A prospector’s journey through Icarus transcends basic survival and crafting items. Nonetheless, these actions help accelerate your progress by providing you with the necessary XP. So, keep reading to learn fast leveling techniques in Icarus, and create a fast track towards the endgame.

The Fastest Ways for Leveling in Icarus

The following guide outlines a careful path to leveling from start to endgame in Icarus. Here, you’ll learn how to take advantage of key technological milestones, strategic base-building, and other essential steps to help you increase your level from 1 to 60 and beyond.

Level 1 to 10

Remember, the world of Icarus seems peaceful, but danger lurks in every corner. So, as a new prospector, note that many actions in the game grant different XP ranges. Start your journey by gathering nearby resources, such as wood and fiber. Next, search for a nearby cave to prevent stray creatures, such as wolves, from attacking you at your most vulnerable moments. If a nearby cavern isn’t present, craft and use a pickaxe to make one. Don’t forget to gather berries to sustain yourself and prevent starvation. Over time, these actions will let you increase your levels from 1 to 2, or perhaps even to level 3. At this point, you’ll notice that XP requirements to reach the next level significantly increase. So, it’s time to craft basic weaponry, such as throwing knives and javelins, to slay low-level predators. Also, don’t forget to collect Oxite to help replenish oxygen. Upon reaching level 5, it’s time to construct a simple base. A cozy yet sealed wooden shelter should suffice at this point in the game. Next, craft bone arrows to use with your bow for safe hunting and XP farming. Continue this gameplay loop until you can establish workbenches and upgrade your tools to their iron-tier variants. Additionally, ensure that you develop a reliable food source, like the flatbread at the Herbalist Bench, ensuring buffs during exploration and preventing hunger. Over time, you’ll reach level 10, which will spearhead the next part of your leveling adventure in Icarus.

Level 11 to 20

Eventually, you’ll find that your wooden home may not be enough to withstand enemy attacks and Mother Nature’s fierceness. So, aim to upgrade your building materials to their stone-tier variants. These various crafting, building, and upgrading actions should fuel your XP farm fast. Now that you have a securer base, it’s time to turn your attention to essential metals. So, explore the many caves along Icarus’s biomes. Here, look for iron and copper, as farming these ores can help you save a lot of crafting headaches in the long run. Remember, these mineral nodes replenish after a week of in-game sleep. So, mark your ore-farming locations and schedule your mining excursions accordingly. Once you’re nearing level 20, you should be prioritizing the steel toolkit. After all, steel is a pivotal upgrade, but requires different prerequisite unlocks to achieve. Nonetheless, working your way through unlocking these technology tree nodes can give you many XP to complete leveling objectives in Icarus. One of your goals upon reaching level 20 is investing in firearms. One notable example is the hunting rifle, allowing you to take down enemies from afar. Alternatively, craft and use the shotgun, which can become an indispensable partner when dealing with foes at close range, like a charging bear.

Level 21 and Beyond

Currently, the maximum level in the game is 60. However, your leveling adventure in Icarus won’t be at that point, as you must still farm XP to claim blueprint points as many times as you want. So, here are some tips to maximize your leveling and XP farming in Icarus after reaching level 21:

Defeat Enemies in the Desert

Travel or spawn into the desert and defeat the various animals roaming the biome. Use long-range weapons, such as the bow and arrow, to safely deal with these foes from afar. The hyenas, in particular, give about 4,000 XP per kill. So, sharpen your aim and target the heads of your enemies for quick kills and fast XP gains.

Craft Low-Cost Items

As mentioned earlier, different actions in Icarus yield various amounts of XP. Crafting, in particular, can generate XP but can be tedious, especially if you’re making endgame items. Instead, farm XP by crafting low-cost items, and one notable example is the Oxygen Bladder, which you can unlock at the technology tree at Tier 2. One Oxygen Bladder needs 30x Leather, 8x Bone, and 20x Fiber, which are all fairly easy to collect. Remember, there’s no need to collect mass quantities of the Oxygen Bladder. So, don’t be afraid to destroy the newly crafted units.

Exploit the Voyager: Recovery Mission

It’s important to mention that this tip is generally geared toward veteran Icarus players, or those who have made it past level 30. So, assuming that you’ve reached the end of your mission board, navigate to and begin the Hardcore mission, Voyager: Recovery. Note that completing this mission grants +33% XP, making it an ideal choice for leveling fast in Icarus. Once accepted, your objective is to find a crash zone and inspect a broken-down ship. Multiple reasons exist why this mission yields massive amounts of XP. For starters, the crash site has multiple predators in the area. So, take these fiends out with accurate shots with the bow and arrow, and watch as your XP gauge fills up faster than normal. Additionally, every material needed to complete the mission is near the crash site. Therefore, there’s no dire need to travel far to gather items before you decide to complete the mission. It’s also possible to increase the rate of farming XP through this mission with the help of friends in a multiplayer Icarus server.