History Main / NonCombatEXP

[[folder:Fan works]]

* In ''VideoGame/NoUmbrellasAllowed'', there are three stats you can increase for Darcy's shop: Wittiness, Expertness, and Attractiveness, which are represented by percentages. Wittiness increases the suggested price for recommending items, Expertness boosts the positive price effects of cards and removes negative effects, and Attractiveness makes customers more patient with you. These stats are increased by recommending high-quality items, avoiding mistakes in appraisal, and being kind to your customers, respectively.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Quest 64}}'', while you gain HP, MP, and defense by performing tasks in battle, you gain agility by walking. Including running around in circles for hours.

* The ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory'' saga lacks experience levels, the skills are improved by performing them.
* Besides an initial PointBuildSystem, both attributes and skills in ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' are increased only by using them and each action has one or more attributes and sometimes a skill tied to it. This means while you can only raise combat ''skill'' by fighting conscious opponents, you can improve physical and mental ability by doing things like sharping rocks, swimming a lot, walking on crutches (even if you don't need to), and sneaking around (even if there's nobody around to hide from). It works the same in Fortress Mode (which has many more non-combat skills usable), but since that's a SpaceManagementGame rather than an RPG it's not exactly this trope.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManXDiVE'', experience is only earned by completing a stage. Doesn't matter how many enemies you kill.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'', since version 1.3 you can gain experience from mining and smelting -- specifically, you get experience for mining anything that drops a usable block (diamond, coal, redstone, lapis lazuli, emerald) and experience for smelting raw blocks (iron, gold) into usable blocks (iron ingots, gold ingots). Breeding animals also nets experience, as well as trading with Villagers as of the 1.8 update.

* ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternity'', being a SpiritualSuccessor to ''BG'', follows suit: you get (small) amounts of XP for picking locks and disabling traps and substantial boosts for completing quests. Even the "combat EXP" is given not for killing enemies, but for completing the MonsterCompendium: every monster entry is worth a finite XP total, which you gain in chunks every time you kill a monster of that type. The size of these chunks depends on how many you must defeat to complete their entry, at which point you [[AntiGrinding no longer gain any XP from fighting them]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' series:
** Building a Barracks in a city generally gives each land unit built in that city one additional level of experience; before ''Civilization IV'', all units operated on a single general "experience" system, but afterwards this gave a certain number of experience points that could be used to "buy" promotions for that unit, allowing the unit to get stronger or (most often) to specialize in something like fighting against infantry or being a medic.
** Different games may have additional things that would allow units to be built with free experience points from the beginning, ranging from "traits" of the civilization itself to additional buildings.
** Scout units, which are weaker than other classes and thus have a harder time gaining experience through direct fighting, can also gain experience by scouting around the map and claiming tribal villages. ''V'' and ''VI'' introduce natural wonders that can be discovered, which if done so by a scout unit also grants experience.

* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'' awards EXP for reporting a completed mission or quest. ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyVBeyondTheMyth'' and ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyNexus'' also have "Adventrer's Log" field events that will also grant EXP even if the event doesn't result in any combat.

* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'' awards EXP for reporting a completed mission or quest. ''Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth'' also has "Adventrer's Log" field events that will also grant EXP even if the event doesn't result in any combat.

* ''TabletopGame/ArsMagica'' awards XP for adventuring, but also for practice, one-on-one training, taking lessons, studying {{Spell Book}}s, testing {{Mana}} in the lab, and simple exposure to the skill of interest. Given the scholarly nature of most mages, a good teacher or well-written book is usually a better way to learn than picking fights, even if they're learning to fight.

* Basic Roleplaying and its descendants (Call of Cthulhu and Runequest being the most famous) doesn't have experience points. Instead they have a system where you get a chance to increase a skill if you used it. Realistic in that you get better at doing stuff by actually doing it, unrealistic in the amount of increase a single use can get and unrealistic in that it causes player to use skills for little or no reason other than to increase it.

* The ''TabletopGame/WorldOfDarkness'' series, being a storytelling system, mainly grants EXP through non-combat means. One point for showing up, one point if the character learned something, and so on. EXP can be gained through combat, though it's not the primary method.

* In the ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' series, building a Barracks in a city generally gives each land unit built in that city one additional level of experience; before ''Civilization IV'', all units operated on a single general "experience" system, but afterwards this gave a certain number of experience points that could be used to "buy" promotions for that unit, allowing the unit to get stronger or (most often) to specialize in something like fighting against infantry or being a medic. Also, different games have additional things that would allow units to be built with free experience points from the beginning, ranging from "traits" of the civilization itself to additional buildings.

* Spoofed in ''Webcomic/CultureShock'' in [[http://www.drunkduck.com/Culture_Shock/4797330/ this strip]] - You can get EXP for quite literally anything - kicking trash cans, beating up {{nerd}}s, popping bubble wrap, opening bags of chips, and using the restroom, among others.

* The video game franchise ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'' utilizes this mechanic in its games. Instead of a class or level system, the core mechanics are an attribute system and a skill system. Players gain more powerful at their skills by using them repeatedly.

*** [[InvertedTrope Conversely]], ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Emerald]]'' and onwards have special berries that have the opposite effect of the vitamins: they ''remove'' 10 effort values from a stat, which is useful if you want to redistribute their points. The Reset Bag item in ''X and Y'''s "Super Training" mode and the "Lady Clear" NPC in ''Sword and Shield'', do the same.

** Every Pokémon has a limit of 510 total "effort value" points they can receive that raises their base stats, with the cap for any given stat being 255. Gaining [=EVs=] is usually done by battling, but vitamins, which include HP Up, Protein, Iron, Calcium, Zinc and Carbos, are (expensive) purchasable items which add 10 Effort Values to a Pokémon's HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense or Speed, respectively, up to a maximum of 100 [=EVs=]. ''X and Y'' onwards have additional methods to improve your Pokémon's [=EVs=] outside of battle, ranging from playing minigames to ''enrolling them in specialized university classes''.

** One method that has existed since [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue the first set of games]] is Pokémon Daycare. Just drop one or two of your Pokémon off with a kind elderly couple (or their grandkids), and they'll gain EXP just from you walking and biking around the overworld. Similarly, ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' onwards would start having activities that you can have the ''dozens'' of Pokémon sitting in the PC do passively in the background to earn EXP while you're running around, or even while you aren't playing the game, from exploring caves to helping out local businesses.
*** While still related to the battle system, starting in ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'', catching Pokémon still grants you EXP, meaning don't have to give even a single attack command (well, if you don't want to improve your chances of a successful catch, anyway).
** Vitamins, which include HP Up, Protein, Iron, Calcium, Zinc and Carbos, which add 10 Effort Values to a Pokémon's HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense or Speed, respectively, up to a maximum of 100.[[note]]Every Pokémon has a limit of 510 total EV points they can receive, with the cap for any given stat being 255.[[/note]] These can often be bought in Department Stores or through special [=NPCs=], though they can still be found in the wild. ''X and Y'' onwards have methods to improve your Pokémon's EV levels outside of battle, ranging from playing minigames to ''enrolling them in specialized university classes''.
*** [[InvertedTrope Conversely]], ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Emerald]]'' and beyond have special Berries that have the opposite effect of the vitamins: they ''remove'' 10 effort values from that stat, freeing the Pokémon up to earn them in other stats.

** One method that has existed since [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue the first set of games]] is Pokémon Daycare. Just drop one or two of your Pokémon off with a kind elderly couple (or their grandkids), and they'll gain EXP just from you ''walking and biking around the overworld''. Similarly, ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' onwards would start having activities that you can have the ''dozens'' of Pokémon sitting in the PC do passively in the background to earn EXP while you're running around, or even while you aren't playing the game, from exploring caves to helping out local businesses.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' changed the combat system so you no longer have to defeat an enemy to gain EXP. You can simply catch them instead. The game also introduced tasks to improve your Pokémon's EV levels outside of battle, which would likewise become a franchise mainstay. These range from playing minigames with them to raise their attack or speed stats, to ''enrolling them in specialized university classes''.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' changed the combat system so you no longer have to defeat an enemy to gain EXP. You can simply catch them instead. The game also introduced tasks to improve your Pokémon's EV levels outside of battle, which would likewise become a franchise mainstay. This ranges from playing minigames with them to ''enrolling them in specialized university classes''.

** In regards to overall levels, the mainline games have a few examples. One method that has existed since [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue the first set of games]] is Pokémon Daycare. Just drop one or two of your Pokémon off with a kind elderly couple (or their grandkids), and they'll gain EXP just from you ''walking and biking around the overworld''. Similarly, ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' onwards would also start having activities that you can have the ''dozens'' of Pokémon sitting in the PC do passively in the background to earn EXP while you're running around, or even while you aren't playing the game, from exploring caves to helping out local businesses. Finally, Pokémon can earn small amounts of EXP in ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'' from collecting minerals and other resources for you on the overworld.
** Ever since ''PokemonXAndY'', you can do various tasks to improve your Pokémon's EV levels outside of battle, either via minigames or ''enrolling them in specialized university classes''.

* ''[[VideoGame/AstekaIITemploDelSol Tombs & Treasure]]'' boosts your level and health by completing tasks around Chichen Itza, due to the game using enemy encounters as {{Beef Gate}}s to keep you from exploring too far too early.