Forum:Continuing Play on Level 30 w/o Any DLC Question

Here's where I'm at in New Vegas:


 * I have just hit Level 30.
 * I have done mostly side quests.
 * I've just recently started the main quest "Render Unto Caesar" and just started working with Mr. House.

I don't yet own Dead money or Honest Hearts but I have heard that the level cap will increase from 30 and with that  I'll have more chances for perks too. I will be buying all DLC eventually.

Here's where I could use some advice from those who have the DLC and are further along than I am. I think I don't want to keep finishing side and main quests for the simple reason I would be wasting valuable XP by continuing to play while on level 30 where I no longer will be accumulating XP towards leveling up and getting more perks. Plus I think I read that if the main quest is completed before reaching level 30, my current level number and XP amount will be frozen at that point. I don't want that to happen to me. So I'm thinking of not continuing with the game unless there are some decent reasons to do so.

Is that a good way to go? If I start accumulating XP again after installing DLC then my opinion would be to not play on w/o it. Does that make sense? Is that a common way to go about playing after hitting level 30? I won't get a chance to buy DLC until next week and I don't want to put in more hours and find out later on I could've went about things another way. Thanks for any help :D Favreorite 19:09, May 29, 2011 (UTC)

I had a similar decision to make. I've got both DLC's (unstarted) and so my level cap was upped to 40, but after completing most of the side missions (on normal mode) I was already at level 38. I didn't want to waste XP either, so I started the game again (hardcore this time though). That way I have a couple of weeks before the release of the third DLC which will raise the cap to 45, so absolutely no chance of wasting xp.

Are you playing hardcore? One of the reasons I re-started was to give hardcore a try. It's not as bad as I thought it would be.

It also seemed to take a lot longer to level up between 30 and 40 (as you would expect), so much more xp is needed.

If I was you, I'd wait and install the add-on's rather than waste the mission xp. --Croen 15:04, June 7, 2011 (UTC)


 * I'm playing on Hard, Hardcore, with only 60% XP gain, and I've already hit level 33-34 by the time I got to Dead Money, with plenty of content left in the Mojave, not counting the future DLCs.


 * I really wouldn't worry about XP in this game. It's a dime a dozen and you're going to hit the XP cap anyway, no matter what, if you do anywhere near all the quests by the time you stop playing. http://imageshack.us/m/15/6929/luckmanngrenadesignatur.png Luckmann 00:33, June 9, 2011 (UTC)

Each of the DLC’s offer more than enough XP that you will get the additional 5 levels just by doing those alone. Unless you just fly through them doing only the bare minimum you aren’t wasting any XP by waiting to download them. ReapTheChaos 06:50, June 9, 2011 (UTC)