1. Pay Attention to Quest Summaries
Do not simply run to the location of the quest when you receive a new one, but be sure to read the summary so that you do not waste time in needless movement. Indeed, the quest summary not only tells you what monster you need to kill and loot, but also informs you of any item you may need to purchase from NPCs before moving there.
2. Rely On the Quest Indicators
When you accept a new quest, an indicator in the form of an arrow with a specific symbol/number and color will appear around your character, showing you the direction you need to take to reach the quest location. No need to get frustrated if you cannot find the monster you need to kill. It was either already killed by another player and will soon respawn, or you are at the right coordinates, but on the wrong floor. Quest indicators will also help you in finding items that may be hidden by the terrain.
3. Do Not Skip Quests
Never pass a quest just because the reward for it seems trivial. Sometimes this quest will lead to a longer chain of quests offering better rewards, and rare items. Pick up all the quests that you come across. Also be sure to check your mini-map for quest exclamation marks that will not always appear on your screen.
4. Always Overachieve
Some of the quests in ArcheAge have completion conditions that vary from the others. Indeed, upon reaching 50% of the quest conditions (4/8 monsters killed for example) you can submit the quest as an Early Completion. If you exceed the quest condition however (9/8 monsters killed) the quest switches to an Extra-Progression status, up to 150-160% (12/8 monsters killed) of the quest condition where it earns the Overachieve status. Completing the quest earlier will save you some time but reduce the EXP rewards, while Overachieving will take you more time, but boost the EXP received. Which one you choose will depend mostly on your play style, but if you want to level faster, Overachieving will help greatly.
5. Learn About Hidden Quests
ArcheAge has a number of hidden quests that normally involve killing 15-20 of the same mob to reach the objective. The catch is that these quests will remain hidden until you actually kill the number of monsters required, where a quest completion tab showing the amount of EXP you received will pop up. Look for guides and such that tell exactly where these quests are located to save time, or to decide if they are worth it or not.
6. Use and Abuse Your Labor Points
As soon as you have the option of using your labor points, use them to harvest crops, chop trees, mine ores or even do a trade run. These essential components of the universe of ArcheAge not only allow you to gain ArcheAge gold and resources, but also give you a decent amount of EXP that often exceeds what you get from the early mobs.
7. Do Not Grind Mobs
One of the basic methods to level in the average MMO is by killing mobs one after another. This is not the case in ArcheAge. While you can still level that way if you want the full Sandbox experience, the EXP you receive from monsters can be pretty minimal, and must thus always be done with a purpose in mind (for quests, Overachieving, or items). In fact, leveling by killing mobs would have been a viable option if it weren't for the fact that they aren't easy to kill. If you think you can take down a monster with a couple of hits, or that you can take on a whole group for faster kills, you'll be in for a huge surprise. Most of the time you'll only be able to take on 2 monsters at most, and even then you will have to pay attention to your health bar as it dwindles pretty fast. Moreover, your Mana is limited and will go down fast the longer you fight.
8. Level with A Party
As stated above, killing monsters isn't that easy, and it will often take you around 4-5 of your skills to take one of them down. So why not save your time and Mana by getting other players to help? They will also receive EXP and complete their quest objectives. Not to mention that they'll be here to help if you aggro too many mobs.
