This week’s Zwift update includes a massive set of changes to rider levels, Drop Shop pricing/unlocks, and the ways in which XP and Drops are earned. In fact, it’s no exaggeration to say this is the biggest change to Zwift’s “economy” that the game has ever seen, apart from the actual launch of features like the Drop Shop!
There’s a lot to talk about, so let’s dive in.
Summary of Changes
Here’s a simple list of what Zwift changed in this week’s update:
- New Cycling Levels: riders can now go all the way to level 100!
- Easier Level Progression: less XP is now required to achieve each level.
- Neverending Level 100: once a rider hits level 100, they can continue to earn 50,000 Drops bonuses by filling up the level 100 progress bar again… and again… and again.
- More Drops Rewards: receive a big Drops bonus for each level achievement.
- More XP Rewards: earn XP for extending your weekly streak.
- Updated Drop Shop Unlock Levels and Pricing: many frames and wheels in the Drop Shop have been repriced and/or set to unlock at different levels.
Level 100 and Progression Changes
Previously capped at level 60, riders can now ascend all the way to level 100 thanks to this week’s update! That means 40 fresh unlocks (see the full list here).
In the previous leveling scheme, higher levels required as much as 30,000 XP to achieve. Additionally, the amount of XP required wasn’t always consistent or even steadily increasing (for example: the old level 42 took 10,000 XP to achieve, while 41 took 20,000 XP).
Zwift has radically revamped the level requirements, reducing the XP required to hit each level while steadily increasing those XP requirements as the levels get higher. Here’s a breakdown of the old and new leveling schemes:
Note: the “new levels” shown below are no longer accurate. See accurate XP requirements on our All About Zwift XP, Levels, and Unlocks for Cyclists page >
Old Levels
| Level | XP to Earn | Total XP |
| 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| 3 | 1,000 | 2,000 |
| 4 | 1,000 | 3,000 |
| 5 | 1,000 | 4,000 |
| 6 | 1,000 | 5,000 |
| 7 | 2,000 | 7,000 |
| 8 | 3,000 | 10,000 |
| 9 | 3,000 | 13,000 |
| 10 | 3,000 | 16,000 |
| 11 | 3,000 | 19,000 |
| 12 | 4,000 | 23,000 |
| 13 | 5,000 | 28,000 |
| 14 | 5,000 | 33,000 |
| 15 | 5,000 | 38,000 |
| 16 | 6,000 | 44,000 |
| 17 | 6,000 | 50,000 |
| 18 | 6,000 | 56,000 |
| 19 | 6,000 | 62,000 |
| 20 | 8,000 | 70,000 |
| 21 | 8,000 | 78,000 |
| 22 | 10,000 | 88,000 |
| 23 | 6,000 | 94,000 |
| 24 | 6,000 | 100,000 |
| 25 | 10,000 | 110,000 |
| 26 | 11,000 | 121,000 |
| 27 | 9,000 | 130,000 |
| 28 | 10,000 | 140,000 |
| 29 | 10,000 | 150,000 |
| 30 | 20,000 | 170,000 |
| 31 | 10,000 | 180,000 |
| 32 | 10,000 | 190,000 |
| 33 | 10,000 | 200,000 |
| 34 | 20,000 | 220,000 |
| 35 | 10,000 | 230,000 |
| 36 | 20,000 | 250,000 |
| 37 | 10,000 | 260,000 |
| 38 | 20,000 | 280,000 |
| 39 | 10,000 | 290,000 |
| 40 | 20,000 | 310,000 |
| 41 | 20,000 | 330,000 |
| 42 | 10,000 | 340,000 |
| 43 | 20,000 | 360,000 |
| 44 | 20,000 | 380,000 |
| 45 | 20,000 | 400,000 |
| 46 | 20,000 | 420,000 |
| 47 | 20,000 | 440,000 |
| 48 | 20,000 | 460,000 |
| 49 | 20,000 | 480,000 |
| 50 | 20,000 | 500,000 |
| 51 | 20,000 | 520,000 |
| 52 | 20,000 | 540,000 |
| 53 | 20,000 | 560,000 |
| 54 | 20,000 | 580,000 |
| 55 | 20,000 | 600,000 |
| 56 | 30,000 | 630,000 |
| 57 | 30,000 | 660,000 |
| 58 | 30,000 | 690,000 |
| 59 | 30,000 | 720,000 |
| 60 | 30,000 | 750,000 |
New Levels
| Level | XP to Earn | Total XP |
| 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 750 | 750 |
| 3 | 750 | 1,500 |
| 4 | 1,000 | 2,500 |
| 5 | 1,000 | 3,500 |
| 6 | 1,500 | 5,000 |
| 7 | 1,500 | 6,500 |
| 8 | 1,500 | 8,000 |
| 9 | 1,500 | 9,500 |
| 10 | 1,500 | 11,000 |
| 11 | 2,000 | 13,000 |
| 12 | 2,000 | 15,000 |
| 13 | 2,000 | 17,000 |
| 14 | 2,000 | 19,000 |
| 15 | 2,000 | 21,000 |
| 16 | 2,500 | 23,500 |
| 17 | 2,500 | 26,000 |
| 18 | 2,500 | 28,500 |
| 19 | 2,500 | 31,000 |
| 20 | 2,500 | 33,500 |
| 21 | 3,000 | 36,500 |
| 22 | 3,000 | 39,500 |
| 23 | 3,000 | 42,500 |
| 24 | 3,000 | 45,500 |
| 25 | 3,000 | 48,500 |
| 26 | 3,500 | 52,000 |
| 27 | 3,500 | 55,500 |
| 28 | 3,500 | 59,000 |
| 29 | 3,500 | 62,500 |
| 30 | 3,500 | 66,000 |
| 31 | 4,000 | 70,000 |
| 32 | 4,000 | 74,000 |
| 33 | 4,000 | 78,000 |
| 34 | 4,000 | 82,000 |
| 35 | 4,000 | 86,000 |
| 36 | 4,500 | 90,500 |
| 37 | 4,500 | 95,000 |
| 38 | 4,500 | 99,500 |
| 39 | 4,500 | 104,000 |
| 40 | 4,500 | 108,500 |
| 41 | 5,000 | 113,500 |
| 42 | 5,000 | 118,500 |
| 43 | 5,000 | 123,500 |
| 44 | 5,000 | 128,500 |
| 45 | 5,000 | 133,500 |
| 46 | 5,500 | 139,000 |
| 47 | 5,500 | 144,500 |
| 48 | 5,500 | 150,000 |
| 49 | 5,500 | 155,500 |
| 50 | 5,500 | 161,000 |
| 51 | 6,000 | 167,000 |
| 52 | 6,000 | 173,000 |
| 53 | 6,000 | 179,000 |
| 54 | 6,000 | 185,000 |
| 55 | 6,000 | 191,000 |
| 56 | 6,500 | 197,500 |
| 57 | 6,500 | 204,000 |
| 58 | 6,500 | 210,500 |
| 59 | 6,500 | 217,000 |
| 60 | 6,500 | 223,500 |
| 61 | 7,000 | 230,500 |
| 62 | 7,000 | 237,500 |
| 63 | 7,000 | 244,500 |
| 64 | 7,000 | 251,500 |
| 65 | 7,000 | 258,500 |
| 66 | 7,500 | 266,000 |
| 67 | 7,500 | 273,500 |
| 68 | 7,500 | 281,000 |
| 69 | 7,500 | 288,500 |
| 70 | 7,500 | 296,000 |
| 71 | 8,000 | 304,000 |
| 72 | 8,000 | 312,000 |
| 73 | 8,000 | 320,000 |
| 74 | 8,000 | 328,000 |
| 75 | 8,000 | 336,000 |
| 76 | 9,000 | 345,000 |
| 77 | 9,000 | 354,000 |
| 78 | 9,000 | 363,000 |
| 79 | 9,000 | 372,000 |
| 80 | 9,000 | 381,000 |
| 81 | 10,000 | 391,000 |
| 82 | 10,000 | 401,000 |
| 83 | 10,000 | 411,000 |
| 84 | 10,000 | 421,000 |
| 85 | 10,000 | 431,000 |
| 86 | 10,000 | 441,000 |
| 87 | 10,000 | 451,000 |
| 88 | 10,000 | 461,000 |
| 89 | 10,000 | 471,000 |
| 90 | 10,000 | 481,000 |
| 91 | 11,000 | 492,000 |
| 92 | 11,000 | 503,000 |
| 93 | 11,000 | 514,000 |
| 94 | 11,000 | 525,000 |
| 95 | 11,000 | 536,000 |
| 96 | 11,000 | 547,000 |
| 97 | 11,000 | 558,000 |
| 98 | 11,000 | 569,000 |
| 99 | 11,000 | 580,000 |
| 100 | 11,000 | 591,000 |
Zwift has also made a small change for riders who hit the new level 100 cap. Instead of feeling “stuck” at the max level with an unmoving progress bar, riders will see the level 100 progress bar filling up. Once it’s filled, they will earn a 50,000 Drops bonus, and then the bar will be reset to be filled again.
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Accelerated Leveling
Between level 50+ riders having “banked” extra XP, plus the new XP requirements for levels (see above), Zwift had a real project on their hands in figuring out how riders would transition from the old leveling scheme to the new one. It’s not an easy thing to get right, either: Zwift wants to give everyone the fun of leveling up, but they also know most riders will have earned enough XP to be at a higher level than the game currently shows.
The good news is, Zwift’s solution is simple. You don’t need to set any options, and the Pause screen tells you plainly how much XP you need to reach the next level:
The screen also indicates if you are on an accelerated leveling program (the black rider icon will be riding a wheelie) and how long your acceleration will remain (that’s the LV60 >>> LV96 indicator).
So the Pause screen is easy to understand. But what’s actually going on behind the scenes? If you want the nitty-gritty, read on…
Nearly all Zwifters will get some amount of “accelerated leveling” to transition from the old level scheme to the new. The game calculates each rider’s “level curve” based on their current level and XP.
There are actually two forms of acceleration going on. First, we have what we’ll call “Level Discounts.” This applies to nearly all Zwifters, and discounts the XP needed to level up by 20%. You can see this above, where the screen tells me I need 5600 XP to go from level 60 to 61 (which normally takes 7000 XP – so I’m getting a 20% discount). That 20% “discount” comes from my XP.
Example: a level 20 Zwifter has accumulated 70,000 XP, but you only need 33,500 XP to reach level 20 in the new scheme. That “extra” XP (70,000-33,500 = 36,500 XP) will be used to cover 20% of the XP needed to reach each new level, which means that extra XP will stretch all the way through to level 59. Level 59 requires 183,500 XP more than level 20 in the new scheme, and 20% of 183,500=36,700 XP.
The second form of level acceleration we’ll call “Double XP”, and it applies to riders at level 50+ who have accumulated additional XP. Instead of simply applying all that banked XP and zooming you through all the levels the first time you log in, Zwift doubles any XP you earn, so you level up twice as fast until you use up your banked XP.
Example: since I’m receiving Double XP (40 XP per km), riding 140km will earn me the 5600 XP needed to level up.
Current level 60 (and some level 50+) riders will experience both forms (Level Discounts and Double XP) of accelerated leveling. Hidden in Zwift’s Pause screen UI is a small indicator of which types of accelerated leveling you’re experiencing. On the screenshot above, the black LV60 >>> LV96 text tells me I’m receiving both types of acceleration. Two chevrons (>>) means I’m only receiving Level Discounts, while three means I’m receiving both Double XP and Level Discounts.
How Far to Level 100?
How long will it take current level 60 riders to get to level 100?
Well, assuming you have enough XP banked to get double XP all the way through level 100, we can calculate this easily enough:
- 360,500 to get from level 60-100
- Discounted by 20% = 288,400
- With a typical rider earning 500-700 XP per hour (let’s say 600 XP), that means 1200 XP at the doubled rate.
- That works out to 288,400/1200 = 240 hours of riding. That’s 34 weeks, or 8 months, of daily 1-hour rides.
More Drops
Riders previously received a Drops bonus for certain level achievements:
- If your new level ended with a 5 (15, 25, etc) you received 25,000 Drops
- If your new level ended with a 0 (10, 20, 30, etc) you received 100,000 Drops
This week’s change simplifies things while increasing the total number of Drops given as level-up bonuses. Now, riders will receive a 50,000 Drops bonus each time they level up.
XP Rewards for Streaks
If new levels weren’t enough, this week Zwift added a streaks feature. The idea is simple: ride on Zwift at least once a week for 2+ kilometers to keep your streak going.
You’ll earn a tidy XP bonus for your first ride each week as your streak progresses: 300 XP for your first two rides in week 1, 400 XP for the first two rides of week 2, then 500 XP for your first ride each week after that, as long as your streak continues.
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Updated Drop Shop Unlock Levels and Pricing
Prices and level requirements have been adjusted throughout the Drop Shop. Where pricing was formerly based on real-world pricing and level requirements were (often) based on performance, Zwift says the Drop Shop is now priced based loosely on performance, with level requirements related to the desirability of the item and its price in relation to how many Drops a Zwifter should have at a given level.
Here are the old and new level requirements and prices for frames and wheels in Zwift’s Drop Shop:
Frames
| CURRENT | UPDATED | |||||
| Type | Make | Model | Level Req | Drop Price | Level Req | Drop Price |
| Road | BMC | RoadMachine | 21 | 780,900 | 18 | 344,100 |
| Road | BMC | SLR01 | 19 | 376,200 | 39 | 759,500 |
| Road | BMC | TeamMachine | 26 | 832,900 | 39 | 969,200 |
| Road | Bridgestone | RS9s | 15 | 511,200 | 10 | 200,000 |
| Road | Cannondale | EVO | 9 | 213,000 | 29 | 714,500 |
| Road | Cannondale | Caad12 | 2 | 184,500 | 6 | 106,300 |
| Road | Cannondale | Super 6 EVO | 36 | 816,500 | 29 | 768,200 |
| Road | Cannondale | Synapse | 12 | 298,200 | 12 | 270,100 |
| Road | Cannondale | System Six | 27 | 497,000 | 20 | 725,100 |
| Road | Canyon | Aeroad 2021 | 10 | 568,000 | 27 | 1,029,200 |
| Road | Canyon | Ultimate | 10 | 461,500 | 12 | 322,500 |
| Road | Canyon | Ultimate CFR | 19 | 639,000 | 12 | 350,700 |
| Road | Cervelo | R5 | 24 | 461,500 | 28 | 633,600 |
| Road | Cervelo | S3D | 13 | 468,600 | 15 | 415,300 |
| Road | Cervelo | S5 | 25 | 603,500 | 36 | 1,438,400 |
| Road | Cervelo | S5 2020 | 27 | 852,000 | 36 | 1,481,000 |
| Road | Chapter2 | KOKO | 11 | 639,000 | 21 | 505,500 |
| Road | Chapter2 | Rere | 16 | 355,000 | 13 | 326,400 |
| Road | Chapter2 | Tere | 6 | 390,500 | 6 | 199,400 |
| Road | Chapter2 | TOA | 18 | 426,000 | 33 | 800,000 |
| Road | Colnago | V3RS | 18 | 695,800 | 38 | 800,000 |
| Road | Cube | Litening | 32 | 177,500 | 24 | 536,500 |
| Road | Cube | Litening C:68x | 32 | 373,500 | 24 | 604,200 |
| Road | Factor | One | 8 | 426,000 | 19 | 600,000 |
| Road | Felt | AR | 34 | 639,000 | 16 | 714,100 |
| Road | Felt | FR | 20 | 851,900 | 23 | 562,700 |
| Road | Focus | Izalco Max 2020 | 8 | 426,000 | 22 | 712,900 |
| Road | Giant | Propel Advanced SL Disc | 22 | 816,500 | 35 | 1,102,900 |
| Road | Giant | TCR Advanced SL | 8 | 305,300 | 27 | 566,100 |
| Road | Giant | TCR Advanced SL Disc | 14 | 745,500 | 27 | 543,100 |
| Road | Liv | Langma Advanced SL | 22 | 745,500 | 24 | 511,300 |
| Road | Liv | Langma SL Advanced 2021 | 22 | 745,500 | 24 | 613,200 |
| Road | Moots | Vamoots RCS | 15 | 852,000 | 8 | 275,000 |
| Road | Mosaic | RT-1d | 15 | 852,000 | 11 | 250,000 |
| Road | Parlee | ESX | 16 | 603,500 | 5 | 153,200 |
| Road | Parlee | RZ7 | 28 | 511,200 | 32 | 771,800 |
| Road | Pinarello | Dogma 65.1 | 29 | 603,500 | 40 | 577,800 |
| Road | Pinarello | Dogma F | 32 | 1,029,500 | 40 | 1,418,600 |
| Road | Pinarello | Dogma F10 | 39 | 710,000 | 40 | 1,081,900 |
| Road | Pinarello | Dogma F12 | 29 | 958,500 | 40 | 1,242,700 |
| Road | Ribble | Endurance | 7 | 390,500 | 21 | 505,500 |
| Road | Ridley | Helium | 3 | 461,500 | 15 | 272,500 |
| Road | Ridley | Noah Fast 2019 | 9 | 426,000 | 33 | 950,000 |
| Road | Scott | Addict RC | 33 | 852,000 | 17 | 660,200 |
| Road | Scott | Foil | 17 | 781,000 | 26 | 676,900 |
| Road | Scott | Foil 2023 | 22 | 816,500 | 26 | 864,600 |
| Road | Specialized | Aethos | 34 | 923,000 | 30 | 966,300 |
| Road | Specialized | Allez | 4 | 127,800 | 9 | 122,700 |
| Road | Specialized | Allez Sprint | 14 | 127,800 | 14 | 387,000 |
| Road | Specialized | Amira | 31 | 142,000 | 36 | 730,400 |
| Road | Specialized | Amira S-Works | 31 | 355,000 | 36 | 802,300 |
| Road | Specialized | Roubaix | 5 | 461,500 | 18 | 333,500 |
| Road | Specialized | Roubaix S-Works | 5 | 745,500 | 18 | 405,200 |
| Road | Specialized | Ruby | 5 | 461,500 | 18 | 333,500 |
| Road | Specialized | Ruby S-Works | 5 | 745,500 | 18 | 399,300 |
| Road | Specialized | Tarmac* | 0 | 0 | 36 | 786,300 |
| Road | Specialized | Tarmac Pro | 11 | 408,300 | 36 | 856,100 |
| Road | Specialized | Tarmac SL7 | 5 | 674,500 | 36 | 1,200,000 |
| Road | Specialized | Venge S-Works | 33 | 798,800 | 37 | 1,200,000 |
| Road | Trek | Emonda SL | 26 | 142,000 | 25 | 560,300 |
| Road | Trek | Madone | 20 | 887,500 | 34 | 1,050,000 |
| Road | Uranium | Nuclear | 19 | 184,529 | 31 | 700,000 |
| Road | Van Rysel | EDR CF | 12 | 326,600 | 7 | 144,100 |
| Road | Ventum | NS1 | 15 | 638,900 | 30 | 750,000 |
| Road | Zwift | Aero | 6 | 319,500 | 9 | 250,000 |
| Road | Zwift | Carbon | 0 | 0 | 3 | 55,000 |
| Road | Zwift | Steel* | 7 | 142,000 | 1 | 0 |
| TT | BMC | Timemachine01 | 24 | 781,000 | 7 | 400,000 |
| TT | Cadex | Tri | 42 | 1,029,500 | 40 | 1,500,000 |
| TT | Canyon | Speedmax | 21 | 710,000 | 31 | 424,600 |
| TT | Canyon | Speedmax CR SLX Disc | 26 | 891,000 | 31 | 1,200,000 |
| TT | Cervelo | P5 | 15 | 710,000 | 34 | 920,700 |
| TT | Cervelo | P5X | 45 | 1,065,000 | 34 | 1,000,000 |
| TT | Cube | Aerium | 28 | 248,500 | 10 | 251,700 |
| TT | Diamondback | Andean | 35 | 572,900 | 39 | 950,000 |
| TT | Felt | IA | 37 | 1,065,000 | 16 | 515,100 |
| TT | Felt | IA 2.0 | 34 | 1,136,000 | 16 | 750,000 |
| TT | Pinarello | Bolide TT | 42 | 923,000 | 28 | 627,000 |
| TT | Pinarello | Bolide | 25 | 1,065,000 | 28 | 618,400 |
| TT | Quintana | Roo V-PR | 16 | 638,600 | 13 | 297,400 |
| TT | Scott | Plasma | 17 | 852,000 | 19 | 528,600 |
| TT | Scott | Plasma RC Ultimate | 33 | 1,136,000 | 19 | 600,000 |
| TT | Specialized | Shiv | 10 | 710,000 | 37 | 643,800 |
| TT | Specialized | Shiv Disc | 18 | 994,000 | 37 | 1,000,000 |
| TT | Specialized | Shiv S-Works | 10 | 852,000 | 37 | 910,600 |
| TT | Trek | Speed Concept | 32 | 958,500 | 22 | 670,500 |
| TT | Ventum | One | 31 | 482,800 | 25 | 440,800 |
| TT | Zwift | TT | 0 | 0 | 4 | 60,000 |
| Gravel | Canyon | Grail | 23 | 355,000 | 26 | 750,000 |
| Gravel | Canyon | Inflite | 10 | 234,300 | 8 | 200,000 |
| Gravel | Cervelo | Aspero | 13 | 426,000 | 32 | 800,000 |
| Gravel | Giant | Revolt | 14 | 298,200 | 23 | 475,000 |
| Gravel | Lauf | True Grit | 11 | 297,500 | 5 | 125,000 |
| Gravel | Liv | Devote | 14 | 298,200 | 17 | 450,000 |
| Gravel | Specialized | Crux | 17 | 869,800 | 35 | 950,000 |
| Gravel | Specialized | Diverge | 12 | 532,500 | 14 | 300,000 |
| Gravel | Zwift | Gravel | 0 | 163,300 | 2 | 50,000 |
| MTB | Canyon | Lux | 10 | 461,500 | 11 | 275,000 |
| MTB | Scott | Spark RC | 17 | 418,900 | 20 | 350,000 |
| MTB | Scott | Spark RC World Cup | 21 | 745,400 | 20 | 750,000 |
| MTB | Specialized | Epic S-Works | 5 | 675,900 | 29 | 950,000 |
| MTB | Trek | Super Caliber | 20 | 532,500 | 38 | 750,000 |
| MTB | Zwift | Mountain | 0 | 0 | 2 | 50,000 |
* Specialized Venge (2015) is now the new Ride California Challenge Reward, and the Zwift Steel frame is the new default bike frame.
Wheels
| CURRENT | UPDATED | |||||
| Type | Make | Model | Level Req | Price | Level Req | Price |
| Standard | Bontrager | Aeolus5 | 20 | 170,400 | 11 | 67,700 |
| Standard | Cadex | 36 | 26 | 257,400 | 29 | 216,900 |
| Standard | Cadex | 42 | 8 | 227,200 | 17 | 119,500 |
| Standard | Cadex | 65 | 21 | 241,400 | 33 | 223,900 |
| Standard | Campagnolo | Bora Ultra 35 | 33 | 248,500 | 35 | 250,000 |
| Standard | Campagnolo | Bora Ultra 50 | 27 | 262,700 | 12 | 150,000 |
| Standard | DT Swiss | ARC 1100 DiCut 62 | 6 | 184,600 | 40 | 400,000 |
| Standard | DT Swiss | ARC 1100 DISC Aero TT | 42 | 1,579,800 | 39 | 655,600 |
| Standard | ENVE | SES 2.2 | 17 | 191,700 | 26 | 174,300 |
| Standard | ENVE | SES 3.4 | 4 | 191,700 | 27 | 200,000 |
| Standard | ENVE | SES 6.7 | 25 | 191,700 | 22 | 150,000 |
| Standard | ENVE | SES 7.8 | 39 | 205,900 | 36 | 278,900 |
| Standard | ENVE | SES 8.9 | 31 | 205,900 | 28 | 250,000 |
| Standard | FFWD | RYOT55 | 23 | 113,600 | 18 | 136,100 |
| Standard | Giant | SLR 0 | 22 | 191,800 | 21 | 165,100 |
| Standard | Mavic | Comete Pro Carbon SL UST | 23 | 142,000 | 13 | 45,400 |
| Standard | Mavic | Cosmic CXR60c | 16 | 142,000 | 7 | 39,800 |
| Standard | Mavic | Cosmic Ultimate UST | 9 | 142,000 | 6 | 38,400 |
| Standard | Novatec | R4 | 24 | 95,850 | 8 | 37,900 |
| Standard | Roval | Alpinist CLX | 32 | 135,300 | 38 | 634,300 |
| Standard | Roval | CLX64 | 5 | 170,400 | 16 | 150,000 |
| Standard | Roval | Rapide CLX | 14 | 195,300 | 15 | 200,000 |
| Standard | Shimano | C40 | 12 | 85,300 | 4 | 35,900 |
| Standard | Shimano | C50 | 28 | 88,700 | 4 | 34,600 |
| Standard | Shimano | C60 | 18 | 92,300 | 10 | 41,100 |
| Standard | Zipp | 202 | 11 | 149,200 | 20 | 135,200 |
| Standard | Zipp | 353 | 19 | 255,600 | 24 | 168,800 |
| Standard | Zipp | 404 | 15 | 149,200 | 19 | 115,600 |
| Standard | Zipp | 454 | 24 | 284,000 | 30 | 204,300 |
| Standard | Zipp | 808 | 13 | 177,600 | 25 | 200,000 |
| Standard | Zipp | 808/Super9 | 35 | 1,075,700 | 34 | 450,000 |
| Standard | Zipp | 858 | 37 | 312,400 | 31 | 300,000 |
| Standard | Zipp | 858/Super9 | 45 | 1,508,800 | 37 | 550,000 |
| Standard | Zwift | 32mm Carbon | 1 | 0 | 3 | 32,000 |
| Standard | Zwift | 50mm Carbon | 7 | 120,700 | 9 | 43,700 |
| Standard | Zwift | Classic* | 2 | 35,600 | 1 | 0 |
| Gravel | Cadex | AR 35 | 1 | 21,300 | 14 | 154,500 |
| Gravel | Enve | G23 | 1 | 17,800 | 23 | 241,800 |
| Gravel | Reserve | 25 GR | 1 | 11,400 | 5 | 83,900 |
| Gravel | Roval | TerraCLX | 1 | 17,800 | 32 | 330,800 |
| Gravel | Zwift | Gravel | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MTB | Zwift | Mountain | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
* new default wheels
A Note About New Unlocks
Zwift has made some small changes to unlocks, including:
- New accounts will now start with the Zwift Steel frame and Zwift Classic wheels by default, and unlock the Carbon, Gravel, and Mountain Bike frames within the first three levels to help introduce riders to the Drop Shop.
- The Specialized Venge (2015) is now the new Ride California Challenge reward
Zwift says riders won’t have any bikes removed from their garage – but you might have one or two added, thanks to this new setup!
What’s Next?
Whew. That was a lot! New levels, a Drop Shop shakeup, more opportunities for more Drops and XP… what’s next?
Three things I’d love to see:
- More stuff in the Drop Shop: earning more Drops is fun, I suppose… but I’ve already got almost 50 million Drops, with nothing in the Shop I want to buy! I’d love to have the chance to purchase some funky bikes, cool hardware, tattoos, fancy cycling kit… you get the idea. Or (and this is still my favorite idea) let me cash in my Drops for a donation to one of several pre-chosen charities!
- Garage maintenance/organization tools: we need the ability to “favorite” items in our garage, as well as remove items we no longer want. Two simple bits of functionality that would make the garage experience much better.
- Compelling new unlocks: Zwift hit it out of the park with the level 50 Fire Socks. Could they do it again with some unlocks for levels 61-100? We’ll know soon enough, I guess.
Questions or Comments?
What do you think of the swath of changes Zwift made? Share below!
A little sad as a newbie to see the Canyon Aeroad level requirement jump from 10 to 27…but overall excited about the streaks feature and the easier level-ups will definitely keep me motivated. 🙂
What about getting it via Zwift Academy going on through dec 17th?
Finishing ZA rewards a novel paint scheme for the Aeroad, but not the Aeroad frame. You still have to buy the frame.
I think what you get is a paint scheme, not the bike
You only get the paint job after completing Zwift Academy. I assume you’ll get to hold onto the paintjob until you’re capable of buying the Aeroad frame at level 27.
I kinda understand where Zwift is coming from. It’s one of the best road frames for a long time and you get it relatively early.
You only get the paint job, not the bike
You only get the colour scheme, you have to own the bike first
In “Zwift Academy 2023” you do not receive a bike, only the possibility of additional painting. You have to buy the bike itself.
There was a bug in the store and in the “Bike/ZWift” section you could buy this bike at the regular price in the “ZA2023” paint job, but after a few days HQ sent an email in which they informed about the error and removal of this purchased bike in this paint job and refund of DROPs.
That’s just a skin. I’m lucky to have bought the frame ~month ago.
Definitely! I’m in same boat. Now the earliest we can get something from the MUST BUY list is the Zipp 808 wheels at level 25! And the Canyon Aeroad is level 27 at twice the cost. Ouch! Eric, can you rewrite your Starter Buy article so us sub-15 newbies know the best purchases in the new economy. I don’t want to waste my hard earned drops!
Felt AR is a very good frame that now unlocks at 16.
Just rewrote this: https://zwiftinsider.com/fastest-bikes-at-each-level/
Isn’t the Scott Addict RC, now available at level 17, the bestest bike in game any more? Why would they reduce the level requirements for that one (massively) while increasing them (on paper) for the Dogma F? I’m a bit disappointed that there are no new higher level bike unlocks because that was actually the thing motivating me most (shiny new, more betterer toys ) and/or a new challenge.
Update the date on the article (showed 2021 unless I missed it).
Also of thr update hasn’t dropped yet it seems worthwhile to try to pick up a few things. Cannondale Evo, Specialized Allez Sprint frames and the Dt Swiss dicut arcs jump out at me.
same here, especially since I just got level 10 and was only missing about 100k drops to get it. And unfortunately, the Zwift Academy is not really an option for me with a newborn 🙁
I guess I’ll have to recalibrate what’s the next best value for drops at my level to replace my entry-level zwift carbon frame!
I’m level 20 and bought the Canyon Aeroad some time ago and currently doing the Zwift Academy to get the frame paint job.
Does that mean they’re going to stealth steal my frame as I’m not level 27 and also not allow me to buy the ZA paint job version?!?
No, not going to steal anything from anyone. Just making it more logical in what someone should be buying at the level and drops they have.
No, since you already have it, you’re supposed to be able to keep it.
It just takes so much longer with these changes to acquire equipment which is competitive in races. I always saw it as a strong point of Zwift that you could have a competitive set up at lvl 13 with the AR and the 808. I don’t think those are good changes at all. While I have the critical unlocks I know that my wife and my daughter will find this very de-motivating. Getting the Aeroad was one of the declared goals of my daughter. She is also doing the Zwift academy to get a paint job for said bike. I guess I do now have to tell a seven year old that she can get lost. She might just quit altogether as a consequence.
Aww, that’s so tragic
Tbh after having gone through all the updated pages that Eric has posted it’s not quite as bad as I thought. Wheels is actually the biggest problem. It will take much longer to get decent, race-competitive wheels. The Aeroad will be effectively replaced by the Felt AR which is better and you’ll get it at Lvl 18 (in old money that would have been the xp level of lvl 13). My main gripe is the devaluing of the Aeroad … there is no reason to ever get the Aeroad as by lvl 27 you already have the Felt AR which is a better frame. It devalues the Aeroad and it also devalues the reward of the Zwift Academies past and present. My daughter seems ok for now but I still think that a lot of the drop shop changes were bad.
I think that is what Zwift total intention is…. To keep you engaged, as a paying customer. Now everyone can get to level 50 in a few weeks or months, vice years. YEA.. I can see the Firesox lighting up the pavements in Watopia….
Kind of like the tron.
The real sad thing ist canyons marketing… if you buy an aeroad you should get a code to ride it in zwift right from the beginning.
I put an awroad to the trainer but can’t ride it on zwift as a beginner 🙄
I was fortunate to do ZRA the year they gave you the bike and paint job for finishing. I really enjoyed earning it.
I’m a little sad to see that the total XP for level 100 is less than the total XP previously was for level 60. It’ll make level 100 less of an achievement than level 60 would have been without this update. I get wanting to make leveling more frequent, but this feels like a little too easy.
In practical terms, I’ll probably be at level 100 by the time I sign off Zwift for the spring/summer next year, whereas I would have had to wait to reach 60 until winter 24/25 at my current rate. Maybe they’ll rejigger it and go up to level 200 by then, though, to keep me further motivated.
i totally agree, at this point i have enough points now to be over level 300 with the revised system
If a “problem is that too many folk have 750,000 XP then a system that tops out at
591,000 XP seems strange. If you are changing things anyway then why have a fixed end to the levels at all?
I feel the change is meant for the NEW riders.. to remain on zwift. Zwift is not really concerned with us 3+yr veterans. Too many new joins drop out with less than a year. (Hence the yearly subscription update). And so, giving “candy and nuts”, out more frequently will retain the new subscribers.
Yeah, thats fine, just add a few levels at the top and make it makes sense for the old time users, it takes just a few seconds extra to do that.
yes! I like this idea! – Zwiftin for 8 yrs so I’m with ya!
We did build the system with the flexibility to raise the cap if needed. But the majority of our Zwifters don’t have 750K in XP. In fact, the majority have under 100K in XP. So they have plenty of time to get to 100 and enjoy the roads. We also didn’t want to just take all our hardcore riders and make them level 100. We want them to enjoy leveling again and earning XP for a reason. We have added some new branded items on the way up the ladder and looking to have a special unlock for those that hit level 100. We do appreciate all the feedback and it is not lost on us. It helps us to understand our player’s perspective and improve our product with every release.
Help me understand this – I’m level 42 at the moment. By my calculations, I have about 340000 XP and the new level 42 is 118500 so I have 221500 XP ‘banked’. That should ride out all the way to level 100, theoretically (?) because level 100 is 591000 – 118500 = 472500 XP needed from new level 42. 20% is 94500 XP which is what will be used from the bank.
So I’m essentially getting shafted because I can only utilize less than half of my banked XP? Am I calculating this wrong?
Yeah strange to me that I have to earn the level that my points should already be at. If I have enough points for level 80, which I do, then put me at level 80. “We want them to enjoy leveling again and earning XP for a reason.” I’ll enjoy getting the cool new unlocks. It’ll be like Christmas. Oh wait. It is December. I’ll enjoy being at level 80 and seeing what I unlocked and then getting to continue to unlock to 100. Weird that I’m not at the level that I have earned under the new system.
Same story here, I’m assuming once we are level 50 the double speed stuff applies? I don’t quite get it or how to calculate.
So I did some calculations.
right now I have 364,000 xp at level 43, on the new scheme it would be level 78.
so I get 20% discount for the next levels. With all the xp I have that would get me to 1,326,000; useless.
so I assume I will be getting double xp boost once I reached level 50, I would have 161,000 “official” xp. And used 7,500 of my “old” xp (161,00-123,500=37,500; 20% is 7,500xp). Being level 50 then, I would receive double xp and 20% off, which is basically a 70% off per level I have to earn. With my 233,000 xp left banked (364,000-123,500-7,500) being 70% of each level I would need to accumulate another 99,857 xp to have the banked xp used up. In total I would then be having 493,857xp which would be level 91.
in the end, I feel that it does not make too much sense and I am missing something here…
In theory, your unused bank could hang around and be applied the next time the level cap is raised! There seems to be precedent for that.
Thanks for the reply Brian. Mostly I’d agree those are decisions for you to make on how to make things work for most users.
Again though, just now you are having to do an extra layer of work to make that “acceleration” patch for folk that have gone above level 60 before higher levels were in place, and by putting in a new fixed 100 limit it just seems to be guaranteeing that the same situation will come up again in the future, unless you raise the levels as soon as the first person hits 100.
If the level just rolled on upwards then I’d suspect most of the high mileage folk would be happy enough, even if no unlocks or other features were ready and in place when they hit landmarks. Seems cleaner than the patching that’s happened these last 2 times.
I appreciate you taking the time to come here and speak directly with users.
We know the majority of riders are not at the max level, but it would not be hard to make it so that this update included the max levels riders and made sense for them. They are going to max out again in a while, and more people are going to hit the now lower max. Another way to let the hardcore riders enjoy leveling again would be to add levels above the current xp max. The solution of having max level users just get a bunch of drops over and over again is also useless as they will have more drops than they can use.
id argue the people in the lvl 60+ camp genuinely dont care in the slightest what level they are. the people riding or racing that much arent in it because they wanna hit the level cap, theyre in it because they wanna get faster for racing irl or they wanna stay in shape as a motivation. personally i dont see any sort of leveling system as a motivation to get on the bike. not when the levels are now even more meaningless then before with them being easier to obtain overall. if you were lvl 60 before it was a oh heck thats a lot of riding. now lvl 60 is now over 500k less experience to get to? this made the levels less of an achievement and more of a participation.
Unfortunately your argument isn’t going to make it out of the station. Level 60 camp here. I definitely do care about levels. When I’m not feeling it, I just drag my ass onto the bike and tell myself just do a few laps with coco, it’ll get you a little closer to the next highest level. Consistent efforts are important, not going all out every day. When I hit level 60 that little push was no longer there, so I told myself “at least you are banking xp, hopefully someday it’ll be useful”. I don’t race IRL. When I race in zwift my only goal is to make it to the end in the lead group (I’m bollocks at sprinting.)
Yea I get your guys logic. But nonetheless at level 48 I feel penalized
So, what’s in this for the old timers? There’s getting less and less for us to be interested in other than riding. Don’t need another kit I’ll never wear, have all the bikes and wheels I’ll ever need. Drops meaningless, now XP’s seem meaningless. Thanks for thinking about the people who have supported you the longest!
I agree too. Those of us who have done the time to reach the higher levels are being penalized and lower level and newbies are being rewarded. They will reach my level so much quicker with so much less effort.
But “new” level 30 is no longer the same as “old” level 30, so the newbies are not reaching your level any quicker. That is like saying that when a country devalues its currency, some people become millionaires quicker than those who had done so already. Yes they achieve £1m, but it no longer has the same value and so is not the same.
At the end of the day, we all need a reason to ride. Whether we are a notional level 43, or a notional level 83 does not matter – it is what is ahead of us that provides the motivation.
No. Someone who currently has enough XP to be level 100, now has to ride for another year to hit level 100. Someone starting today needs much less XP to hit 100 then someone who started many years ago. Hence penalized.
OK, there is that issue for level 100, since everyone would top out at that level even though old level 60 would be around level 115 on the new scale and anyone who is currently above level 54 has to ride further than level 100 to get to level 100.
They should really create levels beyond 100 so that those with huge XP balances can continue accelerated levelling up until their full credit of XP is used up. That way, it all works out in the end.
But that’s not true. The one who is starting today has to accumulate 591,000 XP to get to lvl 100, you have to do less, depending on the lvl you are right now. If you are lvl 50 you are 161,000 XP already ahead, meaning you have to accumulate 430,000 XP. In addition you get a 20% discount, so you “only” have to accumulate 344,000 XP. Thats 247,000 less then anyone starting today would need to accumulate.
Sure, you are having 500,000 XP accumulated already, but that’s to the idea of being able to level up. From my point of view, I don’t see why we don’t get the double XP per km all the way until the “banked XP” are used up, but well, zwift decided otherwise.
And it’s not like you loose the earned XP in some way. I wouldn’t bet against another raise of lvl number in the future, and then the XP come in handy.
“Sure, you are having 500,000 XP accumulated already” <– you're argument only make sense if you ignore the 500,000 XP already accumulated, which is the whole crux of the thing. I've put in a ton of time to earn that, and now it barely means anything at all? All they had to do was add on a few more levels that go above the old level 60 XP cap and all the people at level 60 could still continue to level up without getting this penalty. But instead they created this weird backwards system.
If they are making a change to the XP system now that depends on _another_ change being made to the XP system in a year, why not make that change right now? Instead of having things make no sense for a year?
oh at my age there is not much that is ahead of me anymore. Unless you include Wed Bingo and Lawrence Welk Marathon Friday nights
Agreed. What’s next, Tron bike for doing 100 feet of elevation gain?
you made a funi
Are the numbers in the table correct??
Yes.
Thanks! Yeah I understood that after cross checking over at the forum. Still doesn’t make sense though… This is inflation. When you flood the system with money, the value goes down.
yeap. this is silly and unfair towards those that earned level 60 “the hard way”. I wanted a new challenge..this is not it.
meh. WELL GET eXcItEd! Switch back and forth between caps and lowercase or a million other ways to make lemonade outa lemons and create that challenge for yourself. How fast can you reach 100? Can you be the first kid on your block, or in my case at the nursing home, to reach 100? Playfulness works!
Well all is fine and dandy, except my 66 year old sister joined on the old standard Aug ’22 and is on level 50 (old version). She has hit all the Watopia badges and has hit all the elevation gimmicks and averages 160 watts generally, FTP 226. Doesn’t seem to bother her in any way old or new. She will be on level 100 by the end of ’24. She’s a warhorse. Just ride.
People don’t like getting stuck at the max level. So they increased the number of levels, but reduced the amount of XP required to get to the top.
Yeah, the level sunk, just the graduation is finer. At the moment its hard for me to reach the next level, thus something to be proud of. With the new levels I get one level per week instead of 3-4 weeks. Thats not motivating, just routine.
I can’t get my head around the leveling up requirement. I’m level 60 and have about 1.5 million rider points. So double what I need to get to level 100…but it’s so going to take me 8 months to get from 60 to 100? 😂😂 I’m not bothered as I actually find the leveling up motivating. Just seems a bit harsh though!
Zwift wants all riders to be motivated to ride. They could have accelerated things more, sure… but then you would have just hit level 100 faster, then been stuck there. I like the longer wait time!
But like, these dedicated riders are just going to hit 100 in a year like you say, and the xp needed to get to 100 is now lower, so they’ve made the problem worse (more people hitting the max), but kicked the can down the road 1 year. Seems very weird choice. (No, getting more drops at level 100 over and over again isn’t an answer, no one at level 100 needs drops, they are meaningless at that point.) Unless they plan to add more levels before that year is up? But then why not just add those now? Very puzzling right now.
Doesnt the dropps gain at level 100 just mean that no one will be stacking xp anymore when they reach that level 100. So we all use out stacked xp now to get there but wont make new stacked xp piles. So when they eventually give us more levels everyone has to ride without any stacked xp or discounts.
If that’s true than that’s even worse! No one at level 100 needs any drops (they could buy every best bike a long time ago). So if that is true then it means all the riding done at the max level won’t count for anything, not even potential future levels, massively decreasing motivation.
They demotivated me with this change. I will try different platforms when my current payments period ends.
Nobody can demotivate you without your permission. It is and always was within you. Go there and be unstoppable.
I’d definitely be bothered and am bothered that as a Level 44 I have to work more to get to where I should already be at at Level 80.
Dude, just ride
Absolutely most perfect and underrated comment on entire thread by Kaowin!
Strange dilemma. We will now level up even faster and easier than before although many complains that garage is overloaded and/or unlocks are actually no motivation anymore.
Wow. That is a lot of change and a a lot of work to try and explain it all.
Thanks once again for your continued efforts.
Looking forward to getting the update
Massive release, crazy
Yes! Get rid of and/or favorite items in the garage. I’d love to have a garage sale personally.
Some funky other items in drop shop would be awesome. Maybe Panniers or an add on wicker basket with flowers for the front. Maybe even dogs chasing us if we have a paperboy satchel (memories from my childhood, LOL).
i still want a beer keg and pizzas for the rack on my buffalo bike
Agree with need for garage management – would love to be able to choose ‘hill bike’ or ‘race bike’ and have saved frame / wheel set auto load (even better would be to add favorite kits as well
Unless I am doing something wrong, I’d like to see frames that are painted have their colors stored. Every time I change frames, I have to re-spray my Canondale….
Now that level 100 takes less xp than my current level 60 I want a retro level 60 Badge! Need more badges!
That would have been good. The original beta test riders in the very early Zwift days were given Zipp disc wheels as a thank you and a well done. Would have been nice to get a similar sort of achievement. The problem is what benefit is worth having? Badges are largely pointless. Equipment is also pointless as they’re a large chance you wouldn’t use it.
Beta riders also get an absolutely ugly retro Zwift jersey with the old logo.
Easier level up is not good imo! I worked hard to get to level 60 lol! Now it’s the easy way mentality ! One level up for you, one for you too! 😆
I had way more than double the points to get to 60. This new way of doing things will give me one winter of leaving up and then after it a larger percentage of people will be 100 than they are at 60. This is Zwift getting the bottom feeders happy rather than rewarding the riders who have ridden more.
Agree except for the use of “bottom feeders” here, which is unnecessarily pejorative.
Bottom feeders? Glad you aren’t running things
Thanks for this update. This is the level of detail that many of us were looking for, but didn’t receive in the latest update from the Zwift team. All I can say is that I am glad that I rigorously researched and purchased all of my desired bikes and wheels from the dropshop as soon as I hit the various required levels. Several of the better items in the shop now look to be considerably more expensive in some cases. Overall, though this new setup looks to be much better from the standpoint of reducing the amount of time it takes to level up.
Will be good to have a point in XP for more experienced Zwifters.
The Felt bikes look under levelled given their performance.
Drops are likely to build, maybe we could spend them on personalizing the Zwift world, paying towards an IRL discount on level dependent IRL t-shirt, buy an individual tailored training plan (AI generated?) or pay for guest to use your account a few times a year without affecting your data.
So with the old system, I’m level 48 with >460.000XP. So will I be level 88 once I get the update?
No. Read “accelerated leveling” section above.
I’m glad I got the DT Swiss ARC 1100 DiCut 62 and Cannondale EVO when I did, otherwise it would be a long wait for my favorite climbing rig.
I’d just paid out for a few things which are dropping massively BUT I picked up the Venge and Cadex Tri last night once reading this before my app updates and the cost shoots up! 😛
Locked on this morning to do this – the update was there but I clicked “Update later” and went to the drop shop to buy the Roval Alpinists under the old cheap price.
Still pondering whether to get the Speedmax Disc before I let it update, but I never use a TT so not sure it is worth bothering.
Glad I read this. I haven’t gotten the update yet. So I just bought the Speedmax CR SLX Disc before the price went up and I had to wait another 5 levels.
Same here. Saw the change in level and price and had enough drops, so bought the frame before the update is released.
Not a fan. At all. (other than increasing the level cap). Hope it grows on me.
Help somebody please tell me what Xp, levels and drops give me I have literally no idea apart from that I can buy stuff from the drop shop but don’t see what advantage that gives me either! Why would I?, does anyone want my millions of drops?
XP leads to increased levels which lead to unlocking things in the drop shop on which you then spend your drops – there are tiny performance advantages when it comes to the more expensive bikes and wheels but the main advantage is increasing the self-perceived coolness/uniqueness of your avatar – if wearing a newsboy cap and crochet gloves and retro Oakleys while riding a Buffalo bike with a disc wheel and wearing a La Z Claire jersey doesn’t do it for you, then we can’t help you. Except….fire socks. You can’t tell me you don’t want some fire socks.
I don’t want fire socks. They tell the people I’m racing when I’m putting in an effort. Tron bike getting brighter does the same thing. I’d rather my opponents not know (not that I can make a strong enough move that they can’t counter 99% of the time).
True, BUT… if you can attack with firesocks and win the day, that’s the ultimate boss move! 😀
IF you can pull it off that is definitely something (second only to winning on the buffalo bike with disk wheels, maybe). Haven’t bothered using them yet. After last year in ZRL on the Champs de Elysee, shortly after the fire socks came out, when a teammate saw an opponent who had hit the ghost in an attempt for FAL on the sprint segment give himself away by “pulling a back to the future” and leaving a fire trail while invisible, I’m a bit leery.
Level unlocks also give you access to different routes. For example, the Southern Coast routes are level 10+.
Just got to level 18 and just missing those last drops to acquire the Specialized Shiv Disc. Thanks for the warning, Zwift … Now I have to wait to lvl 37.
I’m in exactly the same boat–I got sick last week and couldn’t earn the drops to buy the Shiv for my ZRL scratch race yesterday, now it’s going to be a nice, long slog to get to it at L37
So of I understand correctly, even though a current level 59 rider has more XP than new level 100 requires, they dont get ‘double xp’. So in your example, he would need to ride 16 months to reach level 100, but a rider who just reached level 60 only needs 8? Can you clarify, Eric?
The person who “just reached” level 60 doesn’t have much if any accumulated excess XP, so they won’t be doubling for very long at all. I think the example is for someone who hit 60 a while ago and has a LOT of excess XP to be doled out in the form of doubling…?
Wade is correct. Nobody is getting free XP here… Zwift is just using XP you’ve already earned to accelerate you through levels in different ways.
Those of us in the 50s with banked points from when 50 was the max may miss out on the points doubling? Kinda hope Zwift were aware of this group in setting up the new scheme :).
Also a bit confused, but it’ll no doubt become clearer as time goes on. I’m currently around 1.56 million exp and level 52. Banked a lot when level 50 was the max, and have been unable to ride much since then.
An objective the new scheme doesn’t seem to address at all is that there be some correlation between total exp and level. At this point there seems to be very little, considering the population of current users (as opposed to new users). That could potentially make levels more… meaningful?
Beating this to death! If the criteria for doubling is “excess xp” rather than being specific to a level, then it kinda makes sense. That could be the case for, at least, anyone 50 plus. Then again, maybe everyone is in this boat with the newly lowered requirements… But, it goes how it goes.
From the Zwift forum post, states 2x exp happens at 50+:
“3x Chevrons means you have been at level 50+ and have earned XP above and beyond the requirement for that level.”
You’d think. I apparently am getting no level speed up at all. No icon, no chevrons, same image with level 54 will be when I reach 580,000 (I’m 393 xp away)
This doesn’t seem to work for me as described. I was at level 59 when the switch happened, with almost 749,000 points. So I should have a large amount of points banked to trigger the “double XP” per mile. But I only have 2 chevrons and I’m only getting the level discount. I’ve since hit level 60 but nothing changed. (I just noticed that “M H” had a similar question above.) Any idea if the double XP will ever kick in for me?
Since u were not Level 60 when the switch happened u dont get Double XP and it will not change after u hit Level 60 now. Btw, I was hoping the same like you, but im at Level 61 right now and didnt get double XP.
It’s possible to get double XP even if you were just at level 50. All depends on how much “banked” XP you had saved up.
You don’t get double XP because you don’t have extra XP banked. 750k is what you need in order to hit level 60, so you don’t have extra XP sitting around.
Now, if you had hit level 60 then kept earning XP… you’d have extra. Or even if you’d hit level 50, before there was a level 60, and banked a bunch of XP while sitting at level 50… you might have extra sitting around to apply to double XP.
Thanks Eric. Comprehensive as always.
Could someone point out the error in my maths and understanding, please?
A level 47 rider is currently on around 440,000 XP
That’s 310,000 from the current 750,000 XP max.
Under the new system, their new level 47 status equates to 144,500 XP
That’s 446,500 XP from the new 591,000 XP max.
Good news! The rider only needs to gain 80% of what’s needed for every level. Zwift chips in the remaining 20% via accelerated levelling.
Major bad news! That still leaves the level 47 rider needing to earn 357,000 XP to reach the max level.
So the Christmas gift from Zwift is to leave this rider needing 47,000 XP more than they previously did to reach the max level.
I’m sure I’ve got the wrong end of the stick, because otherwise losing 2/3rds of your XP and needing another 50,000 XP more than before to reach the max level might feel pretty disheartening.
What have I missed?
The max level is much higher now though, as in 100 is higher than 60. Think of as if you only need 47,000 XP now to get from level 60-100. If they just added on 40 levels you’d have still had to get 310,000 XP to get to 60 then another 1.2m XP at least to get to 100.
Is the NEW bike for the California challenge the Specialized Venge S-Works? Or is there a difference version?
Nevermind, I see that indeed there are 2 bikes
The ‘new’ black one is a lot more pretty though 😉
It seems like at higher levels the surplus XP earmarked for the level discounts would never be exhausted – is it really the case that anyone above a certain level will be in a 20% discount mode all the way to level 100? The example on the zwift forum doesn’t seem consistent with that (it shows someone on an accelerated path from 56 ending at 95). Here’s what I mean, based off of your level 20 example in the article – at level 44 I have ~389K xp, which is ~260K more than required for New level 44. 20% of the difference between new 100 and new 45 is (591-129)*.2 or about 92K in discount-eligible XP. Way less than my 260K surplus. So am I really going to be in discount mode “forever” (ie until 100)? And still have 170K never-used surplus XP at level 100? I feel like something is off with the idea that your surplus XP is going to be directly used to fund for the discounts. I must be missing something. The forum says “up to 20%”, and the calculation above of the level at which the transition ends doesn’t hold up.
Interesting changes! I’d really like to see the implementation of “loadouts” selections of multiple items I want to equip at the same time with associated labels. So at a minimum, a “road loadout”, “gravel loadout”, “dirt loadout”, “TT loadout”, “climbing loadout”. Maybe also like 5 slots for matching kits, so if I want to look blue one day, I don’t have to go and change every individual thing manually.
I also think Zwift *needs* a quick indication of the road surfaces in a given route before you jump into it. Could be like a slider with 100% road on the left, 100% dirt on the right, and a slider in between to help the rider choose the appropriate bike/wheels. It could even recommend which “loadout” to use.
easier to get drops, easier to level up. stuff costs less to buy.
Everyone truly gets a participation trophy these days don’t they?
lol. Yup even in the virtual world….
Waiting for the Tron bike requirement to drop to 100 feet of elevation gain.
Whoever has the Drops should buy Cannodale EVO and the Uranium asap, as their prices really will go up, once the update is loaded. These bikes are the second best climber and the fastest aero bike respectively, and were real bargains. My favorite allrounder, the Scott Addict RC, will have a big Price drop, which makes it the new best buy at Level 17. The new Canyon Aeroad if you like.
Did exactly that after reading, before the game updated. Been thinking of getting both those bikes 😀
Please check my math but something doesn’t add up!
I’m currently on Level 34 having earned 220,000 XP
Under the new system, L34 only requires 82,000
So I have a bank balance of 138,000 spare XP
To get to level 100 I need and extra 591,000-82,000 = 509,000
20% discount on 509,000 is only 101,800
This leaves a spare 138,000-101800 = 36,200 in my bank
My discount would need to be greater than 27% in order for it to be at NIL
by the time I reach Level 100.
20% is not enough!
That seems to be how it works. They need to add more levels before people start hitting Level 100 so that everyone’s accumulated balance can be used up in full and people get full credit for their efforts – otherwise there will need to be another accelerated levelling up when they next add more levels.
I have faith that they will add more levels before anyone reaches 100, but why not do it now so that we can see that is how it will work?
Or another way to think about it, as we’re at the same level, you don’t have to accrue 30,000 xp more to make level 36. you’ll be there in like half the time it would take to get to level 35. complete a couple of the longer new routes and you’ll be there in a couple of weeks.
If you hadn’t hit level 60 pre-change, I don’t know how you are losing anything. And if you were at 60, you obviously had other motivators besides different striped jerseys.
I see nothing different on my apps. Do I need to
do anything?
I expect it is the usual phased roll out. First thing you should do is work out whether you should be using your drops to buy anything before the change. If the update is there for you when you next log in, you can use the “update later” option at log in to hold off the update until you have bought what you want under the current/old pricing.
good. call what is a must buy with the drops?
Depends what you already have! I bought the Roval Alpinists as they will get a lot more expensive and also will be made out of reach for my current level.
Others which are cheap under the old pricing are:
DT Swiss ARC 1100 DiCut 62s
Canyon Aeroad 2021
Cannondale EVO
S-Works Venge
Cervelo S5 2020
Canyon Speedmax Disc.
I’m a fan – as somebody who rides a lot of zwift 4-6 months out of the year but mostly alone and mostly climbing (and who has done all the routes) the level progression after level 40 (3-4 per year at most) was a little depressing so I had to deliberately ignore it.
Didnt see my Zwift safety bike no the list, hope i still have it after the update. ℹ spend a lot of drops and looks very cool!!!!
It’s still there, Zwift just didn’t list it since they didn’t change the price or level unlock, apparently.
They did change the Wheels though. You can not buy them seperatly anymore.
Now the question is if we have to buy them seperate after unlocking the frame or that they are locked to the frame and cant be used on other frames …
My safety bike now auto equips the safety wheels. The safety wheels are the only wheels available for that bike. No longer can I ride the safety bike with my disk wheel. 🙂
It’s a bug. It’ll be fixed soon.
I sure have a hard time figuring out how to know what level I’m accelerated to.
I’m currently at level 42. The Pause screen says I’ll be accelerated to level 97.
I can’t see how that math works.
Can someone help me understand?
What I thought was that since there are game elements anyway, it is possible to pull an actual pack, and also, since high level players have a certain level of skill. Even if there is a fence and sweepers, the sweeper is not of much help..
When using any item, that like a kind of tron or fire socks. an aero booster or a draft van will be provided for about a few seconds within a few meters around him. It would be nice to have. That can be used once or twice per hour. some kind of buff!
To add to What’s Next, allow Zwifters to sell old equipment back at a lower resale value.
If the Cervelo S5 2020 was originally purchased for 852,000 drops, allow resale back to Zwift at a depreciated value; for example, 596,400 or 70% of original value.
A Zwifter gets some Drops back and also tidies up his/her Garage
Love the improvements. Hope they can now adjust the levels for runners beyond the current paltry 30 …!
Just got enough drops to purchase the Cadex tri yesterday. I now see the price goes up to 1.500.000. So i rushed up to purchase him now before the update. 😁
I want a customizable HUD to get rid of the XP/level bar and only see my HR/Watts for training. The new level system is no motivation anymore. With the 20% I will make 5 levels per month at the moment, thats a joke, not an achievement.
I wish I could see my current amount of XP and XP to next level outside of the pause screen. Like the Zwift homescreen, Zwift feed webpage and the Companion app.
when are the pedals coming to the bikes?
Zoon.
Seems a bit odd not to have addressed the Challenges issue at the same time. All challenges will be history long before riders get to the higher levels.
Agreed.
“What do we want?”
“A 4TH CHALLENGE!”
“When do we want it?”
“NOW!”
😀
Eric – great detailed article – thank you for taking the time to explain. I do have a query though – similar to that asked by a few others already:
I’m on level 48 with ~470,000 XP. New level 48 requires 150,000 so I have about 470,000 – 150,000 = 320,000 XP in the bank. Now to get from new level 48 to 100 requires 591,000 – 150,000 = 441,000 XP; 20% of this is 88,200 (i.e. considerably les than I have banked), meaning the example in the main text implies I’ll get discounted all the way to level 100 and still have 320,000 – 88,200 = 231,800 in the “bank”.
Is this correct and do I benefit in any way from that unused banked 231,800?
To put the question more generally: For those below level 60 that have XP over and above that required for the 20% discount to take them all the way to level 100, (how / ) do they benefit from that extra unused XP?
This reiterates my point exactly. And to add insult to injury, I’ve just logged on and my little progress rider is going to be pulling a wheely only up to level 96 and not all the way to 100 – even though my bank of spare XP will not have been fully used up.
I just checked I’m old level 54 this should be new level 99. And after checking Zwift I only get 20% discount till level 98? ?!?!
I assume (hope) that they will add further levels before people start hitting 100, so that everyone gets a chance to use up their banked X.
Thanks for the info @eric Schlang. Let’s see if I got this right. Yesterday I arrive to level 41 with 330006 points. So when I update I will be in level 41 with 113500, and the 216506 in excess will be saved for accelerated leveling. Now for reachin 42 I need 5000 XP,, 1000 XP (20%) come from my “savings” and 400 will be from riding 200 km for example. This will leave 215506 XP points left. Fron 42 to 43 also 5000 XP are neeede, 1000 from savings and 4000 from riding, and so on.
What happens if I reached level 60 and I still have XP saved, will I be continue to have only the 20%, or will I have the double XP as well?
With you on the all dropped up and no where to go Eric – tens of millions of drops with nothing worthwhile to spend them on 🤷♂️
Either there is a bug that I’ve been dealing with using ATV (likely) or Eric’s table is incorrect (unlikely) but I’m currently a level 59 with 754,880 XP with approximately 5,000 XP to go to get level 60. According to the table, I should have already reached level 60. Anyone know how that will be reconciled?
Probably you had XP banked when stuck at level 50, and are on the accelerated plan to get to 60.
I would agree with you but still only showing 20 XP/km and there is no arrow indication from 59 to 60. However, thank you for confirming the total XP for level 60. That isolates the issue to me.
Makes no sense to me at all. I would have left the current leveling up structure and actually made it more difficult to progress beyond 60. Gives people a longer, more challenging and IMO motivating path upward. I’ve been at 60 for… A long time. All said, with 36 million points sitting there it’s clear I’m not going anywhere and am not the rider Zwift is trying to manage. I’m just not sure the revised structure is going to create more of “me” (long term paying, loyal Zwift users) and that should be their main goal as a company.
No more humble bragging about Zwift level then! That’s OK.
Lots of work for ZI to get stuff updated/current but I guess that’ll make you even more of a must-visit resource — thanks in advance for the efforts.
Hi Eric, can you confirm that the performances (for frames & wheels) at Tempus & Alpe are still the same ?
Because I wonder that 2 top bikes are now already available at Lvl 16&17 … and all good wheels have higher levels
Performance hasn’t changed. See https://zwiftinsider.com/fastest-bikes-at-each-level/
Many thanks Eric … also for the long and detailed post
I feel like we need a quick summary of “what’s worth getting before the update rolls out to you” vs “yeah just wait” could be useful. Hell it even makes the “defer update” button they added worth using now 😉
I was saving up for the DT Swiss Disc wheel, and was only about 100,000 drops off, so a price reduction is fine, but my poor mate who’s only about level 8 is buggered when it comes to getting wheels/frames.
I get revamping the bike levels in principle though, a lot of the time I’d just get a great bike/wheel combo like the Aeroad/DT Swiss at level 10 and just use that for the next 20 levels until I got a better combo and ignored everything in between. To be fair that would also be the only way I could afford the next bike 20 levels later but still.
If the desire is to encourage more drop shop usage, it really does need an overhaul of the garage UI first. I counted and the 28 bikes I have are already a nightmare to manage, the scroll bar bugs out and is generally clunky. They could easily implement a UI that mirrors the shop and lets you navigate by brand, then once favourites are implemented you can just add that as another screen in the “brands” section.
Though I don’t think this solves the problem of having loads of bikes I just don’t use anymore, it just means I have more bikes that I used previously and don’t now.
Borrowing from racing video games, you do a couple of different things to encourage shaking things up though. Whether it’s weekly challenges around doing specific segments/routes on specific bikes for bonus XP, drops or badges, or introducing some sort of classification limits for bikes in events, either as a hard limit or a handicap system.
For a hard limit, you could do something like “this race requires your bike/wheel combo has a total less than 9 stars” so do you go for a aero 3, weight 4 frame and 1/1 wheels? or because it’s hilly go 1/4, 1/3 for the lightness?)
For a handicap system you could award bonus drops/xp for riding a slower bike, of course it would require races to award one of those as a prize first. Could do something like “this race is worth 400xp in distance, the winner gets a bonus 400xp. Then every second behind them you lose 1xp normally” and have the handicap system increase the decay time by 10% per star under a target rating or something
I really wish Zwift would implement some kind of IRL application for drops. Once you get certain frames / wheels, drops become pretty much useless. It would be awesome if I could cash in drops for a discount on the Zwift website to purchase some gear. Seems like a no-brainer…
Levelling up stopped motivating me when I got to about level 30, after which it’s happened so rarely that it’s stopped being relevant for me.
This change brings it back to happening regularly enough to make it a motivation again and I reckon most Zwifters will ride less than me, so it makes sense that it’s now better for most people.
I don’t care about discount rates or an arbitrary level number – I just want motivation to ride, and this seems to give me that better than the old system.
I completely understand the reasoning behind the level up…. KEEP NEW ZWIFTERS ENGAGED!!, And hopefully retain their “subscription “. I remember it sucked having to accumulate X amount of XP to level up, the levels never seemed to come quick enough. I guess for most of us “vets”, it does not matter, we already surpassed the “zwift Master Ninja Jedi” status. And have our “TRON” and other goto gear in the garage..
New Zwifters will get 1-2 levels per ride. That’s inflation, not engaging. A goal reached with no effort is value- and meaningless, isn’t it?
I agree. Zwift as a business will do what it can to generate and or maintain membership., thus it’s “give away” time…. As a Vet, it is no longer about the trinkets.