So, a few weeks ago I came out of Diamond City, and just as I got past the main gate, the cash register sound played indicating I had earned XP, except I wasn't doing anything. All I had done was exit Diamond City. And this happened two more times, while I was wandering around the plaza outside the main gate to Diamond City.

Then the other day, while near BOS Knights who were mixing it up with some hostiles near a diner, it happened again, five times. I wasn't shooting at anyone, and Piper's Combat Rifle wasn't really powerful enough to insta-kill hostiles and she was out of shotgun ammo. So, I'm not sure what's going on.

Has this happened to anyone else?

Yes that happens to me.

It's usually as a result of someone allied to me scoring a kill within the game cell that I am in.

Could be a provisioner shooting a baddie or BOS patrol in action, (probably crash landing a vertibird on top of a foe.)

Maybe even a Diamond city guard killing a nearby mutant. (not sure about that one.)

If I go up to the top of a building in the financial district the XP pings quite frequently but you can't always see whose doing it

Happens to me all the time. Makes no sense tho as often times when it happens me and my companion aren't in combat and sometimes theres not even any combat going on near me at all.

That's what it was like when I was leaving Diamond City. There was no fighting going on, no guards were shooting anything, and the XP sound went off three times. The second time I was near some BOS troopers who were in combat, but I wasn't shooting anyone and neither was Piper, yet the XP sound pinged five times. It's really annoying.

Yea its gotta be a glitch of some sort. The 1st time it happened I thought something walked thru a minefield I set up but realized that wasn't possible since that was in a cell way across the map..

If your character is aligned to any, or multiple, factions then it is highly probable that your character is receiving XP from aligned faction kills.

Weird. I didnt know you got xp from anyone who wasnt ur companion.. even so i get free xp sometimes when theres no fighting anywhere near me.

On the Xbox One. I am over 150+ hours into my first playthrough, aligned with Minutemen and BoS (not beat the game) and this has never happened to me. Kinda feel left out .

I have been leaving mines scattered in old locations on my way out, thinking that I might get XP next time enemies respawn there and walk over them... I'd been wondering if the experience I sometimes get was from my random gifts going off.

Guess not, though...

You get the xp if you get 2 different npc factions fighting each other. You can have raiders vs Supermutants a block away killing each other and get the xp but your companions don't share xp like they did in NV. The devs basically reversed what logically should happen.

Are u allied with BOS? I.e can u use danse as a companion?

This has happened to me on every single playthrough, and it can happen very frequently. On several occasions its been signifcant XP gains - on those occasions I have actually been stomping through the sea in my power armor and suddenly got the XP from a Behemoth kill (at least exactly the same number of XP points I would have got if I killed a Behemoth myself) but as I was underwater at the time I highly doubt it was from anything even remotely close to me!

Its very weird but very helpful. I like "free" XP!

I had that happen to me yesterday near the Corvega Assembly Plant. I kept getting XP and "Hancock liked that". I was utterly confused.

This happens to me pretty frequently. I think sometimes if you get a bunch of kills in quick succession the game lags a bit and doesn't award some of the XP until a while later. It's never been a lot in my experience. 10-30 points or something along those lines. A while back in a Facebook group someone posted a video of them randomly getting over 7000 XP for no reason. The guy makes settlement videos and he was recording a video while walking around a settlement and the XP just triggered. He leveled up twice because of it lol

it's not a glitch or game lag.

it happens when you gain xp through settlers killing things.

if you check your missions, usually in miscellaneous, there's probably a settlement that needs defending.

if you travel there then you'll more than likely find some bodies that hit the floor, thus being the cause of the ghost-xp.


at least that's how it's been for me.

It happen to me last night and I have only one settlement (Spectacle Island), no supply lines, no companions. At first, I thought my settlement was under attack, checked Pip-Boy, found nothing, fast travelled to location, looked around, still nothing. Have no idea why I received xp.

One of the things that I do which garners additional XP (because I'm a sly, sneaky, individual ) is randomly place landmines at various locations in the Commonwealth. Hmm, raiders spawn here? Landmines. Ghouls by the bank? Landmines. Pesky Gunners raiding Sanctuary? Boatload of landmines. What I like about this method is the Settlers don't set them off.

That can cause excitement under certain circumstances. I planted some mines within range of a settlement's guns, and Trashcan Carla set one off. She didn't turn hostile but my turrets fired on her and wouldn't quit.


Moral: keep mines out of the Brahmin path.

Happens to me from time to time.

It's usually when my roommate is playing Skyrim. I figure he FusRoDah'd something so hard, a piece of it was converted into XP.

Since XP isn't a thing there, it is immediately expelled to the aether. Makes a "SHHHhhhwop-BINK" sound.

The XP (Expertise Particle) then seeks the nearest valid recepticle before it evaporates. That would be my SS, across the hallway.

*we hear a distant "Fus, Ro, DAH!!" and a tiny thunderclap*

OK, wait for it...... any second.....

*cash register sound*

See? IS SCIENCE!