Understanding how to level up fast in Assassin's Creed Origins is important with a game that levels its world - if you try your luck somewhere you're under levelled for then you are going to suffer in Assassin's Creed Origins. With some aspects of the game, improving your character and rising up through the ranks will allow you to access missions you wouldn't otherwise be able to start.
There are 40 levels in Assassin’s Creed Origins, each of which is able to unlock a host of new abilities, weapons, and gear to make life easier, alongside the power increases. The good news is that there are a few easy to learn, universal tips for leveling up fast in Assassin’s Creed Origins, some of which are effective even during the late game push, so you ought to remember them if you’re looking to make some rapid headway in Origins’ sprawling world.
1. Take on side quests for easy extra XP
Seriously, I can’t stress this enough. Not only are side quests just as varied and story driven as the main missions in Assassin's Creed Origins, but they reward the player with just as much XP, if not more, upon completion, and usually take up far less of your time than the campaign’s heftier chapters.
They’re practically everywhere, too, so instead of having to travel far and wide to continue Bayek’s personal revenge story, you can almost always find a more frivolous side quest nearby, with flexible level recommendations depending on the region you’re in. Need any more motivation? Certain side quests give you legendary armour, weapons, and mounts, not to mention a fair amount of gold. Whatever you do in Assassin’s Creed Origins, don’t ignore the side quests.
2. Explore tombs for free ability points
You can get ability points from tombs. I’ll repeat that. You can get ability points from tombs. To be clear, discovering the ancient tablets of Egypt’s underground crypts doesn’t automatically level you up, but completing many of these tombs will award you with the next best thing; a single ability point to spend on Bayek’s skill tree.
For the most part, scouring each tomb takes around five to ten minutes tops, and even if an ability point doesn’t await you at the end of it, you’ll still have earnt a substantial amount of XP, loot, money, and other resources in the process. That’s right, not every tomb offers ability points, but players are already chronicling out the exact ones you need to explore for beefing out that skill tree, so two minutes of online research will provide you with all the exact locations you need for those valuable extra points.
3. Focus on activities at, or above, your level for max rewards
That side quest tip comes with a few strings attached, though. If you’re on the hunt for healthy heapings of XP, you should only focus on pursuing objectives with level recommendations that are either at or above your current level. Don’t complete every single side quest or point of interest in an area if they were designed to be played two or three levels ago, as the XP you receive will be far less substantial than those from higher level missions.
Instead, bring up your map and move to another region with level recommendations that suit your Bayek’s current progress, and if you think you’re good enough, you could even head somewhere that’s a few levels above you, where XP will be even more abundant. This is only for the experienced Assassin's Creed players, mind, as getting stuck in high level areas can actually slow the grind down more than it speeds it up, so don’t get cocky.
4. Unlock the right abilities to boost the XP you earn
Ubisoft wants you to level up. You can tell it does, because certain perks and abilities found in Bayek’s skill tree are designed to help speed up the levelling process, all of which can be acquired from very early on in the game for only a single ability point each. The ‘Assassination XP’, ‘Headshot XP’, and ‘Tool Kill XP’ perks all give you more experience for every assassination, headshot and tool use respectively, so make sure you get them before anything else. After that, try and focus on abilities that can cater to those three perks in particular.
For instance, ‘Chain Assassination’ lets you kill two people in one foul swoop while ‘Assassination Streak XP’ gives you more XP for every consecutive stealth kill. Do the math, and you can see how they can work in tandem with ‘Assassination XP’ to net you far more experience than before. In this crucial early stage, try not to get tempted by the cooler looking abilities that your skill tree has to offer; you can always nab them later. For now, it’s best to make sure you’re earning as much experience as possible for using the most common tools in the Assassin’s playbook.
5. Loot does little to level you up, so don't get side tracked looking for it
Do not mistake Assassin’s Creed Origins for Destiny 2. Unlike that latter game, the weapons you’re equipped with will have no bearing on your level, but it’s rather the other way round, as high level gear can’t be used until you’ve reached their level requirements first. That means loot hunting isn’t exactly a great way of levelling up, though you will earn some XP from doing so. Activities like the Papyrus Puzzles are rewarding endeavours during end game, when Legendary items have a longer shelf life, but in terms of levelling fast, they’re a less than ideal activity.
Instead, you should improve your weaponry either the good old fashioned way (coming across them naturally through other activities) or by instantly upgrading your current gear at a blacksmith's. Good loot is handed out so regularly in Origins that’s it’s simple not worth the time involved to deliberately seek it out. Instead, you need to focus on what matters: XP.
6. Busywork like viewpoints and enemy camps pay out XP so take them on when you see them
Ubisoft has made a lot of improvements to its familiar open world design with Assassin’s Creed Origins, but it hasn’t quite yet been able to free itself of its penchant for filling the map with busywork. Still, the age-old Ubisoft tradition of liberating outposts, opening treasure chests, and synchronizing viewpoints is a quick and easy way to earn a fair deal of XP, especially when you first enter a densely packed town, in which all of these mini activities are usually in close proximity to each other.
This is less of the case out in the wilds and desert plains of Egypt, where viewpoints and outposts can be miles apart, but for places like Alexandria and Memphis, feel free to busywork away, and you’ll soon find yourself beefed up with some quick experience for completing the most trifling tasks.
7. Assassinate enemies when possible to reap the rewards of XP boosts
After you’ve acquired the ‘Assassination XP’, ‘Chain Assassination’, and ‘Streak Assassination XP’ perks, start making a habit of stealth assassinating any enemies who cross your path. Whether you’re cleaning up an outpost, progressing through a side mission, or simply wandering to your next landmark, digging your blade into nearby baddies is an instant and endless opportunity for earning XP on the go.
It only awards a relatively small amount of experience, and it might seem easier to simply ghost past your foes in certain scenarios but, considering the few seconds of time that it takes to make a kill, it’s a smart idea to commit to this healthy practice. That way, you’re almost always levelling as you continue on your Egyptian adventures, right down to the nitty gritty executions.
8. Travelling and discovery also earns you XP
You earn XP for every new area and point of interest you discover, so travelling around Egypt on horseback is an effortless option for some easy-going levelling. Better yet, if you want to take a break from the game, why not put Bayek’s steed on autopilot mode, who can then follow the main roads across the entire map without any manual guidance, discovering new landmarks along the way, even when you’re nowhere near your console.
If you picked up a special copy of Assassin’s Creed Origins, which comes packed with 500 Helix Credits, you could also cut some corners by purchasing all the maps from the in-game store, which reveals multiple points of interest at once, rewarding you with XP for each discovery despite the fact you’ve never even travelled there. It’s a bit of cheap move but, hey, needs must.
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