Affinity leveling confusion

[Chemical Toilet]

So, I understand basically how affinities work. But what I don't understand is how the credit towards them work.

So we can get credit toward affinities from researching particular techs and from quest decisions. But all of the play throughs I've seen, no one has actually received any affinity level from quest decisions. So do you not gain a level every time you make a decision, or is it considered like a certain amount of XP towards a level, or what?

 

[BrotherAriman]

Think of it more as an xp system where a quest decision or tech gives you 15 affinity points but you need 20 to level up so you don't move up to the next level. Also in regards to quests you don't instantly get the points automatically, for example there is a quest where you have to decide if you want to bring in cybernetic enhanced refugees in an old outpost. If you decide to leave them be at their settlement it counts as harmony, but if you bring them into the fold of your pop it counts as purity or supremacy but doesn't end there. Then after several turns you are given the second part of the quest which asks if you want to have these refugees spread their technology and ideals to the general population for supremacy points or help return them to their original humanity for purity points.

 

[SupremacyKing]

As BrotherAriman explained, quests give you points towards the next affinity level. So a quest might give you say 5 points but you need 15 points to reach the next level so that one quest decision won't level you up right away. But as you accumulate points from quests and techs, you will level up when you reach the required number of points. Techs do seem to give a lot more points than individual quests, often enough points for an entire level, which is why players will often gain an entire affinity level or 2 just from 1 tech.

 

[Khaim]

So do you not gain a level every time you make a decision, or is it considered like a certain amount of XP towards a level, or what?

Both! There is an XP system, but not every quest decision gives you points. Some decisions just advance you down a path towards earning xp. For example, there's an early decision about alien creatures, and the Purity choice is "kill them". That doesn't get you xp, but it unlocks the quest "kill N alien units", and finishing that gives xp towards Purity.

 

[ggmoyang]

To level up an affinity, you need 11+(sum of all affinity levels) in an affinity. Many leaf techs give affinity xp, (tier 1 leaf 12, tier 2 leaf 25, tier 3 leaf 40). A might virtue can boost the tech affinity xp by 20%, and another might virtue gives a free affinity level.
There are quests that gives xp or free affinity level too.

 

[Alkyon]

To level up an affinity, you need 11+(sun of all affinity level) in an affinity. Many leaf techs give affinity xp, (tier 1 leaf 12, tier 2 leaf 25, tier 3 leaf 40). A might virtue can boost the tech affinity xp by 20%, and another might virtue gives a free affinity level.
There are quests that gives xp or free affinity level too.

Is that really the formula? That's incredibly easy to remember really if it is, so I approve.

Of course that would mean for a (theoretical) 18/18/18 game you'd need 64 experience for that final level (11+18+18+17) on top of all the experience you had already. You'd have to do an absurd amount of quests to get all that experience, if it's even possible that is. It might be realistically possible to max out 2 affinities with the Might Virtue tree though due to its 20% tech exp bonus and then 2 free level you save for the very end.

 

[ggmoyang]

Earlier it had separate xp requirement for different affinities, 12+(affinity level). But in last Firaxis stream they had 3/5/5 affinity level and xp for next level was 24 so I think the formula was changed.

 

[AriochIV]

The Affinity quests are mutually exclusive; once you've done a quest to get Purity points, you can't do it again to get Supremacy. I think you'll be limited to whatever +Affinity technologies there are, and I'm not sure there's enough to get 18/18/18.

 

[3of5]

But all of the play throughs I've seen, no one has actually received any affinity level from quest decisions.

you don't get the reward for intermediary staps in the quest, only for finishing the final step. Thats why you never saw changes in the levels due to simple decisions early in the quests. Those ony serve to steer the quest into the right direction.

 

[gunnergoz]

Don't forget there is a Might Virtue (Adaptive Science) that gives +20% Affinity points for reaching technologies - this can boost what is already being added by the quest.

 

[Chemical Toilet]

Oh okay, that is what I suspected. I kept thinking there had to be an XP system behind it, but is there an interface anywhere that allows you to see how much XP have towards the next level? Or do you just hover over the points in the top left corner?

Think of it more as an xp system where a quest decision or tech gives you 15 affinity points but you need 20 to level up so you don't move up to the next level.

Are these numbers correct or do we not know yet? And do all techs or all quests give you the same amount of XP or is it different? If it is different, does (for example) hovering over the affinity points on the tech allow you to see how much XP you get from it?

 

[ggmoyang]

Oh okay, that is what I suspected. I kept thinking there had to be an XP system behind it, but is there an interface anywhere that allows you to see how much XP have towards the next level? Or do you just hover over the points in the top left corner?

Are these numbers correct or do we not know yet? And do all techs or all quests give you the same amount of XP or is it different? If it is different, does (for example) hovering over the affinity points on the tech allow you to see how much XP you get from it?

Yes to both.

And I posted speculations for numbers in this thread.