Okay, so there are now 25 new levels, and those who passed level 25 a while ago get the opportunity to repeat those level gains at 8 times the normal rate. Woohoo! Well worth the wait, indeed.
I’ve been on Zwift for more than 3 years, and in that time I’ve racked up 88,092 XP.
This update should see me good for another 12 years or more. Seems OK to me. 
(Even if I do 20km per day it’ll be 3 years before I hit 500,000.)
You should ride outside more.
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I’m riding Offseason only on rollers and around 3000 virtual km per month. For me it is nice but fastly done 
Unfortunately, I have a neurological disorder that messes with my balance and makes me a danger to myself and others. So, if I want to ride, I’m stuck indoors on the trainer. But thanks for the advice.
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I guess you’ve tried a trike and found it unsuitable. That’s a shame. I’ve seen some really cool recumbent trikes that look a lot of fun. We had some at the club I used to coach at once.
Anyway, so you can’t get out more. Fair enough, but as far as the levels go it could be worse. I’ve hit the level cap in World of Warcraft, and now when I log in I don’t get any XP! 
A trike is an entirely different experience. I tried a recumbent, and it’s incredibly scary on city streets. Maybe it’s being so low relative to the cars, trucks, and SUVs.
Anyway, to the point here, Zwift promised that when the above 25 levels came out, they would be “worth the wait.” I’m just not seeing that.
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Was that not the shop? Either way, yes I can see that the new levels are underwhelming. No bikes or wheels for a start. They’re apparently being held back for the aforementioned shop. And we don’t yet know how “Dropz” are earnt either.
The rewards are underwhelming, but that’s not what really gets my goat about the implementation of the new levels. The most annoying thing is that those of us who passed level 25 before Zwift was ready for us now have a choice of paying either double or just an extra 12.5% to obtain the levels for which we’ve already accumulated the requisite XP.
In my particular case, I’m being penalized in excess of 33750 XP. That’s far more than an entire level. Why am I being so harshly penalized? For not riding outdoors enough? 
At the very least, once the acceleration period is over, the penalty should be added back into my account.
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I must admit, I understood (or assumed) that would be the case.
In other words, while you’re burning through XP you’ve already got at a rate of 160XP per km, you’re also increasing your total XP by 20XP per km.
So if you had 400,000XP waiting in your XP bank yesterday, by the time you’ve caught up to “level 45” you’d actually be on 436,240.
My maths here goes like this:
400,000 - 110,000 (level 25) = 290,000
290,000 / 160 = 1,812km
1,812 * 20 = 36,240
(so actually I guess the accelerated XP wouldn’t wear off until you’re well into level 47 or so).
If you’re right that they’ve actually thrown away XP then I understand the upset.
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My understanding, based on the writeup at Zwift Insider, was that the algorithm went something like this:
- Set targetXP equal to the minimum required XP needed to achieve your current level. Any of your current XP above targetXP is discarded.
- Reset your current XP to 110000.
- Set your XP acceleration to 8X.
- Once you reach targetXP, reduce XP acceleration to 1X.
So, whatever XP you had above the minimum to get to your current level is discarded, and you get to pay an extra 12.5% to get back to where you were.
If that’s incorrect, I’d love for someone from Zwift to correct my misunderstanding.
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Since the update I have found It has taken 40 minutes to get the app to load one time for a short ride and now it will not load at all saying you cannot connect to the server.
The accelerated XP really should continue until the stolen XP is entirely repaid rather than just until 87.5% of it has been repaid.
I think that’s rather melodramatic!
Under the Terms and Conditions, you agree:
that you have no right, title or ownership in or to any such Virtual Items.
They also say:
You acknowledge that the Service may include a component of virtual goods, property, items or fictional credits or (collectively, “Virtual Items”)
XP as a type of fictional credit, I would say, comes under the heading of “Virtual Items”. Since you don’t own them, they can’t be stolen from you. 
Finally:
Zwift has the absolute right to manage, regulate, control, modify and/or eliminate such Virtual Items as it sees fit in its sole discretion
So, you know, if they say “we’re taking away all your XP”, that’s within their rights - and you have agreed to that.
And yes, I know no one ever reads the Terms and Conditions.
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It’s basically karma for Zwift. Granted, you do work it. But it’s still meaningless.
Yes, but I didn’t agree to be silent about it (or did I miss that part of the Terms and Conditions?).
I would really like to understand the motivation for such an inequitable implementation of the new levels.
They could have simply put the XP above 110,000 into virtual escrow, to be doled back out at whatever rate they saw fit. Instead, they chose to penalize their most active users. The more you’ve ridden, the greater the penalty. Where’s the sense in that?
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I’m not entirely sure what you mean, but one thing is certain: even if we get no “XP” from a ride, we do get the physical workout and the social experience.
No, no, I quite agree. No reason why you shouldn’t complain! I complain about plenty of stuff myself. 
I do also agree that the handling of accumulated XP could have been better. I do quite like what they’ve done, but it’s not without its flaws. I guess I’d be more upset if it affected me, but I’m not even level 25 yet.
I think that any way that Zwift would have handle the new levels someone would have complained about it. I really don’t think there was any one way that would have made everyone happy.
I actually get to level up for the first time in over 1 1/2 years and I think that is cool, but the prizes are kind of a let down. I know there is a virtual store coming that has been hinted at a few times, but no time-frame on when it will be released.
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Hi Jim, I feel you. I can ride a bike outside but it’s extremely stressful, as I need to use my sight and brain power for balance, instead of my cerebellum taking care of that for me. I 
Zwift
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This is true. I haven’t lost anything myself so I’m not in a position to minimize the frustration at losing XP. It would feel like having worked for something and then having it taken away. I get that.
E:Mobile issues
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