How to Level Fast in Soulbound: Online
Soulbound doesn't use a traditional character EXP bar — here's how progression actually works and how to speed it up.
There's No General Character EXP
Unlike most MMORPGs, Soulbound doesn't level your character through a general EXP bar gained from any activity. Instead, progression is tracked through three separate systems:
- Gear level — the average level of your equipped weapons and armor
- Skills — each skill (Combat, Foraging, Mining, Fishing, Hacking, Cooking, Crafting, Gearforging) levels up independently with its own EXP pool, and determines what gear you can equip or what you can gather/craft
- Upgrades — permanent boosts to weapons and abilities that also shape which relic paths open up in dungeons
Quests completed, achievements earned, and leaderboard position round out the rest of your overall progress.
General Advice
- Stick to the main questline first — many mechanics and unlocks are gated behind story progress, so following it makes early leveling smoother.
- Stock up before you dive in — buy accessories from Farok in Virelda, craft potions at the Witch Doctor, and cook food (like Beef Burgers) at Granny Smith's or an Apartment Kitchen before a run rather than mid-dungeon.
- Loot respawning chests in the overworld for materials — they refresh roughly every 3 hours.
- Use the Home Portal to bail out early if a dungeon run is going badly. Failing a run can cost you gear or items, and the risk scales with dungeon difficulty — sometimes the smart play is getting out with your loot rather than pushing too far.
Leveling Combat Skills Faster
- Equip abilities tied to the combat skill you want to level
- Set your weapon mode to Manual on the hotbar
- Fight enemies in lower-tier dungeons while you're still building up
Combine this with crafting-material farming and Pioneer Guild Contracts (bounty-style tasks) for extra EXP along the way. Farpoint's Tier 3 area is reported to offer the highest EXP gains per kill once you're geared for it.
Unlocking New Abilities
Some abilities come from specific NPC questlines rather than a shop or level-up screen — for example, Healing Pulse is unlocked through the Witch Doctor's questline, and Gleam Twins comes from an NPC named Aster in Virelda.
Leveling Gathering Skills (Foraging, Mining, Hacking, Fishing)
These skills level up naturally as you gather in the overworld, and get a boost from community events that turn gathering into a competitive, timed activity. See our Best Farming Routes guide for specific locations.
Leveling Artisanal Skills (Cooking, Crafting, Gearforging)
- Cooking levels up by preparing food — some restore stamina, others add combat bonuses like extra health or reduced cooldowns in dungeons.
- Crafting (Fabrication) levels naturally as you produce materials for Gearforging.
- Gearforging (Smithing) levels by crafting gear — cheap items build the skill quickly, while weapons, armor, and tools are the progression-relevant crafts worth aiming for.