Grinding

[gandalf]

Is there a way to grind for exp or loot in this game ? I find some of the fights a bit hard and would like a level up before i try again. Also, if that is not possible, what about grind for mats for weapon upgrades and food and such. To gety my armor upgraded would also help in a tough situation I think.

[Barnabas]

I just do as many side quests as possible, I think that's the fastest way to level outside the main quest.

You should know dis u Gandalf! :p jk

[gandalf]

Guess I should :)
But what about mats ? Anywhere to keep them Pilgrim's Crown coming in steadily ?
(those are needed for armor and weapon upgrade and I sure need a few extra attack power on my Glamdring)

[Gregorovitch]

The is more XP in the game than you need - the main problem really is to avoid level capping too early tbh.

The bounties you get from the warden (and a couple from Stalwart in TWM) are overkill for XP in the long run, but are useful to trip a level short term and yield some nifty loot too.

[Taeus Live]

For Exp you do all sorts of quest, for loot you kill everyone in your quest if they have option too live. But if your questing the loot will come naturally. Missions like killing the sky dragon you can miss out on stuff if you choose not to fight. But keep playing. It will all fall into place

[CH_Wolfe]

Building the garden in your Stronghold will help slowly bring in some of the plants you need. Also explore every corner of every map. Be aware that upgrading all the weapons and armor you have isn't necessarily a good idea early (and even mid-) game because you'll end up discarding a lot of the weapons for the better ones later in the game, and those are the ones you'll want to be enchanting instead.

You should probably hoard things like Pilgrim's Crown, Rubies, Vithrack brains, Dyrcap, Turquoise, Golden Celery, Agate, Berath's Bell, Moonstone, Wurm Wings, Diamonds, Jasper, Awakened root. Also, the more fights you do the more loot you'll find.

In most towns there are merchants who will sell you these items, though their supplies are always limited, but I do believe they replenish slowly over time. There's an herbalist in your Stronghold (once you build it) as well as in Dyrford, Copperlane, and Hearthsong. There's a guy just south of the Eastern entrance to Ondra's Gift that sells precious gems, but he only shows up at night. Sell your extra weapons/armor so you always have money to buy when you run across these merchants.

I try to upgrade my early/mid-game weapons and armor to Fine only, but leave the specialized Burn Lash and Attributes upgrades for when I get much later in the game and have unique weapons.

[LordFey]

If you find some enemies too strong - fight them later.
If you can't find certain ingredients - just play further, you will find them for sure. :)

[Strandly]

Originally posted by gandalf:

Guess I should :)
But what about mats ? Anywhere to keep them Pilgrim's Crown coming in steadily ?

No, the enchanting system is complete garbage. You don't get enough materials and by the time you DO get enough materials you will probably have unlocked the next tier of enchanting... making the old materials more or less worthless. Also, you cannot re-enchant the secondary damage, stat boost, damage reduction, or racial damage bonus stats on weapons or armor-- which is absolutely awesome since duplicate stats are suppressed!

[Krystof.FR]

Be also aware that the less companions you have in your team, the more XP you will get as there is a bonus when a slot is empty but ... on the other hand, the more you wait to hire her/him, the more decisionin their development will have been made (often not right).
So, maybe it could be good to "rush" hiring and put them in the Stronghold.
Last point: killing monsters doesn't give XP. What give XP is discovering monsters and add details in the Bestiary. When all details are there, no more XP will be granted

[gandalf]

So no other way to get EXP than complete quests and discover monster ?

[Wasted_46]

the closest thing to "grinding" would be the bounties.
That is the only content where you literally get XP for fighting. And the loot is great as well.

[Krystof.FR]

To get XP: complete quests, explore and find / research monsters. The purpose of PoE is not to get the übber team to rush every combats but mainly to enjoy the story and feel satisfied each you win a battle.
Some combats are tough, and some can be impossible to win. Two options then: change strategy or come back later.
Last point: sometimes, putting some enchantements on armors / cloaks or weapons could help a bit.