Experience point

Gaining/Earning Experience Points(XP)
There are three methods to earn experience points:
 * Complete objectives in encounter areas (e.g. Waterworks, Tangleroot Gorge) such as defeating set numbers of creatures, visiting locations of interest, or slaying rare named bosses.
 * Complete optional objectives inside of a mission. Common optional objectives include slaying a boss or named creature within a mission, exploring certain areas of a map, or clearing side areas of threats.  Some optional objectives are shown from the start of a mission, while others remain hidden until triggered.
 * Completion of all main mission objectives. Some main objectives remain hidden until triggered.  This method usually confers much more experience points than the first two methods.  Optional Objective XP is granted instantly and not able to be boosted.  The main XP is bestowed upon completion of the quest and can be changed by any of the following conditions:
 * Times completed: Completing a mission for the third and subsequent times carries a -10% penalty, and an additional -10% penalty for each completion past the third for maximum "extreme repetition" penalty of -90% after 11 completions.
 * Level of mission vs level of highest character in mission: Subtract the level of the highest level character to have entered the mission (even if they later left) from the mission's level and multiply by 10%. This is the bonus for under level difference (max bonus is 50%).  For characters over the level of the quest, the penalty scales with levels over.  +2 over = -10%, +3 = -25%, +4 = -50%, +5 = -75%, +6 = NO XP. Elite (and sometimes hard) difficulty will add to the mission level.
 * Power-leveling: If the highest level character in the party is 4-5 levels higher than another character in the party, the lower level character receives a -50% XP penalty.
 * Difficulty setting: Completing a mission for the first time on Normal difficulty grants a +25% bonus. Completing a mission for the first time on Hard difficulty grants a +25% bonus. Completing a mission for the first time on Elite difficulty grants a +50% bonus.
 * Re-entry: Leaving and re-entering a mission before completion (whether through death, recall, or exit) confers a -20% penalty and another -20% penalty for each additional re-entry.
 * Death: There is a +10% Flawless Victory Bonus  if no one dies. (Incapacitation is not death unless the player releases.)
 * Killing monsters: Killing a large portion of the monsters present can confer.
 * +10% Aggresion  bonus
 * +15% Onslaught  bonus
 * +25% **Conquest**  bonus
 * Not killing monsters: On the flip side, completing a mission without slaying anything can grant
 * +8% Discreet  bonus
 * +10% Devious  bonus
 * +15% **Insidious Cunning**  bonus
 * Disarming traps: Disarming a large portion of the traps present can confer
 * +8% Tamper  bonus
 * +10% Neutralization  bonus
 * +15% **Ingenious Debilitation**  bonus
 * Finding secret doors: Finding a large portion of the secret doors present can confer
 * +8% Observance  bonus
 * +10% Perception  bonus
 * +15% **Vigilant Sight**  bonus
 * Destroying breakable objects: Destroying a large portion of the breakable objects (barrels, vases, caskets, etc.) present can confer
 * +8% Mischief  bonus
 * +10% Vandal  bonus
 * +15% **Ransack**  bonus

All of the bonuses are added together and can offset the penalty for having high level characters in the party. The exception is NO XP if you have a player that is 6 or more levels over the quest level. NO XP cannot be offset, no matter how many bonuses you earn.

Experience Points to Level
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The "Art" of Gaining XP
There are a lot of differing opinions on the best difficulty order to complete quests to get the optimal amount of XP from each quest. Here are a few mathematical examples of the suggested run methods using "The Kobolds New Ringleader" and a Party of Level 2 Characters as a baseline. This is often one of the most run quests at level 2 so it makes a good example. As is proven on the following charts, if your goal is getting the most XP you can from a quest, it is in your best interest to run a quest on Hard at least once, followed by all other completions on elite. Obviously this will not always be an option, however if given the choice of doing a quest on normal, hard, or elite; you should always choose hard if its your first time running it, otherwise choose elite.

Of course, this doesn't take into account the differing amount of time it takes to do a quest on a given difficulty setting. Some quests on solo setting can be completed in under 5 minutes and can be repeated 3 times with no penalty.

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