You mainly get XP for combat, for exploring and for completing or progressing quests. There's plenty of XP in the game to hit the max level 12 in Act 3 without being a murder hobo (some people complain there's too much!), so the only impact of killing to farm XP is that you might be over-levelled early on and then have a longer period at the end when you're not progressing. I'd personally not want to play that way just for the sake of XP as it would ruin my immersion, but to each their own!
"You may call it 'nonsense' if you like, but I've heard nonsense, compared with which that would be as sensible as a dictionary!"
Yeah, I wouldn’t worry about it if you plan on exploring a lot, tick off side quests, etc. You do get decent amounts of xp by resolving things peacefully, but it might be a bit less than killing everyone. I talked my way around a lot in my first run and I still hit the level cap with a fair bit left to do. Plowing through the main story as quickly as possible might be different.
You don’t get xp for persuasion or deception most of the time, but you do if it gets you out of a fight you would otherwise have. I think. There’s a lot speech checks in the game.
Also, even though there are only 12 levels, I don’t think progression is as steep as DOS games where both characters and equipment are leveled. I didn’t keep walking into fights I was completely underlevelled for like those games. About the only time I really felt pressure to hit the next level was the infamous 4-5 jump, when spell casters get level 3 spells and fighter classes get a second attack.
I don't think there is much, if any, difference between killing everything and talking your way out of fights where possible. I do the latter and just hit level 7 around the Mason's Guild in Act 2 which is about the norm from what I can tell. And from what others are saying you reach max level well before the end of the game either way.
From what I understand, the exp gained from peaceful resolves is the same as a battle.
Not sure if it's still in, but there's an exploit where you can essentially get triple xp by saving and reloading after peaceful dialog, then knock them out in battle and save and reload, then kill them while they are knocked out. Not something I'm interested in doing personally, but hey, it's an option if you're desperate for xp.
Literally by playing the game. As RPGs go, there is very little that is not rewarded with XP. You get XP for winning fights, avoiding fights through dialogue, doing quests, discovering new areas, getting inspiration and probably more.
I didn't say I wanted to play that way to get exp. But I do enjoy the battles, so I prefer to fight over persuading someone to leave. Although I suppose they might turn up later in that case.
It would be pretty hard to persuade someone to leave and then still fight them after they are gone. The two robbers in the beginning at the monastery for instance. Fighting them was a fun battle with four enemies.
I'm skeptical about how true this is. The creche, for example. I'm fairly sure you don't get the same XP that you would if you completely purged it.
Alright, Anakin. You probably get more XP if you go out of your way to butcher absolutely everyone.
Well I mentioned the Creche because it's a situation where the entire area can become hostile to you. If you end up needing to fight your way out, that's not the same as just butchering innocent people indiscriminately. I *assume* the XP reward for peacefully resolving the situation only gives XP for the doctor fight, the fight with the captain, and the fight with the inquisitor.
I also assume the goblin camp is similar.
Originally Posted by Thebazilly
Citing my source, timestamp 4:06.
So he *says* you get full XP, and then goes on to give an example of a place where the XP gained is *not* equivalent. He tested 5 encounters and 1 of those had a result that went against his hypothesis. 20% isn't really negligible.
He's also peacefully resolving the situation and then killing them, not just peacefully resolving the situation.
