In Neverness to Everness, your Hunter Level is an account-wide stat tied directly to your Appraisal Level, which functions as the game's world difficulty system. Raising it unlocks harder enemies, better rewards, higher Esper level caps, and access to more of Hethereau City. The cartridge and console farming loop doesn't fully open until Hunter Level 30, so getting there fast is the first real goal for any new player.
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How does the Appraisal Level system work?
Every time you push your Hunter Level high enough, your Appraisal Level increases. This raises enemy difficulty across Hethereau but also scales up the rewards you earn from Anomaly Zones and world bosses. Starting at Appraisal Level 3, you can manually lower your Appraisal Level if the difficulty spike is too steep.
Hunter Level EXP progress bar
Appraisal Level unlocks are gated behind specific Hunter Level thresholds. Quests tied to Hunter Levels 20, 40, and 50 must be cleared before your Appraisal Level advances to Level 2, 4, and 6 respectively.
Esper level caps scale with your Appraisal Level as follows:
Your Esper progression is hard-capped by your Appraisal Level. Pushing Hunter Level is not optional if you want to keep powering up your roster.
Ways to earn Hunter Level EXP
Based on the sources, every confirmed EXP source in NTE breaks down like this:
- Main quests and side quests (Episodes, Spinoffs, Side Quests)
- Exploration Guide tasks, including daily tasks
- Gifts from 21 scattered across Hethereau City
- Anomaly Zones and world bosses via Character Pixels
- City Tycoon level-ups
- ReroRero Phone Booths and Wertheimer Towers (exploration)
How to raise Hunter Level fast
Complete main quests and side quests first
Episode missions and side quests are the single fastest source of Hunter EXP in the game. According to Game Rant, individual quests award anywhere from 100 EXP for short tasks up to 2,000 EXP for longer ones. Completing all available quests in the early game can push you well past Level 20 before you need to think about supplementary sources.
Game8 confirms that Episode missions should always be prioritized since they drive story progression and physically open new areas of Hethereau for exploration. Spinoffs and side quests vary in length and EXP yield but every single one contributes, so clearing them as you go is worth the time.
Episode quest selection screen
Use the Exploration Guide daily
The Exploration Guide contains two distinct EXP streams that most players underuse. First, Daily Tasks reset every day and reward a solid chunk of Hunter EXP for completing quick activities. According to Game8, diligent players can earn up to 1,500 EXP from daily and weekly tasks combined. Some of these tasks, like upgrading an Arc level once or sending a gift, are easy to miss if you're not actively checking the Guide tab.
Second, the Exploration Guide has a phase-based mini-quest system. Each small task within a phase rewards 100 Hunter EXP. Finishing all tasks in a phase unlocks the next phase and grants bonus rewards on top of the EXP, creating a chain that keeps paying out as you progress.
For a full breakdown of what to prioritize each day, the NTE dailies guide covers daily, weekly, and monthly routines in detail.
Check your Exploration Guide first thing each session. Tasks like sending gifts or upgrading an Arc take under a minute and are easy to forget during regular play.
Spend your Character Pixels before logging out
Character Pixels are used to clear Anomaly Zones and defeat world bosses, and every reward claim from these encounters also generates Hunter Level EXP as a side benefit. Game Rant notes that exhausting your daily Character Pixels consistently yields around 1,200 Hunter Level EXP per day on top of the combat rewards you're farming anyway.
You can find every Anomaly Zone that accepts Character Pixels in the third tab of the Exploration Guide. If you're already running these zones for cartridges and ascension materials, the Hunter EXP is essentially free. For more on ascending characters and managing Hunter Rank progression, that guide covers the material requirements and unlock order.
Level up City Tycoon
Each City Tycoon level-up rewards between 300 and 500 Hunter Level EXP, depending on your current rank. Early City Tycoon levels come quickly, making this an efficient passive source during the first stretch of the game. City Tycoon advancement depends on total Fons earned and completing City Tycoon objectives, so running the city economy actively pays off in multiple ways.
For strategies on pushing City Tycoon rank efficiently, check out the guide on how to raise your City Tycoon level fast which covers cafe strategies, Pink Paws Heist, and Chiz's Fons-generating passive.
You need to open a bank account with Chiz before City Tycoon mechanics become available. Do this as early as possible to start accumulating Fons toward your first rank-up.
Unlock ReroRero Phone Booths and Wertheimer Towers
Exploration in Hethereau City gives small but consistent Hunter EXP gains. According to Game8, unlocking ReroRero Phone Booths rewards Hunter EXP each time and also adds a fast travel point to your map. Wertheimer Towers work similarly: discovering one reveals the surrounding map area, adds a fast travel node, and gives a small EXP bonus. Neither source is a major EXP driver on its own, but clearing them while doing other tasks costs nothing extra.
Collect Gifts from 21
Gifts from 21 appear as small cube-shaped anomaly icons on the map and minimap throughout Hethereau City. Defeating the enemies guarding each one and claiming the reward grants +10 Hunter Level EXP per gift. The per-gift amount is small, but the city contains a large number of them, and clearing every one adds up to a meaningful total. Game Rant describes them as functioning similarly to guarded treasure chests.
What should you prioritize first?
For new players, the order of operations is straightforward. Clear all available Episode missions and side quests immediately since they deliver the largest EXP chunks fastest. Run daily tasks in the Exploration Guide every session and spend all Character Pixels before logging off. Unlock City Tycoon as soon as Chiz's bank account quest becomes available, then let it accumulate passively. Fill in Gifts from 21, Phone Booths, and Wertheimer Towers as you explore naturally.
The target is Hunter Level 30 to unlock the full cartridge and console farming loop. After that, the same habits keep your Appraisal Level climbing and your Esper level caps expanding. For a complete look at everything NTE has to offer as you progress, the full Neverness to Everness strategy guides collection covers builds, bosses, and every major system in the game.