[koconnor100]

Upgraded to patch 1.29
had a great new idea for a wizard, started over.
Got part way through the prelude, to the part where you meet Pavel and he joins up as your henchman ? And there's a tough goblin just on the other side of the door past him ?

Yah know, with just a few reloads I could figure out the whole xp business right then and there. So I did.

Tough Goblin Test

XP (play=player, sum=summoned monster, fam=familiar, hench=henchman)
---
20 Play (a level 1 mage all alone, that was a tough fight !)
16 Play+Sum
16 Play+Fam
16 Play+Hench
13 Play+Sum+Hench
11 Play+Sum+Hench+Fam

So the system is simply how many helpers you got, no matter what the xp. Right ?

Well, not really. My Cleric leveled twice in Peninsula, and twice again in beggars nest. At level 7, he did the docks and didn't level even once, obviously the act only gets so tough, and then you're wasting your time solo'ing when you could have been taking it easy with one helper.

On the low end, too many helpers, and the game goes easy on you, which means you're not only getting merely 55% of the xp available (11/20 is 55%), but because the game is giving you a break , there are fewer monsters and their worth less xp...the double wammy is a killer.

Read it and weep.