In this guide, I explain how I farm Operator EXP by killing overworld mobs in a structured way. This gives me a consistent amount of EXP every day, allowing me to level up my Operators without spending any resources. If I do it right, I can also collect a bunch of resources along the way.
Why Farm Operator EXP?
Arknights: Endfield is generous with the resources it gives me, but I still have to choose where to spend them. If I rely less on EXP books, I can save more resources for other upgrades. Once I start getting a decent number of 5-star and 6-star weapons, I also feel more comfortable spending resources on weapon levels instead of putting everything into Operator levels.
I mention that this method does not scale forever. It is mainly useful for new players and players who get stuck at certain points in the story. However, anyone can use it, including players who want to level a secondary team on the side.
How Does Operator EXP Work?
Arknights: Endfield has different types of EXP for leveling different things. In this guide, I focus on Operator EXP, which I use to level up my Operators. I do not confuse it with Operational EXP, which increases my account’s Authority Level.
During the early story, my Operators gain levels fairly quickly. However, this slows down after the first few levels because the EXP requirements increase rapidly.
- Level 0 to Level 20 requires 22,860 EXP.
- Level 20 to Level 30 requires another 99,670 EXP.
- Level 30 to Level 40 requires another 148,870 EXP.
As I progress, leveling my Operators requires much more EXP.
Operator EXP drops from mobs in the same way money does. When I kill an enemy that drops EXP, the amount it drops is added to my stock.
Every living Operator in my team who is not level-capped receives the same amount of EXP when I collect it. However, dead Operators do not receive EXP, so if one of my Operators dies during combat, that Operator misses out on the EXP from those kills.
There is also a daily cap of 10,000 Operator EXP from mob kills. This is roughly equivalent to one large EXP book for each of my four Operators.
However, I can go over the cap. EXP stops dropping once I reach 10,000 EXP, but the final drop still counts in full. My goal is to get as close to 10,000 EXP as possible without going over, then kill an enemy that drops a large amount of EXP to exceed the cap by as much as possible.
What Gives EXP?
There are two main sources of Operator EXP:
- EXP books, which I have to manage as a limited resource.
- EXP drops from overworld monsters, which have a daily cap.
Since mobs can sometimes die without me intending to kill them, such as when other players’ gun towers attack them, I need a route that gives me a safe, controlled, and repeatable way to farm EXP.
This is where Energy Alluvium comes in.
New players might wonder what the difference is between Alluvium and Protocol Spaces. Both involve combat challenges and offer rewards, but they work differently.
Protocol Spaces are timed challenges featuring special versions of monsters that I can also encounter elsewhere. They reward me at the end of the challenge in exchange for Sanity, which works similarly to Resin in Genshin Impact.
Alluvium, on the other hand, uses regular overworld monsters and does not provide a specific completion reward. The important difference for this guide is that monsters in Protocol Spaces do not drop items or EXP, while monsters in Alluvium do.
I mainly use Alluvium because its monster spawns and drops are consistent. When I add up the EXP dropped by each monster, I get the same total every time.
My Route for Level 2 Exploration
Suitable for Operators level 20–30.
| Activity | Repetitions | EXP per repetition |
|---|---|---|
| Hub Alluvium | 8 | 912 EXP |
| Science Park Alluvium | 3 | 900 EXP |
| Overworld Level 20 Axe Armorbeast | 1 | 216 EXP |
Repetitions refer to the number of times I complete each activity.
Total: 10,212 EXP for the day.
My Route for Level 3 Exploration
Suitable for Operators level 30–40.
| Activity | Repetitions | EXP per repetition |
|---|---|---|
| Hub Alluvium | 3 | 950 EXP |
| Science Park Alluvium | 2 | 900 EXP |
| Origin Lodespring Alluvium | 6 | 891 EXP |
| Overworld Level 30 Axe Armorbeast | 1 | 225 EXP |
Total: 10,221 EXP for the day.
The Alluvium at Origin Lodespring is a noticeable jump in combat difficulty. If I start making mistakes and one of my Operators dies, I lose some potential EXP from that Operator.
However, I should not give up on this route just because it is harder. The Exploration Level 3 route is much better than the Exploration Level 2 route, even though the total EXP looks similar.
The main advantage is that I can collect higher-tier Essences and different types of Aggagrit from the monsters. I use these resources to make buff foods, which help me in combat and make future farming easier.