Leveling guide

This guide covers tips and recommendations for efficient leveling of all classes of all types, from playing in One person mode (Solo) to playing in Normal mode (parties). It includes guides for beginners with beginner gear up to experienced players with more advanced or endgame gear. Some classes like Forces have advantages over leveling compared to other classes due to easier access to a wide variety of AoE techniques, which help in clearing large spawns of Monsters easier and faster. Other advantages include access to instant kill weapons, which Monsters in Normal until Very Hard difficulty are very susceptible to. Rangers especially have an advantage here due to their Ranger weapon kit.

Beginners

For some advanced gear (e.g. Units and lvl 200 Mags), there is no level restriction to equip them and players already in possession of those items have an easier time leveling new characters. For beginners with only beginner gear, leveling is more challenging. While later Episodes like 2 and 4 have monsters that award higher experience points (EXP), it is generally recommended to play in Episode 1 with weaker monsters.

Mags

For beginners it's very important to start feeding their Mags as soon as possible. Mags allow stat bonuses to the character and there are no leveling requirements for equipping them. Following the Mag guide helps in creating the first Mag. Which Mag to raise generally depends on the class. The Class guides have recommendations for which stats a player wants to raise their Mag with.

Gear

Gear like Weapons, Frames, Barriers and Units can drop from killing monsters or by destroying item boxes. Gear can also be purchased for Meseta from the Pioneer 2 shops. The beginner gear should be swapped out as soon as stronger gear is found. Frames can have up to four slots, onto which units can be equipped to. These units grant stat bonuses and it is recommended to use those that grant ATP and ATA stats for inflicting more damage and having higher accuracy in inflicting said damage. Units that grant HP can also be helpful to survive enemy attacks. While better frames grant more DFP and EVP, it is recommended to use frames that have more slots so that more units can be used.

New players may lack the funds to purchase equipment or replenish supplies of recovery items such as Trifluid. By making a habit of picking up Frames and Barriers from the floor and selling them at the Pioneer 2 shops, Meseta can be acquired quickly.

Grinders

Grinders (Mono-, Di-, Tri-) are single use consumables that grant permanent ATP bonuses to a weapon. Each weapon has its own grind limit. While it can be useful to grind early game weapons, swapping out for stronger weapons is more important. Grinders are more commonly found in higher difficulties. In lower difficulties it can be useful to save them for use on later weapons.

Materials

Materials are single use consumables that grant permanent stat bonuses to the character. Each class has its own Material usage limit. The Class guides provide Material plan recommendations on how many Materials of which type should be used. Materials should be used as soon as they are found, as long as they fit within the intended player's Material plan. HP Materials can be used immediately without concern.

Advanced players

Experienced players with access to advanced gear should use their finished Mags and gear for their new characters. It is recommended to use a simple Frame with four slots in order to equip four Units at Level 1. Materials should be used immediately as well. As Frames and Barriers have level requirements for equipping them, it can be useful to hold on to those that can be used on lower levels (as long as the frames also have four slots). Using Mags and units which grant numerous stats in mainly ATP, ATA or MST can also be useful in order to equip stronger weapons early.

Experience boosts

Ephinea features a weekly rotating experience boost, where each monster awards an additional +50% of its base EXP. Another experience boost can be accessed by playing quests that are in the current weekly Ragol Boost Road (RBR) rotation. Each of the quests grant the player an experience boost, ranging from +15% playing solo to +25% playing with 3 or 4 players. Which weekly boost is currently active and which are the weekly RBR quests can be seen on the Main Page. Doing RBR quests with 3 or 4 players during a week with EXP boost grants a total of +75% EXP boost, which is very helpful in leveling new characters. Some RBR quests are not very efficient for leveling though and it's recommended to stick to playing the quests below.

Quests

Quests with high monster density or quick access to bosses are very efficient for leveling. While the most efficient leveling quests are usually located in later Episodes, they can be more difficult to clear. Some quests can be progressed until a certain point, from which the EXP gained by continuing is diminished. It's more efficient to reset the quest (by returning to the lobby with the command /lobby) at this point and repeat it.

While EXP gained in One person mode is a bit lower compared to Normal mode, Monster stats are much lower and thus weaker. The EXP loss is minor and for solo players it is therefore recommended to always play in One person mode.

Towards the Future

Towards the Future (TTF) is a Episode 1 Quest. It is the most popular quest in the game and colloquially known as a "boss rush." For beginners it's a very easy way to level, as rooms online fill quickly due to the popularity. Many experienced players help out new players in TTF rooms or they want to level their newly created characters too, but already have access to strong gear. Under these circumstances it's usually not too challenging to clear the quest in parties.

Solo

For beginners it can be challenging to clear the quest solo, as monsters and bosses become increasingly stronger in later areas. One way to still level quickly though is to only play the Forest section of the quest. The quest has fast access to the Dragon and defeating it repeatedly awards a lot EXP in short time. Dragon is also the weakest boss in the game and thus can be defeated with beginner gear.

Tyrell's Ego

Tyrell's Ego is a Episode 1 quest. It features dense monster spawns and all Episode 1 bosses similar to TTF. Unlike TTF though, it takes much longer to clear each area. As Forest is the easiest area in the game and has a lot dense spawns in this quest, it's good for early game leveling, even for solo player with beginner gear. In this quest, many doors or gates open early even without defeating all monsters in the room. For the sake of leveling, it is recommended to wait for more monsters to appear before advancing through each room.

CAL's Clock Challenge

CAL's Clock Challenge (CCC) is a Episode 2 quest. It features dense monster spawns in a small space with a strict time limit. Each wave that is cleared adds to a timer. If the timer runs out, the quest ends. It is recommended to only clear the VR Temple and VR Spaceship sections, as further sections are not as rewarding and efficient for experience.

Forces especially have an advantage in CCC. By continually casting Gifoie in the center of the room, many waves can be cleared instantly upon spawn. HUnewearl and RAmarl with access to level 20 Gifoie can also make use of this. Rangers equipped with V501 or V502 and ES Weapons like ES Needle and ES Shot, which have Hell added as a special, also have an advantage by clearing waves fast in Normal to Very Hard difficulty. For Hunters this quest is more challenging. Even though ES Slicers with Hell can be used, the right positioning to reach all targets is tricky. Wasting just a few seconds with a strict time limit thus makes it rather tough on Hunters.

Due to the strict time limit, this quest is not very beginner friendly and requires more advanced gear or techniques.

Warrior's Pride

Warrior's Pride is a Episode 4 quest. It can only be played in One person mode. Conveniently, 2 NPCs follow the player around while progressing through the quest. The player can stay behind the NPCs to avoid being attacked and use ranged weapons to defeat the enemies. Resta can be used to keep the NPCs alive. For Androids however this quest is more challenging as the only AoE healing option is using Star Atomizers.

Satellite Lizards and Yowies can only be damaged with melee weapons or techniques, unless the player targets them from behind. Nevertheless, the quest is a good way to solo level characters and feasible for Rangers and Hunters, as long as the player has the necessary gear to deal with the Lizards.

New Mop-Up Operation 3

New Mop-Up Operation 3 (NMU3) is a Episode 4 quest. Episode 4 monsters award the highest EXP in the game and this quest features many dense spawns, making it one of the best leveling quests in the game. However, in addition to strong Episode 4 monsters, this quest also includes areas in which a players HP is rapidly and continually drained. These so called "heat rooms" make it one of the most challenging quests to clear efficiently. Forces have an advantage due to access to strong Resta healing abilities and their potential to inflict strong Rafoie damage, with which many waves of enemies can be defeated in short time. Forces fully equipped with technique boosting gear like Psycho Wand or Rafoie Merge can clear this quest quickly without too much of a challenge, as most Episode 4 monsters are weak to fire techniques. FOnewm is the strongest solo class for NMU3 due to its innate Hard technique damage boost.

Beyond the Horizon

Beyond the Horizon (BTH) is a Episode 4 quest. With advanced equipment, it is considered to be the best leveling quest in the game. It features a multitude of enemy waves in quick succession in a very small space. The quest takes place in all areas of Episode 4. However, it is recommended to only clear the first two Crater sections. Accessing the quest costs Meseta and the amount depends on difficulty, starting with 10,000 in Normal. Forces once again have an advantage here, as most enemies from Episode 4 are weak to fire techniques. Similarly to CCC, Gifoie can be cast continually in the center of the area to clear enemy waves quickly. HUnewearl and RAmarl with access to level 20 Gifoie can also make use of this.

BTH is also popular for unsealing items. The Sealed items/Guide covers strategies for unsealing. Item drops are disabled in this quest.

Maximum Attack

Maximum Attack (MA) is a quest category that refers to several quests featuring dense monster spawns throughout a multitude of areas. MA quests are challenging and thus recommended to play in multiplayer mode. However, it's still an option for solo players with advanced gear.

MA quests are popular for leveling and also item hunting. The MA:E quest series Maximum Attack E: Episode 1, Maximum Attack E: Gal Da Val and Maximum Attack E: Episode 4 are frequently played quests which are very efficient for leveling and item hunting.