In Ancient Warriors you earn experience by killing monsters and finishing quests. The curve climbs steeply, just like in the classic MMOs: at level 8 you need 2,200 points for the next level, at level 30 it’s already 40,700, and at level 60 it’s 171,200. So the fastest levellers aren’t the ones who sit in one spot the longest — they’re the ones who move to a new hunting ground at the right time. Here’s how to do it at every stage.
The golden rule: hunt at your own level
Almost every monster on the mainland has its own “home” hero level, and its reward is set so that at that level it takes about fifty fights to reach the next one. A monster far below you gives little and rarely gets through your armour — time wasted. A monster far above you hits so hard that you spend more time on potions and resting than on fighting.
No need to guess: open the experience table and the bestiary. Every creature’s card shows its level, health and the experience it gives. A good target is a monster at your level or 2–5 levels above.
Kaldar island: levels 1–8
The game holds your hand for the first eight levels: twelve tutorial steps open the island section by section, and every step pays a little experience. But most of each level you earn yourself.
- Don’t skip the island’s quests. The survivors’ chest for Gunnar the smith, the moss from the ossuary for Mireya the healer and the fire from the bowl for Einar the lighthouse keeper together give almost a thousand experience — at these levels that’s several levels at once. The details are in the full map of Kaldar.
- Clear the caves to the end. A hoard waits at the end of each of the three caves, and every character gets it once.
- Dying on the island is free. You don’t lose experience here, so feel free to try stronger enemies.
- The final fight is Chief Grum (level 8, 313 experience). After him, Ketil the boatman takes you to the mainland.
Riverhollow: levels 8–20
Your first hours on the mainland are spent near the city. Take a quest from every trader right away — each has his own, and they lead you to new hunting grounds:
| Level | Where to hunt | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 8–10 | The old cemetery beyond the north gate | Restless Skeletons and Olvir’s quest “The Dead Do Not Sleep” (1,500 experience) |
| 10–15 | Road Goblins and the barbarian picket on the steppe road | The Barbarian Raider gives 80 experience; Halvard’s and Sigurd’s quests another 4,000 |
| 12–20 | The crypt’s catacombs | The level-12 Forgotten Dead gives 100 experience — more than surface monsters of the same level |
| 14–20 | The Renegades’ Camp by the castle, the steppe | Smugglers, bandits, thieves; Torvald’s quest “The Convoy That Never Came” (4,000 experience) |
Levels 20–40: the crypt and the far lands
From level 20 your options widen. The crypt under the cemetery is a ladder of rooms, each for its own level: the guard room (16), the ossuary and armoury (21), the great hall (26), the alchemist’s lab (31), the prison (36), the treasury (41–45). Go one room deeper once the current one starts dying too easily.
On the surface in this range you have the barbarians’ hunters’ camp, the elves’ village, the dwarves’ diggings, the ruins of the Ashen Spire on the western cape and the outer baileys of the renegades’ castle. Check the mainland map: every zone lists its level.
Levels 40–60: bosses and quest chains
Here more and more of your experience comes from quests and bosses. Hrodgar, captain of the outpost on the mines road, gives a chain of four quests (from levels 15, 30, 40 and 50), the story quest “The Seal of the Order” pays 25,000 experience, and the Necromancer in the crypt’s sanctum gives 4,500 per kill. We covered how to beat him in a separate guide.
Five habits that save hours
- Change camps instead of waiting. Monsters don’t respawn while you’re nearby (roughly within a screen). Cleared a camp? Head to the next one instead of standing over an empty spot.
- Always stay fed. Health and mana only regenerate while your hero is fed. Ham fills you for 6 minutes, bread for 2.
- Keep potions on the quick-use bar. Keys 1–0 or the squares at the bottom left. A potion on the bar costs less than a death.
- Train your skills at the training camp. Beyond the east gate stand trainers from level 10 to 60: they give no experience, but your weapon, shield and magic skills grow — and they can’t kill you. Stronger skill means faster fights, which means more experience per hour.
- Don’t die on the mainland. Death takes a tenth of the experience needed for your current level and can drop you a level. If a fight is going badly, back off: monsters give up if you get far enough away.
In short
On the island, do every quest and clear the caves. In the city, take an errand from every trader. After that, hunt monsters at your level or a little above, move between camps and train your skills — and remember that the best weapons come with levels: where to find rare gear.
Read next
- Classes Knight or mage: which class to pick as a beginner Comparing the four vocations in Ancient Warriors — knight, mage, ranger and druid: health and mana, weapons, key spells and play style. Which class suits you.
- Maps Full map of Kaldar island Map of Kaldar, the starting island: every zone in order, monsters and their levels, three caves with hoards, five survivors, the quests and the way to the boat.
- Bosses How to beat the Necromancer in the crypt How to reach the crypt sanctum, what level to fight the Necromancer at, who to kill first and how to handle his servants. Tactics for every class and his loot.
