Levels & The Level Cap
Your mining level is the backbone of progression on Ancients. You earn mining XP for every ore you break (higher-tier ores give far more XP), and your XP bar fills toward the next level. Open /levels to see the milestone track, your rewards, and what unlocks next.
Levels run from 1 to 100, and player prestige can push your personal max as high as 103. This section also covers the day-by-day server-wide level cap that paces the whole season.
Earning XP
You level up by mining: the better the ore, the more XP per block. XP boosters (from booster boxes, events and more) multiply your gains. If you fall behind the level cap, a catch-up bonus gives you more XP: 25% more per day you're behind, up to 150%. /levelcap shows your current bonus.
You can also drink XP Bottles, which come from Clue Scroll caskets. Bottle XP has a daily limit, and /xplimit shows what's left of it.
Level-up rewards
Every single level-up pays out 3 to 8 shards, with the shard rarity matching your level bracket:
| Levels | Shard rarity |
|---|---|
| 1 to 9 | Simple |
| 10 to 29 | Uncommon |
| 30 to 49 | Elite |
| 50 to 69 | Ultimate |
| 70 to 89 | Legendary |
| 90+ | Godly |
Every 10th level also awards a contraband, one rarity tier below your shard bracket. The final stretch pays out more: level 101 gives 2 contrabands, level 102 gives 3, and level 103 gives 3 to 5.
Reading the XP curve
The /levels menu has an XP Cost View selector that reprices every milestone tile at No Prestige, P1, P2 and P3, so you can see what a run costs before you commit to it. It opens on your own prestige, and each view lists that prestige's XP multiplier alongside the total XP to level 100. Milestone tiles above level 100 also show which prestige they need.
What levels unlock
Mines open up as you level (the /warps menu shows each requirement):
| Level | Mine |
|---|---|
| 1 | Coal Mine |
| 10 | Iron Mine |
| 25 | Lapis Mine |
| 45 | Redstone Mine |
| 60 | The Pit |
| 65 | Gold Mine |
| 85 | Diamond Mine |
| 100 | Emerald Mine & Calcite Caverns |
| 102 | Netherite Mine (also requires Prestige II) |
Gear and tools also unlock by level: chainmail armour at 10, stone weapons at 15, gold gear and the stone pickaxe at 30, the golden pickaxe at 50, iron gear at 60, the iron pickaxe at 70, the diamond pickaxe at 90, diamond gear and emerald mining at 100, and /fly at 103 (with Prestige III). The full list lives in /levels. For everything about the tool itself, see Your Pickaxe.
The level cap
The level cap is shared by the whole server and rises once per day at 11 AM Pacific, so nobody can rush to the endgame in week one. When you're sitting at the cap, extra XP is paused until it climbs, but mining at the cap pays 50% increased Ancient Energy instead, so capped days are still worth mining. It's also a good time to chase Shades, events, or pickaxe prestige. Check the full schedule any time from the /levelcap menu.
The energy bonus applies at whichever ceiling you hit first: the day's server cap, or the max level your own prestige allows.
| Map day | Level cap |
|---|---|
| 1 | 45 |
| 2 | 50 |
| 3 | 60 |
| 4 | 70 |
| 5 | 80 |
| 6 | 85 |
| 7 | 90 |
| 8 | 95 |
| 9 and 10 | 100 |
| 11 and 12 | 101 |
| 13 to 15 | 102 |
| 16 | 103 (final) |
Prestige and the cap: prestige opens on day 11, when the cap reaches 101. Each tier also needs the cap to have risen far enough to allow it: 101 for Prestige I, 102 for Prestige II, 103 for Prestige III. From day 16 the cap is fully open and all three prestiges are reachable.
Health regeneration
Natural health regeneration is 0.1 health per second. Regeneration from gear (like the Vitality enchant or the of Renewal jewel line) works even when you are hungry and doesn't use hunger.
Version history
v4.0.0 (Map 4)
- New level cap schedule: 45, 50, 60, 70, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 100, 101, 101, then 102 for three days and 103 on day 16.
- Prestige opens on day 11, when the cap reaches 101.
- Natural health regeneration is slower: 0.1 health per second, down from 0.25. Regeneration from gear works even when you are hungry.
- The AFK Shop no longer sells Bottled XP, so XP Bottles come only from clue caskets.
v3.0.0
- The
/levelsmenu has an XP Cost View selector that reprices every milestone at No Prestige, P1, P2 and P3, opening on your own prestige. - Milestone tiles in
/levelsnow show which prestige a level above 100 needs. - Reaching level 30 now also pays a Mystery Uncommon Jewel.
- Mining at your level cap, or at the max level for your prestige, again gives 50% increased Ancient Energy.
v2.0.0
/xpextracthas been removed — XP Bottles now drop only from Clue Scrolls, so you can no longer bottle your own levels.- The level-cap schedule was lengthened: the cap now climbs to level 103 on day 23, and
/levelcapshows the full schedule. - Each prestige run now needs more XP per level — Prestige I is 1.5×, Prestige II 2×, and Prestige III 3× the base level requirements.