How to Level Up Fast - Starfield Guide - IGN (2024)

As you progress through Starfield’s campaign and discover new planets and galaxies, the challenges get progressively more difficult. The best way to ensure you are always ready for the next challenge Starfield throws at you is to level up as quickly as possible.

There are many ways to level up in Starfield. But in this guide, we will show you what you should focus on to grind levels fast.

The key to leveling up in Starfield is to gain experience points, or XP. Here are some things you can focus on if you want to earn lots of XP quickly:

• Go to sleep -- more on this just below!
• Complete main story missions, which works in your favor to unlock more aspects of Starfield
• Complete side quests
  • Side quest length varies immensely. If you're looking for something quick for XP and credits, avoid the faction quests. Those tend to be longer and more involved but have better rewards.
• Explore and discover new planets.
  • Putting on a podcast or other audio companion while doing this is especially helpful!
• Defeat enemies and creatures with an XP boost item on
• Join Factions and check out mission boards.

More details on each of these below!

Go to Sleep and Other XP Bonuses

Going to sleep may sound counterproductive when it comes to gaining XP, but it’s actually the top way to level up quickly in Starfield.

Sleeping in Starfield gives you a 10% XP buff for an entire in-game day.

Going to sleep gives you the Well-Rested perk, which is what provides you with the stat boost that allows you to earn 10% more XP than you normally would.

You can sleep in the bed on your ship or in any of the beds in the Lodge. So make sure you have a nice long nap before you head out to explore or complete missions to max out your XP as much as possible!

The Well-Rested perk gets an upgrade once you commit yourself to a romance partner. At that point Tap to Reveal

Other XP bonuses can come from consuming...

• Tranquilitea, +2% XP for 15 minutes
  • Found through looting
• Alien Tea, +2% XP for 15 minutes
  • Craftable
• Shepherd's Pie, +2% XP for 60 minutes
  • Purchase from Kay's Place in New Atlantis' The Well
• "The Strip", +2% XP for 30 minutes
  • Purchase from Whetstone restaurant in New Atlantis

Complete Missions and Quests

Out of all the ways to gain XP in Starfield, completing main missions and progressing with the story earns you the most by far. Completing a main mission earns upwards of 700 XP, and many are relatively quick to complete.

Not everyone likes blasting through the game to level up, however. If you would rather savor the experience and grind some levels to be fully prepared for the end game, completing side missions can also get you lots of XP. Side quests don’t offer as much XP as main missions, but they can still fetch a50 XP, which certainly gives you a bit of a boost.

Defeating Enemies

If you thrive in high-octane environments in-game and love the combat in Starfield, focus on defeating enemies to grind for XP. Every single kill you get under your belt gives you XP, which can quickly build up if you seek out locations that are packed with enemies. It’s also an excellent way to find more ammo and higher-value weapons that will allow you to take on even stronger enemies in the future.

Main missions and side quests usually bring you into contact with plenty of enemies, but if you want to level up before progressing with the story, you can seek out enemies to fight on your own terms.

When you explore space on your ship, you have a decent chance of coming across enemy ships. There are also countless enemy bases scattered across the universe on unexplored planets.

If you’re struggling to find enough enemies to curb your hunger for XP and are yet to join the Crimson Fleet, the Kryx star system is absolutely littered with Crimson Fleet ships, so you will find no shortage of targets there.

Explore and Discover New Planets

Space exploration and discovery is another great way to gain XP quickly in Starfield. When you discover a new location you have never been to before, you get XP. This counts for planets, buildings, landmarks, and other areas of interest.

The easiest planet type to 100% are gas giants as you can't actually land on them. Prioritize them when searching systems for easy XP and credits.

Each planet in Starfield has its own unique ecosystem, with several species of plants, ore, and creatures to find. Farming these creatures for their resources can also earn you a lot of XP quickly, particularly if you find a herd.

Each planet has a recommended level that it suggests you reach before visiting. These high-level planets usually have particularly dangerous creatures living there. High-level creatures can earn you a couple hundred XP per kill, so thoroughly investigating these locations will be well worth your while if you’re looking to level up quickly.

Join Factions

Joining one or more of the Factions throughout the game involves a series of missions, which usually involve combat and, therefore, XP. You can then collect even more quests from Faction mission boards.

Each Faction has its own mission board, and there’s also the Tracker Alliance mission board as well. UtilizIng these mission boards will provide you with a steady and constant source of XP.