Level fast: the six gates that matter

The six numbers

That is the whole progression skeleton. Everything else — threat levels, regions, achievements — sits on top of it.

Level 30 is the real target

Two things happen at 30, and they are the same thing:

• Exotic and above upgrades become rotatable. The shapes that define endgame builds only become flexible at max level.
• Employee of the Day unlocks, which is one of the two long grinds in the achievement list (the other is 5,000 kills).

So "max level" is not a number you chase for stats. It is the point where the grid stops being a constraint, which is also why build guides written before 30 read differently from build guides written after.

What actually earns XP

1. Finishing beats attempting. A completed mission at Threat 4 pays; a failed run at Threat 7 mostly costs you time. The 1.0 failure rule (nobody in the Drop Pod means failure) makes this sharper.
2. Threat level is the dial. Higher threat means more rewards and tougher odds. Pick the highest level you can complete, not the highest you can survive for ten minutes.
3. Optional objectives are worth doing. They pay Gats and they are part of the mission, not a detour.
4. Do not farm kills for XP. 5,000 kills is an achievement, not a levelling strategy — it is explicitly the long-tail grind, and it happens naturally while you chase everything else.

The route that holds up

• Levels 1–3: two missions with starting gear, then pick an axis on mission three. Do not rebuild grids before you understand combat.
• Levels 4–8: focus your primary weapon (middle mouse) so the drops you get are the drops you need. Start rotating Standard upgrades.
• Levels 8–13: push threat level for Saxonite and mission rewards. At 12, start Overtime Assignments — the guaranteed Saxonite is worth more than the XP.
• Level 13–16: run Incursion for Antimass, infuse the one upgrade whose shape is blocking your build. Do not infuse everything; since 1.0 a smaller pattern costs stats.
• Levels 16–30: this is the long stretch. Keep combining objectives — the achievement guide's own advice is to stack the level-30 grind with unfinished upgrades and mission objectives so one run progresses several things at once.

What 1.0 changed about levelling

• Employee upgrade trees start at Rare. Standard employee upgrades now drop randomly from any source instead of filling the tree.
• Tree stats are randomised per save. Two players comparing the "same" employee build may be comparing different numbers — which makes copy-paste builds less reliable than they look.
• Infusion scales stats with pattern size, so the level-13 system is now a real trade-off rather than free convenience.
• Solo enemy count was lowered on Threat 3 and 4, which makes solo levelling marginally less punishing.

30 is not the end

The level cap is where the grid opens, not where the game ends. The 100% checklist also wants Threat Level 7 clears, Floor 10 of Incursion, a 10,000 score in Starrunner, every upgrade discovered, X11-B, and Expedition Alpha.