BDO Leveling: Guide to Gaining Character Levels

Ha, I’m teasing you just a tiny bit before we get started.

The secret to gaining levels faster is increasing Combat Experience and selecting good grinding spots. It’s also important to know when to use side quests to your advantage.

4 Different Leveling Options:

Grinding Mobs (best for characters level 61+)
Side Quests (best for leveling from 58 to 61)
AFK Leveling with Training Dummies and Books

Life Skills most Life Skills give Combat Exp. However, AFK fishing feels like the best option. I was able to obtain level 58 in one week of AFK fishing with a +10 Balenos Fishing Rod, T3 Auto Fishing pet, and Exp Event.

Shai get Combat Exp buffs for Gathering & Alchemy

Gyfin Rhasia

Leveling in a Party

Most grinding spots support solo grinding. There is usually a “main rotation” that is most popular because it has the best mob density. Because mobs die in one hit, most rotations can’t support a party.

Parties that are made up of 3 or more players get 50% experience for each party member. This mechanic makes it easy for a strong group of 3 players to power level one to two friends.

Party Size	Combat Exp Per Player
1	100%
2	60%
3	50%
4	50%
5	50%

Party Leveling Spots

There are 12 grinding spots that were created for a party of 2 to 5 players.

They are marked as “Party Recommended” on the world map.

Grinding Spot	AP	Players	Territory
Gyfin Rhasia	270 AP	5	Kamasylvia
Mirumok Ruins	240 AP	2-3	Kamasylvia
Navarn Steppe	210 AP	2-3	Kamasylvia
Tunkuta	270 AP	2	O’dyllita
Olun’s Valley	300 AP	2	O’dyllita
Abandoned Monastery	280 AP	2	Calpheon
Shultz Guard (Season)	220 AP	3	Mediah
Basilisk Den (Season)	190 AP	3	Valencia
Waragon (Season)	165 AP	3	Valencia
Castle Ruins	240 AP	3	Serendia Elvia
Altar Imp Habitat	240 AP	2	Serendia Elvia

Best Grinding Spots for Leveling

The following grinding spots give higher Combat EXP than normal for their difficulty level.

Grinding Spot	Location	Level	Rec AP	DP	Silver
Fadus Habitat: Loopy Tree Forest	Kamasylvia	53	120	180	325
Polly’s Forest: Mushrooms	Kamasylvia	55	160	250	415
Titium Valley: Desert Fogans	Valencia	55	100	180	395
Desert Naga Temple	Valencia	55	100	180	274
Bashim Base	Valencia	55	100	180	265
Shultz Guard Sausans: 3P	Mediah	55	220	320	200
Waragon Nest: 3P	Valencia	55	165	220	100
Roud Sulfur Mines	Valencia	56	210	240	270
Gyfin Rhasia Temple: Upper: 5P	Kamasylvia	57	270	320	560
Traitor’s Graveyard – Marie Cave	Calpheon	58	160	300	330
Protty Cave	Island/Water	59	170	200	450
Mirumok Ruins 2/3P	Kamasylvia	59	240	270	410
Sycraia Upper	Island/Water	60	230	260	320
Murrowak’s Labyrinth	Winter	61	280	350	560

Season Leveling Buffs

Season gives great leveling buffs. There are also special Season events and items to help players level faster.

Season Servers provide a Life Skill, Combat, and Skill EXP buff. The EXP buff will be active regardless of a character’s level.

Weekend/Weekday (24/7)

Combat EXP +300%
Skill EXP + 50%
Life EXP +30% (excludes Trading)

Season Leveling Spots:

drop Tuvala Enhancement materials
spawn a special Afuaru that gives enhancement mats
can enjoy the hunt without concern of PVP
optional PVP Season Server with +50% drops

Season EXP Buff

Party Leveling Spot

Fastest Leveling with Party Help

BDO Power Leveling (or Boosting) is the fastest way to reach level 58.

Power Leveling occurs when another player with high level and good gear forms a party with you and kills mobs in a grinding spot.

You can reach level 59 in a couple hours doing this when there are high Combat EXP buffs of about +1500%.

POWER LEVELING NOTES:

Guild/Party Chat and Stable is disabled until level 6.
Characters that are power leveled have a lower amount of Skill Points than grinding alone. Expect about 510 SP at 59 and 640 SP after Simplified Quest Line. (with high Skill Exp buffs)
Many grinding spots have safe areas where players can hide from mobs. (Example: Polly’s has a small area where nothing but trees spawn in the middle of a grinding spot. Mirumok has specific tree stumps to stand on.)

You cannot obtain items if the difference between the lowest and highest party member is 10+

BDO Party Loot UI

Distance penalty can occur if you move too far from your party.

BDO Party Distance Combat Exp Penalty

Power Leveling Locations

Mirumok and Gyfin are popular party spots for gaining levels and are frequently used to boost low level characters.

Mirumok Ruins – 3 man

Standard main rotation allowing for parties under 261 AP Nouver or 245 AP Kutum

parties that can kill stronger mobs than Mirumok, but can’t do 5-man Mirumok.
Good exp and fair silver

261 AP Nouver or 245 AP Kutum
more specific party compositions
higher silver and exp than Gyfin and 3-man Mirumok

Gyfin Rhasia

Thank you to u/AscennAI for their Mirumok Rotation Graphic!

Please check the NA Mirumok/Gyfin Discord for more details.

Black Desert Level Cap

There is no level cap in Black Desert Online. However, there is a “soft cap”, where it feels nearly impossible to obtain a certain level.

See the chart from Smite Datamining, which shows the amount of xp needed per level.

As you can see, the experience needed for level 63 is much more than the amount needed for level 56.

Reaching level 56 is quick, but after level 62, leveling gets much slower.

For more details, please view our Max Level & AP Cap page.

BDO Experience and Level Chart

BDO Leveling Time: XP Table

Below is an XP table, which displays the required experience for each level. It will help you determine the leveling time required to level up your character.

Level	Exp
4	1
5	161
6	472
7	1.181
8	2.626
9	5.319
10	10.005
11	17.721
12	29.865
13	48.273
14	75.300
15	113.911
16	167.777
17	241.381
18	340.127
19	470.464
20	640.005
21	857.666
22	1.133.804
23	1.480.364
24	1.911.035
25	2.441.411
26	3.089.163
27	3.874.210
28	4.818.908
29	5.948.238
30	7.290.005
31	8.875.042
32	10.737.423
33	12.914.685
34	15.448.049
35	18.382.661

Level	Exp
36	21.767.828
37	25.657.269
38	30.109.369
39	35.187.443
40	40.960.005
41	47.501.047
42	54.890.322
43	63.213.635
44	72.563.144
45	83.037.661
46	94.742.974
47	118.571.374
48	158.997.683
49	207.619.316
50	415.238.632
51	830.477.264
52	1.245.715.896
53	1.868.573.844
54	2.802.860.766
55	8.408.582.298
56	21.021.455.745
57	52.553.639.363
58	105.107.278.725
59	210.214.557.450
60	630.643.672.350
61	1.261.287.344.700
62	2.522.574.689.400
63	5.045.149.378.800
64	10.090.298.757.600
65	20.180.597.515.200
66-100	403,611,950,304,000

Thank you to DSdavidDS, who posted this Xp table on Reddit. View Original Post. This same xp per level is confirmed on Smite Datamining.

AFK Leveling

You can start AFK leveling with Book of Training after you reach level 50 and have 1 million silver for each hour.

Purchase Book of Training – Combat from NPCs that have the title, “Black Spirit’s Training” .

Training Dummy Locations:

AFK Leveling NPC	Location: City, Territory
Jamey Drucker	Grana, Kamasylvia
Jamey Drucker	Heidel, Serendia
Jamey Drucker	Velia, Balenos
Jamey Drucker	Calpheon City, Calpheon
Jamey Drucker	Eilton, Everfrost
Jamey Drucker	Altinova, Mediah
Jamey Drucker	Valencia City, Valencia
Jamey Drucker	Duvencrune, Drieghan
Hiznak	O’draxxia, O’dyllita

The most popular locations are Velia and Heidel. If you are having trouble finding an empty Training Dummy, switch channels or try a different city.

Jamey Drucker
Location: most major cities

AFK Leveling Book	Silver
Book of Training – Combat (1 Hour)	1,000,000
Book of Training – Combat (3 Hours)	3,000,000
Book of Training – Combat (5 Hours)	5,000,000
Book of Training – Combat (10 Hours)	10,000,000
Book of Training – Skill (1 Hour)	1,000,000
Book of Training – Skill (3 Hours)	3,000,000
Book of Training – Skill (5 Hours)	5,000,000
Book of Training – Skill (10 Hours)	10,000,000

Leveling with Side Quests

Certain side quests and some main quest lines reward Combat Exp.

Side quests exclude main, life, fishing, adventure, trade, and repeat quests.

Look for NPC’s with quest icons that have a thin solid gold border. (They will also have an orange Combat EXP icon in the quest rewards list.)

Side Quest Experience Rewards:

With Chenga tome equipped…

Beginner & Mid-Level Zones: Balenos, Serendia, Calpheon, Mediah, Valencia
- Level 1 to 57: 1.3% EXP
- Level 58: 1.04% EXP
- Level 59: 0.13% EXP
- Level 60: 0.044% EXP
- Level 61+: 0.021% EXP
- Level 1 to 60: 1.3% EXP
- Level 61+: 0.021% EXP
Think of quest exp as separate from combat exp. Combat exp items do not increase quest exp. Only the Chenga Tome raises quest exp.

Get details and instructions in our Chenga Tome Guide

Chenga Tome Effects:
- Prognyl Silver Bar Gain +20%
- Combat EXP via Quest Reward +30%
- Vision Range +150m
Leveling Recommendations

For solo leveling, I recommend the following:

Follow the main story line, if you are a new player:

Balenos (Velia) → Serendia (Heidel) → Calpheon → Media → Valencia

OR Mountain of Eternal Winter main quest line will get you to level 51. (The game doesn’t recommend that beginners start here because of the story line. However, I like it because it’s a quick and easy way to quest for level 51.)

You may want to hold off on doing the side quests right away. Side quests in beginner zones will give you 1% per quest when below level 58. (1.3% with a Chenga Tome)

Valencia main quest gives a lot of experience if you are level 55 to 57. “[Lv.55 Valencia] Eastern Sands Kingdom Story” and “[Lv.56 Valencia II] Treasure of Valencia.”

Completing both main and side quests in Valencia give combat EXP.

Valencia and Mountain of Eternal Winter are the only zones to offer Combat Exp for completing the main quest line. However, Valencia is also the most difficult zone for unprepared players due to desert sickness and desert travel.

If you are not level 59 after finishing Valencia, do the beginner side quests you skipped earlier. (Calpheon City is a good place to find easy side quests.)

At level 59, go to Kamasylvia, Drieghan, and Star’s End and do side quests for 1.3% per quest. Main quest lines for these zones do not give combat exp, but it’s good to do them at least once per family.