Battlefield 1: how to get XP and level up fast

Rank up fast to unlock weapons with these top tips.

Battlefield 1's level up system is an interesting one, featuring individual ranks for each class in the game and an overall level that covers your general performance across all of the classes available in multiplayer. We've written a bit about how the system works and how it relates to weapon unlocks elsewhere, but now let's talk about how to level up quickly.

There's really no catch-all easy tip for gaining a shed load of XP in Battlefield 1 - DICE has designed the game in a way that's generally speaking a little more subtle than that.

With that said, the game offers bonuses to players for doing certain things in certain ways, and if you're smart about it, you can use these systems to maximize the amount of XP you get for every single action you take. So... let's talk about it, right?

Remember: XP isn't just rewarded for killing

• Battlefield is a team-based game, and a well-balanced team has a variety of classes. Not every class in the game is designed to be a killing machine, and so there's some great ways to level up without killing. Don't neglect these things: You'll level up faster if you do more in a battle.
• Actions such as healing or reviving players, spotting enemies, throwing down ammo for allies, suppressive fire, kill assists and completing or contributing to objectives will all offer up decent XP. A good player will get stuck in with all aspects of the team, and you'll also be more likely to win this way.

Never quit out of matches early

• This one should go without saying, but look, we all know it - quitters suck. Even if you sometimes think that it's your best possible option, there's no excuse. Don't be a dickhead.
• Battlefield 1 also incentivises this via XP, however - end of battle bonus XP and even the coveted XP multipliers are all given out at the very end of a game, so if you don't stick around until the end you'll miss out on all this - so cool your jets and sit tight no matter how salty you are about a match's results.
• If you're winning, this goes doubly - if the doorbell goes you may want to leave a match connected or just ignore it, because you could get as much as a double XP bonus if your win is convincing enough.

Make use of your squad properly to get squad bonus XP

• Squads are an important part of Battlefield gameplay, and the developers at DICE would likely say are a major thing that makes their game different to their competitors. You don't need to be playing with friends to be in a squad since you'll be prompted to join one when you join a game.
• Being in a squad at all provides a top-level multiplier to your XP gains, meaning any experience you gain will be increased while you're working in and with your squad. It's a no-brainer.
• On top of that, once you join a squad you should take care to actually make proper use of the squad mechanics. The squad leader can drop waypoints on the map instructing his squad to attack or defend a particular objective. If you and your squad successfully follow those orders, there's a nice XP reward in it for you - so get to it!
• Maximizing your XP gains is made easier by simply not wasting time. Being in a squad lets you spawn on your squad, which'll get you back into the fight more quickly when killed.

Capture Objectives as a priority - and do it in Conquest

• One of the largest possible boosts to your XP in any given match of Battlefield is to be properly involved with the actual match objectives. A killing spree is a good thing to get, but better still is to actually capture a point or destroy an objective, depending on the mode.
• Use light vehicles or horses to rush to objective points and try to lock them down before the enemy can. Don't waste planes or tanks on this; they're more valuable to you used as heavy back-up.
• Chase these objectives with your squad - this will afford further XP bonuses, as described in the previous point.
• Conquest is the mode to do this in, since the XP bonuses for capturing, recapturing or neutralizing a flag point are significant. Rush will offer more kills, but objective points are more few and far between.

Use Battlepacks wisely

• Battlepacks will sometimes reward XP bonuses, though you need to be aware the contents of Battlepacks are random, so there's no guarantee you'll get one out of any given pack.
• When you do get an XP bonus, spend it wisely. Be sure to use it before hopping into a mode where you know you can do well and you know you'll be able to rack up a good amount of XP in order to maximize your multiplier. Don't just waste it on a random match. For this conquest is your best mode, as previously described.

Understand and use the new Medals system for extra XP

• Most games tend to have some sort of system to offer players a sense of gratification more often, and though it used to be a much harsher master the same is now true of Battlefield in Battlefield 1. The game-changer here is the new medal system, which is also vital for leveling up quickly.
• Medals have been in Battlefield for a while, but in BF1 you have to choose which medal you want to try to earn out of a possible 5. The 5 medals on offer are shuffled and switched up every week.
• Thus this XP-gaining tip is simple. Pick a medal that suits your play-style and then earn it. The BF website uses a medic medal as an example. Each medal has 5 levels, with each challenge getting progressively harder - reviving players, getting kills with medic weapons, healing team mates and so on.
• Completing all levels of each medal gains you an XP bonus, and if in months' time you gain a particular medal 100 times over, that also earns you a big XP bonus. Target these bonuses and choose your weekly medals carefully!