Minecraft Dungeons guide: How to level up, and what it does

Minecraft Dungeons 09 04 2020 17 32
Minecraft Dungeons 09 04 2020 17 32 (Image credit: Windows Central)

Minecraft Dungeons is coming, and it's looking like it's going to be pretty epic. Like many games, Minecraft Dungeons will feature a leveling system that allows you to power-up and grow with the game, eventually culminating in a specialized character revolving around your playstyle. However, it may not be immediately obvious how you level up, or why you should even bother if this style of game is unfamiliar to you. Here's what you need to know.

How do I level up in Minecraft Dungeons?

Minecraft Dungeons Beta Upgrade Screen

Source: Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Windows Central)

There's nothing more simple in Minecraft Dungeons than leveling up because just playing the game makes it happen. You accumulate experience points over time, and when you hit a certain amount you'll get a glorious animation on your screen informing you that you've leveled up! Unlike some other games, there isn't a complicated system where you'll have to seek out extra quests and side-bits to get the last couple of points you need to take on the next boss. Instead, do a little of the following:

  • Kill enemies. Every baddie you slay gifts a little bit of experience points, with the amount differing on the strength or difficulty of the enemy. Early on, this means a few run-ins with the brutal pillagers can fill up the bar indicating your progress to the next level rather quickly.
  • Survive ambushes. Periodically you'll be trapped in an area and ambushed by numerous enemies, and you'll sometimes have to stand your ground against waves of increasingly difficult forces. Surviving these ambushes not only means collecting experience points while killing the hostiles but also gaining a generous amount at the end.
  • Progress through the story. As you move through the game's main story, you'll also accrue experience points for completing various quests and objectives. These are usually accompanied by bosses, ambushes, or just swarms of file-and-rank baddies, but these are all fun and engaging ways to continue to level up.
  • Defeat bosses. Dungeons will be broken up by challenging bosses of varying strengths, with their own attacks, abilities, and strategies. Successfully defeating these bosses is the best way to build up a lot of experience points, and can net you pretty sweet loot as well.

Why should I level up in Minecraft Dungeons?

Minecraft Dungeons

Source: Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Windows Central)

Okay, so you level up just by playing the game. It seems pretty easy. Why bother though? Well, leveling up in Minecraft Dungeons is how you power up and grow stronger. Or, more specifically, how you make your equipment more powerful. Leveling up also nets you some enchantment points, which you can turn around and spend on devastating upgrades for your weapons, making your armor vastly more protective, or just gaining new abilities and effects that change your playstyle.

We have a fantastic guide that goes over how to use these enchantment points to upgrade your gear, and will help you carefully design your perfect Minecraft Dungeons character. Or you can throw things at the wall until something sticks if you want to experiment with different combinations. Either way, leveling up is how you grow stronger, and make your character more unique in Dungeons.

This is how you grow stronger

Microsoft and Mojang did a great job with forgoing traditional leveling systems for something that feels more flexible. Steady increases in strength while also upgrading all of your gear how and when you want it means leveling is more personal to you. Your character at the end of Minecraft Dungeons won't play like anyone else, and that's an awesome addition of depth to Minecraft Dungeons. It also leaves a ton of room to grow, with Dungeon's impressive list of equipment being able to expand in the future.

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Zachary Boddy
Staff Writer

Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter @BoddyZachary.