I’m not sure if this is new or I’m just noticing for the first time that we now have a Route of the Week and riders are awarded 500 XP for completion.
Combine that with the week streak and that’s 1000 XP per week, possibly from 1 ride plus the normal mileage XP.
Too bad it’s too late to interest me
I would have kept my subscription active last Summer to get extra XP and keep my streak active while getting 1000 XP but they decreased the rewards and I was able to keep the streak alive using the free 25 km per month.
So the new system is good in that respect but I’m going to easily be level 100 fairly soon and then What?
XP will cease to be a motivating factor, unless they expand more levels and we know how well that goes.Many riders have been accumulating new banked XP for 2 years now.
New subscribers have blasted through the levels because of all the silly double XP events and ride steaks and Portal banners etc. And the cheaters.
I have enjoyed my share of XP farming but that is coming to an end for me.
I guess my motivation is workouts and racing, the 2 things that Zwift has difficulty with.
By the way, ZCA says I’m detraining because I’m not on Garmin or Wahoo.
Doesn’t seem to be an accurate FITNESS app.
More levels isn’t so much the problem most folks were complaining about. It was “banked XP” and changing the goalposts on what current levels meant - meaning some folks could be both at the same level with vastly different riding XP, or one day you were at ‘x’ level, and next day you were at another for some reason after a redefinition of levels. When you got your XP was more important than how you got it etc.
I like the idea of Route of the Week - didn’t notice that was a thing, I would tend to just use the same routes, so it’s a good carrot for me.
Would you get the XP bonus from route of the week with any ride/race or not matter from where you select that route? Or do you get it only when starting route via that challenge window…
Any experiences that you have got the bonus without “selecting” the challenge first?
For me, the level itself was pretty interesting up to 100. I focused on getting there and was happy when I did. Now at that point, I’m definitely thinking “OK what now”. The bike upgrades and factory tour are what there is, and those are better than nothing. I’m certainly not going to do anything to make the bike upgrades happen faster so I’m upgrading bikes that are not super easy to upgrade. The periodic drops bonus helps with the upgrades but the bonus itself is not really a goal. I don’t like robo pacers and I don’t do anything to obtain drops faster, I just do what I like on any given day.
@Tom_Perttala Zwift Insider says you do have to click the Challenge card to “register” before you ride the route, but from there you can ride it however you choose. In my experience, I rode it with Genie and got the bonus XP. I wasn’t sure if this was going to work, since I didn’t start my free ride with Genie. I started it on a different route (Tick Tock) and teleported to Genie. But I got the banner saying that I’d completed the Route of the Week challenge.
I think you find your motivation and it can easily change over time. I think the XP is like a gateway. It’s easy to follow and one can see progress for quite a while. But eventually you find what matters to you. It may be FTP, KOM times, weight loss, route badges, etc. Like many endeavors, what motivates an individual is very personal. At some point, just finding a rhythm that fits one’s lifestyle can be self-sustaining.
I have found a number of things that can knock you out of completing a route. If you make a wrong turn and the map in the upper right stops displaying the name of the route, I have found no way to recover and complete the route for credit. Even if you just make two quick U-turns, you have still ridden the whole route but won’t get credit. If you pick the challenge and then fall into a pace group, you can double or triple dip, getting extra drops, and conceivably route of the week XP as well as normal XP.
I think I missed on my first Route of the Week today .
When I started, the route was Big Flat 8.
I finished the route but didn’t see any bonus indicator and no RoW notification.
I then saw the new RoW is Triple Twist.
I think it changed during my ride!
I appreciate you sharing your thoughts on forums, and I wanted to jump in on your concern. This is Haziel from Zwift support, and I’d like to provide some clarification that I think might help.
To easily spot the Route of the Week on Zwift, just keep an eye out for the dedicated challenge card on your home screen or dashboard. I understand how important it is to have clear information, especially during the challenge period, and this card highlights the featured route along with any bonus XP rewards you can earn when you register for the challenge. Just a simple tap on the card will give you all the details and let you sign up before you hit the road.
Each week, the Route of the Week changes, so there’s always something new for you to explore! Typically, this update happens at the start of the week, often around midnight. We want to ensure you have the right information displayed on your home screen, so you’ll never miss out on a chance to earn those bonus rewards.
It is worth mentioning that you have to click the challenge card, which brings you to the blue screen shown above, to “register” for the Route of the Week challenge for that week. Then you can ride the featured route in any way you choose to get the XP bonus.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us at Support@zwift.com if you have any more questions or if there’s anything else we can assist you with.
