Ready to rocket through the ranks in Starfield? Whether you’re on PC or Xbox, mastering the fastest ways to earn XP and level up can transform your spacefaring adventure from a slow crawl into a high-speed thrill ride. From outpost building and crafting to hunting high-level fauna on distant planets, discover the top strategies to boost your XP gains and unlock powerful skills faster than ever before. Get ready to dominate the galaxy with these expert tips for leveling up in Starfield!
Go To Sleep
Going to sleep in Starfield is a strategic way to earn XP faster and gain useful buffs. When you sleep in a bed-whether on your ship or in your quarters at The Lodge-you receive the “Well-Rested” perk, which grants a 10% XP boost for 24 in-game hours, helping you level up more quickly. Sleeping also advances time, allowing you to explore planets during different times of day, which can be crucial for certain quests or safer exploration. Additionally, sleep restores some health and can help cure minor status effects, making it a valuable mechanic for both progression and survival in the game.
Sleeping in a bed restores your health and gives you the “Well-Rested” perk. Being well-rested gives you a 10% XP buff for 24 in-game hours (based on universal time), so it’s a good idea to take a nap before you head out on a mission or take on side quests. You have a bed on your ship, in your room at the Constellation Lodge, and, if you have the Kid Stuff trait, at your parents’ home in New Atlantis.
Also, while not quite as effective as sleeping, drinking a Boba Alien Tea will give you a modest XP boost perk: 2% for 15 real-world minutes.
Explore New Locations
Exploring new locations in Starfield is a highly effective way to earn XP quickly. Each time you discover a new planet, city, or landmark, you gain valuable experience points that contribute to leveling up. The game features numerous unique and populated locations, such as New Atlantis on the planet Jemison, which serves as a major hub with many quests and activities. Additionally, exploring diverse planets with unique ecosystems allows you to encounter various creatures and resources, providing further opportunities for XP through combat and resource gathering. High-level planets, in particular, offer challenging enemies that yield significant XP rewards, making exploration a rewarding strategy for fast leveling.
You get 20 XP every time you find a new location, whether it’s a landmark, a settlement, or a point of interest. The best way to handle exploration is to start at a landing point, such as a city or outpost, and explore any nearby areas of interest. Use your scanner to identify points of interest or unknown locations on the horizon, and place a marker on your surface map. Head back to space, and choose a landing point near your marker to cut down on how long it takes to reach your destination.
You can get 100 or more XP from your first visit to a planet this way, plus some extras for arriving in the space around the planet and its moons the first time.
Take On Trade Commission Requests
Taking on Trade Commission requests in Starfield is an effective way to earn credits while also discovering new locations across the galaxy. These requests typically involve delivering goods or completing specific tasks, which not only reward you with money but also provide valuable XP. By regularly accepting and completing Trade Commission missions, players can steadily level up while exploring different star systems and planets, making it a practical and engaging method to progress quickly in the game. This approach complements other XP farming strategies by combining economic gain with exploration and mission completion.
Trade Commission requests are a solid way to earn credits, but they’re an easy way to find new locations as well. Most of these requests involve reaching a new location in space, which earns you some XP, and landing on a planet or moon, which earns you XP, before exploring a bit, which – surprise! – earns you some XP. You can typically get 60 to 100 XP just from a quick bounty request.
Complete Quests
Completing quests is one of the most effective ways to earn XP and level up quickly in Starfield. Main story missions provide the highest XP rewards, often granting 700 XP or more per completion, making them the fastest route to level progression. Side quests also offer valuable XP boosts, typically around 50 XP each, and can be a good alternative if you prefer a slower pace or want to explore more of the game world. Additionally, faction missions and radiant quests from mission boards provide a steady stream of XP opportunities. Combining quest completion with exploration and combat ensures a consistent and efficient leveling experience in Starfield.
During your first visit to New Atlantis alone, the good – and not-so-good – citizens drop at least a dozen quests into your lap. The easy ones, such as exchanging a gem for a plate or finding a handful of bio-sensors, may not reward you with a ton of XP, but especially when you’re first getting started, it adds up pretty quickly.
Longer or more involved quests tend to shower you with a few hundred XP, though. For example, finishing the tour around New Homestead on Titan takes probably 10 or 15 minutes of slowly walking and listening to Bill Starsap talk, but you get 200 XP at the end. Some complex quest chains, such as the Red Tape line in Cydonia on Mars, open several new quests and chances to earn XP as well. Small wonder that quest is one of our recommendations for what to do first in Starfield.
I hit level 10 before even reaching Neptune during “The Old Neighborhood” (Starfield’s second campaign mission) just by doing maybe a dozen side quests. If you’re struggling, stop the main story for a bit and see who you can help.
Complete Faction Quests
Completing faction quests in Starfield is a highly effective way to earn substantial XP and progress quickly through the game. Each faction offers a unique series of missions that not only provide rewarding combat and exploration opportunities but also unlock valuable gear, weapons, and ships. Players can join multiple factions simultaneously and complete their questlines without them conflicting, allowing for a diverse and rich gameplay experience. The main story faction, Constellation, features the longest questline, while other factions like UC Vanguard, Crimson Fleet, Freestar Collective, and Ryujin Industries offer shorter but equally rewarding questlines. Completing all faction quests is also necessary for unlocking specific achievements, making them an essential part of fast leveling and gaining experience in Starfield.
Faction quests in particular are a guaranteed way to get at least 200 XP or more a pop (and also plenty of extra credits as well). You can start as soon as you land in New Atlantis by visiting MAST headquarters and joining UC Vanguard. From our experience, the first several missions have no story-altering choices, so you can do them all with no fear of locking yourself out from completing other faction quests.
Even the more in-depth faction quests tend to take about 30 minutes at the most, so you get what you need pretty quickly, alongside a nice dive into Starfield’s lore.
Defeat Enemies
To defeat enemies effectively in Starfield and earn XP quickly, focus on engaging in combat strategically. Use high-damage weapons and aim for headshots to maximize damage output while conserving ammo. Utilize your jetpack to gain mobility and the high ground advantage, making it easier to target enemies and avoid their attacks. When facing tougher foes like Starborn or Pirate Marauders, stay close to your companions for support and use shields to block incoming damage. For ranged enemies and turrets, employ tactics like corner peeking or hacking nearby terminals to disable defenses. Continuously seek out enemy-packed locations to accumulate kills and gather valuable loot, which will help you level up faster and prepare for more challenging battles ahead.
Combat is one of the least efficient ways to earn XP – unless you’re taking on large numbers of enemies. You get 10 XP if you or a companion defeat an enemy, which is paltry if you’re just invading an unsuspecting ship or a lonely outpost. Constellation missions usually pit you against a few dozen enemies, though, and if you spot an abandoned lab or mining outpost on a settled system or lonely moon, you can almost guarantee there’ll be a crew of Spacers or pirates waiting. If you take a nap beforehand, the Well-Rested perk can easily turn such ventures into triple digit XP hauls.
How can I quickly reach level 100 in Starfield using XP farms
To quickly reach level 100 in Starfield using XP farms, the most efficient method involves setting up an outpost on Sumati’s moon Andraphon, where you can simultaneously extract aluminum and iron-two key resources for crafting high-XP items like Adaptive Frames. Here’s a concise step-by-step summary:
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Unlock the Outpost Engineering skill and research Power Generation and Resource Extraction at a research lab to enable efficient resource harvesting.
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Equip a ship with at least 2,000-3,000 cargo space to carry necessary materials and crafted items.
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Gather required resources: 18 Adaptive Frames, 124 Aluminum, 24 Beryllium, 30 Copper, 2 Fiber, 99 Iron, and 24 Tungsten.
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Build an outpost at the location on Andraphon where aluminum and iron deposits meet, placing six extractors for each resource and powering them with about 10 solar arrays.
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Connect extractors to storage containers and set up an industrial workbench to craft Adaptive Frames, which yield significant XP per craft (about 20,000 XP per hour).
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Use the planet’s accelerated time flow (6x faster) to maximize resource production and crafting speed, allowing you to reach level 100 in approximately 5 hours.
This method requires some initial investment in skills and resources but is the fastest and most reliable way to farm XP and level up rapidly without exploits or glitches. Alternatively, crafting other high-XP items like Paramagnon Conductors or farming Serpentis ships can supplement XP gains but are less efficient than the outpost farm.
What is the fastest way to farm 5000 XP per minute in Starfield
The fastest way to farm around 5,000 XP per minute in Starfield is by establishing a well-optimized outpost on Venus that harvests cobalt and nickel, allowing you to craft high-XP items like Isocentered Magnets. Once your Venus base is fully operational, you can achieve approximately 5,000 XP per minute, which can be further accelerated using a turbo controller on Xbox or a mouse on PC for faster crafting inputs. This method enables players to level from 50 to 100 in just 1-2 hours.
Key points for this XP farm:
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Build an outpost where cobalt and nickel deposits meet on Venus.
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Use multiple industrial extractors and large storage containers to maximize resource collection.
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Craft Isocentered Magnets, which yield more XP per craft than Adaptive Frames.
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Rest periodically (2-4 hours) to refill extractors and continue crafting.
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Use XP-boosting consumables like Tranquilitea or Boba Alien Tea to slightly increase XP gains.
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Employ turbo controls or fast input devices to speed up crafting cycles.
This approach is considered the most efficient and least tedious way to rapidly accumulate XP through crafting farms in Starfield.
