A friend of mine recently started a few days ago and I realized he got on to Level 6 after just about 160 km. Which reminded me that I saw a rapid level progression with new Zwifters on Group rides.
Looking at a few, it immediately fond one at Level 12 with 320km and Level 17 at about 550km.
I understand that workpouts and a few other things may influence progression by a bit but with roughtly 1km = 20XP I am wondering if not Level 6 should equate to something like 250km,
Level 12 =~ 750km and Level 17 =~ 1,300km?
Or is the below extract of the level progression list (from Zwiftinsider) outdated?
This is only if you don’t get any bonus XP. If you unlock route badges you’re pretty much getting double XP for that route (so if you rode a 100km route with a new route badge it would be like riding 200km - close to 40XP per km).
Then there’s the weekly bonus streaks… If you only ride 2km/week but you get the weekly bonus XP you can end up getting 500xp bonus each week for that 2km ride, so 540XP a week for that 2km/ride.
Short climb portals ridden at 50% elevation are another way to get “easier” XP because they give the 250 bonus XP more routinely than regular arches do (I found it’s roughly 1 of 10 arches that give 250XP, but many of the arches give the smaller XP bonus as well).
Edit: Also there’s the spin-wheel at the top of the Alpe. Once you get all the items on the wheel you can get either 250XP or 1000XP each time you go up the Alpe.
I can’t remember if ADZ is level locked - but maybe they just did Road to Sky and did a vEverest? You see a few riders storming up the Alpe getting vEverests in record times.
Assuming you got the wheels on one of the laps, then you’d be getting 1000XP each time you get the wheels next, which tends to be more frequent if you already have the wheels. I had last week 5 ADZ laps and 3 sets of wheels in that week (to go with the 40 or 50 I already have).
The weekly bonus streak also helps.
The climb portals are far less lucrative for XP bonuses these days, I suspect the bonus behaviour at the arches was modified to stop people doing XP farming.
I would have to go back to check the dates but there was a definite point where the behaviour changed and the chances of getting the 250XP bonus was reduced a lot.
There are various ways to get XP quickly so it makes it less obvious who is doing what.
This is Haziel from the Zwift Support team. I completely understand that you’re looking to learn more about the leveling process on Zwift, and I’m here to help.
As Aaron mentioned, there are several bonuses available that can really help you boost your XP points. For more details, I encourage you to check out this article Zwift XP, Levels, and Unlocks for Cyclists. Additionally, this other article here provides some clear information on the XP required to reach the next level.
I truly hope this information helps to clarify everything for you. If you have any more questions or need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re here for you!