In Pokémon GO, Experience Points (XP) are used to raise your trainer level. By leveling up you unlock various game features – such as the right to nominate new PokéStops – and increase the maximum level of your own Pokémon. In addition, as part of the Season of Heritage, Team Leader Spark’s XP Challenge in January 2022 expects you to collect 240,000 XP within a month to unlock various rewards. This guide shows you how to farm XP in Pokémon GO as effectively as possible.
Pokémon GO: Farming XP – catching Pokémon
As with our guide to farming Stardust, the first important tip is a very simple no-brainer – catch as many Pokémon as you can. Each monster you catch will earn you 100 XP, plus there is a bonus for the skill level of your throw. An excellent throw will give you an extra 1,000 XP, so practice your throwing technique to make the most out of every catch.
New Pokémon are especially rewarding, as they also earn you 1,000 XP, as is the first catch of the day, which is worth 1,500 XP. In January 2022, the bonus for the first daily catch will be doubled, so make sure you don’t miss out on it. A series of seven of these daily catches in a row will guarantee you another 6,000 XP.
Take all the bonuses for the first catch of the day and the series, and you’re almost halfway through the XP Challenge over the course of January with very little effort required.
Pokémon GO: Farming XP – Evolution, PokéStops, Raids, Eggs
What other activities in Pokémon GO provide XP? Like the first catch of the day, the first daily spin of a PokéStop or gym is worth 1,500 XP and is part of a seven-day series that provides 6,000 XP upon completion. Evolutions are also lucrative: each Pokémon evolution is worth 1,000 XP.
Raids can also be quite useful when it comes to XP: a victory in a mere level one raid pays out 3,000 XP. Level three gives you 4,000 XP, and level five or a Mega Raid gives you 10,000 XP – those are decent gains. Raid Hours are the perfect opportunity to complete a large number of level five raids in a short time, making them potent XP sources.
Less efficient is hatching eggs, which is not a primary XP source. 5km and 7km eggs give you 1,000 XP each, 10km eggs give you 2,000 XP, and 12km eggs give you 4,000 XP, but it may not be a very convenient way of collecting XP depending on where you live and how much you walk.
Always pay attention to the bonuses of currently running events, as these can drive the math in a different direction. If the hatching distance of eggs is halved while at the same time the XP for hatching is doubled, it is immediately much more efficient to extract XP from eggs. Likewise, there are sometimes event bonuses to XP for catching, evolving, or raiding that you should prioritize your activities by. It’s always wise to bank some common Pokémon you’ve got lots of candy for to mass-evolve once a good bonus comes around.
Pokémon GO: Farming XP – increasing friendship levels
By far the best source of XP in Pokémon GO are the friendship levels. Add a friend in the game and you can level up that relationship four times by sending gifts, trading Pokémon, or participating in raids together. Advancing in friendship level pours out a lot of XP:
- Good Friend (Level 2): 3,000 XP
- Great Friend (Level 3): 10,000 XP
- Ultra Friend (Level 4): 50,000 XP
- Best friend (level 5): 100,000 XP
The XP yield from the other activities pales in comparison to the boost from friendships – if you don’t know anyone who plays Pokémon GO yourself, look around for groups on social media. You will find people everywhere who will share their friend code with you in order to expand their own friend list and farm XP that way.
Pokémon GO: Farming XP – using Lucky Eggs
When you are about to advance in friendship level, it is a perfect time to activate a Lucky Egg. This item doubles all the XP you receive for 30 minutes, making it the counterpart to the Star Piece, which doubles your Stardust earnings. Time the Lucky Egg optimally with your friendship upgrades and you can earn millions of XP in a matter of minutes by achieving a number of maximum level friendships.
Another opportune time to get a Lucky Egg into play is during a Spotlight Hour with a double XP bonus for evolutions – with 4,000 XP per evolution and about 70 evolutions in 30 minutes, you’ll accumulate a respectable chunk of XP.
In summary, it’s a good idea to just pop in once a day and pick up the hefty bonuses for your first catch and first PokéStop spin to avoid missing out on the series rewards. Actively level a few friendships by sending gifts and be aware of opportune times to ignite a Lucky Egg, and you’ve got the XP Challenge in the bag, and the next level up for your trainer isn’t far away.
Written by Marco Wutz on behalf of GLHF.
