larger gold reward than the normal gold reward. As far as can be determined, the conversion formula is: Money in copper = XP * 6 (Level 1-80 quests) Money in copper = XP * 2.383285303 (Cataclysm 81-85 quests) For example, a player with the expansions up to Wrath of the Lich King completes a quest at level 80 that normally awards 7 gold and 22,050 experience points. The player would instead receive from the xp to gold conversion, but they would not receive the normal 7 gold reward in addition to that. Players who have turned off their experience gains by visiting Behsten or Slahtz do not get any money in compensation for the XP they would otherwise gain.

Experience to level
The experience needed for a given level is specified by a formula that takes in to account several different factors. Up to level 10, it takes 8*CL kills of creatures of your same level to advance to the next level, where CL is your Current Level.

At level 11, the "difficulty reduction factor" added in patch 2.3.0 will kick in, thus reducing the XP needed to level. At level 30 the "difficulty factor" (from the original game release) will kick in, which increases the number of kills needed to level.

At level 60, the expected XP from killing a mob of your level increases drastically, as it is assumed that you will be killing mobs in Outland. This increases XP required to level. However at the same time, another reduction factor (active 60-70 only, added at the release of WotLK) goes into effect reducing the XP needed.

At level 70, the expected XP from killing a mob of your level increases drastically again, as it is assumed that you will be killing mobs in Northrend. The 60-70 XP reduction factor expires also, thus causing a large jump in the XP needed to level.

The total experience needed to reach level 60 is 3,379,400.

The total experience needed to level from 60 to 70 is 4,722,000.

The total experience needed to level from 70 to 80 is 15,965,800.

The grand total experience needed to level from 1 to 80 is 24,067,200.

Out-leveling zones
If you are at or above the maximum level for a given expansion, killing creatures from that expansion's zones will only give 10% of normal experience.

Example:
 * If you are at level 60 or higher and you choose to stay in the old world and not move on to Outland, killing creatures in old world zones will only award 10% of normal experience.
 * If you are at level 70 or higher and choose to stay in Outland and not move on to Northrend, killing creatures in Outland will only award 10% of normal experience.
 * If you are at level 80 or higher and choose to stay in Northrend and not move onto Cataclysm zones, killing creatures in Northrend will only award 10% of normal experience.