Experience
Experience (XP) is a unit of measurement used to quantify a Kerbal's progression throughout their missions. The Experience system works only in Career mode; in Sandbox and Science modes there are no restrictions on abilities.
Experience is gained for completing a variety of achievements (described below), leading to higher levels in their specialization. Each kerbonaut specializes as either a Pilot, an Engineer, or a Scientist. Higher levels grant additional abilities, making veteran crew progressively more capable (up to a point).
Contents
Achievements
Orbiting, planting flags, and escaping from the gravity of planets and moons grants various amounts of experience depending on the planet. Each Kerbal can only gain the experience once per celestial body, so planting multiple flags or repeatedly orbiting a planet do not provide any further experience for the same Kerbal. Additionally, experience from a given celestial body is only granted for the most valuable achievement and is not cumulative, so orbiting the Mun (3 XP) and planting a flag on it (5 XP) will only ever grant a total of 5 XP, not 8 or more (even if done on separate missions). The kerbonaut gains the experience and reaches a new level only upon returning to the Astronaut Complex by recovery or by using the Level Up Crew function of the Mobile Processing Lab.
- Note that due to a rounding error, a fly-by of Minmus is listed below as giving 3 XP, while it is only worth 2.5 XP. The error is consistent with the value given by the in-game summary for individuals (v1.1.3), which is also a rounding error. Using the base value of a fly-by (1 XP) and the XP Multiplier for Minmus (x2.5), the true value is 2.5 XP. Therefore, an orbit of Kerbin (2 XP), orbit of Mun (3 XP), and fly-by of Minmus (2.5 XP) is insufficient to take a new character straight to Level 2 (8 XP).
| Order | Celestial body | Fly by (XP) |
Orbit (XP) |
Flight (XP) |
Land (XP) |
Plant flag (XP) |
XP Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base Values | 1 | 1.5 | 2 | 2.3 | 2.5 | — | |
| Center | Kerbol | 4 | 6 | — | — | — | 4 |
| 1 | Moho | 7 | 10.5 | — | 16.1 | 17.5 | 7 |
| 2 | Eve | 5 | 7.5 | 10 | 11.5 | 12.5 | 5 |
| 2.1 | Gilly | 6 | 9 | — | 13.8 | 15 | 6 |
| 3 | Kerbin | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3.1 | Mun | 2 | 3 | — | 4.6 | 5 | 1 |
| 3.2 | Minmus | 2.5 | 3.75 | — | 5.75 | 6.25 | 2.5 |
| 4 | Duna | 5 | 7.5 | 10 | 11.5 | 12.5 | 5 |
| 4.1 | Ike | 5 | 7.5 | — | 11.5 | 12.5 | 5 |
| 5 | Dres | 6 | 9 | — | 13.8 | 15 | 6 |
| 6 | Jool | 6 | 9 | 12 | — | — | 6 |
| 6.1 | Laythe | 8 | 12 | 16 | 18.4 | 20 | 8 |
| 6.2 | Vall | 8 | 12 | — | 18.4 | 20 | 8 |
| 6.3 | Tylo | 8 | 12 | — | 18.4 | 20 | 8 |
| 6.4 | Bop | 8 | 12 | — | 18.4 | 20 | 8 |
| 6.5 | Pol | 8 | 12 | — | 18.4 | 20 | 8 |
| 7 | Eeloo | 10 | 15 | — | 23 | 25 | 10 |
Levels
As Kerbals gain experience, they gain levels in their specialization. Kerbals start at level 0, and can reach level 5. The level of the kerbonaut represented by number of stars.
| Level | XP Required | Total XP |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2 | 6 | 8 |
| 3 | 8 | 16 |
| 4 | 16 | 32 |
| 5 | 32 | 64 |
Changes
- Initial Release[1]
